Col. L. Fletcher Prouty (USAF) 

Born: Springfield, Mass., January 24, 1917. 
Attended public schools. 
President, High School Student Government. 
Member, undefeated Golf Team. 
Vocalist with Big Bands, sang in most large dance halls, hotels and colleges in Northeast.
Graduate: Mass. State College 1941, A.B. degree and 2nd Lt. Commission, U.S. Cavalry. 

June 1941
Began military career with 4th Armored Division, Pine Camp, NY. 
 at Communications Officer School, Ft. Knox, KY, on December 7, 1941 [Pearl Harbor]. 
Transferred to Air Force 1942. 
Earned Pilot's wings November, 1942. 
Arrived British West Africa [Ghana], February 1943 as pilot with Air Transport Command. 

Assigned to V.I.P. flying, summer 1943. 
Personal pilot for Gen. Omar Bradley, Gen. J. C. H. Lee and Gen. C. R. Smith.
 (Founder and President - American Airlines), among others. 
Landed U.S. Geological Survey Team in Saudi Arabia, Oct 1943, 
 to confirm oil discoveries for Cairo Conference. 

Assigned special duties at Cairo and Teheran Conferences, November-December 1943. 
Flew Chiang Kai Shek's Chinese delegation (T.V. Soong's delegates) to Teheran. 

Chief Pilot (1,200 pilots), Cairo for Air Transport Command. 
Led special air mission into Soviet Union, and others into Turkey, 1944. 
Evacuated "Guns of Navaronne" British commandos from Turkey to Palestine. 
Assisted in capture of leader of German Gold smuggling ring
 (The actor, Bruce Cabot) in Turkey and Cairo. 
Led large flight of transport aircraft to Turkish-Syrian border
 to evacuate 750 American POW's and OSS-selected Ex-Nazi Intelligence experts
 from the Balkans, September 1944.  The first "overt" Cold War mission. 

1945
Transferred to SW Pacific, flew in New Guinea, Leyte and was on Okinawa at end of war. 
Landed near Tokyo at surrender with first three planes carrying Gen.MacArthur's bodyguard troops. 
Flew out with American POWs. Photographed Hiroshima, that date. 

1946-49
Assigned by Army to Yale University to begin first USAF ROTC program. 
Taught "Aeronautics" and "Evolution of Warfare". 
Transferred to U.S. Air Force ROTC headquarters to write college text books. 
Wrote the college textbook on "Aeronautics" and another on "Rockets and Missiles". 

1950-52
Transferred to Colorado Springs to establish Air Defense Command. 
There, Director, Personnel Planning for Command (77,000 men)
 and first to put personnel records on Computer. 
Attended Nuclear Weapons school, Sandia, N.M. Selected for
 Air Force Command and Staff College, Montgomery, Ala. 

1952-54 Assigned to Korean War duties in Japan. 
Military Manager, Tokyo International Airport (Haneda) during Occupation. 
Commander, Military Air Transport Service, Heavy Transport Squadron responsible for
 military and diplomatic flights from Toyko to Saudi Arabia and back,
 in addition to daily flights to Korea, Honolulu and Pacific Islands. 
Founder, Toyko Toastmasters Club. 
Attended, JCS operated Armed Forces Staff College, Norfolk, 1955. 

1955-1964
Assigned to Headquarters, U.S. Air Force and directed to create an Air Force world-wide system
 for "Military Support of the Clandestine Operations of the CIA", as required by a new 
 National Security Council Directive, 5412 of March, 1954. 
 Wrote this policy in conjunction with Air Force General Counsel and CIA's General Counsel. 
Set up a TOP SECRET world wide support force and communications system. 
Was sent around the world by the Director, Central Intelligence, Allen W. Dulles,
 to meet the CIA Station Chiefs, 1956. 
Directed Air Force participation in countless CIA operations during this period. 
As a result of a CIA Commendation for this work, awarded the Legion of Merit by the Air Force,
 promoted to Colonel and assigned to the Office of the Secretary of Defense to carry out
 this same type of work for all military services. 
Assigned to the Office of Special Operations. 

With the creation of the Defense Intelligence Agency by
 Secretary McNamara and the abolishment of the OSO,
 was transferred to the Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
 to create a similar, world-wide office and was the Chief of Special Operations,
 with the Joint Staff all during 1962-1963. 

Received orders to travel as the Military Escort officer for a group of VIPs
 who were being flown to the South Pole, Nov 10 - Nov 28, 1963, to activate a Nuclear Power plant
 for heat, light and sea water desalination at the U.S. Navy Base at McMurdo Sound, Antarctica. 



Retired as Colonel, U.S. Air Force, 1964 and was awarded one of the first three
 Joint Chiefs of Staff Commendation Medals by General Maxwell Taylor,
 Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff. 

1964-1965
VP International Operations, General Aircraft Corporation...
 a company created by MIT and Harvard specialists that designed and built aircraft
 that were used by the CIA and Army Special Forces. 

1965-1968
VP-Manager, Pentagon Branch, First National Bank, Arlington, VA, later VP-Marketing, 1965-1968. 
VP-Marketing, Madison National Bank, Washington, DC, 1968-1971. 

Graduate, Graduate School of Banking, University of Wisconsin, 1966 - 1968. 

Charter Member, American Bankers Association committee for Automation, Planning and Technology
 to develop plans to convert all U.S. banks to automation, including the Federal Reserve System. 

President, Financial Marketing Council of Greater Washington, D.C. 

Member, Advertising Club of Washington, D.C. 

1971 AMTRAK, as Manager, created nationwide Government and Military Marketing organization. 
 Senior Director, Public Affairs, corporate speechwriter for Presidents and
 members of the Board, 1972-1982. Retired. 

Author, Public Speaker, radio and TV, 1950 to present. 
Book "The Secret Team", Prentice-Hall, 1973, and paperback by Ballantine, 1974. 

Worked with all major USA TV networks, and with BBC-TV, CBC-TV, Japanese,
 Australian Broadcast Commission and others. 

For McGraw-Hill Scientific Encyclopedia wrote "Railroad Engineering" section,
 and for its "Scientific Yearbook-1982" yearbook, wrote "Foreign Railroad Technology". 

For Traffic Quarterly and Congressional Record, wrote "Transportation at the Crossroads", July 1981. 

Numerous magazine articles from New Republic to Air Force, Gallery, Genesis, and Freedom magazines. 

Recently - Consultant: Rail Transportation for Northrop Services Inc., Northrup Corp.
 and for Ohio Rail Transportation Authority. 
Assisted Chairman, Joint Economics Committee of the Congress to set up International Hearings
 and to write "Rail Passenger Services Act of 1981". 


At request of Oliver Stone,
 worked as Creative Advisor (1990-1991) on production of his film "JFK".
 Col. Prouty was the inspiration for the "Man X" character
 played by Donald Sutherland. 


Book, "JFK, the CIA, Vietnam
 and the Plot to Assassinate John F. Kennedy"
 published by Birch Lane Press, 1992. 

Memberships:
Director, National Railroad Foundation and Museum
National Press Club, and Foundation
Rotary Club of Washington, formerly a Director
Member, Society of Historians for American Foreign Relations
 
Additional data:
 By direction of the Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara,
       a Founder of the International Air Traffic Controllers Assn.
 Founder, Tokyo Toastmasters Club
 A Charter member, American Bankers Assn, Committee of Automation Planning and Technology.
 A graduate of the American Bankers Assn, Graduate School of Banking, University of Wisconsin.
 Guest Lecturer, American University.
 Staff, Cairo Conference, 1943
 Staff, Teheran Conference, 1943

We regret to announce the passing of Fletcher Prouty - June 5th 2001.