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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 Agencyofficials felt the confirmed that therecording con tained onlyidentifiableMorse code which came from aknown US- licensed radiostation.57 DavidsonwroteDullesagain. This time hewanted toknow theidentity of theMorseoperator and of the agency that hadconducted theanaly sis. CIA and the AirForcewere now in aquandary. TheAgency had pre viouslydenied that it hadactually analyzed the tape. The AirForce had alsodeniedanalyzing the tape and claimed thatWalker was an AirForce officer. CIAofficers,undercover, contactedDavidson inChicago and promised to get the codetranslation and theidentification of thetransmit ter, ifpossible. 58 inanotherattempt topacifyDavid son, a CIAofficer, again undercover andwearing his AirForceuniform, contactedDavidson in NewYork City. The CIAofficerexplained that there was nosuperagencyinvolved and that AirForcepolicy was not to disclosewho wasdoingwhat. While seeming toaccept thisargument, Davidsonneverthelesspressed for dis closure of therecordingmessage and thesource. Theofficeragreed to see what hecould do.59 Afterchecking withHeadquarters, the CIAofficer phonedDavidson to report that a thoroughcheck had beenmade and, because thesignal was ofknown US origin, the tape and the notesmade at the time had beendestroyed to conserve filespace. 60 Incensed overwhat heperceived was arunaround,Davidson told the CIA officer that he and hisagency, whichever it was, wereacting like JimmyHoffa and theTeamster need to keepinformed on UFOs ifonly to alert the DCI to themore sensationalUFOreports andflaps. 9, Union indestroyingrecordswhich mightindictthem. 6 Believing that anymorecontact withDavidson would onlyencouragemorespecula tion, theContactDivisionwashed its hands of the issue byreporting to the DCI and toATIC that itwould not respond to or try tocontactDavidson again.62 Thus, aminor,rather bizarreincident,handledpoorly by both CIA and the AirForce,turned into amajor flap thatadded fuel to thegrowingmysterysurrounding UFOs andCIA s role in their investigation. Anotherminor flap a fewmonths lateradded to thegrowingquestions surrounding theAgency s true role withregard toflyingsaucers. CIA s concern oversecrecyagain made mat tersworse. In 1958,MajorKeyhoe charged that theAgency wasdeliber atelyaskingeyewitnesses ofUFOs not to make theirsightingspublic. 63 Theincidentstemmed from a November 1957request from OSI to the CD toobtain fromRalph C. Mayher, aphotographer forKYW TV inCleveland, Ohio,certain pho tographs he took in 1952 of an unidentifiedflyingobject. Harry Real, a CDofficer,contacted May- her andobtainedcopies of the photographs foranalysis. On 12 December 1957, JohnHazen, another CDofficer,returned the five photographs of thealleged UFO to Mayherwithoutcomment. Mayher askedHazen for theAgency sevalua non of thephotos,explaining that he was trying toorganize a TVprogram to brief thepublic onUFOs. He wanted tomention on theshow that a USintelligenceorganization had viewed thephotographs andthought them ofinterest.Although he advisedMayher not to take this approach,Hazenstated thatMayher was a UScitizen andwould have to make his owndecision as to what to do.64 Keyhoe latercontactedMayher, who told him hisstory ofCIA and the photographs. Keyhoe then asked the Agency toconfirmHazen semploy ment inwriting, in aneffort to exposeCIA s role in UFOinvestiga tions. TheAgencyrefused,despite the fact that CD fieldrepresentatives werenormallyovert andcarried cre dentialsidentifying theirAgency association. DCIDulles s aide, John S.Earman,merely sentKeyhoe a noncommittal letternoting that, becauseUFOs were ofprimary con cern to theDepartment of the Air Force, theAgency hadreferred his letter to the AirForce for anappro priateresponse. Like theresponse to Davidson, theAgencyreply to Key- hoe onlyfueled thespeculation that theAgency wasdeeplyinvolved in UFOsightings. Pressure forrelease ofCIAinformation onUFOscontin ued togrow. 65 Although CIA had adeclininginter est inUFO cases, itcontinued to monitor UFOsightings. Agency offi cials felt the need to keepinformed onUFOs ifonly to alert the DCI to the moresensational UFOreports andflaps. 66 75
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