Those who knew him described Paul Whipkey as the quintessential All-American boy. An honors R.OT.C. (Reserved Army Training Corps) student in college, the twenty-six-year-old Army Lieutenant had recently been granted a coveted slot in Army Aviation School. Stationed at California’s Fort Ord Army Base on Monterrey Bay, the company commander was regarded as a loyal soldier who was respected by colleagues and superiors.

On July 11, 1958, however, Lieutenant Whipkey was declared AWOL, (Absent without Leave). The previous day, he had left the Fort Ord base, saying he was driving to the town of Monterrey, less than one mile away.

Thirty days later, Lieutenant Paul Whipkey was declared a deserter. Twenty-four years later, with still no trace of him, the Army changed his status to “died in the line of duty,” even though his body had not been found. Army officials never stated any reason why he may have been killed.

Others, however, have offered possibilities, some of which suggest Lieutenant Paul Whipkey may have died while serving his country on a covert assignment. The All-American boy may have been one of the all-too-many forgotten casualties of the Cold War.

Lieutenant Paul Whipkey

United States Army

From the onset of Paul Whipkey’s disappearance, the Army’s actions were suspicious. After he as declared AWOL, two soldiers stripped his room at Fort Ord. Everything, including his personal belongings, were confiscated.

No one contacted the Whipkey family, even though Army regulations required the next of kin was to be notified before a soldier’s belongings were removed.

Family Not Notified

On August 17, five weeks later, a Fish and Game warden found the Lieutenant’s car abandoned in the Death Valley desert five-hundred miles from Fort Ord and forty miles from the nearest town. Paul was not a smoker, but a pile of cigarette butts lay on the ground next to the car. The driver’s side door was open and the keys were still in the ignition. Nothing at the scene suggested foul play or any sign of a struggle.

A gasoline receipt dated for the morning of July 11, the day after Paul was last seen, was found in the car. It was from a gas station in Mojave, approximately one-hundred-forty-five miles from where the car was found in Death Valley and two-hundred-sixty miles southeast of Fort Ord. Army investigators found Paul had signed the guest register at the Whites Motel in Mojave where he had apparently spent the evening of July 10 and purchased gas the following morning.

The Army concluded Lieutenant Paul Whipkey had succumbed to the stress of his new assignment and wandered into the desert where, without food or water, he perished. For unexplained reasons, they did not mount a search for his body until nine months after his car had been found.

Death In The Desert?

Those who worked with Lieutenant Whipkey described him as dedicated to his duties and believed it would be out of character for him to abandon his post. Carl Whipkey, who was also an Army Lieutenant, did not accept the claim that his younger brother had deserted.

Carl’s suspicions were kindled when a rancher reported he had seen Paul’s car, a 1956 red Chevrolet, being driven in the desert approximately one week before the Army reported the discovery. The rancher was certain a man in an Army uniform was behind the wheel. When Paul left Fort Ord, he was wearing civilian clothes, and he had not taken his Army attire with him.

Carl’s suspicions were further fueled when he learned the Army had cleaned out his brother’s room without notifying him or any family member. They were ignited when he learned of the car’s discovery as he was contacted by an enlisted man, not the Army brass at Fort Ord. The man told him the information was classified and that he was not to tell anyone.

Carly Whipkey

Paul’s Brother

Carl Whipkey initially believed his brother’s disappearance could have been related to a temporary assignment the previous year.

From July to October in 1957, Paul had been stationed at Camp Desert Rock, Nevada, as an observation pilot for government atomic bomb tests. He had flown several reconnaissance planes over atomic bomb detonations, including for five hours over the top-secret Operation Plumbbob, a series of .44 kiloton explosions. As a result, he was exposed to radioactive fallout, and he appeared to have been affected as he developed blotches on his skin, warts on his hands, and moles throughout his body. In addition, he had to have all of his teeth extracted, frequently suffered from colds, and experienced significant weight loss.

Shortly before Paul disappeared, Carl said his brother also made references to seeing the Army using human beings to conduct secret experiments.

Exposed To Radiation

Additional happenings at Camp Desert Rock raised eyebrows as well.

After Lieutenant Paul Whipkey had been declared a deserter, Lieutenant Colonel Charles Lewis, who had been stationed with him at Camp Desert Rock, called Army Headquarters requesting more information. Lieutenant Colonel Lewis says his request was denied and the Army told him not to investigate the matter any further.

Growing more suspicious, the Lieutenant Colonel recalled an odd incident occurring several months before Paul disappeared. He had seen two men in civilian clothes talking to Paul on the Camp Desert Rock airfield. The men had gone directly to the airfield instead of reporting to operations, which was required for security purposes. They showed Lewis their military identification confirming they were government agents, though he could not recall which agency.

Over the following two weeks, Lewis often saw Paul talking to the same two men on the base. After the talks, Lewis said he could sense rigidity in Paul’s personality and mannerisms.

Lieutenant Colonel Charles Lewis

Paul’s Commanding Officer

After being contacted by Lieutenant Colonel Lewis, Carl Whipkey recalled a similar strange incident around the same time period.

In January 1958, six months before his disappearance, Paul, in a phone call, told Carl he was going on a major assignment. Carl says his brother could not elaborate as superior officers had moved close to his desk so that he was unable to speak without their hearing him. He hung up and Carl never learned to what Paul was referring.

The Cold War was escalating and the C.I.A. was engineering a nationwide recruiting campaign. Lieutenant Paul Whipkey’s qualifications would have made him an attractive candidate for a covert assignment.

Lieutenant Paul Whipkey And His L-19 Bird Dog

At Ford Ord A Year Before He Vanished

Carl Whipkey theorizes that on July 10, 1958, Paul drove to Mojave and checked into White’s Motel where he was met by Army Intelligence or the CIA. As American involvement in Vietnam was growing, Carl believes Paul may have been transferred to Southeast Asia, perhaps from nearby Edwards Air Force Base.

Carl further surmises that when Paul left for the assignment, the Army confiscated his car and kept it for four weeks. Carl believes his brother was killed and concluded the Army, unable to acknowledge his death because his assignment had been covert, then drove the car into the desert in an effort to make it appear Paul had met his demise in Death Valley.

Carl Whipkey

Holding A Picture Of His Brother

In 1982, twenty-four years after Lieutenant Paul Whipkey’s disappearance, the Army reviewed his case and determined there was no basis to support his status as a deserter. The board’s report said the “unauthorized absence” was excused as ”unavoidable” and his death ”was incurred in the line of duty, not due to his own misconduct.” Two months later, his final status was officially changed from “deserter” to “died in the line of duty.”

The Army report acknowledged the physical disorders incurred by Lieutenant Whipkey while he was stationed at Camp Desert Rock, Nevada, in 1957. The report, however, makes no mention of the atomic tests Carl believed had caused those conditions and concluded that ”extensive investigations’ failed to support Mr. (Carl) Whipkey’s other assertions.”

Some believe Lieutenant Paul Whipkey succumbed to illness resulting from secret Army nerve gas or radiation from atomic tests conducted at Camp Desert Rock. Another possibility offered is that he was planning to sue the Army over his disorders and was killed to keep him silent. Carl Whipkey initially believed his brother’s disappearance was related to the radiation testing done at Camp Desert Rock but ultimately came to believe Paul was killed in a covert CIA operation.

 

No Longer Declared A Deserter

But Still No Answers

On paper, Paul Whipkey was declared to have died on July 11, 1958, the day after he left Fort Ord. The Army has never offered any explanations as to why he may have been killed, nor have they acknowledged conducting radiation testing at Camp Desert Rock.

The CIA has denied any connection to Army Lieutenant Paul Whipkey.

What Happened To Lieutenant Whipkey?

Carl Whipkey died in 2019 at age ninety-two.

Carl Does Not Learn

The Fate Of His Brother

On July 21, 1958, eleven days after he vanished, Paul’s twenty-five-year-old friend and fellow Army Lieutenant Charlie Guess, who had served with him at Camp Desert Rock and Fort Ord, disappeared while flying an airplane.

United States Army Lieutenant Charlie Guess

Fourteen months year later, in September 1959, Lieutenant Guess’s remains were found buried beneath a crashed airplane near Bishop, California, roughly ninety miles north of Death Valley. The crashed plane showed a different number from that of the plane in which Guess had taken off. Why the serial numbers were different and whether his death was related to Paul’s disappearance, are both anyone’s guess.

The Remains Of Charlie Guess’s Plane

SOURCES:

• New York Times
• Pittsburgh Press
• San Francisco Chronicle
• Unsolved Mysteries