Professional Documents
Culture Documents
When Phil Klass stopped publishing his would be just another entry in the mass
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Skeptics UFO Newsletter in 2003, some- of Blogs that already exist. I don’t have
thing disappeared from the skeptical the time to enter something once a Filling a void......................................................1
community. The last issue, titled “SUN- week. Therefore, I decided to step in with The Phil Klass almost nobody knew........2
set”, was his farewell and he passed away this newsletter and call it SUNLite. It is
Who’s blogging UFOs?...............................3-4
in 2005. I had a chance to communicate a lighter version of SUN simply because
with Phil over his later years and I am Phil is no longer with us and I intend it to The Roswell corner......................................5-7
sorry I missed him in his prime. I always be a bit different. However, I do expect to The Big Sur UFO lives again..........................7
enjoyed his friendly exchanges and inter- see this follow in Phil’s legacy of present-
The Arizona UFOs: Twelve years later.......7
esting humor. This newsletter is a tribute ing skeptical information and opinions
to his efforts and will attempt to fill the about UFO news. Jesse Marcel - The evolution of a Ro-
void left after his passing. swell witness..............................................8-10
It is my desire to make this a newsletter The greatest secret never told --------------10
My interest in UFOs began in 1997 during for skeptical examination of UFO cases
The ISS is causing UFO reports...................11
the Hale-Bopp UFO nonsense. As I read as well as skeptical opinions. I am more
more I guess I became obsessed with than willing to entertain articles written Whatever happened to..............................11
how ridiculous some of the UFO claims from “the other side of the aisle” on a case Another UFO Chase.....................................11
were. This was also about the same time by case basis. I have read some that have
Bill Birnes and Peter Davenport taken in
the Arizona UFOs and the 50th Roswell been interesting to say the least. How- by UFO hoax....................................................12
anniversary occurred. I became interest- ever, in keeping with the newsletters for-
ed in each and discovered that most of mat, I expect that the articles be written Just the facts...................................................13
what was being described in the media objectively without a need for conspiracy The illusionists...............................................13
was not as accurate as it should be. This theories and wild claims being displayed E-mails to the editor......................................14
led me to create my web site dedicated as facts. Feel free to do that in some UFO
to my opinions about UFOs. I added to publication. What has 60 years of UFO research a
it as I learned more about each UFO case ccomplished?.................................15
and developed my opinions about UFOl- While SUN was a mass mailing of a photo- UFOs on the tube - UFO Hunters...............16
ogy and UFOlogists. Today, I add to the copied newsletter, I think today’s modern Book reviews: Buy it, borrow it, bin it......16
site occasionally but not often enough. I internet can get past the idea of clogging
wanted to move in another direction. up the post office with a lot of wasted pa-
per. The electronic age makes it easy to
I originally thought of a Blog but that create a newsletter and put it into pdf
The Phil Klass Almost Nobody Knew The Last will and
Gary P. Posner testament of
I assume that most readers of this news- knew. Phil continued, “The reader could Philip J. Klass
letter know that Philip J. Klass, who died hardly guess that I put you up in my apart-
in 2005 at age 85, was widely considered ment for several days (as well as supply- To UFOlogists who publicly criti-
the world’s premier UFO skeptic. Not ing many of your meals, as I recall), that cize me...or who even think un-
only did he write a cutting-edge newslet- I pulled out any file that you requested,
kind thoughts about me in private,
ter from December 1989 to the summer and gave you permission to make Xerox
of 2003 (76 issues, of which I copy-edited copies of essentially everything you re- I do hereby leave and bequeath
many), but of his six UFO-related books, quested. Further, that you were alone THE UFO CURSE: No matter
UFOs Explained (1974) is still considered in my apartment for several days [while how long you live, you will nev-
by many as the best ever in the field. I was at work] and could go through my er know any more about UFOs
complete files.”
than you know today. You will
In his heyday, Klass, who lived in Wash-
ington, D.C., was a contemporary of Two more paragraphs followed, in which never know any more about what
Senator Bob Dole. Like Klass, Dole had Klass corrected the record (though too UFOs really are, or where they
a razor-sharp sense of humor that had late for McCartthy’s readers) regarding a come from. You will never know
a tendency to rub many the wrong way, related matter. Yet despite being stung any more about what the U.S.
and a penchant for occasionally doing by an ungrateful hornet, Klass concluded,
Government really knows about
so intentionally. Yet upon his retirement “But aside from this, as far as I have read
from the Senate, I read, for the first time, [so far], I compliment you for a very pen- UFOs than you know today. As
that of all 100 Senators, Dole was consis- etrating work which, on the whole, main- you lie on your own death-bed
tently voted (I think by the lower-echelon tains a semblance of balance far better you will be as mystified about
employees such as the cooks, doormen, than should be expected from an author UFOs as you are today. And
etc., but I don’t recall for certain) the most with a strong bias on a very controversial
you will remember this curse.
courteous and likeable of the lot. subject.”
(Philip J. Klass - SUN #72)
Klass was not merely likeable, but lovable Talk about class. Not enough knew it, but
the way another contemporary of his, Klass had it.
Howard Cosell, was lovable (and perhaps
a bit like Rush Limbaugh): you either loved
him, or you hated him. And like Bob Dole,
despite an often abrasive public persona,
Klass extended courtesies above and be-
yond and not just to his friends and like-
minded UFO skeptics.
The Arizona UFOs - Twelve the 8 PM event as a formation of jet air- nobody wants the real answer. A mys-
years later craft flying high over Arizona about 300- tery is easier to believe than to actually
400 mph. It is often ignored. Witness perform some analysis.
Mike Fortson once told me I was wrong
The Arizona UFO story has continued because he and others knew the object
to mystify witnesses and the media. was flying low and not at high altitude!
Most people, except diehard believers, This claim is based on seat of the pants
accept the videos taken at 10PM are of estimates and no hard data. In fact, his re-
flares dropped over the Barry Goldwater port was key in establishing the fact they
test range. However, I have seen people were at high altitude! Fortson is also one
claim that it was done on purpose to of those claiming that the flare drop at
take attention away from the 8-9PM fly 10PM was done on purpose. After read-
over by a V-shaped formation of lights ing this, I have arrived at the conclusion
over the state of Arizona. This conspiracy that the witnesses and investigators will
theory is interesting and assumes people not accept the aircraft formation expla-
would have been videotaping the south- nation no matter what evidence is pre-
ern horizon that night at the exact few sented. If I were to publish the names of
minutes the flares were dropped. I guess the pilots of the aircraft, they would sim-
this means the videographers were part ply state these guys were flying over in
of the conspiracy! The will to believe just order to hide the presence of the real V-
about anything blinds people from the shaped object the witnesses claim they
obvious. saw that night.
My website describes the likely answer to The evidence has always been there but
Jesse Marcel- The Evolution of a Roswell Witness
Bruce Hutchinson
Of course, the main period in Jesse’s life we there was Jim Ragsdale’s story of his tryst Security effort to recover what they
are interested in is the second week of July, in the desert with Trudy Truelove that led left behind, nor did he mention any
1947. When he was sent out to meet Mac to his discovery of the crashed saucer, sev- additional “plane loads” of debris
Brazel in Roswell, he obviously had no way eral aliens, and massive recovery teams. flown out of the base-- all of which
of knowing that his name would be forever These two became the focus of the book are now accepted by the Storytellers
etched in the annals of UFO history. But as “UFO Crash at Roswell” (Randle/Schmitt). as “facts”. As the Group Intelligence
important as that week would later prove to Then special agent Frank Kaufmann be- Officer, these are activities that he
be for Jesse, it is certain elements of his biog- came the primary witness in “The Truth would have been very aware of.
raphy he later related to UFO investigators About the UFO Crash at Roswell” (Randle/
that have become so interesting. Schmitt), because of his heroic tale of • Marcel’s early assertions that the
tracking the UFO by Radar, seeing the ship pictures of him taken in General
“explode” on the radar screen, and his role Ramey’s office showed the real de-
When Jesse Marcel Sr. was interviewed in the recovery of the ship and its alien bris that he brought in, were ignored
about his recovery of the “crashed fly- crew. And, of course, we have Gerald An- in favor of the claims made by other
ing disk” by Bill Moore (who co-authored derson’s memories as a 6 year old finding witnesses that the real wreckage was
“The Roswell Incident”) and then by Bob a saucer and its alien crew and the third- switched out as part of the cover-up
Pratt (who was at the time a reporter for hand tales of Barney Barnett providing conspiracy. “UFOs Are Real” -- Televi-
the National Enquirer), he was also asked most the excitement in “Crash at Corona” sion Documentary, 1981
about his personal accomplishments and (Friedman).
his wartime experiences. Questions like • Marcel never mentioned any aliens--
these are common—not only to provide In all of these books, Marcel’s story was dead or alive. Not at the crash site
a background of the interviewee, but to not only relegated to the “back bench”, OR on the base. Yet the Storytellers,
establish his credibility. but many of his descriptions of events based on accounts from others, are
and the debris were flatly contradicted by all in agreement that bodies were
Jesse’s bio, as he told it, was pretty impres- others. Even more interesting is that the recovered, autopsied on base, and
sive: Well educated with a degree in Phys- Storytellers all clearly preferred the other eventually shipped to …. some-
ics, a certified, decorated war hero who versions over Marcel’s: where else.
shot down 5 enemy planes, a former per-
sonal aide to General Hap Arnold, a pilot • Marcel’s clearly described wooden • Jesse never mentioned or gave any
(with 3000 hours behind the stick)… Jes- “members” became metal beams, hint that the base was under any
se was indeed a “highly credible” witness. then “ Metal I-Beams”. (“...but it didn’t kind of unusual security alert. But
Moore and Charles Berlitz, co-authors of look like metal. It looked more like the prevailing story, as related by
“The Roswell Incident”, naturally treated wood.” --Pratt Interview) other witnesses, is that the entire
Marcel as a hero in the first book to be base was under locked-down Very
published about the case. • Marcel’s observation that it was clear Highest Security.
that the craft must have “exploded in
However, over the next fifteen years, the air” because there were no signs The authors of the Roswell books in the
Jesse’s testimony gradually became one on the ground of any impact, has now ‘90s clearly preferred these new, more
of the more curious facets of the Roswell been supplanted by a “huge gouge” exciting tales over Marcel’s. So without
Saga. On one hand, he and his story were, made by the craft as it crashed. (“One explicitly saying that Marcel’s story and
in some sense, revered, as it was his ac- thing I did notice – nothing actually hit descriptions were suspect, they simply
count of the recovery of debris he de- the ground bounced on the ground. related, then ignored many of the details
scribed as “not of this world” that first put It was something that must have ex- of his story, thus relegating Jesse to more
the Roswell Incident on the UFO map. His ploded above ground and fell.” --Pratt of a historical footnote than a pivotal wit-
credibility at the time was not questioned, Interview) ness.
but as other witnesses stepped forward
with their far more exciting versions of • Jesse related that he and Sheridan Jesse Marcel’s Military Records
events, it became clear that for many of Cavitt picked up what they could fit
the Storytellers, Jesse Marcel’s tale was into their vehicles, and claimed that In 1995, not long after publication of the
starting to lose its luster. they left behind a lot more. What they Randle/Schmitt book “The Truth about
brought back was the debris that was the UFO Crash at Roswell”, another re-
There was Glenn Dennis, and his story of a sent to Ft. Worth to be inspected by searcher—Robert Todd—successfully
request for child-sized coffins, a red-head- General Ramey. However, he never acquired Jesse Marcel’s military records
ed Captain and what “the Nurse” saw. Next mentioned any kind of massive, High via a Freedom Of Information Act re-
quest, and suddenly the appellation of became desperate for a new headliner. agreement that Jesse was of value to the
“a highly credible witness” was brought So despite the obvious problems deal- military, recommending that the Army
into question. Many began to ask; If Jes- ing with Marcel’s discredited stories of Air Force retain his services and advance
se was inclined to embellish the reality of his military service, and because they ap- him in rank and duties. It is worth noting
his wartime “heroics” and his education, parently have no one better, they have here that none of his wartime efficiency
was he equally cavalier with his story of gone back to the witness that started the reports gave him an overall rating as “ex-
the “flying disk”? whole saga. Today, Jesse is once again ceptional” or “superior”.
being promoted as a Key Witness.
Marcel’s records showed that contrary His post-war Efficiency Ratings through
to the background he gave to the early However, this resurrection effort contin- 1948 followed the same pattern— lack-
researchers, he was not and never had ues to ignore the very real problems that ing in leadership, personal appearance
been a pilot, nor was he a college gradu- have plagued Marcel’s testimony since and initiative, but skilled in his job with
ate, and he never served as an aide to 1989. There are still these enormous a good work ethic. He received written
General Hap Arnold. He did receive two discrepancies between Marcel’s com- commendations for his work during “Op-
Air Medals, but not five, and they were paratively sedate tale, and the far more eration Crossroads” and recommenda-
not awarded for shooting down enemy exciting stories of massive clean up op- tions for advancement. Interestingly, in
airplanes-- there is no indication that erations, a huge gouge, alien bodies, a two Efficiency Reports completed during
he shot down even one. In the eyes of base locked down on high security alert, his time with the 509th, Jesse was ranked
many, Marcel’s tale of the Flying Disk that plane-loads (or truck-loads) of alien ship last or second-to-last by the report author
was “not of this world” started to look a debris, specialists being flown in from (Col. Blanchard was one) when asked to
little suspect. Washington DC, Colorado, California… compare him to the other officers in his
all of which have to be addressed by any- command.
Meanwhile, disaster was falling on all one who seriously wants to try and un-
of the most coveted Roswell witnesses. derstand Roswell. It wasn’t until his period with SAC that
Gerry Anderson was caught fabricating deficiencies in personal appearance
documents and a diary, and lying about Jesse’s War: stopped appearing in the reports- ap-
the “archaeologist”… Jim Ragsdale, parently it had been explained to him
whose stories were suspiciously increas- So if Jesse’s tale of his war-time exploits just how important it was to be “squared
ing in dramatic content with each retell- and education got a little “enhancement” away” when you worked at the Penta-
ing, abruptly changed the location of his 35 years later, just what is the reality of gon.
crash site some 70 miles away... The di- his time in service?
ary of Barney Barnett’s wife showed con- Overall, Jesse’s record with the Army (and
clusively that he was nowhere near the His service records indicate the Jesse the post-split Air Force) could be rated
Plains of San Agustin during that critical fought the war well, but not exception- as Good to Very Good, but not Superior.
week… Glenn Dennis’s mysterious nurse ally well. Every indication is that Jesse He was never in trouble, did his job well,
apparently never existed, and many of performed his wartime duties compe- and generally pleased his superiors, but
his details were found to be misplaced tently and was not shy about taking showed little in the way of Leadership
memories from other times. some risks—while in the Pacific Theater, abilities. The Army thought enough of
he was promoted twice, and awarded him that he was not let go during the
Then finally, Frank Kaufmann’s widow al- two Air Medals and the Bronze Star. The post war demobilization that saw a huge
lowed researchers access to his papers records make absolutely no mention proportion of the troops sent home, and
after his death. These papers convinc- of him taking over a gun and shooting until his mother’s illness intervened, he
ingly showed that Frank had forged the down a plane (let alone five planes!). Nor seemed to be well on his way to a com-
documentation he had shown to the sto- is there any mention what-so-ever of him fortable career as a military bureaucrat.
rytellers, and that he was nothing more as a pilot--which, considering the branch
than an accomplished fabricator of his of service he was in, would be a decid- Today:
role in the Roswell Saga. edly noteworthy item. Gen. Ramey even
noted in an evaluation of Marcel that Ever since Marcel’s military records were
The Storytellers now found themselves his lack of pilot credentials would hurt acquired, there have been periodic “dis-
without all of their best Witnesses. Huge his chances of advancement in the Air cussions” between crash advocates and
holes had been ripped from their pub- Force. skeptics over the validity and the impor-
lished stories, and it became clear that tance of what Marcel said in those inter-
a renewed effort was required to try and The common criticism voiced in his Ef- views. A tape of Bill Moore’s interview
resurrect the Saga from certain ruin. ficiency Evaluations for ’43-‘45 was that has never surfaced, and neither has any
he lacked in leadership and was deficient from Stanton Friedman’s sessions. How-
Re-enter Major Jesse Marcel. in his “personal appearance”. However, ever, Bob Pratt did give copy of his inter-
praises for his abilities as an Intelligence view tape to Karl Pflock, who published a
With the loss of their most exciting wit- Officer, his attention to detail and his transcription. It is from this transcription,
nesses, long time crash advocates and work ethic, overshadowed those short- and the quotes Moore published in “The
Roswell researchers like Kevin Randle comings. His rating officers were all in Roswell Incident”, that we get Jesse’s
enhanced version of how he fought the THE GREATEST SECRET NEVER KEPT
war.
As I write this (February 2009), there is It has always been part of UFOlogy’s be- Easley’s and the governments reach appar-
a renewed battle being waged on the lief that the proof of alien visitation ex- ently did not extend into Louisianna. There,
Internet and in a book by Jesse Marcel isted and the government was conceal- Jesse Marcel Sr. told all of his friends about
Jr., to again try to resurrect Maj. Marcel’s ing this great secret. By the 1970s, it had how he helped recover a crashed UFO back
Credibility from the disaster wrought by become commonly accepted that the in 1947. Apparently, he either forgot his se-
the reality of his military records. Tactics government was concealing all sorts of curity oath or felt that nobody was going to
such as excusing his grandiose tales as secrets. So when the Roswell story broke, harm him or his family. The greatest secret
“résumé building”, or “kill the messenger” it was not unexpected that part of the ever kept was going to be revealed through
(in this case, Bob Todd), and “please cut story would include a cabal that would casual conversation with friends who could
him some slack” are being used to try go to enormous lengths to cover-up what spread the word to anyone they met. This
and elevate Jesse’s story from the quag- transpired. For some reason, their ability is how the Roswell story broke and the rest
mire his fanciful exaggerations created. to silence people failed when it came to is history.
Jesse Marcel.
At the same time, The Storytellers seem
loathe to give up the exciting stories of The special group designated for keep-
alien bodies, high security alerts and Jesse Marcel stated that he first heard ing the greatest secret apparently became
the plane loads of debris that their now about it when he got a phone call from complacent. Otherwise, they would have
discredited witnesses had brought to the sheriff’s office. One would think if been paying close attention to Jesse Mar-
the Saga. As a result, the argument over there had been a crashed spaceship found cel. The secret could have been kept had
Jesse’s credibility continues to ignore the prior to this and base activity significantly they simply jetted down to Louisianna and
huge gulf between his version of The In- increased, Jesse would have known be- forced Jesse to keep quiet the instant he
cident, and the versions that The Story- cause of his position. Instead, he reports began to tell his story to friends who did
tellers are actually selling. that Colonel Blanchard sent only Sheridan not need to know. Instead, the greatest
Cavitt and himself out to the ranch. What secret ever kept was allowed to appear in
Thanks to Bruce Hutchinson for sharing he discovered there was so secret that print without even a hint of concern. It was
this article with everyone. You can find it at Jesse stopped by his home on the way almost as if nobody really cared.
the new website, the Aerial Anomalies Re- back so his wife and son could examine
search Exchange. It looks like it is website it. He did not seemed to be concerned for
worth watching for new and informative security until a day later, when he would As the years passed, a parade of witnesses
articles about researching UFOs. then tell his son not to talk about it. Jesse appeared to talk about the events of that
would later add that he never received di- July. Easley’s stranglehold on the town of
rection about how secret the event really Roswell had been released. The cabal, who
was but he knew he was not supposed to dropped the ball by not eliminating the
The Roswell Incident has emerged as a talk about it. threat Marcel posed, now had to go into
myth of such power and allure that it is damage control. They would plant infor-
no longer in anybody’s best interests to mation in the archives that others could
seek - or admit - the truth. The town of This is the way things were for thirty years. find indicating a more mundane solution.
Roswell profits from increased tourism. Most people in the world knew nothing They would secretly encourage or pay in-
The supposed Roswell ‘witnesses’ get about a crashed spaceship recovery. Even dividuals to hide the greatest secret never
their two hours of fame, and immor- Presidents were kept in the dark about it. kept. The greatest secret never kept would
tality in the history books. The Roswell Meanwhile, the people in Roswell were be allowed to appear as nothing more than
‘investigators’ garner the adulation of scared into silence by the gestapo-like a balloon project run by a bunch idiot col-
their peers (assuming they have any), tactics employed by the Military Police lege boys, who would later try and claim
and the royalties from book and movie of Roswell Army Air Field under the com- they were the cause of the Roswell debris.
deals. The UFO ‘organizations’ enjoy mand of Major Edwin Easley. Easley, ac-
a new respectability they otherwise cording to the story told today, ensured
haven’t been able to achieve after near- that nobody was going to talk by select- The greatest secret never kept can now be
ly fifty years of worthless ‘research’... Is ing brutish MPs that could intimidate told thanks to Jesse Marcel Sr. In 1947, he
it any wonder the truth has been lost in children and their parents as well as the was just a bumbling Major, who goofed.
this hodgepodge of vested interests? - men in town. By threatening their fami- By the 1970s, while others cowered, Jesse
lies, they assured nobody was ever going stood tall and told the real story about Ro-
Robert Todd to talk. Major Edwin Easley’s diabolical swell. Today, he is almost like a demi-god,
actions ensured the greatest secret ever who is incapable of fault. The shrine in Ro-
Kowflop Quarterly December 8, 1995. kept would not be revealed by anybody swell is a testament to Jesse Marcel’s cour-
who was there. age in exposing “the greatest secret never
kept”.
Big surprise: Whatever Another UFO
The ISS causes “chase”
UFO reports
happened Going through Peter Davenport’s Na-
to...
tional UFO Reporting Center (NUFORC)
website, I stumbled across an interest-
The National UFO reporting center (NU- ing UFO report. Back on November 28,
FORC) reports for Mid-March 2009 had 2008 a gentleman in Pennsylvania was
several interesting reports that appear going to pickup his girlfriend from work.
to be sightings of the ISS. On the 17th 1. The Trindade research project? Around 7PM, he noticed two lights in the
there were two sightings, one in Chica- sky that were not normally there and, by
go and one in Ohio. Another sighting in In 2003, Brad Sparks described the work his estimate, were only a few hundred
Utah on the 14th also appears to be an of his “Trindade Research Project” on UFO feet off the ground. He decided it would
ISS pass. There were several in CaliforniaUpdates. It was meant to analyze the case be interesting to see what they were.
that appeared to be the ISS as well but again and verify it was not a hoax. This
their times did not quite match. How- would silence the “debunkers” once and for The little trip took longer than he thought.
ever, other than the times, their descrip-all. Maybe it is still an on going investiga- He drove roughly 25 miles from Jefferson
tions appear to match a bright ISS pass tion but the lack of any substantial report Hills to Washington before he lost sight of
in their sky that night. indicates that nothing conclusive has been the two objects. He was convinced they
discovered after six years. Sounds like an- were not stars because of their brilliance.
One of the witnesses stated the “UFO” other one of those projects that is not go-
was so bright it was hard to look at and ing anywhere fast. Where have I heard that The solution was very easy for this. Pe-
that it accelerated so fast they had a story before? ter Davenport wrote that he suspects the
hard to maintain their binoculars on it lights were Venus and Jupiter. I don’t think
(The ISS moves about a degree a sec- 2. The independent study of the “Ramey there is any doubt about it. He drove in a
ond, which means it only takes 5-10 memo”? southwest direction, which is the direc-
seconds to pass through a typical bin- tion where the two planets were located.
oculars field of view). The witness, who In 2002, Kevin Randle and James Houran Venus and Jupiter set before 8PM, which
stated that he had seen numerous craft wrote an article in the International UFO explains the disappearance of the two
like this over the years, appears to have Reporter about the “Ramey memo”. They UFOs when they got to Washington. The
been confusing satellites for UFOs. stated the next step would to have three mystery is solved.
independent laboratories investigate the
Another witness proclaimed they document that General Ramey holds in his This is just another example in the long
looked up the ISS to see if that was what hand. Surely, somebody who was interest- history of people who claimed to have
they saw. Apparently, they did not look ed in the truth would donate the money chased or were followed by bright plan-
at “Heaven’s -above” because it listed a to have the project completed. The lack ets. This gentleman was not stupid. He
pass at the same time they described. of any further news on this front indicates was just curious about what he had seen
UFOlogy does not want such a study to oc- in the night sky. Too bad he did not check
In one of the potential ISS pass ob- cur. Is it any wonder why Roswell remains an astronomy web site like Spaceweather
servations in California, the witnesses a “mystery” to UFOlogists? or call an amateur astronomy club for a
seemed distressed over what they saw better answer.
and desired answers. They stated they
even called 911! One can only hope that
Peter called them back and help them
recover from the anxiety.
Debunker!
—Rabid believer
—UFO “experiencer”
mean the reports are accurate or, in some
What has 60 years of UFO research accomplished? cases, even happened. There is always
room to question each case.
Unless we develop drastically new ideas None of these prove anything other than
and methodologies for the study of the baf- the government is concerned about se- What does UFOlogy expect to do in the
fling UFO cases and the human context in crets that may or may not have anything future? I have read MUFON has gotten a
which they occur, we will watch the next to do with covering up the truth about lot of money to create special teams to
thirty years of UFO report gathering simply UFOs. go to a UFO event and gather evidence. I
mirror the futility and frustration of the last am not certain what this will accomplish
thirty years. (Allan Hendry, UFO Investiga- UFOlogy has also spent time chasing since there are no cases to date that seem
tor’s handbook, p. 285) various crashes of alien spaceships. De- to have produced such evidence. I per-
spite many stories from various locations, sonally think the money will be wasted
It is interesting that we are now just past not once has a scrap of any of these craft and nothing will be accomplished. It was
that thirty year mark Allan Hendry had survived to be examined. That is unless also my impression that MUFON already
commented about in his book. As he you believe the government conspiracy had specially trained groups in each state
predicted, UFOlogy’s process is the same angle. In that case, anything is possible. and they certainly can reach an area with-
and no advancements have been made. You can create something out of noth- in hours of news of a UFO crash or land-
UFOlogists collect UFO reports and con- ing. All it takes is for a bright meteor to ing. Why would another team of “experts”
clude that UFOs must be some form of appear in the sky and have a few people be necessary? Does this mean the present
craft under “intelligent control”. Although state it was a spaceship that was immedi- organization and investigator “training” is
they never state “who” is controlling these ately whisked away by the US military. It completely worthless?
“craft”, there is always the implication that is interesting that this is the only endeav-
they are alien spaceships. What has UFOl- or that the US government seems to be What they should do with the money is
ogy done to demonstrate this is true? good at performing. They hide everything establish all sky video coverage the same
and not one government document that way amateur astronomers are doing with
Peter Sturrock thought the evidence had has surfaced to date demonstrates that meteors. Remember, UFOs are stated to
improved because he invited some scien- anything exotic has ever been recovered. be solid craft which are, in some cases,
tists to examine the best evidence gath- Still, the stories keep coming in and are immense in size. To increase resolution,
ered in the first fifty years of UFOlogy. To readily accepted by UFOlogists multiple cameras (vice one with wide
his dismay, Sturrock discovered that the angle lens) can be used with lenses that
scientists were not overly impressed by Even if no scraps of material have ever only cover a selected section of the sky. If
the presentations or the data. The panel been recovered, UFOlogists trumpet they done properly, the whole sky will still be
actually wrote that there still was no evi- have thousands of cases of “trace evi- covered. Video recordings with low light
dence of anything extraordinary in these dence” from UFO landings. Too bad most cameras from several locations could
reports and suggested other possibilities. of these “traces” are analyzed by ama- produce actual data that can be analyzed
Among their critique were comments teurs and not by any scientific organiza- by everyone! The cost would not be too
about current investigations suffering tions setup for the study of such samples. significant and three stations a few miles
from low standards of research. They also The lack of any scientific results says a lot apart per major city would be a start. Ad-
noted that investigators needed to be about the “trace” evidence. There may be ditionally, they can be made mobile so fo-
more willing to evaluate rival hypothesis some anomalies in the soil but they, like cus can be put on areas of increased UFO
objectively. While Sturrock trumpeted most UFO reports, are not completely in- activity. Even if no UFOs are recorded,
the fact that the panel felt that Condon explicable. one can use the videos to determine the
may have been hasty when he stated that source of UFO reports from that area. Of
science will learn nothing from the study Then there are the abduction stories, course, that means they would be used
of UFOs. It was a hollow victory at best. which can be explained as sleep dis- to debunk UFO sightings. I don’t think
The panel agreed with Condon that noth- orders. When the PBS program NOVA UFOlogists would be interested in that
ing has been learned from studying UFOs, asked for any abduction evidence back kind of research.
which is the biggest issue here. in 1990s, UFOlogists took a pass. They
could have presented implants or other As Hendry noted, UFOlogy needs to fix
The past thirty years of UFOlogy has been items they claim proves their case. In- itself. Attacking the problem the same
wasted chasing grand conspiracies. These stead, they appeared to fear having their old way, will get you the same old results.
are essentially the same conspiracies that evidence tested. This is exactly what UFOlogists continue
were being chased in the first thirty years to do in their quest for evidence. Does
by UFO groups! Has new and reliable This brings us to the various UFO “coin UFOlogy really have the wisdom to pro-
evidence surfaced that clearly demon- collectors”, who collect UFO reports as if duce real data for scientists or are they
strates that a conspiracy exists? So far, they were precious artifacts. The major just interested in perpetuating a mys-
the answer is no. I am sure UFOlogists problem with all these cases is they really tery? Is it easier to sell books, fill conven-
might disagree with me here and point to do not mean much. Sure, some are really tion halls, and appear on Larry King than
some vague statement, produce blacked interesting and may not be satisfacto- it is to gather data that can be quantified
out documents, or even mention MJ-12. rily explainable. However, that does not and measured? The world wonders.....
UFOs on the tube Book Reviews
Buy it! (No UFO library should do
UFO Hunters: without it)
no conclusions. I am sure he was
briefed not to say anything that Allan Hendry - The UFO Investigators
The History channel really needs to be could be used by “debunkers”. handbook.
taken to task here. I am not sure who Bill
Birnes knows there but this is really an Further ridiculous experiments were Without a doubt, this book is at the top
awful show. I even think a few UFOlogists conducted but these stood out. One can of my list for buying. I have two copies
probably shake their heads watching the only take so much uncritical thinking be- in my library simply because the first
shows. To be honest, I can only take the fore your mind glazes over. became so worn out. I scanned that one
show in small spurts and I occasionally into a pdf document and can now access
miss some of each show. The remote is The antics of Bill Birnes demonstrates it at any time. I can find very little to fault
far too tempting and I almost want to that he has to be the most gullible and in this book and I think it should be re-
watch “Family guy” repeats instead. How- ridiculous UFO investigator ever. In the quired reading for anybody wanting to
ever, curiosity keeps me coming back to abduction episode, an ex-marine, who investigate UFOs. It is honest about the
see what ridiculous thing they will say or served for only a few years, recounts all of pitfalls of UFO sightings and is a guide for
do next. his episodes of seeing UFOs and declares many possible sources of UFO events. It
they could not be aircraft because he is an is no longer in print but you can find it
The show seems to take pride in perform- expert! Bill Birnes repeats this nonsense in used book stores. I am also aware that
ing “Scientific experiments” which are ex- by declaring this guy a trained observer. some libraries have it.
periments in name but not very scientific The last time I checked, the Marines train
in nature. Some great examples are: their guys to take beaches and conduct Borrow it. (Worth checking out of
assaults. They receive no training in ob- library or borrowing from a friend)
1. The attempt to simulate the Arizona serving stars, satellites, balloons, planes,
UFO videos by using maritime safety etc. Assuming he was an enlisted man, Don Schmitt and Kevin Randle - UFO
flares shot over a harbor. Not only this guy was, at best, a corporal, during Crash at Roswell.
are the flares different, they are at dif- his service. Corporals are to be respected
ferent altitudes. If they really wanted but their experience is limited. To call this I bet you figured I would bin this one. No,
to conduct a test, why didn’t they guy a “trained” observer was a gross ex- I think it is an important document for
simply observe the Barry Goldwater aggeration. To me the story sounded too the Roswell saga. Flawed as it is, it also
test range for a few weeks with video much like Ed Walters except he did not has some very important statements by
cameras from a distance of about 50 have the skill to take hoax photographs witnesses before contamination had be-
miles? It was a rigged experiment de- like Mr. Ed. come a serious issue. While these inter-
signed to get the desired result. views were being gathered, few people
Even more astounding were the claims outside of UFOlogy knew what Roswell
2. They tested a piece of suspect Ro- made by Bill Birnes in the flying triangles was about and the town was not aware
swell debris somebody found at one episode. He openly boasted that he had of the financial rewards.
of the many spaceship “crash sites”. It documentation that an Army Officer had
was tested in a lab and determined time traveled into the future twenty Bin it! (Not worth the paper it is
to be nothing more than plastic. In years! Not a single person questioned written upon - send to recycle bin)
order to make it sound like there was him or his claim. Can anyone take this
something special found, they point guy seriously? Philip Corso and William Birnes -The day
out that this type of plastic was not after Roswell.
available in 1947. Of course, they ig- The whole show is not investigative jour-
nored the simple fact that something nalism and can not be considered “his- The book is full of wild stories about how
picked up off the ground does not tory” unless it is about twisting history. In Corso used the Roswell debris to change
have to be from the 1947 time frame. my opinion, each show should have the the course of human history by examin-
It could have been dropped there in following ending. ing the debris from the crashed saucer at
1997 or even 2008! Roswell. Thanks to Corso, modern elec-
tronics and all other technologies were
3. They tested the blood of two po- created because of him.
tential abductees and found similar
blood chemistry results. No blind Corso is a modern day “Walter Mitty”. I
experiments were done to see if can never understand why ex-military
other people who have not been ab- officers need to inflate their resumes and
ducted also had the same traces in tell wild stories. Too many John Wayne
their chemistry. The doctor seemed movies, I guess..
to take a neutral position and drew
An Iridium flare makes a brief appearance in the night sky. Iridium flares
can generate UFO reports