MUFON UFO Journal - 1985 1. January

MUFON UFO JOURNALNUMBER 201 JANUARY 1985

Founded 1967 $1.50.OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF JMTCAFOMt/ MUTUAL UFO NETWORK, INC.,

The American serviceman's view of the alien contact with the base commander.

RENDLESHAM FOREST AFFAIR

MUFON UFO JOURNAL(USPS 002-970)

(ISSN 0270-6822)103 Qldtowne Rd.

Seguin, Texas 78155-4099

DENNIS W. STACYEditor

WALTER H. ANDRUS, JR.International Director and

Associate EditorTHOMAS P. DEULEY

Art Director

MILDRED BIESELEContributing Editor

ANN DRUFFELContributing Editor

TED BLOECHERDAVE WEBBCo-Chairmen,

Humanoid Study Group

PAUL CERNYPromotion/Publicity

MARGE CHRISTENSENPublic Relations

REV. BARRY DOWNINGReligion and UFOs

LUCIUS PARISHBooks/Periodicals/History.

ROSETTA HOLMESPromotion/Publicity

GREG LONGStaff Writer

SIMONEMENDEZStaff Artist

TED PHILLIPSLanding Trace Cases

JOHN F. SCHUESSLERMedical Cases

LEONARD STRINGFIELDUFO Crash/Retrieval

WALTER N. WEBBAstronomy

NORMA E. SHORTDWIGHT CONNELLY

DENNIS HAUCKRICHARD H. HALLROBERT V. PRATT

Editor/Publishers Emeritus

The MUFON UFO JOURNAL ispublished by the Mutual UFONetwork, Inc., Seguin, Texas.Membership/Subscription rates:$15.00 per year in the U.S.A.; $16.00foreign in U.S. funds. Copyright 1984by the Mutual UFO Network. Secondclass postage paid at Seguin, Texas.POSTMASTER: Send form 3579 toadvise change of address to TheMUFON UFO JOURNAL, 103Oldtowne Rd., Seguin, Texas 78155.

FROM THE EDITORWhen grown men speak of babes, as they recently did in

connection with the Rendlesham Forest Affair, it's time to takeUFOs and UFO witnesses seriously. If you saw the recent CNN-TVfour-part series on Rendlesham, you heard one of the Americansecurity officers involved in the affair say, in effect: "They were likelittle children. That's what I kept thinking the whole time." What Ikeep thinking is that we've yet to hear the last out of England on thisremarkable case. In the meantime, you'll find two articles aboutRendlesham in this issue of the Journal.

We also have the text of a speech delivered by Charles E.Barnum at the 1972 Midwest UFO Conference. Barnum was theeditor of the Quincy, Illinois, "Herald-Whig," and the recipient of the1972 Wells Memorial Key Award presented by Sigma Dellta Chi, theprofessional journalism society. His was the keynote speech at theconference, but since it was not included in the annual Proceedings,we are reprinting it now because it is still as relevant as when it wasfirst presented.

We hope you enjoy the present issue of the Journal and lookforward to your comments and criticisms. Coming up soon, picturesand an interview with Dr. J. Allen Hynek, James McCampbelPs"Hum and Whistle a UFO Tune," and Michael Sword's intriguing"Ufonauts: Homo Sapiens of the Future?"

In this issueNEWS'N' NOTES, By Dennis Stacy .3ESTIMATE OF THE SITUATION, By Marge Christensen 4EARTHLIGHTS REVIEWED, By Gregory Long 7WHAT HAPPENED IN RENDLESHAM FOREST? 10UFOS & THE MEDIA, By Charles E. Barnum 13THE RENDLESHAM FOREST AFFAIR, By Walt Andrus, Jr 17LETTERS 18DIRECTOR'S MESSAGE, By Walt Andrus, Jr 20

The Mutual UFO Network, Inc. is exempt from Federal Income Tax underSection 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. MUFON is a publiclysupported organization of the type described in Section 509(a)(2). Donorsmay deduct contributions from their Federal income tax. In addition,bequests, legacies, devises, transfers, or gifts are deductible for Federalestate and gift tax purposes if they meet the applicable provisions ofSections 2055, 2106, and 2522 of the code.

The contents of the MUFON UFO JOURNAL are determined by the editor, and donot necessarily represent the official position of MUFON. Opinions.of contributorsare their own, and do not necessarily reflect those of the editor, the staff, or MUFON.Articles may be forwarded directly to MUFON. Responses to published articles maybe in a Letter to the Editor (up to about 400 words) or in a short article (up to about2,000 words). Thereafter, the "50% rule" is applied: the article author may reply butwill be allowed half the wordage used in the response; the responder may answer theauthor but will be allowed half the wordage used in the author's reply, etc. Allsubmissions are subject to editing for style, clarity, and conciseness.Permission is hereby granted to quote from this issue provided not more than 200words are quoted from any one article, the author of the article is given credit, and thestatement "Copyright 1984 by the Mutual UFO Network, 103 Oldtowne Rd., Seguin,Texas" is included.

Barker, IFOs, and a Bullfight

NEWS 'N' NOTES—Dennis Stacy

GRAY BARKER DIES

1984 saw the passing of anotherearly member of the original UFOmovement. Kenneth Arnold, whosesighting initiated the modern era, diedin January of last year, and ' onDecember 6th, after a lengthy illness,Gray Barker passed away inCharleston, West Virginia. A longtimedevotee, publisher and writer of UFOand related material, Barker willprobably be best remembered by his"Saucerian" magazine and thecontroversial book, They Knew TooMuch About Flying Saucers.

The latter recounted the exploitsof UFO investigator Albert K. Benderand his allegations that he had beenhushed up by "three men in black," atheme which has since recurred in thewritings of John Keel, among others,and firmly ensconced itself, for better orworse, in the modern UFO lexicon.Like Arnold, Barker was a legend in hisown time and will be missed by his circleof friends.

IFO RESEARCH

On another front Hobart GregoryBaker writes to announce theformation and goals of the Center forIdentified Flying Object Studies. Baker,a graduate in physiology from OhioState, says the new organization isindependent of other established UFOgroups but will co-operate freely withboth them and individual parties.

Baker, director of the Center, saysthe organization "will study thereliability of testimony of UFO and IFOobservers, the factors that enhance,suppress and distort the testimony ofUFO and IFO observers, anddetermine the similarit ies anddifferences of UFOs and IFOs." TheCenter will support a data base ofsighting reports of both UFOs and IFOsupon which statistical analyses can beperformed.

Those wishing more informationshould write to: Hobart Gregory Baker,CIFOS, 113 E. Northwood Avenue,Columbus, Ohio, 43201.

MISSING BLOOD?

The following subject would notnormally come up except that it is notevery day one gets to attend amutilation, as I was recently privileged,if that is the word, to. One of the mostcompelling factors of the animalmutilation mystery was the supposedabsence of copious amounts of bloodeither at the mutilation site or in thecarcass of the victimized animal itself.

Where did the missing blood go?Was it drained through pencil-sizedholes in the jugular vein byextraterrestrial vampires? Or was itextracted by terrestrial scientistsconducting supersecret germ and/orgenetic warfare experiments? Therewere other bodies of thought betweenthe two extremes as well.

This problem took on a lessabstract and more concrete realism lastDecember when an old friend, now areporter with one of the major

• Canadian dailies, and I vacationed inthe Yucatan and Quintana Roo statesof Mexico. December, of course, inMexico is a month long celebration.Each community has its own Saint, timeand mode of fiesta. In Isla Mujeres,where we were s tay ing , thecelebrations ran from the, first ofDecember until the eighth, weredevoted to the Virgin of the ImmaculateConception and culminated in aSunday bullfight (the traditionalbullfight season in Mexico is the middleof the summer).

We had seen the crude ring ofcorrugated tin and sticks before, butnow it was crowded with a mob ofscreaming spectators. We scrunchedour way in and made it up to the secondlevel, composed of a precarious, tree-limb floor. From here, I was able to

expose a 36-frame roll of color slide film,using primarily a 35-105mm Zoom.

At first we thought the bullfightwas a sham, a comic fair to go hand inhand with the religious festivities of theweek before. After all, the "matadors"were dressed in yellow rain-capes!

Then suddenly the bull stood back,two bandilleras protruding from hisright shoulder. Blood had been drawnand was plainly streaking down hisflank. A young matador approached,surely less than fifteen. He fluorished ared cape in his hands, supported by ahidden sword. He plunged the sword inthe bull's shoulder, aiming for the heart,but apparently missed. An older manfinally made the kill with several stabs ofhis own sword.

But the bullfight was only a mildprelude to what was to follow. As wemade our way down and outside, thedead bull was roped .and drawn fromthe ring by its neck. It was depositedvirtually at our feet and to ouramazement two men set to butcheringthe carcass immediately.

To my further amazement, theydrew hardly any blood. Not that therewere not visible amounts of blood,there were, rather there was not nearlyas much as I might have expected. Eachman had an approximately 10-inch longbutcher knife and sharpening tool andanother man later applied a hacksaw tosome of the leg bones.

The first cut, however, went fromstern to stem of the bull's tenderunderbelly. With deft, short strokes.of

-•their knives, the two peeled back theskin from both flanks. Now the bull waslying on its back, all four legs in the air,and a good yard of soft hide spread oneither side for use as a butcheringblanket.

Underneath its skin the bull lookedlike some mutant albino. The secondlayer appeared to be a white sheath ofsubcutaneous fat that was almost

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ESTIMATE OF THE SITUATIONMarge Christensen

RESPECT

In the October, 1984 issue of theMUFON Journal, editor Dennis Stacy,in his column, "From the Editor,"quoted Rodney Dangerfield in saying(regarding UFOIogists), "We don't getno respect."

If you think that UFOIogists "don'tget no respect," try public schoolteaching for awhile. It's no secret thatpublic education in the U.S. is under firefrom critics in every aspect of society.In fact, I often find that I get morerespect when introduced as aUFOIogist, than when I am introducedas a teacher!

Morale in teaching is so poor thatthe entire teaching staff of our schoolsystem has been instructed by theSupt. of Schools to list as our #1 goal forthis year, that we will be positive. Assimplistic a prescription as this soundsfor combatting the forces of negativism,it is not such a bad idea.

If one manages to maintain apositive outlook, it will enable him/herto keep sight of the fact that it is thestudents and the education processitself which are of prime importance,not the public regard for teachers. Thisstance, can only result in increasedpublic, respect for educators.

UFOIogists would do well to take alesson from this analogy. If we canmanage to be positive about the UFOsubject, and our role in researching itand increasing public awareness of thephenomenon, we will then expend lessof our valuable energies combattingbiased, venomous dribble from theskeptics, and perhaps we willaccomplish a great deal moreconstructive work in the field as aresult. Our "respect rating" by thepublic would very likely rise a few pointsalso. '

During the past months, many ofus (notwithstanding this author) havetended to take note primarily of thenegative side of the state of affairs in

Marge Chn'sfensen (center) on the Speakers' Panel at the 1984 MUFON Symposium

UFOlogy. Fortunately, in my fervor tobe positive as a teacher, I recentlyunconsciously let some of thatuncontrolled enthusiasm spill over intothe UFOlogist side of me. The resultswere not only eye-opening, but quiteheartening and very promising.

Rather than risk being accused of a"Polyanna attitude," I should mentionthat as your PR Director, I have adistinct advantage over most of you,and that is that I have established a veryactive and extensive communicationsystem with several State Directors andAsst. State Directors, so I am able toview the operations of our mutualnetwork from a comprehensivevantage point.

While I have observed that it is truethat apathy abounds among ourmembership, there are also clearindications that this situation isbeginning to slowly give way to a new"conscientious activism." The MUFON

—Dennis Srocy

National Newsletter has begun tobring about a much more activecommunications network and a greatdeal more active participation on thepart of State Directors across thecountry. People who were previouslysimply names on a piece of paper arenow communicating with one anotherand sharing information and providingmutual assistance. This has broughtabout a greater sense of cohesivenessin the organization, as well as a greaterdegree of efficiency in getting the jobdone.

Also, there is a movement towardaccountability and professionalism onthe part of all'of us, and that movementis rapidly gaining momentum. DanWright, Michigan State Director, hascompiled a comprehensive examin-ation for field investigators, and hasinvested a great deal of time and

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SITUATION, CONTINUED

thought into revising the exam to reflectinput from consultants , StateDirectors, field investigators, andmembers who have responded to Dan'srequest for feedback. The overallreaction to initiating such an exam hasbeen entirely favorable. This, in itself, isa clear indication of a widespread desirefor upgrading our standards andpreparedness.

In an attempt to promote efforts toinform the public on the UFO subject,and to provide standardization for ourvarious State organizations, BarryGreenwood, Dan Wright, and TomGates are currently compiling two slidepresentations — one for the public, andone for training field investigatortrainees — which will be made availableto all MUFON State organizations at aminimal price in the very near future.

ARCHIVES

Attempts to better equip our Stateorganizations do not stop there. At the1984 MUFON UFO Symposium at SanAntonio, TX, a proposal was presentedfor the establishment of regional UFOresource collection centers in orderthat the wealth of data in ourpossession be made more readilyaccessible to researchers. To date, twosuch regional centers have beenestablished. Barry Greenwood,Massachusetts MUFON Asst. StateDir., has offered to serve as a regionalcollector, as has DougLabat, LouisianaState Director. A MassachusettsMUFON member is compiling anextensive computer file of- Barry'sarchives, which comprise one of themost extensive collections of UFOmaterial in North America. The catalog,which already numbers hundreds ofpages, will be made available toresearchers immediately upon itscompletion, hopefully by the end ofDecember , 1984. In add i t i on ,M a s s a c h u s e t t s M U F O N h a spurchased a tape cassette copyingmachine, and thus has the capability toreproduce audio tape cassettes in largenumbers with relative ease. It will alsobe possible to reproduce other itemssuch as videotapes and to make Xeroxcopies of paper items if so requested by

researchers, as long as these materialsare used for instructional purposes, andnot for profit. The computer print-out(book) of resources, as well as anyitems to be reproduced will be availableto interested researchers at minimalcost. It is further planned that DougLabat's listings will eventually be addedto the computer file, so that we will havea more complete listing of availablematerials. It is also hoped that otherarchivists will volunteer to-serve asregional collection centers.

An additional cause for optimismabout our current situation is that thereare faily widespread indications of Stateorganizations expressing a willingnessto become actively involved in publiceducation endeavors. At the SanAntonio MUFON Symposium, it wasannounced that in mid-August, 1985,we will hold our first NATIONAL UFOINFORMATION WEEK, and will askthe participation of every Stateorganization. In a recent questionnairesent to all State Directors, eachorganization was asked about itspotential preparedness to contribute insome way to such an endeavor.Twenty-one State Directors haveresponded to date.

The following States haveindicated a willingness to participate inat least three of the following projects:UFO display at shopping mall orcounty fairs; one-day UFO conference;press releases to newspapers;appearances on radio or television:North Carolina, Northern California,Southern California, Michigan,Nebraska, Utah, Iowa, Massachusetts,Maine, Pennsylvania, New Jersey,Connecticut, New Mexico, Texas, andMissouri.

Additional projects suggestedinclude seminars in schools; printedposters; one-day teach-in; speakers oncollege campuses; independent studyproject with academic credits forcollege students.

UFO WEEK

Furthermore, an importantdevelopment in the preparation for theNational UFO Information Week hasbeen the desire of the Fund for UFOResearch and the Center for UFOStudies to join us in this important

effort. Dr. Bruce Maccabee hasindicated that the Fund will handle allpublicity in the Washington, D.C. area.Dr. J. Allen Hynek and Mr. JohnTimmerman of CUFOS have beenextremely gracious in their offers toassist in this endeavor. Mr. Timmermanwill be working on some public serviceannouncements for radio stations, andDr. Hynek is, hoping to put together aUFO documentary for television. Thisgenuine spirit of cooperation amongour three organizations has alwaysexisted, but it is particularly hearteningto be able to work together on such aproject and to see tangible results.

It is our sincere belief and hopethat with increased public awareness ofthe reality of the UFO phenomenon,it will be incumbent upon the mediato offer more responsible, seriouscoverage of UFO news events. Also, itwill be much more difficult for the govt.to withhold information from the publicbecause the public will see through anyhalf-baked debunking explanations ofgenuine UFO cases. The bottom line isthat we will never know unless we makethe effort. No one else is going to do it •for us. The important thing to note hereis that we are going to make that effortin the summer of 1985, and that effortwill be a group effort on the part of.numerous States.

On an entirely different front, thereis reason to be optimistic about theinformation we have been able to obtainfrom government agencies recentlyunder the provisions of the Freedom ofInformation Act. It was recentlylearned, for example, that "A UFO byany other name might result indocument releases." A documentreceived recently referred to sightingsof unidentified flying objects as"irregular sighting reports." Requestsare already being filed for documentsregarding "ISRs." An additionaldocument just received refers to the"agency of the Air Force responsible forinvestigating UFO sightings." Thisopens still another door to requests foradditional documents. The CitizensAgainst UFO Secrecy (CAUS) haverevived their newsletter, "Just Cause,"and have begun making subscriptionsavailable to persons who wish to

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SITUATION, CONTINUED

support their endeavors to file requestsunder the FOIA for addit ionaldocuments. This organization warrantsour support, and is getting a great dealaccomplished in the area ofgovernment documents. The annualsubscription fee for the CAUSNewsletter is $10, and should be sept toJUST CAUSE, Box 218, Coventry, CT06238.

Despite the negative aspects suchas the dropouts from our ranks, theconstant, unconstructive attacks fromthe ever-persistent fanatical skeptics,the relative dearth of media coverageon the UFO subject, and the pettysquabbling among UFO organizationswhich sometimes occurs, there doesappear to be a ray of optimismbeginning to penetrate the cloud cover.

OPTIMISM

When one considers the variouspoints of this article, in addition to thefollowing summary of events of 1984,one gets a rather new and hopefulperspective of the estimate of oursituation:

1984 SUMMARY

1) Congressional Research Servicepublished The UFO Enigma, anamazingly accurate depiction of theUFO subject, even including a copy ofthe Kirtland AFB document.

2) Clear Intent was published, and soldout rapidly. The book is already into itsfourth printing.

3) MUFON 1984 UFO Symposium inSan Antonio was a smash hit with agreater financial profit than theprevious 14 symposia combined.

4) UFO Forum in Beverly, MA, playedto a standing-room only crowd, and willnow become an annual event.

5) UFO Conference in Brewster, NY,attended by 1000 persons, most ofwhom were witnesses of the strangeobjects seen over NY and CT. Also, asa result of the conference, there waswidespread media coverage of thesubject.

Marge Chnstensen Addresses San Antonio Symposium

6) The N. Y. Times published two pro-UFO articles, an unusual occurrencefor that newspaper.

7) A new research institute wasdonated to the Center for UFOStudies, in Phoenix, Arizona, and thispromises to herald a new era ofmeaningful research into the subject.

8) Closing ceremonies of the 1984Summer Olympics included the landingof a giant UFO modeled after the one inthe movie, "Close Encounters of theThird Kind." This is indicative of thepopularity of the UFO subject with thepublic.

There are other positive events of1984, but suffice.it to say that there isclear cause to believe that the currentestimate of the situation is beginning toreflect a distinct hint of optimism.

NEW ERA

This may be only the beginning ofan exciting new era in UFOlogy, only ifwe work to make it happen. Althoughthe response we have had for theNational UFO Information Week hasbeen very positive to date, we still need

—Dennis Sfacy

the cooperation of those States yetu n h e a r d f r o m . Those S ta teorganizations in which apathydominates, need to do some self-assessment and attempt to get theiracts together. The members of theCommittee on Public Information andPublic Education are prepared toprovide assistance wherever possible.Specific regions of the U.S. are theresponsibility of various members ofthe committee, and these persons willbe in contact with the "silent States" inthe near future. It is also up to you tohelp yourselves to a certain extent. Ifyou haven't already done so,purchasing a copy of the 1984 MUFONSymposium Proceedings is a must.There are step by step instructionsincluded for State Directors to use ingetting their various organizations offthe ground. Also, make use of thetelephone. It tends to be a rathereffective means of communication. Inmany cases, help is only a phone callaway. Take advantage of low weekendrates.

If everyone pulls his or her share ofthe job, we can effect a change in thesituation in UFOlogy as mentioned

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EARTHLIGHTS REVIEWEDGregory D. Long

A new school of thought isemerging in UFOlogical speculation.The school is attempting to explainUFOs as the product of geophysicalprocesses 'that generate high-energyluminous balls of light at faults. These"earth lights" .seem to behaveintelligently, which is spurious (theset h i n k e r s b e l i e v e ) s ince t h e"intelligence" behind them resultseither from common misperception, oreven more, from reactions the lightsmake to some heretofore unknown"psychic" energy transmitted by theunwitting witnesses.

Spokesmen for the school includeM. Persinger and G. Lafreniere,authors of Space-Time Transients and

Unusual Events (Nelson-Hall, NewYork, 1977); and Dr. William Brandy ofthe U.S. Bureau of Mines in Denver,who has demonstrated that quartz-bearing rock subjected to high pressurewill, upon cracking, release shortlivedballs of energy. Supposedly, if thiselectromagnetic phenomenon canoccur in the laboratory, it can occur aswell on the grand scale of nature.Persinger and Lafreniere suggest thatthese balls of energy can, in proximityto witnesses, stimulate the portion ofthe brain involved in deep-rooteda r c h e t y p a l i m a g e r y , spa rk inghallucinations and "UFO experiences."

Paul Deyereux, who lives in GreatBritain, is the author of Earth Lights,

subtitled Toiuards an Explanation ofthe UFO Enigma, the most ambitiousattempt so far to develop a drum-tightexplanation of UFOs as a form of ill-observed, although not so rare, form ofelectromagnetic energy producedthrough tectonic stress. Devereuxdiffers from Persinger and Lafreniere inthat he does not subscribe to thestimulus/hallucination principle of UFOsightings. Devereux agrees that UFOsoriginate from geophysical processes,but he also believes that the ancientNeolithic peoples of Britain knowinglyerected megalithic stones (such asthose of Stonehenge) at places in

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—artwork by Simone Mendez

EARTHLIGHTS, CONTINUED

Britain near UFO-producing faults.The shamans of the Neolithic

tr ibes practiced an "elementaltechnology," using a form ofpsychokinesis (PK) in which imagery ofthe mind interacted with the externale n e r g y - f o r m s of n a t u r e . Thisinteraction occurred, and apparentlys t i l l does today — a l t h o u g h

. unconsciously — in the presence ofpsychically predisposed individualsbecause the UFO acts as "a carrier ofimagery," its substance accommodat-ing the form of the image. Devereuxwrites:

The mental signals affecting someUFOs will, presumably, come fromdifferent levels of consciousness, andthe intensify with which a UFO is likelyto respond to such an input into itssystem will vary with a number ofconditions — the proximity of thehuman "transmitters," the phase ofdevelopment in the UFO, its level ofplasticity and stability at that phase,the 'ambient electromagneticconditions, the strength of the PK, andso on.

Devereux supplies an answer towhy ancient stone sites were built (hebelieves more was involved thanpredicting astronomical events anderecting a large-scale calendar fromstone). The interaction of mind with the .energy forms was "an outwardrepresentation of.; profound - mentalprocesses..." These mental processescontained the ancient myths:

Solar heroes, Earth Mothers, demonsand giants — all the representations ofthe forces of physical and mentalNature may actually have taken ontenuous form in the ancient world. It iseasy to understand how the vague,inchoate racial memories of this timehave come to be misinterpreted in ourday and age as references to ancientastronauts.

In short, the ancient shamans knewhow to "activate the outer mechanisms(the earth lights) to present their innervisions."

This powerful psi ability peaked8

Paul Devereux, Author of EARTHLICHTS

around the third millenium B.C.,Devereux states, and fragments of TheKnowledge exist today although themeans of linking the consciousnesswith the physical world seem to becompletely forgot ten . However,contemporary UFO sightings are of"shape-shifting" earth lights that display"the elements from the commoncultural ethos....If the UFO pageanttoday resembles nothing more than the.incoherent ravings of a fevered mind,then that is the true reflection of ourcurrent collective mental situation."

Simply expressed, the earth lightstheory proposes a terrestrial source ofUFOs, a "profoundly sensitive energyform" that can sustain a humanlytransmitted mental image. Or as Iwould put it: We have met the UFO—and he is us...under our feet.

All of this is heady stuff. Oneobvious problem with the theory is theplace of apparently structured, metallicobjects in the scheme—and especiallythose seen under daylight conditions bymultiple witnesses. Devereux seems tothink that the reports of daylight discsare of earth lights which take on ametallic appearance due to "somerefractive process" or "some kind ofelectrical 'sheen' effect ." This

appearance includes portholes, domesa n d t h e o t h e r " c r a f t " - l i k eappurtenances, such as antennae,common to many daylight objects.

Additionally, Devereux is carefulto choose only those sightings ofnocturnal lights that could conceivablybe taken as the product of earth stress— yet oddly, the selected cases haveenough "high strangeness" about them,and the reported objects display suchundeniably intelligent behavior, that it ishard to believe that we are dealing witha nonsentient form of energy that iseither coincidentally behaving in anintelligent manner as a result of naturaleffects, or is somehow being shaped bythe force of psychokinesis acting at adistance of miles in some cases.

Despite this farfetched approachto explaining the rich variety of UFOappearances as reported by thousandsof witnesses all over the world,Devereux does manage to present acompelling argument for the UFO-faultconnection in Part 3 of the book:"UFOs As Earth Phenomena." In thissection, Devereux correlates stonesites, meteorological and seismicphenomena, the incidence of UFOs,

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EARTHLIGHTS, CONTINUED

alleged paranormal events andgeological features of the landscape toarrive at convincing patterns thatUFOs derive from faults and that theancients may have known of theirorigin.

Studying records of these eventsfor England and Wales, Devereuxgraphically demonstrates strongc o r r e l a t i o n be tween a l l t hecomponents. As an example, heanalyzes the strange lights observed inBarmouth from Christmas 1904 to July1905, where "The phenomena mainlytook the form of lights of all colours,usually globular though sometimes incolumnar form..." During the sightings,a religious revival was taking place inthe district. Devereux notes that in1903 an earthquake occurred along thegreat Bala Fault which dominates theBarmouth area. Devereux wonders if"electromagnetic elements accom-panying tectonic events may havetriggered mental processes producing'the contagious zeal (that the religiousleader of the movement) wasexperiencing" at the time?

Devereux also notes that otherprominent UFO "window" areas havingfaults, such as Warminster and Dyfed,have had reports of UFO sightings thatsuggest that the phenomena originatefrom the earth itself. For example, CleyHill on the Warminster Fault is "agenerating and earthing point for thephenomena we call flying saucers orUFOs," he states.

Naturally the Earth-Lights schoolmus t p r e c i s e l y descr ibe themechanisms of luminous-displayproduction. How is it that the earth-lights sustain their form up to 15minutes, or even hours at a time? Howcan the lights travel thousands of feetinto the air? Why do the earth-lightsapproach energy sources such asvehicles and power lines, includinganimals and people? Devereuxproposes "energy fields" around peoplethat "attract" UFOs. But what arethese fields? Can they be detected?How do'they attract earth-lights fromthousands of feet away? It is nice tohypothesize "personal energy fields,"but what does the term really mean?

Devereux asserts that some UFO

"entities" are formed from the earthlights themselves, which may form froma columnar "terrestrial dischargeevent" mistaken by observers as aghost or otherworldly being. If so, whatdo we do with all the detailed CEIIIreports in which beings are directlyassociated with landed UFO "craft"?How does an earth-light divide itself upinto several humanoids who scoop upsoil samples and leap into their vehicleand speed away? How do we explainthe r ich de ta i l s of humanoidappearance and behavior? CEIIIwitnesses must be either extremelystupid or mad.

Devereux also never touches onthe problem of the light characteristicsof nocturnal UFOs. Why do somenighttime UFOs seem to undergo colortransformations? Why is it that somewitnesses report UFOs that seem tobear several different lights that blinkand flash? Why do some nocturnallights divide and reform?

It is safe to predict that readers ofEarth Lights will ask even morequestions. Devereux has- directly

challenged current thinking in the UFOfield which still considers questions ofthe extraterrestrial or ultraterrestrialsource of UFOs. Devereux has takenthe time to seek correlations betweengeological events and lights that areundeniably real. The patterns do exist.But do they exist in nonfaulted areas ofthe world as well? And if the earth lightshave always been with us, why has theirpresence been so little recognized untilnow? Has the observation andreporting of these lights been the resultof a "raised consciousness" on the partof a public newly awakened to thenatural world around it due to theexpanisve spirit of the Space Age? If so,then sociologists and psychologistshave a rich arena in which to explorethe mechanisms of human perceptionand social knowledge because thegeneral lack of reports of strange lightsbefore the modern era of UFOsrequires an explanation.

Earth Lights is published by Turnstone.Press Limited, Well ingborough,Northamptonshire, England.

PAUL DEVEREUX—Dennis Stacy

WHAT HAPPENEDINRENDLESHAM FOREST?

A DRAMATIC taperecording, allegedly madeby panic-stricken Americanservicemen during a closeencounter with an alienspace craft in a Suffolkforest, is authentic, theirformer base commanderhas exclusively told theEADT.

The chilling 20-minuterecording, a major new partof the evidence gathered byUFO investigators probing aclaimed double landing inRendlesham Forest, nearWoodbridge airbase, wasgiven to the researchers byformer base commanderCol. Sam Morgan.

The EADT has traced Col.Morgan to the space com-mand headquarters linked tothe Peterson Airbase,Colorado and in a franktransatlantic telephone con-versation he said, "I do notthink it is a hoax."

The tape recording is due tobe played at a London Pressconference today to launch"Sky Crash — A CosmicConspiracy," a book on thealleged incidents which tookplace on the nights ofDecember 27 and 29/30,1980.

FrightenedThe incidents were first

reported in the EADT and thebook's authors, Dot Street,of Blackberry Way, OultonBroad; Brenda Butler, ofMafeking Place, Leiston,and national UFO investiga-tor Jenny Rendles, claimthere has been a conspiracy tocover up the truth about whathappened.

Col. Morgan told theEADT, "I think the menreally were out there thatnight and they saw somethingwhich frightened them.

"You can hear their excitedconversations and referencesto frightening strange lights.The only opinion I have is,10

that based on the evidenceavailable, those guysdefinitely saw somethingwhich cannot be explained.

Erased"As for them fabricating it

all and putting on an act, I donot think they could havepulled it off."

He gave the tape, part ofwhich had since been inadver-tently erased, to researchersbecause, "There was noreason not to," added Col.Morgan.

The recording was madeduring the second alleged

Recordingof UFOsighting'not hoax'

fled location" and was un-available for comment.

The book was writtenbefore the investigators heard

Reports by John Grant

close encounter by the thendeputy base commander Lt.Col. Charles Halt. Hisreport to the Ministry ofDefence on both incidentsgave the book's authors amajor breakthrough when itwas leaked.

StrickenAs previously reported by

the EADT, it was the firsttime there had been officialconfirmation that unusuallights and objects had beenseen, and traces of radiationhad been found in imprints onthe ground and on a tree at thesite.

Shouting

In subsequent evidencegiven to the investigators,witnesses claimed that in thefirst encounter three silver-suited "entities" were seenrepairing their stricken spacecraft and some witnessesclaimed that contact wasestablished with them.

When his base inOklahoma was contacted bythe EADT, Col. Halt wassaid to be on duty at a "classi-

the Halt tape but they hadheard from witnesses aboutpassages in it. They claim ittells of a "red, sun-likelight" which flies throughthe forest and silently ex-plodes into multiplecoloured lights.

A small craft, similar tothe one in the first alleged en-counter, was seen on or closeto the ground.

Col. Halt and a smallnumber of men with himquickly retreat amid panicand shouting.

The book concludes thatincidents undoubtedly didtake place and puts forward

several possible explana-tions if the UFO landingclaims are untrue.

Included among theauthors' suggestions is thealleged possibility that theUFO story might be a blind tocover-up tests on weaponrywhich went wrong.

InquiryOr, they say, the Ameri-

cans might even haverecovered by helicopter partof the Russian satellite Cos-mos 749 under cover of dark-ness when it was accidentallydropped into the forest.

In any event, they are call-ing for a full public inquiryand say they are fully pre-pared to make all their evi-dence available to one.

The book is published byNeville Spearman Ltd, ofFriars Street, Sudbury, andcosts £7.50.

Tripod legs

Shaft erf aghtin which enKtoehovered

The December 27, 1980, UFO on the ground based on asketch by an American serviceman.

Two of the authors, Brenda Butler, left, and Dot Street, on the site of the alleged landingof the spaceship in Rendlesham Forest.

The cover of the new book which claims UFOs landed inSuffolk.

6 Like the one that got away...'THE Rendlesham Forest "Sky Crash" incident has beenentered in the files of officialdom as "unexplained."

USAF and Ministry of Defence officials accept that some-thing took place... but both say they have no interest in the matter.

The "Sky Crash" story is like the fisherman's tale of the onethat got away... it gets bigger each time it is told.

That is the view of Capt. Victor Warzinski, in command of theUSAF public affairs department on the Bentwaters/Woodbridgetwinairbase.

He told the EADT, "I do not think there was ever any doubtthat something happened which we cannot explain."

Off-base incidentBut, he said, there was "not the slightest shred of documenta-

tion" beyond the report by Col. Hah which is headed"unexplained lights."

Any incident which tookplace off-base did not come under thejurisdiction of the USAF. The Hah report was therefore sent tothe Ministry of Defence and the matter was left to them to handle"as they felt most appropriate."

The USAF had no other course of action open to it beyondmaking the report available "as a matter of courtesy." Any otheraction would nave been "like sending out our cops to enforceBritish law," he said.

Asked specifically about the traces of radiation allegedlyfound at the site, he said that these were "only normal backgroundcounts — the sort you or I would get if we went out anywhere andtook readings."

The i

off-duty personnel. Asked why they went to the site unofficiallyand at night he said, "Your guess is as good as mine."

The USAF would not comment on any of the speculation in the"Sky Crash" book. But of the incidents in general, he said, "I donot get the feeling that there has been any cover-up in any sense ofthe.words."

RememberedHe added, "It is like the old fisherman's tale of the one that got

away ...it gets bigger each time it is told. The fish in reality doesnot get any bigger but the story sure as hell does."

The case was instantly remembered by both Ministry ofDefence officials contacted by the EADT yesterday.

Spokesman Mr. Dermod Hill said the Ministry's DS8department had investigated the incidents and had found nodefence or military significance or implication and had thereforetaken no further action.

'Reasonable people '"It was looked into and there being no military explanation we

lost interest in it."I can see perfectly weU that reasonable people who are in-

terested in such things would find it very interesting. I am not inany way saying that these people must be crankish or anything ofthat sort ... I am simply saying that the MoD was satisfied therewas no military significance."

CoL Halt's report was "thoroughwe have on our files about it."

and it was "basically all

11

RENDLESHAM FOREST, CONT.

. The A merican serviceman's view of the alien contact with the base commander.

The craft which appeared after the alleged light explosion on December 30, 1980, asdescribed by an A merican airman.

CMtan wHnesses at various bartons ereinl here

"SKY CRASH" materialfrom

"East Anglican Times"October 25, 1984

Map of the path taken from USAF Woodbridge to the site of the alleged encounter with thespace craft.

MEDIA & UFOS, CONTINUED

an immediate story may be in order andshould be reported by someone likeWalt Andrus who is level-headed aboutthe phenomenon.

Other ways in which you,may aidthe news media in keeping the publicinformed of UFO happenings include:

1. P r o v i d i n g i n t e r v i e w s w i t hrecognized scientists like Dr.Hynek and Dr. Saunders.

2. Holding conferences such as thiswhich pull together the views ofexperts in the field.

3. Making appearances beforegroups such as luncheon clubs,always making sure speakersprovide reporters with adequatesummaries of their remarks.

4. Releasing pictures of sightings ifthey tell a significant story.

5. Assisting reporters and editors inpulling together isolated reportsand facts so that they may bepresented in a total contextpossessing meaning. A goodexample here is the significance ofthe events in 1954 as pointed outby Jacques Vallee.These are some suggestions I leave

with you in the hope that by obtainingyour cooperation we in the news mediacan present a clearer picture of theUFO significance. Additionally, let mesay that I'm sure you'll find news mediarepresentatives willing to give our fieldobjective treatment if you'll makeyourselves available for providinganswers which newsmen may need tohandle information about UFO'sintelligently.

As your so-called keynoter, I'mprivileged to welcome you to Quincy,an open-minded city, a truly great city'that welcomes new ideas and a citywherein scientific research in manyfields has reached a high level ofsophistication. Thus, the scientifictrend in our exploration of UFO's willattract to its echo a warm welcomefrom all of us here to all of you.

12

UFOS & THE MEDIACharles E. Barnum

My good friend, Walt Andrus,asked me to discuss news media inrelation to UFO sightings — and thenbombshelled me by remarking, "We'llcall your talk the keynote speech."

Inserting me as a keynoter in ascientifically oriented gathering such asthis is much like asking a lifelongbirdwatcher to deliver a paper at ameeting of NASA scientists on asubject such as:

"Location of the engine frame intoan airplane's wing, just ahead of theleading edge of the wing, produces thegreatest propulsive efficiency whilemaintaining the best aerodynamicresults."

Frankly, I'm here, as most of youare, to learn something; and hopefullyto discover that the study of UFOphenomena may be off and running ona scientifically guided course.

As a" newspaperman whoseskepticism is representative, I believe,of journalists generally, I haveapproached the problem of handlingnews of UFO sightings gingerly, evenapprehensively.

FEAR

It's a scary subject; it requiresmature handling.

The Orson Welles broadcast in1938 based on H.G. Wells' "War of theWorlds" seriously disturbed more thanone million persons, many of them tothe point of panic, according to a studyconducted by Hadley Cantril. The storywas told in the form of a newscast, butannouncements were made before,during, and after the presentationstating it was a play based on Wells'novel about an invasion from Mars.

And because "humanoids" arealso involved in the UFO picture,editors and newsmen generally mustdevelop ways of presenting reports ofsightings which they receive so as not to'cause uneasiness, or, indeed, fear.

Thus, when I learned such a

conference as you are now engaged inwas contemplated here, I felt a sense ofgratitude to the conference planners.We now have an opportunity to useconference 'materials as a basis forgiving our readers a coherent, morecomprehensive and authoritative lookat the UFO experience.

Additionally, such a conferencehas educational advantages for newsmedia representatives, as well asothers, to learn more about the UFOactivity in the context of deliberateconsideration and discussion, apartfrom emotional, even traumaticresponse to inexplicable strangeness.

Such knowledge should enable allof us in media work to handle news ofUFO activity more intelligently, andperhaps with less skepticism. Our need— and this arises somewhat from thefact we've been susceptible to storiesarising from misperceptions—is toachieve perspective on the wholecomplex subject. Moreover, we need tobe helped by better screening of reportsreaching us, so that we can provide ourreaders a better, more coherent pictureof what is happening on the UFO front.

At least for several colleagues andmyself, now that you are in town, aquote from Jack Taylor, of Missouri,seems apropos. He remarked about thenew minister at his church: "Our newpastor is doing a wonderful job. Wedidn't know what sin was until he cameto town."

I must acknowledge that as askeptic I've had my skepticism bluntedand my interest aroused by severalbooks on UFO's and one book inparticular. It is "The UFO Experience, aScientific Inquiry," by Dr. J. AllenHynek, Chairman of the Department ofA s t r o n o m y of N o r t h w e s t e r nUniversity, your 1970 Conferenceheadliner.

After reading Dr. Hynek's bookand some other material on UFO's, I'mprepared to acknowledge, "You'reundoubtedly dealing with something

that needs, not sniggering, butdownright enlightened interest by thescientific community." And I might add,the something referred to needs ournews media's careful attention andhandling.

UFO FOCUS

I also will acknowledge, on thebasis of a somewhat superficial survey,as I did not have available a wideassortment of papers, that some of us inthe newspaper business have not doneenough to bring proper focus on theUFO mystery.

Bringing the UFO experience intoa sharp focus entails much more thandoing as we have generally done,reporting occasional sightings byindividuals in our reading areas.

Even Jesus realized that the folksat home do not a prophet recognize,that one becomes an expert only whenhe travels far from home. So it is withthe credibility of sighters in their ownbackyards. Their neighbors, and theirhometown editors, don't credit themwith the qualities necessary for expertobservation. In this connection, Dr.Hynek's suggested method of ratingcredibility makes a lot of sense'.

The study I made of reports in thepress of UFO sightings impressed me inthe same way that reports of the lateSenator Joseph McCarthy's chargesdid. As one read the McCarthy blasts—all isolated—one had a growing feelingof unease, and an undeniable fear thatCommunists were taking over thegovernment. As each story unfolded,the nation experienced a nervousbinge.

What'was lacking in the McCarthycase was this: A blockbuster wrapup ofthe whole McCarthy story, pulling allfacets together so that the countrycould get a look at the completeMcCarthy case. If his charges were

(continued on next page)13

MEDIA & UFOS, CONTINUED

solid, the wrap-up would have shownthem to be so and would have made hima national hero. But when such acompilation was done by a pressassociation, the McCarthy storyexploded and he faded from thenational scene. There was nodocumentation of his charges, andnothing was found to substantiate hisstatements.

As for the UFO phenomenon, Iconsider the Dr. Hynek book anessential blockbuster wrap-up of theUFO story—pulling together allrelevant facets and offering the route toa scientific appraisal of available data.

The UFO story obviously is notgoing to explode, for Dr. Hynek showsthat it has tremendous significance forus and our time, and possesses enoughsubstance to wa r r an t great lyaccelerated scientific inquiry.

It was impossible for me to trace aconsistent pattern of UFO handling bythe news media. I found that some UFOsighters concluded they had beentreated too lightly in stories detailingtheir reports.

For our part locally, I can say thatboth the electronic and print mediahave treated UFO stories as straightnews events, never minimizing theirimportance, nor overinflating theirsignificance, or casting aspersions onthe persons involved. Also we havereported ta lks by your localspokesmen, particularly Walt Andrus,fully and accurately.'

As I study available materials onUFO's, I have reached severalconclusions which might be the samegained by other newsmen afterstudying the same documents. Icannot, of course, speak for any othernewsman, but I can speak for myself.

My skepticism, which incidentallynever reached the point of negativereaction for I tried to be objectivelyskeptical (whatever that is), has givenway to deep interest in the wholesubject of UFO's. I credit this change ofattitude principally to Dr. Hynek'sbook. While I was at NorthwesternUniversity teaching journalism, I keptabreast of this noted astronomer'sactivity, and I gained respect for him asa great scientist. So when he says in his14

MUFON Director Walt Andrus. Jr., at 1984 Symposium—Dpnnfs Slacv

book that it's his opinion "that data thatnow lie scattered about, if properlyprocessed, could establish thesubstantive nature of the UFOphenomenon beyond reasonabledoubt," I believe him.

He refers to these data as akin tolow grade ore which must be processedand refined before it is of value.

Let me quote him moreextensively at this juncture in order forme to make a point.

PITCH BLENDE

Writing of this ore, he adds, "Orperhaps a more appropriate analogymight be the case of Marie Curie andthe tons of pitchblende that she had toprocess before they yielded a mite ofradium. Those of us who have spenttime on the UFO problem areconvinced that the probability is veryhigh that there is 'radium in thepitchblende' in the quantities ofreports. Although it will be a Herculeantask to cull and refine existing UFOdata, I feel a rich reward awaits a personor a group that assumes this task withdedication. For if there is indeed 'paydirt' in the ore of UFO data, it might wellrepresent a scientific breakthrough of

major magnitude. It might call forreassignment and rearrangement ofmany of our established concepts of thephysical world, a far greater event thanthe rearrangements that werenecessary when relativity and quantummechanics demanded entrance intoour formerly cozy picture of the world."

Dr. Hynek, as you may know,concludes his book with these words:

"When the long awaited solution tothe UFO problem comes, I believe thatit will prove to be not merely the nextsmall step in the march of science but amighty and totally unexpectedquantum jump."

Now here is my point in quotingDr. Hynek:

Our news media have and will givespace to comments like these comingfrom such an authoritative source. I citeyou as an example the article on Dr.Hynek and his views in the ChicagoTribune Sunday magazine of June 4,1972.

The article interested meparticularly because it opens with thefollowing paragraphs and I quote themfor a reason. Before reading thenvhowever, let me say that if support on a

(continued next page)

MEDIA & UFOS, CONTINUED

massive scale is ever to be obtained todo the kind of research that Dr. Hynek,and obviously many of you, areinterested in, then material like themagazine article will do much toestablish credibility and authority forthe project.

HYNEK

Now may I quote:. "Hanging on the wall of Dr. J.Allen

Hynek's office at NorthwesternUniversity is a framed cartoon. It showsa flying saucer parked on a collegecampus and five small creaturesconfronting a passerby. With antennaesprouting from their helmets and rayguns at their sides, they are asking,'Could you direct us to that chemistryprofessor who called us 'swamp gas?"

"It was Dr. H y n e k — anastronomer, not a chemistry professor,who said that strange lights sightednear Ann Arbor, Mich., in 1966 werenothing more than swamp gasesreleased by unseasonably warmweather. Despite his debunking ofthese sightings, Hynek is not ready todiscount all reports of flying-saucers.He believes there is a possibility we arebeing visited by strange craft—andeven 'little people'—from anotherplanet. He believes that flying saucersor UFO's—unidentified flying objects—

,may be something more substantialthan • mere hoaxes or the results oftraumatic experiences.

"Dr. Hynek is an astronomer ofimpressive credentials,'a scientist of asmuch skepticism as intelligence—andthat is considerable. His list of degrees,affiliations, and accomplishments ismore than suitable reference for hiscredibility—and sensibility."

It is, of course, our job in newsmedia to bring before our readers allrelevant happenings on our planet,provided we can get adequateinformation about them. I don't know ofany newsman who doesn't try to dothis.

We cannot ignore the UFOphenomenon for one reason becausemany responsible people have becomeinvolved, and for another reasonbecause responsible scientists like Dr.

Dr. J. Allen Hyneks Slaty

Hynek and Dr. David R. Saunders arelending their prestige to find scientificanswers to the problem.

And while we have a duty to reportmuch of what is happening on the UFOfront—and to a limited degree we do—we also must keep our eyes open to theinterrelationships that may existbetween the UFO mystery and otherscientific fields of inquiry.

One of our journalistic difficulties,or perhaps shortcomings might be abetter way to express what 1 mean, isour reluctance—with some notable andlaudatory exceptions—to seek out andreport the context of events, or simplyto put isolated reports, as for instanceUFO sightings, in meaninful context.

Let me illustrate. Since the 1969Condon Report, whose authors, Isuppose, throught they were banishingthe UFO phenomenon from any furtherserious consideration, and the closingof the Air Force Blue Book, UFOreports persist in tantalizing theimagination of scientists and othersinterested in the mystery of space andextraterrestrial life.

Indeed, the UFO phenomenonpersists like our peculiar style ofdowntown architecture—contempor-ary neglect.

It is worth noting here that theCondon Report's stature was mostcertainly enhanced when the NationalAcademy of Sciences fully endorsed itand its methodology.

Were we to put the UFO picture intrue perspective, therefore, a story is inorder reporting continuous UFOsightings of various degress ofcredibility—all over the globe. In otherwords, there's a story here that some ofus haven't reported! and I haven't seenit elsewhere, though I may have missedit.

But there's another story ofgreater significance and importinvolving the National Academy ofSciences. And this story's dimensionsenhance a subject closely akin to thesubject matter engaging your attentionat this conference.

The story was handled deftly andimaginatively by John Lear, ScienceEditor of Saturday Review, in the June10; 1972, issue. Lear's piece is a fine jobof reporting, and is good journalism, forhe has given scope in depth of anotherdevelopment of great scientificpotential. You here could with justicehail the revelation contained in a

(continued next page)15

MEDIA & UFOS CONTINUED

document released by the Committeeon Science and Public Policy of theNational Academy of Sciences that aspecial panel of two dozen astronomersbelieves that there is such a thing asextraterrestrial intelligence. Theastronomers, in short, believe life existson the planets of many stars other thanthe sun, and that the extraterrestrialcreatures involved may be trying tocommunicate with other beings in theuniverse.

Lear's article was headlined,incidentally, "The search for man'srelatives among the stars." •

Lear introduced his article by'posing an imaginative want-ad thatreads as follows:

"Historic opportunity: Is agenerous person who can afford tospend $70 million of his own moneywilling to spend it in hunting for man'slong-lost relatives far out among thestars? Will this person please contactProf. Melvin Calvin, chairman,Committee on Science and PublicPolicy, National Academy of Sciences,Washington, D.C."

Because I believe it has intenseinterest here, I am picking up Lear'sparaphrase of the NAS document, aliberty I'm sure the Saturday Reviewwill forgive, for it should whet yourappetite to buy the magazine and readthe entire article:

"During the last few years so manyof the primitive molecules from whichthe building blocks of life on earth aremade have been seen in the distant skythat the existence of life on the planetsof many stars other than the sun can betaken for granted. The inhabitants ofsome of these planets must be at leastas intelligent as we are, and it is logicalto assume that they use thee l e c t r o m a g n e t i c spec t rum tocommunicate with each other over longdistances, as we do. We couldeavesdrop on their messages now if wetried hard enough. Because our ownfate as a species ultimately depends onour willingness to recognize ourselvesas evolving creatues in an evolvingenvironment, we cannot afford to waitmuch longer before beginning to listenseriously for clues to the whereaboutsof these remote civilizations, locate16

Charles E. Barnum, Keynote Speaker

them, and try to engage them inconversation, pending the sti l lunforeseeable time when discovery ofnew physical laws may allow us to visitthem or permit them to visit us."

The NAS report said in additionthat "at this instant through this verydocument are perhaps passing radiowaves bearing the conversations ofdistant creatures, which we couldrecord if we but pointed an existingradio telepscope in the right directionand tuned it to the proper frequency."

The articles I have quoted from areexcellent examples of good presscoverage of man's search to unlock thedoors to the unknown and thus enrichthe destiny of all of us here on earth.

Dr. Hynek expressed the wish fora massive scientific investigation of theUFO phenomenon . Such aninvestigation would take the same kindof money Lear seeks for NAS's probefor extraterrestrial life—a goal believedentirely achievable if suff ic ientresources are forthcoming.

UFO COVERAGE

Unraveling of the UFO mystery,too, is possible, in my view after analtogether too brief study of press andbook coverage of UFO's. But this willtake time, effort, and all the enthusiasticpersistence you who are studying

UFO's can muster. In fact, you'll haveto go way beyond the motivation of acertain doctor in our town who doesn'toperate unless it's necessary. If hedoesn't need the money, he doesn'toperate.

Meanwhile, back on the farm. I'vebeen forgetting my purpose here. I'm afeeble keynoter; in fact, I've wandered abit from the so-called topic Waltassigned me.

Strictly hewing to our performancerecord to da te — w i t h someexceptions—our job is to remainobjectively interested, reporting UFOsightings without bias.

In closing, I have severalsuggestions concerning the way UFO'sshould be reported—these suggestionscome from many of us in the newsmedia.

Rushing to news rooms withstories of isolated sightings by one ortwo individuals will neither serve thecause of UFO scientific inquiry, nor thepublic's need to know. You realize onlytoo well that sometimes you takemonths to verify the substance of suchreports, so hasty publication might bemisleading and present the whole UFOpicture in a bad light.

Certainly, if a UFO is witnessed byseveral, say 5 or more, reliable persons,

(continued, page 12)

RENDLESHAM FOREST AFFAIRWalt Andrus, Jr.

SKY CRASH: A CosmicConspiracy

By: Brenda Butler, Jenny Randies andDot StreetPublished by:

Neville Spearman LimitedThe Priory Gate, Friars StreetSudbury, Suffolk, England

Published: October 25, 1984Price: 7.50 pounds

SKY CRASH is a culmination ofnearly three and one-half years ofresearch on one specific UFO case thatinvolves close, encounters of the first,second and probably the third kind.The question posed is: "what reallyhappened in the Rendlesham Forest inclose proximity to the east gate of theU.S.A.F. Base at Woodbridge on thenights of December 27 and December29/30, 1980?" Starting from a rumor,Brenda Butler, through her personalcontacts at two major U.S. Air Forcebases, discovered an event like the plotfrom a science-fiction movie. For whocould believe in tales of contactbetween the authorities of this worldand the explorers of another alienrealm? "It was like something out ofStar Wars," one witness.has explained.

Even though the plot for SKYCRASH reads like science-fiction, ifwhat the authors have been told.byseveral different sources was evenremotely near the t ruth , thenRendlesham Forest has played host to -one of the most significant events in thehistory of this planet.

BREAKTHROUGH

Steve Roberts, a security officer inthe U.S.A.F. stationed at Bentwaters/Woodbridge, provided the first clue toBrenda six days after the December27th monumental event. Realizing oneperson was inadequate to investigate asighting with this potential, Brendashared her information with Dot Street.The two worked as a team during the

latter part of January, 1981. In February1981, Jenny Randies became part ofth i s i n t r i g u i n g m y s t e r y andsubsequently summarized the entirecase, as it was then known, into thebook SKY CRASH.

The credentials for these three"super-sleuths" are as follows: BrendaButler — housewife and independentinvestigator of strange phenomenafrom Leiston, Suffolk, and family friendof Steve Roberts; Jenny Randies —fulltime author from Warrington,Chesire, and Director of Investigationsfor the British UFO ResearchAssociation (BUFORA); and DotStreet — housewife and accreditedregional investigator for BUFORA fromOulton Broad, Suffolk. As a full-timefreelancer with several books, JennyRandies was able to tie all of the looseends together and write SKY CRASHwith the research aid of Brenda and'Dot.

The three author/investigatorshave written SKY CRASH in achronological sequence which followstheir unrelinguishing search for thetruth to the initial rumor. It is not thetypical UFO story, since it contains all

• the ingredients of a spy thriller: fearspiced with mystery, intrigue anddevastating consequences. Using thewriting techniques of Sir Arthur ConanDoyle and Earle Stanley Gardner,Jenny Randies has the readeranticipating what new clue will unfold asthe persistent investigation continues.The format is clearly that of a detectivethriller, though SKY CRASH is backedup by documented testimony anddemonstrates an official cover-up fromthe very beginning.

CONFIRMATION

The evidence is undeniable,supported as it is by off icialconfirmation from both the Pentagonand the British Ministry of Defense. It isimpossible to confront this evidence

and conclude that something strangedid not take place in RendleshamForest on the nights in question.

Since I consider this book andits investigation one of the mostsignificant cases of the modern era, Iwill make no attempt to review it indepth, but will instead recommend it toall serious UFO investigators andresearchers. SKY CRASH is probablythe finest example of how a rumorabout a UFO landing is diligentlypursued, and how three competent andexperienced investigators unearthedclues and solved an insurmountable jig-saw puzzle over a three year span.

CREDIT

We must give the majority of thecredit to the three tenacious Englishinvestigators for their "never-say-die"attitude when they were confrontedwith government secrecy by bothBritish and United States officialdom.At the same time, we must alsoacknowledge the outstanding work byBarry Greenwood, Larry Fawcett- andLucius Farish in the U.S., who providednumerous pieces of the puzzle.Without this cooperative investigation,t r a n s a t l a n t i c t e lephone ca l l s ,u t i l i za t ipn of the Freedom ofInformation Act, etc., the key evidencewould probably not have beenforthcoming, since it was indeed a U.S.Air Force event and not a Royal Air

>Force incident. The authors haveacknowledged credits and expressedtheir gratitude to each of the keyparticipants in their book by namewhere permitted. Pseudonyms havebeen used throughout and are soidentified to protect the witnesses; inaddition, the book clearly depicts theunfortunate treatment dealt U.S.airmen and British civilians when theywere subsequently exposed.

Practically all U.S.A.F. personnel

(continued next page)17

SKY CRASH, CONTINUED

witness to the events on December 27and December 29/29, 1980, werep rompt ly t r a n s f e r r e d f rom theBentwaters/Woodbridge base to otherassignments throughout the world tomake them more difficult to locate andinterview.

It is conceivable that several of thebase officers, who were also witnesses,were later promoted in rank as a meansof obtaining their cooperation andsilence.

Accolades to"everyone involved inthe research and writing of SKYCRASH for their quest in search of thetruth. In the prologue to the book, theauthors briefly state their own feelingsin this regard: "We concluded that wehad no more right to the facts than youhave. Since we collected them in ourlong fight for truth, they werepotentially available to anybody whotried hard enough. Consequently, thisprovided the obvious course of action.We should set down all the facts that wecollated, and let you sift through themand judge according to your own fairappraisal."

Brenda, Dot and Jenny havedemonstrated the persistence andcourage that few investigators couldmount against such seeminglyimpossible odds. This superb work,aided by the outstanding research offellow investigators in the UnitedStates, should shine like a beacon for allof international ufology.

LETTERS TOTHE EDITOR

Dear Editor,

As a subscriber to the Journal andone fully aware of the paradoxicalnature of the UFO phenomenon Iwould like to express some thoughts Ihave had after reading several articlespresented in recent issues. Basically Iwould like to address this letter to thoseindividuals who consider themselvesfield investigators and/or write articleson this group of phenomenon.18

From the very beginning the term'UFO was intended to indicate anobject, apparently manufac tured ,whose design seems to exhibit a level oftechnology higher than our own andwhose motions seem to defy ourcommonly accepted laws of physics.This is not to imply that a UFO must be'nuts and bolts', but that it is a device!Presently the term 'UFO' seems to bethrown into any situation where anobserver cannot readily identify whathe is seeing. If such a sighting then turnsout to have a conventional or naturalexplanation it only serves to detractf rom the rea l i ty of the UFOphenomenon as a whole.

I would l ike to see f ie ldinvestigators concentrate their effortson investigating 'high-strangeness'incidents, UFO reports that fit thecriteria! This is not to say that reports ofnocturnal lights or otherwise should notbe recorded and checked, but the casefor UFO's would be best served byconcentrating on those sightings thatstand the best chance of yieldingsignificant results:

As for the articles published on thistopic, I would prefer to read in-depthinterviews with persons influential inthis field of study, or updates on recentevents. Perhaps one page with a simplebreak-down of extremely currentreports by day, date, location, andcategory would be simple andinformative as far as general sightingsare concerned. Far too often I haveread a step-by-step account of anocturnal light that indicated nothingthat truly qualified it as a UFO. Toomany articles on this phenomenon turnout to be 'stories' instead of informativearticles.

At times it appears that the area of'UFO phenomenon' has been made sobroad that anyone wanting to take afigurative 'shot' at it will be assured ofhitting something. The phenomenonitself has come to encompass ahodgepodge of Fortean elements andtherefore it becomes even more crucialthat we remember that what we aretrying to establish is not the existence ofa UFO phenomenon,but the existenceof a UFOl

Sincerely;Christian P. Lambright

UFO NEWSCLIPPINGSERVICE

The UFO NEWSCLIPPING SERVICEwill keep you informed of all the latestUnited States and World Wide UFOactivity, as it happens! Our service wasstarted in 1969, at which time wec o n t r a c t e d w i t h a r e p u t a b l ein t e rna t i ona l newspape r -c l ipp ingbureau to obtain for us, those hard tofind UFO reports (i.e., l i t t le knownphotographic cases, close encounterand landing reports, occupant cases)and all other UFO reports, many ofwhich are carried only in small town orforeign newspapers."Our UFO Newsclipping Serviceissues are 20-page monthly reports,reproduced by p h o t o - o f f s e t ,containing the latest United States andCanadian UFO newsclippings, withour foreign section carrying the latestBritish, Australian, New Zealand andother foreign press reports. Alsoincluded is a 3-5 page section of''Fortean" clippings (i.e. Bigfoot andother "monster" reports). Let us keepyou informed of the latest happenings

-in the UFO and Fortean fields "For subscription information andsample pages from our service, writetoday to:

UFO NEWSCLIPPING SERVICERoute 1 — Box 220

Plumerville, Arkansas 72127

Lawrence Fawcett and Barry J.Greenwood

INTENT

UflUUUQlTHEGOVERNMENTCOVERUPOF THE UFO EXPERIENCEWhat does the government knowabout UFOs and why won't it tell us?

With a foreword by Dr. J. Allen Hynek

NEWS 'N' NOTES CONTINUED

nowhere touched by the butchering.The men clearly knew what they weredoing and worked rapidly, pausing onlyto sharpen their tools. They shared asingle bucket of water into which theyoccasionally dipped their hands.

On a whole, the operation wasremarkably bloodless, even when theycut into the chest cavity and laterremoved the legs. In less than an hourthe entire bull was history, having beenfield-dressed, hung on hooks and soldoff. On the ground itself there washardly any blood at all, the greatmajority being contained by the bull'sflayed hide.

The point I am trying to make hereis that incredibly deft and devastatingviolence can be wrought on a freshcarcass by skilled hands, in the field,and leave only an amazingly smallresidue of blood behind. It does notrequire covert funding or extra-terrestrial spacecraft, and I might nothave believed it myself if I had not seenit with my own eyes.

SITUATION, CONTINUED

earlier. If people simply don't careenough, perhaps then we deserve to get"no respect." I, for one, strongly objectto that statement. I think that historywill show that we deserve the public'srespect and grat i tude for ourfarsightedness and determination inresearching one of the most importantenigmas of our time, and one which willsomeday impact just about every facetof earthly life.

Let us hope that the next time thatsomeone submits an estimate of thesituation to the Journal for publication,that it will not be of the pressifnisticnature of those we have seen in the'past. Only we can make the difference.Think about it. And, think POSITIVE.

DIRECTOR'S MESSAGE, CONT.

Atlantic Ocean has been an ongoingdetective case for ,the authors andresearchers in the U.S.A.

* * * •

Several people have askedStanton T. Friedman and MUFON inSeguin how they might obtain videocopies of his movie "UFOs Are Real,"since FOTOMAT no longer carries it intheir stock. Stan has advised that he ispleased to provide a videotape of the93-minute, full-length documentary for.a price of only $50.00 U.S. funds whichincludes first class postage. Astechnical advisor for the film, Stan triedvery hard to keep out the last twominutes dealing with the Bill Meier hoaxin Switzerland, but was unsuccessful.People who would like to purchase acopy of this very good documentary(originally produced for motion picturetheatres but not used) should specifyVHS or Beta format and write toStanton T- Friedman, 110 KingsCollege Road, Fredericton, NewBrunswick E3B 2E7, Canada.

Stan has also been using the"Access to Information Law" in Canadato secure UFO documents, clearlyi n d i c a t i n g t ha t the CanadianGovernment has also been deceivingthe public just as 4000 pages of docu-ments obtained under the Freedom ofInformation Act (FOIA) confirm in theUnited States. Even though theCanadian law is relatively new, andcosts $5.00 per submission, Stan hasfound that many of the documents thathe most wanted have been destroyed inthe past, but there are plenty stillavailable.

* * *

Dur ing a recent telephoneconference call with host members ofthe MUFON 1985 UFO Symposium inSt. Louis, they corrected a previousstatement in the Journal in myDirector's Message. Ken Hanke is theAssistant Chairman for the 1985Symposium. I had listed both he and hiswife, Helen, as Assistant Chairpersons.Helen is heading up one of thecommittees.

* * * . •

Bruce Maccabee and the Fundfor UFO Research announced onSeptember first' that UFONET hadbeen placed on "temporary hold"- aftera four month period of operation -in

which the expenses had been greaterthan anticipated (i.e., $1.00 per minuteof connect time to the computer plusabout $ .10 per minute telephone longdistance expenses). Over the past fourmonths the expense had averagedseveral hundred dollars per month withonly about a dozen active participants.The Fund has estimated that it wouldcost as little as $12.00 per month peruser to maintain UFONET at a low levelof operation; that is, participants wouldcheck in several times a month. In viewof the expenses described, the Fundhas invited interested people to write aletter indicating whether or hot theywould be willing to pay part of theUFONET costs, and if so, at what rate— $10.00 per hour, $5.00 per month,etc.

In the meantime, Michael D.Hart, Director of the COMPUFONNETWORK, 803 5th Place S.E., Duvall,WA, 980i9 has set up a computernetwork as of November 20, 1984.Anyone in MUFON or elsewhere thatwould like access to the new Networkshould contact Michael at the aboveaddress or by telephone during the dayat (206) 788-5307 and he will supplythem with the pertinent information.There is no charge for the use of thesystem, although there is the cost of thelong distance call made by each user.The system allows access by any of thepresent computers on the market suchas Apple, I.B.M., Kaypro, Commodore,Atari, Texas Instruments, etc. Mr. Hartis the State Section Director for KingCounty.

* * *

MUFON has obtained onehundred additional copies of the thirdp r i n t i n g o f C L E A R I N T E N T(paperback) which are available for$8.95 plus $1.50 for postage andhandling in U.S. funds. Foreignsubscribers must use an InternationalPostal Money Order or a check drawnupon a bank in the U.S.A., sincecollection costs of other checksexceeds the face value of the check.The MUFON Journal Staff would liketo take this opportunity to extend ourbest wishes for the new year to ourfriends around the world.

19

DIRECTOR'S MESSAGEby

Walt Andrus

Thomas P Deuley has becomethe new State Director for Texasreplacing the Reverend G. Ncal Hernwho resigned due to increasedresponsibilities within the EpiscopalianChurch in the Dallas Diocese. Inaddition to serving as the MUFONCorporate Secretary and Art Directorfor the MUFON UFO JOURNAL, Tomis also a member of the Board ofDirectors of the Fund for UFOResearch. He was the Host Chairmanfor the MUFON 1984 UFO Symposiumin San Antonio and just completed twoterms as President of MUFON of SanAntonio.

;/

* * *

. . , Bob Grattan, State Director forVirginia, recently received a FulbrightScholarship to teach library automationand computer literacy in Tunis, Africa,at the University of Tunisia fromDecember 1984 to August 1985. Mr.Grattan has been alerted to seek aprofessional ufologist in Tunisia torepresent MUFON in this north Africannation, during his teaching scholarship.

* * *

Marge Christensen, PublicRelations Director, has announcedplans for the National UFO InformationWeek to be held from August 18 to 25,1985 in the MUFON P.I.P.E. Linenewsletter to State Public RelationsDirectors. Each local group shouldstart now to make plans for public UFOexhibits, one day seminars, publicity inthe local news media , videodocumentary displays, lectures, etc. inorder to be prepared for this ambitiousnation-wide public education event.MUFON will provide printed handoutson UFO information (8'/2 x 11"), onesheet, both sides, with the MUFONaddress (international) and space forstamping the name of the localorganization sponsoring the event and

TOM DEULEY

the "UFO Hotline" telephone numberwhere available.

* * *

Dorothy Soultanokis, office managerfor SBI, has advised their members andassociates concerning the health statusof Peter Mazzola, InternationalDirector. As many of Pete's friendsknow, he is retired from the New YorkCity Police Department as a result ofinjur ies sustained that causedpermanent nerve damage. Compoun-ding this situation, on the morning ofNovember 9, he was involved in aserious automobile accident requiringhospitalization and remained in seriouscondition. After nearly three weeks'confinement in the Intensive Care Unit,he developed pneumonia. As ofDecember 5, his doctors say he isrecuperating and is expected to bereleased prior to Christmas to rest andrecuperate further at home. It has beensuggested that "Get Well" cards besent to Pete at P.O. Box 193, StatenIsland, NY 10312. We wish Pete aspeedy recovery.

When speaking of ambitious ands i g n i f i c a n t p r o j e c t s , DavidChristensen had embarked on acomputerized file listing all books,periodicals, audio and video cassettes,microfilm and books of news clippingsat the MUFON resource centersacross the country. Starting with theextensive library of Barry J.Greenwood, Staff Historian, andDoug La bat in New Orleans,Louisiana, the computerized filealready has 600 books, 700 periodicals,415 audio and video cassettes, 120 rollsof microfilm and 30 books of newsclippings. We will be entering theMUFON library in Seguin, Texas, intothis file early in 1985. At this stage,David Christensen is not tabulatingUFO cases or G o v e r n m e n tDocuments, however plans have beenmade to do so. This started out as ajoint venture with Barry Greenwoodand MUFON of Massachusetts,however, it will eventually become aseries of national resource centers,designating where information isavailable. For those of you who haven'tmet David personally, he is thecongenial husband of Marge, and anintegral member of the ChristensenUFO team.

* * *

The Cable News Network (CNN)has been working for several months onthe Rendlesham Forest UFO incidentfor a TV documentary. December 27,1984, marks the fourth anniversary ofthis intriguing event and could be thedate of showing on national television.ABC-TV News sent a film crew toEngland on December 5, 1984, to alsofilm this case known by the title of thenew book, SKY CRASH, by BrendaButler, Dot Street and JennyRandies. Fe r re t ing out moreeyewitnesses on both sides of the

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