Mufon UFO Journal - Allmystery - Rubrikenübersicht1363335544,all...UFO Network, 103 Oldtowne Rd., Seguin, Texas 78155," is included. The contents of the MUFON UFO Journal are determined

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Mufon UFO JournalOfficial Publication of the Mutual UFO Network Since 1967

Number 274February 1991$2.50

THE KECKSBURG UFO CRASH:AN INTERIM REPORTBy Stan Gordon

Mufon UFO JournalFebruary 1991 Number 274

CONTENTS

KECKSBURG UFO CRASH: Interim Report Stan Gordon 3

KECKSBURG UFO SEEN AT A.F. BASES Sharon Santus 6

GULF BREEZE UPDATE Dan Wright 8

THE PARANOID TEMPTATION Budd Hopkins 9

CURRENT CASE LOG Dan Wright 11

NEWS'N'VIEWS Various Contributors 13

IN OTHERS' WORDS Lucius Parish 15

LOOKING BACK: UFO Phenomena Through the Years Bob Gribble 16

THE UFO PRESS Dennis Stacy 18

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Clark, Cannon, Others 19

THE MARCH NIGHT SKY Walter N. Webb 22

DIRECTOR'S MESSAGE Walt Andrus 24

EDITORDennis W. Stacy

ASSOCIATE EDITORWalter H. Andrus, Jr.

COLUMNISTSWalter N. WebbRobert GribbleLucius FarishDan Wright

MUFON UFO JOURNAL(USPS 002-970)

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THE KECKSBURG UFO CRASH: An Interim ReportStan Gordon, Pennsylvania State Director

Late in the afternoon of December9, 1965, an event took place near thesmall village of Kecksburg inWestmoreland County, Pennsylvania,that 25 years later would still puzzlelocal residents, and continue to causemuch interest to both the public and theUFO research community.

I was 16 years old when this incidentoccurred not far from my hometown.It was apparent after the event occur-red, that something of interest to themilitary had caused them to swiftlyreact, and the Air Force explanation ofa meteor as the cause of the sightingdid not correspond to information thathad spread through the local areas,weeks later after the event.

But the local media quickly droppedthe story, and didn't pursue the manywitnesses who had been involved withactivities around the village that night,some of whom would surface duringthe next 25 years to reveal their piecesto the puzzle as to what really occur-red, and what was really found in thewoods that night. During the week afterthe incident, John Murphy (now de-ceased), the News Director of WHJBradio in Greensburg, along with hisstaff, put together a radio documentaryon the Kecksburg UFO incident called"Object in the Woods." The programwas aired, but in a censored version.Some local residents who would beinterviewed later remembered anuneasiness around the village after theevent, and rumors of governmentthreats and payoffs still persist today.

Since the event, I have been keepingrecords on the case, but during the last10 years, multiple independent wit-nesses have been surfacing who nowbegin to show the pattern of a majormilitary operation that involved thequick response recovery of an Uniden-tified Flying Object.

Testimony from people directly in-volved at the site that night, as well asother informants, suggests that

members of the U.S. Army, Air Force,Navy and NASA all had a part in therecovery and/or examination of the ob-ject in question. While the KecksburgIncident has been the talk of the localarea for many years, more recently thecase became nationally exposed whenNBC's "Unsolved Mysteries" featuredthe case as their Season Premiere onSeptember 19, 1990. Prior to the airingof the show, myself and other PASUmembers had been busy following upon many new informants on the case.After the show aired, over 100responses relevant to the case came ourway. Some of the information camefrom anonymous sources, and thereforeisn't considered as reliable data.However, other key informants did sur-face whose information helped fill gapsfrom the statements we had from otherobservers.

W e have now interviewed manydozens of people who wereinvolved in the Kecksburg in-cident. These involve both civilian andformer military personnel. Those inter-viewed include witnesses to the slowmoving object heading into Kecksburg,(four) independent observers who sawthe object on the ground prior to thearrival of the military (we also knowof a deceased party who told his wifethat he saw the metallic object in thewoods), firemen who drove military of-ficers through the fields that led to theimpact site, firemen who witnessed themilitary usage of the Kecksburg Firehallas a temporary command post, infor-mants who saw the military operationtaking place in various sections of thevillage, and others who have knowledgeas to where the object was transportedto, and what was done with it.

During the second half of 1990, in-formation began to surface from newwitnesses indicating that the object'smaneuverability was quite interesting.Our data now suggests that the object

was moving at a slow rate of speed,made several turns, was apparently try-ing to gain altitude over the ridge, andseemingly hovered before making a"slow" descent into the wooded area.More recently uncovered informationsuggests other interesting anomaliesassociated with the descending object,but much more research must be doneto clarify these details.

The more we know of the object inquestion, the more we have to wonderwhat indeed was this device? Could ithave been an actual Extraterrestrialcraft that apparently had problems withits propulsion system, or was this ahighly secretive mission to recover amanmade probe (from an Earthly na-tion) that was highly sophisticated forwhat many scientists tell us that manwas capable of constructing in 1965?

By the time this report is pub-lished, the 25th Anniversary ofthe Kecksburg case will havepassed, and important details relativeto this event will have been releasedthough the local news media. This in-formation suggests that the governmenthas the object in their hands, and thatit was stated to have been an AlienSpacecraft. Since our informants can'tbe identified per their request, we haveutilized a local news reporter who hasspent some time on this case, to act asa mediator. This media source willabide by the same rules of confidentiali-ty as myself and the PASU team to pro-tect the identity of witnesses. She willhowever, be able to interview themdirectly, and be able to see and verifyour documentation of testimonies.

I have been swamped with requestsfrom UFO researchers and publicationsfor update information on the case. Inthe past I have written some articles onthe incident. At this time we are spend-ing much time and effort tracking downother leads on the case, and interview-ing more witnesses, and documenting

MUFON UFO JOURNAL No. 274 February 1991

ARMY ROPES OFF AREA—

'Unidentified Flying Object'An "unidentified flying

object"—possibly the sameone reported seen streakingacross seven northeasternstates and Canada lateThursday afternoon — ap-parently fell to the earth ina secluded wooded areanear Kecksburg in West-moreland County.

The area where the objectlanded was immediately sealedoft on the order of U.S. Army.and State Police officials, re-portedly in anticipation of a"close inspection" of whateveri)i ay have fallen.

A spokesman for a team ofradar experts from the Army's

662 radar squadron in Pitts-burgh said, "We don't knowwhat we have yet.'

Tribune-Review Staff WriterRobert Gatty reported from thescene that "no one is beingallowed near the object." StatePolice officials there, he said,ordered the area roped off toawait the expected arrival ofboth U.S. Army engineers and,possibly, civilian scientists.

The Army enugineers, he said,were scheduled to arrive lateThursday night or early Fridaymorning. Scientists were expect-ed to be brought in some timetoday.

Unable to talk to anyone who

had actually seen the objectGatly reported that the con-sistent explanation of the se-curity measures is that the ob-ject—whatever it is—may becontaminated with radioactivity.

Shape MysteryThe "unidentified flying ob-

ject" (UFO) was sighted fallingto the earth by Mrs. ArnoldKalp of Acme RD 1 and her twochildren. Mrs. Kalp, Gatty re-ported, was not available to talkThursday night, apparently be-cause of the throng of newsmenand spectators, who began ar-riving in the Kecksburg areashortly after word of the sight-

ing was reported.Although no one lias indi-

cated the size or shape of theobject, Gatty said he talked toone farmer in the area—DaleHoward, who lives about a milefrom the scene of the reportedlanding. Howard reported "feel-ing a vibration" and "a thump"about the time the object re-portedly fell.

The near-exact locaMon of theobject, Gat ly determine;!, is 500feet off Legislative Route 64214in Mt. Pleasant Township,about one-half mile east ofKecksburg.

Excitement caused by the ap-parent landing, thp Tribune-Re-

theititome-toww

VOL 80. NO. 261. COUNTY EDITION II Ccnti Slnflt CopySO Ccnti Per Wwk Bom* DtHvertdGREENSBURG, PA., FRIDAY, DECEMBER 10, 1965.

all of these records. It will take manymonths of research to gather just thedata that we are aware of at this time.Rather than to give segments of thecase, we will in the future publish up-date reports on our findings. While ourpast published information on the caseis generally accurate, some new details,and further interviews with witnesseshave clarified some points, and somesmall details will be corrected in futurereports.

While the Kecksburg case is a highlyinteresting topic of conversation aroundWestmoreland County, a few Kecksburgresidents were highly upset that theUFO incident was going to make na-tional TV. This small group in fact senta petition to NBC to try to block theairing of the program. The big ques-

tion is why this group of people wereso emotionally driven to try to causedoubt as to whether or not the incidentoccurred. The media picked up on thispart of the story as well, and suggestedthat much of the town was putting downthe story. This is indeed not the case.The Kecksburg Fire Department wasgiven the model of the UFO built forthe "Unsolved Mysteries" show. Theyhave made a permanent monument ofthe object on the roof of the originaltruck station after unanimous vote of themembership. On December 9, 1990, a25th Anniversary UFO Dance was heldto commemorate the event. The FireDepartment sold tee shirts, caps andsweat shirts to get the word out to thepublic.

The Kecksburg Case is a major

event, and a part of UFO history. If youhave any information on the caseplease contact us by writing to PASU,6 Oakhill Ave., Greensburg. PA 15601,or phone our Hotline at 412-838-7768.

Stan Gordon


Falls Near Kecksburgview reporter said, produced amassive traffic jam on the smallroads winding around the smallcommunity of Kecksburg. Manyof the just-curious spectators,he said, left the scene when in-formed by police that theycould not get near the object.

Newsmen WaitNewsmen, however. were

holding t ight , for the most part,to await some official wordfrom either the U.S. Army orthe State Police officials incharge.

The obvious excitment arous-ed by the apparent landingstems, in part, from dozens of

"sightings" all over parts of thenortheastern part of the UnitedStates and Canada.

Pentagon sources in Wash-lion, D.C., according to aUnited Press International dis-patch, indicated the flash couldhave been a meteor.

Earlier reports, the UPI dis-patch said, indicated the flashcould have been a high altitudetest rocket fired over Lake Erie.But National Guard and AirForce officials told UPI report-ers that no rockets had beenfired.

The UPI dispatch went on:"Eric Johnson, a reporter for

an Erie, Pa., television station,

said, "It flashed across thelake, north northwest of theErie airport leaving a kind ofcloud of smoke behind it."

"Raymond Wallings, a privateairplane pilot from Painesville,Ohio, said he was flying overthe lake when he saw the"fireball" and kept his eye onit until it plummeted into thelake.

"U.S. Coast Guara officialsreported a flying object explod-ed over the Detroit - Windsorarea. Four vessels were dis-patched onto Lake St. Clair butwere unable to find any traceof the object.

Witness James Romansky standing alongside Kecksburg modelbuilt by NBC-TV Program "Unsolved Mysteries." Photo by Dennis Smeltzer.


KECKSBURG UFO SEEN AT A.F. BASESS3.ntUS, Tribune-Review, Greensburg, Pennsylvania

Twenty-five years ago today, a UFOreportedly landed in a wooded area nearKecksburg in Mt. Pleasant Township.Now, for the first time, witnesses saythey saw the object at two separate high-security Air Force bases in Ohio justdays afterward.

The witnesses, who are requestinganonymity, say they were instructed bythe military not to discuss what they saw.

Just before sundown on December 9,1965, a bright, orange fireball streak-ed across the sky over Michigan, thetip of Ontario and western Lake Erie.The object continued its descent andwas spotted over Westmoreland Coun-ty skies. Witnesses said it glided toearth at a low rate of speed in a wood-ed area near Kecksburg.

According to some accounts, dozensof military personnel converged on thearea and ordered spectators away.

Witnesses said a flatbed truck wasdriven to the landing site and leftsometime later with a tarpaulin-coveredobject on the back.

The official report from the UnitedStates Air Force is that a meteor passedover the area and was not seen again.State Police from Greensburg said theysearched the area that night and thefollowing day and found nothing.

Two witnesses including JamesRomansky of Derry, came forwardseveral weeks ago and said they saw theobject on the ground that night inKecksburg.

S tan Gordon, who heads theGreensburg-based PennsylvaniaAssociation for the Study of theUnexplained, said the witnesses - inseparate interviews - described it as abronze-colored, acorn-shaped objectabout 12 feet long and 10 feet indiameter. Each said it was wrappedwith a band of unintelligible markings.

Despite the men's accounts, some inKecksburg insist the reports are nothingmore than fabricated nonsense. They

"President Kennedy came to the base while I wasat Lockborne and there wasn't as much security asI saw that morning."

say an object might have passed throughthe sky that day, but it never fellanywhere near Kecksburg.

The Kecksburg UFO incident gainednational attention in September onNBC's "Unsolved Mysteries."Disbelievers, many of whom own landin the area where the object reported-ly landed, tried unsuccessfully to havethe program canceled.

Since the broadcast, more than 100people telephoned "Unsolved Myster-ies" to offer additional information.

Among them is a WestmorelandCounty man who was a member of theU.S. Air Force stationed at LockborneAir Base near Columbus, Ohio, inDecember 1965. Robert Adams (not hisreal name) said the facility was placedon "red alert" during the early-morninghours of December 10, 1965.

A member of the air police, Adamssaid his unit was immediately dis-patched to a hangar where they as-sumed guard positions. He said a flat-bed truck with a tarpaulin-covered ob-ject on the back entered the hangar andsuperior officers ordered the police toshoot to kill anyone who attempted toenter without top-security clearance.

Adams said the truck had entered thebase through the rear gate, which hesaid was highly unusual since the gateis located on an extremely remote areaof the compound.

He said the truck passed a few feetin front of him and the object on theback appeared to be twice the size ofa Volkswagen.

Adams said he was relieved of guardduty at 6 or 7 a.m. and learned laterthe truck, still carrying the object, leftthe base at 7:30 a.m. en route to WrightPatterson Air Force base, 100 mileswest near Dayton.

He said he was discharged from theAir Force a year later and returnedto Westmoreland County where helearned of the Kecksburg case.

"Because of the timing of the inci-dent - the day after the Kecksburg crash- and because of the top-secret natureof the situation, I have no doubt in mymind the object taken inside the hangarthat morning at Lockborne was thesame object that came down inKecksburg," Adams said.

"President Kennedy came to the basewhile I was at Lockborne and therewasn't as much security as I saw thatmorning."

Another witness, Ohio truckdriver John Cummings (not hisreal name), said he actually sawthe object inside a building at WrightPatterson on December 12, 1965, justthree days after the alleged landing.

Cummings, who made deliveries fora Dayton-area building-supply com-pany, said a high ranking military of-ficer arrived at the firm on December11, 1965, and ordered a specialradiation-moisture-resistant brick forconstruction of a protective room insidea building at Wright Patterson.

Cummings said he and a cousindelivered 6,500 bricks to Wright Pat-terson the next day after being in-structed by their boss not to discussanything they might observe at thecompound.

"We were unloading the bricks ontopallets, and me and my cousin decidedto sneak inside to see what all thesecrecy was about," Cummings said."Guards immediately ordered us out...but not before we saw it."

Cummings said he saw a darkbronze, bell-shaped object about 14 feet


wide at the base and about 12 feet high.He said scaffolding surrounded the

object, which was covered on threesides with parachute-like material thathung from the ceiling. According toCummings, 10 to 15 men with white,protective suits, wearing rubber boots,rubber gloves and gas masks were at-tempting to open the object.

"They took us outside and told us toforget what we had seen," Cummingssaid. "We were told that in 20 years,the object would be common know-ledge."

Cummings said that a few days laterhe learned that other truck drivers hadseen a flatbed military truck with atarpaulin-covered object on the backtraveling from the Pittsburgh area weston Route 40 toward Wheeling, WestVirginia, and then on to Columbus andDayton.

He said that information along withhis own experience convinces him thatthe object he saw at Wright Pattersonwas the same as that which allegedlyfell in Kecksburg.

Cummings had been interviewed ex-tensively by Len Stringfield, a national-ly known UFO investigator and authorof Situation Red: The UFO Siege,published by Doubleday.

"I've talked with (Cummings)numerous times and I have every reasonto believe he's telling the truth,"Stringfield said. "He had no previousinterest in UFOs and doesn't want anypublicity about his experience."

Stringfield said Kecksburg holds asmuch importance as the infamousRoswell, New Mexico, UFO retrievalcase. Many researchers believe the U.S.government retrieved bodies of alienbeings after one and possibly two craftfell in the desert near Roswell in 1947.

"With the amount of information StanGordon has gathered on Kecksburg, Iwould place it just behind Roswell as themost significant UFO retrieval case inhistory," Stringfield said.

Gordon, who has gathered govern-ment documents and compiledthousands of pages of research in theKecksburg case, said new informationis surfacing almost daily.

"We have several new witnesses whohave come forward since the 'Unsolved

KECKSBURG OBJECT?This is an artist's rendering of the object allegedly seen by an Ohio truckdriver at Wright Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton on Dec. 12, 1965.

"They took us outside and told us to forget what wehad seen. We were told that in 20 years, the objectwould be common knowledge."

Mysteries' segment aired inSeptember," Gordon said. "Many ofthem are Kecksburg residents who werein the area that night."

Gordon continues to gather researchand asks that anyone with informationcontact him by writing: The Penn-sylvania Association for the Study ofthe Unexplained, 6 Oakhill Ave.,Greensburg, PA, 15601.

Gordon said there can be no doubt

an object landed 25 years ago today inKecksburg.

"It made turns, it hovered, it definite-ly was not a meteor," Gordon said."Was it an alien spacecraft or a highly-advanced aircraft from the UnitedStates or a foreign country? We can'tbe sure. The one thing we do know isthat the government continues to drawa cloak of secrecy around the entire in-cident. What could they be hiding?"


GULF BREEZE UPDATEDan Wright, Deputy Director, Investigations

In the first week of December, Inter-national Director Walt Andrus sentcopies of over a dozen of the Walters'UFO photos to an independent opticalexpert for computerized analysis andother precise measurements. These in-volve all the major claimed events by theWalters family. Walt had previouslytaken 35 mm close-ups of the originalpolaroids, and the forwarded prints weremade from those negatives. Therefore,the quality of each is presumably closeto the original polaroid print.

The recipient of these photos is adecades-long expert in optics and ap-plied sciences with a background inphysics. He is self-employed as aphotography consultant and was highlyrecommended. Among his earlierachievements, he analyzed photographsfor the National Geographic. The in-dividual's name is being withheld so asto avoid any influence or interruption.His son, also a photo expert, is assisting.A report is not expected for at leastseveral months and may entail priorpublication in a refereed scientific jour-nal. It should be noted that, due toMUFON's limited funds as well as hisinterest in the case, the gentlemanagreed to waive his normal - substan-tial - fee for the computerized examina-tion of the photos.

This case has drawn many specula-tions, caused hard feelings among earliercolleagues, and perplexed the generalmembership. The subplots and com-plexity are worthy of a Frank Herberttrilogy. However, the central (and onlyREAL) question relates to the photosthemselves. With credit to Walt Andrus,we will in time have an absolutely in-dependent expert analysis. In the in-terim, I wish to clarify the following:

1) Prior to agreeing to send theWalters' photos for analysis, neither WaltAndrus nor anyone else within MUFONmanagement had any acquaintance withthe person. The decision to use histalents and facilities was made solely on

the accolades he has received.2) The gentleman had no previous

substantial interest in the UFO subject.3) Neither Walt nor I will be com-

municating with him as he proceeds ex-cept possibly to provide additionalmaterials, should he so request, or torespond to any questions which mayarise on his part. Walt has instructedthe few others who know his identityand location not to communicate sameto anyone in any manner.

4) The gentleman has indicated thathis conclusions will be based solely onthe physical characteristics inherent inthe photographs and not on any cir-cumstantial evidence, either pertainingto the Walters' account or any otherUFO account in the Pensacola area.

If his conclusions are negative, beforepublishing the results Walt willpresumably seek the reaction of BruceMaccabee, himself a laser and opticalphysicist who has spent hundreds ofhours pouring over the photos. Afterthree years and so much time expendedby so many people, after all, we wantto be sure beyond a reasonable doubt.

The Model

Concerning the UFO model found inthe attic/garage of the former Walters'home, there is now sufficient documen-tation to conclude it was created some-time after September 1989, that is, wellafter all of the Walters' claims had con-cluded on May 1, 1988.

Two exhibits were used in reachingthis conclusion: (1) a carefully drawnrecreation by the Menzers, currentowners of the former Walters' home, ofthe blueprint strip used as the midpor-tion of the saucer model, and (2) theSeptember 1989 design on graph paperby Ed Walters of a home originally con-tracted by (but never built for) Mr. andMrs. Lynn Thomas, the details ofwhich were confirmed by the Thomasesin a telephone conversation initiated by

your Deputy.As drawn by Mrs. Menzer, the ap-

proximate two-inch strip contains theincomplete notation "...vg A. 1740,"below which is the incomplete notation"...B 2393." The September 1989design prepared for and sent to theThomases contains the notations "1740LA" and "2393." As confirmed by theThomases, the living area (i.e. "(L)vgA." and later expressed as "LA") wasto be 1740 square feet. The "(SLA)B2393" shown on the blueprint likewisecoincides with the simply expressed"2393" on the graph paper design intheir possession. Moreover, theblueprint shows what appears to be apartial street address on JamestownDrive. The Thomases confirmed thatthe house which would have been builtfor them in late 1989 was to be at thecorner of Jamestown Drive andShoreline Avenue.

As a supporting point, I personallycalculated the square footage of the liv-ing area from the Thomases' graphdesign, which totals 1740 square feet.In that Ed Walters builds only custom-designed homes, it is extremely unlikelythat he would have built two homes lessthan three years apart which had aJamestown Drive location and thoseprecise dimensions. No one has ques-tioned the veracity of either theThomases or the Menzers regardingtheir willing testimony.

The living-area and concrete slabdimensions confirmed by the Thomasesand recalculated by myself are tellingevidence. The location of the prospec-tive home on the corner of Jamestownand Shoreline further supports EdWalters' claim that the Thomas graphpaper design and the blueprint strip onthe model are of the same home — bothdrawn in September 1989 and thereforewell after the Walters' experiences hadconcluded.

Continued on page 22


THE PARANOID TEMPTATIONBudd Hopkins

New York abstract artist BuddHopkins is a leading abduction inves-tigator and the author of MissingTime (1981) and Intruders (1987).

In a country as violent as ours wehave become accustomed to murder,mayhem, plots and mysteries. Sincethese disturbing cultural artifacts can-not be made to go away, entrepreneurshave realized that they can be exploitedas a perverse new form of entertain-ment.

The supermarket tabloids long agounderstood the profit potential of sucha mournful situation. They have learnedhow to regale, week after week, thesame tired people in the same ex-hausting checkout lines with ever moreghastly and outrageous crimes and con-spiracies, carried out, always, by therich and famous. For the tabloid pur-chasers, as with the fans of professionalwrestling, belief in what they're seeingand reading is far less important thenthe momentary frisson of fear, excite-ment and tongue-clucking.

"Imagine! Natalie Wood was mur-dered because Elvis was about to turnher in to Teddy Kennedy as a Sovietcounterspy! The paper says that theKGB evidently got to her first. I didn'tknow Elvis even knew her." Or, equal-ly, "Did you see Hulk Hogan on TVlast night? The challenger was tryingto strangle him and he was almost deadand the referee really had to save hislife."

Believability in these cases is besidethe point. Central is the illusion the fansdemand of having been shown thehorrible "truth" from the inside. Withall too many people, juicy conspiracytheories are, like intellectual junk food,as gnawingly necessary to their diets assugar or fat or alcohol.

Though this kind of quasi-paranoiamay provide perverse excitement anda pleasant, self-indulgent pastime, it isalso partly a by-product of real govern-

ment behavior. We all rememberWatergate, Nixon's lies, the lies of theReagan administration on Iran-Contra,the decades of coverup on the UFOissue, the S & L scandal and on andon. Sadly, we have good reason to beconstantly suspicious of our leaders.Even worse is the fact that as politicaland international affairs have grownmore complex and depressing, so hasthe texture of daily life itself. Takentogether, AIDS, crime, drugs, pollutionand the state of the economy havecreated a, deep uncertainty about thefuture, leading inexorably to what mightbe called a national feeling of help-lessness. In this unstable context thedesire for simple answers spreads andbecomes ever more urgent. Ambigui-ty becomes intolerable. We want toknow! The ground is set for the doom-sayer, the charlatan, the one who makessense of it all by telling us who orwhat to blame. Whoever exposes the"plot that created this mess" will ridehigh.

O f course, a tragic historicalprecedent immediately comesto mind: Germany in the latetwenties and early thirties. There,runaway inflation, unemployment andsocial chaos had many causes, too com-plex to be easily understood. But oneman came forward with a simpleanswer; all these troubles were theresult of plots by the communists andthe Jewish bankers, Q.E.D. .

We know who presented thatmindless idea and what its horrendousresults were; the lesson is clear. Fromthis comes what I'll call the FirstHopkins Law of Social Behavior in Dif-ficult Times: "The greater the complex-ity of the problem, the greater the ap-peal of any simple solution, no matterhow stupid, false or irrelevant."

While on a visit to Santa Barbararecently, two parallel situations cameto mind to illustrate my behavioral law

and the power of conspiracy thinking.A fascinating article in CaliforniaMagazine dealt with a man whobelieves in "taking government backfrom its false leaders" and giving it tothe world's peoples. He propounds hisoutwardly unexceptionable ideaswherever and whenever the chancearises, but he states the dark side of the"plot against the people" as anestablished fact: a major political figurewas assassinated before he was able tospeak the truth. Wendell Wilkie, heavers, was the assassination victim, andthe story that Wilkie died of a heart at-tack in 1944 was a mere invention.

The man who says these things is asoap manufacturer who calls himselfDr. Bronner, though he refers to himselfalso as a rabbi. He is neither a rabbinor a medical doctor, and Bronner isnot the name he was given at birth, butwe will let those issues pass; conspiracytheorists are never strong on facts.Bronner has a simple theory, freightedwith paranoid notions, and though hewas evidently hospitalized for psych-ological reasons at some point in hislife, that circumstance has not preventedhim from developing something of afollowing around the country. Ap-parently there really are Bronneritesabout, discussing the Wilkie assassina-tion and the powerful secret forces thatonce drugged their leader and im-prisoned him in a mental hospital.

Cooper

A man named William Cooper, whospeaks frequently about UFOs, presentsan interesting parallel with Doctor/Rabbi Bronner. Like the Doctor/Rab-bi, Cooper's credentials - in this caseas a self-proclaimed highly-placedNaval Intelligence man - are somewhatcloudy. (There is also confusion aboutthe reason for his discharge from theservice.) But Cooper's message, likeBronner's, is simple, though infinitely


I

"The greater the complexity of the problem, thegreater the appeal o/any simple solution, no mat-ter how stupid, false or irrelevant."

Brenner's, is simple, though infinitelymore grandiose: A vast plot has beengoing on for decades, and manyassassinations have occurred as a result.Though Cooper's set of villains leftWendell Wilkie alone, and presumablyalso Orville Faubus and some others,they shot John Kennedy in the Dallasmotorcade "to prevent him from reveal-ing what he knew about UFOs."

I once raised the issue with one ofCooper's supporters as to why the CIAplotters, who evidently had intimate ac-cess to their victim, didn't simply putsomething in Kennedy's toothpaste oruse another of their more subtle and ef-fective assassination methods, one thatmight better have concealed the crime.The Cooperite explained to me that thereason Kennedy was shot by his driver(!) during the parade - an act that re-quired the killer to turn around and firepoint blank in the direction of Mrs. Ken-nedy and Governor and Mrs. Connallywhile he steered the automobile with theother hand and passed in front of amovie camera and hundreds of obser-vant witnesses - was because thatscenario would later sound sooutrageous that it would not be believed.Thus, the Cooperite said triumphantly,the crime could be easily concealed.

What I learned from this exchangeis valuable: never try to outflankparanoid thinking. It's an attemptdoomed to failure, like arguing religionwith a street-corner evangelist.

Now, though I have never heard Rab-bi/Doctor Bronner speak - he is in hiseighties and still quite energetic -1 haveheard Cooper in full harangue. He ismost impressive. As deep-voiced, pas-sionate, expressive, and convincing asJoseph McCarthy himself - a man heuncannily resembles - Cooper can rousehis Cooperites to a mystical, patrioticfervor. Despite his serious drinking pro-blem, the late Senator from Wisconsincould roll off a list of Communistagents, spies, fellow-travelers, dupes andso on with scornful power and convic-

tion. In a parallel manner - whether ornot he shares the Senator's taste for thebottle - Cooper can lay out his list ofspies, CIA men, fellow-travelers,assassins and so on, with a similarlyorotund fervor and hatred. It's a perfor-ming skill lost in this country since theearly fifties, and not visible in Europesince the nineteen thirties. It should beseen once and never emulated.

Followers

Though Rabbi/Doctor Bronner hasevidently decided to leave me alone,Highly-Placed-Former-Naval-Intelli-gence-Agent Cooper has not. One ofthe leading Cooperites is a New YorkCity skin doctor currently undergoinghearings as to whether or not he is toomentally impaired to be allowed topractice medicine. (He has beendiagnosed as "paranoid, delusional andgrandoise.")

This somewhat unsteady physician,whom I knew very briefly in 1981 and'82, has decided in the intervening eightyears that I am a very, very bad per-son. He now accuses me directly ofcomplicity in the murders of both Dr.Martin Luther King and President JohnF. Kennedy. He has informed Cooperthat I once told him I was a CIA agent.He has also informed Cooper that awoman acquaintance of his, a secretaryfrom Massachusetts, told him that she,too, was a CIA agent. Cooper hastrustingly broadcast these slanderousallegations widely.

The assumption behind the doctor'srevelations is simple: CIA undercoveragents habitually walk up to der-matologists whose secrets they are try-ing to pry away and say, "By the way,I'm a CIA agent." (In much the sameway that CIA assassins of presidentschoose to do it before the cameras andunder the watchful gaze of thousandsof people at a formal parade.) This NewYork City skin doctor also recently ac-cused the men fixing the sidewalk near

his office of being spies, and left amessage on my answering machinethanking me for causing him to join theCommunist party. Cooper has ap-parently chosen not to trumpet theselatter statements of his associate in hisvarious public appearances.

It has been said, truthfully, that aparanoid can instantly make order outof chaos. If you or I, travelling on avacation, have a flat tire one day anda reversal at the Vegas craps table thenext, we accept these events as unfor-tunate pieces of bad luck. A paranoidthinker, however, not only knows thatthe two events are absolutely connected,but he knows who did them and why.

The rest of us are stuck with the factthat life is messy, unpredictable, and atbest serendipitous. Worse, we're de-prived of those subtle little masochisticthrills experienced by conspiracy buffswhen they are told about the True Cabalor the Central Plot; when they under-stand just which UFO researchers areinvolved in political shootings, whichmovie stars are secret necrophiliacs andwhich famous rock musician turnedNatalie Wood over to the KGB. It's allso exciting! Intrigues between GeorgeBush, the Trilateral Commission andalien invaders, secret meetings withDan Quayle in underground bases,perhaps with Doctor/Rabbi Bronner,discussing how much more smoothlythe CIA pulled off the Wilkie caperthan the Kennedy crime.

Which leads me to a few final obser-vations. Logic decrees that whenveteran UFO researchers tell you againand again that your government iscovering up official knowledge of theUFO phenomenon, and thereby lyingto you, those researchers are obvious-ly not working for the government.Likewise, anyone vociferously debunk-ing the UFO phenomenon, and claim-ing that the government is telling thetruth, may actually be on the federalpayroll. And anyone claiming that theUFO phenomenon is real, and whothen goes on with outrageous malarkeyabout the mass murder of Americanchildren as a CIA project - that personmay be trying to discredit serious UFO



Current Case LogDan Wright, Deputy Director, Investigations

The following summarizes casereports received in November andDecember 1990 which are wellprepared and represent recent eventsof significance to UFOIogy. Unlessnoted, no sound, vibration or odorwas detected. All times listed arelocal.

• Log #901104: 10/24/90, 2:45 p.m.event in Louisville, Kentucky); in-vestigator Bun Monroe. A woman wasoperating a fax machine in her 12thfloor office. Glancing out the window,she noticed a stationary, silvery, flat-bottomed disc below her level againsta backdrop of trees. About 20 feet indiameter, its only feature initially wasan upturned rim.

Momentarily, the object began mov-ing slowly upward and away in an arc,then proceeded back and forth in half-circle paths, alternately displaying itsblack underside while continuallymoving farther away. The witness wasjoined by a second woman, then a manwho alone saw a second vehicle,boomerang shaped, merge with the firstin the distance. Perhaps two miles dis-tant, the objects suddenly disappearedfrom view. Duration was estimated as10 minutes.

• Log #901116: (7/73/90, 7p.m. eventnear Manchester, New Hampshire); in-vestigator Ruth Michaud. In herbedroom, a teen observed a brilliantlight rise from, and hover over, awetland across the road and a few hun-dred feet away. Momentarily, she realiz-ed this was the forward light of atapered cylindrical object as it rotatedto reveal its length. A series of squarelights or windows were equally spacedacross the midsection of its darkmetallic grey surface. At one end wasa horizontal cable, at the end of whichwas a red light. The object proceededlaterally until lost beyond a line of trees.

Duration was less than a minute.

• Log #901206: (10/10/90 event in theHoyt Lakes region near Skibo, Min-nesota); investigators Bill McNeffandRichard Bauerlein. At about 9 p.m.,local residents began reporting unusuallights in the sky southeast of HoytLakes. Two local policemen respond-ed, driving within a mile of the site. Inthe company of other witnesses, theyobserved multiple objects of indeter-minate shape, alternately hovering anddarting about at an estimated altitudeof 10,000+ feet. These were describedas glowing white, with attached red andgreen lights.

Following a series of ambiguousreturns, at 10:15 p.m. the FAA air traf-fic control tower at the Duluth Airportconfirmed radar echoes from the HoytLakes area. The targets appeared inter-mittently over the next hour on twoseparate radars at that facility.

One of the Duluth controllers con-tinously monitored the roughly circularformation variously comprising threeto five objects. One of these repeated-ly and abruptly left the grouping, onlyto reverse direction and resume its posi-tion. An Air National Guard facilitylikewise called the Duluth tower to ex-press puzzlement over targets appear-ing on its radar screen.

During this period, the Duluth staffcontacted a commercial pilot flying at11,000 feet and 40-50 miles west ofHoyt Lakes. The pilot sighted twodistinct, steady lights below his altitudeand a few miles apart, both describedas deep glowing red. The night wasclear with excellent visibility. Noknown weather factors would accountfor the radar returns, and no other con-ventional aircraft was reported in thearea.

• Log #901205: (March 12,1990,1:30a.m. event in Marshfield, Massachu-

setts); investigator Morton Schafer. Awoman was lying awake in bed at 11:30p.m. when she heard a crash in thehouse. Downstairs, she discovered anoverturned chair in front of a partiallyopened door leading to the sunroom.Finding no other evidence of an in-truder, she decided to remain up andwatch a late night TV movie.

At 1:30 a.m., loud knocking soundsbegan from the crawl space beneath thelivingroom flooring. Soon, she ranupstairs to awaken her husband, notingthe clock read 1:37. He suggested a rac-coon as the culprit and returned tosleep.

She retrieved a flashlight and shoneit through each first-floor window on-to the lawn to no avail. Next, sheentered the sunroom and raised a screento check the ground-level door to thecrawl space. Leaning out, she found thedoor still shut, but the heavy frame wasdetached and lying on the grass. As shebegan to straighten up, she confrontedan alien face six inches from her own.

The "boy-sized being" was perhaps3 1/2 feet tall and floating above theground. She noted an oval head withlarge black, almond-shaped eyes;smooth, charcoal grey skin; a small slitmouth; and nostrils with a distinct nosebridge. No hair or ears were visible.The entity wore a dark, loose capelikegarment. His four-digited left hand wasraised next to her face.

After what seemed several secondsof shocked amazement, the womandropped her flashlight, pulled herselfback in, and ran upstairs to alert herhusband. She then noted the time was2:30. (Notes: The husband confirmedthe following morning that she hadentered the bedroom at 1:37 and 2:30a.m. Hypnotherapy conducted insubsequent months reportedly reveal-ed a physical abduction, commencingwith her being pulled through the openscreen.)


• Log #901207: (October 16, 1990,8:30p.m. event near Dallas, Oregon);investigator Skip Schultz. A woman wasinside her parents' farmhouse when sheheard the family's several dogs raisinga commotion. Looking out the kitchenwindow, she spotted a glowing whitedisc hovering low over the pasture. Sheran to the bedroom to wake her father,and they both proceeded outside in timeto see the object go over the house andcontinue slowly into the distance. Ahigh-pitched sound was likened to acombined dishwasher and air condi-tioner, while a strong sulphur odor waspresent. It darkened when angling downover nearby hills and out of sight. Dura-tion was estimated as two minutes.

The vehicle was further described asperhaps 100 feet in diameter. A steadyyellow light shone at the top of itsrounded dome. Near the flat bottomwas a continuous row of steady redlights. A large opening on the under-side was bright white, surroundingwhich was a gridlike perimeter likenedto criss-crossed metal strips.

The area was checked the next day,but no landing marks were found. Useof a compass below the initial site ofthe object's hovering over the pastureshowed no deviation from a normaldirectional reading. All cattle and otheranimals were accounted for.

• Log #901208: (9/20/90, 8:30p.m.event in Leominster, Massachusetts);investigator Bill Goffrier. A man witha disabled auto was waiting at a freewayexit for a tow truck. He noticed a green-ish glowing oval hovering low in the sky.Seconds later, the light proceededdownward across the highway and haltedbefore a line of trees 80 feet distant.Fearful but intrigued, the witness saidaloud, "Don't hurt me, but comecloser." It then approached to within 15feet and came to rest on the grass.

The anomaly was described as agreen, horizontal oval 18 inches indiameter, within which were two blackteardrop shapes outlined in white.These had a pulsating effect. Whenfreeway traffic approached, thelight/object was not visible, whether byreason of an optical effect or otherwise.It was last seen just before the tow truck

arrived. Duration was estimated asabout one minute. (Note: No mark wasdiscovered on the grass afterward.)

• Log #901210: (4/17/90,10:30-11:00p.m. event in Westmoreland County,Pennsylvania); investigators EvelynSchurman and Keith Bastianini. Twowomen were driving through a wood-ed area of Upper BurreU Townshipwhen they spotted three bright lights inthe clear sky ahead. A moment later,the driver realized "... a split in the sky,one half was completely black and theother half all stars," to her left. Im-mediately, they heard a loud "click"and saw a luminous, basketball-sizedgreen light 30 yards away just over thetreetops. Stopping the car, they watch-ed as the ball descended a foot or twobefore hovering again, illuminating theground in an "aluminum" color.

Now they discerned a black objectroughly the size and shape of a bus, towhich the green ball may have been at-tached. Along the near side were tworows of three rectangular windows thatcast a dull yellow light. An inner borderaround each consisted of a neon-liketube, seemingly filled with a "gurg-ling," yellow-orange luminescent li-quid. The two sets of windows wereseparated by a band which appeared to

encircle the object and rotate.Having perhaps been "in a trance" for

a short period, the driver started the carforward. The rider, whose view hadbeen partly obscured, then was able toconfirm the object's shape behind them,

; estimating its length as about 40 feet.As she continued to watch, the upperand lower rows of windows appeared tomerge into a single ribbon of light.

A short distance down the road theysaw a luminous cigar-shaped object inthe sky, which they assumed was thesame. Reaching the rider's home, theyran inside. From a window, theyobserved the glowing object changecourse and pass overhead. Duration ofthe event was estimated as 20 minutes.

(Notes: During the experience andfor the remainder of the night, bothwomen felt dazed, and months laterboth expressed a feeling of having ex-perienced more than they could con-sciously recall. The driver returned thefollowing day to search for possiblephysical traces, but found none. A localpoliceman, the county's emergencymanagement coordinator, checked thearea for radiation, but found nothingunusual. In the sighting vicinity is theAlcoa Light Metals Research Facility,which reportedly is involved in Stra-tegic Defense Initiative technology.)

Calendar of UFO Conferences for 1991March 15, 16 & 17 — Second UFO/ET/Alien and Abduction Congress -

Holiday Inn, Bordentown, New Jersey

March 23 — 1991 UFO Conference: It Has Begun • Coliseum in Biloxi,Mississippi

April 5, 6 & 7 — Ozark UFO Conference - Inn of the Ozarks, EurekaSprings, Arkansas

May 11 & 12 — UFO Expo West - Los Angeles Airport Hyatt Hotel,Los Angeles, California

May 17, 18 & 19 — Exploring Unexplained Phenomena III - University ofNebraska Center, Lincoln, Nebraska

May 18, 19 & 20 — Fifth Annual "Recontres Europeennes de Lyon"Congress - Lyon, France

July 5, 6 & 7 — MUFON 1991 International UFO Symposium - HyattRegency O'Hare Hotel at O'Hare International Airport near Chicago,Illinois

August 16, 17 & 18 — Sixth International UFO Congress - CentralLibrary Theater, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England

October 12 & 13 — The UFO Experience - Holiday Inn, North Haven,Connecticut


^n 'VieWS ... Gaddis, Conferences, Awards

Vincent GaddisJan Eric Herr of San Diego writes to

advise Journal readers that VincentGaddis, the well-known author ofseveral books on paranormal and for-tean topics, has fallen on hard times.In ill health and living in a trailer onthe property of a friend in northernCalifornia, he would appreciate hear-ing from anyone who might have en-joyed his writings, says Herr. He canbe reached by telephone at (707)986-7766, or written to at P. O. Box 429,Garberville, CA, 95440-0429.

This editor well remembers Gaddis'1967 Mysterious Fires and Lights fromDavid McKay as one of the finest andmost remarkable works of its type.Anyone who feels a similar debt to Mr.Gaddis and his writings should drophim a line to let him know.

Ozark UFO ConferenceThe Third Annual Ozark UFO Con-

ference will be held on April 5, 6, 7,1991 at the Inn of the Ozarks in EurekaSprings, Arkansas. The Conferenceorganizers have been well pleased withthe favorable responses to the twoprevious Conferences and we hope topresent another interesting and infor-mative meeting this year.

Advance registration for the Con-ference will be accepted through March25 at the previous rate of $35.00 for allsessions. Admission at the door will be$40.00 for all sessions. We encourageyou to register in advance, not onlybecause it saves you money, but becausethe advance payments are very helpfulto us in paying travel expenses forspeakers, etc. For those wishing todisplay merchandise for sale, tables willbe available on a first-come, first-servedbasis at the rate of $10.00 per table.

The Conference program will beginat 1:00 p.m. on Friday, April 5, and willend at noon on Sunday, April 7.Speakers scheduled at this time include:

• George Wingfield - Update onEngland's "circles" mystery.• Antonio Huneeus - Discussion ofworld-wide UFO activity.• Norman Oliver - Some of England'smost interesting UFO cases.• Forrest Crawford - Abductee andcontactee data correlations.• Linda Moulton Howe - Update onmutilations; governmental interest inUFOs.• Jorge Martin - Puerto Rican UFO ac-tivity, including abductions of jets.• John Carpenter - Abductee testi-monies; a witness to the Roswell crash.• William Sherwood - A multidimen-sional universe; contactee reports.• Bob Oechsler - New UFO photosand videos, plus update on Bob Lazar,etc.

Please send your advance registrationfor the Conference to Route 1, Box 220,Plumerville, AR 72127. Checks shouldbe made out to Ozark UFO ConferenceFund. Further information may be ob-tained by calling (501) 354-2558.

All rooms at the Inn of the Ozarkswill be reserved for those attending theConference and room rates will be$36.00 for a single room and $42.00 fora double room. Please specify that youwill be attending the Ozark UFO Con-ference in order to receive these specialrates. Reservations may be made bycalling the Inn at (501) 253-9768 or bywriting to them at P.O. Box 431, EurekaSprings, AR 72632.

Notional Conference onAnomalous Experiences

The first National Conference onAnomalous Experiences convened atthe Albert M. Greenfield ConferenceCenter (Sugarloaf), Temple Universityin Chestnut Hill, Pennsylvania onJanuary 18-20, 1991, organized andhosted by David M. Jacobs, Ph.D. andBudd Hopkins. Due to space limitationsat the executive conference center, on-

ly 50 people were invited. Invitationswere extended by the host committeeto professionals, clinicians, eight ab-ductees and a few investigators who aredirectly involved in the study andresearch of UFO abductions, and/orwere on the planning committee.

The Friday and Saturday sessionswere divided into "Introductory Talks,""Hypnosis: Problems and Techniques,"and "Coping: Issues and Problems."Following the pattern of the very suc-cessful abduction panel at the MUFON1987 International UFO Symposium atAmerican University in Washington,DC, an abductee panel of four ladiesand four men provided the professionalclinicians with first hand exposure totheir traumatic experiences, how eachcoped with their fears, how supportgroups helped them, and how they arereconstructing their lives to meet thefuture. We are thankful to the eightcourageous people who bared theirtraumatic experiences publicly. The en-tire conference was moderated byMichael Swords, Ph.D. of WesternMichigan University in his ownhumorous and inimitable style.

Sunday morning was devoted to"Facing the Problem: Research in the1990s," a general discussion of issuesand problems of abduction research,education, and direction, utilizing aworkshop format. At the beginning ofthis discussion Budd Hopkins andDavid Jacobs jointly issued a historicannouncement to the conferees that willdramatically affect the future of abduc-tion research.

Robert Bigelow of Las Vegas, Nevadaand a vitally concerned anonymousdonor, have jointly donated a grant of$200,000 to initiate a study of thecrucial abduction phenomenon. Jacobsand Hopkins were named the projectdirectors. The goals and objectives ofthis bomb-shell announcement weredelineated:

• To determine the best possibleestimate of the percentage of the


American public that has had a UFOabduction experience.

• To assemble and codify high quali-ty information into the largest volumeof well-documented cases pertaining tothis phenomenon.

• The completion date has beentargeted for December 1, 1991, whenall findings of this study shall be con-cluded and organized into a publishableform.

At this stage of UFO abductionresearch, the $200,000 grant almostrivals that of the U.S. Air Force to theUniversity of Colorado in 1968. Underthe direction of Dr. Edward U. Condon,the half-million dollar report releasedin 1969, titled "Scientific Study ofUnidentified Flying Objects," was hard-ly a definitive explanation for the UFOphenomenon as the government hadpredicted and expected. I am confidentthat this two-hundred thousand dollargrant will be spent more judiciouslythan the infamous "Condon Report"expenditure was.

Both Robert Bigelow and theanonymous donor fully recognize theimportance of the abductionphenomenon, thus their thoughtful andappreciated financial support. Theircontribution is truly a milestone inUfolOgy that may open the doors of theworld to the UFO enigma, a mysterythat has lasted for over 43 years.

As a small token, the Mutual UFONetwork donated one thousand dollarsto the conference to help defray ex-penses. The Intruders Foundation (IF)contributed additional funds.

— Walt Andrus

1991 UFO ConferenceCharles Hickson and Associates have

announced that the "1991 UFO Con-ference: It Has Begun" will be heldSaturday, March 23, 1991 from 1:30 to11:00 p.m. at the Coliseum in Biloxi,Mississippi. Speakers scheduled areStanton T. Friedman, AntonioHuneeus, Budd Hopkins and CharlesHickson. The admission price for theconference is $25. Mr. Hickson advisesthat there is an abundance of motel and

hotel space readily available nearby.Registration and tickets may be ob-tained by contacting Charles Hickson,2024 Carol Drive, Gautier, MS 39553or call (601) 497-4317.

Fund ReportThe primary activity during this

quarter involved "Crash II," a con-ference consisting of investigators andwitnesses involved in the reported crashand recovery of one or more Uniden-tified Flying Objects. It was the secondsuch conference coordinated by theFund, but it was remarkable becauseit included ten witnesses who had in-formation about the recovery of at leastone apparent alien craft and bodies out-side Roswell, New Mexico, in July1947. (The conference was made possi-ble by a special contribution.)

All of the witnesses (with one excep-tion) agreed to be identified and to havetheir statements recorded on videotapefor archival and other purposes. At theconclusion of the conference, theFund's Executive Committee solicitedproposals from the investigators, in-cluding Stanton T. Friedman, DonaldR. Schmitt and Kevin Randle, to inter-view and videotape additional witnessesin the Roswell case.

All of those involved agreed that theinformation gathered at the conferenceand in subsequent interviews should beassembled into a briefing paper and avideotape to be made available toMembers of the United States Con-gress. Researchers hope to convince anappropriate congressional committee tohold hearings requiring testimony fromformer military employees who haverefused to discuss their involvement inthe event on the grounds of nationalsecurity.

Schmitt and Randle subsequentlysubmitted a request for $6,600 to inter-view 24 additional witnesses in theRoswell case. Another investigator inUFO crash/retrieval cases, Leonard H.Stringfield, requested up to $1,500 forfurther research in the Roswell case. Anadditional proposal to edit the inter-views with witnesses in the Roswellcase at a cost of approximately $2,000

was submitted resulting in a goal toraise $10,000 for follow-up research inthe Roswell case.

A letter outlining the proposed fund-raising campaign was to be mailed toall of the Fund's supporters by the endof the year. To encourage enough largedonations to meet the goal of $10,000,copies of the congressional briefingpaper will be offered to contributors of$50 or more; a copy of the videotapewill be offered to contributors of $100or more. A report on the progress ofthe fundraising effort will appear in thenext Quarterly Report.

Also during this period, the Ex-ecutive Committee of the Fund receiveda proposal from noted abduction re-searcher Budd Hopkins to do a statis-tical study of a selected number of high-quality abduction cases. It is hoped thatsuch a study will uncover correlationsand "undiscovered links" between keyelements of abductions. The proposalin its most comprehensive form wouldcost approximately $6,000, whichwould require a substantial infusion offunds to support.

Also received during the quarter wasa proposal by Dr. Leslie E. Wong ofThe Evergreen College in Olympia,Washington, for the study of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) inabductees. This grant proposal for$7,115 would involve follow-up researchof 50-60 respondents to a questionnaire-based pilot study of abductees under-taken by two students at the collegeearlier this year. The purpose of thestudy is to determine whether the ab-duction phenomenon causes PTSD insome abductees. Such a finding wouldmake a substantial contribution, not on-ly to abduction research, but also to thefield of mental health.

The Fund again this year made a cashaward in the memory of Isabel Davisto the recipient of the Mutual UFO Net-work's Outstanding UFOlogist Award,who is selected annually by MUFONmembers. This year, the recipient wasRichard Hall, former acting director ofthe National Investigations Committeeon Aerial Phenomena and currently amember of the Fund's Board of Direc-tors. The cash award was $500.


In Others' Words ...Lucius Parish

Finnish physician Dr. Rauni-LeenaLuukanen claims to have had 100 ex-periences with space aliens, accordingto a report in the December 4 issue ofNATIONAL ENQUIRER. Dr.Luukanen describes various types of"medical exams" which she hasundergone during abductions by thealiens.

The December issue of OMNI is a"special UFO edition" and containsarticles on various aspects of the sub-ject, including some beautiful photosof the crop circles and other "pic-tograms" which graced British fieldsduring the summer of 1990. JeromeClark and Journal Editor Dennis Stacyalso contribute articles.

Those who are following the Eduard"Billy" Meier case from Switzerlandwill be interested in knowing thatWendelle Stevens has now publishedMESSAGE FROM THE PLEIADES2, covering the "contact notes" madeby Meier. This volume, with 388 pagesof text and photos, covers the period

of the 36th through 55th contacts (Oc-tober 20, 1975 - June 14, 1976). Asin the previous, volume, there arenumerous footnotes, with commen-taries by Stevens, comparing thematerial with information obtainedfrom similar cases in other parts of theworld. Rather than ignoring or ridicul-ing this controversial case, it behoovesthose who consider themselves "objec-tive researchers" to familiarizethemselves with all of the published in-formation on the case before com-menting on it, pro or con. This volumeis available for $37.95 (plus $1.60 forpostage) from: UFO Photo Archives -P.O. Box 17206 - Tuscon, AZ 85710.

An audiotape version of HowardBlum's book, OUT THERE, is nowavailable from Simon & SchusterAudio. The running time is 180minutes (two cassettes) and the priceis $15.95. This "audio book" shouldbe available at most larger record andbook stores.

Laura Jane Boyle, M.D.Abduction Coordinator

MUFONET-BBS NetworkElectronic Bulletin Board8-N-l 300-14,400 Baud

901-785-4943

MUFON Amateur Radio Net80 meters — 3.990 MHz

Saturday, 10 p.m.40 meters — 7.237 MHz

Saturday, 8 a.m.10 meters — 28.460 MHz

Thursday, 8 p.m.10 meters — 28.470 MHz

Sunday, 3 p.m.All times Eastern Standard

or Daylight

SWISS AWARDThe Dr. A. Hedri-Foundation for Exopsychology and EpipsychologyZurich hereby bestows the AWARD FOR EXOPSYCHOLOGY 1990with 20,000 Swiss Franc toDIPL. PHYS. ILLOBRAND von LUDWIGER, WEST GERMANYin recognition for his long standing, exact scientific exploration of theUFO phenomenon and for his publication of the deserving and elaborate10 volumes of MUFON-CES.

This award was presented on February 16, 1990 in connection withthe GV of the Swiss Association of Parapsychology, Bern/Biel in theUniversity of Bern.

In the name of the Foundation's Council:

Dr. Theo Locher, President

Illobrand von Ludwiger


Looking BackBob GribbleFebruary 1951 • The uss Dyess,a radar picket destroyer, steamed slowlythrough the night off the Atlantic Coast,about 125 miles southeast of Cape May,New Jersey, keeping track of all air traf-fic within hundreds of miles. Lt. Com-mander Robert Wood, the ship's opera-tions officer and an air controller, weremanning one of the radars at the time."We were plotting all the aircraft go-ing north and south along the coast andinland as far as the Appalachian Moun-tain range, and any objects that werecoming in from the northeast, the eastand the southeast," Wood said. "Everyaircraft had to have a certain set ofparameters, distances, heights andwhatnot, on their point of arrival overus.

"On this particular night, it was about11:30 one night in February, I forget theexact date, this object came in from theeast and got within about 30 miles ofus when it just stopped dead. It hadbeen moving rather slowly, about 85 to90 knots. We didn't have the altitude-determining radar on at the time andwe had to get one of the operators tocome up. When he did, we found theobject was somewhere in the neighbor-hood of 3,000 to 4,000 feet altitude.This object gave us a blip on the radarscreen about the size of a large aircraft,like a DC-9. I phoned the bridge andthey informed the captain, who orderedthe ship to head out in the direction ofthe object.

"We got to within about 15 miles ofthe object when it suddenly took off ata very high rate of speed. It was goingso rapidly that as the radar turned wecould see the blip just jumping acrossthe screen. We estimated it was going5,000 kilometers an hour or roughly3,000 miles an hour. Then, when it gotup within 35 or 40 miles south of Nan-tucket Island, it suddenly just took offand went straight up! I called the bridgeand said, 'We're loosing contact, the

object is fading.' And the operator onthe altitude-determining radar in theother end of the room said, 'No! I'vestill got it! It's 100 miles high and it'sstill going straight up!' The object thenfaded from the second radar." They hadtracked the object for about 45 minutes.(Report On A Survey of the Member-ship of the American AstronomicalSociety Concerning the UFO Problem,by P.A. Sturrock; The World News,New York, NY, 5/1/82.)

• At 7 a.m. on the 19th, a Lodestarairliner, with nine passengers and acrew of two aboard, took off from anairport at Nairobi, Kenya Colony, EastAfrica. All went well until 7:20 a.m.,when the radio officer and Captain J.Bicknell spotted a bright, stationary ob-ject about 10,000 feet over MountKilimanjaro. Bicknell estimated the ob-ject was over 200 feet long, bullet-shaped, a dull silver color and markedat regular intervals along the fuselagewith vertical dark bands. It appearedto be constructed of metal and was ab-solutely stationary. The huge object wasobserved by the passengers and crewfor about 17 minutes until it started tomove. The sides of the awesome craftwere clearly seen to be without a breakin their smoothness; it had a perfectlystreamlined hull. It moved out of sightat a speed estimated to be 1,000 milesper hour, leaving behind no vapor trail.To all who saw it, it had no visiblemeans of propulsion. (Saucersmagazine, September 1954.)

• 1956 It was about 11 p.m. on the18th when a mysterious blip suddenlyappeared on a radar screen at Orly Air-port, Paris, France. The radar operatorsummoned his colleagues and warnedthe tower. For here was somethingunusual: an "echo" twice as large asthe echo of the largest known aircraft,and one that behaved in a manner quite

Unlike anything the operator had everseen before. It came to a complete stop,then accelerated at incredible speeds.Soon after it appeared, radar showedit to be directly over Gometz-le-Chatel.Thirty seconds later it was 30 kilo-meters away (18 miles), over BoissySaint Leger, moving nearly 2,250 milesper hour. On radar the UFO wasobserved pursuing two large aircraftand being pursued by a DC-3. The crewreported that the "glowing red light"was blinking and disappeared into acloud. They could see a large, darkoutline but could not discern a shape.The object finally disappeared fromradar after maneuvering over a radiusof about 50 kilometers (30 miles) forabout four hours. (Herald Tribune, NY,2/21/56; Flying Saucer Review, March-April 1956.)

• 1976 Leonard Hegele, 29, wasdriving on Interstate 15, south of GreatFalls, Montana, about 10 a.m. on the22nd when he spotted a large, huma-noid being walking in a field about aquarter of a mile from the highway. Hebriefly pursued the being on foot, butretreated when his quarry stoppedwalking and turned to face Hegele. "Iwas carrying a .357 magnum pistol,"Hegele said. "But when he turnedaround, I felt completely defenseless."Hegele said he also saw a gray, oval:

shaped craft hovering in the air abouta half-mile from the highway. Hegelesaid the being was about seven feet tallwith shoulders at least three feet wide.The being was described as "solid andmuscular," although Hegele said he didnot get close enough to determine if itwas covered with hair. Althoughhumanoid in appearance, Hegele saidthe being's size, length of stride andmanner of walking were distinctive. "Itwas no human," he said.

The being was walking, arms swing-ing at its sides, along a knoll parallel

MUFON UFO JOURNAL No. 274 February W91

to the highway. Hegele said he stoppedhis vehicle and after climbing througha fence and crossing a frontage road,began running after the being, whichcontinued walking. Hegele, who saidhe was active in track in high school,reported he could only cut the distancebetween them in half by running at fullspeed. When Hegele closed to within700 to 800 feet, the being stopped walk-ing and, lowering his arms, turned toface his pursuer. Making no attempt tohide his fright, Hegele said he im-mediately reversed course and ran backto his vehicle. The being made nomenacing gesture, he said. Hegele saidhe noticed the airborn craft while hewas chasing the being. The crafthovered only about 10 feet above theground, but periodically ascended anddescended another 15 feet. (TheTribune, Great Falls, MT, 2/23/76.)

• 1981 Two pilots reported that aUFO with bright, pulsating red lightbuzzed their small plane over San Jose,California Municipal Airport on theninth, then followed them briefly beforedisappearing. The object, about 10 feetin diameter, was spotted simultaneouslyby two controllers in the airport towerwho were unable to detect the objecton radar. The encounter was reportedat 10:40 p.m. by pilot Gary Rounds, 21,and his passenger, Charles Shackleford,20. "We were practicing touch-and-goes(landings and takeoffs). I was taking offand climbing out about 600 feet whenI looked to my right and saw anotheraircraft," said Rounds. "It was thisbright, red pulsating light," saidShackleford, who also is a pilot.

Suddenly the light appeared to headstraight for their rented Cessna 150."He was close to us. I thought, 'Man,he's going to descend on top of us,' "Shackleford said. While Rounds tookevasive action, Shackleford radioed theSan Jose tower. "We saw it," said aircontroller Rich Gutterud. "The thingwas coming right at him. He had to ex-tend upward (climb above) fromwhatever it was." Then the red light in-stantly appeared behind the Cessna. "Itwas really wild. First it was in front ofus. The next thing we knew it was rightbehind us," said Shackleford. Gutterud

and air controller Randy Blount, whoboth witnessed the aerial display, saidthe light briefly followed the plane,"making very tight turns. It hovered.Then it just took off at an extremelyhigh rate of speed," Gutterud said. "Itwas strange. We could see it. But therewas nothing on the radar. It nevershowed on the radar at all."

The mysterious red light form re-turned to San Jose on the 19th. "It wasflying real slow, then all of a suddenit took off fast and headed down," saidAl Backer, who lives near the airport."We saw it too," said a controller at theairport. "It was a steady red light whenit passed over us. Then it startedflashing and went straight out so fastit went out of the line of sight. Andagain, it didn't show up on the radar."The incident occurred a few minutesafter 10:00 p.m. (The Mercury, SanJose, CA, 2/11/81; The News, San Jose,CA, 2/20/81.)

• A 17-year-old girl had a bizarreclose encounter at 1:45 a.m. on the14th. She was baby-sitting at a neigh-bor's house in Greensburg, Penn-sylvania, when she spotted an object athousetop level no more than 50 feetaway, hovering silently with three whitelights forming the points of anequilateral triangle. Her impression wasthat the object was triangular and madefrom dark-colored metal. The lightclosest to the witness was much brighterthan the other two, and just above it wasa transparent window. To the left andright of the front pane, separated by thinmetallic-like partitions, were two win-dows that wrapped around the sides ofthe craft. A very dull, white light,similar to a flashlight beam, extendedfrom the underside to the ground. Thegirl said she saw the beam slowly des-cend until it reached the street.

The young woman said she couldlook directly into the craft through thefront window, where she observed twohumanoid beings. She described themas having "very large heads, oriental-like eyes, gill-like ears and two holesinstead of a nose." One occupant ap-peared to be sitting and the other stand-ing behind an instrument panel. Thepanel was white. The entire scene ap-

peared to be illuminated by a whitelight. Only the head and hands of thesitting being were visible as it operatedseveral controls. The panel also con-tained groups of black and grayish-black circular controls.

The other occupant was visible fromthe waist up and was not wearing ashirt. It had a long, thin neck, broadshoulders, smooth white skin andnormal-looking arms. The being wasextending its arms back and forth acrossa section of the instrument panel thathad no controls. It stared at the witnesswith pupil-less white eyes. The girl wasunable to recall the hands or mouth ofeither occupant. She was spellbound bythe strange phenomenon and felt com-pelled to stand on the porch and watchfor approximately 15 minutes before shereluctantly went back into the livingroom. She then called her parents tocome for her and the young boy. Whenher father arrived at 2:50 a.m., the ob-ject had disappeared. (The Tribune-Democrat, Johnstown, PA, 4/17/81.)

• Lavell Morales and her daughterDawn, 18, spotted a large orange andgray object just off U.S. Highway 271near Owentown, Texas, about 9 p.m.on the 23rd. "It was huge, taller thana building. And it was hovering to theright of us, just off the highway," Mrs.Morales said. The craft was "about acar's length" above the ground and "thetop of it was turning. It looked like afruit jar lid. There were orange lights,bright orange lights," she said. "Thebottom was grayish, and it wasn't mov-ing." Mrs. Morales said she was thefirst to spot the phenomenon. When shetried to draw her daughter's attentionto the object, she couldn't. "It put mein a light trance. I couldn't get my eyesoff of it. I couldn't tell her to look at it."

There was "an energy field of somekind" coming from the strange craft,according to Mrs. Morales, that almostforced her car off the highway and intoa ditch. "You're going off the road!"Mrs. Morales remembers her daughtersaying. Then Dawn sighted the object,blurting out, "Oh my god!" and startedto cry. "I think it was her (Dawn's)



The UFO PressJournal of UFO Studies, New Series, Vol. 2,The J. Allen Hynek Center for UFO Studies

Chicago, 1990, paper, 195 pp., $15.

Reviewed by Dennis Stacy

This is the second such publicationfrom CUFOS, but the first, to the bestof my knowledge, under the extremelycapable editorship of Michael Swords,a professor of natural sciences atWestern Michigan University, Kala-mazoo, and a frequent contributor tothe MUFON Journal. Any ufologistwith a pretense of scientific interest inhis or her chosen field should dothemselves and this project a favor byimmediately sitting down, writing outa check in the amount of $15, and mail-ing it to the Center for UFO Studies,2457 W. Peterson Ave., Chicago, IL,60659 (Tel. 312-271-3611).

The contents themselves are fairlyfar-ranging, as might be expected fromsomething as amorphous and com-prehensive as ufology itself. There arethe almost standard letters of commen-tary to the editor, book reviews and, thistime around, an issues forum centeredon the Tectonic Stress Theory. In ad-dition, there are three technical papersfocusing on various psychologicalaspects of the UFO experience, alongwith an historical overview ofAustralian ufology.

In the first of the technical papers,John Wilson of the Department ofPsychology, Cleveland State Universi-ty, looks at similarities between Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) andExperienced Anomalous Trauma(EAT). Specifically, Wilson comparesthe psychological stress encountered inexposure to invisible toxic contaminantswith stress reported in the wake of theabduction experience.

June O. Parnell and Leo Sprinklecontribute a paper entitled "Personali-ty Characteristics of Persons WhoClaim UFO Experiences," based on astudy using the standard MinnesotaMultiphasic Personality Inventory

(MMPI) as given to 142 female and 83male subjects. According to the ab-stract, "participants exhibited a highlevel of psychic energy, a tendency toquestion authority or experience situa-tional pressures or conflicts, and to beself-sufficient and resourceful. Othercharacteristics were: above average in-telligence, assertiveness, a tendency tobe experimenting thinkers, a tendencytoward a reserved attitude, and atendency toward assertiveness.

"No overt psychopathology was in-dicated. Participants in the study whoclaimed communication with extrater-restrials had a significantly greatertendency to endorse unusual feelings,thoughts and attitudes; to be suspiciousor distrustful; and to be creative, imag-inative, or possibly have schizoidtendencies."

A second psychological survey isprovided by Kenneth Ring andChristopher Rosing of the Uni-versity of Connecticut, Storrs, as partof the ongoing Omega Project, an in-vestigation into the Near Death Ex-perience. Again from the abstract:"Results showed that persons reportingabductions were psychologically in-distinguishable from those who hadother types of UFO encounters.However, UFO experiencers in general,while not more fantasy-prone than theircontrols, reported more sensitivity tonon-ordinary realities as children, aswell as a higher incidence of childabuse and trauma than controls. Theyalso reported far more psychologicalchanges following their encounters thandid controls.

"An especially intriguing finding ofthis study was that UFO experiencersand near-death experiencers are highlycomparable psychologically and are af-

fected similarly by their separate en-counters, suggesting that these twocategories of experiences may in manyways be functionally equivalent."

Some laymen and women may findsuch typical academic language off-putting, but perseverance has its pro-fits. Moreover, not all the Journal ispresented in technical fashion, asevidenced by the overview of ufologyin Australia, authored by Keith Raster-field, Vladimir and Pony Godic of UFOResearch Australia, and MarkRodeghier of CUFOS.

Another useful "trick" up editorSwords' sleeve is the Issues Forum,"the major means," in his own words,"whereby JUFOS attempts to be bothacademic and 'human,' and to allow aprofessional means whereby differencesof opinion may be aired in a respectfulmanner aimed at the advance of theresearch field." In other words, a par-ticular topic or hypothesis is isolated,and critics and adherents are allowedto have at it.

In this case the issue is Earthlights,as hypothesized by Paul Devereux, andthe Tectonic Stress Theory, as put forthby Michael Persinger. The respondents,or commentators, are Chris Rutkowskiand Drs. Michael Grosso, David Jacobsand Michael Swords. This section aloneoccupies pages 99 to 176, while thegive-and-take commentary runs fromthe reasoned to the acerbic.

All in all, this second volume ofJUFOS is an encouraging debut foreditor Swords and the other con-tributors, and it should not be lightlyoverlooked. Such a publication is.acredit to the field in several importantways. Not only does it make a signifi-cant contribution to specialized UFOstudies on its own, it also serves a muchwider purpose of being the perfectpublic relations ploy for the field, a wayof indicating to "orthodox" science andscientists that UFOs are indeed a sub-ject worthy of serious study.

Now it's up to grass roots ufologiststo support this ambitious venture withtheir pocketbooks, rather than casual lipservice. Write the check today, andmaybe we won't have to wait anotheryear for the next issue.


AN OPEN LETTER TO JOHN KEELJerome Clark

Jerome Clark, vice president ofCUFOS and editor of InternationalUFO Reporter, is the author of UFOsin the 1980s, the first volume of theUFO Encyclopedia series. Volume 2,The Emergence of a Phenomenondealing with the history of the UFOcontroversy through 1959, will bepublished in 1991.

Dear John:I was amused to read your rejoinders

to Stanton Friedman, Don Schmitt andKevin Randle in the January 1991 issueof Fate ("The Roswell Furor," pp55-69). In this changing world it'ssomething of a relief to see that youhaven't lost your touch. As an enter-tainer you're top notch. As somebodyfrom whom serious people looking fora rational perspective on the UFOphenomenon should seek guidance,well ...

Your recent article reminded me ofa favorite expression of former Fateeditor Mary Fuller's, always utteredafter reading a particularly fatuousmanuscript from a would-be con-tributor: "There's not a fact in a carloadhere!" You don't even seem to knowwhat's in your own books. You refer,for example, to UFOs: Operation Tro-jan Horse, asserting that samples of theCorona "hieroglyphics" (I assumethat's what you mean by "thatmaterial") were published there. Theywere not, nor, your implication to thecontrary, is the Roswell incident men-tioned anywhere.

Stan, Don and Kevin will have notrouble cutting up your arguments,which seem to have more to do withunfettered imagination than withevidence or documentation; but thenthat wonderful imagination of yours hasalways been your stock in trade, andthat's fine (though I could do withoutthe ad hominem stuff that always ac-companies it). Nonetheless I can't resistasking a couple of obvious questions:

(1) Where in the world, for example,did you get the idea that the materialconsisted of a "truckload of paper"?Since you put those words in quotationmarks, surely you have a source. (2)Can you cite the name of one firsthandwitness who agrees that the object wasa balloon? It's all fine and dandy to in-sult informants or speculate about thenefarious reasons for their stubbornrefusal to provide testimony that con-forms to what you want to believe, butsurely among the many people who sawthe material, there must be somebodywho told the tale you need to hear. Let'shave his name and his account. Thepeople who've done the real work atRoswell have provided the names andaccounts of plenty of people who tellanother kind of story. It would be anunskeptical inquirer indeed who wouldtake your theory seriously without asingle confirmation anywhere.

Anyway, that aside, I want to returnto a subject I addressed in a letter lastyear — a letter to which, perhapsunderstandably, you did not respond,I assume because you could not do so.Let me try again.

Repeatedly you say, again withoutciting any supporting evidence what-ever, that ufologists created the Roswellincident, "by juggling and manipulatingwitness testimony" — something, bythe way, that you are doing in rejectingany (which means all) testimony thatfails to substantiate the Fugo-balloon"theory"; your sole "informant" is analleged "local historian there" whosename you "can no longer recall." I'mnot accusing you of deliberate dishones-ty, but I don't trust your memory. If thathistorian exists, let's have his or hername and find out what he or she hasin the way of relevant evidence.

You write that the "Roswell thinghas been revived every fewyears." As it happens, I amwriting a book on the early history of

the UFO controversy, and in doing theresearch I have pored over an enormousamount of material, trying to recon-struct just what early ufologists reallythought and what they did. One thingI am writing about is early ufologists'views of crashed-disc claims. I havelearned that far from being "revivedevery few years," Roswell was not evendiscussed in the UFO literature until1966, when Frank Edwards briefly dealtwith it in Flying Saucers — SeriousBusiness. That same year, in his little-read (and British-published) The Fly-ing Saucer Story, Brinsley Le PoerTrench mentions in passing an Englishactor's report that while driving throughAmerica in "June 1947" he thought heheard an "announcement that a flyingsaucer had crashed in New Mexico" —no further details on location oranything else, though judging from theparagraphs that follow, Trench thoughtthis incident was one of those FrankScully wrote about three years later.Neither treatment, in any case, had anyimpact.

The next findable references are thenext year, in Ted Bloecher's Report onthe UFO Wave of 1947 and in a Lookmagazine one-shot called FlyingSaucers, where the Roswell incident istreated briefly as a silly mistakeresulting from a downed weatherballoon. That's the first time /remember hearing about Roswell (I'vebeen interested in UFOs since 1957, soI have a pretty good idea of whatufologists have been talking aboutsince), though I had read Edwards'book the year before. Evidently, incommon with just about every otherreader, Edwards' account stuck in mymemory for about as long as it took toread it. (I didn't read Trench's book.)

References to crashed-disc cases inthe early literature are surprisingly rareand are largely skeptical; see, for in-stance, Civilian Saucer IntelligenceQuarterly Bulletin, September 1952,


p. 5. None of this discussion mentionsRoswell, which in effect sank withouta trace within days of the crash. Whatdiscussion there was of crashes — notmuch — focused mostly on the Spitz-bergen story; Scully's yarn (your ac-count of that in Fate is hopelesslymangled, by the way) was universallyconsidered a hoax. The only publisherwho regularly ran crash material wasGray Barker, and even he didn't havean abundance of it. Again, none of itinvolved Roswell.

I've also been through the privatecorrespondence of some of the subject'sleading figures from the 1950s. Evenin private correspondence, discussionsof crashes are almost nonexistent. Oneof the very few available references isa telling one. In the course of somemid-1950s correspondence betweenMax Miller and Ted Bloecher, Bloechermentions Scully in passing, and Millerreplies that once he met someone whoclaimed to have been involved in a crashretrieval in New Mexico in the 1940s.Because he had so little interest in thestory, Miller didn't take notes and con-fessed that he didn't remember muchof what the guy had said. Curiously,what little emerges from the fog ofMiller's memory looks rather like theRoswell incident. Yet, far from mani-pulating the guy's story, Miller evident-ly was barely listening to it!

You write that "hordes of UFO ad-vocates passed through New Mexico,most of them stopping in Roswell toblunder into the newspaper office andmolest the local people for confirma-tion." In reality, the Roswell incidentemerged into the consciousness ofufologists only in the late 1970s. Beforethen there is no evidence even that in-dividual ufologists, much less "hordes"of them, trooped to Roswell, much lessforced the impressionable folks there totell them that a UFO had crashed.Unless you provide evidence to the con-trary (and I have challenged you beforeon this point, only to meet with a tell-ing silence), there is no reason tobelieve your contamination "theory."The fact of the matter is that thewitnesses' testimony has been remark-ably consistent, just as we would ex-pect if they were describing a real and

puzzling event, and that when the realinvestigative work begun over threedecades after the fact, nearly every in-terviewed informant said he or she hadnever spoken with an outsider about itbefore. It seems to me that if anybodyis "juggling and manipulating witnesstestimony," it is you.

Dear Editor:The idea that sinister government in-

telligence agents are faking alien abduc-tions using mind control techniques aspostulated by Martin Cannon in the Oc-tober 1990 issue of the MUFON Jour-nal is an anemic theory at best, withglaring inconsistencies. At the worst,it borders on deliberately misleadingpropaganda and disinformation.

If we are to believe this miasma ofmisinformation, we would have to"deep-six" tons of information con-firming the reality of alien existence andthe hard work of countless ufologists,including Stanton Friedman, LeonardStringfield, Budd Hopkins, RaymondFowler, Thomas Bullard, Linda Howe,Bruce Maccabee, David Jacobs andmany others. We would also be forcedto disregard any historical UFO data in-dicative of alien abductions becauseCannon's theory is totally dependenton relatively recent UFO abductionreports.

Cannon's hypothesis falls apart onseveral levels: 1) For this massive con-spiracy of international intelligenceagencies to be true, we would have toassume that they have never made anymistakes, and that all of the personssupposedly abducted by human agentsinstead of aliens have been silencedwith 100% effectiveness. Obviously,government mind control techniquesare not perfect, as shown by the exam-ple of Robert Lazar. Lazar's memorywas impaired but not erased and herevealed a great deal of sensitiveinformation.

2) C

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Mufon UFO Journal - Allmystery - Rubrikenübersicht1363335544,all...UFO Network, 103 Oldtowne Rd., Seguin, Texas 78155," is included. The contents of the MUFON UFO Journal are determined