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This 1997 study by Gerald K. Haines, National Reconnaissance Office historian, traces CIA interest in UFOs from the late 1940s to 1990 using Agency records compiled after DCI R. James Woolsey ordered a 1993 file review. It covers Air Force projects SIGN, GRUDGE and BLUE BOOK, the 1953 Robertson panel, U-2 and OXCART flights mistaken for UFOs, and disputes with Keyhoe and Davidson. It concludes that Agency concern was substantial until the early 1950s and limited and peripheral since.
UFOs InvestigationsCommittee onAerial Phenomena(NICAP) and theAerial PhenomenaResearchOrganization (APRO)immediatelypushed for release of theRobertson panel report.47 Underpressure, the Air Forceapproached CIA forpermission todeclassify andrelease thereport. Despite suchpressure, PhilipStrong, DeputyAssistantDirector ofOSI, refused todeclassify thereport and declined todisclose CIAsponsorship of thepanel. As analternative, the Agencyprepared asanitizedversion of thereportwhichdeleted anyreference to CIA andavoidedmention ofany psychologicalwarfarepotential in the UFOcontroversy. 48 Thedemands,however, formore gov ernmentinformation aboutUFOs did not let up. On 8Match 1958, Key- hoe, in aninterviewwith Mike Wallace ofCBS,claimed deep CIA involvement withUFOs andAgency sponsorship of theRobertsonpanel. Thisprompted aseries ofletters to theAgencyfromKeyhoe and Dr. LeonDavidson, achemicalengineer andUFOlogist. Theydemanded the release of the fullRobertson panel report andconfirmation ofCIA involvement in the UFO issue. Davidson hadconvincedhimselfthat theAgency, not the AirForce,carried most of theresponsibility forUFO analysis and that theactivities of the USGovernment areresponsible for theflyingsaucersightings of the last decade. Indeed,because of the undisclosed U-2 andOXCART flights,Davidson wascloser to the truth than hesuspected. CI,neverthe less held firm to itspolicy ofnot revealing its role in UFOinvestiga tions andrefused todeclassify the full Robertson panelreport. ~ In ameetingwith AirForcerepresenta tives todiscuss how tohandlefuture inquires such asKeyhoe s andDavid son s,Agencyofficialsconfirmed their opposition to thedeclassification of the fullreport andworried that Key- hoe had the ear offormer DCIVAdm. RoscoeHillenkoetter, whoserved on theboard ofgovernors ofNICAP. Theydebatedwhether to have CIA GeneralCounselLawrence R.Hous ton showHillenkoetter thereport as a possible way todefuse thesituation. CIAofficerFrankChapin alsohinted thatDavidsonmight haveulterior motives, some ofthemperhaps not in the bestinterest of thiscountry, andsuggestedbringing in the FBI to investigate.50Although therecord is unclearwhether the FBI ever insti tuted aninvestigation ofDavidson or Keyhoe, orwhetherHouston ever saw Hillenkoetterabout theRobertson report,Hillenkoetter didresign from theNICAP inI962.~ TheAgency was alsoinvolved with Davidson andKeyhoe in tworather famous UFO cases in the 1950s, whichhelpedcontribute to agrowing sense ofpublicdistrust ofCIAwith regard toUFOs. Onefocused on what wasreported to have been a tape recording of aradiosignal from a fly ingsaucer; theother onreported photographs of aflyingsaucer. The radio code incidentbeganinno centlyenough in 1955,when two elderlysisters inChicago,Mildred andMarieMaier,reported in theJour nal ofSpaceFlighttheirexperiences withUFOs,including therecording of a radioprogram inwhich an uni dentified code wasreportedlyheard. Thesisters taped theprogram and other ham radiooperators also claimed to haveheard the space mes sage. OSIbecameinterested and asked theScientificContactBranch toobtain a copy of therecording.52 Fieldofficers from theContact Divi sion (CD), one ofwhom wasDewelt Walker, madecontact with theMaier sisters, who were thrilled that the government wasinterested, and set up a time to meetwiththem.53 In try ing tosecure the taperecording, the Agencyofficersreported that they had stumbled upon ascene fromArsenic and OldLace. The only thing lack ing was theelderberrywine, Walker cabledHeadquarters. Afterreviewing thesisters scrapbook ofclippings from their days on thestage, the offic erssecured a copy of therecording. ~ OSIanalyzed the tape andfound it wasnothingmore thanMorse code from a US radiostation. Thematterrestedthere until UFOlogist LeonDavidsontalked with theMalersisters in 1957. The sistersremembered they hadtalked with a Mr.Walker who said he was from the US AirForce. Davidson thenwrote to a Mr.Walker,believing him to be a US AirForceIntelligence Officer fromWright-Patterson, to ask if the tape had beenanalyzed at ATIC. DeweltWalkerreplied to Davidson that the tape had been for warded toproperauthorities for evaluation, and noinformation was availableconcerning theresults. Not satisfied, andsuspecting thatWalker wasreally a CIAofficer,Davidson nextwrote DCIAllenDullesdemand ing to learn what thecodedmessage revealed and who Mr.Walker was. TheAgency,wanting to keep Walker sidentity as a CIAemployee secret,replied thatanotheragency of thegovernment hadanalyzed the tape inquestion and thatDavidsonwould behearing from the AirForce.56 On 5August, the AirForcewroteDavid sonsaying thatWalker was and is an AirForceOfficer and that the tape wasanalyzed byanothergovernment organization. The AirForce letter 74
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