Unidentified flying objects: hearing before the Committee on Armed Forces of the House of Representatives, Eighty-ninth Congress, second session, April 5, 1966 ...

6061
All
UFO
reports
which
are submitted
to
the Air
Force
are regarded
as
earnest
reports
from
people
who
have
seen
an
aerial
object
which
they
could
not
identify.
The
purpose
of
our
program
is
to
evaluate
such
reports
and
to
inform
the
observer
of the
cause
of
his
sighting.
The
National
Investigations
Committee
on
Aerial
Phenomena
is
a
private
organization
which
is
in
no
way
affiliated
with
our
Government.
It
is
a
pleasure
to again be of
service to
you.
Sincerely,
DWIGHT
W.
COVELL,
Colonel,
USAF,
Congressional
Inquiry
Division,
°See
of
Legislative
Liaison.
JANUARY
11, 1966.
Hon.
L.
MENDEL
RIVERS,
House
of
Representatives,
Washington, D.C.
MY
DEAR
SIR:
Thank
you
for the very
prompt
reply
(Jan.
6,
1966)
to
my
letter
of
December
29,
regarding
UFO's.
You
stated
that
you
may
check
out
my
comments
with
the proper
authorities.
Knowing
in
advance
essentially
what
reactions
you
will
receive
from
these
authorities,
be
they Air
Force,
Department
of Defense, or
Congressional
Inquiry
Division
officials,
I
strongly
and
respectfully
request
you
withhold acceptance
of
their
statements
until
you
contact
Maj. Donald
Keyhoe
(USMC,
retired)
or
Mr.
Richard
Hall.
These
gentlemen,
as you
are undoubtedly
aware,
are
director
and
associate
director,
respectively,
of
NICAP
and
can
be
reached
at
NOrth
7-9434.
This
course
of
action
is
most
desirable
for
the
ultimate
best
interest
of
the
American
people
as
it
permits
both
sides
of
this
controversy
to
be im-
partially
weighed.
NICAP,
in
the
9
years
since
its
inception,
has amassed
sufficient
factual
in-
formation, documentation,
and
evidence
to
refute
any
or
all
Air
Force
claims.
The
organization
asks
only that
it
be
given
the
opportunity
to
present
this
information
in
open
hearings
in
order
to
attain
its
immediate
goal
of
getting
to
the
people
the
truth
about
the
UFO's, as can
be
ascertained
and
officially
confirmed;
and
the
best
hope of
achieving
this
end
is
through
congressional
action.
Respectfully yours,
JOHN
R.
GRAY,
Huntington Beach,
Calif.
DECEMBER
29, 1965.
Hon.
L.
MENDEL
RIVERS,U.S.
House
of Representatives,
The
Howe
Office
Building,
Washington, D.C.
MY
DEAR
SIR:
As
chairman
of
the
House Armed
Services
Committee, you
may
be the proper person
in
the
House,
to
whom
I
should address
this
correspondencepertaining to
a
subject,
the
scientific
aspect of
which
promises
far-reaching
impli-
cations.
A
considerable
amount
of genuine
scientific
research
by
private
indi-
viduals in this
field
is
being
thwarted,
in part,
by
a
policy
of
an
agency
of the
U.S.
Government
through the
employment of
ridicule
and
the withholding ofpertinent information.
It
is
a
field
that
has been the
subject
of suppression
since
1947
and
particularly since
1953 by
order of the
Secretary of the Air Force.
The
subject,
of
which I
write,
is
that of
unidentified flying
objects
(UFO's)and
the Air Force
censorship in
the handling of
legitimate sightings
and
reports.
The
publicized conclusions, in part,
of the Air
Force's Project
Blue Book
are:
(1) No
unidentified flying
object reported, investigated,
and
evaluated
bythe Air Force has
ever given
any
indication
of threat to
our
national security;
(2)
There has
been
no
evidence submitted to
or
disclosed
by
the Air Forcethat sightings categorized
as
unidentified
represent technological develop-
ments or
principles
beyond
the range of present
day
scientific
knowledge;
and
(3)
There has been
no
evidence indicating that sightings categorized
asunidentified
are extra
terrestrial vehicles.
Other than the close encounters with
UFO's
reported
by
airline
and
militarypilots,
an element of truth can be conceded in conclusion (1). However,
thevadility of
number (2) must be disputed.
Do we
possess
any
aircraft that can:
1.
On
close proximity to ground
vehicles disrupt the running engines,
headlights, and radios of those vehicles?