WAS MONARCH A CODE NAME? THE STRANGE CASE OF THE SMUGGLED B26 BOMBERS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP75-00149R000300510084-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 5
• Document Creation Date: November 17, 2016
• Document Release Date: February 19, 1999
• Sequence Number: 84
• Publication Date: September 18, 1966
• Content Type: NSPR

`vi%1'AS-N1 N~C;TON S'E'AR
Approved For Release'-21C /0817 : CIA-RDP
WAS MONARCH ACQDE NAME?
The Strange base
C,pf ?the Smuggled 626 Bombers
Star Staff writtr
At 4:24 p.m, on June 23, 1965, a White
House guard looked up and saw P. gray
and silver plane-later identified as a
B26 bomber-flash over at 2,500 feet.
He immediately called the Washington
h
e tower, W "A-1 J + -
T
on radar, ordered the pilot to get out. of
the prohibited airspace over, the White,
House and to land.
me
"The tower started yapping at
?
,
and I said, `shot up, I'm busy,' or,
something like that. They told me to'
land and that's what I was going to do{
anyway, so 1 did," the pilot, John
Richard Hawke, recalled as he sat inlj
Fort Lauderdale Fla home sip-
hi
4
s
,., ping Bavarian beer from a tall pilsener John Richard Hawke and a B26.'
FOIAb3b
glass. - in fi ht
According to Federal Aviation Agen- relations with the cations of Africa, has g g t
ey records, he landed on runway 1.i1 at formally denied before the United But as, .tie approached xtionni
approximately 4:31 p.m. As he. taxied Nations t) at the. government had any Airport hrongli partially :Tercast
to a halt and cut his engines, he was kno'wledg4, of the sale of the-planes to skies, his engine's cut out bee, use he
Pis, t al and has pointed to the indict.- had forgotten to switch from nearly
met by what Hawke described as "little mPnt or Vic alle:;ed plane smugglers empty fuel tanks to full on,?s. He
men in black, suit s." a; proof of its good intentions. r.^wervad over the V hite'Ho~is' as 1."
The first thought i that carne to his a tz t?led to rtet . the "enj lne goins~,
mind, Maw ee. said !As , _ Qfi I have A even the most official innocuous l query 5from 4a1ii and it vas this difficu .y that
to the
et t ~, sl~ftetl in his abrupt "shut up
failed - miserably. I'm going, to get the press with a polite no comment" i"",u't o erahis
fired." went, so far, wlfin queried about this p
But, as he tells the story, one magic, case, to describe the allegation that the 'Monarch' word-the code. name "Monarch"-'CIA Ras.. involved as "nonsense--purr. ~~~1~.Vi~SDid It
troubles to vanish and he nonsense." it. nu~v appears more than it was because of the wore "Mon-
caused
soon all his troubles troubles
way overseas of the highly unusual -shove, wilt. take the tht t ,he was permitted to leap to visit with FAA and U.S. Customs. _ stand in Buffalo to swear to the same hi:, . . wife, that he 'was not f irs otit~ se Hawke left Tueson on the irst fl+r,ht
enl was and i warned customs th 7 'p o 1n into on May 29. 1965. after. the dtaxi. n a d
V,,-,en ce;titcea as.airworthv ,' u) V AA
sight be something wrong. When ] l - realm Vd' orl, as fas
dn't hear anything, I went to work. did,' 'Hamiltoe said. inspector in Tt+ son. IIe WE` 0 ROC
ly job is to build airplanes, not to run Hamilton is convieeed. hersatd 4hst ter, N.Y., and remainedrfour drays
qtr foreign policy. ille operation couldn't povsibly have r~'huel le th tank e pane was to i an extra
"We delivered seven planes and then (seer adm.inistnred l)y 1J-1e-t:iA heeause D.
lI of a sudden, on Aug. 23, the customs'`the whole thing -was "so incredibly On Juned., he,fleew to T r?Y.,Airport:,
uys showed up here and said, `Hey,:inept." at St. .Ic y, Nfld., cleave .rat ,toms and
ou're fright. Those planes are going to Tnard, he said, was- prior executive took off the next day .for 1r,pres, he
a ortugal.' " and ` c=idn't even show up to'sigd the said Dun g that first flag 1, his radio
Hamilton said his original vga f lp~ i's so we could draw tt theIetter of caught ?ire and he was unab e to make
,as given eth'ally to a customs ageng _ t r f d44 ' G-n se cral oceasi(iris : `13arni1t sn the ret { itcd position rep.irts. This
t,, mss, he aid.
ed
ontin :f
P 1
8 lgfi;
 CPYRGHT
OW 70 pi - I
' r~, c ,ro ing once w En he use rt i as i g o o e w s. ` n e sea F ti_ c } .
den ,
erhe
spent .two' o s i g Ov te new help from a U.S. Air Force base near said, be noticd a gun.
thane. The Portuguese took. him to a Burlington, Vt. When the man refused to C11 him who
hotel reserved for VIP guests- to 1 arty on June 23, Hawke said, he left he was, Hawke said, he d ove direct
h ch, he justrecAled the other night, Tucson on the second flight. Without!tO the FBI office and'tol. the man at
is still has a key. tolling anyone in Tucson, he deta .ed I the desk he was being follor ed.
ilawke flew a commercial plane bark to Was on in order to keep_ "I didn't know whethe they were
to New York and returned to Tucson anrdvers date with his wife. ~ ladies or goodies," Hawke said, "and
where one of the most intriguing and After the irst confrontation wit11? redidn't like the idea of sot scone with a
raiysterious incidents of the whole;,tory angry officials at National - Air rI, t t,tn following me around.
.. _ _ _ _ ? _ Whil
the
talk
d
e the
e
1
e
y
e
on
m
n
w
fast Hawke sand he has recently had seen following him came in and
`A Phantom Figure' ob,ained a copy of the .clearapceI he asked to use the phone. T ;en the
received frpm U S. Customs at bash who turned out to be a en ;toms agt rat.
"There, I got a further briefing and I' in;*ton for a flight to Torbay, the. went m'a back room with a a FBI ages.
got a little telling off for talking too', Acores and to Paris. "When they came back, he FBI mare
much in the Azores from a Haan who Although his real destination was told me to relax--they v ere frienciiv
had a government identification 'card.! Portugal, tfre significant fact is that he forces," Hawke said. "I sa d, `We're all
He is a sort of phantom. figure--they Was clearetJ for a flight; to Europe on the same 'side. What's ga ing on almost convinced me he never `'exist- rather than just to Canada, Hawke On Thursday, Sept, 1 1965, six
ed," Hawke said. sRid, customs agents showed u;l at Hawkc'~,
Trying,' "with my .photographic. On the w$y )north, Hawke stopped inl home. He invited them it for a lw'r..
memory," to reconstruct the incident,; Portland, Me. _and had to explain what As they chatted, Wallace Thanle fine
Hawke said he is convinced. that tile.' he _was doing: in a border. city in a leader of the group, broke the news as
card~the man flashed at him identified military pl# 11102 politely as he could that. t' ~y had come
him as a representative of the CIA. `:1'he in or there : said he had to arrest him.-
It Would, however, be .highly unusual sei2ed thre ants six months before,"
for a CIA man involved in a "black Hawke sai ,, "but I ed the code Part of, the Gamc
operation" to show anyone an official words and pffnr about minutes they , Hawke who said he st l crnsidcrr?c
identification card and it is of course came back n files." the incident as part of a rather ms
possible that he was simply a character ' Hawke m his subsequent trips, terious game, went blithe) along with
actor brought in to quiet'Hawke's fears according to resume he has Ned out the agents and spent a goo( many hours
about the legitimacy of the operation. tp refresh x g nemory, on July. 2 and9 telling what he knew abc it the opera-
(Hamilton said he had never seen or and Aug. and 18. tion,
heard of such a person.) But his composure vv as severvIv
Hawke insists, however, that he had ..CwleC p parts shaken when they ended l to lntcrrot,a-
no qualms about the legality of the " '= tt ilea about 4 a.m., bough him a good
entire operation. Afer wh g( turned out to be t re last' steak dinner--and then bo' ked him into
"If I thought it was illegal, I would trip, Bawl : ew to Jamaica, where, the Dade County .t ail,
never have gotten involved. I'fi not Board has ""me, to pick up a C46-a Ha;,,kt :. +?onfialence (h e,-eryt.hing
that kind of person," he said. "But if I go platre he s dwas would turn out all right re erred anoib
hang used o carry sp a paltsor the, er setback the next day when he was
were that kind of person I would have
charged them $5,000 a flight plus ex ~'t'S . Hawk a took his tie alo;~zg to stay: taken beforc5 a I T.S. ,~omn, issioner woo
d nth Mrs. Board while the men were, set bond at $2;i^0.
penses. You don't risk 20 years in jail Off pit'kind lap parts. "I told him, "t want to ray here a : l
far peanuts." "We fle4_ to Miami, Charlotte, N.C now that I v+an to get, at of i 1
Actually, according to Hawke's anti Rochej4g. puking; pp par , and, want out now,' ' Hawke recalled.. iht.
account, he was paid $3,000 a flight, we were # of to leave for gston blue eyes flashing with ti aindngnat t
from whlc.}t he s to pay all expenses, when thrs man in Rochester
, be says he felt at being )eked up t:
including #ue wa his return trip. His delayed us. I hewn to wonder about jail with common c r ,anal.
this fiddle , Hawke said. It was a week befort an at++ t r
income, he said, averaged a little less Wltile? I ole waiting, he said, finally gut the bond r-edt; 1 and flack,
than $700 a trzjs,_ about what he makes Eugene ~ust:oms agent, came, left .jail. Montmarin, a ao had pee
on ferrying flights of unquestioned asked que9ti , looked over the plane arrested at the same tiro f,, staved ii
legality. and ft them to leave. tail for another three i eeks befo r.,
If he had made the full 20 flights, "Bjary In a
d d I were being released on bond
Hawke said' he would have found ways there," v said this
Since then
IIavke has b n t r rn it
,
aid d go
~ntwe
t
to trim his costs and thus increase his nee ion t to resume his occupatio as a income somewhat. During the early t`i ashint somepee- ocean ferrtand ha been ou , tfli
,te ~.e
id he h
d
g
sa
a
The Code Words
It was from the mysterious "CIA
agent," Hawke said, that he got the
two code words-"Monarch" in case he
got in trouble on the ground, and
"Sparrow" for trouble in the air. IIe
was also told, be said, that in view of
his radio problems on the first flight,
the U.S. Air Force's 54th Air Rescue
Squadron, based at Goose Bay, Labra-
dor, would keep an eye on him during
subsequent flights.
"That word 'Monarch' was grand. It
worked so beautifully I still wonder
what sort of good things would happen
to me if I just went out, in the street do was being followed. the defense -will take he attornr'y
a began sh o rchl' rJ,
FOMQ falr I ertease Of 1J awk ~'
t opt
c:'rners
sae nott
all vertl
Thee
hey stopped e - - ~ ?,_ . . .
N.X. Board said he was asked fl,v the I?r
and said they purchased by' Premici, M ltyen C?ao n
c
th Vi
re
tt e
f S
t N
ou
. s
e
am ac
a
rI
kmi or Tucson, o
_ lift). - but had to decline her cruse ,,ht3,,1
Returned Yolurlt lrlly
they flew to Ocala, Meanwhile, `Griggcrs, ' ho was ",-+.t<
Fla., and-- tloaded the parts for ship- ing on the .13269 in Portu 1, and Rode
ment by'ttUc c to Tucson, Ilawke said. ick, who was living in W onipeg, cam
Saw HOW, as F
On Sept-*,-
ept) 4;,: As Ha
ed to the'Unit~d.States vdlun arily to pl.,;,
notilty to the chacs against th, r r
recalls it, he Thglf attgr}ey . have ad sedthem ri
bring the (46 ov* later aridjfdek up his their attortle$,axe gathe, ng in Buff a
)vile, The next day, Hake realized that to coo'rdinatr''Irsr case, lust what tin
SP1 8 1966
 Approved For
Releasese2GOOM k27 5t01A R75-001
who is representing Griggers. said it
was almost certain that a major part of
the defense would be the contention that
the whop peration was conducted by
the CIA wSf2xc,,t0 pproval of the U.S.
government
At the prosecute table will be. John
T. Curtin. U.S. attorney for the western
district of New York. Assisting him will
he attorneys from the State and Justice
Pepari.rnents and perhaps from the
The prose cution, as outlined in the
indictment, will attempt to show that
there was a conspiracy to take planes
out of the country NOthout proper export
licenses and that in fact several of the
planes were flown out from Rochester-
which is in the western district of New,
York.
Defending the U.S.
But am,ernment. officials see the trial
as ieoeh more important than an
attcnwt to gain a donvtction in a crimi-
nal c a e. As one of them put it, "In this
case, we are quite literally defending
the United. States;"
On several occasions, the movement
of the B26s. has-been bitterly criticized
by delegates from communist countries
in the United Nations. The U.S., they
have charged, isdeiberately furnishing
arms for use by the. Portuguese against
black people in Angola and Mozam-
bique.
The U.S. has openly supplied arms to
Portugal. which is a member of the
North Atlantic Treaty Organization, but
has insistcdthat the arms are for use in
the defense of Europe, not in Africa.
(one U.S. handicap in this case is that
the circumstances are similar to those
in which the CIA has covertly supplied
the same type pf aircraft for use in the
Congo and'; in. the Bay of Pigs invasion
of Cuba. The Pay,of Pigs planes proba-
bly came from the Hamilton plant in
Tucson.
In the past, tfr CIA hgsjbeen reiuc-
tant to discuss inc ertts in which it may
have been involved-whether or not it
actually was involved.
The most notable' exception to that
policy came in al civil ault for slander
now before a Federal court in Balti-
nmre in which, 4M CIA publicly idhnti-
fied the defendanfin the case as one of
its agents and said he did what he hat
rheas under specific instructions from
the CI .\.
Rot gavernment. officials. are becon'.-
ing r unearned -- over - the tendency of
peeplb, caught itt'tpiesttonable activities
to try to explain it all away by saying
they n ork for the CIA. :
in this ease. inta?way,~the; gover.
ment wi 1 be attempting t*,0lose*hM
has been dcsc-ribed as the "credibilfkr
gap" 0y putting on: a case so convincing
that the word of the United States that
it was not involved in the shipment of
flee -planes will compel belief throughout
thOc orld.
'l'he jury will h ve W decide who to
believe- .fohn Iir rd hawke, who has
been found to be a k ery? convincing ehap
by everyone tvhb. h, s calked to hint, and
the. other witnesse fur the defense-or
the solemn word'ilf the United States
49R000300510084-4
CPYRGHT
Approved ForIReleasee2 /08/27 CIA-RDP75-00149R000300510084-4
tEP181966