· 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: Row: -Section: Shelf: Position:

S 86 1 6 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

2006-0476-F
ds256
RESTRICTION CODES
Presidential Records Act -144 U.S.c. 2204(a») Freedom of Information Act - (5 U.S.c. S52(b»)

PI National Security Classified Information (a)(I) orthe PRA) b(I) National security classified information l(b)(I) ofthe FOIA]
P2 Relating to the appointment to Federal office [(a)(2) of the PRA] b(2) Release would disclose internal personnel rules and practices of
P3 Release would violate a Federal statute [(a)(3) of the PRA) an agency l(b)(2) of the FOIA]
P4 Release would disclose trade secrets or confidential commercial or . b(3) Release. would violate a Federal statute [(b)(3) of the FOIAI
financial information [(a)(4) of the PRA] b(4) Release would disclose trade secrets or confidential or financial
P5 Release would disclose confidential advice between the President . information l(b)(4) of the FOIAI I
and his advisors, or between such advisors la)(5) of thePRA) b(6) Release would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of
P6 Release would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy [(b )(6) of the FOIA 1
personal privacy )(a)(6) of the PRA) b(7) Release would disclose information compiled for law enforcement
purposes [(b)(7) of the FOIA)
C. Closed in accordance with restrictions contained in donor's deed b(8) Release would disclose information concerning the regulation of
of gift. financial institutions l(b)(8) of the FOIAI
PRM. Personal record misfile defined in accordance with 44 LS.C. b(9) Release would disclose geological or geophysical information
2201(3). concerning wells [(b)(9) of the FOIAj
RR. Document will be reviewed upon request.
 ID# 243544
THE ,WHITE HOUSE
INCOMING
DATE RECEIVED: NOVEMBER
CORRESPONDENCE TRACKING WORKSHEET

,24, 1997
os'
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
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE - , , RAA 97/11/24 ?'Il-/-/!d./
Q/l 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 of the 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 of Legislative 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
NOVEMBER 24, 1997
,rJB;t~D
\I'I,I·I·l.~.IFH'
:qj' I",""
'!'c;;;'{i!:;j":
\;.;'V •.., ..... \,1·', ;:,4'(:;;",:
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 .• [email protected] • http://www.roswell.org
~ ' . ' ,

k ' -',.('O~GT:;~~
July 8, 1997

~~~. : )~/
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 direct
Send to Agency Liaison for
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
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'ANP ., If£rIHt:'"'P A7tf .
Fp/t c If' 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

2006-0476-F
ds256
RESTRICTION CODES
Presidential Records Act -144 U.S.c. 2204(a)1 Freedom of Information Act -15 U.S.C. 552(b)1

PI National Security Classified Information l(a)(I) ofthePRAI b(1) National security classified information l(b)(I) of the FOIAI
P2 Relating to the appointment to Federal office l(a)(2) of the PRAI b(2) Release would disclose internal personnel rules and practices of
P3 Release would violate a Federal statute l(a)(3) of the PRAI an agency (b)(2) of the FOIAI
P4 Release would disclose trade secrets or confidential commercial or b(3) Release would violate a Federal statute l(b)(3) of the FOIAI
financial information l(a)(4) of the PRAI b(4) Release would disclose trade secrets or confidential or financial
P5 Release would disclose confidentIal advice between the President information l(b)(4) of the FOIAI .
and his advisors, or between such advisors la)(5) of the PRAI b(6) Release would constitute a clearly.unwarranted invasion of
P6 Release w'ould constitute a clearly unwarranted inv~sion of personal privacy l(b)(6) of the 'FOIAI
personal privacy ((a)(6) of the PRAI b(7) Release would disclose information compiled for law enforcement
purposes (b)(7) of the FOIAI
C. Closed in accordance with restrictions contained in donor's deed b(8) Release would disclose information concerning the regulation of
of gift. . financial institutions [(b)(8) of the FOIAI
PRM. Personal record misfile defined in accordance with 44 U.S.C. b(9) Release would disclose geological orgeophysieal information
2201 (3). concerning wells (b)(9)-of the FOIAI .
RR. Document will be reviewed upon request.
 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

2006-0476- F
ds256
RESTRICTION CODES
Presidential Records Act -144 U.S.c. 2204(a)1 Freedom of Information Act -·[5 U.S.c. 552(b)] .

PI National Security Classified Information [(a)(I) of the PRAI b(l) National security classified information [(b)(l) <1f the FOIAI
P2 Relating to the appointment to Federal office l(a)(2) of the PRAI b(2) Release would disclose internal personnel rules and practices of
P3 Release would violate a Federal statute (a)(3) of the PRA1 an agency r(b)(2) of the FOIA1
P4 Helease would disclose trade secrets or confidential commercial or ·b(3) Release would violate a Federal statute [(b)(3) orthe FOIAI
financial information (a)(4) of the PRA1 b(4) Release would disclose trade secrets or confidential or financial
P5 Release would disclose confidential advice between the President information ](b)(4) of the FOIAI
and his advisors, or between such advisors (a)(5) of the PRAI b(6) Release would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of
P6 Release would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy (b)(6) of the FOIAI
personal privacy (a)(6) of the PRAI b(7) Release would disclose information compiled for law enforcement
purposes (b)(7) of the FOiAI
C. Closed in accordance with restrictions contained In donor's deed b(8) Release would disclose information concerning the regulation of
of gift. financial institutions l(b)(8) of the FOIAI
PRM. Personal record misfile defined in accordance with 44 U.S.c. b(9) Release would disclose geological or geophysical information
2201(3). concerning wells [(b)(9) of the FOIAI
RR. Document will be reviewed upon requ~st.
 :' -./." ,-, ':- "
r-
.. ,
r
'.
t ,'"

­
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~n Igell~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, outlined abow, for a" E.t€cutive

aJ Order decloS$ifying any U.S.' Government
. .lton regal'dlllg ~he existence of UFOs or extraterrestrial intellisence.
ir:/orma 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
Oc:~rces I Credcllt\lla (l(.ppli~blc=)
bLit) .
_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») Freedom of Information Act -)5 U.S.c. 552(b)J

PI National Security Classified Information [(a)(I) of the PRAI b(l) National security classified information J(b)(J) of the FOIAJ
P2 Relating to the appointment to Federal office l(a)(2) of the PRAI b(2) Release would disclose internal personnei rules and practices of
P3 Release would violate a Federal statute (a)(3) of the PRAI an agency J(b)(2) of the FOIA)'
P4 Release would disclli'se trade secrets or confidential commercial or b(3) Release would violate a Federal statute J(b)(3) of the FOIA)
fina'ncial Information [(a)(4) of the PRAI b(4) Release would disclose trade secrets or confidential or financial
P5 Release would disclose confidential advice between the President Information 1(b)(4) of the FOIA] . '
and his advisors, or. between such advisors [a)(5) of the PRAI b(6) Release would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of
P6 Release would constitute a clearly unwar'ranted invasion of personal privacy [(b)(6) of the FOIAI
personal privacy l(a)(6) of the PRAI . b(7) Release would disclose information'complled for law enforcement
. purposes [(b)(7) of the FOIA)
C. Closed in accordance with restrictions contained in donor's deed b(8) Release would disclose information concerning the regulation of
of gift. financial institutions [(b)(8) of the FOIA)
PRM. Personal record misfile defined in accordance with 44 U.S.c. b(9) Release would disclose geological or geophysical information
2201(3). concerning wells [(b )(9) of the FOIAI
RR. Document will be reviewed upon request.
 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~ :.-.;"" ,-.'..' .:, t r' ','.,:,', --\ "-<, , ~ "!' j:,. . '>' •• " ';;;. ·' .. ,i! J. " .'~," I ..; , ' .~ '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 of UFOs or extraterrestrial intelligence. Whether such informa­
tion exists or whether it does not, I feel that the people of the world have a right to know the truth
aboUl this ~$~a~th t' . time to put an end to the controversy surrounding ii. ..........,.~_

.~ .~ ~ UJ!il
C.$
~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:~).
 Withdrawal/Redaction Marker
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001 d. deClaration Frederick C. Blesse address (Partial) (1 page) 7/1997 P61b(6)

COLLECTION:
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2006-0476-F
ds256
RESTRICTION CODES
Presidential Records Act -[44 U.S.C. 2204(a)[ Freedom of Information Act - [5 U.s.C. SS2(~)[

PI Natlon~1Security Classified Information [(a)(I) of the PRA( b(l) National security ~Iassifled information I(b)(i) of the FOIAI
P2 Relating to the appointment to Federal office [(a)(2) of the PRA( b(2) Release would disclose internal personnel rules and practices of
P3 Release would violate a Federal statute (a)(3) of the PRA( an agency (b)(2) of the FOIAI .
P4 Release would disclose trade secrets or confidential commercial or b(3) Release would violate a Federal statute (b)(3) of the FOIA[
financial information [(a)(4) of the PRA( '. b(4) Release would disclose trade secrets or confidential or financial
PS I{elease would disclose confidential advice between the President Information [(b)(4) of the FOIAJ
and his advisors, or between such advisors (a)(5) of the PRA) b(6) Release would constitute a clearly unwarranted Invasion of
P6 Release would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy (b)(6) of the FOIAI
personal privacy (a)(6) of the PRA) b(7) Release would disclose information complied for.law enforcement
purposes l(b)(7) of the FOIAI
C. Closed in accordance with restrictions contained in donor's deed b(8) Release would disclose information concerning the regulation of
of gift. financial institutions [(b)(8) of the FOIAI
PRM. Personal record misfile defined in accordance with 44 U.S.C. b(9) Release would disclose geologicalor geophysical information
2201 (3). concerning wells (b)(9) of the FOIAI
RR. Document will be reviewed upon request.
 > •

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 announcing 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 S~ff of 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 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 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 <:•. /1:; C Q~ ,
Signature Date

/IJ A£:t?.·A-~ (..:/5;:.7 F (ie.eT)

Occupation I Title ,
bl~,)
'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),
 Withdrawal/Redaction Marker
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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») F~eedom of Information Act -15 U.S.C. 552(b»)

P1 National Security Classified Information (a)(l) of the PRA] b(l) National' security classified information l(b)(l) of the FOIAI
P2 Relating to the appointment to Federal office l(a)(2) of the PRA] b(2) 'Release would dlsclo~e internal personnel rules and practices of
P3 Release would violate a Federal statute l(a)(3) of the PRA[ an agency l(b)(2) of the FOIA]
P4 Release would disclose trade secrets or confidential commercial or b(3) Release would violate a Federal statute l(b)(3) of the FOIAI
financial information l(a)(4) of the PRAI b(4) Release would disclose trade secrets or confidential or financial
P5 Release would disclose confidential advice between the President Information I(b)(4) ofthe FOIAI
and his advisors, or between such advisors la)(5) of the PRA( b(6) Release would constitute a-clearly unwarranted invasion of
, P6 Release would constitute ,a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy (b)(6) of the FO!A]
, personal privacy (a)(6) of the PRAI b(7) Release would disclose information compiled for law enforcement
purposes (b)(7) of the FOIA]
C. Closed in accordance with restrictions contained in donor's deed b(8) Release would disclose information concerning the regulation of
of gift. , financial institutions I(b)(8) of the FOIAI '
PRM. Personal record '!lisfiJe defined in accordance with 44 U.S.C. b(9) Release would disclose geological or geophysical information
2201(3). concerning wells [(b)(9) of the Fq'IA]
RR. Document will be reviewed upon request.
 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 Chief of Staff 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 of setting 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 of UFOs 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 (If applicable)
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'" ..,.H e-nile It;.,IV

1"6?IIN,/,I)t;. Y p/VI.JI';v (t=7p)
,..1" U'lf I6-HrfA. 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 ~osf controversial matter. We are taking this step strictly out of a sens~ of
responsibi Iity 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':"

,.-/~/~
t~~ 4
/J /// '
'e.t'//K';'/}~ aC/
/-/,-7:'"
~/
Y,7' , '
'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 A c t i v j t i e s ' ,

.. .ti·. 2:;' ~I l'f'li­

e Wembrenner, FTD 1968-74, Commander of the Foreign Technology Division
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DOCUMENT NO. SUBJECT/TITLE DATE RESTRICTION.
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00 If. letter Caroline Dark to Kent Jeffrey address (Partial) (l page) 02/1611995 P61b(6)

, COLLECTION:
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FOLDER TITLE:
. 243544

2006-0476-F
ds256
. RESTRICTION CODES
Presidential Records Act -144 U.S.C. 2204(a)( Freedom of Information Act - [5 U.S.C.'SS2(b)1

PINational Security Classified Information (a)(I) of the PRAI . b(l) National security classified information [(b)(l) of the FOIA(
P2Relating to the appointment to Federal office [(a)(2).of the PRA) b(2) Release would disclose Internal personnel rules and practices of
P3Release would violate a Federal statute (a)(3) of the PRAI an agency I(b)(2) of the FOIA(
. P4Release would disclose trade secrets or confidential commercial or b(3) Release would violate a Federal statute J(b)(3) of the FOIA)
financial information (a)(4) of the PRA( b(4) Release would disclose trade secrets or confidential or financial
PS Release would disclose confidential advice between the President information (b)(4) of the FOIAJ
and his advisors, o'r between such advisors (a)(S) of the PRA( b(6) Release would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of
P6 Release would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of . personal privacy J(b)(6) of the FOIA)
personal privacy l(a)(6) of the PRAI b(1) Release would disclose information compiled for law enforcement
purposes (b)(7) of the FOJA(
C. Closed in accordance with restrictions contained in donor's deed b(8) Release would disclose information concerning the regulation of
of gift. ' . financial institutions (b)(8) of ,the FOJA(
PRM. Personal record misfile defined in accordance with 44 U.S.C. b(9) Release would disclose geological or geophysical information
2201(3). concerning wells J(b)(9) of the FOIAJ
RR. Document will be reviewed upon request.
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
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(€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

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READER'S CLASSIFIEDS 21

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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
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MUFON UFO JOURNAL

ROSWELL - ANATOMY OF A MYTH

by Kent Jeffrey

lmost one hundred years ago, a very Having been extensively involved over the

A
The Roswell
concerned eight-year-old girl from New last few years with both the investigation of the Incident has
York City, Virginia O'Hanlon, wrote Roswell case and the effort to get the matter de­
long been the
the Question and Answer Department of her classified, I would love to be able to answer
focus of intense
family's evening newspaper, The New York Sun. Lauren M.'s letter in the affirmative.
requesting to know the truth about Santa Claus. Unfortunately, in clear conscience, I cannot scrutiny by the
Virginia had been a firm believer, but her young either directly or metaphorically. Unlike a fanci­ UFO commu­
friends had started to sow the seeds of doubt. ful story from Western folklore created to appeal nity. With the
On September 21, 1897, Virginia's answer to the imaginations of children, the 1947 approach of its
finally came. Francis Pharcellus Church, a for­ Roswell case involves real people and an actual
50th anniver­
mer Civil War correspondent and an aging event. Additionally, with all the publicity the
sary, the case
writer for the Sun, replied to Virginia's letter in Roswell event and its alleged coverup have re­
one of the most eloquent and enduring editorial ceived, along with the accompanying implica­ may be due an
responses in the history of journalism. Church tions of conspiracy and deceit on the part of the in-depth re­
transcended the cold hard facts of reality and U.S. government, Roswell represents a contro­ assessment. In
avoided shaking Virginia's childlike faith by versy that extends far beyond the relatively nar­ an article sure
subtly alluding to Santa Claus as a metaphor for row confines of the so-called UFO community.
to generate
that which is good and noble in life - "Yes, As such, Roswell demands an objective,
significant
Virginia, there is a S~nta Claus. He exists as cer­ straightforward, and, if possible, definitive an­
tainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, swer. controversy,
and you know that they abound and give your During the last year, compelling new evi­ Kent Jeffrey
life its highest beauty and joy.... " dence has come to the fore that now makes such explains his
Recently, the International Roswell Initiative a definitive answer possible. Unfortunately, it is own change of
(IRI) received an inquiry from a young girl, not the answer that those of us familiar with the
heart.
Lauren M., living in a small town in New Roswell case have wanted to hear. Declassified
Jersey, that is in many ways reminiscent of 1948 military documents, new testimony from
Virginia O'Hanlon 's 1897 letter to the New York retired military men from both Roswell and the
Sun. While the IRI is primarily a grass roots ef­ Foreign Technology Division at Wright
fort to declassify whatever information the gov­ Patterson Air Force Base, and a thorough reex­
ernment might have on UFOs or extraterrestrial amination of how the crashed-disk story got
intelligence, it has received numerous inquiries started in the first place, make it unequivocally
over the last three years about the actual clear that the material recovered northwest of
RosweJl event, many from children. Roswell, New Mexico, in July 1947 was not of
extraten-estrial origin. In other words, NO UFO
January 6, 1997 CRASHED AT ROSWELL WITH OR
WITHOUT ALIENS. IT DID NOT HAPPEN.
Dear International Roswell Initiative: PERIOD. For those willing to look objectively
and rationally at all the evidence, this contention
I am a 6th grade student who is studying should become resoundingly clear, not just be­
all kinds ofinteresting information about yond a reasonable doubt, but beyond all doubt.
UFOs... I believe that there are really
aliens who have landed and crashed Disinforrnation Agent or Defector?
(such as Roswell), but the government
tried to cover it up... If you have any in­ As soon as word got out that I, coordinator of
formation that can help me prove that the IRI and author of the Roswell Declaration,
there are UFOs and aliens, please send had reversed my opinion on Roswell, accusa­
me that information. Thank you for your tions such as "he is an agent for the govern­
time. ment" or "they finally got to him" immediately
Sincerely, appeared on Internetpostings and elsewhere.
While it is generally not prudent to risk giving June
LallrenM. such silliness even an inkling of respectability 1997
Number 350
Mrs. Nielsen's 6th grade by publicly acknowledging it, I will address the Page 3
 MUFON UFO JOURNAL

Although the issue here, nonetheless, because the accusations event this July. Whether or not the government
Roswell seem to be so widespread. has any substantive information on UFOs, from
Declaration
First of all, no individual or agency has ever a public relations standpoint, the situation has
attempted to influence 01: pressure me in any not been handled well. The government's quasi­
was inspired
way, shape, or form with regard to Roswell official policy over the last few decades of ig­
by the 1947 or anything else. Furthermore, if Roswell had re­ noring the UFO issue has led to a definite suspi­
Roswell event, ally happened and if there had been any kind of cion on the part of its citizenry. A 1996 Gallup
it is by no attempt to intimidate me, such an action would pole revealed that 71 percent of the American
means tied to have been the biggest mistake possible. Being public believes that "the U.S. Government
it. The
somewhat rebellious by nature, I would have knows more about UFOs than they are telling
then pursued the matter with a vengeance, us."
Declaration re­
spurred on by the knowledge that I was really on Although the Roswell Declaration was in­
quests "an to something. spired by the 1947 Roswell event, it is by no
Executive Order Secondly, I am not employed by the govern­ means tied to it. The Declaration requests "an
declassifying ment in any capacity whatsoever. My sole occu­ Executive Order declassifying any information
any informa­ pation for the past 26 years has been that of air­ regarding the existence of UFOs or extraterres­
tion regarding line pilot. I am employed by a major U.S. carrier trial intelligence." Such an assurance would still
and presently fly international routes, primarily be timely, appropriate, and beneficial to both the
the existence
to Europe. Although I have never seen a UFO, I U.S. government and its people.
of UFOs or ex­ have had a long-term interest in the phenome­ As is stated in the Declaration, if no informa­
traterrestrial non. My interest in Roswell came about in part tion is being withheld, such an action would,
intelligence." because my father, Arthur Jeffrey, a retired Air nonetheless,have the positive effect of setting
Such an assur­ Force colonel, knew and worked in the early six­ the record straight and clearing up years of sus­
ancewould ties with one of the key Roswell figures, General picion and controversy. On the other hand, if in­
William Blanchard. formation is actually being withheld, it would
still be timely,
While I did feel for a long time that there was represent knowledge of profound importance to
appropriate, a "significant" chance that Roswell involved a which we are all entitled, and its release would
and beneficial crashed UFO, 1 never at any time believed it to be acknowledged as an historic act of honesty
to both the U.S. be the case with absolute certainty. However, and goodwill.
government even if I had only felt that there was a "slight"
and its people. chance that Roswell involved the crash of an Misleading Information
alien spaceship, I still would have pursued the
matter vigorously, because, if true, it would Many of the books and documentaries about
have been the story of the millennium. Roswell imply that it is highly probable, if not
certain, that the recovered debris was from a
The International Roswell Initiative crashed Hying saucer. Some of that information,
however, is misleading or incorrect. It ranges
There are apparently those who also feel that from fabricated stories on the part of seemingly
by reversing my position on Roswell I am drop­ credible witnesses to exaggeration and selective
ping the ball and letting down the twenty thou­ presentation of fact.
sand plus individuals who have signed the In some instances, it is probably more a case
Roswell Declaration. That is anything but the of o'{erzealousness on the part of authors than
case. intentional deception. In other instances, credi­
First, with regard to reversing my stance, it is bility is stretched beyond limits. For example,
important to remember that the objective of the after the conclusion of the story in the movie
Roswell Initiative has been to find the truth, not Roswell, statements of purported fact just prior
define it. Unfortunately, the truth turned out to to the credits inform us that Jesse Marcel, Sr.,
be different from what I thought it might be, or died in 1986 and that "since then over 350 wit­
hoped it would be. However, now that I am ab­ nesses to the event have agreed to talk." In actu­
solutely certain that the debris recovered from ality, because so few people ever saw the debris,
Roswell was not that from an extraterrestrial it is doubtful whether even one tenth that num­
craft, I feel an obligation to get that information ber of witnesses could ever be produced.
out as well. Not to do so would be less than In retrospect, there is much about Roswell
forthright and less than honest. that I wish I had questioned more thoroughly,
Secondly, as for the Roswell Declarations, early on. For example, I received a very interest­
June the plan is to deliver them to the White House, ing letter, dated March 20, 1993, written on the
1997
Number 350 along with a cover letter to the President, during stationary of a respected majOl' UFO organiza­
Page 4 the week of the 50th anniversary of the Roswell tion. The author of the letter, in addition to being
MUFON UFO JOURNAL

a,board member of that organization, was a an exception - some kind of one-in-a-quintil­ The problem
well-known Roswell researcher and the co-au­ lion fluke. That was, in retrospect, a mistake. with the con­
thor of a leading book on the subject. I had no The problem with the concept of a UFO cept ofa UFO
reason to question his credibility. crashing is that as technology advances, so does
crashing is that
reliability. Be it with cars, airplanes, televisions,
or wristwatches, the reliability of today's tech­ as technology
In part the letter read:
nology far exceeds that of the technology of just advances,so
"... a very important trip to New Mexico a few decades ago. For example, because of the does reliability.
where we secured another first-hand wit­ high reliability of their engines, long-range, Be it with cars,
ness to the bodies. This brings our total twin-engine commercial jetliners are now autho­ airplanes, tele­
to EIGHT (emphasis in the original) with rized to fly nonstop across the North Atlantic. A
visions, or
yet additional prospects. " few decades ago, that would have been unthink­
able. (The positive correlation between advanc­ wristwatches,
My immediate thought was that if these (se­ ing technology and reliability applies to the reliability of
cret and primarily military, I was told) witnesses "proven" technology, not experimental state-of­ today's tech­
could be convinced to come forward, we ~ould the art machines still in the developmental nology far ex­
be able to break the Roswell case wide open. phase, such as experimental aircraft or space ve­ ceeds that of
The letter represented a major turning point in hicles.)
the technology
my support for and involvement with the With today's industry-average engine-failure
rate of less than one failure per 100,000 flight of just a few
Roswell crashed-UFO investigation.
I subsequelltly retained, at my personal ex­ hours, the chances of both engines of a two-en­ decades ago.
pense, a major Washington, D.C., law firm to gine jetliner failing during a given hour of flight
offer counsel to the eight witnesses in the hope are less than one out of 10 billion. Figuring
of encouraging them to come forward. In 50,000 aircraft-ocean crossings per year, and
September, 1993, I arranged for two of the attor­ factoring in such variables as average time over
neys from the firm to travel to New Mexico, the water and average distance from land, the
where they were to be put in touch with three of odds are less than fifty-fifty of a double-engine
the supposed eight secret witnesses. Once the at­ failure and consequent ditching in the North
torneys arrived in Roswell, however, they were Atlantic of even one such aircraft over the next
put in contact with only one such witness. I 10,000 years.
would later learn that this particular so-called se­ This incredible degree of reliability is found
cret witness was already known to other re­ with a technology that would be primitive com­
searchers and that his story was considered out­ pared with a UFO. Even with today's relatively
landish and unbelievable - an assessment with "primitive" technology, our commercial aircraft
which I now fully agree. have very efficient collision avoidance systems,
Sending the two attorneys to New Mexico as well as excellent radar systems for avoiding
was a tremendously expensive waste of time and thunderstorms and their associated hail and
resources. The researcher and author who wrote lightning (phenomena, incidentally, that are
the March 20, 1993. letter telling of the eight surely not unique to this planet).
witnesses was, himself, eventually discredited. If we assume that UFOs are extraterrestrial
Although a very personable individual, he spacecraft and that some of the many reported
proved to be less than honest. He was subse­ UFO sightings are genuine UFOs. we are deal­
quently removed from the board of the UFO or­ ing with machines apparently capable of high­
ganization with which he was affiliated and his speed right-angle turns, incredible accelerations
co-author, still a respected researcher. dis­ and speeds, and wingless flight - not to men­
avowed any association with him. As for the tion of traveling light-years through the void of
other seven "secret" witnesses, llothing has ever empty space in, presumably, a relatively short
been heard from or about them since. period of time. Such capability would require a
technology totally beyond our present under­
LIFO Crashes standing of physics - a technology the sophisti­
cation of which we cannot even begin to imag­
Even before the advent of recent negative de­ ine.
velopments in the Roswell case, I have always Because of the positive correlation between
felt that a UFO would never crash. However, be­ technology and reliability, such incredibly ad­
cause of the impressive witness testimony about vanced technology would most certainly mean a
which I was told, I suspended judgment and al­ correspondingly high degree of reliability. June
1997
lowed for the possibility that Roswell might be Common sense dictates that the chances of such Number 350
machines crashing, breaking down, or colliding PageS
 MUFON UFO JOURNAL

"We are running would be all but zero. It certainly would be facts. It is a pitfall into which even credible re­
down every re­ many orders of magnitude less than the already searchers sometimes tumble.
port. I can't even infinitesimally small chance of one of today's The statement at the Scientific Advisory
twin-engine jetliners having a double-engine Board Confererice lamenting the fact that the Air
tell you how
failure. Force did not have a crashed UFO was made by
much we would Colonel Howard McCoy. the Chief of
give to have one The 1948 Military Documents Intelligence for Air Material Command at
of those crash in Wright-Patterson AFB. Wright Patterson is
an area so that For me, the beginning of the end for the where the Air Force's technical and intelligence
we could recover Roswell UFO case came last spring, when I first experts are concentrated, even today. It is where
saw. one of a number of previously classified recovered wreckage from a foreign craft of any
whatever 1hey
military documents dealing with unidentified kind with the potential for invading our skies
are." flying objects. The 289-page document was re­ would be taken for technical analysis be it a
leased under the Freedom of Information Act MIG 29 or a Klingon battle cruiser. If there had
- Col. Howard (FOIA) in March 1996 in response to a FOIA re­ been a crashed flying saucer recovered outside
McCoy, Chief of quest by researcher William LaParL It contained ofRoswell, New Mexico, in July 1947, this is
Intelligence, Air the minutes of the Air Force Scientific Advisory where it would have been taken. As Chief of
Board Conference at the Pentagon on March 17 Intelligence, Colonel Howard McCoy would
Material Com­
and 18, 1948. Buried in the document was a have known about it.
mand, Wright­ very interesting statement by a Colonel Howard
Patterson AFB, McCoy which referred to a number of unpub­ In addition to the minutes of the Air Force
Mareh,1948 lished UFO reports. The last sentence of Scientific Advisory Board meeting, there are
McCoy's statement, however, is devastating to other military documents indicating just as un­
the Roswell case. equivocally that the Air Force was not in posses­
sion of any physical evidence with regard to
"We have a new project Project SIGN UFOs. Among these documents is a series of
- which may surprise you as a develo­ communiques dealing with "flying object inci­
mentfrom the so-called mass hysteria of dents in the United States" between Colonel
the past Summer when we had all the McCoy at Wright Patterson and Major General
unident({iedflying objects or discs. This C. P. Cabell, the Director of Intelligence for the
can't be laughed oft: We have over 300 Air Force at the Pentagon. In one of these com­
reports which haven't been publicized in muniques, a letter dated November 8, 1948,
the papers from very competent personel, McCoy made three separate references to the
in many instances - men as capable as fact that there was no physical or tangible evi­
Dr. K. D. Wood, and practically all Air . dence from a Hying saucer crash. Cabell used
Force, Airline people with broad exper­ the information from McCoy's letter for prepa­
(mce. We are running down every report. ration of a memorandum dated November 30,
I can't even tell you how much we would 1948, for Secretary of Defense James ForrestaL
give to have one ofthose crash in an area The lack of physical evidenc~ is also men­
so that we could recover whatever they tioned in a September 23, 1947, letter from
are. " Lieutenant General Nathan Twining,
Commander of the Air Material Command at
My first reaction to this statement was one of Wright Field, to Brigadier General George
disbelief. Thoughts came to mind like "This Schulgen, a top intelligence official at the
can't be correct, there must be some mistake, Pentagon. The Twining letter was written less
this guy didn't know," etc. We are probably all than three months after the Roswell incident.
somewhat prone to such initial reactions of de­ The letter is also significant because it makes
nial when confronted with facts that conflict reference to the cooperation between the
with our preconceived notions of reality or our Engineering Division and the Intelligence
established beliefs. Most of the time, however, Division at the Wright Patterson complex. This
common sense, logic, and rationality prevaiL On cooperation is mentioned specifically in regard
the other hand, there is sometimes an invariable to assessing the nature of the mysterious "flying
refusal to give up a particular contention or be­ objects" about which there had been so many
lief, no matter how strong the evidence to the credible reports.
contrary. The result of such refusal is often il­ The cooperation between the intelligence and
June logical speculation and far-fetched scenarios, engineering branches at Wright Patterson is fur­
1997
Number 350
concocted in an effort to rationalize away the ther corroborated by a "top secret" memoran­
Page 6 dum for the Chief, Air Intelligence Division,
 MUFON UFO

dated October II, 1948, signed by a Colonel two calls, neither of which was of any real help. The 1947 and
Brooke Allen, Chief, of the Air Estimates Both of the men who called were former 509th 1948 military
Branch at Wright Patterson. The stated subject flight engineers. One had had a very interesting documents are
of the memorandum is "Analysis of Flying UFO sighting from the ramp at Kirtland Air
definitive. They
Object Incidents in the U.S." This memorandum Force Base. The other recalled seeing a lot of
is important because, along with the Twining extra activity around one of the hangers at can not be sim­
letter, it confirms what is dictated by common Roswell near the time of the 1947 incident. ply or smugly
.. sense - that if the engineering department pos­ At the reunion in Tucson, fwas introduced to characterized as
sessed a crashed saucer, the intelligence depart­ several of the pilots who were at Roswell in "absence of evi­
ment would not only be aware of it, they would 1947 and who promptly told me, in no uncertain dence." They are
also be integrally involved with its analysis and terms, that the crashed saucer event never oc­
evidence. They
the assessment of any potential threat posed to curred, period. I did not get the impression at the
national security. time, nor have I ever since, that any of these state defini­
The 1947 and 1948 military documents are men are engaged in some kind of incredible 50­ tively that there
definitive. They can not be simply or smugly year-long massive coverup or that they were was no crashed
characterized as "absence of evidence." They putting on an act or facade to throw me off saucer.
are evidence. They state definitively that there track. Anyone who believes that to be the case is
was no crashed saucer. out of touch with the reality of this issue. Like
If instead of the above documents, re­ every other person with whom I have ever dis­
searchers had uncovered definitive and authentic cussed this subject, these men were in total
documentation indicating the existence of a agreement that anything as important and pro­
crashed saucer, such documentation would have found as the knowledge of other intelligent life
undoubtedly been acknowledged by all and in the universe is information that should not be
characterized as a "smoking gun." Victory censored or suppressed and to which everyone
would have been declared, and congressional in­ should be entitled. These men risked their lives
vestigations would have been all but certain. in World War II to save the world from the kind
Predictably, some in the UFO field are react­ of totalitarian governments that, among their
ing to the 1947 and 1948 military documents many other crimes against humanity, unjustifi­
with an attitude reminiscent of the platitude, ably suppressed information from their people.
"don't bother me with the facts, my mind's The men who were at Roswell during July
made up." Ironically, this is the same type of 1947 feel very strongly that absolutely nothing
mentality of which they are so quick to accuse out of the ordinary happened and that the whole
their detractors. Narrow-mindedness, however, matter is patently ridiculous. The 509th was the
can exist on either side of the fence. The facts only atomic bomb group in the world in 1947
are now clear. We can't simply refuse to ac­ and was composed of a very elite group of indi­
knowledge them because we don't like them. . viduals, most of whom stilI feel a definite sense
The Roswell crash didn't happen. It is time to of pride in their former outfit. To them, the
face the music, and the band isn't playing our crashed-saucer nonsense, along with all the hul­
tune. labaloo and conspiracy theories sUlTOunding it,
makes a mockery of and is an insult to the 509th
The Men of the 509th Bomb Group and its men.
One of the 509th pilots I met at the reunion,
The 509th Bomb Group was based at Jack Ingham, has since become a friend and has
Roswell in 1947. In September 1996, I had the helped me considerably in contacting additional
privilege of attending the reunion of the 509th members of the group who were stationed at
Bomb Group in Tucson, Arizona, as a guest of Roswell during the time of the incident. When I
General Bob Scott and his wife Terry. I have first met Jack in Tucson, he spared no punches
known the Scotts for a couple of years. By coin­ in letting me know exactly what he thought
cidence, Bob's son is a pilot for the same airline about the crashed-flying saucer matter. Others at
for which I work. the reunion told me that if something like the
At the time of the 509th reunion, I had not crash of a UFO had really happened at Roswell,
yet seen atl the pertinent 1948 military docu­ Jack Ingham would have known. Jack spent a
ments and still held an inkling of hope that there total of 16 years with the 509th Bomb Group
might be something to the Roswell event. Prior February 1946 to July 1962. He retired from the
to the reunion, I had sent out over 700 mailings Air Force as a lieutenant colonel in January
to members of the reunion group in the hope of 1971. June
1997
finding additional witnesses to the mysterious Since last September, I have spoken with a Number 350
debris. The result was a disappointment only total of 15 B·29 pilots and 2 B-29 navigators, all Page 7
 MUFON LIFO JOURNAL

Since last of whom were stationed at Roswell Army Air mon sense and real-world experience, not from
September, I Field in July 1947. Most of them heard nothing some abstract or esoteric psychological theory.
about the supposed crashed-saucer incident until Faulty memory is obviously one of the
have spoken
years later, after all the publicity started. The biggest detriments to accurately reconstructing
with a total of
few men who did recall hearing something about past events, especially if a great deal of time has
15 B~29 pilots elapsed. While memory generally serves us .
the incident at the time of its occurrence said
and 2 B~29 that the inside word was that the debris was well, it is unlike the playback of a digital tape ­
navigators, all from a downed balloon of some kind and that it is far from precise or absolute. With the pas­
of whom were there was no more than "one wheelbarrow full." sage of time, images from different events can
Not one single man had any direct knowledge of be inadvertently blended together. Also, mental
stationed at
a crashed saucer or of any kind of unusual mate­ images of things only imagined can be inadver­
Roswell Army
rial. Even more significantly, in all of their col­ tently blended or confused with memories of
Air Field in July lective years with the 509th Bomb Group, not things actually observed or events actually expe­
1947. Most of one of these men had ever encountered any rienced.
them heard other individual who had such knowledge. If memory were perfect, everyone of us
nothing about As Jack Ingham and others pointed out, the would have consistently accomplished perfect
509th was a very close-knit group and there was scores in our comprehensive exams throughout
the supposed
no wayan event as spectacular as the recovery high school and college. We would remember
crashed~saucer
of a crashed-alien spaceship from another world with perfect accuracy every name, face, scene,
incident until could have happened at their base without their place, and event that we had ever heard, seen, or
years later, af~ having known about it. Despite the fact that experienced. Obviously, human memory doesn't
ter all the pub~ they, individually, may not have been directly work this way. Interestingly, however, in the
licity started. involved with the recovery operation, and de­ case of witness testimony, there often seems to
spite the pervasiveness of the "need to know" be an unrealistic assumption that it does.
philosophy in the military, these men maintained Like faulty memory, inaccurate communica­
that there was absolutely no way that something tion can also be a detriment to accurately recon­
of such magnitude and so earthshaking would structing past events. Miscommunication is defi­
not have been communicated among the mem­ nitely a factor with secondhand testimony.
bers of the group - especially within the inner Perhaps, that is part of the reason secondhand
circle of the upper echelon of B-29 pilots and testimony is not admissible in a court of law.
navigators - all of whom had top-secret secu­ There is a game sometimes played by children
rity clearances. Furthermore, unlike the atomic that amply illustrates the problem of miscommu­
weapons secrets with which they were all en­ nication, and consequently also secondhand tes­
trusted, the existence of a crashed alien space­ timony. A group stands in a circle and a mes­
ship would have been much more of a social and sage is whispered from one person to the next.
scientific issue than a national security issue. After being passed around a few times, the origi­
Additionally, word was already out - the story nal message is usually completely unrecogniz­
had been published in afternoon newspapers all able. It doesn't take much imagination to realize
over the Western United States. how much the problem would be exacerbated iJ
Most of the men of the 509th Bomb Group there was a gap of several years each time the
were primarily WWIT veterans in their mid- to message was passed on. Interestingly, in the
late twenties. (Colonel Blanchard, the comman­ Roswell case, much of the secondhand testi­
der of the group, was, himself, only 31.) mony, upon which so much importance is
Military regulations notwithstanding, human na­ placed, comes from information passed on many
ture and common sense have to be factored into years back.
the equation. Such an occurrence - the most Errors in perception are probably more fre­
significant and dramatic event in recorded his­ quent than most people realize. Perception is of­
tory - would surely have been discussed by ten intluenced by expectation. We have proba­
these men, at least among themselves. bly all noticed this phenomenon on a micro
scale when trying to proofread something.
Memory, Communication, and Perception Similar to a form of computer enhancement, the
brain tends to automatically compensate for
A few words about the potential pitfalls of missing letters or words which are supposed to
human memory, communication, and perception be there. In other words, it tends to automati­
might shed light on how the "myth" surrounding cally "fill in the blanks."
June the Roswell event evolved. The following obser­ The problem of expectation influencing per­
1997
Number 350
vations are strictly from the standpoint of com­ ception is exacerbated when recalling past
PageS events. Memory seems to somehow have the
MUFON UFO JOURNAL

ability to distort an observation retroactively to better remember a face or a license plate num­ Major Marcel
make it better match expectation. This phenome­ ber, for example. stopped by his
non can be a real problem with eyewitness ac­ Because I considered our effort such an im­ house on the
counts to traffic accidents, and even more so to portant endeavor, I wanted to find the best in the
way back to
aviation accidents - even accounts from expe­ field. I also wanted someone who had maximum
rienced observers. For example, in August 1987, credibility and who was not associated with the the base and
a Northwest Airlines MD-88 took off from UFO community. There was a reason for this. In laid the debris
Detroit Metro airport. The crew, however, had the event that anything significantly positive out on his
failed to lower the flaps to the takeoff position came out of the hypnotic session, there would be kitchen floor to
(15 degrees). Under most circumstances, this er­ a greater chance of it being taken seriously by show his wife
ror would not have been a fatal mistake. the mainstream public.
and son. As a
Unfortunately, due to other contributing factors My search led me to Neil Hibler, PhD, a clin­
(short runway, hot day, fully loaded aircraft, ical psychologist with an office in the result, Jesse
etc.), they didn't make it. During the investiga­ Washington, D.C., area. Dr. Hibler is one of the Marcel, Jr., got
tion of the accident, the crew of the aircraft in world's leading experts in the use of hypnotic a good look at
line for takeoff immediately behind the regression for forensic purposes. Law enforce­ the unusual
Northwest airplane testified that its flaps were ment agencies all over the world have retained material.
definitely lowered to the takeoff position. him for important cases. Among the agencies
Potentially, the
Analysis of the wreckage and flight-data that have called on him are the Federal Bureau
recorder, however, showed otherwise. The testi­ of Investigation, the National Security Agency, key to the
mony of the crew of the second aircraft was the Defense Intelligence Agency, and the intelli­ whole Roswell
wrong. What they remembered was what they gence agencies of all three armed services. Dr. UFO case lies
thought they should have seen rather than what Hibler has worked with subjects from all walks in Jesse
they actually saw. of life, including diplomats and generals. Marcel, Jr.'s
On the evening of January 10, 1997, four of
memory. He
A Trip to Washington us met in Dr. Hibler's office for the first of three
sessions. The other two sessions took place over saw the debris.
The central focus of the Roswell story has the next two days. Jesse Marcel, Jr., who is one Either it was
been the recovery of the unusual debris from the of the most honest and sincere persons I have extraterrestrial
Foster Ranch in July, 1947. This is where it all· ever met, cooperated completely, despite the po­ or it was not.
started. The most important living witness to tential controversy of any significant outcome.
that debris is Jesse Marcel, Jr., MD, the son of Dr. Hibler had suggested that everything be
Major Jesse Marcel, Sr., the intelligence officer recorded on videotape. This was done by Denise
of the 509th Bomb Group. After being out at the Marcel, Jesse, Jr.'s 33-year-old daughter, who
site, Major Marcel stopped by his house on the flew in from Los Angeles. Denise was espe­
way back to the base and laid the debris out on cially interested in our endeavor because she has
his kitchen floor to show his wife and son. As a studied hypnosis formally and is a licensed hyp­
result, Jesse Marcel, Jr., got a good look at the notherapist in California. Aprofessional illustra­
unusual material. Potentially, the key to the tor from the Washington, D.C., area, Kimberly
whole Roswell UFO case lies in Jesse Marcel, Moeller, was also present during the second and
Jr.'s memory. He saw the debris. Either it was third sessions.
extraterrestrial or it was not.
Despite the recent overwhelmingly negative Dr. Hibler's approach was to have Jesse go
developments in the Roswell case, I did not through the entire story twice, without the aid of
want to leave any stone unturned. I therefore hypnosis. Hypnosis was then administered for
arranged to have Jesse Marcel, Jr. fly to each subsequent recounting of the story.
Washington, D.C., for a thorough debriefing According to Denise, her father is not an easy
session to see if we could get a better picture of hypnotic subject, but was definitely in a mild to
the exact nature of the unusual debris that pre­ medium trance by the end of the last session.
cipitated the Roswell story. The hypnosis did not, however, bring out any­
Being fully aware of the pitfalls in the use of thing new that was of significance. For that rea­
hypnosis for memory retrieval, I decided that it son, confabulation (false memory syndrome)
still might be an avenue worth pursuing. In addi­ was definitely not a concern. In Jesse's words,
tion to its (controversial) use in retrieving re­ the hypnosis simply helped "tine tune" his con­
pressed subconscious memories, hypnosis can scious memory. For example, by the end of the
be an effective tool in enhancing conscious last session, he was able to recall several details June
1997
memory. Law enforcement agencies sometimes about which he had previously been uncertain Number 350
use hypnosis in this manner to help a witness - the debris' already having been laid out on Page 9
 MUFON UFO

There were no
technological
artifacts of any
type - no rem­
nants of any­
thing resem­
bling motors, I-Beam and pattems remembered by Jesse Marcel, Jr. Under hypnosis. Drawing by Kimberly Moeller.
servos, elec­ I
tronic compo­ the floor when he first saw it, the fact that his fa­ ing and varied than the debris that was laid out
ther was in uniform, and his accompanying his on the Marcel kitchen iloor. At least with the
nents, instru­
father out to the car, where he ~aw additional de­ chariot there would have been some technologi­
ments, a guId­
bris in the trunk. i cal remnants such as parts of the axles and
ance system, a The most significant thing rlbout the sessions wheels.
I .
control system, in Washington is not so much what came out of While we have no idea what the debris from
a propulsion them, but what didn't come ou:t of them. There a crashed spaceship would look like, it is reason­
system, etc. ­ were no descriptions or memofies of any kind of able to assume that it would retlect a level of
exotic debris or wreckage. Th~re is a very good complexity and technologicl;ll advancement be­
nothing. The
reason for that - there simply: was no such ex­ yond imagination. Postulating that a few pieces
crash of a
otic debris or wreckage for Jes'se to remember. If of foil, plastic-like material, and short beams
Sopwith Camel there had been, in all probabili~y, he would have constitute the remains of a machine of such ca­
would have left remembered it consciously. Nonetheless, be­ pability and complexity is more than just a
more complex cause of the extreme importanbe of the debris to quantum leap, it is completely baseless and to­
and sophisti­ the Roswell case, the effort wds worth a try ­ tally illogical.
just in case. There was no risk lor a negative ef­
cated debris.
fect on what Jesse remembered. Hypnosis can An Amazing Coincidence
elicit memories of things that didn't
I
happen, but
it can't take away memories of things that did In addition to being mundane, the material re­
I
happen. I covered from the Foster ranch is detinitely rec­
Unfortunately, instead of p~oviding any re­ oncilable with the debris from an ML-307 radar
I
newed hope or encouragement, the outcome of reilector - the length and cross-sectional size
the hypnosis sessions in Washington,
I
D.C., was, of the beams or sticks, the pieces of foil, and the
for me, the final nail in the cof,fin of the Roswell plastic-like material (now thought to be part of
crashed-saucer scenario. The sessions
I
made it one of the plastic ballast cases that contained
absolutely clear that the material recovered from sand). Even the color of the symbols that Jesse,
the Foster ranch northwest of ~oswell in 1947 Jr., remembers is almost identical to the color of
was anything but unique or exotic.
I
As it turned the tlower patterns on the balsa stick that Irving
out, it was extremely mundane. Newton remembers seeing in Ramey's office.
According to Jesse's best recollection, the The crashed saucer scenario requires an im­
material laid out on his kitche~I floor, which was plausible occurrence_ A tlying saucer crashes
representative of that at the site, consisted pri­ northwest of Roswell, New Mexico, and leaves
marily of pieces of metallic fOlI, a short beam or debris in the form of small pieces of foil, short
I
"stick," and a few pieces of a plastic or Bakelite- beams that have a maximum length of about
like substance. Certainly, such mundane debris three feet, and pieces of Bakelite-like material.
I
would not constitute the wreckage from any Amazingly, by incredible coincidence, a balloon
kind of sophisticated vehicle ~r craft, much less array that disappeared in the same general area
one capable of interstellar trav,el. four weeks earlier carried three radar reflectors
There was nothing to indicateI
form or stmc- constructed/rom reflective/oil, short beams that
ture. There was nothing to indicate some kind of have a maximum length o/aboUl three feet. and
ultra-advanced technology. There were no tech­ pieces of Bakelite-like material.
nological artifacts
.
of any type 1-
I
no remnants of Obviously, the idea of any such coincidence
anything resembling motors, servos, electronic ever happening is absurd. The debris recovered
components, instruments, a gUidance system, a from the Foster ranch was that of an ML-307
control system, a propulsion sYstem, etc. ­ radar reflector.
nothing. The crash of a Sopwith Camel would It is not hard to imagine how the apparent
June
have left more complex and sdphisticated debris. misidentification probably came about. During
1997
Number 350 Even the debris from a two-thbusand-year-old the previous two weeks, there had been a wave
Page 10 Roman chariot would have be~n more interest- of sightings of tlying saucers or "disks" through­
I
I
I
MUFON UFO JOURNAL

Amazingly, by
incredible co­
Incidence, a
balloon array
that disap­
peared in the
Strut and tape patterns as remembered by Irving Newton. Drawing by Kimberly Moeller. same general
area four
out the United States and Canada. The sightings In one of my conversations with Newton, weeks earlier
were something that were in the news daily and quite by chance, a new and important revelation
carried three
were on almost everyone's mind - an "un­ came to light. He was describing the color of the
known" in the sky. At the same time, balloon ar­ symbols on one of the balsa sticks and men­ radar reflectors
rays under a secret project known as "Mogul" tioned how it was faint and had somewhat of a constructed
were being launched from the Alamagordo area, mottled appearance because of "the way that the from reflective
just under 100 miles to the west of Roswell. dye had bled through onto the surface of the foil, short
These balloon arrays carried ML-307 radar re­ stick." This was a very important piece of infor­ beams that
flectors, which would have been totally unfamil­ mation. The symbols that Newton saw on the
have a maxi­
iar to Butch Blanchard, Jesse Marcel, and the debris in Ramey's office were on the surface of
other men at Roswell AAF. The debris from one the stick, not on tape! The tape had apparently mum length of
of these reflectors scattered over the desert peeled away, probably because of several about three
would likewise have been something unfamiliar weeks' exposure to sunlight while it layout in feet, and
to them an "unknown" on the ground. the desert. This serendipitous revelation imme­ pieces of
It is understandable that the unknown debris diately cleared up one of the biggest questions in Bakelite-like
found northwest of Roswell would have been as­ my mind about the Roswell case - how could
material.
sumed to be related to the unknown objects that Jesse Marcel, Sr., or Jesse Marcel, Jr., for that
had been so frequently reported flying around in . matter, not have recognized nower patterns on
the sky, the flying "disks." Such a connection, tape? The answer is now crystal clear. The sym­
although with the benefit of hindsight, incorrect, bols they saw were not on tape. What they saw
would have been very logical and understand­ were images of the original symbols from the
able for the men at Roswell to make. This is al­ dye that had bled through before the tape had
most certainly how the Roswell story began. peeled away. Jesse, Jr.'s testimony about the
symbols definitely not being on tape was ab­
The Missing Tape solutely correct.

In the last few months, as part of my effort to A Remarkable Resemblance

reconstruct what happened at Roswell, I have
had a number of conversations with Irving During the sessions in Washington, D.C., the
Newton, the weather officer at Fort WOIth Army professional illustrator who was present drew a
Air Field who was called in by General Ramey very accurate depiction of what Jesse, Jr., re­
to identify the unusual debris. The debris was al­ membered - the "I-be am-like" member with
ready suspected to be part of some type of bal­ the symbols on it. After learning what a good
loon device. Newton told me that he immedi­ recollection of the symbols Newton had, I
ately recognized it as being from an ML-307 arranged for him to work with the same illustra­
radar renector. An ML-307 was a box kite-like tor so that we might have side-by-side sketches
device covered with a tough, paper-backed foil from the same perspective for comparison.
that was suspended below balloons or balloon
arrays to facilitate radar tracking. According to As it turned out, the resemblance between the
Newton, most weather officers, much less the two sketches was remarkable. Even the artist
men at Roswell or Fort Worth, would not have commented that "it sure seemed like these two
been familiar with such a device. Newton had men were describing the same thing." Probably
worked with the reflectors a couple of years ear­ most amazing was the closeness of the color that
lier during the invasion of Okinawa in the the two men remembered. Other than Newton's
Pacific. The devices were suspended below bal­ color being more faded, the colors are nearly
loons, released to gather wind data for use in identical.
helping direct heavy naval artillery fire. The most significant discrepancy was the June
1997
way the slight ridges on the upper and lower Number 350
edges gave Jesse's beam the appearance of an 1­ 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 \947, Roswell Daily Record. Rancher Mac
to a slight error in Jesse's recollection. His fa­ Brazel is quoted as talking about sticks, foil, and
ther, for example, remembered the small mem­ tape with flower patterns on it.
bers as having a rectangular cross section. In a
1979 interview with journalist Bob Pratt, Jesse The Alleged Substitution .
Marcel, Sr., stated, " .. .it was a solid member,
rectangular members, just like you get with a Most of us have seen the now-famous pic­
square stick." It is entirely possible, however, tures of the debris from Roswell taken in
that the particular member that Jesse, Jr., held, General Roger Ramey's office at Fort Worth
could have had a ridge on its edges for some un­ Army Air Field. General Ramey, Colonel
known reason. Thomas DuBose, Major Jesse Marcel, and
The only other really significant discrepancy Warrant Officer Irving Newton appear in the
was in the color of the member. Jesse remem­ pictures, posing with the debris. The debris is
bered it being about the same color as that of the clearly visible in all seven existing pictures.
foil-like material, while Irving Newton remem­ There is absolutely no question that this is the
bered it being almost white. Judging from the debris from an ML-307 radar reflector. [f this is
pictures taken in Ramey's office, however, the the same debris that was recovered from the
white that Newton recalled was probably accu­ Foster ranch, then the Roswell case is closed,
rate. According to Charles Moore, the project period. It's over, end of subject.
engineer for "Project Mogul," the sticks were In the January 1991 issue of the MUFON
covered with glue or glue-like substance. This UFO Journal, there is an article by Jaime
would probably have given them a different Shandera titled "New Revelations About the
color than that of raw wood, as well as a differ­ Roswell Wreckage: a General Speaks Up." The
ent feel or texture - probably to the degree that article included an extensive two-part interview
someone who didn't know what they were, with General Thomas DuBose, who was a
might not recognize them as wood. The only colonel and General Ramey's chief of staff in
other discrepancies were minor, such as differ­ 1947. DuBose met the plane carrying the mater­
ences in the size and spacing of the symbols. ial picked up outside of Roswell and personally
For anyone who suspects that Irving Newton took it to Ramey's office. During the first of the
June is participating in a 50-year coverup and making two interviews, Shandera realized that General
1997
Number 350
up the story about the symbols or flower pat­ DuBose was not familiar with and had not seen
Page 12 terns, all he needs to do is check out the July 9, the pictures taken of the debris in Ramey's of-
MUFON UFO 1~'LII\'I"'1">

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.

fice. Shandera then sent DuBose a set of the pic­ of the less-interesting metallic debris .... The
tures, prior to conducting the second interview. stuff in that one photo was pieces of the actual
Throughout the two interviews, Shandera stuff we had found. It was not a staged photo."
questioned DuBose with the doggedness of a During one of my interviews with Irving
district attorney, asking him nine times in nine Newton, he mentioned how in Ramey's office,
different ways whether the debris had been Marcel had pointed Ollt the symbols and indi­
switched. Nine times, General DuBose made it cated that he (Marcel) thought they might be
emphatically clear that the debris had not been some form of alien writing. When I asked him if
switched. Among DuBose's responses were he was sure that it was Marcel who did that,
"We never switched anything ... We were West Newton was emphatic that it was the man who
Pointers - we would never have done thaLI "had collected the debris from the ranch." This
have damn good eyesight...1 had charge of that is, of course, one fUither indication that the de­
material, and it was never switched," When bris in Ran1ey's office was the debris from the
shown the pictures from Ramey's office and Foster ranch. There was no substitution. The de­
asked if he recognized the material, he replied, bris in the pictures was the same debris collected
"Oh yes. That's the material that Marcel brought by Major Marcel at the Foster Ranch. It was the
in to Ft. Worth from Roswell." debris from an ML-307 radar reflector.
In William Moore's book The Roswell There is also an interesting quote in Moore's
Incident, Jesse Marcel, Sr., was interviewed book from Marcel about the so-called indestruc­
about the debris. His responses were somewhat tibility of the material. It sounds like this now­
puzzling in that he indicated that the photos of legendary indestructibility was actually more the
him were of the actual debris, but that the later kind of indestructibility that you would find in
photos (without him) contained substituted ma­ material from something like a tough, paper­
terial. Later photos with substituted debris (even backed foil. Marcel stated, "It was possible to
if they existed) wouldn't really matter. If the de­ flex this stuff back and forth, even wrinkle it,
bris in the photo with Major Marcel was the ac­ but you could not put a crease in it that would
tual material, it was from an ML- 307 radar re­ stay, nor could you dent it at all. J would almost
nector. Again, end of story. have to describe it as metal with plastic proper­ June
Among Marcel's responses were "They took ties." 1997
Number 350
one picture of me on the floor holding up some
Page 13
 MUFON UFO JOURNAL

Some of these One could also lay tough, paper-backed foil ters. If the story of a highly unusual and totally
attacks have on the ground and p<?und away with a sledge unprecedented event is killed at the source, sub­
hammer and quite possibly not dent it. sequent cOlToborating testimony goes out the
been extended
Interestingly, the sledgehammer test was only window. For example, in the summer of 1993, a
to Jesse hearsay, anyway. One of the airmen allegedly man from Seattle, Washington, made the un­
Marcel, Jr., performed the test and told Marcel about it after­ precedented claim that he had found a hypoder­
which I find as­ wards. This is possibly a good example of how mic syringe inside a sealed can of Pepsi Cola.
tounding. As I rumors and myth begin. Besides, if this material The story was picked up by the media, and
have already was so indestructible, why did it break up into within days there were copycat claims against
hundreds or thousands of little pieces? The real the Pepsi Cola Corporation all over the country.
mentioned, he
answer is, of course, that it was not so indestruc­ Unfortunately for those who jumped on the
is as sincere tible because it was from an ML-307 radar re­ bandwagon, the original claim turned out to be
and honest as flector that was apparently dragged across the false. Where did that leave the subsequent
anyone I have ground as the balloon array descended. claimants? Out on a limb that had been cut off,
ever known. and, in this particular case, facing up to
Like his father The Witnesses $250,000 in fines and five years in jail.
The testimony of some of the other Roswell
before him, he
The testimony of the late Jesse Marcel, Sr., is witnesses has been all but validated in the public
served his probably the most important, as well as the most eye because of repeated media coverage. For
country during controversial, of the whole Roswell story. In this reason I will address a couple of cases.
time of war. essence, it forms the foundation around which Former mortician Glenn Dennis and the elu­
the rest of the case is built. However, because sive nurse, Naomi Self, who supposedly wit­
the debris he recovered was not extraterrestrial, nessed alien autopsies at the base hospital is one
it could not have been what he said it was. That of the best-known elements of the 1947 Roswell
does not mean, however, that he did not believe event. Although I know and like Glenn Dennis
it was extraterrestrial. In my opinion, it is very on a personal level, I have to say that his story
possible, if not highly probable, that he sincerely has lost all credibility. Glenn, incidentally, has
believed until the day he died that the material been fully aware of the fact that researchers have
was something, as he once put it, "not of this been spending time and resources in an effort to
earth." A less-than-perfect memory of events so locate a "Naomi Self."
long ago, in combination with the suspicion on There was already significant circumstantial
his part of a coverup above his level of security evidence to indicate that no such nurse ever ex­
or outside his need to know, makes such a sce­ isted, when a diligent young researcher from
nario entirely plausible. Arizona, Vic Golubic, all but confirmed the fact.
Unfortunately, because of minor, almost triv­ He located the records of the Cadet Nurse
ial, inconsistencies in some of the things Jesse Corps, where all nurses for the military were
Marcel, Sr., said, or is believed to have said, trained during the mid-1940s. When Golubic
some have made caustic personal attacks against checked with Dennis about the correct spelling
a man no longer around to defend himself ­ of "Self' and informed him about the Cadet
and who was, in all probability, telling the truth Nurse Corps records, Dennis changed his story,
as he recalled it. I have now spoken with a num­ telling Golubic that Self was not really the cor­
ber of men from the 509th Bomb Group who rect last name after aIL Dennis, without giving a
knew Major Marcel. All had nothing but the good reason for not doing so, also refused to tell
highest regard and respect for him. Golubic the "real" last name. Sorry, Glenn, end
Some of these attacks have been extended to of story.
Jesse Marcel, Jr., which I find astounding. As I Both my father and I got to know Frank
have already mentioned, he is as sincere and Kaufman very well and consider him a friend.
honest as anyone I have ever known. Like his However, as with Dennis, I have to say that in
father before him\ he served his country during view of what we now know, there is no way that
time of war. Few people know it, but he was se­ Kaufman's fantastic tale of a crashed spaceship
riously injured during the Vietnam War when with alien bodies could have any basis in reality.
his helicopter was shot down, killing everyone According to Kaufman's story, he was one of
else on board. Like all of us, Jesse might not nine military men at the top-secret recovery op­
have 100 percent perfect recall of every past eration 35 miles north of town. Other than
event, but I would never question his word. Kaufman; the only other living member of the
June In a way, because the debris recovered out­ "original nine" was a General Robert Thomas.
1997 side of Roswell in 1947 was not extraterrestrial,
Number 350
The last time my father and I were in
'Page 14 none of the other witness testimony really mat­ Roswell, Kaufman showed us some of his pic­
MUFON UFO JOURNAL

tures, including one with him standing next to a with me during my polling of the pilots and nav­ During my ex­
brigadier general. My father asked Kaufman if igators of the 509th, when I contacted Walter tensive conver­
that was Thomas, to which Kaufman replied in Klinikowski.
sations with pi­
the affirmative. Unfortunately, my father, who Klinikowski is one of the most interesting in­
lots from the
spent 30 years in the Air Force, was unable to dividuals with whom I have spoken during this
recognize the general. I later checked at the Air entire Roswell endeavor. After my first conver­ 509th, I spoke
Force records center and learned that not only sation with Klinikowski, I soon learned from with several
was there no living General Robert Thomas, but other members of the 509th Bomb Group that who knew
there never was a General Robert Thomas. On his piano playing was almost legendary. He told Henderson and
being confronted with this, Kaufman informed me that while in high school at age 15, unbe­ remembered
me that Thomas was really just a "code name." known to his parents, he took his first profes­
his having dis­
The final witness testimony that I will ad­ sional job. The musician's union set him up in
dress is that concerning Oliver W. (Pappy) the pit band of a local burlesque theater, where cussed the in­
Henderson. Millions have seen the "Unsolved he soon became acquainted with none other than cident... he
Mystery" broadcast about Roswell with the the famous Gypsy Rose Lee. considered the
scene of Pappy Henderson in his flight suit, As if his piano talent was not enough, whole matter a
leaning over and inspecting one of several alien Klinikowski later was sponsored by the big joke and
bodies laid out on a hangar floor just prior to Philadelphia Athletic Club as a potential member
used to kid
their being flown to Wright Patterson. of the 1940 U.S. Olympic team. The war came
Henderson, who died in 1986, on seeing a along, however, and the games were never held. about it.
tabloid headline and story about Roswell, appar­ During World War II, he was a navigator on a B­
ently told his wife that the story was true and 17 - one of highest risk jobs in the war.
that he had flown the wreckage and bodies to Following the war, after a couple of years of
Wright Patterson. My best guess is that the testi­ civilian life, Klinikowski was recalled to the ser­
mony of Henderson's family years later was a vice, where he joined the 509th Bomb Group at
case of memories of things read, or possibly Roswell in May 1947. He stayed with the 509th
seen in tabloid pictures, being blended or con­ until February 1953.
fused with memories of what Henderson may What makes Walter Klinikowski so important
have actually said. to the investigation of the Roswell case is not his
During my extensive conversations with pi­ time with the 509th, but what he did afterward.
lots from the 509th, I spoke with several who For 14 years, from 1960 until 1974, when he re­
knew Henderson and remembered his having tired from the Air Force as a colonel, Walter
discussed the incident. Apparently Henderson, a Klinikowski was with the Foreign Technology
C-54 transport pilot at the time, did fly some of Division (FID) of the Air Material Command
the debris out of Roswell, possibly to Wright (AMC), based out of Wright Patterson Air Force
Patterson. Jesse Mitchell, one of the 509th pilots Base. (The FTD is now called the National
at the time and a retired lieutenant colonel, told Aerospace Intelligence Center.) From 1960 to
me that Henderson told him that he never saw 1964, he was "Deputy Director of Intelligence
the debris and he had no idea what it was. Collections," and then later, after spending some
Mitchell was a good friend of Henderson's and time abroad as a liaison officer for the FTD, he
almost decided to go into the roofing business returned to Wright Patterson as "Director of
with him in Roswell after Henderson left the Foreign Activities" from 1970 until 1974.
service. Another former member of the 509th, The fact that wreckage of a crashed UFO
Sam McIlhaney, also a retired lieutenant colonel . would have been taken to the Foreign
who knew Henderson well, told me that they Technology Division of AMC at Wright
used to talk about the incident occasionally Patterson Air Force Base for analysis is disputed
while sitting around in the hangar. According to by no one, to my knowledge. If that had been the
Mcllhaney, Henderson considered the whole case, Klinikowski would have known about it,
matter a big joke and used to kid 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
'rhe Guardians of the Hangar Patterson. The rumors of the secret hangar and
alien bodies are just that rumors.
Researching Roswell is somewhat akin to
prospecting, in that most of the time you spend Klinikowski was kind enough to put me in
countless hours and come up with nothing. touch with his former boss at the Foreign June
1997
Occasionally, however, you might hit pay dirt Technology Division, Walter Vatunac. Vatunac, Number 350
and come up with a real find. That happened who had actually been stationed at Roswell in Page 15
 MUFON UFO

The fact that the late I 940s, was the Director of Intelligence to keep the myth alive at all cost. Roswell is a sa­
wreckage of a Collections at the Foreign Technology Division cred cow for some, and a cash cow for others.
from 1957 until 1962. (The FTD was called the Inevitably, there will be tierce opposition to
crashed UFO
Air Technical Intelligence Center prior to 1961.) much of what has been said in this article. I
would have
Like Klinikowski, Vatunac found the matter of would be the last, however, to discourage ratio­
been taken to alien bodies and a crashed spaceship very hu­ mil and thoughtful response, for healthy debate
the Foreign morous and was incredulous that so many people and a free exchange of ideas are part of what
Technology actually believe it. makes our democratic system work,
Division of AMC After my conversations with Klinikowski and Any complete and reasonable response by
Vatunac, Harry Cordes, a former 509th pilot and those who still contend that a UFO crashed at
at Wright Patter­
a retired brigadier general, suggested I call a for­ Roswell in 1947 will need to directly address the
son Air Force
mer acquaintance of his, George Weinbrenner, points below, each of which would have to be a
Base for analy­ who had also been at the FTD. I contacted true statement if such a crash occurred:
sis is disputed Weinbrenner, who was more than accommodat­
by no one, to ing, especially when he found out that I knew • A machine with unimaginable technological
my knowledge. Walter Klinikowski. Weinbrenner told me pretty sophistication and consequent incredible reliabil­
much what I had already learned from ity would have simply broken down and crashed.
If that had been
Klinikowski and Vatunac, but it was interesting
the case,
talking to him, nonetheless. With respect to the • The only known wreckage from this sophis­
Klinikowski crashed UFO subject, he also found it humorous ticated vehicle, capable of interstellar travel,
would have and stated that "if something like' that had hap­ would have consisted solely of a few short
known about it, pened, I would have known about it." He cer­ beams, pieces of foil-like material, and small
but he didn't. tainly would have. George Weinbrenner was the pieces of thin plastic-like material.
commander of the Foreign Technology Division
for six years (1968 unti11974). • By incredible coincidence, the material from
I cannot state strongly enough that I have ab­ the crashed spaceship would have very closely
solutely no doubt that these three men were resembled the material left by the radar l'et1ectors
telling me the truth. I repeat, no doubt. Those from a balloon array that went down in the same
who want to rationalize away the facts by sug­ general area a few weeks earlier.
gesting that these men are still participating in
some super-long-term, massive coverup might • Despite the fact that this would have been
give some thought to the following. If there had the most spectacular event in recorded history,
been a crashed UFO, and for some reason it was and despite the fact that word was already out
still being kept secret, why on earth would these that something had happened (because of Lt.
men waste inordinate amounts of their own time HaUl'S press release), there was absolutely no
playing a ridiculous game of charades with me? contemporary discussion or talk about such an
They wouldn't. There would be absolutely no earthshaking event among the pilots and naviga­
reason for doing so. All they would have had to tors of the close-knit 509th Bomb Group.
do, would have been to politely tell me they
didn't know anything, and leave it at that. • West Point graduate and retired general
Klinikowski, Vatunac, and Weinbrenner are Thomas DuBose, would have to have lied nine
all retired colonels. They all held important posi­ times in an interview when he stated that the de­
tions at the Foreign Technology Division at bris (definitely that from an ML-307 radar ret1ec­
Wright Patterson. As such, they represent the ul­ tor) shown in the pictures in Ramey's office was
timate source of information with regard to the not substituted material and was the "real debris"
crashed UFO question. This is the word "right recovered from the ranch northwest of Roswell.
from the horse's mouth," the incontrovertible, ir­
refutable truth, the final confirmation - no alien • Major General C. P. Cabell, Director of
bodies, no secret hangar, and no UFO crash at Intelligence for the Air Force at the Pentagon,
Roswell. Case closed. who prepared a report on the unidentified flying
object situation for the Secretary of Defense, as­
A Red Herring toundingly, would have been preparing the report
totally ignorant of the fact that the Air Force was
In essence, the 1947 Roswell case has turned in possession of a crashed flying saucer.
out to be a red herring, diverting time and re­
June sources away from research into the real UFO • Three retired Air Force colonels, all former
1997 phenomenon. Despite overwhelming facts to the top officials at the Foreign Technology Division
Number 350
Page 16 contrary, there are those, however, who will fight at Wright Patterson Air Force base would have
MUFON UFO JOURNAL

Dr. Neil Hibler,

the forensic
hypnotist who
conducted the
Jesse Marcel,
Jr. sessions.
From the video
by Denise Mar­
cel.

been lying to me - unnecessarily wasting inor­ Incredibly, New York Sun editorial writer and
dinate amounts of their own personal time in a former civil war correspondent Francis Pharcellus
protracted game of charades. Church seemed to have a grasp on all of this a
hundred years ago. In his timeless editorial to
We have now gotten to the heart of the story Virginia O'Hanlon he wrote "In this great uni­
and established that the debris recovered from verse of ours man is a mere insect, an ant, in his
the Foster ranch and laid out on the Marcel intellect, as compared with the boundless world
kitchen t100r was, except for some unusual sym­ about him, as measured by the intelligence capa­
bols, of a very mundane nature. The following ble of grasping the whole of truth and knowl­
should then be asked of those still arguing the is­ edge."
sue: How do you get a crashed alien spaceship UFOs or alien spcecraft, however, are another
out of such ordinary debris? What basis is there matter. While we don't yet have tangible evi­
now for postulating the existence of a crashed dence that alien spacecraft exist, there have been
UFO? many intriguing sightings by credible people that
seem to defy conventional explanation. Like the
The Future few brief tantalizing signals that have been picked
up by the SETI program, the evidence for UFOs
At the beginning of this article, I included a has not yet qualified as solid proof in the eyes of
letter from a 6th-grade student, Lauren M., asking the scientific community. Perhaps that might
about Roswell and about information to help her come in Lauren's lifetime.
prove that there are UFOs and aliens. My re­ If such confirmation does come, it would rep­
sponse to Lauren with respect to Roswell has al­ resent one of the most remarkable events in hu­
ready been made patently clear throughout this man history. The long-contemplated philosophi­
at1icle. With respect to aliens, I would tell Lauren cal and scientific question of whether we are
that probably only the most narrow-minded of alone in the universe would be answered once
people consider the earth as being the only place and for all with absolute tlnality. Perhaps most
where there is intelligent life in the universe. The . important of all, the knowledge that it is possible
earth is but a small speck in a vast universe that for a civilization to survive the growing pains of
is, according to current-scientific thinking, most becoming technologically advanced, without
likely teaming with life some of it probably far completely destroying itself and its environment June
1997
more intelligent than we are. in the process, would provide a renewed hope for Number 350
the future of life here on earth. Page 17
 MUFON UFO JOURNAL

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
Reviewed by Karl T. Pflock 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
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
pages of other books about Roswell. Tellingly,
. some of these notes give the reader a bum
where the reader may stand with respect to the steer-as for example, citing my RiP as the
facts and truth of Roswell, disappointment and source of this intriguing quote attributed to
frustration is inevitable with this quickie cut-and­ Roswell researcher Kevin Randle: "If I had to
paste job, rushed into print by the de facto book­ rely on the public record [in the Roswell case],
publishing arm of the Committee for the I'd throw up. The evidence is not strong and it's
Scientific Investigation of Claims of the not compelling."
Paranormal (CSICOP) to capitalize on the 50th . Large chunks of text are pages-long extracts
Prometheus anniversary of the Roswell non-crash/retrieval of others' words and findings, notably Todd's,
Books, 1997, and nearly 10 percent of the book is given over
and push CSICOP's line that UFOs can't be,
he, 264 pp., to an appendix, "The Roswell Incident and the
therefore they aren't. .
iIIus., $26.95
At the outset, Korff correctly observes, "The NYU Balloon Project," lifted from the Air
ISBN 1-57392­
Roswell incident, and all that surrounds it, is a Force's RosweliReport (from which Korff also
127-0
complex web of events, not easily understand­ cribbed most of his illustrations). The lengthy
able nor explainable until examined fully and in bibliography is larded with references having no
painstaking detail." He then proceeds to skip bearing on the case at hand and, oddly, does not
across the surface of the murky Roswell waters include my RiP, the only skeptical look at
like one of Kenneth Arnold's saucers, with the Roswell written by what Korffs CSICOP pa­
all important details left submerged in the depths trons call a pro-UFOlogist and from which Korff
and few pains taken. lifts a line out of context and uses it to misrepre­
The same is true of his editors. The book is sent my views on what actually "crashed" at
riddled with typographical errors, bad grammar Roswell (see Korff, p. 227, and Pflock, pp. 113­
and usage, easily caught factual errors, etc. It is a 117, especially p. 116). While Korff says and I
slap-dash job by all concerned, and tells us more believe this was inadvertent. it tells us something
about CSICOP's agenda than it does about of the rigor of his research.
Roswell. One of the enticements Korff and his pub­
The publisher's jacket blurb declares Korff s lisher dangle before the unsuspecting is the
work "a ground-breaking investigation that fi­ promise of "information never before pub­
nally determines the real truth [as opposed to the lished-military records, formerly classified pro­
"unreal truth"?] behind the Roswell mystery." In jects, and correspondence-revelations powerful
fact, while Korff brings some interesting tidbits enough to change public opinion forever." It
to light, all the important ground was broken and turns out the book contains but six examples of
well plowed some years ago-principally by such, none of the earth-shattering significance
Robert Todd, Prof. C. B. Moore, Capt. James touted in the foregOing hype. Briefly, they are:
McAndrew, and, yes, myself. The fundamental (I) Lydia Sleppy worked at Albuquerque's
elements of the "real truth" have been publicly Radio KOAT in early July 1947, when she says
known since June 1994, revealed in detail in my she received a call from the late Johnny
Roswell in Perspective (RiP). These were mas­ McBoyle, station manager of a KOAT affiliate in
sively supplemented by The Roswell Report: Roswell. As Sleppy tried to send McBoyle's
Fact vs. Fiction in the New Mexico Desert, pub­ "scoop" about a crashed flying saucer over a
lished in 1995 by a reluctant Air Force goaded news wire, she claims. the "receive" bell on her
into action by New Mexico Congressman Steve Teletype began ringing, and a "stop transmitting"
Schiff. In the intervening years, Robert Todd, I, message from the FBI was printed automatically.
and others independently have provided further Korff was advised by the FBI that it did not
elaboration, clarification, and correction in occa­ have such an intercept capability in New Mexico
June sional articles, papers, and letters of comment in in July 1947 and had no record of such an inci­
1997 dent. Moreover, the Bureau said the Teletype
Number 350
UFO journals, on the Internet, and even in CSI-
Page 18
MUFON UFO JOURNAL

model at KOAT required the operator to flip a now attributed to Jesus Christ, and warned Kortl Korff convinc­
switch to receive an incoming message. This, he "could be killed" if he did not cooperate. ingly relates
Korff says, disproves Sleppy's claim of FBI in­ Interesting, if true, but why did Korff wait 15 that, while
terference: years 10 tell this tale?
working at
But does it? He does not tell us how the FBI (5) & (6) These are the promised never before
determined the Teletype model decades after the published military records and cOITespondence­ Lawrence
fact, and his notes reveal the "evidence" on a page from Roswell Army Air Field intelligence Livermore
which he bases his conclusion: a series of per­ officer and key Roswell incident witness Jesse National
sonal telephone conversations in 1996 between Marcel, Sf.' s May 6, 1948, officer efficiency re­ Laboratory in
the author and unnamed persons in the FBI's port in which his tendency to "magnify prob­
1988, his du­
headquarters and its Dallas field office. lems" is mentioned, and a ca. 1950 letter to
ties permitted
(2) The late Oliver Wendell "Pappy" Marcel from his sister, asking him to seek release
Henderson was a C-54 transport pilot at Roswell from the service so he can look after their 92­ him to view all
in July 1947. According to family members and year-old invalid mother. While it is true these of debunker
his friend John Kromschroeder, Henderson saw documents have not been published before, last Donald
alien bodies and flew saucer wreckage to Wright year Robert Todd made public the substance of Menzel's secu­
Field, Ohio. Kromschroeder also claimed the former, and the latter merely provides the
rity files. They
Henderson showed him what he said was a piece precise reason for Marcel's September 1950
contained not
or pieces of the doomed saucer. hardship release from active duty.
Here Korff seems to have scored a useful hit. These "nice to haves" and "so whats?" consti­ even a hint of
He located and interviewed Jonathan Smith, one tute the entire body of this dreadful book's "reve­ MJ-12.
of Henderson's military buddies. Smith revealed lations powerful enough to change public opin­
Henderson had some fragments of a German V-2 ion forever." Even the chapter devoted to de­
rocket (not a "buzz bomb," as misidentified by . bunking the infamous alien autopsy hoax film is
Korft), which he often showed friends, telling remarkably superficial and tells us nothing new
them they were pieces of a crashed UFO. of any significance. This is especially disappoint;­
(3) In 1987, what purported to be a draft Top ing, since high-tech analysis of imagery is one of
Secret document was made public, revealing the Kortl's areas of true expertise, as he so devastat­
existence of MJ-12, a group of government offi­ ingly demonstrated in his expose of the Billy
cials and scientists formed after the Roswell inci­ Meier cult/con (Spaceships of the Pleiades: The
dent to manage and keep secret the truth about Billy Meier Stm:y, Prometheus, 1995).
UFOs. One alleged member of the group was as­ Sadly, The Roswell UFO Crash is a
tronomer and vehement UFO debunker Donald waste of time and money for anyone in search of
Menzel, who did much classified work for the "what they don't want you to know" about
U.S. government. This has been taken by many, Roswell.
notably Roswell luminary Stanton Friedman, to
be one proof of the reality of MJ-12.
Korff convincingly relates that, while working Copyright © 1997 Karl T. Pjlock
at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in
1988, his duties permitted him to view all of
Menzel's security files. They contained not even Karl Ptlock is the author of Roswell in
a hintofMJ-12. Another useful hit. Perspective (1994), published by and still avail­
(4) In 1989, Roswell researcher Bill Moore able from the Fund for UFO Research or, auto­
stunned the UFO field in. a speech before the an­ graphed, directly from him. His current research
nual MUFON symposium. Moore said he was is based on the working assumption that the an­
working with intelligence operatives, spying on swers to the UFO enigma may well lie in the
and sowing disinformation in the UFO research data accumulated from the mid-l 940s through
community. He did this, he said, to gain informa­ the mid-1960s. He also is collaborating with
tion about UFOs from his spy masters. James W. Moseley, "notorious" editor of
"Saucer Smear," on Shockingly Close to the
ith amusing melodramatic flourishes, Truth! Moseley's ufological memoir. Karl in­
W Korff tells us that in 1982 Moore at­
tempted to use him to acquire film of a UFO
vites anyone who has information bearing on
any case from the "Golden Age of UFOs" or re­
from the late Pete Mazzola, a New York re­ lated matters to contact him: PO Box 93338,
searcher. Korff says Moore told him essentially Albuquerque, NM 87199-3338; 505/867-0893;
the same story he made public seven years later, [email protected]. June
claimed aliens had been influencing us for thou- _ 1997
Number 350
sands of years and were responsible for things Page 19
...c
is
~
MUFON 1997 INTERNATIONAL UFO SYMPOSIUM
z
c SPEAKING PROGRAM
3
i SATURDAY, JULY 12 MORNING SESSION 8:30 p.m. "UFOs at Fifty: Some Personal Observations" ........ David M. Jacobs, Ph.D.
Author and Abduction Researcher
~ 9:00 a.m. Welcome to Grand Rapids ............... . ......Linda C. Murphy
Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania
Co-State Director for Michigan
i
~
MUFON Director of Public Education
Introduction, Master of Ceremonies. . .. ..................... . ..
9:30 p.m. "The UFO Phenomenon and the Suicide Cults
- An Ideological Study" ........................................................... Budd Hopkins
Author and Abduction Researcher
9: 10 a.m. Greetings from the Mutual UFO Network .........Walter H. Andrus, Jr.
New York, New York
International Director
Seguin, Texas SUNDAY, JULY 13 MORNING SESSION
9: 15 a.m. "Dedication to Kenneth Arnold" .... . ..........Walter H. Andrus, Jf. 9:00 a.m. "An Analysis of the 1940 Wartena Case:
9:30 a.m. "Connections: A Lifetime of Shared Discovering the Alien Agenda" ............................................Warreri P. Aston
Experiences" .................. '" ..............Beth Collins UFO Researcher
and Anna Jamerson Brisbane, QLD, Australia
Coauthors of "Connections: Solving Our Alien
10:00 a.m. 'The Beginning of the UFO Era" ........................................... .Jan L. Aldrich
Abduction Mystery"
Project 1947
11:05 a.m. Symposium Proceedings Dedication .............Walter H. Andrus, Jr. Canterbury, Connecticut
II: 15 a.m. LUNCH (place of your choice) 11:00 a.m. LUNCH (place of your choice)
AFTERNOON SESSION AFTER.'/I,/OON SESSION
1:00 p.m. "Encounters: Now and Then" ...............John S. Carpenter, MSW 1:00 p.m. "Monitoring Air Force Intelligence: Spain's 1992-1997
MUFON Director for Abduction Research UFO Declassification Process" ....................... Vicente-Juan Ballester Olmos
Springfield, Missouri MUFON Representative for Spain
2:00 p.m: "Five Themes: Further Findings of the Author and Researcher
Abduction Transcription Project" .......... . ....Dan R. Wright, MA Valencia, Spain
Manager, Abduction Transcription Project 2:00 p.m. "Ufology in the Far East
Morrice, Michigan China, Japan and Korea" Antonio Huneeus
3:00 p.m. BREAK MUFON International Coordinator
3:30 p.m. "The God Hypothesis" Joe Lewels, Ph.D. and FATE Magazine UFO Editor
MUFON Consultant in Communications Brooklyn, New York
El Paso, Texas 3:00 p.m. BREAK
4:30 p.m. "The Roswell Story, 1997" ................Stanton T. Friedman, M.S. 3:30 p.m. "June 24, 1947: How It All Began,
MUFON Director of Special Investigations The Story of the Arnold Sighting" ....................... Bruce S. Maccabee, Ph.D.
Author and Researcher Maryland State Director,
Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada Consultant and Photo Analyst
5:30 p.m. DINNER (place of your choice) Sabillasville, Maryland ~
4:30 p.m. Question and Answer Panel: Composed (3
EVENING SESSION of All Speakers ...................................................... Walter Andrus, Moderator Z
7:30 p.m. "Sightings from an African Casebook" '" .............Cynthia Hind C
5:30 p.m. Invitation to MUFON I 998.lnternational UFO Symposium
MUFON Continental Coordinator for Africa in Denver, Colorado, July 3, 4, & 5
(3
Harare, Zimbabwe, Africa
5:35 p.m. ADJOURNMENT ............................................................ William J. Murphy '5
c
Co-State Director for Michigan
~
»
r
MUFON UFO JOURNAL

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tion, the Atlantis Society, to discover physical evidence of that Springfield, Ohio. Speakers include Dr. Bruce Maccabee,
civilization. Need a "Lord Carnavon" to finance expedition. Dr. Stanton Friedman, Dr. David Jacobs, Dr. Mindy Kopolow,
Byron E. Edwards, ph (615) 888-3053; [email protected]. Robert Galganski & Rich Hillberg. For information write
IF YOU'VE SEEN A UFO and/or its occupants in N.C. or S.C. National UFO Conference, P.O. Box 375, Springfield, OH
and will give permission to use your report in my upcoming 50 45501-0325 or email [email protected].
year historical Carolinas UFO book I would welcome them. June
George 0, Fawcett, 602 Battleground Road, Lincolnton, North 1997
Carolina 28092. Number 350
Page 21
 MUfON UfO JOURNAL

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
July 1997
(large but dim, shaped like an Arab's tent). Scorpius,
Bright Planets (£Venlng Sky): and Sagittarius. [n the N Draco the Dragon curls be­
Venus (magnitude -3.9) continues to lie low in the twee.n the Big and Little Dipper. The spring patterns ­
WNW at twilight and sets about an hour and a half after Leo. Virgo. Bootes - recede in the W. while in the E. a
the Sun. The dazzling planet can be seen 5° above the few autumn groups already appear abqve the horizon
crescent Moon on the 6th and 10 above the star ' - Capricornus, Pegasus. and Andromeda.
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
1.80 below the quarter Moon on the 11 tho
Jupiter (-2.8). in Capricornus. rises in the E.SE. about 9:30 June 21-22 - Joint UFO Seminar "1997 - 50 Years On" at
PM in midmonth and advances across the southern sky Riverwood Legion Club in Sydney, Australia. For information con­
tact INUFOR, P.O. Box 783, Kogarah, N.S.W. 2217, Australia.
during the night.
June 21-22 - The UFO Seminar of the Year, Holiday Inn, North
Haven, CT. For information. write Omega Communications, P.O.
Bright Planets (Morning Sky); Box 2051. Cheshire, CT 06410-5051.

jupiter moves to the SSW by dawn. June 26·28 - 18th Rocky Mountain UFO Conference at University
of Wyoming, Laramie, WY. For information contact Institute for UFO
Saturn (0.6), in Pisces. rises in the E. about midnight in Research. 1304 So. College Ave .• Fort Collins. CO 80524 or call
mid-July. It is well up in the SE. by dawn. The giant (970) 482·3731.
world can be found in the vicinity of the Moon on july July 1·6 - Third Annual Roswell Days, 50th Anniversary. For fur­
25. . 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
Pathfinder Lands on Mars: Symposium, Amway Grand Plaza Hotel, Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Exactly 21 years after Viking I executed the first soft­ Theme: "The Fiftieth Anniversary of Ufology." For further information
write to MUFON 1997 Symposium. 3628 Aragon Drive, Lansing. MI
landing on Mars, Mars Pathfinder is scheduled to repeat 48906·3508.
a Fourth of July landing at the mouth of an ancient dry
August 3-8 - Ancient Astronaut Society 24th Anniversary World
water channel on the red planet. The probe's descent Conference at Sheraton Plaza Hotel in Orlando. Florida. For further
to the surface will be slowed by a number of mecha­ information contact Ancient Astronaut Society, 1921 SI. John's
nisms--aerobraking. parachute. rockets. and finally a Ave., Highland Park, IL 60035·3178.
system of 24 airbags to cushion the impact of the final August 10-16 -International UFO Congress 1st Annual "Summer
touchdown. While the lander images its surroundings, Seminars." Theme: Beyond Hale Bopp: Hidden Human History •
a 6-wheeled roving vehicle explores the surface around Modern Suppression & Control· The Prophecies. Gold River
Resort, Laughlin, Nevada. For information contact the UFO
the site. The mobile device also photographs the ter­
Congress. 9975 Wadsworth Parkway #K2-274. Westminster, CO
rain and probes rocks and soil to determine their chem­ 80020. Phone/Fax (303) 543·9943.
ical composition.
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.
Meteor Shower:
September 13 & 14 - Seventh Annual UFO Conference at the
The july Aquarids achieve their maximum on the morn­ Yokens Convention Center in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. For
ing of the 28th. a rate of about 20 per hour. Although information write to New Hampshire MUFON. P.O. Box 453. Rye,
a fat lunar crescent interferes somewhat, the observer NH 03870.
should see the brighter members of the shower streak­ October 4 & 5 - Second Scandinavian ET Conference, Oslo,
ing out of Aquarius in the S. Norway.
October 11 & 12 - "The UFO Experience" at Holiday Inn in North
Haven, Connecticut. Contact Omega Communications, P.O. Box
Moon Phases: 2051, Cheshire, CT 06410.
New moon-July 4 e() October 17-19 - Australian International UFO Symposium 1997 at
Carlton Crest Hotel, Brisbane, Australia. For further information
First quarter-July 12
full moon-july 19
Last quarter-July 26
o C)
write to Glennys Mackay. P.O. Box 2183, Mansfield MC, Brisbane,
OLD 4122. Australia.
October 31 • November 2 - 4th Annual Tampa UFO Conference.
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)
June 1997 Number 350 Page 22 336.3719 or 55 (011) 5513.7107.
MUFON UFO

DIRECTOR'S MESSAGE - ContifluedJrom Page 24 name and score to MUFON Headquarters, where Phyllis
Hutson records the grade on your membership application,
by a professional fund raiser of the caliber of Carolyn revises the application, and mails the new Field Investigator
McNellis. She will present her proposals to the MUFON their new I.D. card.
Board of Directors annual meeting on July 13, 1997, in
Grand Rapids, MI. SYMPOSIUM PROCEEDINGS COVER DESIGN
CONTEST
ANNIVERSARY PRESS RELEASE The judges have selected the symposium proceedings
Robert H. Bletchman, Director of Public Relations, has cover design submitted by Ansen Seale of San Antonio,
prepared a MUFON press release titled "50 Years After TX, as the most appropriate for the 50th Anniversary of
Kenneth Arnold and the Roswell UFO, Where Do We Go Ufology. The color of the cover stock will be plum with
From Here?" that will be distributed both locally and na­ gold and black printing. We would like to thank the follow­
tionally to the printed and electronic media during the ing people who submitted artwork in the competition:
month of June. Copies will be provided to all State and Robert Fairfax (Snohomish, W A), two designs; Sue
Assistant State Directors so they may reproduce and mail Lassiter (W. Ossipee, NH); Kenneth Larson (Los
sufficient copies to the appropriate press contacts in their Angeles, CA), three designs; Jeremy Robinson (Nashua,
states. MUFON will provide additional copies to those NH); Judith Simons and Michael Gantt (Monkton, MD),
states having a long press contact list, upon making a re­ and Helen Weber (Seattle, W A).
quest to Seguin. Mr. Seale will receive $100 cash prize plus $100 in MU­
Mr. Bletchman has done an outstanding job composing FON publications merchandise of his choice. We want to
this informative, concise, and hard-hitting statement that is express our appreciation to each of the participants for shar­
designed to be released before June 24, \997, to take ad­ ing their ideas and artist's renditions.
vantage of the 50th Anniversary of the modern era of ufol­
ogy. State Directors may customize the press release by en­ MOTTO CONTEST
closing a short statement signed by yourself, including your Judging of the motto contest is still continuing. We are
name, title, address, and telephone number as a statewide searching for a motto that best exemplities MUFON's goals
reference and contact. The results of such a campaign can and objectives, that is serious, intriguing, eye-catching,
be overwhelming in a positive manner for the scientific meaningful, and is indicative of our mission in ufology.
study of UFOs and the promotion of the Mutual UFO Considering the hundreds of suggestions submitted, we
Network. have had diftlculty finding one that meets our express pur­
pose. We may revise one of the best, making a slight
FIELD INVESTIGATOR'S EXAM change and award the prize to that person. It is imperative
Anyone who has purchased and studied the 4th edition that the motto selected is one that we can be proud of and
of the MUFON Field Investigator's Manual is eligible to will reflect positively upon MUFON.
take the exam via mail when they feel qualified. The 100­
question test may be secured from MUFON headquarters in MUFON IS BACK ON COMPUSERVE
Seguin and returned to Kathleen F. Marden, 103 Willow Michael G. Curta resigned as Director from the MU­
Road, East Kingston, NH 03827, for grading. In localities FON section ofCompuServe (Encounters) on May 17,
where field investigator training classes are conducted, the 1997. I was flooded with requests from active participants
instructor may order sufficient quantities of the test and ad­ in the MUFON UFO Forum to reestablish our presence on
minister the exam at the conclusion of the training classes. CompuServe. I am happy to report that MUFON is up and
However, the majority of people will study the manual, like running after a few brief days through the fine work of
a correspondence course, before taking the exam. It is an Rebecca Schatte of Houston, TX, and assisted by Terry
open book test and other references may be utilized to Blanton and Theresa Carlson. For our computer friends,
broaden the scope of your knowledge. simply get on CompuServe, using the address "GO: MU­
A passing grade is 75%. A few individuals have re­ FON" and it will put you in touch with the MUFON UFO
quested that they want to know which questions they Forum.
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 MLiFON 1996 SYMPOSIUM PROCEEDINGS
sistently answered incorrectly, to revise the exam. Some of
the true-false questions need rewording or eliminated as an "UFOLOGY: A Scientific Enigma"
example. A few questions are a measure of the overall Fourteen papers - 308 pages
Price: $25 plus $1.75 for postage and handing, in U.S. funds
knowledge of ufology of the examinee, based upon reading
ORDER FROM:
the literature. These answers are obviously not in the MU­ MUFON, 103 Oldtowne Road, Seguin, TX 78155-4099
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 June 1997 Number 350 Page 23
 MUFON UFO JOURNAL

NEWS FROM AROUND THE NETWORK ing. Time will be allocated for short activity reports from
MUFON 1997 UFO SYMPOSIUM each State and Provincial Director. If the State Director will
MUFON's twenty-eighth International UFO Symposium be unable to attend, he/she should designate someone to
will be held July 11, 12, and 13, 1997, at the elegant represent them. The MUFON Annual Board of Directors
Amway Grand Plaza' Hotel in Grand Rapids, Michigan, meeting will take place on Sunday, July 13th from 9 a.m. to
hosted by Michigan MUFON. David E. Toth, Ph.D., is the 1:00 p.m.
symposium coordinator. "The Fiftieth Anniversary of All State and Provincial Directors will submit their an­
Ufology" is the symposium theme. Several of the speakers nual reports to Dr. Kasher at the meeting if they or a repre­
will address the monumental events of 1947 to recognize sentative attends. If'they do not attend, the reports should be
the anniversary of the modern era of ufology. The speaking mailed to Walt Andrus. Here is your opportunity to share
program is published in this issue of the Journal for your with your colleagues your accomplishments and ideas in
convenience. promoting MUFON. For people arriving on Thursday or
The host committee has announced that pre-registration Friday, three workshops have been scheduled during the
tickets are now available for $65 for all five sessions before day on July 11th.
the cutoff date of June 21, 1997, and $75 thereafter.
Individual sessions will be $20 per session. The cost to at­ NEW OFFICERS
tend the reception Friday evening from 6 to 9 p.m. will be Emma Popik, M.A., has again been selected as the
$15 per person with a cash bar. Checks or money orders Representative for Poland. She is a writer and has attended
should be made payable and sent to "MUFON 1997 UFO a BUFORA UFO Conference in London. We look forward
Symposium," 3628 Aragon Drive, Lansing, MI 48906­ to receiving further UFO articles from Poland for the
3508. Advance registrants will receive a postcard confirm­ Journal. Due to the resignation of Duncan R. Crow, J.D.,
ing receipt of their attendance fee. An information envelope as the State Director for Alabama, Lavada "Sue" Pitts
with your tickets will be held at the registration desk in (Huntsville), his assistant, was promoted to this position.
Grand Rapids for your arrival. Vendor tables will cost $25 Ricardo A. Atristain (Midlothian) has accepted the posi­
per day. Make your reservations for tables at the same ad­ tion of State Director for Virginia, and Don W. Lovett,
dress listed above in Lansing, MI. B.S. (Smithville) will continue as Assistant State Director.
The Amway Grand Plaza Hotel is located at Pearl and Dimitri Ossipov (Tempe) has been appointed Assistant
Monroe Streets in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Special guest State Director for Arizona by Thomas R. Taylor. Thomas
room rates for the symposium are for a single (1 person) J. Lyon (Warsaw, NY) has joined the MUFON Staff as
$82, double (2 persons) $89, triple (3 persons) $96, and Director, Associate Member Auxiliary.
quad (4 persons) $103 per night. Reservations may be made Kenny F. Kerber (Casa Grande, AZ) is the new State
by calling the hotel at (616) 774-2000,1-800-253-3590 or Section .Director for Pinal County and B. J. De La Riva,
FAX (616) 776-6496. The group block cutoff date is June B.A. (Gate City, V A) was reassigned to Scott, Washington,
10, 1997. These rates cannot be guaranteed after that date. and Russell Counties.
An advance registration form was included with the May
issue of the Journal for your convenience. NEW CONSULTANTS AND RESEARCH SPECIALISTS
Plan your family vacation now to visit the beautiful state Five new Consultants volunteered their expertise to MU­
of Michigan and the historical sights in Grand Rapids. FON this month. They were Frank T. Drake, M.D.
There will be additional activities for the spouses and chil­ (Sarasota, FL) in Medicine; M. Wayne Smith, D.D.S.
dren. (Greenwood, IN) in Dentistry; John E. Brandenburg,
If you have not already made your hotel reservation, Ph.D. (Annandale, VA) in Plasma Physics; Berne L.
please do so now since the cut-off date is June 10th. The Bennett, Ph.D. (Durham, NC) in Chemistry; and Deborah
hotel will try to honor all reservations after June] 0, space D. Scott, Ph.D. (Chicago, IL) in Clinical Psychology. An
permitting. We will celebrate the 50th Anniversary of equal number of Research Specialists joined MUFON this
Ufology with special events to make your attendance more month: Freddy J. Odiorne, M.A. (Austin, TX) in
enjoyable. Your director is looking forward to meeting Education; John S. Hale, M.A. (Fairfax, V A) in Communi­
many of you in person. Please extend your hand and intro­ cations; Melante A. Mecca, M.A. (North Potomac, MD) in
duce yourself, so I can put names with faces. Sometimes, Philosophy; Mineko Nakazawa, M.A. (Stevenson, MD) in
this is our only opportunity to get better acquainted. It is a Chemistry; and Haig Raky, M.S. (Cranston, RI).
thrill to meet the great members of the MUFON team.
FUND RAISING PROGRAM
ADDITIONAL EVENTS AT GRAND RAPIDS Fund Raising Director, Mrs. Carolyn McNellis is de­
A press conference for all speakers is scheduled for veloping a program to raise money for future MUFON pro­
Friday, July II th from I to 3 p.m. The annual jects in UFO research to be timed with the 50th Anniversary
State/Provincial Director's meeting will be held from 9 a.m. of Ufology. Money is available to fulfill the goals and ob­
to 5 p.m. on July II th with Dr. John C. Kasher, moderat- jectives of MUFON, provided it is directed and orchestrated

June 1997 Number 350 Page 24 Continued on Page 23