Posted by Tali Urulu III, Editor-in-Chief of the Seiber Islands Historical Journal on July 06, 2000 at 20:49:41:
In Reply to: Must have updated his patches mid-War by correspondence.. posted by The Captain on July 05, 2000 at 18:57:53:
I shared the Captain’s thought provoking response with Professor Klaus Werner Immerschreiben who just returned from a month’s active duty with Cutter’s Aero-Dragoons. The Professor informed me that the origin (and authenticity) of the jacket displayed in the Cutter Air Museum as “Jake Cutter’s Flying Jacket” (se web site below)has, in fact, become the subject of lively discussion amongst the senior members of the Seiber Islands Historical Society.
According to the Professor, there are at least three schools of thought on this issue:
1. The “Official” School led by Dr Husila Specht, Curator of the Cutter Air Museum. It argues that the jacket in the museum is the one given to Jake Cutter in September 1942 and that all of the patches now on the jacket were there at that time, with the possible exception of the “Flying Tigers” patch on the lower left sleeve. This school relies on Jake Cutter’s speech at the dedication of the new air terminal in 1958 when he donated the jacket to WOAC.
2. The “Revisionist” school led by Professor Immerschreiben. It argues that the jacket is the one given to Jake Cutter in 1942 but that most, if not all, of the patches now on the jacket were added later. This school relies on interviews of Jake Cutter conducted by the Professor’s father (Karl) from 1969 to 1971.
3. The “Really Revisionist” School led by Professor Oliver Stein. It argues that the real jacket was stolen and replaced with a crude copy by museum staff embarrassed by the loss, the United States Central Intelligence Agency, or G. Gordon Liddy. This school relies on reports that when Jake Cutter departed on his ill-fated flight in 1962 he was wearing a flight jacket like the one in the museum, as well on reports of similar jackets being spotted all over the United States.
As Editor-in-Chief of the Seiber Islands Historical Journal, I request that anyone having information on this issue contact me so that a full investigation can be conducted. I have also requested of Dr Husila Specht that I be permitted full access to the jacket itself so that all appropriate physical examinations, carbon-dating, and DNA testing can be conducted.