109 lines
6.5 KiB
Plaintext
109 lines
6.5 KiB
Plaintext
Pensacola
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NEWS JOURNAL
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A GANNETT NEWSPAPER PENSACOLA, FLA. THURSDAY, JULY 19, 1990
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..............................................................................
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FRONT PAGE HEADLINE ARTICLE:
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6 SOLDIERS HERE TO KILL ANTICHRIST
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COPYRIGHTED NEWS STORY
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BY CHRISTOPHER CLAUSEN
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..............................................................................
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Six soldiers who were arrested in Gulf Breeze last weekend and accused of
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desertion were in the area to destroy the Antichrist, according to today's
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edition of the European Stars and Stripes.
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The six, who were assigned to the 701st Military Intelligence Brigade in
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Augsburg, West Germany, left their unit less than two weeks ago to locate the
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Biblical figure who many Christians believe will challenge Jesus Christ's
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second coming and spread universal evil, the military newspaper said.
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Stars and Stripes also confirmed a report that the six were members of a
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little known cult," The End of the World. " Although Army spokesmen in the
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pentagon said they had never heard of the cult, it is known to soldiers in
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West Germany, Stars and Stripes reported.
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The newspaper on Wednesday provided information from its story to the
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Pensacola News Journal.
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Stars and Stripes also reported the six gave away possessions to friends,
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including a $ 3,000.00 stereo system that belonged to Perlock, before they
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left. They also burned their records and books behind their barracks, the
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newspaper reported.
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Other soldiers who are members of End of the World were unhappy that they did
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not get to come to Pensacola to help destroy the Antichrist, Stars and
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Stripes stated.
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The term " End of the World " was written on doodles found in the room of one
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of the soldiers in Germany, said Maj. Joe Padilla, a spokesman at the
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Pentagon. He said he didn't know why they left Germany or anything about
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their religious beliefs.
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The soldiers had been sought since July 9 after they were discovered missing
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from West Germany, Robert Hall, an Army spokesman said Tuesday. Authorities
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don't know how they got to the United States.
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The soldiers were arrested after Pfc. Michael Hueckstaedt, 19, of Farson Wyo.
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had no drivers license, and warrants showed he was wanted for desertion from
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the Army, Gulf Breeze Police Chief Jerry Brown said.
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After officers called security police from Pensacola Naval Station to pick up
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Hueckstaedt, the Navy called back to say he was traveling with five other
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soldiers wanted for desertion or being absent without leave, Brown said.
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Police learned the five suspects might be at the home of Anna Foster in Gulf
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Breeze. Officers arrested the four men Saturday.
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Arrested were: Pfc. Kris Perlock, 20. of Oseola, Wis.; Spec. 4 Kenneth
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Beason, 26 of Jefferson City, Tenn.; Pfc. William Setterberg, 20, of
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Pittsburgh; and Spec. 4 Vance Davis, 25 of Valley Center, Kan.
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Foster apparently had befriended one of the men when he took courses in
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cryptology -coding and decoding-at Corry Station in Pensacola. Foster has not
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been charged and is believed to be involved only because she knew one of the
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men, police said.
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Police learned at Foster's home that the woman, Sgt. Annette Eccleston, 22,
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of Connecticut, hometown unavailable, was staying in a campground near Fort
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Pickens. She was arrested there.
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On Wednesday, Foster said she had been " advised not to make any comment
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until the investigation is over."
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"I don't know what to do. I know it's all real crazy right now. I feel very
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caught up in this. I was just being a nice person when I opened my house to a
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friend and his friends, " Foster said.
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The soldiers are in the stockade at Fort Benning, Columbus, GA. where they
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are being questioned by the Army, the CIA, the FBI, and the National Security
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Agency, an Army spokesman said.
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One of the six also told a Morristown, Tenn., man on July 7 that he was
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coming to Pensacola for the " Rapture, " a belief by some fundamentalists
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that all Christians will be taken to heaven seven years before the end of the
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world.
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All six of the soldiers held top-secret security clearances and were
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intelligence analysts assigned to intercepting, identifying and exploiting
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foreign communications, Padilla said.
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The six have not yet been charged, but Padilla said he doubted they would
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return to their unit in Germany. He said they are accused of being absent
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without authorization which could lead to formal charges of being absent
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without leave or desertion.
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When he was told of the Stars and Stripes report Wednesday, Brown said. " I
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don't believe that. Who is the Antichrist?"
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If the cult had talked about destroying the Antichrist, that person should
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have a name, he said.
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Beason, who bought the van on July 7, was described Wednesday as gullible by
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a friend who picked him up July 6 at McGee-Tyson Airport in Knoxville.
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" He was a very nice fellow but very gullible. He was one of these people who
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believed anything someone would tell him." Stan Johnson said.
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" The idea that he was arrested, or that he was hanging around with a
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cult-like group didn't surprise me. He kind of lives in a science fiction
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fantasy world sometimes."
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Johnson said he thinks he first met Beason in 1987 when Beason got out of the
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Army. Beason, he said, would hang around his Morristown photography business
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which specializes in advertising and industrial photography.
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Johnson said Beason talked very little about his work, but was very clearly
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interested in science, science fiction and unidentified flying objects.
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Johnson said Beason called him several weeks before he left West Germany to
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ask him to pick him up at the airport and look for a vehicle for him. Beason
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said he wanted a van, station wagon, or a big car that several people could
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ride in, Johnson said.
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When Beason arrived in Knoxville, Hueckstaedt was with him, Johnson said.
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" I was under the impression they were on leave and they were going to
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Pensacola to meet some friends," Johnson said.
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But Beason's interest in the Rapture and UFOs went beyond fake photos and
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writing, Johnson said.
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" A couple of years ago before he went back into the Army there was a book
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floating around the area predicting the end of the world. He really believed
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that, " Johnson said.
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" He did mention...about going to Pensacola for a UFO convention."
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Officials with the Mutual UFO Network, which held its 21st annual symposium
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in Pensacola July 6-8 could not say whether Beason or Huechstaedt attended
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any of the symposium sessions.
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Brown, however, discounted the possibility saying that Beason did not arrive
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in the area until July 9.
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