Jason Putman

[Samuel Browning]

Nothing remotely controversal, has so far panned out. I'm not questioning there is a man named David Bannon, he has a daughter, lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, was formally a Mormon and has at least visited Korea. But ever since his claimed Ph.D in History didn't pan out, I'm unsure whether even parts of his basic description of his own life are accurate. As for the Interpol Assassin stuff, I haven't found a shread of evidence to support his claims other then the supposed testimony of people who might not even exist.

[Samuel Browning]

Ah, as Hannibal from the A team used to say, "I love it when a plan comes together." Several months after hiring a college student to do some research for moi in Marseille, I just received his very interesting affidavit.

On page 280 through page 282 of his book "Race against Evil: The Secret Missions of the Interpol Agent Who Tracked the World's Most Sinister Criminals-A Real Life Drama", (New Horizon Press, Far Hills, N.J. 2003) David "Race" Bannon claims his fiancee, Siddle Rimbaud, a French DST agent who was killed in a gun battle with North Korean agents, was buried in a small cemetary in La Treille, France. Bannon even produced a photograph of her monument in the insert of his book. I had this picture scanned and sent it to my investigator.

Some relevent quotes. "At a small cemetery I carried orchids up a wandering knoll." . . . "I knelt and cleaned away the dried arrangements, setting the orchids I'd bought on Sid's grave. It was close to the anniversary of her death. She had died on October 21". (p. 282) "I used every penny I owned to pay for Sid's funeral, a plot and statue of an angel looking over her in a graveyard just outside Marseilles." (p. 132)

Here is the text of the affidavit sent to me by Pierre-Olivier Mathe, my investigator. I will be happy to have a copy of this document sent to anyone who cares to provide me with their real name and address. This offer even extends to "Race" as long as he first answers a few select questions.

"My name is Pierre-Oliver Mathe, and my address is 2 Rue Bueno Carriero, 131100.Aix-En-Providence (France). I am 18 years old and I believe in the obligations of an oath. I make the following statement of my own free will and swear to its accuracy.

1) On November 5, 2004 I went to Marseille, and La Treille, France to discover if Sidelle Rimbaud in La Treille.

2) While in Marseille I first went to St. Pierre Cemetery to access the archives since La Treille is a very small village just outside Marseille. There is only one cemetery in La Treille, and no one stationed there to take care of it. I called the Marseille townhall to inquire about the cemetery in La Treille and they indicated its location.

2) While at St. Pierre, I first tried to locate Sidelle Rimbaud using a date of death of October 21, 1981. She is not registered in a Marseille Cemetery on that date. Then I looked in the archives for every year from 1980 to 1985 in both the St. Pierre and La Treille Cemeteries and her burial is not registered in either location. I then tried to find her tomb or the burial plot but no David Bannon was registered as owning any such burial plot. A staff member at St. Pierre also showed me the list of everyone who was buried in La Treille and the name Sidelle Rimbaud was not on this list.

4) Then took a bus ride to La Treille, where David Bannon claims his former fiancee Sidelle Rimbaud is buried. I had a copy of the picture you provided me from Mr. Bannon's book which he claims is a picture of Sidelle Rimbaud's gravestone or monument. There are only about fifty graves in this cemetary and there is no monument which matches the picture you provided me. The La Treille cemetery is named Cimetiere de la Treille and is locared at the following street address: Route de la Treille.

Pierre-Oliver Mathe"

*The original document was sworn and notarized*

[David Jamieson]

great!

Can we do something about Grisham and Clancy now?

[Oso]

Originally posted by Kung Lek
great!

Can we do something about Grisham and Clancy now?

fuuunneeeeee....

[Samuel Browning]

The difference between Bannon and Clancy is that Clancy declares his fictional writing as such. Bannon did his interviews and published his book claiming the events he described had actually happened.

[David Jamieson]

Ease up now. I like Rainbow 6 as much as the next guy.

but Bannon is obviously a fraud even without the time and effort you've invested in making it clear.

a big beer for sam!

[GeneChing]

I've heard nothing from either Putman or Bannon in a long time, only once I think, since you've started your investigation, but that was months ago.

[Samuel Browning]

I'm still working the case Gene, if you talk to Race, please ask him which year Sidelle actually died and why DST says they never heard of her.

[Samuel Browning]

I had a free day today, so I decided to do some more research on Mr. Bannon's claims. On pages 19-20 of "Race against Evil: The Secret Missions of the Interpol Agent Who Tracked the World's Most Sinister Criminals-A Real Life Drama", (New Horizon Press, Far Hills, N.J. 2003). David 'Race' Bannon writes the following:

"That spring, South Korea was tormented by mass student demonstrations against the repressive government. An emegency decree banned all political activities and disolved all political parties. For four days from May 19 to 22, nearly 200,000 citizens and students clashed with military forces in Kwangju City. The students took over government offices and seized police stations and armories. On the same dates in 1980, an almost identical demonstration was staged. As if to commemorate the 1980 uprising, the bloody student riots were repeated in Kwangju in 1981. I was there."

Later on page 24, Bannon writes:

"Later that night, on May 22, paratroopers stormed the city and restored order at the cost of hundreds of deaths and thousands of wounded . . . Though not as terrible as the 1980 tragedy that saw the slaughter of nearly 2,500 students--and which is commemorated each year in South Korea--that bloody spring was violent enough."

According to Bannon, his presence at this riot in 1981 changed his life in the following way. He was stabbed by a Korean male who he then had to kill with his bare hands. (p. 23) After going to the hospital to be treated, Bannon came to the attention of Jacques Defferre of Interpol, who eventually recruited him into this organization. (pp. 25-28) Thus Bannon was then able to sleep with a French DST Agent, kill lots of chester the molesters, and eventually write a book about his exploits.

There is one "small" problem with this story. There does not appear to have been a riot in Kwangju in 1981 making Bannon's account historically impossible. The evidence for this assertion is the following.

1) The New York Times was closely following the violance in Kwangju in 1980 and wrote multiple articles about resistance to the government, and resistance in this city in particular, in late May, 1980. See:

a) James P. Sterba, "Seoul Vows New Restrictions Won't Delay Democracy", New York Times, Monday, May 19, 1980, p. A3. "In the Southern city of Kwangju, however, about 5,000 students defied the new Government decrees and battled riot policemen and troops in the streets for several hours before a a 9 P.M. curfew was imposed. Scores of students and policemen were reported injuried."

b) James P. Sterba, "New Repression in South Korea: Growing Clampdown By General Curbing Democratic Reform" New York Times, Tuesday May 20, 1980, p. A3. and "5 Believed Dead in Clashes in Southern Korean City" p. A3. (author not named) This second article says "tens of thousands of anti-government demonstrators reportedly clashed today in the southwestern city of Kwangju with riot policemen and armed paratroops. At least five bodies were seen lying in the streets, dozens of people were wounded and many students were arrested according to reports from witnesses."

c) Henry Scott Stokes, "Cabinet Resigns In South Korea as Riots Grow: More Deaths Reported in Huge Kwangju Protest", New York Times, Wednesday, May 21, 1980, pp. A1 and A8. "Reports from Kwangju, a stronghold of Kim Dae Jung, the arrested opposition leader, said that a television and radio station was burned as 30,000 demonstrators, mainly students and workers, marched in groups and some that battled a division-strength army unit that was rushed to the city when troubles began there. [The Associated Press reported from Seoul that the troops in Kwangju opened fire Wednesday on demonstrators who were trying to drive commandeered buses and armored personnel carroers at them, killing at least three, according to witnesses. The report said that as many as 200,000 people surged through the streets of Kwangju in the fourth straight day of protest against martial law. In rioting Tuesday, the agency said, up to 11 persons were killed, 13 buildings were wrecked and 50 vehicles burned.]"

d) Shim Jae Hoon, "Protesters Control South Korean City; At Least 32 Killed", New York Times, Thursday May 22, 1980, A1, A13, "Kwangju, South Korea, May 21 -- Tens of thousands of demonstrators, many waiving seized rifles, iron bars, axes, pitchforks and even light machine guns, took control of this southwestern city today, the fourth day of anti-Government rioting that has cost the lives of at least 32 people." A1.

e) Shim Jae Hoon, "Unsuccessful Truce Talks Held in South Korean City", New York Times, Friday, May 23, 1980, p. A8. "With armed rebellion continuing in the Southern part of South Korea, representatives of the anti-government demonstrators holding the city of Kwangju met with the local commander today in an unsuccessful attempt to agree upon a truce."

f) "30,000 in South Korea Continuing Kwangju Protests Despite Warning", New York Times, Sunday, May 25, 1980, p. 1, 6. The NYT reprinted an article by United Press International on their front page.

g) Henry Kamm, "Seoul Seems to Plan A Move On Kwangju: Foreigners Advised to Leave City", New York Times, Monday, May 26, 1980, A6.

h) Henry Kamm, "South Korea Troops Recapture Kwangju In Predawn Strike: Military Says 2 Were Killed in Light Resistance and 200 Arrested -- 4 Soldiers Are Injured", New York Times, Tuesday, May 27, 1980, A1, A16 [SB Note: these figures are very low].

i) Henry Scott Stokes, "When Troops Finally Came, Kwangju Revolt Became a Rout", New York Times, Wednesday, May 28, 1980, A1, A6. "Local people say 261 people died during the uprising and 2,000 were injured." A6.

j) Henry Scott Stokes, "Korean Military Hunting Leaders of City's Revolt: Army Sets Up Roadblocks in the Area of Kwangju", New York Times, Thursday, May 29, 1980, A14.

The point of citing these articles is as follows. One does not have a multiple day, total city riot with hundreds of fatalities in an industrial nation, without some mention in the international press.

2) However when I reviewed the New York Times from May 18, 1981 to May 31, 1981 I only found two articles that mentioned Kwangju. These were:

a) In a section entitled "Around the World" New York Times, Friday, May 22, 1981 the NYT reprinted the following headline and two paragraphs. "30 Priests in South Korea End 3-Day Hunger Strike. Seoul, South Korea, May 21 (UPI) -- Thirty Roman Catholic priests ended a three day hunger strike today after the authorities promised to accept their demands for the release of 23 people jailed for involvement in last year's violent Kwangju uprising, a Catholic official says." In the second paragraph there was no mention of any violent protest, or even mass gathering occuring in Kwangju on the anniversary of the 1980 riots.

b) On Wednesday, May 27, 1981 the New York Times printed an article by Mike Tharp entitled "A Year After Korean Uprising, Chun's Grip is Firm". (A2) The article said "Last week there were demonstrations at several universities, but both witnesses and the police described them as minor." The article did not mention any demonstrations or riots occuring in Kwangju, (they happened in Seoul) but did mention the hunger strike by Roman Catholic priests in this city.

So the question becomes, did the New York Times somehow miss a riot in Kwangju which lasted from May 18, to May 22, 1981 and in which to quote Bannon, "paratroopers stormed the city and restored order at the cost of hundreds of deaths and thousands of wounded". This impossibly unlikely because:

3) A review of all editions of the Wall Street Journal and Christian Science Monitor printed between May 18, 1981 and May 31, 1981 do not mention ANY civil disturbance in South Korea. and:

4) A review of the Times (of London) from May 18, 1981 to May 31, 1981 reveals only two articles concerning demonstrations in South Korea.

a) Jacqueline Reditt, "Women Protesters Occupy US centre in S. Korea", The Times, Saturday, May 23, 1981, p. 7. "Nine South Korean women staged a 22 hour sit-in at the American cultural centre in the south western provincial capital of Kwangju yesterday." The story concluded with the information that the South Korean police had removed the women without injury from the cultural center and took them to their homes.

b) Jacqueline Reditt, "Police Move Into Seoul University", The Times, Saturday, May 29, 1981, p. 9. In this report Reditt writes that Riot police broke up a student demonstration at Seoul National University for the second straight day on May 28, 1981. They used "pepper fog chemicals" and one student "screaming slogans denouncing President Chun plunged to his death from the fifth floor of the library building." There was not mention in this article of any more disturbances in Kwangju or that the police directly killed any students in Seoul.

So not only the American but also a highly respected British Newspaper fails to mention this 1981 riot in Kwangju in which Bannon claims there were "hundreds of deaths". Since Jacqueline Reditt was filing reports from Seoul at this time, and was aware of even a small nine women sit-in in Kwangju, it seems impossible that she, and the Times of London would miss a four day replay of the 1980 riots in Kwangju.
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