The Unforgotten – Season 3: Finding Dolores Wulff

Episode 4: Uncle Slick
Date: August 25, 2025
Hosts: Kyle Bonagura, Adam Rittenberg
Production: Free Range Productions

Overview

This episode explores the remarkable life and influence of Matthew J. “Slick” Rocha—uncle to Tom and Paul Wolf, and brother to the missing Dolores Wulff. Slick emerges as a complex figure: once a paratrooper in the 101st Airborne, a protector during the desegregation crisis in Little Rock, and later a shadowy operative in Vietnam. After Dolores's disappearance, Slick became a guardian and a father figure to her sons, providing stability—and at one point, considering vigilante justice. Through family stories, personal testimony, and first-hand interviews, the episode paints a portrait of a man whose history of violence stands in stark contrast with his nurturing role at home.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Slick’s Immediate Response to Dolores’s Disappearance

[01:05–03:18]

• When Slick learns his sister Dolores has vanished, he is prepared to do whatever is necessary to find answers—even contemplating extralegal measures (“Plan B”).
  • Quote:
    “I was going to take him up to the hills west of here, tie him to a tree...and say, well, you got two choices, Wolf. You can tell me or the police tomorrow where she's at or I can blow your head off.”
    —Matthew J. Rocha (Slick), [02:07]
• Family intervention stops him for the sake of Dolores’s children and his own freedom.
  • “They all came to me...you gotta raise DeLorean's [Dolores’s] kids and if you kill him, you'll go to jail...that’s why plan B never transpired, which was for the best.”
    —Slick, [03:02]

2. The Loss—and the Aftermath—For Tom & Paul

[04:17–06:17]

• Dolores’s sons, Paul (12) and Tom (teenager), not only lose their mother but, due to scandal, are isolated socially.
  • Quote:
    "You can tell people are talking around you...kids just not having a filter...my parents don't want me to hang out with you...How could you not be embarrassed when you're 14 or 15...?”
    —Paul Wolf, [04:59]
• Moving in with Slick and cousins provides stability, fun, and surrogate family bonds.

3. Farm Disneyland: A Childhood Sanctuary

[05:39–07:09]

• Paul and Tom, now living with extended family in farmland, find a sort of idyll in chaos.
  • Quote:
    “We had a barn and horses and cows and pigs...it was like some type of farm Disneyland...hide and seek till three in the morning, hiding on other people's property.”
    —Matt Rocha Jr., [06:40]
• Camaraderie and shared activities (sports, chores) create a protective bubble.

4. Slick the Protector and the Family Anchor

[09:14–12:35]

• Both Tom and Paul speak with deep emotion and admiration for their uncle’s selflessness and steady presence.
  • Quote (Tom):
    "He's kind of like Popeye. He's got those arms...But that being said, his heart was so big."
    —Tom Wolf, [09:14]
  • Quote (Paul):
    "He was just always there for any of us. Didn't matter in what capacity. And he never demanded anything or asked anything in return. He just was always there."
    —Paul Wolf, [10:05]
  • Quote (Paul):
    "The most impressive man I've ever met...His selflessness is off the chart."
    —Paul Wolf, [12:35]

5. Slick’s Approach to Grief and Raising His Nephews

[11:02–11:48]

• Slick chooses not to burden the boys with constant updates or speculation about their mother, deferring instead to Tom to talk to Paul gently.
  • Quote:
    "The only talking about any of that kind of stuff to him was Tom, his brother. Always quiet. Like as if she just moved into another place and nothing happened. Well, obviously he knew something happened."
    —Slick, [11:02]

6. Coaching, Nicknames, and Community Impact

[11:48–14:48]

• Slick's influence extends beyond family—he coaches local youth, earning the nickname “Slick” and giving one to everyone he meets, fostering connection and mentorship.
  • Quote:
    “I'm great with nicknames. I coached, who knows, 5,000 kids and I had a nickname for every one of them, including my own kids."
    —Slick, [14:06]

"Slick" – The Man Behind the Name

Slick’s Early Years and Military Recruitment

[19:25–21:48]

• Recruited into the U.S. Army at a young age, Slick rapidly advances through rigorous training, joining an elite group in the 101st Airborne Division.
  • Quote:
    "Our class, which starts with a thousand, graduated 234. They're running you through the ringer...That's like my old man. They gonna make me quit."
    —Slick, [20:15]

7. Historic Moments: Little Rock Nine

[22:47–25:30]

• Slick is part of the personal security detail protecting the Black students integrating Little Rock Central High School amid violence and threats.
  • Quote:
    “You go down there during those days, if you're a black man or a woman, you're walking along the street at nighttime, they're like, will grab you and kill you. That's how bad it was.”
    —Slick, [24:43]
  • Slick provided protection, mentoring, and sometimes fierce physical defense against threats.
  • Historical context:
    “The Hundred First Airborne soldiers protected us in a way no one else could...They were fearless, strong and prepared for anything the mob might try. As we headed to school, it felt like we were headed to war.”
    —Elizabeth Eckford, as quoted, [27:25]

8. Special Operations in Vietnam

[28:41–33:17]

• Sent on covert missions: parachuting alone into enemy territory to assassinate leaders, destroy ammunition, and survive on minimal rations.
  • Quote:
    "You had to kill them using a knife. I know this sounds cold blooded but that's I don’t know what other way you can say it...I would have killed them if they got violent physical."
    —Slick, [28:41 and 26:12]
• Compartmentalized violence: Slick is matter-of-fact, describing life-or-death choices and the necessity of killing in war, but also the growing emotional toll.
• Conflict with a comrade reveals a limit to Slick’s justification of violence; he kills his Green Beret partner after witnessing the murder of innocents.
  • Quote:
    “He’s a son of a bitch. Kills an old man and a kid and a lady and a little kid. That ain't war. That's a butcher.”
    —Slick, [32:17]

9. The Long Shadow of War

[34:45–36:08]

• After discharge, Slick returns home changed, and for decades doesn't discuss the true nature of his service—even with his family.

10. Family Realization & Reckoning

[38:52–42:53]

• Watching Platoon with his sons triggers an emotional revelation about his Vietnam experiences.
  • Quote:
    “He probably became the most emotional I’ve ever seen him. He started crying, and then he told me...he was in Vietnam. And we probably sat and talked for hours...”
    —David, [38:52]
• Slick confesses he would disconnect emotionally to cope with his actions, even conjuring the idea that someone was threatening his mom or sister to fuel his “frenzy.”
  • Quote:
    “I would have to convince myself that somebody was harming my mom and my sister to work myself into a frenzy.”
    —Slick, via Matt Jr., [40:43]

11. Aftermath, Personality, and Community Presence

[43:30–52:07]

• Despite profound trauma, Slick is described as mellow, gentle, and a source of calm, channeling his past toward mentorship and presence rather than violence.
  • Quote:
    “He was super mellow because he had seen the worst. So nothing was worth getting worked up about.”
    —Matt Jr., [43:30]
• Family, friends, and the hosts reflect on the extraordinary contrast—how Slick went from being an elite soldier and “instrument of violence” to a revered family man and youth coach.
• His military records are likely lost to the 1973 fire at the National Personnel Records Center—a reminder that much of history depends on memory and oral testimony.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On his philosophy of war:
  “Are you willing to die for your country? I said, if it’s a good cause, I’m willing to die...You have no problem killing anybody? No, I ain’t got no problem killing anybody. Especially at war. You better kill them before they kill you.”
  —Slick, [21:48]
• On the burden of past violence:
  “After I got out a couple years and I thought back of the guys I killed, it started dawning on me. They had wives, they had kids. And then I started feeling terrible. Terrible.”
  —Slick, [35:21]

Reflections from the Hosts

[45:58–49:33]

• The disconnect between Slick’s humble present and his outsized role in U.S. history is palpable.
  • Quote:
    “You would pass by this place on the edge of Woodland before it kind of turns into the fields and never think there was someone inside who had the impact on American history that Slick had.”
    —Adam Rittenberg, [45:58]
• The hosts are deeply affected by Slick’s directness and authenticity, especially regarding war and the violence he committed.
• They discuss the remarkable restraint Slick showed in not exacting revenge against Carl Wolf, despite having the skills and rationale.
  • Quote:
    “Instead of acting on that impulse, he chose to keep the promise he made to his sister to raise her sons. That decision didn’t just spare a life. It gave Paul and Tom a chance at a better future.”
    —Kyle Bonagura, [49:47]

Final Thoughts & Legacy

[52:07–52:47]

• If humanity can survive trauma and choose positive paths, Slick serves as testament.
  • Quote:
    “He was obviously the glue for not only his own family, but our family and so many other people and just an unbelievable human just in every which way.”
    —Paul Wolf, [52:47]

Key Timestamps

• [01:05] Slick’s plan for vengeance and restraint
• [04:17] Immediate impact of Dolores’s disappearance on her sons
• [06:40] “Farm Disneyland” childhood
• [09:14, 10:05, 12:35] Family reflections on Slick’s impact
• [14:06] Nickname origin stories
• [19:25] Slick’s military recruitment
• [22:47] Little Rock Nine story begins
• [28:41] Vietnam covert operations described
• [34:45] Reflections on the cost of killing
• [38:52] Slick reveals his wartime past to his sons
• [45:58] Hosts reflect on meeting Slick
• [49:47] Slick’s restraint after Dolores’s disappearance
• [52:07] Paul on the legacy of having Slick as a mentor

Conclusion

“Uncle Slick” reveals a man whose life traverses the darkest and brightest of human experience: from war and covert violence to providing love, protection, and mentorship to orphaned nephews and an entire community. His story is a stark meditation on resilience, transformation, and the quiet power of chosen family. The episode stands as a testament to how, even in the aftermath of tragedy and trauma, one person’s presence can make all the difference.

Next time:
The spotlight shifts back to Carl Wolf as the family’s continual pressure on law enforcement begins to build toward a long-awaited reckoning.