House Armed Services Committee hearing on UFOs, April 5, 1966

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of Investigating the sightings, and the public. The conclusions reached have
been assisted by two more examinations of the flies of Project Blue Book, the
Air Force name for Its study and its verdicts on UFO reports.
A main conclusion can be briefly stated. It is that the Air Force is misleading
the public by it continuing campaign to produce and maintain belief that all sight-
ings can be explained away as mlsidentifications of familiar objects, such as
baUoons, stars, and aircraft.
The logical assumption, backed by much circumstantial evidence, is that the
Air Force is deliberately misleading the public.
In this campaign the Air Force, backed by normal public respect for the military
and for authoritative statements, and also assisted by the natural human dis-
inclination to think uncommonly or to be laughed at, has been largely successful.
However, the Air Force success in having the public believe what It wants it
to believe respecting UFO's is steadily and conspicuously lessening. More and
more skepticism is being voiced in newspapers and by citizens.
Another chief conclusion is this: no energetic and thorough effort to Investi-
gate the unidentified flying object phenomenon is being made by the Air Force or
ever has been made by it. And this charge holds true respect any other Gov-
ernment agency and respecting what has been termed the Nation's scientific
community.
Reasons for the persevering Air Force performance are unknown to the public.
In the speculation one of the following three reasons is commonly advanced: the
Air Force fears national panic if the truth about the UFO's were told; the Air
Force feels it is stuck with its story; or the Air Force is silenced by the Central
Intelligence Agency.
The first alleged reason, however uncomplimentary to the Intelligence of our
citizens, Is one that has been heard at the Capitol off and on for approaching 20
years. Some speculate it may be the reason the Air Force has given to the chair-
men of the two congressional space committees in its understood endeavor to hold
off a congressional Investigation of the, UFO subject.
What is the truth ab6t the OFO's? It Is quite possible that no one on this
earth knows.
A veteran New England congressional leader, who was in a position to know,
told this writer that ' the Air Force didn't know what they are. Officials 6f the
Central Intelligence Agency ought to know it anyone does, yet a former head of
the CIA, Adm. R. H. Hftlenkootter, affirmed half a dozen years ago that he did
not believe in the Air Force explainings-away; but he did not Indicate he thought
he thought he knows the truth of the matter.
An increasing number of good observers hold that a sizable minority of the
sightings-many sightings" presumably are misidentifications-represent some-
thing new and unknown. A large number of these observers, who include
veteran, pilots, radar operators, air traffic controllers, teachers, astronomers, and
other experts, hold that the unknown UFO'sare extraterrestrial.
To all this Air Force officials can and do respond that not a single tangible
bit of evidence of any such UFO has been found. This is a mighty strong argu-
mnent, the strongest argument of the so-called explainers-away.
Yet 'to an augmenting number of competent observers the evidence grows
stronger that some of the UFO's are real and really unknown. So very many
impressive sightings can't be explained away, It is said..
"From the United States, from Argentina, Uruguay, Portugal, France, Ant-
arctica, and Australia; (from four continents) have come the rash of reports of
sightings of unidentified flying objects (UFO's). The sightings have been the
most numerous since 1957." So summarized a United Press International 'dis-
patch last August.
First and last, few presumably will challenge a conclusion that the mystery
and the problem of the unidentified flying object remain with this world.
And as for the Air Force, with its intensive campaign to explain away every
UFO sighting, it might listen to the recent advice of a veteran astronomer, Dr.
I. M. Levitt, director of the Fels Planetarium, Franklin Institute, Philadelphia,
said:
"It would be well if our Project Blue Book officials were simply to indicate
that sightings in a minority of cases cannot be explained. It would clear the air
of a great deal of misunderstanding Aind milstrust of this group by the intelligent
laymen and observers who have seen objects In the sky."