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· FOIA Number: 2006-0476-F FOIA MARKF:R This is not a textual record. This is used as an administrative marker by the William J. Clinton Presidential Llbrary Staff. Collection/Record Group: Clinton Presidential Records Subgroup/Office of Origin: Records Management - SUBJECT FILE Series/Staff Member: Subseries: OAIID Number: 14087 Scan ID: 243544 Document Number: Folder Title: OS Stack: S Row: 86 -Section: 1 Shelf: 6 Position: 3 WithdrawaJ/Redaction Sheet Clinton Library DOCUMENT NO. SUBJECT/TITLE DATE RESTRICTION AND TYPE OOIa. declaration Edgar Mitchell address (Partial) (1 page) 711997 P6/b(6) OOIb. declaration Gordon Cooper address (~artial) (1 page) 711997 P6/b(6) ODIc. declaration Robert R. Scott address (Partial) (1 page) . 711997 P6/b(6) OOId. declaration Frederick C. Blesse address (Partial) (1 page) 7/1997 P6/b(6) DOle. declaration Harry N. Cordes address (Partial) (1 page) 7/1997 . P6/b(6) 00 If. letter Caroline Dark to Kent Jeffrey address (Partial) (1 page) 02/16/1995 P6/b(6) COLLECTION: Clinton Presidential Records WHORM Su~ject File-General OS OAlBox Number: 14087 FOLDER TITLE: 243544 RESTRICTION CODES 2006-0476-F ds256 Presidential Records Act -144 U.S.c. 2204(a») PI National Security Classified Information (a)(I) orthe PRA) P2 Relating to the appointment to Federal office [(a)(2) of the PRA] P3 Release would violate a Federal statute [(a)(3) of the PRA) P4 Release would disclose trade secrets or confidential commercial or financial information [(a)(4) of the PRA] P5 Release would disclose confidential advice between the President and his advisors, or between such advisors la)(5) of thePRA) P6 Release would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy )(a)(6) of the PRA) C. Closed in accordance with restrictions contained in donor's deed of gift. PRM. Personal record misfile defined in accordance with 44 LS.C. 2201(3). RR. Document will be reviewed upon request. Freedom of Information Act -(5 U.S.c. S52(b») b(I) National security classified information l(b)(I) ofthe FOIA] b(2) Release would disclose internal personnel rules and practices of an agency l(b)(2) of the FOIA] . b(3) Release. would violate a Federal statute [(b)(3) of the FOIAI b(4) Release would disclose trade secrets or confidential or financial . information l(b)(4) of the FOIAI I b(6) Release would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy [(b )(6) of the FOIA 1 b(7) Release would disclose information compiled for law enforcement purposes [(b)(7) of the FOIA) b(8) Release would disclose information concerning the regulation of financial institutions l(b)(8) of the FOIAI b(9) Release would disclose geological or geophysical information concerning wells [(b)(9) of the FOIAj ID# 243544 THE ,WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENCE TRACKING WORKSHEET INCOMING os' DATE RECEIVED: NOVEMBER ,24, 1997 NAME OF CORRESPONDENT: MR. KENT JEFFREY SUBJECT: SUBMITS STATEMENT KNOWN AS THE ROSWELL DECLARATION THAT REQUESTS A MANDATED POLICY OF OPENNESS ON THE PART OF U.S.' GOVERNMENT KNOWLEDGE IT MIGHT 'ACQUIRE ABOUT UFO'S' ACTION DISPOSITION ROUTE TO:, ACT DATE TYPE C COMPLETED OFFICE/AGENCY (STAFF NAME) CODE YY/MM/DD RESP D YY/MM/DD KYLE BAKER "d ' ORG ,97/11/24 C 97/11/24 REFERRAL NOT :,SEE COMMENTS-=~~~~~~______'~h~~n Q/l ' DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE -, , RAA 97/11/24 ?'Il-/-/!d./ tr\G' REFERRAL NOTE: ATTN: U.S. AIR FORCE' 1+ --ILl ~ _/__1__, " _ __1_/_, ' REFERRAL NOTE: __' /__1__' ___ __1_1__ REFERRAL NOTE: _ /_1_', _1_1_ REFERRAL NOTE: COMMENTS: ENCLOSURES . ' ADDITIONAL CORRESPONDENTS: MEDIA:L INDIVIDUAL CODES: PL MAIL USER CODES: (A)~,______~ (B) ____ ( C) ____-'--___ *********************************************************************** *ACTION CODES: *DISPOSITION *OUTGOING * * * *CORRESPONDENCE: * *A-APPROPRIATE ACTION *A-ANSWERED. *TYPE RESP=INITIALS * *C-COMMENT/RECOM *B-NON-SPEC-REFERRAL * OF SIGNER' * *D-DRAFT RE,SPONSE *C-COMPLETED * CODE = A * *F~FURNISH FACT SHEET *S-SUSPENDED *COMPLETED = DATE OF * *I-INFO COPY/NO ACT NEC* * OUTGOING * *R-DIRECT REPLY W/COPY * * * *S-FOR-SIGNATURE * * * *X-INTERIM REPLY * * * ***********'********************~************************************** REFER QUESTIONS AND ROUTING UPDATES TO CENTRAL REFERENCE (ROOM 75,OEOB) EXT-2590 KEEP THIS WORKSHEET ATTACHED TO THE ORIGINAL INCOMING . LETTER AT ALL TIMES AND SEND COMPLETED RECORD TO RECORDS MANAGEMENT. DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE WASHINGTON, DC Office of the Secretary 9 December 1997 SAFILLI 1160 Air Force Pentagon Washington DC 20330-1160 Mr. Kent Jeffrey P.O. Box 5125 Larkspur, CA 94977 Dear Mr. Jeffrey On behalf of President Clinton, thank you for your letter regarding an Executive Order to declassify information regarding the existence of Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs) and extraterrestrial intelligence. Due to the large number of requests for personal intervention received by the President each week, he has asked the departments and agencies ofthe Federal Government to reply on his behalf in those instances where they have special knowledge or authority under the law. For this reason, your correspondence came to the Department of the Air Force for response. Executive Order (E.O.) 12958, Classified National Security In/ormation, signed by President Clinton on April 17,1995, directs that all government records of historical value and twenty-five years old or older be reviewed and declassified, unless meeting one of nine narrowly-defined exemptions. These records must be reviewed, or exempted from declassification)by April 2000. The Air Force has identified approximately seventy-five million pages of material for review under E.O. 12958. As of December 1, we have reviewed approximately 26.5 million pages of material. The Air Force expects to fulfill all the requirements of the Executive Order prior to the April 2000 deadline. Therefore, since the declassification process for government records is already underway, an E.O. for specific categories is urmecessary. We trust you will find this information helpful. Sincerely S2GNED PATRICIA M. FORNES, Lt Col, USAF Congressional Inquiry Division Office ofLegislative Liaison ROSWELL DECLARATION 96288 SAFILLIIRossi/sec17373119Dec97 OSDWH 05111 SAF/GCM (Patricia Aronsson) -- THE W HIT E H 0 U S.E o F FI C E. REFERRAL 97 NOV31 P~1 I: 48 ,rJB;t~D NOVEMBER 24, 1997 \I'I,I·I·l.~.IFH''!'c;;;'{i!:;j": \,1·', ;:,4'(:;;",: :qj' I","" \;.;'V •.., ..... 1-.(",.....,,,.. ,,... 1 TO: DEPARTMENT, OF DEFENSE ATTN: U.S. AIR FORCE ACTION REQUESTED: APPROPRIATE ACTION DESCRIPTION OF INCOMING: ID: 243544 . MEDIA: LETTER, DATED JULY 8, 1997 TO: PRESIDENT CLINTON FROM: MR. KENT JEFFREY COORDINATOR INTERNATIONAL ROSWELL INITIATIVE POST OFFICE BOX 5125 LARKSPUR CA 94977 SUBJECT: SUBMITS STATEMENT KNOWN AS THE ROSWELL " DECLARATION THAT REQUESTS A MANDATED POLICY OF OPENNESS ON THE PART OF U.S. GOVERNMENT KNOWLEDGE IT MIGHT ACQUIRE ABOUT UFO'S PROMPT ACTION IS ESSENTIAL --IF REQUIRED ACTION HAS NOT BEEN TAKEN WITHIN ,9 WORKING DAYS OF RECEIPT, PLEASE TELEPHONE THE UNDERSIGNED AT 456-2590. -..----~.~-' , ANB.,,·;G:@;PJ£ ,.O'RI{iE;SP-GNSE; -'" ,"," '. 'F:·.~·:)~~:.:~{·H .:::i~~~:"~'~~~ :~~" ~. _.;~"' ~ "-. - :,-­ "',wHJtmf~l;!~,~Si;,,~~050:0-~.' . OFFICE OF RECORDS MANAGEMENT THE WHITE HOUSE W01555 197 InternaiTonal Roswell P.O. Box 5125 • Larkspur, CA 94977 • U.S.A .• Ro~weIlDec@flol.com • http://www.roswell.org ~ '.' , July 8, 1997 k ''-',.('O~GT:;~~ ~~~. : )~/ I ;;> , President Bill Clinton 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Washington, DC 20500 Dear President Clinton, This letterjs accompanied by over 20,000 signed copies·of a statement known.~s the Roswell Declaration. The-Declaratio!1 requests a mandated policy of openqess on the part of the U.S,. government with respect to any knowledge it might possess or acquire about YFOs or extrater­ restrial intelligence. The signatories to this mainstream, grassroots effort, the International Roswell Initiative, include hundreds of scientists and engineers,three retired air force generals, and two former U.S. astronauts. -­ While the initiative was originally inspired by the 1947 Roswell event, extensive research has established that the Roswell incident itself did not involve an extraterrestrial craft. Whether it is justified or not, there is a widespread lack of confidence in the government's forthrightness with regard to the UFO phenomenon, even among those who do not believe a UFO. crashed at Ros­ well in 1947. For example, a late-1996 Gallup poll revealed that 71 percent of the American public believes that lithe. U.S. government knows more about UFOs than it is telling." ."J .' '. ~-,,-----,--~ An executive order guaranteeing that inforirlation as profound and important as that relating to other intelligent life in the univ~rse would never be withheld by the U.S. government would surely be considered a positive ~ove by those on all sides of the issue. Wheth~r'Or not any such information exists, such a mandate would undoubtedly do much to alleviate the American peo­ ples' long-term distrust and suspicion of their'g~vernmentconcerning this subject. -' Sincerely, Y-i:~. Kent Jeffrey Coordinator, International Roswell Initiative JONES ROOM 75 Please do the followinq with the attached letter: c:J Send to Agency Liaison for appropriate action E:l Send to Agency Liaison for direct routing (no cover letter) to: o Send to Agency Liaison for Jim Dorskind cover letter and routing to: . ~Other: ~--\-U~. \JS.(1~~·~ CL~~~DW Name: ~~~¥-- Phone: 0;S$\'t CPPIES~ 'sltnvEP I1e-C/,Af(A-'1'"'PN,J' I=RP"" j. F'N~F/{ V.J'I"IJ7/f,A/,fII"',r 'ANP ., If£rIHt:'"'P A7tf . Fp/t cIf' r;e1V£~,+t..f ) Withdrawal/Redaction Marker Clinton Library DOCUMENT NO. . SUBJECT/TITLE DATE RESTRICTION AND TYPE OOIa. declaration Edgar Mitchell address (Partial) (1 page) 711997 P61b(6) COLLECTION: Clinton Presidential Records WHORM Subject File-General OS OAiBox Number: 14087 FOLDER TITLE: 243544 RESTRICTION CODES 2006-0476-F ds256 Presidential Records Act -144 U.S.c. 2204(a)1 PI National Security Classified Information l(a)(I) ofthePRAI P2 Relating to the appointment to Federal office l(a)(2) of the PRAI P3 Release would violate a Federal statute l(a)(3) of the PRAI P4 Release would disclose trade secrets or confidential commercial or financial information l(a)(4) of the PRAI P5 Release would disclose confidentIal advice between the President and his advisors, or between such advisors la)(5) of the PRAI P6 Release w'ould constitute a clearly unwarranted inv~sion of personal privacy ((a)(6) of the PRAI C. Closed in accordance with restrictions contained in donor's deed of gift. . PRM. Personal record misfile defined in accordance with 44 U.S.C. 2201 (3). RR. Document will be reviewed upon request. Freedom of Information Act -15 U.S.C. 552(b)1 b(1) National security classified information l(b)(I) of the FOIAI b(2) Release would disclose internal personnel rules and practices of an agency (b)(2) of the FOIAI b(3) Release would violate a Federal statute l(b)(3) of the FOIAI b(4) Release would disclose trade secrets or confidential or financial information l(b)(4) of the FOIAI . b(6) Release would constitute a clearly.unwarranted invasion of personal privacy l(b)(6) of the 'FOIAI b(7) Release would disclose information compiled for law enforcement purposes (b)(7) of the FOIAI b(8) Release would disclose information concerning the regulation of financial institutions [(b)(8) of the FOIAI b(9) Release would disclose geological orgeophysieal information concerning wells (b)(9)-of the FOIAI . I '. b Please Copy and Circulate ROSWELL DECLARATION Foriy-seven years ago an incident occurred in the southwestern desert of the United States that could have significant implications for all mankind. It involved the recovery by th~. U.S. Military of material alleged to be of extraterrestrial origin. The event was announced by the U.S. Military on July 8, 1947, through a press release that was carried by newspapers throughout the country. It was subsequently denied by what is now believed to be a cover story claiming the material was nothing more than a weather balloon. It has remained veiled in government secrecy ever since. The press release announcing the unusual event was issued by the Comm~nder of the 509th Bomb Group at Roswell Army! Air Field, Colonel William Blanchard, who later went on to become a four­ star genera~ and Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force. That the weather balloon story was a coverup has been confirmed by individuals directly involved, including the late General Thomas DuBose who took the telephone·call from Washington, D.C., ordering the coverup. Numerous other credible military and civilian witnesses have testified that the original press release was correct and that the Roswell wreckage was of extraterrestrial origin. One such individual was Major Jesse Marcel, the,Intelligence Officer of the 509th Bomb Group and one of the first military officers at the scene. On January 12, 1994, United States Congressman Steven Schiffof Albuquerque, New Mexico, an­ nounced to the press that.he had been stonewalled by the Defense Department when requesting infor­ mation regarding the 194 7 Roswell event on behalf of constituents and witnesses. Indicating that he was seeking further investigation into the ,matter, Congressman Schiff called the Defense Department's lack.of response "astounding" and concluded it was apparently "another government coverup." History has shown that unsubstantiated official assurances or denials by government are often mean­ ingless. Nevertheless, there.is a logical and straightforward way to. ensure that the truth abqut Roswell will emerge: an Executive Order deClassifying any information regardingilhe existence of UFOs or extraterrestrial intelligence. Because this is a unique issue of universal concern, such an action would be appropriate and warranted. To provide positive assurance for all potentiaf witnesses, it would need ,to b.eclearly;s,tat~q and ",ritteninto law, .S,u.c.~ arn~asure.. is esserltjallyw,ha,t pr~siden~,ial candi.date , . ..... ::: ;<\]"irn\my"tarter. prorrli'sed abdihen f~medto'deHver:to tHe' Ah1"e\ricah:p~bple1igliteen:.Ylars ago·i'i1::r9.7.o::.':> ;':'~'::." ".: '.'''­ If, as is officially claimed, no information on Roswell, UFOs, or extraterre1;'trial intelligence is being withheld, an Executive Order decll;lssifying it would be a mere formality, as there would be nothing to disclose. The Order would, however, have the positive effect of setting the record straight once and for all. Years of controversy and suspicion would be ended, both in the eyes ofthe United States' own citizens and in the eyes of the world. If,.on the other hand, the Roswell witnesses are telling the truth and information.on extraterrestrial intelligence does exist, it is not something to which a privileged few in the United States Government should have exclusive rights. It is knowledge of profound importance to which all people throughout t~e world should have an inalienable right. Its release would unquestionably be universally acknowl-­ edg~d as an historic act of honesty and goodwill. Withdrawal/Redaction Marker Clinton Library . DOCUMENT NO. SUBJECT/TITLE DATE RESTRICTION AND TYPE 00lb. declaration Gordon Cooper address (Partial) (1 page) 7/1997 P6/b(6) COLLECTION: Clinton Presidential Records WHORM Subject File-General OS OAlBox Number: 14087 FOLDER TITLE: 243544 RESTRICTION CODES 2006-0476-F ds256 Presidential Records Act -144 U.S.c. 2204(a)1 PI National Security Classified Information [(a)(I) of the PRAI P2 Relating to the appointment to Federal office l(a)(2) of the PRAI P3 Release would violate a Federal statute (a)(3) of the PRA1 P4 Helease would disclose trade secrets or confidential commercial or financial information (a)(4) of the PRA1 P5 Release would disclose confidential advice between the President and his advisors, or between such advisors (a)(5) of the PRAI P6 Release would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy (a)(6) of the PRAI C. Closed in accordance with restrictions contained In donor's deed of gift. PRM. Personal record misfile defined in accordance with 44 U.S.c. 2201(3). RR. Document will be reviewed upon requ~st. Freedom of Information Act -·[5 U.S.c. 552(b)] . b(l) National security classified information [(b)(l) <1f the FOIAI b(2) Release would disclose internal personnel rules and practices of an agency r(b)(2) of the FOIA1 ·b(3) Release would violate a Federal statute [(b)(3) orthe FOIAI b(4) Release would disclose trade secrets or confidential or financial information ](b)(4) of the FOIAI b(6) Release would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy (b)(6) of the FOIAI b(7) Release would disclose information compiled for law enforcement purposes (b)(7) of the FOiAI b(8) Release would disclose information concerning the regulation of financial institutions l(b)(8) of the FOIAI b(9) Release would disclose geological or geophysical information concerning wells [(b)(9) of the FOIAI ,-, ':-" :' , " ,'"r- t ..-./. '. r ­ 07105/1995 15:22 4154547243 .lP .?- P6GE 01 rleasf Copy and Cin';l.Iwle : ROSWELL DECLARATION Focty-seven years aao 'an incident occur~ed in the southwestern desert of the United Stalts that could' have significant im~lj~ti.on$ for all mankind, It involved the recovery by the U.S. Military of materia I alleged to bo of extraterrestrial origia. The event was announced by the U.S,'M i1itary on July 8, '1947, through a press release: thac waS carried by newspapers throughout the country. It was subsequently denied by what is now believed to be a cover slorycl3imin~ the rnaterialwas nothing more than a weather balloon. It has remained velkd in government ~ecrecy ever since. \ The press release 8flnouncini the unusual event was issued by the Commander of the 509th Bomb' Group at Roswell ArmY'Air Field, Colonel William Blanchard, who.laler went on to become a fout­ star general and Vice Chief of Staff of the United S~tes AIr Force. That Ihe weather balloon 8tOry was B coverup has beep confinned by individuals directly involved, including the late General Thomas DuBose who took the telephone call from Washington, D.C., order.ing the coverup. Numerous other credible military and dvlltan witnessM have testified that the originll' press release was correct and, that the RosweH wrcl.:uge wa.s' of e~'r8terrestrj31 origin, Ont such IDdividual W85 Major Jesse Marcel, \he Intelligence Officer of the 509th Bomb Group and one of the ticst mtll(31)' officers al the scene. On January 12, 1994, United States Congressman Steven Schiff of Albuquerque, New Mexico, an­ nounced to the press that he had been' stonewalled by the Defe.nse Department when requesting infor-. mation [egarding Ihe 1947 Roswell event on behalf of wnsliluents and witnesses. Indicating that he wllS seeking further investigation into the matter. Congressman Schiff called the Defense Department's lack of response "astounding" and concluded It Wll!J apparently "another government coverup." History has shown that unsubstantiated official assuranc(;5 or denials by government are often meaD­ in~tess.Nevertheless,.t~ert is a logical_an~ ~t(ftighlforwardw~y to ensur~ that the ~ruth about Roswell Will emerge: an Execullve Order dedassifylllg "flY informallon regardmg the eXIstence of UFOs or extroterrestria/ ;"telligenCf!. Because this is a unique issue of universal concern, such an action would be appropriate and wartantcd. To provide positive 88SU(80ce for all ~tentl3lwitnesses, it would need to be clearly staled and written Inlo law. Such a measure is essentially what presidential candidate Jimmy' Carter promised and then failed to deliver to the American people eigbteen years ago in 1976. '1 f, asi; 'officia Ily' ~'l~';rn~d, 'no jnform~ti~~ ~'~qif~~w'~II;'UFO;;'~~exiraterre~tri81~i~l~nIgell~e'is~being,,:.. ;· .. ·:',.. ,,." ,I' withheld, an Extculjve Order declassifying it wou Id be a mere formalltYJ as there would be nothing to disclose. The Order wouJd, however, have the positive effect of setting the record straight onc~ and for all. Years of controversy and suspicion would be ended, both in the eyes of the United States' ow.n citizens and in the eyes of the world; " , If, on the other hand, the Roswell witnesses ace telling the truth end Information on extraterrestrial intelligence does exist, it Is Misomethtng 10 which a privileged few in the United States Government s.hould have exclusIve rights..It Is knowledge of profound imporlance to which all people throughout Iheworld should have an Inalll!Oilble righl. Its release would unquestionably be universally acknowl­ edged as an historIc act of hooest)' and goodwill. I suppor~ the "eqfje~t, aJ outlined abow, for a" E.t€cutive Order decloS$ifying any U.S.' Government ir:/ orma . .lton regal'dlllg ~he existence ofUFOs or extraterrestrial intellisence. Whether such in/ortna. 11011 extsp,or whether 'I,d?es. not, I feelillal the people 0/ the world have (J right to know the /ruth aoouJ th sue QII hal II IS tune to put an end lIJ theconfroversy slIrroWtdins it. ~~jt:lllCl:tI..~~e:;.....:__ ("~'iS-___ G()IAl2H ·s l,!<1Ihlre " ~ Name _c,/ Viti-.' (Rtr,J 1_ r~t('w'fl4- Oc:.tllp..Uon I TillC! . M'lt.tll4l=y IJSlll4H .wC bL ) Oc:~rces I Credcllt\lla (l(.ppli~blc=) . it _lJ.",,\ .... Ie. M"" U.S, Rep~.lI(;nt&llye (V.S. clilU'lI3) ' .. Withdrawal/Redaction Marker Clinton Library DOCUMENT NO. SUBJECT!THLE DATE RESTRICTION AND TYPE OOlc. declaration Robert R. Scott address (Partial) (1 page) 711997 P6/b(6) COLLECTION: Clinton Presidential Records WHORM Subiect File-General OS OA/Box Number: 14087 FOLDER TITLE: 243544 2006-0476-F ds256 RESTRICTION CODES Presidential Records Act -J44 U.S.C. 2204(a») PI National Security Classified Information [(a)(I) of the PRAI P2 Relating to the appointment to Federal office l(a)(2) of the PRAI P3 Release would violate a Federal statute (a)(3) of the PRAI P4 Release would disclli'se trade secrets or confidential commercial or fina'ncial Information [(a)(4) of the PRAI P5 Release would disclose confidential advice between the President and his advisors, or. between such advisors [a)(5) of the PRAI P6 Release would constitute a clearly unwar'ranted invasion of personal privacy l(a)(6) of the PRAI . C. Closed in accordance with restrictions contained in donor's deed of gift. PRM. Personal record misfile defined in accordance with 44 U.S.c. 2201(3). RR. Document will be reviewed upon request. Freedom of Information Act -)5 U.S.c. 552(b)J b(l) National security classified information J(b)(J) of the FOIAJ b(2) Release would disclose internal personnei rules and practices of an agency J(b)(2) of the FOIA)' b(3) Release would violate a Federal statute J(b)(3) of the FOIA) b(4) Release would disclose trade secrets or confidential or financial Information 1(b)(4) of the FOIA] .. ' b(6) Release would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy [(b)(6) of the FOIAI b(7) Release would disclose information'complled for law enforcement . purposes [(b)(7) of the FOIA) b(8) Release would disclose information concerning the regulation of financial institutions [(b)(8) of the FOIA) b(9) Release would disclose geological or geophysical information concerning wells [(b )(9) of the FOIAI Please Copy aruJ Circulate . 'ROSWELL DECLARATION Forty-seven years ago an incident occurred in the southwestern desert of the United States that could have significant implications for aU mankind. It involved the recovery by the U$. Military of materia I alleged to be of extraterrestrial origin. The event was announced by the U.S. Military on July 8, 1947, through a press release that was carried by newspapers throughout the country. It was subsequently denied by what is now believed to be a cover story claiming the material was nothing more than a weather balloon. It has remained veiled in government. secrecy ever since. The press release announc,ipg the unusual event was issued by the Commander of the 509th Bomb Group at Roswell Army Air Field, Colonel William Blanchard, who later went on to become a four­ star general and Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force. That the weather balloon story was a coverup has been confirmed by individuals directly involved, including the late General Thomas DuBose who took the telephone call from Washington, D.C., ordering thecoverup. Numerous other credible military and civilian witnesses have testified that the original press release was correct and that the Roswell wreckage w,as of extraterrestrial origin. One such individual was Major Jesse Marcel, the Intelligence Officer of the 509th Bomb Group and one of the first military officers at the scene. . . On January 12, 1994, United States Congressman Steven Schiff of Albuquerque, New Mexico, an­ nounced to the press that he had been stonewalled by the Defense Department when requesting infor­ mation regarding the 1947 Roswell event on behalf of constituents and witnesses. Indicating that he was seeking further investig~~ipn into the matter, Congressman Schiff called the Defense Department's lack of response "astounding" and concluded it was apparently '!another government coverup.". History has shown that unsubstantiated official assurances or denials by government are often mean­ ingless. Nevertheless, there is a logical and straightforward way to ensure. that the truth about Roswell will emerge: an Executive Order declassifying any information regarding the existence of UFOs or extraterrestrial intelligence. Because this is a unique issue of universal concern, such an ~ction would . be appropriate and warranted. To provide positive assurance for all potential witnesses, it would need to be clearly stated and written into law. Such a rpeasureis essentiaUywhat presidential candidate Jimmy Carter promised and then failed to deliver to the American people eighteen years ago in 1976 . . ' ,", ,': '.: ~."'_~ .1.,;;::: 4"i~ :.-.;"" ,-.'..' .:, r' ','.,:,', --\ "-<, , ~ "!' j:,..'>' •• " ';;;. ·' .. ,i! J. " .'~," I ..;,' .~ ;'" ' • t 'T, .. ... ····,·If, as'is,-offieiallyclaimed,no infonnation-onRoswell,UFOs,-·or extraterrestrial intelligence is being. ---..~~~........ withheld, an Executive Order declassifying it would be a !Dere formality, as there 'would be nothing to disclose. The Order would, however, have the positive effect of setting the record straight once and for all. Years of controversy and suspicion would be ended, both in the eyes of the United States' own citizens and in the eyes of the world. . . . If, on the other hand, the Roswell witnesses are telling the truth and information on extraterrestrial. inteHieence does exist.. it is not somethine to which a orivileeed few in the United States Government should have exclusive rights. It is knowledge of profound importance to which all people throughout the world should have an inalienable right. Its release would unquestionably be universally acknowl­ edged as an historic act of honesty and goodwill. I supportlhe request, as outlined above, for an Executive Order declassifying any U.S. Government inforr/ullion regarding the existence ofUFOs or extraterrestrial intelligence. Whether such informa­ tion exists or whether it does not, I feel that the people ofthe world have a right to know the truth aboUl this ~$~a~th t' . time to put an end to the controversy surrounding ii. ..........,.~_ .~ .~ ~ ~ature cOat "\ Drill be.n. .(1 SA£I'"6.1-:J .,gccuPaiJoD I TN'!),ILl r '\J ," (~:l")-V\ KY't 'bel tJ<W ~ .hl(\ stc to' ttl iSS '/<:(' ( Degrees I Crede:ntials (If applicable:) . . ~ ;>,,'~I ct .)."4: Lt'I ,. Z.e V\ U.S. Re:prese:ntative: (U.S. citize:~). UJ!il C.$ Withdrawal/Redaction Marker . Clinton Library DOCUMENT NO. SUBJECT/TITLE DATE RESTRICTION AND TYPE 001 d. deClaration Frederick C. Blesse address (Partial) (1 page) 7/1997 P61b(6) COLLECTION: Clinton Presidential Records WHORM Subject File-General OS OA/Box Number: 140,87 FOLDER TITLE: 243544 2006-0476-F ds256 RESTRICTION CODES Presidential Records Act -[44 U.S.C. 2204(a)[ PI Natlon~1 Security Classified Information [(a)(I) of the PRA( P2 Relating to the appointment to Federal office [(a)(2) of the PRA( P3 Release would violate a Federal statute (a)(3) of the PRA( P4 Release would disclose trade secrets or confidential commercial or financial information [(a)(4) of the PRA( '. PS I{elease would disclose confidential advice between the President and his advisors, or between such advisors (a)(5) of the PRA) P6 Release would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy (a)(6) of the PRA) C. Closed in accordance with restrictions contained in donor's deed of gift. PRM. Personal record misfile defined in accordance with 44 U.S.C. 2201 (3). RR. Document will be reviewed upon request. Freedom of Information Act -[5 U.s.C. SS2(~)[ b(l) National security ~Iassifled information I(b)(i) of the FOIAI b(2) Release would disclose internal personnel rules and practices of an agency (b)(2) of the FOIAI . b(3) Release would violate a Federal statute (b)(3) of the FOIA[ b(4) Release would disclose trade secrets or confidential or financial Information [(b)(4) of the FOIAJ b(6) Release would constitute a clearly unwarranted Invasion of personal privacy (b)(6) of the FOIAI b(7) Release would disclose information complied for.law enforcement purposes l(b)(7) of the FOIAI b(8) Release would disclose information concerning the regulation of financial institutions [(b)(8) of the FOIAI b(9) Release would disclose geologicalor geophysical information concerning wells (b)(9) of the FOIAI > • Please Copy and Circulate ROSWELL DECLARArtON Forty~seven years ago an incident occurred in the southwestern desert of the United States that could have significant implications for all mankind. It involved the recov~ry by the U.S. Military of material alleged to be of extraterrestrial origin. The event was announced by the U.S. Military on July 8, 1947, through a press release th~t was carried by newspapers throughout the country. It was subsequently denied by what is now believed to De a cover story claiming the material was nothing more· than a , weather balloon. It has remained veiled in government secrecy ever since. The press release announcingthe unusual event was issued by the Commander of the 509th Bomb Group at Roswell Army Air Field, Colonel William Blanchard, who ,later went on to become a four~ star general and Vice Chief of S~ffof the United States Air Force. That the weather balloon story was a coverup has been corifirnled by individuals directly involved, including the late General Thomas DuBose who took the telephone call from Washington, D.C., ordering thecoverup. Numerous other credible military and civilian witnesses have testified that the original p,[ess release was correct and that the Roswell wreckage was of extraterrestrial origin. Oue such iridlvidual was Major 'Jesse Marcel, the Intelligence Officer ofthe 509th Bomb Group and one of the first military officers at the scene. '" On January 12, 1994,United States Congre~sman Steven Schiff of Albuquerque, New Mexico, an­ nouncedto the press that he had been stonewalled by the Defense Department when requesting infor­ mation regarding the 1947 Roswell event on behalf of constituents and witnesses. Indicating that he was seeking further investigation into the matter, Congressman Schiff called the Defense Department's lack of response "astoundthgft and concluded it was apparently lI ano ther government coverup." History has shown that unsubstantiated official assurances or denials by government are often mean­ ingless. Nevertheless, there is a logical and straightforward way to ensure that the truth about Roswell ' will emerge: an Executive Order declassifying any information regarding the existence of UFOs or , extraterrestrial intelligence. Because this is a unique issue of universal concern, such an action would be appropriate and warramed. To provide positive assurance for all potential witnesses, it would need to be clearly stated and written into law. Such a measure is essentially what presidential candidate Jimmy Carter promised and then failed to deliver to the American people eighteen years ago in 1976. ". If, as is offiCially claimedrrio ,informa'iiOli·on Roswell, UFOs~ or'extraierre~triat intelligence 'jsbeiiig withheld, an Executive Order declassifying it would be a. mere formality, as there would be nothing to disclose. The Order would;llowever, have the positive effect of setting the record straight once and for all. Years of controversy and suspicion would be ended, both in the eyes of the United States' own citizens and in the eyes of the world. ' If, on the other hand, the Roswell witnesses are telling the truth and information on extraterrestrial intelligence does exist, it is not something to which a privileged few in the United States Government should have exclusive rights. It is knowledge of profound importance to which ali people throughout the world should have an inalienable right. Its release would unquestionably be universally acknowl­ edged as an historic act o~honesty and goodwill. .,­ " ( I support the request, as outlined above, for an Executive Order declassifying any U.S. Government' information regarding the existence of UFOs or extraterrestrial intelligence. Whether such informa­ , tion exists or whether it does not, lfeel that the people of the, world have a right to know the truth abqutthis issue and that it!is time toput an end to the controversy surrounciing it. ,'l. " '" -:I' L2, ~7tpu' 1C}<;'j' ',.,_~1>dc <:•./1:; C Q~,1 Signature Date /IJA£:t?.·A-~ (..:/5;:.7 F (ie.eT) Occupation I Title , 'J '. '(:LI'// It.:[-L...) . i3.jQ E (Lt/t:7ZT M?tN1 -I-/I};;&s Degrees I Credentials, (If applicable) Uo L2...:WS fI L), bl~,) Withdrawal/Redaction Marker , Clinton Library DOCUMENT NO. SUBJECT/TITLE DATE RESTRICTION AND TYPE 001 e. declaration Harry N. Cordes address (Partial) (1 page) 7/1997 ' P61b(6) COLLECTION: Clinton Presidential Records WHORM Subject File-General OS OA/Box Number: 14087' FOLDER TITLE: 243544 2006-0476-F ds256 RESTRICTION CODES Presidential Records Act -[44 U.S.C. 2204(a») P1 National Security Classified Information (a)(l) of the PRA] P2 Relating to the appointment to Federal office l(a)(2) of the PRA] P3 Release would violate a Federal statute l(a)(3) of the PRA[ P4 Release would disclose trade secrets or confidential commercial or financial information l(a)(4) of the PRAI P5 Release would disclose confidential advice between the President and his advisors, or between such advisors la)(5) of the PRA( , P6 Release would constitute , a clearly unwarranted invasion of , personal privacy (a)(6) of the PRAI C. Closed in accordance with restrictions contained in donor's deed of gift. PRM. Personal record '!lisfiJe defined in accordance with 44 U.S.C. 2201(3). RR. Document will be reviewed upon request. F~eedom of Information Act -15 U.S.C. 552(b») b(l) National' security classified information l(b)(l) of the FOIAI b(2) 'Release would dlsclo~e internal personnel rules and practices of an agency l(b)(2) of the FOIA] b(3) Release would violate a Federal statute l(b)(3) of the FOIAI b(4) Release would disclose trade secrets or confidential or financial Information I(b)(4) ofthe FOIAI b(6) Release would constitute a-clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy (b)(6) of the FO!A] b(7) Release would disclose information compiled for law enforcement purposes (b)(7) of the FOIA] b(8) Release would disclose information concerning the regulation of , financial institutions I(b )(8) of the FOIAI ' b(9) Release would disclose geological or geophysical information concerning wells [(b)(9) of the Fq'IA] Please Copy and Circulate ROSWELL DECLARATION l . In July 1947 an incident oCcurred in the southwes.tern desert ofthe United States that could have signif­ icant implications for all mankind. It involved the recovery by the U.S. Military of material alleged to be of extraterrestrial origin. The event was announced by.the U.S. Military~on July 8,.1947, through a press release that was carried by newspapers throughout the country. It was subsequently denied by what is now believed to be, a cover story claiming the material was nothi~g more than a weather bal­ loon. It has remained veiled in government secrecy ever since. . The press release announcing the unusual event was issued by the Commander of the S09th Bomb Group at Roswell Army Air Field, Colonel William Blanchard, who later went on to become a four­ star general and Vice ChiefofStaff of the United States Air Force. That the weather balloon story was a coverup has been confirI.J;1ed by individuals directly involved, including the late General Thomas' DuBose who took the telephone call from Washington, D.C., ordering the cover up. Numerous other cr.edible military and civilian witnesses have testified that the original press· release was correct and that the Roswell wreckage was of extraterrestrial origin. One such individual was Major Jesse Marcel, the Intelligence Officer of the SOOth Bomb Group and one of the first military officers at the scene. . . (\n hnuary 1/', 1994, United·States Congressman Ste~~n Schiffof Albuquerque, New Mexico, an­ nounced to the press that he had been stonew;)lled·by the Defense D,epaI1ment when requesting infor­ mation regarding the 1947 Roswell event on behalf of constituents and witnesses. Indicating that he was seeking further investigation into the matter, Congressman Schiff called the Defense Department's lack of response "astounding" and .concluded it was apparently "another government coverup." History has shown thafunsubstantiaied official assurances or denials by government are often mean­ ingless. Nevertheless, there is a logical and straightforward way to ensure that the truth about Roswell will emerge: an Executive Order declassifying any i!Jformation regarding the existence of UFOs or extraterrestrial intelligence. Because this is a unique issue of universal concern, such an action wo'.;!d be appropriate and warranted. To provide positive assurance for all potential witnesses, i~ would need to be clearly stated and written into law. Such.a measure is essentially what presidential candidate . Jimmy Carter. promised and then failed to deliver to the American people while campaigning in 1976. . . ]f,as is officially.cla:imed,~noirtfo·nnatioh Oli RosweU,. UFOs, orextraterresiriarJntelligenctrjs:being .. :.~ .. withheld, an Executive Order declassifying it would be a mere formality, as there would be nothing to disclose. The Order would~!however, have the positiyeeffect ofsetting the,record straight once and. alt Years of controversy and suspicion would be ended, both in the eyes of the United States' OV..1 citizens and in the eyes of the world. If, on the other hand, the Roswell witnesses are telling the truth and information on extraterrestrial intelligence does exist, it is not something to which a privileged few in the United States Government should have exclusive rights: ,It is knowledge of profound importance to which all people throughout the world should have an inalienable right. Its release would unquestionably be uiliversally acknowl-. edged as an historic act of honesty and goodw~ll. I support the request, as outlined above, for an Executive Order declassifying any U.S. Government information regarding the existence ofUFOs or extraterrestrial intelligence. Whether such informa­ tion exists or whethe; it does not, I feel that the people of the world have a right to know the truth out this issue and that it is time to put an end to the controversy surrounding it. . ~~~~~DrfJ/~L. bLlP ) . £r upation Tiile A~SI6-IJ@ 10· Se>97H .&M:8 Gp I),) JVI.. 19tf7 Degrees I.Credentials (Ifapplicable) MA,e K SaN Eo Ie::]) U.S. Reoresentative N.S. citizens) ~ .... S...,.,41"61'1£/1"'" '::/l()~ -11/ltpE FDA~e~ fJ(?=IC£..f,r A'" ..,.He-nileIt;.,IV 1"6?IIN,/,I)t;. Y p/VI.JI';v (t=7p) ,..1" U'lf I6-Hr fA. r-r/J'1i$"11/ A-,I( F,~u IA$e. June27,1997 Walter Klini'kowski, Colonel, USAF, ,Retired Walter Vitunac, C610neC USAF, 'Retired George Weinbrenner, Cqlonel, USAF" Retired In view of recent w~rldwidemedia atte'1tion and apparent public misconceptio'n concerning the 1947 Roswell incident, we have thosen to issue a joint statemen~ in' an effort to help set the ' record straight on this ~osfcontroversial matter. We are taking this step strictly out of a sens~ of responsibi I ity to the truth., ,and are qoi ng so of our own volition, without any pressure or encouragement from the U.S. military or government. '" ,Over the past years, ir:numerable documentaries, books, television shows, and movies have, conveyed the impression that the 1947 Roswell event is a matter of historical fact. Incredible..; sounding but unsubstantiated claims by alleged, witnesses and participants have further exacerbated the situation. Consequently"according to recent opinion polls, the majority of Americans now believe in the reality of an event that never occurred -- the crash of an alien spaceship northwest of Ro~well, New Mexico, in July 1947, and its subsequent recovery and transportation by the U.S.'mllitary to Wright Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio. Wright Patterson is indeed where the Air Force's technical and intelligence experts were, and still are, concentrated. It is where the recovered wr~ckage from a foreign craft of any kind with the potential for invading our skys, including an alien spaceship, would be taken and kept for technical analysis. Contrary to the Roswell legend, however, no such craft was taken to and ' stored at Wright Patterson Air Force Base. If such an event haq occurred, as ranking officials of the Foreign Technology~Division(FTD) at Wright Patterson, we would have known about it. During our collective tenure,there, which spanned a period of 1,7 years -- 1957 through 1974 -­ there was no alien spaceship, and no secret hangar housing it --dfthat we give our word. Going on record with such an unequivocal statement is'not something we.take lightly. As retired military officers, we would not dishonor ourselves, our military careers, our families, or our country ,by lying' to, the American people, especially about an issue of such great potential , significance. ' , , , Any doubte'rs should ,note that if an alien spaceship were actually being kept at Wright Patterson Air Force Base by the U.S. government, the administration in power could choose to de':' classify th,e matter at any time: With tha~ uncertainty, publicly lying about such an issue, on top of all else, would be pure folly.. " , As is surely .the opinron of the vast majority of Americans; both civilian and military, we are in total agreement that anything as important and profound as knowledge of other intelligeht life in the universe would he information that should not be suppressed or· censored by any government. It would be informatiorfto which all humanity should be entitled. 27;(,7'17 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~-'~~~(~ ) , Walter Klinikowski, FTD 1960-"74; eputy Director of fritelligence Collections, DireCtor of Foreign Activities':" ,.-/~/~ /J /// ' /-/,-7:'" Y,7' t~~4 'e.t'//K';'/}~aC/ ~/ , ' 'Walter Vitunac, ATIC (Air Technical Intelligence Center) and FTD 1957-62, AFSC (Air Force Systems,Command) 1965:68, Director of Intelligence Collections, Director ofForeign Technology Programs, Director of Foreign Activjties' , .. .ti·. 2:;' ~Il'f'li­ e Wembrenner, FTD 1968-74, Commander of the Foreign Technology Division Withdrawal/Redaction Marker Clinton Library DOCUMENT NO. SUBJECT/TITLE DATE RESTRICTION. AND TYPE 00If. letter Caroline Dark to Kent Jeffrey address (Partial) (l page) 02/1611995 P61b(6) , COLLECTION: Clinton Presidential Records WHORM Su~ject File-General OS OA/Box Number: 14087 FOLDER TITLE: . 243544 2006-0476-F ds256 . RESTRICTION CODES Presidential Records Act -144 U.S.C. 2204(a)( PI National Security Classified Information (a)(I) of the PRAI . P2 Relating to the appointment to Federal office [(a)(2).of the PRA) P3 Release would violate a Federal statute (a)(3) of the PRAI . P4 Release would disclose trade secrets or confidential commercial or financial information (a)(4) of the PRA( PS Release would disclose confidential advice between the President and his advisors, o'r between such advisors (a)(S) of the PRA( P6 Release would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy l(a)(6) of the PRAI C. Closed in accordance with restrictions contained in donor's deed of gift. ' . PRM. Personal record misfile defined in accordance with 44 U.S.C. 2201(3). RR. Document will be reviewed upon request. Freedom of Information Act - [5 U.S.C.'SS2(b)1 b(l) National security classified information [(b)(l) of the FOIA( b(2) Release would disclose Internal personnel rules and practices of an agency I(b)(2) of the FOIA( b(3) Release would violate a Federal statute J(b)(3) of the FOIA) b(4) Release would disclose trade secrets or confidential or financial information (b)(4) of the FOIAJ b(6) Release would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of . personal privacy J(b)(6) of the FOIA) b(1) Release would disclose information compiled for law enforcement purposes (b)(7) of the FOJA( b(8) Release would disclose information concerning the regulation of financial institutions (b)(8) of ,the FOJA( b(9) Release would disclose geological or geophysical information concerning wells J(b)(9) of the FOIAJ GENERAl.: MEDIA PUBLISHING GROUP, 1965 BROADWAY, NEW YORK, NY 10023-5965,212-496-6100, FAX 212-580-3693 ' February 16, 1995 Dear Kent: Congratulations! We've tallied a grand total of 12,132 signed copies of .the Roswell Declaration. This includes the 800 plus from Londonderry High School in New Hampshire. Please let us k~ow what your plans are for delivering the petitions to Washington, DC; readers have been calling and asking about the schedule. I enjoyed working on this project with you'. Please call ifOmni can be of further a'ssistance. . '1"'-, ,,"", Sincerely, Caroline' Dark Managing Editor Shipment: 7 boxes via UPS ground .,. EDITORIAL OFFICES: 324 WEST WENDOVER AVE., SUITE 205, GREENSBORO, N,C. 27408. 919-275-9809, FAX 919-378-1862 toe "" • CoPt{ OF "CrvN£ ISstI~ OF -rilE ;fIJI/RNAt Dr rilE t,.Mr;.¢'T t/rtJ ()It6-~1-;" A-rf()N /,v ,II#" II'*rr6'P .>?'A""eS (€X'''J'~' IN' Rf)$~tFt.L) MUTUAL UFO NETWORI< UFO OUAL JUNE 1997 NUMBER 350 $3 NEW ROSWELL REVELATIONS M UFO N UFO 0' URN A L OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE MUTUAL UFO NETWORK SINCE 1967 JUNE 1997 NUMBER 350 ROSWELL -ANATOMY OF A MYTH Kent Jeffrey 3 THE UFO PRESS Karl T. PRock 18 SYMPOSIUM SCHEDULE 20 READER'S CLASSIFIEDS 21 THE JULY NIGHT SKY Walter N. Webb 22 CALENDAR 22 DIRECTOR'S MESSAGE Walter Andrus 24 COVER -Brig. Gen. Roger E. Ramey (left) and CoL Thomas J. DuBose examing debris. (Photo: Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Special Collections Division, University of Texas at Arlington) MUfON Uf~JOUR~AI. ". .' ···C6p~1-iil1t1997b~tl;eAiu~~~IUF()N~t~iJ~kiAilinghts Reserved. (USPs 002 c 970).. .. ." ''<Ndpa;{oftll;sil~ccdn;j,illdd~lJ~r~pr6di~bl?di~anlfijrl'I wit/lOUt ille written permissioll of (ISSN 0270-6822) . • .•..c.;i:tilis.s;o.·I.·;is.i,trebyg.,.,ji,ted toquoieu.p.to200 ,bords ofallY Ol/C ilrli­... ...Ni.e:¢opyri8.;lItOi~H.~r..S.,:p 10301dto.wneRd;\·:> .' . .. ..... --. . . . .' . 7 I M I UFO Seguin, TX .78155-.40.99 •• '.' ··de;provid~d·.theil,itI,oris.crediled,.iiildtll~$tilte.m~lit;.~'Copyrigllt 199 by lit' IIll1a ···.·.·.·.Ne't1l;drk(103 Oidtolulle Rd.; Se g iiin;·.Texns?8iSS,'~is.indllded.· Tel: (210).379-9216 .... ..' ..' .'. ". .' ... ..... '.. . .. FAX (210) 372~9439i' .'.' "TII~iol1telij~bfthi:MiJFONUFO:joi~i'ndiarcdeleri!iinedby Iheedilors and do Ilo/nl.'cessari­ ·.Iy rejlecfthca.ffida/posiiiiili.o{ll,-eMlIhililUFONetwoi-k. Opinions exprcssedllre soldy IllOs<'. EDITOR '. . ..ojOfej;ltlivldulI/ailthors.' '. .... .... .. .. . . . Delmis Stacy·.·· .. •. ......•.•.••. ·T"eMl~tlinlLlt()Nctu}(wk;ilii.isdiel1qijromFedi!raIII1Co11le Tax ullder Section 501 (e) ASSOCIATE EDITOR. '>P(3j'if Uwllltehra(Rev~n!ieC;ode.MliFONis 11 publicly supported organizatiol! of tile Iype .·.····desci-ibcd.·hi.·SectiOIl.5()9(1I):(2J:Ponors iimydedui:/.coiliriblltiolls from t/teir Fcdeml Income Walter H. Andrus;]r; Tax,Beqiii;sts,legacies;devises;lrilllsjersorgijts are..also deductible for estate IIl1d gifi purposes, COLUMNISTS.. .·.·...propidedtlli:yuieeitllclllipiimblcprollisiollsojSectiotiS 2055, 2106 illitt 2522 of tire IlIlemlll Walter N.Webb'·.Re.l'ClllieCoile.MUfONi; ilTeil1sllOnprojiti:o~poratioli:. John S. Carpenter'· . ' ..': ......... ' 'Th::;"~F()N'uFOJoilr~~lisP!lblisilCdUIO!ltlrlyb~liieM/ltllaIUFO Network, Inc., Scguill, ... ' •. ' .· ..Texas:MclI1bersllip/SubscripHoilrnles:tP30 per year in the U.S.A.; $30 foreign ill U.S. fill/ds. T. David Spencer .......... ·.··S~c(mdclilsS postage paid illSegilill; TX. ..•....•.....•......... ...•. .• . . ART DIRECTOR .•. •. ···.....P6StMAST£R:Sclldjorm~579ioiliviSech(lngeof £lddr('ss to: MUFON UFO lOUR- Vince Johnson ..... NAL;lo30IdloumeRd, Sciiiili;TX7815S-4099:' . . ".'" .. ,... ,." ... t. . ".. . . . . . . MUFON UFO JOURNAL ROSWELL -ANATOMY OF A MYTH by Kent Jeffrey A lmost one hundred years ago, a very concerned eight-year-old girl from New York City, Virginia O'Hanlon, wrote the Question and Answer Department of her family's evening newspaper, The New York Sun. requesting to know the truth about Santa Claus. Virginia had been a firm believer, but her young friends had started to sow the seeds of doubt. On September 21, 1897, Virginia's answer finally came. Francis Pharcellus Church, a for­ mer Civil War correspondent and an aging writer for the Sun, replied to Virginia's letter in one of the most eloquent and enduring editorial responses in the history ofjournalism. Church transcended the cold hard facts of reality and avoided shaking Virginia's childlike faith by subtly alluding to Santa Claus as a metaphor for that which is good and noble in life -"Yes, Virginia, there is a S~nta Claus. He exists as cer­ tainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give your life its highest beauty and joy.... " Recently, the International Roswell Initiative (IRI) received an inquiry from a young girl, Lauren M., living in a small town in New Jersey, that is in many ways reminiscent of Virginia O'Hanlon 's 1897 letter to the New York Sun. While the IRI is primarily a grass roots ef­ fort to declassify whatever information the gov­ ernment might have on UFOs or extraterrestrial intelligence, it has received numerous inquiries over the last three years about the actual RosweJl event, many from children. January 6, 1997 Dear International Roswell Initiative: I am a 6th grade student who is studying all kinds ofinteresting information about UFOs ... I believe that there are really aliens who have landed and crashed (such as Roswell), but the government tried to cover it up ... If you have any in­ formation that can help me prove that there are UFOs and aliens, please send me that information. Thank you for your time. Sincerely, LallrenM. Mrs. Nielsen's 6th grade Having been extensively involved over the last few years with both the investigation of the Roswell case and the effort to get the matter de­ classified, I would love to be able to answer Lauren M.'s letter in the affirmative. Unfortunately, in clear conscience, I cannot either directly or metaphorically. Unlike a fanci­ ful story from Western folklore created to appeal to the imaginations of children, the 1947 Roswell case involves real people and an actual event. Additionally, with all the publicity the Roswell event and its alleged coverup have re­ ceived, along with the accompanying implica­ tions of conspiracy and deceit on the part of the U.S. government, Roswell represents a contro­ versy that extends far beyond the relatively nar­ row confines of the so-called UFO community. As such, Roswell demands an objective, straightforward, and, if possible, definitive an­ swer. During the last year, compelling new evi­ dence has come to the fore that now makes such a definitive answer possible. Unfortunately, it is not the answer that those of us familiar with the Roswell case have wanted to hear. Declassified 1948 military documents, new testimony from retired military men from both Roswell and the Foreign Technology Division at Wright Patterson Air Force Base, and a thorough reex­ amination of how the crashed-disk story got started in the first place, make it unequivocally clear that the material recovered northwest of Roswell, New Mexico, in July 1947 was not of extraten-estrial origin. In other words, NO UFO CRASHED AT ROSWELL WITH OR WITHOUT ALIENS. IT DID NOT HAPPEN. PERIOD. For those willing to look objectively and rationally at all the evidence, this contention should become resoundingly clear, not just be­ yond a reasonable doubt, but beyond all doubt. Disinforrnation Agent or Defector? As soon as word got out that I, coordinator of the IRI and author of the Roswell Declaration, had reversed my opinion on Roswell, accusa­ tions such as "he is an agent for the govern­ ment" or "they finally got to him" immediately appeared on Internetpostings and elsewhere. While it is generally not prudent to risk giving such silliness even an inkling of respectability by publicly acknowledging it, I will address the The Roswell Incident has long been the focus of intense scrutiny by the UFO commu­ nity. With the approach of its 50th anniver­ sary, the case may be due an in-depth re­ assessment. In an article sure to generate significant controversy, Kent Jeffrey explains his own change of heart. June 1997 Number 350 Page 3 MUFON UFO JOURNAL Although the Roswell Declaration was inspired by the 1947 Roswell event, it is by no means tied to it. The Declaration re­ quests "an Executive Order declassifying any informa­ tion regarding the existence of UFOs or ex­ traterrestrial intelligence." Such an assur­ ancewould still be timely, appropriate, and beneficial to both the U.S. government and its people. June Number 350 Page 4 issue here, nonetheless, because the accusations seem to be so widespread. First of all, no individual or agency has ever attempted to influence 01: pressure me in any way, shape, or form with regard to Roswell or anything else. Furthermore, if Roswell had re­ ally happened and if there had been any kind of attempt to intimidate me, such an action would have been the biggest mistake possible. Being somewhat rebellious by nature, I would have then pursued the matter with a vengeance, spurred on by the knowledge that I was really on to something. Secondly, I am not employed by the govern­ ment in any capacity whatsoever. My sole occu­ pation for the past 26 years has been that of air­ line pilot. I am employed by a major U.S. carrier and presently fly international routes, primarily to Europe. Although I have never seen a UFO, I have had a long-term interest in the phenome­ non. My interest in Roswell came about in part because my father, Arthur Jeffrey, a retired Air Force colonel, knew and worked in the early six­ ties with one of the key Roswell figures, General William Blanchard. While I did feel for a long time that there was a "significant" chance that Roswell involved a crashed UFO, 1 never at any time believed it to be the case with absolute certainty. However, even if I had only felt that there was a "slight" chance that Roswell involved the crash of an alien spaceship, I still would have pursued the matter vigorously, because, if true, it would have been the story of the millennium. The International Roswell Initiative There are apparently those who also feel that by reversing my position on Roswell I am drop­ ping the ball and letting down the twenty thou­ sand plus individuals who have signed the Roswell Declaration. That is anything but the case. First, with regard to reversing my stance, it is important to remember that the objective of the Roswell Initiative has been to find the truth, not define it. Unfortunately, the truth turned out to be different from what I thought it might be, or hoped it would be. However, now that I am ab­ solutely certain that the debris recovered from Roswell was not that from an extraterrestrial craft, I feel an obligation to get that information out as well. Not to do so would be less than forthright and less than honest. Secondly, as for the Roswell Declarations, the plan is to deliver them to the White House, along with a cover letter to the President, during the week of the 50th anniversary of the Roswell event this July. Whether or not the government has any substantive information on UFOs, from a public relations standpoint, the situation has not been handled well. The government's quasi­ official policy over the last few decades of ig­ noring the UFO issue has led to a definite suspi­ cion on the part of its citizenry. A 1996 Gallup pole revealed that 71 percent of the American public believes that "the U.S. Government knows more about UFOs than they are telling us." Although the Roswell Declaration was in­ spired by the 1947 Roswell event, it is by no means tied to it. The Declaration requests "an Executive Order declassifying any information regarding the existence of UFOs or extraterres­ trial intelligence." Such an assurance would still be timely, appropriate, and beneficial to both the U.S. government and its people. As is stated in the Declaration, if no informa­ tion is being withheld, such an action would, nonetheless,have the positive effect of setting the record straight and clearing up years of sus­ picion and controversy. On the other hand, if in­ formation is actually being withheld, it would represent knowledge of profound importance to which we are all entitled, and its release would be acknowledged as an historic act of honesty and goodwill. Misleading Information Many of the books and documentaries about Roswell imply that it is highly probable, if not certain, that the recovered debris was from a crashed Hying saucer. Some of that information, however, is misleading or incorrect. It ranges from fabricated stories on the part of seemingly credible witnesses to exaggeration and selective presentation of fact. In some instances, it is probably more a case of o'{erzealousness on the part of authors than intentional deception. In other instances, credi­ bility is stretched beyond limits. For example, after the conclusion of the story in the movie Roswell, statements of purported fact just prior to the credits inform us that Jesse Marcel, Sr., died in 1986 and that "since then over 350 wit­ nesses to the event have agreed to talk." In actu­ ality, because so few people ever saw the debris, it is doubtful whether even one tenth that num­ ber of witnesses could ever be produced. In retrospect, there is much about Roswell that I wish I had questioned more thoroughly, early on. For example, I received a very interest­ ing letter, dated March 20, 1993, written on the stationary of a respected majOl' UFO organiza­ tion. The author of the letter, in addition to being 1997 MUFON UFO JOURNAL a,board member of that organization, was a well-known Roswell researcher and the co-au­ thor of a leading book on the subject. I had no reason to question his credibility. In part the letter read: " ... a very important trip to New Mexico where we secured another first-hand wit­ ness to the bodies. This brings our total to EIGHT (emphasis in the original) with yet additional prospects. " My immediate thought was that if these (se­ cret and primarily military, I was told) witnesses could be convinced to come forward, we ~ould be able to break the Roswell case wide open. The letter represented a major turning point in my support for and involvement with the Roswell crashed-UFO investigation. I subsequelltly retained, at my personal ex­ pense, a major Washington, D.C., law firm to offer counsel to the eight witnesses in the hope of encouraging them to come forward. In September, 1993, I arranged for two of the attor­ neys from the firm to travel to New Mexico, where they were to be put in touch with three of the supposed eight secret witnesses. Once the at­ torneys arrived in Roswell, however, they were put in contact with only one such witness. I would later learn that this particular so-called se­ cret witness was already known to other re­ searchers and that his story was considered out­ landish and unbelievable -an assessment with which I now fully agree. Sending the two attorneys to New Mexico was a tremendously expensive waste of time and resources. The researcher and author who wrote the March 20, 1993. letter telling of the eight witnesses was, himself, eventually discredited. Although a very personable individual, he proved to be less than honest. He was subse­ quently removed from the board of the UFO or­ ganization with which he was affiliated and his co-author, still a respected researcher. dis­ avowed any association with him. As for the other seven "secret" witnesses, llothing has ever been heard from or about them since. LIFO Crashes Even before the advent of recent negative de­ velopments in the Roswell case, I have always felt that a UFO would never crash. However, be­ cause of the impressive witness testimony about which I was told, I suspended judgment and al­ lowed for the possibility that Roswell might be an exception -some kind of one-in-a-quintil­ lion fluke. That was, in retrospect, a mistake. The problem with the concept of a UFO crashing is that as technology advances, so does reliability. Be it with cars, airplanes, televisions, or wristwatches, the reliability of today's tech­ nology far exceeds that of the technology of just a few decades ago. For example, because of the high reliability of their engines, long-range, twin-engine commercial jetliners are now autho­ rized to fly nonstop across the North Atlantic. A few decades ago, that would have been unthink­ able. (The positive correlation between advanc­ ing technology and reliability applies to "proven" technology, not experimental state-of­ the art machines still in the developmental phase, such as experimental aircraft or space ve­ hicles.) With today's industry-average engine-failure rate of less than one failure per 100,000 flight hours, the chances of both engines of a two-en­ gine jetliner failing during a given hour of flight are less than one out of 10 billion. Figuring 50,000 aircraft-ocean crossings per year, and factoring in such variables as average time over the water and average distance from land, the odds are less than fifty-fifty of a double-engine failure and consequent ditching in the North Atlantic of even one such aircraft over the next 10,000 years. This incredible degree of reliability is found with a technology that would be primitive com­ pared with a UFO. Even with today's relatively "primitive" technology, our commercial aircraft have very efficient collision avoidance systems, as well as excellent radar systems for avoiding thunderstorms and their associated hail and lightning (phenomena, incidentally, that are surely not unique to this planet). If we assume that UFOs are extraterrestrial spacecraft and that some of the many reported UFO sightings are genuine UFOs. we are deal­ ing with machines apparently capable of high­ speed right-angle turns, incredible accelerations and speeds, and wingless flight -not to men­ tion of traveling light-years through the void of empty space in, presumably, a relatively short period of time. Such capability would require a technology totally beyond our present under­ standing of physics -a technology the sophisti­ cation of which we cannot even begin to imag­ ine. Because of the positive correlation between technology and reliability, such incredibly ad­ vanced technology would most certainly mean a correspondingly high degree of reliability. Common sense dictates that the chances of such machines crashing, breaking down, or colliding The problem with the con­ cept ofa UFO crashing is that as technology advances,so does reliability. Be it with cars, airplanes, tele­ visions, or wristwatches, the reliability of today's tech­ nology far ex­ ceeds that of the technology of just a few decades ago. June 1997 Number 350 PageS MUFON UFO JOURNAL "We are running down every re­ port. I can't even tell you how much we would give to have one of those crash in an area so that we could recover whatever1hey are." -Col. Howard McCoy, Chief of Intelligence, Air Material Com­ mand, Wright­ Patterson AFB, Mareh,1948 June Number 350 Page 6 would be all but zero. It certainly would be many orders of magnitude less than the already infinitesimally small chance of one of today's twin-engine jetliners having a double-engine failure. The 1948 Military Documents For me, the beginning of the end for the Roswell UFO case came last spring, when I first saw. one of a number of previously classified military documents dealing with unidentified flying objects. The 289-page document was re­ leased under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) in March 1996 in response to a FOIA re­ quest by researcher William LaParL It contained the minutes of the Air Force Scientific Advisory Board Conference at the Pentagon on March 17 and 18, 1948. Buried in the document was a very interesting statement by a Colonel Howard McCoy which referred to a number of unpub­ lished UFO reports. The last sentence of McCoy's statement, however, is devastating to the Roswell case. "We have a new project Project SIGN -which may surprise you as a develo­ mentfrom the so-called mass hysteria of the past Summer when we had all the unident({iedflying objects or discs. This can't be laughed oft: We have over 300 reports which haven't been publicized in the papers from very competent personel, in many instances -men as capable as Dr. K. D. Wood, and practically all Air . Force, Airline people with broad exper­ (mce. We are running down every report. I can't even tell you how much we would give to have one ofthose crash in an area so that we could recover whatever they are. " My first reaction to this statement was one of disbelief. Thoughts came to mind like "This can't be correct, there must be some mistake, this guy didn't know," etc. We are probably all somewhat prone to such initial reactions of de­ nial when confronted with facts that conflict with our preconceived notions of reality or our established beliefs. Most of the time, however, common sense, logic, and rationality prevaiL On the other hand, there is sometimes an invariable refusal to give up a particular contention or be­ lief, no matter how strong the evidence to the contrary. The result of such refusal is often il­ logical speculation and far-fetched scenarios, concocted in an effort to rationalize away the facts. It is a pitfall into which even credible re­ searchers sometimes tumble. The statement at the Scientific Advisory Board Confererice lamenting the fact that the Air Force did not have a crashed UFO was made by Colonel Howard McCoy. the Chief of Intelligence for Air Material Command at Wright-Patterson AFB. Wright Patterson is where the Air Force's technical and intelligence experts are concentrated, even today. It is where recovered wreckage from a foreign craft of any kind with the potential for invading our skies would be taken for technical analysis be it a MIG 29 or a Klingon battle cruiser. Ifthere had been a crashed flying saucer recovered outside ofRoswell, New Mexico, in July 1947, this is where it would have been taken. As Chief of Intelligence, Colonel Howard McCoy would have known about it. In addition to the minutes of the Air Force Scientific Advisory Board meeting, there are other military documents indicating just as un­ equivocally that the Air Force was not in posses­ sion of any physical evidence with regard to UFOs. Among these documents is a series of communiques dealing with "flying object inci­ dents in the United States" between Colonel McCoy at Wright Patterson and Major General C. P. Cabell, the Director of Intelligence for the Air Force at the Pentagon. In one of these com­ muniques, a letter dated November 8, 1948, McCoy made three separate references to the fact that there was no physical or tangible evi­ dence from a Hying saucer crash. Cabell used the information from McCoy's letter for prepa­ ration of a memorandum dated November 30, 1948, for Secretary of Defense James ForrestaL The lack of physical evidenc~ is also men­ tioned in a September 23, 1947, letter from Lieutenant General Nathan Twining, Commander of the Air Material Command at Wright Field, to Brigadier General George Schulgen, a top intelligence official at the Pentagon. The Twining letter was written less than three months after the Roswell incident. The letter is also significant because it makes reference to the cooperation between the Engineering Division and the Intelligence Division at the Wright Patterson complex. This cooperation is mentioned specifically in regard to assessing the nature of the mysterious "flying objects" about which there had been so many credible reports. The cooperation between the intelligence and engineering branches at Wright Patterson is fur­ ther corroborated by a "top secret" memoran­ dum for the Chief, Air Intelligence Division, 1997 MUFON UFO dated October II, 1948, signed by a Colonel Brooke Allen, Chief, of the Air Estimates Branch at Wright Patterson. The stated subject of the memorandum is "Analysis of Flying Object Incidents in the U.S." This memorandum is important because, along with the Twining letter, it confirms what is dictated by common .. sense -that if the engineering department pos­ sessed a crashed saucer, the intelligence depart­ ment would not only be aware of it, they would also be integrally involved with its analysis and the assessment of any potential threat posed to national security. The 1947 and 1948 military documents are definitive. They can not be simply or smugly characterized as "absence of evidence." They are evidence. They state definitively that there was no crashed saucer. Ifinstead of the above documents, re­ searchers had uncovered definitive and authentic documentation indicating the existence of a crashed saucer, such documentation would have undoubtedly been acknowledged by all and characterized as a "smoking gun." Victory would have been declared, and congressional in­ vestigations would have been all but certain. Predictably, some in the UFO field are react­ ing to the 1947 and 1948 military documents with an attitude reminiscent of the platitude, "don't bother me with the facts, my mind's made up." Ironically, this is the same type of mentality of which they are so quick to accuse their detractors. Narrow-mindedness, however, can exist on either side of the fence. The facts are now clear. We can't simply refuse to ac­ knowledge them because we don't like them. The Roswell crash didn't happen. It is time to face the music, and the band isn't playing our tune. The Men of the 509th The 509th Bomb Group was based at Roswell in 1947. In September 1996, I had the privilege of attending the reunion of the 509th Bomb Group in Tucson, Arizona, as a guest of General Bob Scott and his wife Terry. I have known the Scotts for a couple of years. By coin­ cidence, Bob's son is a pilot for the same airline for which I work. At the time of the 509th reunion, I had not yet seen atl the pertinent 1948 military docu­ ments and still held an inkling of hope that there might be something to the Roswell event. Prior to the reunion, I had sent out over 700 mailings to members of the reunion group in the hope of finding additional witnesses to the mysterious debris. The result was a disappointment only two calls, neither of which was of any real help. Both of the men who called were former 509th flight engineers. One had had a very interesting UFO sighting from the ramp at Kirtland Air Force Base. The other recalled seeing a lot of extra activity around one of the hangers at Roswell near the time of the 1947 incident. At the reunion in Tucson, fwas introduced to several of the pilots who were at Roswell in 1947 and who promptly told me, in no uncertain terms, that the crashed saucer event never oc­ curred, period. I did not get the impression at the time, nor have I ever since, that any of these men are engaged in some kind of incredible 50­ year-long massive coverup or that they were putting on an act or facade to throw me off track. Anyone who believes that to be the case is out of touch with the reality of this issue. Like every other person with whom I have ever dis­ cussed this subject, these men were in total agreement that anything as important and pro­ found as the knowledge of other intelligent life in the universe is information that should not be censored or suppressed and to which everyone should be entitled. These men risked their lives in World War II to save the world from the kind of totalitarian governments that, among their many other crimes against humanity, unjustifi­ ably suppressed information from their people. The men who were at Roswell during July 1947 feel very strongly that absolutely nothing out of the ordinary happened and that the whole matter is patently ridiculous. The 509th was the only atomic bomb group in the world in 1947 and was composed of a very elite group of indi­ . viduals, most of whom stilI feel a definite sense of pride in their former outfit. To them, the crashed-saucer nonsense, along with all the hul­ labaloo and conspiracy theories sUlTOunding it, makes a mockery of and is an insult to the 509th Bomb Group and its men. One of the 509th pilots I met at the reunion, Jack Ingham, has since become a friend and has helped me considerably in contacting additional members of the group who were stationed at Roswell during the time of the incident. When I first met Jack in Tucson, he spared no punches in letting me know exactly what he thought about the crashed-flying saucer matter. Others at the reunion told me that if something like the crash of a UFO had really happened at Roswell, Jack Ingham would have known. Jack spent a total of 16 years with the 509th Bomb Group February 1946 to July 1962. He retired from the Air Force as a lieutenant colonel in January 1971. Since last September, I have spoken with a total of 15 B·29 pilots and 2 B-29 navigators, all The 1947 and 1948 military documents are definitive. They can not be sim­ ply or smugly characterized as "absence of evi­ dence." They are evidence. They state defini­ tively that there was no crashed saucer. June 1997 Number 350 Page 7 MUFON LIFO JOURNAL Since last September, I have spoken with a total of 15 B~29 pilots and 2 B~29 navigators, all of whom were stationed at Roswell Army Air Field in July 1947. Most of them heard nothing about the supposed crashed~saucer incident until years later, af~ ter all the pub~ licity started. June Number 350 PageS of whom were stationed at Roswell Army Air Field in July 1947. Most of them heard nothing about the supposed crashed-saucer incident until years later, after all the publicity started. The few men who did recall hearing something about the incident at the time of its occurrence said that the inside word was that the debris was from a downed balloon of some kind and that there was no more than "one wheelbarrow full." Not one single man had any direct knowledge of a crashed saucer or of any kind of unusual mate­ rial. Even more significantly, in all of their col­ lective years with the 509th Bomb Group, not one of these men had ever encountered any other individual who had such knowledge. As Jack Ingham and others pointed out, the 509th was a very close-knit group and there was no wayan event as spectacular as the recovery of a crashed-alien spaceship from another world could have happened at their base without their having known about it. Despite the fact that they, individually, may not have been directly involved with the recovery operation, and de­ spite the pervasiveness of the "need to know" philosophy in the military, these men maintained that there was absolutely no way that something of such magnitude and so earthshaking would not have been communicated among the mem­ bers of the group -especially within the inner circle of the upper echelon of B-29 pilots and navigators -all of whom had top-secret secu­ rity clearances. Furthermore, unlike the atomic weapons secrets with which they were all en­ trusted, the existence of a crashed alien space­ ship would have been much more of a social and scientific issue than a national security issue. Additionally, word was already out -the story had been published in afternoon newspapers all over the Western United States. Most of the men of the 509th Bomb Group were primarily WWIT veterans in their mid-to late twenties. (Colonel Blanchard, the comman­ der of the group, was, himself, only 31.) Military regulations notwithstanding, human na­ ture and common sense have to be factored into the equation. Such an occurrence -the most significant and dramatic event in recorded his­ tory -would surely have been discussed by these men, at least among themselves. Memory, Communication, and Perception A few words about the potential pitfalls of human memory, communication, and perception might shed light on how the "myth" surrounding the Roswell event evolved. The following obser­ vations are strictly from the standpoint of com­ mon sense and real-world experience, not from some abstract or esoteric psychological theory. Faulty memory is obviously one of the biggest detriments to accurately reconstructing past events, especially if a great deal of time has elapsed. While memory generally serves us . well, it is unlike the playback of a digital tape ­ it is far from precise or absolute. With the pas­ sage of time, images from different events can be inadvertently blended together. Also, mental images of things only imagined can be inadver­ tently blended or confused with memories of things actually observed or events actually expe­ rienced. If memory were perfect, everyone of us would have consistently accomplished perfect scores in our comprehensive exams throughout high school and college. We would remember with perfect accuracy every name, face, scene, place, and event that we had ever heard, seen, or experienced. Obviously, human memory doesn't work this way. Interestingly, however, in the case of witness testimony, there often seems to be an unrealistic assumption that it does. Like faulty memory, inaccurate communica­ tion can also be a detriment to accurately recon­ structing past events. Miscommunication is defi­ nitely a factor with secondhand testimony. Perhaps, that is part of the reason secondhand testimony is not admissible in a court of law. There is a game sometimes played by children that amply illustrates the problem of miscommu­ nication, and consequently also secondhand tes­ timony. A group stands in a circle and a mes­ sage is whispered from one person to the next. After being passed around a few times, the origi­ nal message is usually completely unrecogniz­ able. It doesn't take much imagination to realize how much the problem would be exacerbated iJ there was a gap of several years each time the message was passed on. Interestingly, in the Roswell case, much of the secondhand testi­ mony, upon which so much importance is placed, comes from information passed on many years back. Errors in perception are probably more fre­ quent than most people realize. Perception is of­ ten intluenced by expectation. We have proba­ bly all noticed this phenomenon on a micro scale when trying to proofread something. Similar to a form of computer enhancement, the brain tends to automatically compensate for missing letters or words which are supposed to be there. In other words, it tends to automati­ cally "fill in the blanks." The problem of expectation influencing per­ ception is exacerbated when recalling past events. Memory seems to somehow have the 1997 MUFON UFO JOURNAL ability to distort an observation retroactively to make it better match expectation. This phenome­ non can be a real problem with eyewitness ac­ counts to traffic accidents, and even more so to aviation accidents -even accounts from expe­ rienced observers. For example, in August 1987, a Northwest Airlines MD-88 took off from Detroit Metro airport. The crew, however, had failed to lower the flaps to the takeoff position (15 degrees). Under most circumstances, this er­ ror would not have been a fatal mistake. Unfortunately, due to other contributing factors (short runway, hot day, fully loaded aircraft, etc.), they didn't make it. During the investiga­ tion of the accident, the crew of the aircraft in line for takeoff immediately behind the Northwest airplane testified that its flaps were definitely lowered to the takeoff position. Analysis of the wreckage and flight-data recorder, however, showed otherwise. The testi­ mony of the crew of the second aircraft was wrong. What they remembered was what they thought they should have seen rather than what they actually saw. A Trip to Washington The central focus of the Roswell story has been the recovery of the unusual debris from the Foster Ranch in July, 1947. This is where it all· started. The most important living witness to that debris is Jesse Marcel, Jr., MD, the son of Major Jesse Marcel, Sr., the intelligence officer of the 509th Bomb Group. After being out at the site, Major Marcel stopped by his house on the way back to the base and laid the debris out on his kitchen floor to show his wife and son. As a result, Jesse Marcel, Jr., got a good look at the unusual material. Potentially, the key to the whole Roswell UFO case lies in Jesse Marcel, Jr.'s memory. He saw the debris. Either it was extraterrestrial or it was not. Despite the recent overwhelmingly negative developments in the Roswell case, I did not want to leave any stone unturned. I therefore arranged to have Jesse Marcel, Jr. fly to Washington, D.C., for a thorough debriefing session to see if we could get a better picture of the exact nature of the unusual debris that pre­ cipitated the Roswell story. Being fully aware of the pitfalls in the use of hypnosis for memory retrieval, I decided that it still might be an avenue worth pursuing. In addi­ tion to its (controversial) use in retrieving re­ pressed subconscious memories, hypnosis can be an effective tool in enhancing conscious memory. Law enforcement agencies sometimes use hypnosis in this manner to help a witness better remember a face or a license plate num­ ber, for example. Because I considered our effort such an im­ portant endeavor, I wanted to find the best in the field. I also wanted someone who had maximum credibility and who was not associated with the UFO community. There was a reason for this. In the event that anything significantly positive came out of the hypnotic session, there would be a greater chance of it being taken seriously by the mainstream public. My search led me to Neil Hibler, PhD, a clin­ ical psychologist with an office in the Washington, D.C., area. Dr. Hibler is one of the world's leading experts in the use of hypnotic regression for forensic purposes. Law enforce­ ment agencies all over the world have retained him for important cases. Among the agencies that have called on him are the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the National Security Agency, the Defense Intelligence Agency, and the intelli­ gence agencies of all three armed services. Dr. Hibler has worked with subjects from all walks of life, including diplomats and generals. On the evening of January 10, 1997, four of us met in Dr. Hibler's office for the first of three sessions. The other two sessions took place over the next two days. Jesse Marcel, Jr., who is one of the most honest and sincere persons I have ever met, cooperated completely, despite the po­ tential controversy of any significant outcome. Dr. Hibler had suggested that everything be recorded on videotape. This was done by Denise Marcel, Jesse, Jr.'s 33-year-old daughter, who flew in from Los Angeles. Denise was espe­ cially interested in our endeavor because she has studied hypnosis formally and is a licensed hyp­ notherapist in California. Aprofessional illustra­ tor from the Washington, D.C., area, Kimberly Moeller, was also present during the second and third sessions. Dr. Hibler's approach was to have Jesse go through the entire story twice, without the aid of hypnosis. Hypnosis was then administered for each subsequent recounting of the story. According to Denise, her father is not an easy hypnotic subject, but was definitely in a mild to medium trance by the end of the last session. The hypnosis did not, however, bring out any­ thing new that was of significance. For that rea­ son, confabulation (false memory syndrome) was definitely not a concern. In Jesse's words, the hypnosis simply helped "tine tune" his con­ scious memory. For example, by the end of the last session, he was able to recall several details about which he had previously been uncertain -the debris' already having been laid out on Major Marcel stopped by his house on the way back to the base and laid the debris out on his kitchen floor to show his wife and son. As a result, Jesse Marcel, Jr., got a good look at the unusual material. Potentially, the key to the whole Roswell UFO case lies in Jesse Marcel, Jr.'s memory. He saw the debris. Either it was extraterrestrial or it was not. June 1997 Number 350 Page 9 MUFON UFO There were no technological artifacts of any type - no rem­ nants of any­ thing resem­ bling motors, servos, elec­ tronic compo­ nents, instru­ ments, a guId­ ance system, a control system, a propulsion system, etc. ­ nothing. The crash of a Sopwith Camel would have left more complex and sophisti­ cated debris. June Number 350 Page 10 I-Beam and pattems remembered by Jesse Marcel, Jr. Under hypnosis. Drawing by Kimberly Moeller. I the floor when he first saw it, the fact that his fa­ ther was in uniform, and his accompanying his father out to the car, where he ~aw additional de­ bris in the trunk. i The most significant thing rlbout the sessions I . in Washington is not so much what came out of them, but what didn't come ou:t of them. There were no descriptions or memofies of any kind of exotic debris or wreckage. Th~re is a very good reason for that -there simply: was no such ex­ otic debris or wreckage for Jes'se to remember. If there had been, in all probabili~y, he would have remembered it consciously. Nonetheless, be­ cause of the extreme importanbe of the debris to the Roswell case, the effort wds worth a try ­ just in case. There was no risk lor a negative ef­ fect on what Jesse remembered. Hypnosis can elicit memories of things that didn't happen, but I it can't take away memories of things that did I happen. I Unfortunately, instead of p~oviding any re­ I newed hope or encouragement, the outcome of the hypnosis sessions in Washington, D.C., was, I for me, the final nail in the cof,fin of the Roswell crashed-saucer scenario. The sessions made it I absolutely clear that the material recovered from the Foster ranch northwest of ~oswell in 1947 was anything but unique or exotic. As it turned I out, it was extremely mundane. According to Jesse's best recollection, the material laid out on his kitche~ floor, which was I representative of that at the site, consisted pri­ marily of pieces of metallic fOlI, a short beam or I "stick," and a few pieces of a plastic or Bakelite- like substance. Certainly, such mundane debris I would not constitute the wreckage from any kind of sophisticated vehicle ~r craft, much less one capable of interstellar trav,el. There was nothing to indicate form or stmc- I ture. There was nothing to indicate some kind of ultra-advanced technology. There were no tech­ nological artifacts of any type 1-no remnants of . I anything resembling motors, servos, electronic components, instruments, a gUidance system, a control system, a propulsion sYstem, etc. ­ nothing. The crash of a Sopwith Camel would have left more complex and sdphisticated debris. Even the debris from a two-thbusand-year-old Roman chariot would have be~n more interest- I I I ing and varied than the debris that was laid out on the Marcel kitchen iloor. At least with the chariot there would have been some technologi­ cal remnants such as parts of the axles and wheels. While we have no idea what the debris from a crashed spaceship would look like, it is reason­ able to assume that it would retlect a level of complexity and technologicl;ll advancement be­ yond imagination. Postulating that a few pieces of foil, plastic-like material, and short beams constitute the remains of a machine of such ca­ pability and complexity is more than just a quantum leap, it is completely baseless and to­ tally illogical. An Amazing Coincidence In addition to being mundane, the material re­ covered from the Foster ranch is detinitely rec­ oncilable with the debris from an ML-307 radar reilector -the length and cross-sectional size of the beams or sticks, the pieces of foil, and the plastic-like material (now thought to be part of one of the plastic ballast cases that contained sand). Even the color of the symbols that Jesse, Jr., remembers is almost identical to the color of the tlower patterns on the balsa stick that Irving Newton remembers seeing in Ramey's office. The crashed saucer scenario requires an im­ plausible occurrence_ A tlying saucer crashes northwest of Roswell, New Mexico, and leaves debris in the form of small pieces of foil, short beams that have a maximum length of about three feet, and pieces of Bakelite-like material. Amazingly, by incredible coincidence, a balloon array that disappeared in the same general area four weeks earlier carried three radar reflectors constructed/rom reflective/oil, short beams that have a maximum length o/aboUl three feet. and pieces ofBakelite-like material. Obviously, the idea of any such coincidence ever happening is absurd. The debris recovered from the Foster ranch was that of an ML-307 radar reflector. It is not hard to imagine how the apparent misidentification probably came about. During the previous two weeks, there had been a wave of sightings of tlying saucers or "disks" through­ 1997 MUFON UFO JOURNAL Strut and tape patterns as remembered by Irving Newton. Drawing by Kimberly Moeller. out the United States and Canada. The sightings were something that were in the news daily and were on almost everyone's mind - an "un­ known" in the sky. At the same time, balloon ar­ rays under a secret project known as "Mogul" were being launched from the Alamagordo area, just under 100 miles to the west of Roswell. These balloon arrays carried ML-307 radar re­ flectors, which would have been totally unfamil­ iar to Butch Blanchard, Jesse Marcel, and the other men at Roswell AAF. The debris from one of these reflectors scattered over the desert would likewise have been something unfamiliar to them an "unknown" on the ground. It is understandable that the unknown debris found northwest of Roswell would have been as­ sumed to be related to the unknown objects that had been so frequently reported flying around in . the sky, the flying "disks." Such a connection, although with the benefit of hindsight, incorrect, would have been very logical and understand­ able for the men at Roswell to make. This is al­ most certainly how the Roswell story began. The Missing Tape In the last few months, as part of my effort to reconstruct what happened at Roswell, I have had a number of conversations with Irving Newton, the weather officer at Fort WOIth Army Air Field who was called in by General Ramey to identify the unusual debris. The debris was al­ ready suspected to be part of some type of bal­ loon device. Newton told me that he immedi­ ately recognized it as being from an ML-307 radar renector. An ML-307 was a box kite-like device covered with a tough, paper-backed foil that was suspended below balloons or balloon arrays to facilitate radar tracking. According to Newton, most weather officers, much less the men at Roswell or Fort Worth, would not have been familiar with such a device. Newton had worked with the reflectors a couple of years ear­ lier during the invasion of Okinawa in the Pacific. The devices were suspended below bal­ loons, released to gather wind data for use in helping direct heavy naval artillery fire. In one of my conversations with Newton, quite by chance, a new and important revelation came to light. He was describing the color of the symbols on one of the balsa sticks and men­ tioned how it was faint and had somewhat of a mottled appearance because of "the way that the dye had bled through onto the surface of the stick." This was a very important piece of infor­ mation. The symbols that Newton saw on the debris in Ramey's office were on the surface of the stick, not on tape! The tape had apparently peeled away, probably because of several weeks' exposure to sunlight while it layout in the desert. This serendipitous revelation imme­ diately cleared up one of the biggest questions in my mind about the Roswell case -how could Jesse Marcel, Sr., or Jesse Marcel, Jr., for that matter, not have recognized nower patterns on tape? The answer is now crystal clear. The sym­ bols they saw were not on tape. What they saw were images of the original symbols from the dye that had bled through before the tape had peeled away. Jesse, Jr.'s testimony about the symbols definitely not being on tape was ab­ solutely correct. A Remarkable Resemblance During the sessions in Washington, D.C., the professional illustrator who was present drew a very accurate depiction of what Jesse, Jr., re­ membered -the "I-be am-like" member with the symbols on it. After learning what a good recollection of the symbols Newton had, I arranged for him to work with the same illustra­ tor so that we might have side-by-side sketches from the same perspective for comparison. As it turned out, the resemblance between the two sketches was remarkable. Even the artist commented that "it sure seemed like these two men were describing the same thing." Probably most amazing was the closeness of the color that the two men remembered. Other than Newton's color being more faded, the colors are nearly identical. The most significant discrepancy was the way the slight ridges on the upper and lower edges gave Jesse's beam the appearance of an 1­ Amazingly, by incredible co­ Incidence, a balloon array that disap­ peared in the same general area four weeks earlier carried three radar reflectors constructed from reflective foil, short beams that have a maxi­ mum length of about three feet, and pieces of Bakelite-like material. June 1997 Number 350 Page 11 MUFON UFO JOURNAL Jesse Marcel, Jr. under hyp­ nosis. The ses­ sions, all video­ taped, were conducted by Dr. Neil Hibler, a Washington, D.C. clinical psychologist, January 10-12, 1997. beam-like cross section. This was probably due to a slight error in Jesse's recollection. His fa­ ther, for example, remembered the small mem­ bers as having a rectangular cross section. In a 1979 interview with journalist Bob Pratt, Jesse Marcel, Sr., stated, " .. .it was a solid member, rectangular members, just like you get with a square stick." It is entirely possible, however, that the particular member that Jesse, Jr., held, could have had a ridge on its edges for some un­ known reason. The only other really significant discrepancy was in the color of the member. Jesse remem­ bered it being about the same color as that of the foil-like material, while Irving Newton remem­ bered it being almost white. Judging from the pictures taken in Ramey's office, however, the white that Newton recalled was probably accu­ rate. According to Charles Moore, the project engineer for "Project Mogul," the sticks were covered with glue or glue-like substance. This would probably have given them a different color than that of raw wood, as well as a differ­ ent feel or texture -probably to the degree that someone who didn't know what they were, might not recognize them as wood. The only other discrepancies were minor, such as differ­ ences in the size and spacing of the symbols. For anyone who suspects that Irving Newton is participating in a 50-year coverup and making up the story about the symbols or flower pat­ terns, all he needs to do is check out the July 9, \947, Roswell Daily Record. Rancher Mac Brazel is quoted as talking about sticks, foil, and tape with flower patterns on it. The Alleged Substitution . Most of us have seen the now-famous pic­ tures of the debris from Roswell taken in General Roger Ramey's office at Fort Worth Army Air Field. General Ramey, Colonel Thomas DuBose, Major Jesse Marcel, and Warrant Officer Irving Newton appear in the pictures, posing with the debris. The debris is clearly visible in all seven existing pictures. There is absolutely no question that this is the debris from an ML-307 radar reflector. [f this is the same debris that was recovered from the Foster ranch, then the Roswell case is closed, period. It's over, end of subject. In the January 1991 issue of the MUFON UFO Journal, there is an article by Jaime Shandera titled "New Revelations About the Roswell Wreckage: a General Speaks Up." The article included an extensive two-part interview with General Thomas DuBose, who was a colonel and General Ramey's chief of staff in 1947. DuBose met the plane carrying the mater­ ial picked up outside of Roswell and personally took it to Ramey's office. During the first of the two interviews, Shandera realized that General DuBose was not familiar with and had not seen the pictures taken of the debris in Ramey's of- June Number 350 Page 12 1997 MUFON UFO 1~'LII\'I"'1"> fice. Shandera then sent DuBose a set of the pic­ tures, prior to conducting the second interview. Throughout the two interviews, Shandera questioned DuBose with the doggedness of a district attorney, asking him nine times in nine different ways whether the debris had been switched. Nine times, General DuBose made it emphatically clear that the debris had not been switched. Among DuBose's responses were "We never switched anything ... We were West Pointers -we would never have done thaLI have damn good eyesight...1 had charge of that material, and it was never switched," When shown the pictures from Ramey's office and asked if he recognized the material, he replied, "Oh yes. That's the material that Marcel brought in to Ft. Worth from Roswell." In William Moore's book The Roswell Incident, Jesse Marcel, Sr., was interviewed about the debris. His responses were somewhat puzzling in that he indicated that the photos of him were of the actual debris, but that the later photos (without him) contained substituted ma­ terial. Later photos with substituted debris (even if they existed) wouldn't really matter. If the de­ bris in the photo with Major Marcel was the ac­ tual material, it was from an ML-307 radar re­ nector. Again, end of story. Among Marcel's responses were "They took one picture of me on the floor holding up some of the less-interesting metallic debris .... The stuff in that one photo was pieces of the actual stuff we had found. It was not a staged photo." During one of my interviews with Irving Newton, he mentioned how in Ramey's office, Marcel had pointed Ollt the symbols and indi­ cated that he (Marcel) thought they might be some form of alien writing. When I asked him if he was sure that it was Marcel who did that, Newton was emphatic that it was the man who "had collected the debris from the ranch." This is, of course, one fUither indication that the de­ bris in Ran1ey's office was the debris from the Foster ranch. There was no substitution. The de­ bris in the pictures was the same debris collected by Major Marcel at the Foster Ranch. It was the debris from an ML-307 radar reflector. There is also an interesting quote in Moore's book from Marcel about the so-called indestruc­ tibility of the material. It sounds like this now­ legendary indestructibility was actually more the kind of indestructibility that you would find in material from something like a tough, paper­ backed foil. Marcel stated, "It was possible to flex this stuff back and forth, even wrinkle it, but you could not put a crease in it that would stay, nor could you dent it at all. J would almost have to describe it as metal with plastic proper­ ties." Throughout the two interviews, Shandera questioned DuBose with the dogged­ ness of a dis­ trict attorney, asking him nine times in nine different ways whether the debris had been switched. Nine times, General DuBose made it emphatically clear that the debris had not been switched. June 1997 Number 350 Page 13 MUFON UFO JOURNAL Some of these attacks have been extended to Jesse Marcel, Jr., which I find as­ tounding. As I have already mentioned, he is as sincere and honest as anyone I have ever known. Like his father before him, he served his country during time of war. June Number 350 'Page 14 One could also lay tough, paper-backed foil on the ground and p<?und away with a sledge hammer and quite possibly not dent it. Interestingly, the sledgehammer test was only hearsay, anyway. One of the airmen allegedly performed the test and told Marcel about it after­ wards. This is possibly a good example of how rumors and myth begin. Besides, if this material was so indestructible, why did it break up into hundreds or thousands of little pieces? The real answer is, of course, that it was not so indestruc­ tible because it was from an ML-307 radar re­ flector that was apparently dragged across the ground as the balloon array descended. The Witnesses The testimony of the late Jesse Marcel, Sr., is probably the most important, as well as the most controversial, of the whole Roswell story. In essence, it forms the foundation around which the rest of the case is built. However, because the debris he recovered was not extraterrestrial, it could not have been what he said it was. That does not mean, however, that he did not believe it was extraterrestrial. In my opinion, it is very possible, if not highly probable, that he sincerely believed until the day he died that the material was something, as he once put it, "not of this earth." A less-than-perfect memory of events so long ago, in combination with the suspicion on his part of a coverup above his level of security or outside his need to know, makes such a sce­ nario entirely plausible. Unfortunately, because of minor, almost triv­ ial, inconsistencies in some of the things Jesse Marcel, Sr., said, or is believed to have said, some have made caustic personal attacks against a man no longer around to defend himself ­ and who was, in all probability, telling the truth as he recalled it. I have now spoken with a num­ ber of men from the 509th Bomb Group who knew Major Marcel. All had nothing but the highest regard and respect for him. Some of these attacks have been extended to Jesse Marcel, Jr., which I find astounding. As I have already mentioned, he is as sincere and honest as anyone I have ever known. Like his father before him\ he served his country during time of war. Few people know it, but he was se­ riously injured during the Vietnam War when his helicopter was shot down, killing everyone else on board. Like all of us, Jesse might not have 100 percent perfect recall of every past event, but I would never question his word. In a way, because the debris recovered out­ side of Roswell in 1947 was not extraterrestrial, none of the other witness testimony really mat­ ters. Ifthe story of a highly unusual and totally unprecedented event is killed at the source, sub­ sequent cOlToborating testimony goes out the window. For example, in the summer of 1993, a man from Seattle, Washington, made the un­ precedented claim that he had found a hypoder­ mic syringe inside a sealed can of Pepsi Cola. The story was picked up by the media, and within days there were copycat claims against the Pepsi Cola Corporation all over the country. Unfortunately for those who jumped on the bandwagon, the original claim turned out to be false. Where did that leave the subsequent claimants? Out on a limb that had been cut off, and, in this particular case, facing up to $250,000 in fines and five years in jail. The testimony of some of the other Roswell witnesses has been all but validated in the public eye because of repeated media coverage. For this reason I will address a couple of cases. Former mortician Glenn Dennis and the elu­ sive nurse, Naomi Self, who supposedly wit­ nessed alien autopsies at the base hospital is one of the best-known elements of the 1947 Roswell event. Although I know and like Glenn Dennis on a personal level, I have to say that his story has lost all credibility. Glenn, incidentally, has been fully aware of the fact that researchers have been spending time and resources in an effort to locate a "Naomi Self." There was already significant circumstantial evidence to indicate that no such nurse ever ex­ isted, when a diligent young researcher from Arizona, Vic Golubic, all but confirmed the fact. He located the records of the Cadet Nurse Corps, where all nurses for the military were trained during the mid-1940s. When Golubic checked with Dennis about the correct spelling of "Self' and informed him about the Cadet Nurse Corps records, Dennis changed his story, telling Golubic that Self was not really the cor­ rect last name after aIL Dennis, without giving a good reason for not doing so, also refused to tell Golubic the "real" last name. Sorry, Glenn, end of story. Both my father and I got to know Frank Kaufman very well and consider him a friend. However, as with Dennis, I have to say that in view of what we now know, there is no way that Kaufman's fantastic tale of a crashed spaceship with alien bodies could have any basis in reality. According to Kaufman's story, he was one of nine military men at the top-secret recovery op­ eration 35 miles north of town. Other than Kaufman; the only other living member of the "original nine" was a General Robert Thomas. The last time my father and I were in Roswell, Kaufman showed us some of his pic­ 1997 MUFON UFO JOURNAL tures, including one with him standing next to a brigadier general. My father asked Kaufman if that was Thomas, to which Kaufman replied in the affirmative. Unfortunately, my father, who spent 30 years in the Air Force, was unable to recognize the general. I later checked at the Air Force records center and learned that not only was there no living General Robert Thomas, but there never was a General Robert Thomas. On being confronted with this, Kaufman informed me that Thomas was really just a "code name." The final witness testimony that I will ad­ dress is that concerning Oliver W. (Pappy) Henderson. Millions have seen the "Unsolved Mystery" broadcast about Roswell with the scene of Pappy Henderson in his flight suit, leaning over and inspecting one of several alien bodies laid out on a hangar floor just prior to their being flown to Wright Patterson. Henderson, who died in 1986, on seeing a tabloid headline and story about Roswell, appar­ ently told his wife that the story was true and that he had flown the wreckage and bodies to Wright Patterson. My best guess is that the testi­ mony of Henderson's family years later was a case of memories of things read, or possibly seen in tabloid pictures, being blended or con­ fused with memories of what Henderson may have actually said. During my extensive conversations with pi­ lots from the 509th, I spoke with several who knew Henderson and remembered his having discussed the incident. Apparently Henderson, a C-54 transport pilot at the time, did fly some of the debris out of Roswell, possibly to Wright Patterson. Jesse Mitchell, one of the 509th pilots at the time and a retired lieutenant colonel, told me that Henderson told him that he never saw the debris and he had no idea what it was. Mitchell was a good friend of Henderson's and almost decided to go into the roofing business with him in Roswell after Henderson left the service. Another former member of the 509th, Sam McIlhaney, also a retired lieutenant colonel who knew Henderson well, told me that they used to talk about the incident occasionally while sitting around in the hangar. According to Mcllhaney, Henderson considered the whole matter a big joke and used to kid about it. 'rhe Guardians of the Hangar Researching Roswell is somewhat akin to prospecting, in that most of the time you spend countless hours and come up with nothing. Occasionally, however, you might hit pay dirt and come up with a real find. That happened with me during my polling of the pilots and nav­ igators of the 509th, when I contacted Walter Klinikowski. Klinikowski is one of the most interesting in­ dividuals with whom I have spoken during this entire Roswell endeavor. After my first conver­ sation with Klinikowski, I soon learned from other members of the 509th Bomb Group that his piano playing was almost legendary. He told me that while in high school at age 15, unbe­ known to his parents, he took his first profes­ sional job. The musician's union set him up in the pit band of a local burlesque theater, where he soon became acquainted with none other than the famous Gypsy Rose Lee. As if his piano talent was not enough, Klinikowski later was sponsored by the Philadelphia Athletic Club as a potential member of the 1940 U.S. Olympic team. The war came along, however, and the games were never held. During World War II, he was a navigator on a B­ 17 -one of highest risk jobs in the war. Following the war, after a couple of years of civilian life, Klinikowski was recalled to the ser­ vice, where he joined the 509th Bomb Group at Roswell in May 1947. He stayed with the 509th until February 1953. What makes Walter Klinikowski so important to the investigation of the Roswell case is not his time with the 509th, but what he did afterward. For 14 years, from 1960 until 1974, when he re­ tired from the Air Force as a colonel, Walter Klinikowski was with the Foreign Technology Division (FID) of the Air Material Command (AMC), based out of Wright Patterson Air Force Base. (The FTD is now called the National Aerospace Intelligence Center.) From 1960 to 1964, he was "Deputy Director of Intelligence Collections," and then later, after spending some time abroad as a liaison officer for the FTD, he returned to Wright Patterson as "Director of Foreign Activities" from 1970 until 1974. The fact that wreckage of a crashed UFO . would have been taken to the Foreign Technology Division of AMC at Wright Patterson Air Force Base for analysis is disputed by no one, to my knowledge. Ifthat had been the case, Klinikowski would have known about it, but he didn't. Walter unequivocally assured me that there was no wreckage of a crashed flying saucer from Roswell or anywhere else at Wright Patterson. The rumors of the secret hangar and alien bodies are just that rumors. Klinikowski was kind enough to put me in touch with his former boss at the Foreign Technology Division, Walter Vatunac. Vatunac, who had actually been stationed at Roswell in During my ex­ tensive conver­ sations with pi­ lots from the 509th, I spoke with several who knew Henderson and remembered his having dis­ cussed the in­ cident ... he considered the whole matter a big joke and used to kid about it. June 1997 Number 350 Page 15 MUFON UFO The fact that wreckage of a crashed UFO would have been taken to the Foreign Technology Division of AMC at Wright Patter­ son Air Force Base for analy­ sis is disputed by no one, to my knowledge. If that had been the case, Klinikowski would have known about it, but he didn't. June Number 350 Page 16 the late I940s, was the Director of Intelligence Collections at the Foreign Technology Division from 1957 until 1962. (The FTD was called the Air Technical Intelligence Center prior to 1961.) Like Klinikowski, Vatunac found the matter of alien bodies and a crashed spaceship very hu­ morous and was incredulous that so many people actually believe it. After my conversations with Klinikowski and Vatunac, Harry Cordes, a former 509th pilot and a retired brigadier general, suggested I call a for­ mer acquaintance of his, George Weinbrenner, who had also been at the FTD. I contacted Weinbrenner, who was more than accommodat­ ing, especially when he found out that I knew Walter Klinikowski. Weinbrenner told me pretty much what I had already learned from Klinikowski and Vatunac, but it was interesting talking to him, nonetheless. With respect to the crashed UFO subject, he also found it humorous and stated that "if something like' that had hap­ pened, I would have known about it." He cer­ tainly would have. George Weinbrenner was the commander of the Foreign Technology Division for six years (1968 unti11974). I cannot state strongly enough that I have ab­ solutely no doubt that these three men were telling me the truth. I repeat, no doubt. Those who want to rationalize away the facts by sug­ gesting that these men are still participating in some super-long-term, massive coverup might give some thought to the following. If there had been a crashed UFO, and for some reason it was still being kept secret, why on earth would these men waste inordinate amounts of their own time playing a ridiculous game of charades with me? They wouldn't. There would be absolutely no reason for doing so. All they would have had to do, would have been to politely tell me they didn't know anything, and leave it at that. Klinikowski, Vatunac, and Weinbrenner are all retired colonels. They all held important posi­ tions at the Foreign Technology Division at Wright Patterson. As such, they represent the ul­ timate source of information with regard to the crashed UFO question. This is the word "right from the horse's mouth," the incontrovertible, ir­ refutable truth, the final confirmation - no alien bodies, no secret hangar, and no UFO crash at Roswell. Case closed. A Red Herring In essence, the 1947 Roswell case has turned out to be a red herring, diverting time and re­ sources away from research into the real UFO phenomenon. Despite overwhelming facts to the contrary, there are those, however, who will fight to keep the myth alive at all cost. Roswell is a sa­ cred cow for some, and a cash cow for others. Inevitably, there will be tierce opposition to much of what has been said in this article. I would be the last, however, to discourage ratio­ mil and thoughtful response, for healthy debate and a free exchange of ideas are part of what makes our democratic system work, Any complete and reasonable response by those who still contend that a UFO crashed at Roswell in 1947 will need to directly address the points below, each of which would have to be a true statement if such a crash occurred: • A machine with unimaginable technological sophistication and consequent incredible reliabil­ ity would have simply broken down and crashed. • The only known wreckage from this sophis­ ticated vehicle, capable of interstellar travel, would have consisted solely of a few short beams, pieces of foil-like material, and small pieces of thin plastic-like material. • By incredible coincidence, the material from the crashed spaceship would have very closely resembled the material left by the radar l'et1ectors from a balloon array that went down in the same general area a few weeks earlier. • Despite the fact that this would have been the most spectacular event in recorded history, and despite the fact that word was already out that something had happened (because of Lt. HaUl'S press release), there was absolutely no contemporary discussion or talk about such an earthshaking event among the pilots and naviga­ tors of the close-knit 509th Bomb Group. • West Point graduate and retired general Thomas DuBose, would have to have lied nine times in an interview when he stated that the de­ bris (definitely that from an ML-307 radar ret1ec­ tor) shown in the pictures in Ramey's office was not substituted material and was the "real debris" recovered from the ranch northwest of Roswell. • Major General C. P. Cabell, Director of Intelligence for the Air Force at the Pentagon, who prepared a report on the unidentified flying object situation for the Secretary of Defense, as­ toundingly, would have been preparing the report totally ignorant of the fact that the Air Force was in possession of a crashed flying saucer. • Three retired Air Force colonels, all former top officials at the Foreign Technology Division at Wright Patterson Air Force base would have 1997 MUFON UFO JOURNAL been lying to me -unnecessarily wasting inor­ dinate amounts of their own personal time in a protracted game of charades. We have now gotten to the heart of the story and established that the debris recovered from the Foster ranch and laid out on the Marcel kitchen t100r was, except for some unusual sym­ bols, of a very mundane nature. The following should then be asked of those still arguing the is­ sue: How do you get a crashed alien spaceship out of such ordinary debris? What basis is there now for postulating the existence of a crashed UFO? The Future At the beginning of this article, I included a letter from a 6th-grade student, Lauren M., asking about Roswell and about information to help her prove that there are UFOs and aliens. My re­ sponse to Lauren with respect to Roswell has al­ ready been made patently clear throughout this at1icle. With respect to aliens, I would tell Lauren that probably only the most narrow-minded of people consider the earth as being the only place where there is intelligent life in the universe. The . earth is but a small speck in a vast universe that is, according to current-scientific thinking, most likely teaming with life some of it probably far more intelligent than we are. Incredibly, New York Sun editorial writer and former civil war correspondent Francis Pharcellus Church seemed to have a grasp on all of this a hundred years ago. In his timeless editorial to Virginia O'Hanlon he wrote "In this great uni­ verse of ours man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect, as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capa­ ble of grasping the whole of truth and knowl­ edge." UFOs or alien spcecraft, however, are another matter. While we don't yet have tangible evi­ dence that alien spacecraft exist, there have been many intriguing sightings by credible people that seem to defy conventional explanation. Like the few brief tantalizing signals that have been picked up by the SETI program, the evidence for UFOs has not yet qualified as solid proof in the eyes of the scientific community. Perhaps that might come in Lauren's lifetime. If such confirmation does come, it would rep­ resent one of the most remarkable events in hu­ man history. The long-contemplated philosophi­ cal and scientific question of whether we are alone in the universe would be answered once and for all with absolute tlnality. Perhaps most important of all, the knowledge that it is possible for a civilization to survive the growing pains of becoming technologically advanced, without completely destroying itself and its environment in the process, would provide a renewed hope for the future of life here on earth. Dr. Neil Hibler, the forensic hypnotist who conducted the Jesse Marcel, Jr. sessions. From the video by Denise Mar­ cel. June 1997 Number 350 Page 17 MUFON UFO JOURNAL Prometheus Books, 1997, he, 264 pp., iIIus., $26.95 ISBN 1-57392­ 127-0 June Number 350 Page 18 Reviewed by Karl T. Pflock T hiS book is like the Roswell case itself. There's a lot less here than meets the eye. Much is promised, little is delivered. No matter where the reader may stand with respect to the facts and truth of Roswell, disappointment and frustration is inevitable with this quickie cut-and­ paste job, rushed into print by the de facto book­ publishing arm of the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP) to capitalize on the 50th anniversary of the Roswell non-crash/retrieval and push CSICOP's line that UFOs can't be, therefore they aren't. . At the outset, Korff correctly observes, "The Roswell incident, and all that surrounds it, is a complex web of events, not easily understand­ able nor explainable until examined fully and in painstaking detail." He then proceeds to skip across the surface of the murky Roswell waters like one of Kenneth Arnold's saucers, with the all important details left submerged in the depths and few pains taken. The same is true of his editors. The book is riddled with typographical errors, bad grammar and usage, easily caught factual errors, etc. It is a slap-dash job by all concerned, and tells us more about CSICOP's agenda than it does about Roswell. The publisher's jacket blurb declares Korff s work "a ground-breaking investigation that fi­ nally determines the real truth [as opposed to the "unreal truth"?] behind the Roswell mystery." In fact, while Korff brings some interesting tidbits to light, all the important ground was broken and well plowed some years ago-principally by Robert Todd, Prof. C. B. Moore, Capt. James McAndrew, and, yes, myself. The fundamental elements of the "real truth" have been publicly known since June 1994, revealed in detail in my Roswell in Perspective (RiP). These were mas­ sively supplemented by The Roswell Report: Fact vs. Fiction in the New Mexico Desert, pub­ lished in 1995 by a reluctant Air Force goaded into action by New Mexico Congressman Steve Schiff. In the intervening years, Robert Todd, I, and others independently have provided further elaboration, clarification, and correction in occa­ sional articles, papers, and letters of comment in UFO journals, on the Internet, and even in CSI- COP's own magazine, the Skeptical Inquirer. Hey, CSICOP: Been there, done that! Although we are told this volume culminates 16 years' research, of the book's more than 350 notes to text, only a few suggest any original in­ vestigation by the author, and most of these cite telephone interviews conducted in the fall of 1996. The rest show us where Korff did the lion's share of his "painstaking" research: in the pages of other books about Roswell. Tellingly, . some of these notes give the reader a bum steer-as for example, citing my RiP as the source of this intriguing quote attributed to Roswell researcher Kevin Randle: "If I had to rely on the public record [in the Roswell case], I'd throw up. The evidence is not strong and it's not compelling." . Large chunks of text are pages-long extracts of others' words and findings, notably Todd's, and nearly 10 percent of the book is given over to an appendix, "The Roswell Incident and the NYU Balloon Project," lifted from the Air Force's RosweliReport (from which Korff also cribbed most of his illustrations). The lengthy bibliography is larded with references having no bearing on the case at hand and, oddly, does not include my RiP, the only skeptical look at Roswell written by what Korffs CSICOP pa­ trons call a pro-UFOlogist and from which Korff lifts a line out of context and uses it to misrepre­ sent my views on what actually "crashed" at Roswell (see Korff, p. 227, and Pflock, pp. 113­ 117, especially p. 116). While Korff says and I believe this was inadvertent. it tells us something of the rigor of his research. One of the enticements Korff and his pub­ lisher dangle before the unsuspecting is the promise of "information never before pub­ lished-military records, formerly classified pro­ jects, and correspondence-revelations powerful enough to change public opinion forever." It turns out the book contains but six examples of such, none of the earth-shattering significance touted in the foregOing hype. Briefly, they are: (I) Lydia Sleppy worked at Albuquerque's Radio KOAT in early July 1947, when she says she received a call from the late Johnny McBoyle, station manager of a KOAT affiliate in Roswell. As Sleppy tried to send McBoyle's "scoop" about a crashed flying saucer over a news wire, she claims. the "receive" bell on her Teletype began ringing, and a "stop transmitting" message from the FBI was printed automatically. Korff was advised by the FBI that it did not have such an intercept capability in New Mexico in July 1947 and had no record of such an inci­ dent. Moreover, the Bureau said the Teletype 1997 MUFON UFO JOURNAL model at KOAT required the operator to flip a switch to receive an incoming message. This, Korff says, disproves Sleppy's claim of FBI in­ terference: But does it? He does not tell us how the FBI determined the Teletype model decades after the fact, and his notes reveal the "evidence" on which he bases his conclusion: a series of per­ sonal telephone conversations in 1996 between the author and unnamed persons in the FBI's headquarters and its Dallas field office. (2) The late Oliver Wendell "Pappy" Henderson was a C-54 transport pilot at Roswell in July 1947. According to family members and his friend John Kromschroeder, Henderson saw alien bodies and flew saucer wreckage to Wright Field, Ohio. Kromschroeder also claimed Henderson showed him what he said was a piece or pieces of the doomed saucer. Here Korff seems to have scored a useful hit. He located and interviewed Jonathan Smith, one of Henderson's military buddies. Smith revealed Henderson had some fragments of a German V-2 rocket (not a"buzz bomb," as misidentified by Korft), which he often showed friends, telling them they were pieces of a crashed UFO. (3) In 1987, what purported to be a draft Top Secret document was made public, revealing the existence of MJ-12, a group of government offi­ cials and scientists formed after the Roswell inci­ dent to manage and keep secret the truth about UFOs. One alleged member of the group was as­ tronomer and vehement UFO debunker Donald Menzel, who did much classified work for the U.S. government. This has been taken by many, notably Roswell luminary Stanton Friedman, to be one proof of the reality of MJ-12. Korff convincingly relates that, while working at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in 1988, his duties permitted him to view all of Menzel's security files. They contained not even a hintofMJ-12. Another useful hit. (4) In 1989, Roswell researcher Bill Moore stunned the UFO field in. a speech before the an­ nual MUFON symposium. Moore said he was working with intelligence operatives, spying on and sowing disinformation in the UFO research community. He did this, he said, to gain informa­ tion about UFOs from his spy masters. W ith amusing melodramatic flourishes, Korff tells us that in 1982 Moore at­ tempted to use him to acquire film of a UFO from the late Pete Mazzola, a New York re­ searcher. Korff says Moore told him essentially the same story he made public seven years later, claimed aliens had been influencing us for thou-_ sands of years and were responsible for things now attributed to Jesus Christ, and warned Kortl he "could be killed" if he did not cooperate. Interesting, if true, but why did Korff wait 15 years 10 tell this tale? (5) & (6) These are the promised never before published military records and cOITespondence­ a page from Roswell Army Air Field intelligence officer and key Roswell incident witness Jesse Marcel, Sf.' s May 6, 1948, officer efficiency re­ port in which his tendency to "magnify prob­ lems" is mentioned, and a ca. 1950 letter to Marcel from his sister, asking him to seek release from the service so he can look after their 92­ year-old invalid mother. While it is true these documents have not been published before, last year Robert Todd made public the substance of the former, and the latter merely provides the precise reason for Marcel's September 1950 hardship release from active duty. These "nice to haves" and "so whats?" consti­ tute the entire body of this dreadful book's "reve­ lations powerful enough to change public opin­ ion forever." Even the chapter devoted to de­ . bunking the infamous alien autopsy hoax film is remarkably superficial and tells us nothing new of any significance. This is especially disappoint;­ ing, since high-tech analysis of imagery is one of Kortl's areas of true expertise, as he so devastat­ ingly demonstrated in his expose of the Billy Meier cult/con (Spaceships ofthe Pleiades: The Billy Meier Stm:y, Prometheus, 1995). Sadly, The Roswell UFO Crash is a waste of time and money for anyone in search of "what they don't want you to know" about Roswell. Copyright © 1997 Karl T. Pjlock Karl Ptlock is the author of Roswell in Perspective (1994), published by and still avail­ able from the Fund for UFO Research or, auto­ graphed, directly from him. His current research is based on the working assumption that the an­ swers to the UFO enigma may well lie in the data accumulated from the mid-l 940s through the mid-1960s. He also is collaborating with James W. Moseley, "notorious" editor of "Saucer Smear," on Shockingly Close to the Truth! Moseley's ufological memoir. Karl in­ vites anyone who has information bearing on any case from the "Golden Age of UFOs" or re­ lated matters to contact him: PO Box 93338, Albuquerque, NM 87199-3338; 505/867-0893; klperehwon@aol.com. Korff convinc­ ingly relates that, while working at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in 1988, his du­ ties permitted him to view all of debunker Donald Menzel's secu­ rity files. They contained not even a hint of MJ-12. June 1997 Number 350 Page 19 ... c is ~ z c 3 i i ~ ~ MUFON 1997 INTERNATIONAL UFO SYMPOSIUM SPEAKING PROGRAM SATURDAY, JULY 12 MORNING SESSION 9:00 a.m. Welcome to Grand Rapids ............... . ......Linda C. Murphy Co-State Director for Michigan MUFON Director of Public Education Introduction, Master of Ceremonies. . .. ..................... . .. 9: 10 a.m. Greetings from the Mutual UFO Network .........Walter H. Andrus, Jr. International Director Seguin, Texas 9: 15 a.m. "Dedication to Kenneth Arnold" .... . ..........Walter H. Andrus, Jf. 9:30 a.m. "Connections: A Lifetime of Shared Experiences" .................. '" ..............Beth Collins and Anna Jamerson Coauthors of "Connections: Solving Our Alien Abduction Mystery" 11:05 a.m. Symposium Proceedings Dedication .............Walter H. Andrus, Jr. II: 15 a.m. LUNCH (place of your choice) AFTERNOON SESSION 1:00 p.m. "Encounters: Now and Then" ...............John S. Carpenter, MSW MUFON Director for Abduction Research Springfield, Missouri 2:00 p.m: "Five Themes: Further Findings of the Abduction Transcription Project" .......... . ....Dan R. Wright, MA Manager, Abduction Transcription Project Morrice, Michigan 3:00 p.m. BREAK 3:30 p.m. "The God Hypothesis" Joe Lewels, Ph.D. MUFON Consultant in Communications El Paso, Texas 4:30 p.m. "The Roswell Story, 1997" ................Stanton T. Friedman, M.S. MUFON Director of Special Investigations Author and Researcher Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada 5:30 p.m. DINNER (place of your choice) EVENING SESSION 7:30 p.m. "Sightings from an African Casebook" '" .............Cynthia Hind MUFON Continental Coordinator for Africa Harare, Zimbabwe, Africa 8:30 p.m. "UFOs at Fifty: Some Personal Observations" ........ David M. Jacobs, Ph.D. Author and Abduction Researcher Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania 9:30 p.m. "The UFO Phenomenon and the Suicide Cults - An Ideological Study" ........................................................... Budd Hopkins Author and Abduction Researcher New York, New York SUNDAY, JULY 13 MORNING SESSION 9:00 a.m. "An Analysis of the 1940 Wartena Case: Discovering the Alien Agenda" ............................................ Warreri P. Aston UFO Researcher Brisbane, QLD, Australia 10:00 a.m. 'The Beginning of the UFO Era" ........................................... .Jan L. Aldrich Project 1947 Canterbury, Connecticut 11:00 a.m. LUNCH (place of your choice) AFTER.'/I,/OON SESSION 1:00 p.m. "Monitoring Air Force Intelligence: Spain's 1992-1997 UFO Declassification Process" ....................... Vicente-Juan Ballester Olmos MUFON Representative for Spain Author and Researcher Valencia, Spain 2:00 p.m. "Ufology in the Far East China, Japan and Korea" Antonio Huneeus MUFON International Coordinator and FATE Magazine UFO Editor Brooklyn, New York 3:00 p.m. BREAK 3:30 p.m. "June 24, 1947: How It All Began, The Story of the Arnold Sighting" ....................... Bruce S. Maccabee, Ph.D. Maryland State Director, Consultant and Photo Analyst Sabillasville, Maryland 4:30 p.m. Question and Answer Panel: Composed of All Speakers ...................................................... Walter Andrus, Moderator 5:30 p.m. Invitation to MUFON I 998.lnternational UFO Symposium in Denver, Colorado, July 3, 4, & 5 5:35 p.m. ADJOURNMENT ............................................................ William J. Murphy Co-State Director for Michigan ~ (3 Z C (3 '5 c ~ » r MUFON UFO JOURNAL FL YING SAUCER DIGEST Publishing for over 30 years. The number one privately pub­ lished UFO magazine in the world. Free offer with each 4-issue subscription: 10 different UFO maps & 4 unique UFO illustra­ tions, ready for framing. $10.00 to UAPA-M, Box 347032, Cleveland, Ohio 44134. MINI-ALIENS Hand-painted, museum quality, 4 112 to 7 inches tall. Grey, Reptilian, Roswell, Neonatal, Nordic, Ancient & Men in Black w/description cards. $5.95 ea. or collect all seven for $29.95 UFO Specialties, Inc., PO Box 7477, Clearwater, FL 34618, Visa, MC (813) 5324269, fax (813) 524-0070. FL res. add 7% sales tax. $3 sth. THE UFO-FBI CONNECTION History of early AF coverup. Learn why Air Force intelligence told the FBI that top Air Force ofticials thought UFOs were inter­ planetary. Autographed manuscript mailed for $15. Order from Bruce Maccabee, 6962 Eyler Valley Flint Rd, Sabillasville, MD 2J780. Celebrate the "Glorious 24th" (of June) with "the real X- Files." FREE TRIAL ONLINE UFO NEWSLETTER!! CNI News is a twice-monthly electronic newsletter addressing UFO phenomena, claims of human-alien contact, space explo­ ration and related issues. CNI News is timely, accurate, global news, edited by Michael P. Lindemann. Email: CNINewsl@aol.com for two free trial newsletters. Website http://www.cninews.com UFO SEMINAR OF THE YEAR: Stanton Friedman C'une 21) on crashed saucers, gov't coverup and MJ-12. Dr. John Mack (June 22) will discuss UFO abductions, their social & spiritual implica­ tions. Per day: $65 until March 31; $75 thereafter. Both days: $120 IIntii March 31, $150 thereafter. Omega Communications, Box 2051-M, Cheshire, CT 06410-5051. IMPLANT REMOVAL LECTURE AVAILABLE. Photographer of close-up operating room photos of removals 8/95 by Dr. Leir will lecture with results report and recent video interview with implantee Pat ParineIlo, including video of Texas UFOs by Pat. Erik Beckjord, curator, UFO Museum, 709 Union, SF, CA 94133, (415) 974-4339. Fees support research. ARE UFOs IN THE BIBLE'! Absolutely. God has the answer to the big question, Wlty are they here? Read Tlte Agellda by B. Fox. Scriptures & references by John Mack, Travis Walton & others. Send check or money order for $12.50 to B. Fox, Offer #101, PO Box 6057, Walker Branch, Roswell, NM 88202. Rechargeable telephone card free with each order. I AM TOTALLY CONVINCED that a technologically advanced civilization existed on our planet prior to our record­ ed history. Am putting together a non-protit research organiza­ tion, the Atlantis Society, to discover physical evidence of that civilization. Need a "Lord Carnavon" to finance expedition. Dr. Byron E. Edwards, ph (615) 888-3053; Lantis2@aol.com. IF YOU'VE SEEN A UFO and/or its occupants in N.C. or S.C. and will give permission to use your report in my upcoming 50 year historical Carolinas UFO book I would welcome them. George 0, Fawcett, 602 Battleground Road, Lincolnton, North Carolina 28092. THE TRUTH REVEALED! UFOs: Secrets of the Black World. 135 min. video. Area 51 & more! $34.95+$4.95 s/h. Top Secret/Majic. Documented truth about Roswell & government cover-up. $22.95+$4.95 s/h. Send payment to Old World Treasure Company, 1133 N. Glenwood St., Suite M, Allentown, PA 18104. LITTLE GREY Alien oriented merchandise and books. Frorn the whimsical to the hardcore, Little Grey is your source. Celebrate the 50th anniversary of modern ufology and beyond with us. Send $2.00 for our price catalog. It's expanding everyday to offer you more. Little Grey, Box 490, Portland, TN 37148. VIDEO/AUDIO TAPES on UFOs, crop circles, aviation mys­ teries, NDE, Face on Mars & other fascinating topics. Free list & sample newsletter from The Eclectic Viewpoint, Box 802735­ M, Dallas, TX 75380. Future lecture hotline (214) 601-7687. "RINGMAKERS OF SATURN," Norman Bergrun, Pentland Press, 1986. Many color photographs enlarged from Voyager pictures. Shows several gigantic Electromagnetic Vehicles forming rings. Implies presence of long-lasting super-intelligent civilization with ability to move moons. Consistent with cen­ turies of telesccopic observations of rings. Robert Willsey rec­ ommends best buy, $55.00. (800) 948-2786. BOOK SALE Free 5 large special UFO maps, 4 fantastic illustrations with each order. They Called Them Discs $5.95, Ice Falls & Angel Hair $7.95, Mysterious Things in the Sky $4.95, UFO chronolo­ gy map with index guide book $8.95. Send to UAPA-M, Box 347032, Cleveland, Ohio 44134. THE EXCYLES Mia Adams' true story about her contacts with ETs & romance with intelligence agent. Included is the agent's repOit outlining the agendas of alien confederations on Earth & intelligence agencies network created to deal with them. Send $16.95 + $2 5th to Excelta Publishing, PO Box 4530, Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33338. IS PLANET X HEAVEN? Bible provides orbital period and return date for Sitchin's Nibiru. Which Mesopotamian deity is YHWH? Bible mathematically coded transmission. Relates UFOs ET contact. Christ Nibirian hybrid. Revised edition of The Bible ... An Extraterrestrial Transmission. c.L. Turnage. $23.00. Flying Disk Publications. P.O. Box 14109, Dallas, TX 75214. NATIONAL UFO CONFERENCE September 6 34th Annual National UFO Conference, Springfield, Ohio. Speakers include Dr. Bruce Maccabee, Stanton Friedman, Dr. David Jacobs, Dr. Mindy Kopolow, Robert Galganski & Rich Hillberg. For information write National UFO Conference, P.O. Box 375, Springfield, OH 45501-0325 or email atlaputa@worldnet.att.net. June Number 350 Page 21 1997 MUfON UfO JOURNAL July 1997 Bright Planets (£Venlng Sky): Venus (magnitude -3.9) continues to lie low in the WNW at twilight and sets about an hour and a half after the Sun. The dazzling planet can be seen 5° above the crescent Moon on the 6th and 1 0 above the star Regulus on the 22nd. It forms a compact group with the star and the planet Mercury on the 25th. Binoculars help in viewing all of these low-altitude pairings. Mars (0.8). in Virgo, is low in the SWat dusk. setting about 11 :30 PM in mid-july. The ruddy object lies only 1.8 0 below the quarter Moon on the 11 tho Jupiter (-2.8). in Capricornus. rises in the E.SE. about 9:30 PM in midmonth and advances across the southern sky during the night. Bright Planets (Morning Sky); jupiter moves to the SSW by dawn. Saturn (0.6), in Pisces. rises in the E. about midnight in mid-July. It is well up in the SE. by dawn. The giant world can be found in the vicinity of the Moon on july 25. Pathfinder Lands on Mars: Exactly 21 years after Viking I executed the first soft­ landing on Mars, Mars Pathfinder is scheduled to repeat a Fourth of July landing at the mouth of an ancient dry water channel on the red planet. The probe's descent to the surface will be slowed by a number of mecha­ nisms--aerobraking. parachute. rockets. and finally a system of 24 airbags to cushion the impact of the final touchdown. While the lander images its surroundings, a 6-wheeled roving vehicle explores the surface around the site. The mobile device also photographs the ter­ rain and probes rocks and soil to determine their chem­ ical composition. Meteor Shower: The july Aquarids achieve their maximum on the morn­ ing of the 28th. a rate of about 20 per hour. Although a fat lunar crescent interferes somewhat, the observer should see the brighter members of the shower streak­ ing out of Aquarius in the S. Moon Phases: New moon-July 4 e() First quarter-July 12 full moon-july 19 o C) Last quarter-July 26 The Stars: At the end of evening twilight the summer constella­ tions gather around the celestial meridian in the S ­ the Summer Triangle (parts of three constellations). Hercules (with its fine globular star cluster). Ophiuchus (large but dim, shaped like an Arab's tent). Scorpius, and Sagittarius. [n the N Draco the Dragon curls be­ twee.n the Big and Little Dipper. The spring patterns ­ Leo. Virgo. Bootes -recede in the W. while in the E. a few autumn groups already appear abqve the horizon '-Capricornus, Pegasus. and Andromeda. June 21-22 -Joint UFO Seminar "1997 - 50 Years On" at Riverwood Legion Club in Sydney, Australia. For information con­ tact INUFOR, P.O. Box 783, Kogarah, N.S.W. 2217, Australia. June 21-22 -The UFO Seminar of the Year, Holiday Inn, North Haven, CT. For information. write Omega Communications, P.O. Box 2051. Cheshire, CT 06410-5051. June 26·28 -18th Rocky Mountain UFO Conference at University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY. For information contact Institute for UFO Research. 1304 So. College Ave .• Fort Collins. CO 80524 or call (970) 482·3731. July 1·6 -Third Annual Roswell Days, 50th Anniversary. For fur­ . ther information and schedule of events write to International UFO Museum, P.O. Box 2221, Roswell, NM 88202. July 11-13 -'-Twenty-eighth annual MUFON International UFO Symposium, Amway Grand Plaza Hotel, Grand Rapids, Michigan. Theme: "The Fiftieth Anniversary of Ufology." For further information write to MUFON 1997 Symposium. 3628 Aragon Drive, Lansing. MI 48906·3508. August 3-8 -Ancient Astronaut Society 24th Anniversary World Conference at Sheraton Plaza Hotel in Orlando. Florida. For further information contact Ancient Astronaut Society, 1921 SI. John's Ave., Highland Park, IL 60035·3178. August 10-16 -International UFO Congress 1st Annual "Summer Seminars." Theme: Beyond Hale Bopp: Hidden Human History • Modern Suppression & Control· The Prophecies. Gold River Resort, Laughlin, Nevada. For information contact the UFO Congress. 9975 Wadsworth Parkway #K2-274. Westminster, CO 80020. Phone/Fax (303) 543·9943. September 6 -34th National UFO Conference, The Marketplace, Springfield, Ohio. For information write to National UFO Conference, P.O. Box 375, Springfield, OH 45501·0375. September 13 & 14 -Seventh Annual UFO Conference at the Yokens Convention Center in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. For information write to New Hampshire MUFON. P.O. Box 453. Rye, NH 03870. October 4 & 5 -Second Scandinavian ET Conference, Oslo, Norway. October 11 & 12 -"The UFO Experience" at Holiday Inn in North Haven, Connecticut. Contact Omega Communications, P.O. Box 2051, Cheshire, CT 06410. October 17-19 -Australian International UFO Symposium 1997 at Carlton Crest Hotel, Brisbane, Australia. For further information write to Glennys Mackay. P.O. Box 2183, Mansfield MC, Brisbane, OLD 4122. Australia. October 31 • November 2 -4th Annual Tampa UFO Conference. June 1997 Number 350 Page 22 Camberly Plaza Hotel, Tampa. Florida. For information write Project Awareness, P.O. Box 730. Gull Breeze, FL 32562. November 22 & 23 -5th Symposium on Ufology and Exobiology. Sindipetro, Santos, SP Brasil. For further information call 55 (043) 336.3719 or 55 (011) 5513.7107. MUFON UFO DIRECTOR'S MESSAGE -ContifluedJrom Page 24 by a professional fund raiser of the caliber of Carolyn McNellis. She will present her proposals to the MUFON Board of Directors annual meeting on July 13, 1997, in Grand Rapids, MI. ANNIVERSARY PRESS RELEASE Robert H. Bletchman, Director of Public Relations, has prepared a MUFON press release titled "50 Years After Kenneth Arnold and the Roswell UFO, Where Do We Go From Here?" that will be distributed both locally and na­ tionally to the printed and electronic media during the month of June. Copies will be provided to all State and Assistant State Directors so they may reproduce and mail sufficient copies to the appropriate press contacts in their states. MUFON will provide additional copies to those states having a long press contact list, upon making a re­ quest to Seguin. Mr. Bletchman has done an outstanding job composing this informative, concise, and hard-hitting statement that is designed to be released before June 24, \997, to take ad­ vantage of the 50th Anniversary of the modern era of ufol­ ogy. State Directors may customize the press release by en­ closing a short statement signed by yourself, including your name, title, address, and telephone number as a statewide reference and contact. The results of such a campaign can be overwhelming in a positive manner for the scientific study of UFOs and the promotion of the Mutual UFO Network. FIELD INVESTIGATOR'S EXAM Anyone who has purchased and studied the 4th edition of the MUFON Field Investigator's Manual is eligible to take the exam via mail when they feel qualified. The 100­ question test may be secured from MUFON headquarters in Seguin and returned to Kathleen F. Marden, 103 Willow Road, East Kingston, NH 03827, for grading. In localities where field investigator training classes are conducted, the instructor may order sufficient quantities of the test and ad­ minister the exam at the conclusion of the training classes. However, the majority of people will study the manual, like a correspondence course, before taking the exam. It is an open book test and other references may be utilized to broaden the scope of your knowledge. A passing grade is 75%. A few individuals have re­ quested that they want to know which questions they missed. To supply the correct answers would make it possi­ ble for them to possess every answer to the test. Obviously, we would not like for them to share their answers with col­ leagues, therefore we have been reluctant to do so. A study is being conducted, based upon questions con­ sistently answered incorrectly, to revise the exam. Some of the true-false questions need rewording or eliminated as an example. A few questions are a measure of the overall knowledge of ufology of the examinee, based upon reading the literature. These answers are obviously not in the MU­ FON Field Investigator's Manual. For current members, the new manual may be purchased for $25.00 plus $3.50 for postage and handling from MUFON in Seguin. Congratulations to the people who have recently taken the Field Investigator'S Exam and received a passing grade. Kathleen Marden now grades the exams and forwards the name and score to MUFON Headquarters, where Phyllis Hutson records the grade on your membership application, revises the application, and mails the new Field Investigator their new I.D. card. SYMPOSIUM PROCEEDINGS COVER DESIGN CONTEST The judges have selected the symposium proceedings cover design submitted by Ansen Seale of San Antonio, TX, as the most appropriate for the 50th Anniversary of Ufology. The color of the cover stock will be plum with gold and black printing. We would like to thank the follow­ ing people who submitted artwork in the competition: Robert Fairfax (Snohomish, W A), two designs; Sue Lassiter (W. Ossipee, NH); Kenneth Larson (Los Angeles, CA), three designs; Jeremy Robinson (Nashua, NH); Judith Simons and Michael Gantt (Monkton, MD), and Helen Weber (Seattle, W A). Mr. Seale will receive $100 cash prize plus $100 in MU­ FON publications merchandise of his choice. We want to express our appreciation to each of the participants for shar­ ing their ideas and artist's renditions. MOTTO CONTEST Judging of the motto contest is still continuing. We are searching for a motto that best exemplities MUFON's goals and objectives, that is serious, intriguing, eye-catching, meaningful, and is indicative of our mission in ufology. Considering the hundreds of suggestions submitted, we have had diftlculty finding one that meets our express pur­ pose. We may revise one of the best, making a slight change and award the prize to that person. It is imperative that the motto selected is one that we can be proud of and will reflect positively upon MUFON. MUFON IS BACK ON COMPUSERVE Michael G. Curta resigned as Director from the MU­ FON section ofCompuServe (Encounters) on May 17, 1997. I was flooded with requests from active participants in the MUFON UFO Forum to reestablish our presence on CompuServe. I am happy to report that MUFON is up and running after a few brief days through the fine work of Rebecca Schatte of Houston, TX, and assisted by Terry Blanton and Theresa Carlson. For our computer friends, simply get on CompuServe, using the address "GO: MU­ FON" and it will put you in touch with the MUFON UFO Forum. MLiFON 1996 SYMPOSIUM PROCEEDINGS "UFOLOGY: A Scientific Enigma" Fourteen papers -308 pages Price: $25 plus $1.75 for postage and handing, in U.S. funds ORDER FROM: MUFON, 103 Oldtowne Road, Seguin, TX 78155-4099 June 1997 Number 350 Page 23 MUFON UFO JOURNAL NEWS FROM AROUND THE NETWORK MUFON 1997 UFO SYMPOSIUM MUFON's twenty-eighth International UFO Symposium will be held July 11, 12, and 13, 1997, at the elegant Amway Grand Plaza' Hotel in Grand Rapids, Michigan, hosted by Michigan MUFON. David E. Toth, Ph.D., is the symposium coordinator. "The Fiftieth Anniversary of Ufology" is the symposium theme. Several of the speakers will address the monumental events of 1947 to recognize the anniversary of the modern era of ufology. The speaking program is published in this issue of the Journal for your convenience. The host committee has announced that pre-registration tickets are now available for $65 for all five sessions before the cutoff date of June 21, 1997, and $75 thereafter. Individual sessions will be $20 per session. The cost to at­ tend the reception Friday evening from 6 to 9 p.m. will be $15 per person with a cash bar. Checks or money orders should be made payable and sent to "MUFON 1997 UFO Symposium," 3628 Aragon Drive, Lansing, MI 48906­ 3508. Advance registrants will receive a postcard confirm­ ing receipt of their attendance fee. An information envelope with your tickets will be held at the registration desk in Grand Rapids for your arrival. Vendor tables will cost $25 per day. Make your reservations for tables at the same ad­ dress listed above in Lansing, MI. The Amway Grand Plaza Hotel is located at Pearl and Monroe Streets in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Special guest room rates for the symposium are for a single (1 person) $82, double (2 persons) $89, triple (3 persons) $96, and quad (4 persons) $103 per night. Reservations may be made by calling the hotel at (616) 774-2000,1-800-253-3590 or FAX (616) 776-6496. The group block cutoff date is June 10, 1997. These rates cannot be guaranteed after that date. An advance registration form was included with the May issue of the Journal for your convenience. Plan your family vacation now to visit the beautiful state of Michigan and the historical sights in Grand Rapids. There will be additional activities for the spouses and chil­ dren. If you have not already made your hotel reservation, please do so now since the cut-off date is June 10th. The hotel will try to honor all reservations after June] 0, space permitting. We will celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Ufology with special events to make your attendance more enjoyable. Your director is looking forward to meeting many of you in person. Please extend your hand and intro­ duce yourself, so I can put names with faces. Sometimes, this is our only opportunity to get better acquainted. It is a thrill to meet the great members of the MUFON team. ADDITIONAL EVENTS AT GRAND RAPIDS A press conference for all speakers is scheduled for Friday, July II th from I to 3 p.m. The annual State/Provincial Director's meeting will be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on July II th with Dr. John C. Kasher, moderat- June 1997 Number 350 Page 24 ing. Time will be allocated for short activity reports from each State and Provincial Director. If the State Director will be unable to attend, he/she should designate someone to represent them. The MUFON Annual Board of Directors meeting will take place on Sunday, July 13th from 9 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. All State and Provincial Directors will submit their an­ nual reports to Dr. Kasher at the meeting if they or a repre­ sentative attends. If'they do not attend, the reports should be mailed to Walt Andrus. Here is your opportunity to share with your colleagues your accomplishments and ideas in promoting MUFON. For people arriving on Thursday or Friday, three workshops have been scheduled during the day on July 11th. NEW OFFICERS Emma Popik, M.A., has again been selected as the Representative for Poland. She is a writer and has attended a BUFORA UFO Conference in London. We look forward to receiving further UFO articles from Poland for the Journal. Due to the resignation of Duncan R. Crow, J.D., as the State Director for Alabama, Lavada "Sue" Pitts (Huntsville), his assistant, was promoted to this position. Ricardo A. Atristain (Midlothian) has accepted the posi­ tion of State Director for Virginia, and Don W. Lovett, B.S. (Smithville) will continue as Assistant State Director. Dimitri Ossipov (Tempe) has been appointed Assistant State Director for Arizona by Thomas R. Taylor. Thomas J. Lyon (Warsaw, NY) has joined the MUFON Staff as Director, Associate Member Auxiliary. Kenny F. Kerber (Casa Grande, AZ) is the new State Section .Director for Pinal County and B. J. De La Riva, B.A. (Gate City, V A) was reassigned to Scott, Washington, and Russell Counties. NEW CONSULTANTS AND RESEARCH SPECIALISTS Five new Consultants volunteered their expertise to MU­ FON this month. They were Frank T. Drake, M.D. (Sarasota, FL) in Medicine; M. Wayne Smith, D.D.S. (Greenwood, IN) in Dentistry; John E. Brandenburg, Ph.D. (Annandale, VA) in Plasma Physics; Berne L. Bennett, Ph.D. (Durham, NC) in Chemistry; and Deborah D. Scott, Ph.D. (Chicago, IL) in Clinical Psychology. An equal number of Research Specialists joined MUFON this month: Freddy J. Odiorne, M.A. (Austin, TX) in Education; John S. Hale, M.A. (Fairfax, V A) in Communi­ cations; Melante A. Mecca, M.A. (North Potomac, MD) in Philosophy; Mineko Nakazawa, M.A. (Stevenson, MD) in Chemistry; and Haig Raky, M.S. (Cranston, RI). FUND RAISING PROGRAM Fund Raising Director, Mrs. Carolyn McNellis is de­ veloping a program to raise money for future MUFON pro­ jects in UFO research to be timed with the 50th Anniversary of Ufology. Money is available to fulfill the goals and ob­ jectives of MUFON, provided it is directed and orchestrated Continued on Page 23