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The MUFON UFO JOURNAL NUMBER 119 OCTOBER 1977 Founded 1967 $1.00 I OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF JlfCIFOJVV MUTUAL UFO NETWORK, INC. I *'"ifc "Copyright Fred Suihus 1977" "ENLARGED PHOTOGRAPH OF ONE FRAME OF FRED SVIHUS UFO MOTION PICTURE FILM MADE APRIL 11, 1977 FROM AIRLINER OVER LOMPOC, CALIFORNIA

The MUFON UFO JOURNALnoufors.com/Documents/Books, Manuals and Published Papers...MUFON UFO JOURNAL, 103 Oldtowne Rd., Seguin, Texas 78155. FROM THE EDITOR Richard H. Hall, Associate

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  • The MUFONUFO JOURNAL

    NUMBER 119 OCTOBER 1977

    Founded 1967 $1.00I OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF JlfCIFOJVV MUTUAL UFO NETWORK, INC. I

    *'"ifc

    "Copyright Fred Suihus 1977"

    "ENLARGED PHOTOGRAPH OF ONE FRAME OF FRED SVIHUS UFO MOTION PICTUREFILM MADE APRIL 11, 1977 FROM AIRLINER OVER LOMPOC, CALIFORNIA

  • /MUFONJOURNAL

    103 Oldtowne Rd.Seguin, Texas 78155

    WALTER H. ANDRUSEditor

    WALTER H. ANDRUSDirector of MUFON

    PAUL CERNYPromotion/publicity

    REV. BARRY DOWNINGReligion and UFOs

    ANN DRUFFELCalifornia Report

    LUCIUS PARISHBooks/Periodicals/History

    MARJORIE FISHExtraterrestrial Life

    MARK HERBSTRITTAstronomy

    ROSETTA HOLMESPromotion/Publicity

    -. TED PHILLIPSLanding Trace Cases

    DAVID A SCHROTHSt. Louis/Mass Media '

    JOHN F. SCHUESSLERUFO Propulsion

    NORMA E. SHORTDWIGHT CONNELLY

    Editor/Publishers Emeritus

    LEN STRINGFELDCommentary

    The MUFON UFO JOURNAL ispublished by the Mutual UFONetwork, Inc., Sequin, Texas.Subscription rates: $8.00 per yearin the U.S.A.; $9.00 per yearforeign. Copyright 1977 by theMutual UFO Network. Secondclass postage paid at Seguin,Texas. Publication identificationnumber is 002970. Returnundeliverable copies to: TheMUFON UFO JOURNAL, 103Oldtowne Rd., Seguin, Texas78155.

    FROM THE EDITORRichard H. Hall, Associate

    Editor of The Mufon UFOJournal and MUFON Inter-national Coordinator willalternate each month as Editorwith your Intemation Directoruntil such time as a permanenteditor is assigned thisresponsibility. This will give usan opportunity to worksimultaneously and bring theJournal to a current status.

    The Journal will keep itsreaders abreast of the progressand status of NASA's entryinto the UFO investigationeach month. Dr. Richard C.Henry has submitted hisrecommendation to Dr. RobertA. Frosch, NASA Adminis-trator, who in turn will reply toPresident Jimmy Carter'sScientific Advisor, Dr. FrankPress. Despite the negativeresponse of Dave Williamson,NASA assistant for special

    projects, to the proposedreopening of the UFOinvestigation by a governmentagency, something positivecould eminate from JimmyCarter's assignment to NASA.

    Considering that both Dr.Frosch and Dr. Press will addtheir comments and recom-mendations to the evaluationby Dr. Henry, their personalbias either pro or con couldradically influence the outcomeas delivered to the President.To date, neither Dr. Frosch orDr. Press has made a publicstatement that might disclosetheir decision. The need forf i n a n c i a l f u n d i n g a n dmanpower to conduct a studyand investigation has croppedup in statements to the press,giving NASA and the President"an out" if they elect not toconduct an indepth study.

    In this issue

    CALIFORNIA AIRLINE SIGHTING & MOVIE FILM 3By Paul Cerny

    MEET FRED & EVA SVTHUS 7By Walt Andrus

    "CALIFORNIA REPORT" - New Insights Into Old Mysteries 8By Ann Druffel

    THE UFO STATUS QUO 10The Len Stringfield

    CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND 12By Walt Andrus

    UFO RELATED INFORMATION FROM THE FBI FILE, Part I 13By Bruce S. Maccabee

    IN OTHER'S WORDS 16By Lucius Parish

    NASA ASSIGNED UFO RESPONSIBILITY 17By Walt Andrus

    OUR EXTRATERRESTRIAL HERITAGE 18From UFO's to Space Colonies

    DIRECTOR'S MESSAGE 19By Walt Andrus

    The contents of the MUFON UFO JOURNAL aredetermined by the editor, and do not necessarilyrepresent.the official position of MUFON. Opinions ofcontributors are their own, and do not necessarily reflectthose of the editor, the staff, or MUFON. Articles may beforwarded directly to MUFON.

    Permission is hereby granted to quote from this issueprovided not more than 200 words are quoted from anyone article, the author of the article is given credit, andthe statement "Copyright 1977 by the MUFON UFOJOURNAL, 103 Oldtowne Rd., Seguin, Texas" isincluded.

  • CALIFORNIA AIRLINESIGHTING AND MOVIE FILM

    by Paul Cerny-MUFONWestern Regional Director

    On April 11th,. 1977, a Belmont.California professional photographer.Fred Svihus and his wife Eva werereturning to the States from a New.Zealand vacaction trip. Their airlinerlanded at Los Angeles InternationalAirport early in the morning. Shortlythereafter the Boeing 747 JumboJet took off from the Los Angelesairport for the final destination oftheir journey to San FranciscoInternational.

    Svihus. [pronounced Sweeas) andhis wife both had window seats onebehind the other on the port side ofthe aircraft. Svihus was fascinatedby the mechanical workings of theaircraft flap system on the trailingedge of the wing just slightly ahead ofhis seat position and was moviefilming the flap action as it slowlyreceded to its inflight position withinthe wing. The big airliner headednorthwest up the coast towards SanFrancisco, The morning wasbeautiful and clear with just a fewscattered clouds. About fifteenminutes out of Los Angeles, atapproximately 8:00 a.m. and about20.000 feet of altitude, the 747 wascruising close to Vandenburg A.F.B.The view out of the port side of theplane showed clear blue sky to thesouthwest and the massiveness ofthe/ocean down below with the sunon the opposite side of the aircraft.Svihus was intermittently filming thewing and clouds when an outcryfrom his wife behind him alerted hisattention to what he instinctivelysaw at the same time himself. "My

    God. what's that?" she exclaimed!"Do you see it Fred?" He answered,"Yes. I'm filming it." Four glowingobjects suddenly appeared in the skyopposite their window position andslightly lower in altitude, speeding byin the opposite direction. The objects

    .were in echelon formation,somewhat oval in appearance, andmoving by very rapidly at anestimated five to seven milesdistance from the 747.

    Utilizing his skills as a professionalphotographer, Svihus continued to"pan" the flight of four objects asthey went past his window beingcareful to steady the camera andholding it as close to the plexiglasswindow as possible without touchingthe lens shell to it. He was able to

    "Copyright Fred Svihus \91T

    glance up occasionally to view theflight with his naked eyes as heworked the camera and continued tofilm the objects as they continued onout of sight behind the airliner. Asthey were just about out of sight, he.watched as the four suddenly brokeformation and "scattered", thenwere lost from view. Reflections ofany kind were ruled out due to thecloseness of the lens to the windowand the fact that the UFO's werevery obvious against a clear blue sky.with the sun shining on them fromthe opposite side of the airplanewhere the observers were seated.The whole experience lasted only amatter of seconds and as far as isknown, none of the other passengersaboard, which were only a very few,

  • / t.2C~ " »,* J lJ. _?^_'"'**M—if~ t̂~"l""—* *Jaffirrai^SF i;

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    ^Mn> Mo^l«~^y ~J^

    StNTA BARBARA

    W> ^Santa^onicF/X^iS1"'

    4 •/.A

    CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY PA1ROLEMERGEiiCY TELEPHONE . .

    - To report »n ACCIDENT or - -'TRAFFIC EMERGENCY outside •

    cities, or on city freeway .when Uiere-aie no call tcies.. . dial Operator and ai* la

    > ZEnith 1 2000

    - - On city streets .- , •* CALL LOCAL POLICE

    \

    \

  • apparently saw the spectacle. Mosthad .departed from the aircraft atLos Angeles.

    At, one point in the filming, hemanaged to "Zoom" the objects incloser. The Bolex movie camera wasfilming at standard eighteen framesper second. The UFO's were exposedon thirty-two individual frames of thefilm. Near the Los Angeles airport,while in flight, at the properperspective turn of the aircraft, Mr.Svihus shot out a few frames of themoon as it was visible in the earlymorning sky just above the wing. Thisis on the same roll of film. It wasinteresting to compare the size ofthis two-thirds moon as seen overthe wing tip, to the later shots of the"unknowns", which appeared to thisobserver as about one-third to one-quarter the size of the moon incomparison. Analysis of the film willbe attempted very soon byprofessional photo-analysts andresults should be forthcoming in thenear future.

    From communication with theairline, which definitely wishes toremain anonymous, for obvious,reasons, though they are quiteinterested in the film, it was felt thatthe crew saw the objects. This hasnot been confirmed and the airlinespokesman was rather evasive andnoncommittal about this point. Thismay or may not have a bearing on thefact that according to Svihus, whocalled the FBI thinking they may havean interest , not i f ied' NavyIntelligence and the'-O.S.I. There isalso an indication of Washington,D.C. White House interest.

    It is interesting to note that thesighting took place so nearVandenburg A.F.B., hence thegovernment interest. On Sept. 10th,1977. coincidental ly enough,another sighting of a single UFO tookplace in this same vicinity and was

    visually seen by four differentairliners in that immediate area,reported by the pilots on radio. Theobject was closest to a DC-10airliner, details of this incident are inMUFON f i l e s . A d d i t i o n a l l yinteresting was that the Sept. 10thUFO was tracked on the Fremont,California located Oakland Air TrafficControl Radar installation.

    The position of the Svihusencounter was near Lompoc,California or just south of SantaMaria. Maximum viewing time wasestimated at four or five seconds!One wonders how much more UFOactivity has been going on around the _Vandenburg Base. In the past yearsa number of unusual and outstandingreports, one with photographs, havebeen received by. this investigator.At those times, definite attemptswere made by the military to hush upthe incidents.

    Are the UFO's monitoringactivities at Vandenburg as theyseemingly are at Cape Kennedy,White Sands, and other areas?

    The position of the four objectswith respect to one another seemedto remain relatively the same withonly slight deviation noted inrepeated viewing of the film. Underphotographic analysis, which will beforthcoming, any deviation of thepositions of the objects should bemore prominent and can bemeasured . Of the v.ariousresearchers who have so far viewed .and studied the film! several felt thatthe objects appeared to be discoid inshape. The film was shown in July,1977 at the MUFON Symposium byMr. Svihus who made a special trip toScottsdale, Arizona, at his ownexpense so that MUFON scientistsand researchers could view the film.The photos are somewhat similar tothe Montana and Utah movie filmfootage taken some years ago.

    These films at that time were ofconsiderable interest to the AirForce Project Blue Book.

    It isn't everyday that daylightmovie film footage of UFO's happensto be caught by an alert andprofessional photographer aboardan airliner as they speed past theplane. MUFON feels very honoredand privileged to have been chosenas the recipient of the Svihus film.Prior to his return to the States, Mr.Svihus had read articles in the NewZealand newspapers of recent UFOsightings in the Los Angeles area.

    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 wecontrac ted w i t h a r e p u t a b l einternat ional newspaper-cl ippingbureau to obtain for us, those hard tofind UFO reports (i.e., little 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,r e p r o d u c e d 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 happeningsin the UFO and Fortean fields."For subscription information andsample pages from our service, writetoday to:

    UFO NEWSCLIPPING SERVICE .Route 1 — Box 220

    Plumerville, Arkansas 72127

  • N.W. DIRECTIONBOEING .747

    \A

    ALT. OF 747APPROX. 20,000

    DISTANCE FROM 7475 TO 7 MILES, EST

    \

  • MEETFRED AND EVA

    SVIHUS

    BYWALTANDRUS

    FRED SVIHUS

    My wife and I had the pleasure ofhaving dinner with Fred Svihus at the1977 MUFON UFO SYMPOSIUM inScottsdale, Arizona on July 16th whenhe brought his motion picture film forviewing and analysis. In the evaluationof any UFO photograph, thecreditability of the photographer is evenmore important than the picture itself,when the .authenticity is beingdetermined. The photo, alone, is not

    adequate for the photo analyst toconduct a study. He must have all of thedetails and conditions under which thephoto was made, including cameramodel, exposure time, F-stop, focusdistance, type of film, etc.

    To give the Journal readers furtherinsight into the creditability of thephotographer and witnesses, thefollowing pertinent information is beingshared with you. Fred Svihus(pronounced SWEEAS) is a retired toolmaker and formerly owned Tool andDie Welding Engineering Companywhere they did extensive research inthis field. Of Swedish ancestory, Fredprides himself as a professionalphotographer, which in this case was anasset, since he knew exactly how torespond. His wife, Eva, is a retiredCaptain of the Civil Air Patrol (C.A.P.),a trained observer, and a pilot in herown right. Her father, Capt. Roy N.Francis, was an "early bird flyer", thefirst executive officer of Kelly Field, SanAntonio, Texas during World War I.Capt. Francis' pilot log shows that heflew the first Martin bomber and used itto lay out the route for the Army AirCorps, to make their first crosscontinent flight. After retirement, he.was the second person to serve as

    superintendent of Mills Field, nowknown as the San FranciscoInternational Airport.

    Fred and Eva consider themselvesas very normal people, who were veryfortunate to have been filming theaircraft wingjQaps as the four objectspassed through their view within four orfive seconds. Since Fred did not"believe" in UFOs, he did not questionthe other passengers aboai d when theylanded in San Francisco for fear ofinfluencing them if there was aninvestigation conducted. After themotion film was developed, Fred didcontact both government and civilauthorities. Fred and Eva reside inBelmont, California where they have,met with James McCampbell, and PaulCerny. MUFON has not only a copy ofthe super 8, 35mm motion picture filmof the sequence, but 8 x 1 0 colorenlargements of individual frames thatare used in this issue of the Journal. Mr.Svihus has filed a copyright applicationon his film which is presently beingprocessed. MUFON is honored that wewere selected for exclusive utilizationand analysis of this film. GSW, Inc. ispresently conducting a photo analysison one .of the 8 x 10 enlargementsdepicting the four objects.

  • By Ann Druffel

    "New Insights into Old Mysteries"

    With great pleasure I greet the arrivalof an original book upon the UFOscene—Adrian Vance's UFOs, The Eyeand The Camera. Adrian is a residentof Southern California and for manyyears has been an industrious,concerned participant in NICAP andMUFON investigations.

    The. UFO research field has beentreated during the past several years toabout a dozen significant books,written by various experts who meet allthe criteria for objectivity, integrity andexperience. UFOs The Eye and TheCamera is one of these books—with adifference; ' While the other dozenauthors have ranged in writing abilityfrom passable to professional, Vance'swriting skills are best described aspicturesquely excellent.

    With this difficult alliterative label inmind, imagine a UFO book with acompletely different theory from anyother. Vance's selected UFOs are notplodding, aging space travelers, notstray .intradimensional visitors, notPucks and elves from Magoniatypeworlds. His UFOs are time travelers--advanced navigators~and he makes avery good case to prove his theory.

    Author Vance is a gentleman who'•/ears many hats upon his shock of,black hair. He is a physical scientist, am a t h e m a t i c i a n , p r o f e s s i o n a lp h o t o g r a p h e r , expe r t pho totechnician, educational filmstripproducer, free-lance writer, and

    presently West Coast.editor of PopularPhotography magazine. '

    Besides his professional qualifi-cations, he is a humanist. The problemof UFOs is personal to him, disturbingin their possible implications to thehuman race. Years ago he set his mindtoward investigating the. mystery i andfeels now that he has punctured a smallpart of the veil covering these puzzlingphenomenon of modern times. In his,research he brings to bear not only hiscerebral scholarship, but also.- anintriguing degree of intuition.

    UFOs, The Eye and The Camera islifee-an Indian curry. The solid technicalinformation contained within it s pagesis made palatable even to readers whowould ordinarily find it difficult to followtexts involving physics and math. Inaddition, spicing up the scientificdiscourses, are gems of priceless simile,onomatopoeia, and hyperbole; Thisknowledgeable author, has a delicioussense of subtle humor.

    Adrian is a product .of SouthernCalifornia UFO research, and we areproud of his many contributions to thefield. He has unstintingly given of histime on photo' cases throughout theyears; he has the same quality in histime-travel theory. No pussy-footinghere, no qualifying, no attempts to leaveholes through which he can back out iflater proved wrong. He has spent manyyears developing his theory that someUFOs are craft traveling in time. He

    cites the Oregon, Sedona, and Alaskamultiple-image photos to illustrate, andthe quality and quantity of work he hasdone to back up his theory isimpressive.

    He shows the reader how and why heconducted his .research on eachparticular facet, even including bits ofintuitive thinking. I am tempted towonder whether the answers to theUFO mystery will eventually be foundby researchers who inadvertently tapthe psychic realm. :

    A good writer succeeds in presentingword pictures. Vance goes a stepbeyond and writes word niovies whichdelight and stimulate the mind. Hisdescription of the command-level AFofficials whose mental fuses weremelted by the repeated UFO assaultson the forbidden air-corridor over theWhite House in 1952 is an example.These gentlemen, according to Vance,went into a stammering act from whichthey have never recovered. It's anaccurate assessment of U.S.government policy.

    He wisely points out that the study ofUFOs is an interdisciplinary science.When he first became aware ofdiscrepancies in several ostensiblyauthentic but puzzling photos, herealized that such photos had to bestudied from the point of view of the twoviewing channels through which theyhad been detected-i.e., the eye, and thecamera. He felt qualified enough in the

    8

  • photographic part but admits withrefreshing frankness that hisknowledge of human vision was sadlylacking. Studying to fill in hisknowledge, he was able to combine thetwo sciences in interdisciplinary fashionto develop a workable hypothesisexplaining at least one type of UFO.

    The section of his book which dealswith the intermittent cycle in humanvision is fascinating. This is not

    • presented as dry fact. We can actuallysee Vance spinning, night and day,

    i black-and-white configurated wheelsbased on the principles of "Benham'stop". We can feel his sleeplessness andsuppressed hunger. We can see thepuzzlement of his great GermanShepherd, Boris, looking on andperhaps fearing that his master hadslipped his cogs. We can delight inAdrian's insatiable search for truth,whatevery or wherever ;that mightprove to be.

    He is convinced, and is convincing,that in his book he has reached outand grabbed for himself a part of theTruth. .

    Vance is not, only a scientist, atheorist, and a humanist. He is also aphilosopher. As he states in his Preface,"We are likely not ready for full-fledgedcitizenship in the universe, but in anypopulation there are usually a few whocan make use of an information. It is tothese people that we speak."

    He had developed an approachwhich might possibly lead to eventual

    i solution of the UFO mystery. It's onewhich other researchers might -welladopt. It is to seperate, if possible, theUFO phenomenon into its recognizableparts. We are all convinced that theUFO mystery is of such complexity thatthe human mind is boggled. But thereare certain.clues that lead us to thinkthat various types of UFOs can beseparated and studied apart from therest of the teeming mass. Case in point:Vance's multiple-image photos. He has

    separated and studied these withstunning results. The problem, then, isnot merely a need for specialization, butfor specialization, within inter-disciplinary fields.

    He also delves into other phenomena-ancient maps, Biblical reports, theBermuda Triangle, etc.-which aresuspected to be related to the UFOproblem. In these discussions, too, hebrings to bear his unique gifts ofresearch and . interdiscipl inarytheorizing. Someday, he threatens, hewill sail straight into the. Triangle,hoping that on-the-spot investigationwill.provide clues to the mystery. I canpicture him there, wearing his manyhats with Boris at his side. My bet will beriding on his ability to puncture anothersmall hole in that.very .thick veil.

    Putting together Vance's expertiseand style and his.publisher's splendidpromotion of this book, it should be anartistic, scientific and financial success.Available at $8.95 from book stpres.prBarlenmir House, 413 City Island Ave.,New York, NY 10064, it should speedquickly to public and private librariesthroughout the world on wings of light-or time. •

    jMarkR.Herbstritt

    stronomyNotes

    THE SKY FOROCTOBER 1977

    Mercury - It is poorly placed' forobservation, being in superiorconjunction on the 18th.

    Venus - It is a moving star, rising in the.east about two hours before the sun.

    Mars - Moving from Gemini intoCancer, it rises well, before midnightand is past the meridian by sunset.

    Jupiter - In Gemini, it rises in theevening and is well past the meridian atsunrise. On the 24th it is stationary andbegins to retrograde or move westwardamong the stars. ••• •

    Saturn - In Leo near Regulus, it risesabout four hours before the sun.

    The Orionid Meteor shower occursOctober 18-23. . . .

    MUFON AMATEUR RADIO NETS (weekly)

    DAY FREQUENCY NET - -TIME .., NETiC.D.S.T. . CONTROLS

    40meters 7237 KHZ. 0700 -N1JS '

    SAT 75 meters ; . - 3 9 7 5 KHZ. - 0800 WA9ARG

    SUN 20 meters " 14,284 KHZ. 1300 NIJS & WONC

  • THE UFO SIBy Len Stringfield

    Psychic prognosticates since 1973have made headlines in the tabloids,predicting autumnal UFO flaps to strikethe U.S.A. Uke other years, the big flapof 77 didn't materialize in the U.S.A.

    Instead, the elusive UFO"strategists" have switched their targetto Western Australia. According to amass of clippings received from mysource in Melbourne, dozens ofreported Close Encounters of the Firstand Second Kind have occurred duringmilitary manuevers in September andOctober — and, is continuing. I'm surewe'll get some well investigated materialfrom reliable sources soon for review inour Journal.

    Two British astronomers, Sir. FredHbyle, professor of astronomy at therespected Royal Institution of GreatBritain, and, Professor ChandraWickramas inghe . of appl iedmathematics at Cardiff University,have presented a provocative theory inNew Scientist which speculates thatprimeval life on Earth could have comefrom outer space. They also aver thatmajor epidemics like flu and plague maycome from extraterrestrial sources.About 4 million years ago, their articlesuggested, a comet could have crash-' landed on Earth bringing primitive

    • organisms from which all life evolved.Sudden plagues, they said, that haveirregularly swept the globe could be theresult of fresh attempts at the evolutionof life on comets...

    Coming to this writer's mind is thestill mysterious Legionnaires disease

    and whether or not the hypotheticalcarrier of primitive life and disease wasof random • cometary or purposefulvehicular origin.

    During a mid-September visit to NewYork, I was invited by the GrenadaMission to discuss the worldwide UFOproblem with Ambassadors FranklinDolland and Dr. Wellington Friday.

    .On the request of Dr. Friday,Ambassador at Large, I prepared a 4-page paper describing the objectives ofscientific UFO research which wasincluded in Prime Minister Sir EricMatthew Gairy's proposal to the 32ndSession of the United Nation's GeneralAssembly, October 7, 1977. Hisproposal basically expressed the needof a permanent agency to beestablished in the UN to exchangeUFO data between all nations of theworld.

    On November 28, Grenada'sproposal will be debated in the SpecialPolitical Committee at the UN. Dr.Friday explained in his letter to thiswriter, October 14, that "first, we needto muster up sufficient support fromnational delegations to the GeneralAssembly, and second, we need to

    .arouse and sustain the interest ofexperts in the field and secure theirendorsement....! am sure you would beable to help us here again ..."

    On November 14, Dr. Friday invitedthe writer to attend the UN debate andact as advisor on behalf of Grenadaduring the proceedings.

    At this writing, November 22, I am

    hoping that finances will allow me to ,attend the UN debate. I feel honored :and will report on this high level affair in 1a future column.

    We're all waiting word from NASAhoping for a positive move to begin ascientific UFO study following a White ,House directive for that agency to lookinto the matter. In the meanwhileNASA is undertaking the task as theofficial mail drop for the White House,handling UFO mail which is increasingin volume. With rumors rife, onOctober 18, I called Mr. DavidWilliamson, Assistant Director ofSpecial Projects for NASA inWashington, D.C., for his comments.His response indicated an interest in mywork for Grenada at the UN and heasked that I submit other ideas thatmight be useful in the NASA/UFOprobe. Following, is the contents of aletter dated October 19, I sent to Mr.Williamson to which was attached acopy of the paper prepared forGrenada: '

    "...Enclosed for your review, pursuant :to our phone talk, October 18,1977, is acopy of UFO Status Quo which I hadprepared on the request of Dr.Wellington Friday, Ambassador atLarge, of Grenada, for presentation byhis Prime Minister, Sir Eric Gairy at the32nd Assembly of the United Nations,October 7, 1977.

    Perhaps my paper, which brieflyrelates the mood and objectives ofcivilian UFO research, may also serve

    10

  • FATUS QUOthe current NASA position which 1understand is trying to determine abase, or guidelines, for administrativeand/or scientific study of the UFOproblem.

    I firmly . believe, based on theconstant input of information receivedfrom reliable sources and the generalpublic, that for NASA to perform, orsucceed, effectively and objectively inthis endeavor, that certain top secretdata should be made available to anuclei of scientific and administrativepersonnel that may be named to serveNASA. Anything less would be aduplication of effort, and become anexercise in futility.

    I also firmly believe that significantdata, and perhaps "hardware", doesexist within the framework of variousofficial agencies or military areas of theUnited States. Such data, etc., I believe,have been (and remain to be) contained •in inaccessible files of the Departmentof Defense, a certain office of the C.I.A.,hidden underground at Wright-Patterson AFB, and in the photoanalytical labs of Naval Intelligence. I donot claim to know the secret officialexchange of certain vital data (beyondthat which is available to the public atthe National Archives from ProjectBluebook files), but whatever is beingsuppressed by these agencies certainlywould be vital in any proposed NASAexercise to perform scientifically withthe ongoing UFO problem:

    Without sounding presumptuous ormystical, I am personally aware of

    certain UFO DATA of an "unsettling"nature. However, because of thesensitivity of some of the data, and thepromise to keep the names of myinformants confidential, I cannotdiscuss these matters by phone.

    I will be happy to assist or serveNASA in any capacity on the premisethat its project is geared objectively andhopefully, scientifically, to determinethe UFO's nature, origin and intents.

    As stressed in my recently publishedbook, Situation Red, published byDoubleday, I believe that the UFOdeserves serious review..."

    Not having heard from NASA byOctober 28,1 called Mr. Williamson. Atthis time he expressed "little hope" for aNASA agency. The main reason wasinadequate funds. The other, was thefamiliar tune that there was nothing inthe category of "hard evidence" tojustify technical research. "NASA is atechnical agency," he said. "We cannotderive anything substantive from UFOreports unless we can analyze thereporter's minds."

    When I asked Williamson about myreferences to substantive data —hardware, gun camera photos and evenhumanoids allegedly held in highestsecrecy in various official agencies — Iwas told that NASA has had access toall the named agencies and the claimsthat they were hiding information,artifacts or entities, were onlyunfounded stories.

    On November 15, I phoned

    Williamson to get an update. He statedthat NASA was still pursuing its studyfor the establishment of a useful projectand that it "was not taking it (theproject) lightly".

    I also told Williamson that since ourlast chat that I had received additionaldata relative to the preservedhumanoids allegedly examined andstored at Wright-Patterson AFB in pastyears. Again, as expected, he claimedno knowledge of the alien bodies.Realizing the sensitivity of this "finaiproof phase of the alleged UFO cover-up, I suggested that NASA needed onlya "technical" shovel with which to digunderground next to the vaults atWright-Patterson where the deceasedhumanoids have been held — and maystill be.

    The controversial "little men" storiesfor so long ridiculed by officialdom andmost civilian researchers (includingmyself until 1976) are no longer sofunny or so far out. While preparing mybook, Situation Red, I uncovered somesobering data relative to theirexistence. Since the book's release inJune of 1977,1 have been privy to moreconfirmative data...including first handaccounts from former militarywitnesses...Unless my informants havebeen "planted" for covert reasons, or,are skilled hoaxers, I believe thehumanoid factor in UFO researchshould be seriously considered...

    11

  • CLOSEENCOUNTERSOF THE THIRD

    KINDBy Walt Andrus

    November 15th marked the premiershowing of Columbia Pictures UFOepic, "Close Encounters Of The ThirdKind" in both New York City andHollywood. It is destined to take itsplace as a science fiction thriller alongwith "Jaws" and "Star Wars", however,it has one distinct advantage over thetwo prior films. It is not a UFOdocumentary. Steven Spielberg, thewriter and director, has composed thestory around authenticated UFOevents tha t are f a m i l i a r toknowledgeable UFOlogists. It is such adown to earth presentation that anyviewer, leaving the theater couldtruthfully say--"that could havehappened to me".

    Close Encounters Of The Third Kindor CE3K, as the people at Columbiarefer to their big Christmas seasonmovie, has been kept under closerwraps than a military secret for fouryears. Nearly one year of filming wasdone in a gigantic hanger in Mobile,Alabama, while the special effects wereproduced in Hollywood by DouglasTrumbull, the magician of CE3K.

    Newsweek, in its November 21stissue, devoted seven full pages plus thecover to "The UFO's Are Coming"-Hollywoods Close Encounters. TheSan Antonio Express-News featured afull page spread in the Sunday,November 20th issue. Jack Kroll inNewsweek emphasizes StevenSpielberg's humanistic touch that is soprevalent compared to "Star Wars".His hero, Roy Neary (RichardDreyfuss), is pure Joe Citizen: a hardhat who works for an electrical-powercompany in Indiana, A Dagwood-typehusband with a Blondie-type wife (TenGarr) and three cute kids, a solidsuburbanite with a snack-stocked

    12

    refrigerator who gets his news fromWalter Cronkite and enjoys tinkeringwith electric trains. Neary wants a flyingsaucer in his life about as much as hewants a massive power blackout in hisarea. But that's exactly what he gets-both of them.

    Roy's experience with the UFO'sturns his life inside out and leads himthrough a series of adventures - comicand catastrophic .-• to an ultimaterendevous with creatures from beyondthe stars. Spielberg, a basicallytraditionalist filmmaker, starts with theclassic genre of the 1950°s "It CameFrom Outer Space" science fictionflick, but stretches its scale andresonance with brilliant special effectsuntil the film flares up into somethingapproaching awe. "Close Encounters"is the friendliest^ warmest SF epicyou've.ever seen. It brings the heavensdown to earth. Spielberg adopts someof the Walt Disney influence with hismetamorphic genius, sentimentalidealism and his feeling for the technicalmagic of movies as a paradigm for atechnological Utopia.

    As the readers of the JOURNALhave known for nearly two years, Dr. J.Allen Hynek, the technical consultantfor CE3K, the title having been takenfrom his book "The UFO Experience".To review the entire picture in this briefcolumn might take away thetremendous build up that occurs in thelast forty minutes as the film in the hugehanger and awesome lighting effectsbring the picture to a grand climax. It isa picture for the entire family, which isrefreshing in this day of sex andpornography.

    Stanton Friedman saw theHollywood premier and was a littledisappointed from UFOlogist'sviewpoint. The picture was notintended to be a UFO documentary,but a form of entertainment for thepublic at large, giving each anopportunity to share in the UFOexperience. Every UFOlogist must seethe picture so that they are thoroughlycognizant with its contents. There wasa fear that the beings and" craft might

    influence subsequent UFO sightingdescriptions. However, authenticatedcases were depicted, which preventedintroduction of new humanoid speciesor unusual space craft.

    We encourage MUFON members toarrange cooperative ventures with theirlocal theater managers, as a furthermeans of educating the public and toidentify themselves in their owncommunities as the source of UFOinformation and the recipients of UFOsighting reports.

    00% BKQUNTBtS OF TW THRD KBD/APMLLIPSKOOyCnON • A STEVEN SPICiBERCHUI*

    RICHARD DREYFUSS,

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    tn JUUA mum tina HKHMH. rmijps- - -BfSTEVEMSBELflEKC .

  • UFO RELATED INFORMATION FROM THE FBI FILE

    By Bruce S. MaccabeeMUFON State Director for Maryland

    I have recently received over fourhundred of the several thousand(i)pages of documents in the FBI files on"flying discs". I have been informed(i)that these pages represent the "creamof the crop" and that the rest includereferences to UFO's in otherdocuments; copies of form letters sentout by the FBI, and copies of readilyavailable publications (including at leastone book on UFO's.) After reviewingthe documents, I have decided that theopinion of the FBI agent(i) who handledmy FOIPA (Freedom of Information)request was correct: these probably arethe most important documents, in theFBI files.

    The pages I have obtained aredivided into three categories as follows,roughly 40% are • poor reports anddocuments which do not add anything(in my opinion) to what is alreadyknown about certain UFO reports andknown hoaxes (e.g., the Maury Islandhoax which "resulted" in the death oftwo Army Air Force Officers, iscovered in great detail); roughly 40%are teletype reports and transcriptsconcerning reasonably to very goodUFO reports, some of which are riotlisted in the Blue Book file at theNational Archives, and some of whichnever have been published before (this.statement may riot be entirely accuratesince I have not been able to check allpossible sources of previouslypublished UFO reports); the remainingproportion are papers which consist ofinternal memoranda of the FBI. Thislast proportion contains papers whichhave definitely not been availablebefore now. They show the internalinvolvement of the FBI, and, even moreinteresting, they shed light on theattitude of the Air Force towards UFOinvestigation. As a result of the FOIPArequest to the FBI, I have also obtainedseveral documents from other agencieswhich had sent "complementary

    Part 1(copyright, 1977, by B Maccabee)

    copies" to the FBI. One of these is aradar-visual case from Alaska in 1950that was filed by the Office of NavalIntelligence (ONI). Other documentshave come from the Army and the AirForce.

    It should be emphasized at the outsetthat the bulk of these documents weregenerated between 1947 and 1955, andthat the FBI file on UFO's comes to ascreeching halt in 1964 with theZamorra case (Socorro, New Mexico).(There was an FBI agent in the policeoffice at the time Zamorra's call camein, and this agent wrote a report thatwas sent to FBI headquarters. In thereport, the agent vouched forZamorra's credibility.)

    There is enough material in the FBIfile to form a small book, if all thedocuments were to be published.However, in order to make theinformation available to interestedresearchers in a short time, I havedecided to write several papers basedon the FBI file, rather than write a book.Since of necessity some information will'be left out or merely alluded to in thesepapers, I will accept requests forinformation and will respond with aletter saying the information is or is notin the file, and I will send copies ofpertinent documents when they areavailable. •

    In this first paper, I will present anoverview of the FBI files and a"preview" of things to come. Insubsequent papers, I will publish copiesof actual FBI documents, summaries ofdocuments, UFO reports, andcomments on the documents as I seefit. Readers will thus be able to judge forthemselves whether or not the FBI hadany major interest in or affect upon thehistory of UFO research. Perhapshistorians, of UFO research will getsome new insights into the.early days ofUFO's and those who are interestedmainly in the content of UFO reports

    will find some more "grist for the mill",As for myself, I am- more firmlyconvinced that if we understood wh^thappened during the first several yer.rsof the UFO phenomenon, we.wruldu n d e r s t a n d the who le UFOphenomenon. . - • . '.

    General FBI Involvement.Perhaps the most important question

    to be asked in regard to. the "FBIConnection" is "Was the FBI everoff ic ia l ly involved?" Secondaryquestions concern the duration andnature of the involvemennt. Theanswer to the first question is aresounding "yes", and the duration ofofficial involvement was July 30 toOctober 1 in 1947. However, the FBIremained "unofficially" involved upthrough 1964: During the period ofofficial involvement, the FBI agentswere instructed by Hoover toinvestigate UFO witnesses. AfterOctober 1947, however, the FBI wassupposed to turn all investigations overto armed forces (specifically, the ArmyAir Force until 1948, and the Air Forceafter the spring of 1948). The. agentswere generally faithful to Hoover'sorders after October and stoppedcarrying out detailed investigations.However, this did not stop them fromfiling reports on UFO sightings andwitnesses, nor did it stop them fromchecking up on police and FBI records,on witnesses at the request of otherintelligence agencies. A typical FBIreport after October 1947 would endwith statements similar to "this matteris being reported to the bureau forinformation purposes"(2), "for yourinformatipn"(3), "furnishing this info tobureau for whatever action they (sic)deem advisable"(4), or "above beingfurnished for information"®. Asidefrom the collection of UFO reports andthe transmissal of such reports to AirForce collection agencies (Army G-2

    (Please turn page) •*••*

  • before 1948, Air Force Office of SpecialInvestigations - OSO - and Project BlueBook after the Spring of 1948), the FBImaintained a loose connection with theAir Force investigations of UFO's.Several times FBI agents interviewedAir Force personnel, once at thespecific request of Hoover

  • ADDENDUM"I would recommend that we advise

    the Army that the Bureau does notbelieve it should go into theseinvestigations, it being noted that agreat bulk of those alleged discsreported found have been pranks. It isnot believed that the Bureau wouldaccomplish, anything by going intothese investigations."

    However, Mr. Tolson scribbled "Ithink we should do it" on July 15th, andshortly thereafter Hoover added thefollowing comments:

    "I would do it but before agreeing to itwe must insist upon full access to discsrecovered. For instance in the La. casethe Army grabbed it and would riot letus have it for cursory examination." .

    About a week later, anothermemorandum was filed that indicatedthe General Schulgen had beeninformed of the FBI (i.e., Hoover's)decision. The first paragraph of thismemorandum reiterates the previousinformation. It then continues asfollows :(8)

    "This is to advise that SA hasrecontacted General Schulgen andadvised him in connection with theDirector's notation (i.e.; Hoover'scomment above). General Schulgenindicated to SA that he desired toassure Mr. Hoover of completecooperation in this matter and statedthat he would issue instructions to thefield directing that all cooperation befurnished to the FBI arid that all discsrecovered be made available forexamination by the FBI agents.(Underlining by this author.) GeneralSchulgen pointed out to SA that he willfrom time to time make the results ofthe studies of his scientists available tothe Bureau for the asistance of the FBIfield offices. General Schulgenindicated to SA that there has been adecrease in the reported sightings ofdiscs which might be because of the factthat it has lost much of its publicityvalue. He indicated, however, that hebelieved it necessary to follow thismatter through to determine as near aspossible if discs were in fact seen and todetermine their origin."

    In the next paragraph, the

    communications channel betweenGeneral Schulgen's office and the FBIwas specified ("regular establishedchannels") and the final paragraph is asfollows:

    "General Schulgen indicated to SAthat he believed that there was apossibility that this entire matter mighthave been started by subversiveindividuals for the purpose of creatingmass hysteria. He suggested that theBureau keep this in mind in anyinterviews conducted regardingreported sightings. General Schulgenstated to SA that he would makeavailable to the Bureau all informationin the possession of the Air Corpsregarding sightings which were firstreported so that the Bureau couldconduct some investigation regardingthese individuals to ascertain theirmotives for reporting that theyobserved flying discs. When GeneralSchulgen makes the informationavailable regarding these individuals, itwill be brought to your (i.e., to Mr.Ladd's) attention."

    About a week later, in. BureauBulletin #42 of 1947, the official orderand explanation for the order" waspublished. Since the explanation is itselfunique, I will present it here in itsentirety, along with the official order(9):

    "FLYING DISCS -- The^Bureau, atthe request of the Army Air ForcesIntelligence, has agreed to cooperate inthe investigation of flying discs. The AirForces have confidentially advised thatit is possible to release three or morediscs in odd numbers, attachedtogether by a wire, from an airplance inhigh altitudes and that these discswould obtain tremendous speed in theirdescent and would descend to the earthin an arc. The Army Air ForcesIntelligence has also indicated. someconcern that the reported sightingsmight have been made by subversiveindividuals for the purpose of creatingmass hysteria.

    (This is the specific directive:)"You should investigate each

    instance which is brought to yourattention of a sighting of a flying disc inorder to ascertain whether or not it is a

    bona fide sighting, an imaginary one, ora prank. You should also bear in mindthat individuals might report seeingflying discs for various reasons. It isconceivable that an individual might bedesirous of seeking personal publicity,causing hysteria, or playing a prank."

    "The Bureau should be notifedimmediately by teletype of all reportedsightings and the results of yourinquiries. In instances where the reportappears to have merit, the teletypeshould be followed by a letter to theBureau containing in detail the resultsof your inquiries. The Army Air Forceshave assured the Bureau completecooperation in these matters and in anyinstances where they fail to makeinformation available to you or makethe recovered discs available for yourexamination, it should promptly bebrought to the attention of the Bureau."

    "Any information you develop inconnection with these discs should bepromptly brought to the attention of theArmy through- your usual liaisonchannels."

    Thus by the end of July, 1947, the FBIhad a working arrangement with theArmy Air Force to investigate UFOreports. As set up, the arrangementseemed qu i te amicable , - a n dpresumably it could have continued formany years. Admittedly the initial fearof subversion faded with time, but still,the FBI could have continuedinvestigations into the fifties if they werereally worried about the possibility thatthe UFO reports somehow resultedfrom Russian attempts at sabotage.Yet, the FBI ended its officialinvestigatory role only about twomonths after it began. The explicitreason why the investigations wereended will be presented in the next"installment" of this series, along withseveral interesting early reports.However, the perceptive reader canalready see an incipient disagreementas to what sorts of reports the Air Forcewanted the FBI to investigate. InGeneral Schulgen's view, the FBI wouldinvestigate mainly (or only ?) thosereports in which hardware wasretrieved. By the time that the FBI

    (Cent, on back cover) 15

  • Lucius Farrish

    In Others'WordsThe September 13 issue of National

    Enquirer announced that publication'ssponsorship of a "UFO spotting night"on September 10. Results of theskywatch have not yet beenannounced. An item in the October 4issue reported on the 4,026 UFOsightings which were reported toCUFOS during a five-year period whichended in April, 1977. A map shows thesighting breakdown by states, while atable lists occupant reports and otherclose encounter cases. The UFO role incattle mutilations is examined in anarticle on Colorado happenings in theOctober 11 Enquirer.

    The Star for September 27 quotesDr. Hynek and Dr. Sprinkle regardingPresident Carter's alleged promise toreveal government information aboutUFOs. Both men seemingly feel thatCarter did not realize the extent of theUFO information in government fileswhen he supposedly made hiscampaign pledge. Reports of FloridaUFO sightings in early September arefeatured in The Star's October 11 issue.

    Another item on the Carter/UFOssubject is to be found in September 26issue of Aviation Week & SpaceTechnology. It states that the Carteradministration has "cooled" on UFOresearch, with White House ScienceAdvisor Frank Press handing over thejob of answering UFO inquiries toNASA. That agency is not too happyabout its new task and is not even surethat any UFO research is needed. Itnow seems clear that the rumored"governmental announcements" onUFOs were more wishful thinking thananything else.

    The November issue of Fate has anarticle by Curt Sutherly on the strange

    UFO "invasion" of Boshkung Lake,near Minden, Ontario, Canada.

    Some changes are evident in theNovember issue of UFO Report, withmore space being devoted to psychictopics. There is also an astrologycolumn, of little value at best, andcertainly out of place in a UFOmagazine. This issue contains articlesby Brad Steiger, D. Scott Rogo,;Charles Berlitz, John Keel, JeromeClark and others,, as well as aninterview with John Keel.

    The November/December issue ofBeyond Reality contains an article onUFOs as time travelers, plus anotherfeature on UFOs and cattle mutilations.

    The "downhill plunge" of OfficialUFO, prophesied in previous columns,is rapidly coming to pass. No betterexample could be found than theDecember . issue of that magazine,which is nothing but a collection of uttertrash.

    Although I'm reluctant to evenmention it again, considering my pastrecord on this particular item, itappears that Playboy is finally going toprint its "Playboy Panel" feature onUFOs in an upcoming issue. Watch forit in either the December or Januaryissue (maybe).

    A few words now about some newUFO periodicals. First, the Kent UFONews Bulletin, published quarterly bythe Cosmic Society ResearchConsortium (16 St. George's Place,Dymchurch Road, Palmarsh, Hythe,Kent CT21 6NE, England). Their firstissue .(August, 1977) is a six-page,mimeographed buttetin with printedcover. Its primary goal is to report UFOsightings in the Kent area, as well asparanormal happenings. A rather well-

    done publication with good drawingsillustrating some interesting UFOreports. The subscription price is 38pence (about 75$) for four issues,although payment in the form of fourInternational Reply Coupons will beaccepted. Send to the editor, D. J.Parry, at the above address. - TheSeptember (Vol. 1, No. 1) issue of UFOUpdate is devoted largely to UFOphotos, with several examples beingrepoduced. There is also a report on alanding trace case from Brantford,Ontario, Canada and various otheritems of interest. This is a nicely-produced magazine which showspromise of becoming a leadingCanadian publication. It is published 9times per year for a subscription rate of$9.00 ($1.25 for single copies). Theeditor is Tom Grey (573 North ServiceRoad #402, Mississauga, Ontario,Canada L5A 1B6). - A new Italian-produced magazine, UFO phenomena,is to be published annually at a cost of$10.00 per issue. It has an impressiveeditorial board, consisting of leadingresearchers from all parts of the world.Volume 1, Number 1 (1976) containsarticles by Miguel Guasp, Richard F.Haines, R. Leo Sprinkle, Ernst Bergerand Roberto Doretti and RobertoFarabone. The publication attempts tobe ultra-scientific in its approach to theUFO.subject, but I fear it may onlysucceed in being dull. While the firstissue is 118 pages in length, I feel it isgrossly overpriced at $10.00. Withsome changes, UFO Phenomena mighttake its place with other leading UFOperiodicals, but I doubt that it will evermake it if it continues its presentcourse. For additional information,write to: Editecs Publishing House,P.O. Box 190, 40100 Bologna, Italy.

    16

  • NASA ASSIGNED UFO RESPONSIBILITY

    By Walt Andrus

    The September 26, 1977 issue ofAviation Week and Space Technologymakes this brief statement in thecolumn titled "Washington Roundup"."Carter Administration has cooled onunidentified flying objects research andWhite House science advisor FrankPress last week shoved the chore ofanswering sighting letters onto theNational Aeronautics and SpaceAdministration. NASA is trying tofigure out if any UFO research is evenneeded and is not too happy aboutspending time on letters." NASA stillhas not released a public statementdetailing their future plans in thisrespect.

    MUFON personnel have both metin Washington, D.C. with the principalsinvolved and have received answere tocorrespondence offering MUFON'sservices. Letters have been sent to thefollowing NASA administrators whoare in a position to either direct orinfluence the action NASA will take inthis regard: Dr. Robert Frosch, NASAAdministrator; Edward P. Andrews,Executive Officer of Office of theAdministrator; Dr. Richard C. Henry,Deputy Director of AstrophysicsProgram; Herbert J. Rowe, AssociateAdministrator for External Affairs; andMr. Jody Powell, President Carter'sPress Secretary. One of MUFON'sconsultants is the brother-in-law toJody Powell. He utilized this routing tohave a written proposal to PresidentCarter delivered to Frank Press,Scientific Advisor to the President.

    Several responses have beenreceived to date with more anticipatedfrom NASA officials or members of thePresident's staff.

    Herbert J. Rowe, NASA AssociateAdministrator for External Affairs in aletter dated October 27,1977 replied toPaul Cerny in the following manner:

    "This is in response to your recentidentical letters addressed to Dr.Frosch, Dr. Henry and to me. At thepresent time our investigation ofUnidentified Flying Objects (UFOs)phenomena is to be limited to a reviewof the literature to see whether anyfurther investigation should beconducted. At this time, we have noresources or staff available to conductinfield investigations or to direct anyinfield investigations. 'Should we arriveat the point where outside assistance isdesired, we will be in touch with you."

    During a private briefing inWash ing ton , D.C. at NASAheadquarters, a MUFON researcherwas told by Dr. Richard C Henry,presently Deputy Director of theAstrophysics Program Code SA forNASA, that he has been selected as theProject Off icer for the UFOassignment. Dr. Henry has had a longinterest in the UFO phenomena,therefore, his selection for thisimportant role could have significantpositive results. In keeping withNASA's initial step-to review theliterature, we have mailed copies of the1975, 1976 and 1977 MUFON UFOSymposium Proceedings to Dr. > Henryand offered our assistance.

    Letters to Dr. Henry, offeringencouragement in this study,.wouldnow be appropriate to counteractnegative influences being exerted byPhil Klass, and Robert Schaeffer. Dr.Henry's complete address is:Dr. Richard C. Henry, Deputy Director

    Astrophysics Program Code SANASA Headquarters

    Washington, DC 20546

    To facilitate reading and reviewingthe literature and "skimming throughthe UFO cases" for the past ten years,Retired A:F. General Chapman wasplaced in charge. He immediately madean appeal to NASA for money andmanpower in order to perform thisfunction. , :

    The November and Decemberissues of The MUFON UFO Journalwill have, follow-up stories on NASA'sparticipation in this UFO investigationand the' degree in which they will beinvolved. When the October issue ofthe Journal went to press, Dr. DaveWilliamson, NASA assistant for specialprojects, had this statement. "We'renot anxious to do it because we're notsure what we can do. It's my personalopinion that it's not wise to do researchon something that is not a measurablephenomena. Spending .public moneyfor such research is questionable.There is no measurable UFO evidencesuch as a piece of metal, flesh or cloth.We don't even have any radio signals. Aphotograph is not a measurement...Give me one little green; man-not atheory or memory of one - and we canhave a multimillion dollar program. It's ascientific dilemma. How do you provesomething that doesn't exist?".'

    In spite of this negative reaction byDr. Williamson, Dr. Richard C. Henryhas submitted his recommendation toNASA administrator Robert A. Frosch,who will pass along his own decision toPresident Carter's science adviser, Dr.Frank Press.

    17

  • OUR EXTRATERRESTRIAL HERITAGE

    FROM UFO'S TO SPACE COLONIES

    t Saturday, January 28, 2978

    J at theJ California Museum: .off Science and Industry

    The Los Angeles and Orange CountySections of the American Institute ofAeronautics and Astronautics and theLos Angeles Chapter of the WorldFutures Society have combines topresent an all day symposium on ourheritage in space.

    The morning session will deal withthe topic of purported extraterrestrialvisitors, UFO's, and our interest inthem as possible technological keys toour own advancement and mobility intospace. The session will explore some ofthe scientific techniques which arebeing employed in UFO investigations.The afternoon session will dwell onwhat man can accomplish in space andwhat he is presently pursuing, basedupon current scientific knowledge. Theobjective of developing industrialprocesses and uses for space for thebenefit of mankind will be explored.

    The program has been designed toprovide expert speakers in each area ofspecialization. As an added feature, theMuseum will have on display a spaceindustrialization and colonizationexhibit which has recently beenacquired.

    The program schedule for theSymposium:

    REGISTRATION 8:00 - 9:00I Scientific Aspects of UFO Research 9:00 - 12:00Chairman: Dr. William F. Hassel, Vice Chairman - Meetings, AIAAMUFON State Section Director, Orange County and MUFON Consultant

    If Ufology Does Its Job, Then What?Stanton T. Friedman, Physicist - UFO Lecturer & MUFON Consultant

    The Zeti Reticuli EpisodeThomas M. Gates, Director, Space Science Center, MUFON ConsultantDe Anza and Foothill Colleges

    Instrumented UFO Monitoring: A Multidimensional ProblemDr. Daniel H. Harris, Research Director, Project Starlight International

    A Two Channel Information Theory for the Investigationof UFO Photographs

    Adrian Vance, Editor,Popu/ar Photography

    Interstellar Contact in an Evolving UniverseDr. Thomas H. B. Kuiper, Scientist, Jet Propulsion Laboratory

    LUNCHEON 12:30Speaker: Dr. Krafft Ehricke, Consultant to NASA on Space Programs

    The New Cosmos and Homo Extraterrestris

    II The Transition of Man to SpaceChairman: Albin Kazanowski

    2:30 - 4:30

    The Technology of Space IndustrializationCharles L. Gould, Program Manager for NASA SpaceIndustrialization Contract, Rockwell International

    Economics of Space IndustrializationGerald W. Driggers and Dr. Ralph Sklarew, Program Managers for

    NASA Space Industrialization Contract, Science Applications, Inc.

    Space HabitatsDr. Richard D. Johnson, Deputy Director of NASA Space Colonization

    Study, Ames Research Center

    Registration: Those who preregister by sending a check payable to AIAA,located at 8941 Airport Blvd., Suite 800, Los Angeles 90045, will be givenpreference in allocating the limited seating available for the luncheon. Checksmust be received by January 25. To verify by phone, call (213)670-0684.

    Preregistration — $9.00 Includes Proceedings and Luncheon

    Door Registration — $10.00 Includes Proceedings and Luncheon$6.00 Includes Proceedings

    Extra Copies of Proceedings $5.00

    18

  • Director's MessageBy Walt Andrus

    Dr. David W. Schwartzman, StateDirctor for Virginia has approved theappointment of Joseph A. Blake, Ph.D.,319 Park St., Christiansburg, VA 24073as State Section Director forMontgomery, Craig, Giles, Pulaski,Roanoke and Floyd counties and aConsultant in Sociology. Joe teaches atVirginia Polytechnic Institute and StateUniversity in Blacksburg, VA 24061.

    Paul Cerny, State Director forNorthern California, has selectedFrank Pyne, 8980 Olney Park Drive,Redding, CA 96001 as the new StateSection Director for Shasta, Trinity andSiskiyou counties to replace William M.Murphy who recently resigned thispost. Frank has been active in the SanFrancisco Bay Area UFO group since1967, but now resides in Redding.

    The weekend of December 3 and 4,1977, marked the date for the "1 erCONGRESO N A C I O N A L DEUFOLOGIA" (First National Congresson UFOology) in Barcelona, Spain.Some of the speakers and organizerswho are MUFON members orJOURNAL subscribers participatingwere IgnacioDarnaude, Vincent-JuanBallester Olmes, Antonio Ribera,Miguel Guasp, and friends such asAndreas Faber Kaiser, and FabioZerpa.

    Confirmed speakers for the NinthAnnual MUFON UFO SYMPOSIUMto be held July 29 and 30, 1978 at theDayton Convention Center in Dayton,Ohio are Ted Bloecher, Ray Fowler,Richard Hall, Major Donald Keyhqeand Leonard Stringfield. Roomaccomodations are arranged atStouffer's Plaza Hotel and the DaytonDowntown Holiday Inn. Planningmeetings have already started for theTenth Annual MUFON UFOSYMPOSIUM for 1979, which will beheld in the San Francisco, CaliforniaBay Area. Tom Gates, JimMcCampbell and Paul Cerny compose

    the original steering committee for thisevent. The Los Angeles area peoplealso bid on the 1979 symposium, but arenow reconsidering 1981 as a prospect.The 1980 conclave will be held in eitherthe Central or Eastern MUFONRegion.

    When Reader's Digest magazineassigned one of their Roving Editors,Ronald Schiller, to write a UFO articlefor this prestigious publication, some ofus who had appointments to meet withRon were elated. After Mr. Schillerspent an evening interviewing yourdirector in MUFON's administrativeoffice, it was apparent that his touracross the United States started in thewrong place. The title of the featuredstory "Three UFOs-How Real WereThey?" in the November, 1977 issueprovided a clue that his original goalwas influenced negatively by Phil Klass.When Ron arrived in Sequin, Texas, hismajor interest was MUFON'sevaluation of what we considered to bethe five most well documented UFOcases. A telephone call to the twelveleading ufologists would have sufficedhad we known that his first interviewwith Phil Klass, whose only claim tofame is that of being the nation's leadingUFO debunker. If Ronald Schiller hadindeed intended to write a legitimateUFO article, the "brainwashing" that hereceived from Mr. Klass destroyed anysuch possibility.

    The Editors of Reader's Digest havedone a grave injustice to their readersby allowing a man of Phil Klass'reputation in the UFO field to exertsuch an influence over one of theirroving editors, that they would printdistorted facts, untruths, and grossillogical reasoning in a magazine read bymillions all over the world. It is possiblethat Mr. Schiller already hadpreconceived ideas on the subject,therefore, he was an easy target for PhilKlass' unscientific investigations anddistorted explanations. Personally, I

    believe Ron accepted the assignmentfrom his editors in all sincerity, but thefirst leg of his nationwide tour took himfrom Pleasantville, NY to Washington,D.C. Had this sequence been reversed,Reader's Digest readers might havebeen treated to an unbiased, factualstory on some of the best current UFOcases in this country.

    The timing of this article would havebeen excellent to help bolster NASA'sdecision to become deeply involved inthe UFO study and would havecomplimented the movie "CloseEncounters of the Third Kind". It isdisheartening to believe that one"debunker"might be able to cast hisinfluence upon millions of people insuch a negative manner. Anyonefamiliar with the three selected casescan recognize the falacies andunfounded logic that was utilized toexplain the cases. However, the masspublic has not had the privilege oropportunity to be exposed to the facts,therefore, they will tend to accept thewritten word in Reader's Digest. Thiscould be a giant step backward for UFOresearch at a time when conditions areripe for making positive strides forward.Prayerfully, I hope that intelligentpeople will be able "to read between thelines", especially in the LawrenceCoyne helicopter case. In a personnaldebate between Phil Klass and myself atthe Fort Smith UFO Conference, a"fireball from the shower of Orionidmeteors occurring precisely at this timeof the year and hour of the night" istypical of his illogical explanations,since the object was in view of the fourman crew for 5.5 minutes. I interviewedMajor Lawrence Coyne by telephoneshortly after their sighting waspublicized in the press.

    For JOURNAL readers who wouldlike a thorough investigation on theCoyne case, I recommend theoutstanding report written by JennieZeidman, titled "UFO-Helicopter CloseEncounter Over Ohio" that waspublished in Flying Saucer Review,Volume 22 No. 4 in 1976 pages 15through 19.

    19

  • (Continued from page 15)entered the investigation it was alreadyapparent that all such reports weremechanical hoax,, devices, someingenious and some very simple, whichhad been placed as pranks. Thus, ifSchulgen had his way, the FBI wouldinvestigate only "crank" reports.However, it is clear from the official FBIdirective that Hoover wanted theagents to be able to investigate aUreports. As will be seen in the nextinstallment, the attempt by the AirForce to limit the FBI to certain kinds ofUFO investigations resulted in a minorintelligence "scandal" which wasfollowed shortly by the decision to endofficial FBI investigation.

    The interview with Gen. Schulgenindicated a considerable interest inUFO reports on the part of the ArmyAir Force Intelligence. Moreover, it isclear that the Air Force felt thatsomething real was being observed.The AF was even allowing for thepossibility that some "flying objectsmight be a celestial phenomenon",although there was no mention of thet h o u g h t tha t e x t r a t e r r e s t r i a lintelligence could be involved. It isespecially interesting to learn that Gen.Schulgen himself interviewed an AirCorps pilot (name not given in the FBIfile) who claimed, even under intenseinterrogation, that he had seen a disc.The "behind the scenes" interest by theAF is to be contrasted with the publicstatements in early July, 1947 that therewere not enough facts to warrant

    further investigations, even though theAir Material Command (AMC)intended to investigate the matter moret h o r o u g h t l y ( i o ) . T h e p u b l i cdisparagement of the reports byKenneth Arnold and by other earlyUFO reporters is to be contrasted withthe apparent acceptance by Gen.Schulgen of the reality of thephenomenon, especially after thereport by the Air Corps pilot. Thus itappears that from the outset the AFinvestigation of UFO reports was doneon two levels. Publically the AF tried todownplay the sightings, while privatelythe AF enlisted the help of otherintelligence agencies in order todetermine the nature of thephenomenon. As becomes apparentfrom the FBI file, the AF continued itsundercover investigations even duringthe periods of time when it publicallystated that it had no interest and wasnot investigating as, for example, in1950. Inasmuch as UFO investigationswere treated as a security manner andthat therefore all internal documentswere classified, it is not surprising thatcivilian investigators in the 1950'sconcluded that the AF was hidingevidence and began to refer to publicAF statements (and later to ProjectBlue Book) as part of a "cover-up" ofUFO information. Although there is noevidence in the FBI file (at least in theportion I have) that the Air Forceactually had hard evidence (e.g., acrashed saucer), it is clear that therewere reports involving military

    personnel that were so detailed thatone had to choose between attributingthe report to a real unknownphenomenon, probably a "machine", orelse to the temporary mentalbreakdown of one or more militarypersonnel while on duty. It seems to methat the reluctance to accept thesecond explanation of disc sightingswas what ultimately kept the AFinvestigating. Further information onthe AF investigation as seen throughthe "eyes" of the FBI will be presentedin forthcoming papers.

    BIBLIOGRAPHY

    1. D. Havekost, private communication. (D. H.was the agent who handled my FOIPArequest)

    2. FBI Document filed 4/28/53; civilian andmilitary witnesses in Puerto Rico

    3. FBI Document filed 9/20/52; report of objectover Montana

    4. FBI Document filed 5/12/52; employees of theE.I. Dupont Company saw objects pass at lowaltitudes over the Savannah River Plant(AEC)

    5 FBI Document filed 11/8/57; Dlinois StatePolice officers chased an object on theevening of Nov. 7, 1957

    6. FBI Document filed 3/28/50; a Major and aColonel in the Air Force Intelligence wereinterviewed

    7. FBI Document filed 7/10/47; request by Gen.Schulgen for the FBI to interview early UFOwitnesses

    8. FBI Document filed 7/24/47; FBI agrees toinvestigate

    9. FBI Document filed 7/39/47; official order toinvestigate UFO reports

    10. D. Jacobs, The UFO Controversy inAmerica, Indiana University Press (1975); Pg.42 and following