I called Weaver's original attorney in Boise several years ago and ased him about that and about the runmor that had been going for many months that Sammy and Vicki were cremated on the hill. He couldn;t come right out and say it, but he told me that Sammy and Vicki were not taken off the hill and that the feds disposed of their bodies...that's as far as he would go.
But more info direct and compelling info comes from Bo Gritz remarks and from trial testimony about the incident after he successfully negotiated an end to the stand-off. Here's what he said about what happened to degan.
Kevin Harris was next on the scene. Harris was a tall, 25 year old with gentle features. He had fallen some distance behind as Sammy ran ahead to catch Striker. Kevin moved to pick Sammy up, but was driven off by a din of automatic weapons fire. Senior Deputy U.S. Marshal William F. Degan, Jr., 42, was a hero, the most honored Marshal in 203-years of service. Seeking to get a better shot at Kevin, he left his covered position and fired on the run (seven shell-casing strung out behind) as he moved toward the trail. Degan crossed directly in front of Larry Cooper. Cooper testified: "I aimed at the target and pulled the trigger. The target fell like a sack of potatoes." The first bullet struck Degan’s tactical backpack spinning him to the left (shown in court). The second round went through his chest. Degan’s last words were directed toward Cooper: "Coop...I...you...," but it was already too late. It was the first time since 1951 that a U.S. Marshal was killed in Idaho.
At this point, having years of close combat experience, I can describe with high confidence what happened. Degan, unlike Cooper, was used to being under fire. Unable to hear Cooper’s silenced rounds, Degan crossed his line of fire. I have observed many inexperienced men doing their best to control fear as they engage the enemy. As any Vietnam combat infantry vet will tell you, it was typical to see new men firing from ambush with their arms over-head, and faces down! William Degan was shot by one of his own, while he maneuvered to kill Harris in the fusillade of fire. Cooper, admittedly afraid, had no idea his target was the running camouflaged Degan. Indeed, Degan did fall like a sack of potatoes.
Jeff, your efforts to add the well known detail to a gigantically screwed up thread are great sunlight for those that are not well versed in this incident. Unfortunately, there are those that don't know of your good efforts in the past and won't realize that the other 98% stuff posted here is just that...Idle stuff.
I thought it was interesting how this was parsed in the government reports. Gunfire exchanged. Marshall dead. That sort of bare bones report leads one to think that there's some uncomfortable details in what's not said.