The C.V. Pratt Interview.

🧭 Retired Colonel, professor, and master researcher Dr. C.V. Pratt joins Coach Dini to explore America’s most enduring treasure legends through his new book If I Were You: A Treasure Hunter’s Guide to America’s Lost & Hidden Treasures. 🏴‍☠️📖 Blending military strategy, historical narrative, and real-world treasure methodology, Dr. Pratt reveals how preparation, patience, and critical thinking separate myth from discovery. From Confederate gold to lost Spanish galleons, this conversation dives into history, adventure, and the mindset of those who refuse to stop searching. Tune in for a journey where discipline meets discovery. ✨

Website: https://cvpratt.com/
Amazon: IF I WERE YOUhttps://a.co/d/7qb9A8D

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Episode Credits:
Produced, edited, mixed, and written by Demetrius "Whodini Blak" Reynolds, Sr.
Artwork designed by Demetrius "Whodini Blak" Reynolds, Sr.
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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
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(00:24):
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Speaker 2 (00:27):
We welcome all.

Speaker 1 (00:28):
Enjoy the show. Ladies and gentlemen, Please welcome your host
Demitrius who Demi Black Reynolds. Enjoy the show.

Speaker 3 (00:44):
Hey, Hey, Hey, what is going on? Guys, and welcome
to another incredible episode of Vigilantes your radio live right
here on iHeartRadio. My name is Deanie and I'm your
host for tonight. I do have to say that this
particular episode is recorded, so I can't wait to deliver
it to your inboxes and for you guys to subscribe

(01:06):
to the show. You will be the first to know
and I always appreciate that. Before we bring our guests on,
I do want to say that you know this is
the frequency of the fearless. Some people Chase answered, others
Chase Avenger, our guest today has done both with precision,

(01:27):
with patience, and with purpose. After thirty five years of
military service, he didn't retire from discovery. He redirected it
from battle planning to bury legends. He applies strategy not
just to warfare, but to wonder because whether you are

(01:49):
uncovering lost treasure or uncovering truth, preparation determines that outcome.
You're not just here for a talk show. And this
isn't this radio. This is revival for your mind, body,
and spirit. This is Vigilantes Radio Live. My name is
Coach Deani. Are you ready?

Speaker 2 (02:17):
Are you ready?

Speaker 3 (02:23):
Are you radio radio?

Speaker 2 (02:29):
Are you ready?

Speaker 3 (02:34):
We'll let it go.

Speaker 4 (02:35):
Let's go, all.

Speaker 3 (02:37):
Right, all right again, Welcome to the show. You're listening
to vr L. That is Vigilantes Radio Live right here
on iHeart Radio, and I am your host, Deani. Our
interviews are designed to go beyond music, news, books, art, acting, films, technology, education, entrepreneurship, entertainment, spirituality,

(02:58):
and sometimes even past that thing that we call the ego.
Our interviews are designed to go behind the scenes into
the minds of these brilliant human beings, you know, the
ones ab out there giving it They're all for me,
for you, and for the world. Well, ladies and gentlemen,
our special guests for tonight.

Speaker 4 (03:17):
Doctor C. V.

Speaker 3 (03:18):
Pratt, as a retired US Air Force colonel with thirty
five years of service, Thank you, sir for your service.
An assistant professor at National Defense University and Air University,
and a lifelong treasure hunter. My kind of guy. Inspired
by legendary researcher W. C. Jamison, he merges military strategy

(03:42):
with historical investigation to uncover America's.

Speaker 4 (03:47):
Lost and hidden treasures.

Speaker 3 (03:49):
His book, If I Were You blends captivating history with
practical research mythology that equips readers to think like a sploil.
So please join me in saying welcome friend to see
the pract Hey, Hey, hey, welcome to the show.

Speaker 5 (04:10):
Hey, thanks so much, thanks for having me on today.
I really appreciate it.

Speaker 4 (04:15):
Absolutely, man.

Speaker 3 (04:16):
We are so excited to have you here and pick
your brains about the science behind this book and the
person that you are. So before we really just kick
off things, what's been on your heart and mind lately?

Speaker 5 (04:32):
Well, you know, I've been here in Saudi Arabia the
last three years so to speak. Post military retirement, I
was offered a contract to come out here and teach
joint planning joint education to the Saudi Arabian military year.
So I've kind of been here, which has given me
a lot of time to do a lot of research

(04:55):
and writing until it's been really good. But that all
ends coming home here in two days and rady to
start doing a lot of treasure hunting myself with my
wife and you know, actually get into the boots on
the ground part, the ten percent part of treasure hunting

(05:17):
for me. So I'm really excited to be coming home
and engage in this chapter of my life.

Speaker 4 (05:25):
Absolutely.

Speaker 3 (05:26):
Man, is there something in particular that you are hunting for?
Are searching for that?

Speaker 4 (05:31):
Yeah?

Speaker 5 (05:31):
So yeah, you know. So of the three volumes, the
name of the volume series is called If I Were
You and a Treasure Hunter's Guide to America's Lost and
Hidden Treasure. And so basically I've taken fifty eight stories,
legends and myths, and then individually each chapter breaks down

(05:56):
that myth or story whatever it is, and gather all
this research and come up, you know, with a chapter
with an antia bibliography, extremely researched and verified. And so
of the fifty eight chapter I have picked four there.
I think they're all gettable personally the way I've written

(06:19):
this and given coordinance, you know, I've done the ninety
percent of the work for the reader to go out
and do the boots on the ground. But of those
fifty eight, I've selected four that my wife Katie and
I are going to go on next year because you know,
I just really fascinated and fascinated with all the stories
because they're all just fascinating. But you know, these four

(06:43):
I think we would like to really dig down on
and so that that's what we'll be doing next year.
The one I'm really going to go after first here
probably the next two days is justin Posey's Treasure. That's
chapter It's a volume one, and yeah, I think I

(07:03):
have a really good solution on that. So I think
we're gonna head up that way and into Montana and
give our give our you know chances they're a good job.
So that that's what's going on in the interview.

Speaker 3 (07:18):
Wow, man, it sounds like you live in a citing,
exciting life.

Speaker 5 (07:24):
Well, it has been exciting, I say that.

Speaker 4 (07:29):
All right.

Speaker 3 (07:30):
So this is our legacy check in. When future seekers
read your work, what do you hope they understand about preparation,
about patience and the pursuit of truth.

Speaker 5 (07:43):
So and that's part of my whole methodology I wrote.
The fourth book is really talking about methodology. I call
it the ninety Rule, and it's a methodology for planning,
prepar and recovery of treasure. And so I think I

(08:05):
felt like I owed the readers the behind the scenes
look of how I take a story or myth or
legend and then break it down to its basic you know,
sources and storylines and history. One of my degrees. I
have a master's in US military history as well, and

(08:27):
so I'm really fascinated with with with history, and so
I want to take that apart, look at the environment
you know at the time, is the seventeenth century, eighteenth century,
nineteenth century, you know what part of the country are
we in. So I just kind of do this environmental scanning,

(08:48):
and then I get into is this applausible you know,
target this treasure to get? And so, like I said,
I go through this whole planning process which is iterated
in this sport book coming out here in a few days.
But what I want my readers to get out of is, hey, listen,
do the ninety percent at home, right, don't spend all

(09:12):
the dollars out there, you know, roots on the ground
to spend their time and money do all the preparation. Now,
he is a ninety percent now, so that the ten
percent on the boots on the ground will be efficient,
effective and have a higher chance of recovery. Then. The
other thing I really want to emphasize and tell this

(09:33):
to my readers in a couple of my chapters is
you know, treasure, you know, gold, silver, you know, whatever
is out there is often there because of some sort
of human tragedy. Okay, whether it's a massacre of a
Spanish mule train going through the lava beds of Mexico,

(09:55):
whether it's a stagecoach robbery where people are bill I mean,
a lot of this gold and and and hidden treasures
and lost minds, you know, have have blood all over it.

Speaker 6 (10:10):
And so I like to walk cautiously and respectfully while
searching for this history because it often has been resulted
from some sort.

Speaker 5 (10:21):
Of very very hard tragedy and a bloody tragedy. So
that that's kind of you know, in the preparation, like
you know, keep in mind, you know, of really what
this treasure is and finally that the treasure, to me
is not just a physical thing that we may get

(10:42):
out of the ground, whether it's a lost mind or
you know, recovering a stagecoach, strong box or something like that.
The real treasure is in the journey itself. Doing this research,
really finding out the history, digging into the history. The
stories of these people are just in credible. The times
that they, you know, lived in, are just incredibly and

(11:05):
sometimes very violent. And so as you go through the
journey and then finally the boots on the ground discovery,
getting out in there the wilderness and mountains and trails,
what have you, is that that is the real intangible treasure.
And that's what I have found. I found gratefulfillment and

(11:25):
just doing the research, the planning and the preparation.

Speaker 4 (11:30):
Yeah, that's incredible.

Speaker 2 (11:31):
Man.

Speaker 3 (11:33):
Your book is titled If I were you, Why did
you frame the journey from the reader's perspective rather than
your own?

Speaker 5 (11:42):
Yeah, that's a good question. I get that all the time.
So I've been here in Saudi Arabia for three years.
I retired from from the military in twenty twenty three
after thirty five years, and you know, so that's been busy. Listen, Afghanistan, Iraq,
you teaching at the Joint Cources cap College Command. So

(12:03):
I really didn't have a whole lot of time to
get out there and do the books on the ground.
And so I was going to do that as soon
as you know, I retired, and then this thing came
up with Saudi Arabia. So you know, I come home
every a few months for a couple of weeks, but
you know, I spent that with my wife and my family.

(12:25):
But you know, the insatiable means and this frustration to
call these you know, stories was incredible. It all started
with a book from that my daughter gave me from w. C.
Jamison called Boss Treasures of American History. And they're just
small stories. These aren't big eight hundred words, twelve hundred words.

Speaker 4 (12:48):
WC.

Speaker 5 (12:48):
Was just reitererating a story from his research, and I
just found that invigorating, and I'm like, there's got to
be solutions here. How can I come up with some
sort of methodology to to do the research to actually
you know, give someone a chance myself included, to go

(13:09):
recover some of these treasures. And so as I dug
into some of these stories, I began to take notes
and you know, just I just did a lot of
a dog with a phone. I just could not let
it go. And on one story, which is a great story,
I think it's in volume one of my book series.

(13:33):
It really focuses on the Spanish galley lost Spanish gallion
in the California Desert, which is, you know, intriguing already,
how you know a Spanish galleon in the desert and
how that happened. And so I did all this research
and it was like a binder, and so I'm looking
at this blonder research and I'm like, how can I
consolidate this into something that is entertaining, changible, collects all

(13:58):
the data, the evidence co ordinance my methodology, and so
I consolidated it down to what it incredibly became a chapter,
six thousand and seven thousand words, you know, a chapter.
And I said, wow, that seems really like something. And

(14:18):
so that's what got me started. But if I were
you became because I couldn't go there. I'm in Saudi Arabia.
I couldn't go do this right now. I wanted to
go to the California Desert. I wanted to go see
Justin Posey's Treasure. You know, I wanted to go to
the lava beds in New Mexico, which my wife and
I actually did when I was home here recently. But

(14:41):
so I figured, you know, if I can't do it right,
and certainly I'm not going to go recover all this
treasure on my own. It's just that's this vast amount
of times, why should I hold this information for myself
in this age where we could, you know, share these adventures.
For did it through his poem justin Posey did it

(15:03):
just like Forrest Finn. And so I'm like, you know,
I want people to get out there and enjoy this journey.
So that's why I called it If I Were You
a Treasure Hunter's Guide to America's Loss Hidden Treasure. And specifically,
in each chapter, as I sum up the chapter with
the story being retold, with the research, the data, the

(15:26):
coordinates and methodology, at the very end, I go, if
I were you, it's the steps to recovery, and there
would be six or seven steps of Hey, if I
were you, I would go do this right. So that's
I did it from this kind of third person perspective
because I want people to take my methodology my research,

(15:49):
and somehow benefit from that by going out and doing
some treasure hunter hunting on their own. Let me do
the ninety percent, you do the ten percent. So that's
how it came about.

Speaker 3 (16:00):
Man, it sounds awesome, sounds like your book. It could
be a map companion.

Speaker 5 (16:06):
Or yeah, I would, I would. Yeah, I would look
at it as kind of a map, a map to
uh and a guide. And that's why I call it
a treasure actor's guide is a guide to go recover
these treasures. But from what I told that, I feel
it is, you know, it's an inter very intriguing storytelling

(16:26):
the way I'm telling these stories, and so it's not
just telling a story. It's really kind of getting into
the who, what, where, when, and why the story while
you're in this story. And and uh, you know, I've
been told it's been very entertaining, quite a page turner.
So uh so there's that benefit. It's not it's not dry,
it's actually entertaining. You actually want to read it.

Speaker 3 (16:48):
Yeah, yeah, And I actually like that you know that
you're providing further context into the origins.

Speaker 5 (16:57):
Yeah, you know, uh, you know, these stories don't just
you know, come out of thin air right in every legend,
in every myth, no matter if it's been retold through generations,
whether it's from Indian tribes in Arizona or New Mexico,
where you know, maybe some of these stories have just
been passed down through their their you know, telling of

(17:19):
their stories, their their narrative history. And so you know,
to coalesce that, you know, whether people have done it
for the interviews, whether it's showed up in a in
a you know, newspaper article in San Francisco, and you know,
eighteen seventy four, you know, just taken these stories and
then who else you know has written about this? Go

(17:43):
out there doing an environmental scan and and kind of
a lit review and find out, you know, where else
is the story being told. Coalesce everything together and get
a more holistic picture from all the parts. So my stories,
I think, really kind of do that and bring these
bring these legends to life, so to speak. And I

(18:06):
find it fascinating personally, the history buffet. So you know,
I hope my readers enjoy that perspective as well.

Speaker 3 (18:15):
Absolutely, you know, many people romanticize treasure hunting. What's the
reality wants to research begins and the patience is tested.

Speaker 5 (18:28):
Yeah, the reality is that things are not always what
they seem in the field. So as much research as
you do, much topical graphical maps that you look at,
as much satellite imagery as you look at, as much
light ar imagery that you look at, nothing replaces actually

(18:50):
have in your boots on the ground in the space.
Let me give you an example. My wife and I
went to the lava beds of New Mexico, and from
satellite imagery, I have a really good idea where the
target is and I actually tell my readers in that chapter.
I think it's a volume one, the Lost Mule trained

(19:11):
Spanish meal Train and the lava beds in New Mexico.
And you know when we traveled there, we traveled for
Santonio's twelve hours to get there, and when we got there,
to actually see the lava beds, to actually see the
canyons that you're in, and how the lava bed pushes
you to what I call them narrows, which is just

(19:32):
find know, three four or five hundred foot cliffs of
just sandstone on your left hand side. And to see
these areas, you know, they're just enormous. You just don't
you don't get that perspective, you know, from from satellite
or map imagery until you're actually there. So that's kind

(19:53):
of what I've learned in doing the foods to the
ground processes. Do as much as you can before you
get there, because when you get there, what you've done
now will marry up with the actual environment and that
will help solve some riddles too. You know, how how
could they have climbed this to you know, take cover. Well,

(20:15):
when you actually go there, you could see the actual
steps in the trails that they used and so and
you not necessarily can't see that from from satellite. So
that's what I've learned. The boots on the ground is important. Now,
I will say this, I've seen treasure hunters in the
past without all this technology and research ability and methodology.

(20:38):
They just kind of take a story and then head
out and go look. And I know this one researcher
looked for the atoms digions, which I think I've done
a very good job of pinpointing this loss Z Canyon
they call it. And you know, he searched for twelve years.
He's spent a fortune investors' money go into these different

(21:00):
things that he thought was the z Canyon where these
Adams diggings, the Steps of Religion, you know, was and
he thought he found it. He was happy because he
thought he found it. Well, I found that he was
not in the right spot and I had found the
Act Canyon. But he didn't have that technology back then.

(21:21):
He didn't have Google, or he didn't have USGS maps
available to you at any time. You know, he didn't
have the benefit of all the research history of the
environment that I had access. So, you know, don't just
go just don't take a mask and an idea and
go out there. You have to do the hard research before.

(21:43):
And this will take sometimes not just weeks, but months
to coalesce your notebook, right, Like I didn't let that
notebook so that you can go out with fair amount
of confidence that you're in the right target area and
you're not searching for years for something.

Speaker 4 (22:04):
Yeah, now this was just for fun.

Speaker 3 (22:06):
But being in the military, do you get access to
special maps that civilians can't see?

Speaker 5 (22:15):
I wouldn't say so. I mean in any maps that
you know I would have access on a classified level
really would give you any more than what you know
Google Earth or USGS maps or you know, there's another
called Earth Explore, which is I think it's rammed by
the Department of Interior. You know. I think anyone with

(22:38):
some sort of you know, research account or if you're
a teacher or a student, can get an account for
that mapping feature. And it's got pretty good detail. It
can get you down, you know, maybe a little bit
more detail than Google Earth, but they're very close. So
I wouldn't say I have any special access. I just

(23:00):
I'm pretty bullheaded and tenacious. So if I if I
really want to get something closed on a target area,
I'm going to use all kinds of different resources. I'll
even call the town itself all the mayor called the
city hall. Hey, I see this feature just northwest of

(23:22):
your town. Can you tell me more about it? Right?
You know, called vocals shall say've been there the whole life,
so maybe they know a little bit more about the
feature that you can't find from from that and then
if everything lines up, then you know, then you can
go with with some confidence. But I wouldn't say I
have any you know, more access than anyone else. I

(23:45):
think what I do have that a lot of people
don't is all these many years of not only joint
planning and warfare planning you know, at a macro level
for very large events. But I've been teaching it for
you know, twelve years, two hundreds and hundreds of students
to joint planning process and you know, the operational design

(24:09):
and the art of operational art and warfare. So all
that is just really planning, doing the research and planning
how to infiltrate and overcome your enemy. Well in this case,
it's planning how to decode and how to get you know,
to a target area that has a high level of success,

(24:33):
you know, for what you're looking for. And I think
that's where you know, a lot of people don't have
that experience that I bring to the table.

Speaker 3 (24:41):
Yeah, yeah, but I bet it's real fun having to
you know, call a town and speak to different people
about the stories.

Speaker 4 (24:50):
Or the legends that happened there.

Speaker 3 (24:52):
And your experience with doing that, have you found that
the art of storytelling is lost or is it?

Speaker 4 (24:59):
Or is it the same?

Speaker 5 (25:02):
Well, you know, any story that you get, especially if
it hasn't been written down that it's legend, you can
imagine it's a you know, like AE hundred or two
hundred year old, a telephone story, right so this person
tells this person, We tell this person through generations, and
so the story you get is has has to be

(25:27):
filtered through generational telling. And so, you know, I think
the stories are still rich. If I call a town
and I, you know, talk about this specific story and
they go, oh, yeah, you know, that's old budgeon around here.
You know, they'll tell me more about it. And does
it match the book? Does it match the story that

(25:50):
I pulled from nineteen thirty eight? Probably not exactly. It
will harmonize with it, it will rhyme with it, it will
sound close to it. But remember, you know, if I
pulled the article from nineteen thirty eight that was done
off a generational storytelling, you know, and that was you know,
ninety years ago or eighty years ago, the then yeah,

(26:13):
I'm going to get someone's version of what they think
they read or how they read it. And so these
stories evolved and in my process, and my fourth book
is called Decoding America's Lossing and Treasure is taking that story,
that generational story and breaking it down to its fundamental

(26:35):
levels and then rebuilding it with everyone's perspective that has
told the story and then come up with some you know,
logical analysis from that point, and that's where they come alive,
and that's where we discover things. I have just made
some incredible discoveries by re reputting the puzzle back together

(26:59):
from all these different theriatives and go, wow, I bet this,
I bet this never came out, you know, And so
that that's what's what's really nice about doing that kind
of research and talking to locals.

Speaker 3 (27:12):
Absolutely, c V, where can our listeners pick up a
copy of your book?

Speaker 5 (27:18):
So I'm on Amazon. I got three three volumes out
right now. So if you just look up c V Pratt,
c V T R A T you know, in there
it'll come up you'll see my three volumes. Another way, uh,
and that's paperback, hardback and kindle. Another way you can

(27:39):
do it is go to my website, which is Cvpratt
dot com. And if you go to my website, you'll
see all the books and you can also you can
it also has a link to Amazon, but it also
has a link to where you can download the book
through as a PDF and epub or audiobook, so it's

(28:01):
available on all fourmats. Go to my website and then
it'll get you to a mechanism to where you could
purchase a copy. And yeah, that's how they can get
ahold of the book. I hope they go out there
and look for it, and I think they'll find it.
Even if they don't intend on doing any hardcore treasure hunting,

(28:21):
I think they're just a fascinating, entertaining series of stories.

Speaker 3 (28:25):
So anyway, absolutely, all right, listeners, just in case you
need those links, no worries. I will have them in
the description of this episode and in the show notes.
I made it super easy, so all you guys have
to do is just click the links. And that was
doctor cv Pratt proof that curiosity doesn't retire and discovery

(28:48):
never stops. His book, If I Were You, A Treasure
Hunter's Guide to America's Lost and Hitting Treasure is available
now on Amazon, and more information can be found at
cv pratt dot com. Whether you're searching for history of
venture or meaning. Remember, preparation is power, as he introduced

(29:08):
a ninety percent rule, and uh yeah, go forward. My
name is Coachtini and you've just tapped into the frequency
of the fear that.

Speaker 4 (29:18):
Thank you so much, TV. It was a pleasure.

Speaker 5 (29:21):
Yeah, thanks so much, appreciate it.

Speaker 4 (29:23):
All right, take care he's to all.

Speaker 2 (29:27):
My name is Deanie and I am the host of
Vigilantes Radio Live. I think that we are beyond just
asking cool questions getting cool responses. I think that we
are here as creatives to provide an example that you

(29:48):
can do things different outside of expectations, because some of
us simply were not born into the club. But there
is perhaps a door, window, backgate that we can leave
a clue for you to get into. Life is short,

(30:08):
but there are plenty of moments to try and get
it right. Pursuing your dreams and learning from mistakes may
be tough, but regret it's tougher to book your interview.
Email us at v radio at only one MediaGroup dot com.
That's a V as in victorious, or visit only onemediagroup

(30:32):
dot com. I'm counting on you, Heaven. We all are
counting on you to step into your purpose and your passion.
You are listening to Vigilantes Radio Live on iHeartRadio, providing
you with an opportunity to dive deeper.

Speaker 1 (31:15):
You and now listening to vigil Lances Radio, the people's
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