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Project Blue Book desk file, Socorro (217 pages)

The Black Vault (Rob Mercer collection) · 217 pages · text from the file's own layer

This 217-page Project Blue Book desk file on the 24 April 1964 Socorro, New Mexico sighting by policeman Lonnie Zamora comes from the Rob Mercer collection. It contains the Blue Book record card, which carries the case as unidentified pending more data, along with Foreign Technology Division messages and resumes and a narrative of the sighting. It also holds inquiries about lunar modules, helicopters and VTOL craft, soil and radiation findings, and a letter by J. Allen Hynek rejecting Donald Menzel's hoax hypothesis.

  • p. 3 …TWX regarding Capt Quintanilla's visit to Socorro dtd 30 Jun 2. TWX frcm SAFOI dtd…
  • p. 6 …EVALUATION OF TH~ RECENT UFO SIGHTING AT SOCORRO, NEW i•lEXIC , 24 APRIL, CONTINUE TO BE…
  • p. 7 TDEW UFO Sighting, Socorro, Nev Mexico, 24 Apr 64 Hq USAF SAFOI PB {Mrs Gaiser) Wash…
  • p. 9 …Force and might be attributed to the Socorro 1 New V..exico sighting. FOR THE COMMANDER…
  • p. 10 UNIDENTIFIED FLYING OBJECT REPORT SOCORRO, NEW MEXICO, 24 APRIL 1964 On April 24, 1964, a Socorro…
  • p. 12 …TDEW UFO Sighting, Socorro, Nev Mexico, 24 Apr 64 26 May 64 Hq· USAF SAFOI PB…
  • p. 13 …On Tuesday I re April 1964, Capt Quintanilla directed Doctor J All.en Hynek to Socorro…
  • p. 14 …produce markings such as those ·round at Socorro. One knovn experiaental model, constructed by Bell Air…
  • p. 16 NARRATIVE OF SOCORRO, NEW MEXICO SIGHTll~G 1 24 APRIL 1964 .. Shortly after 5:30 pm…
  • p. 22 …OFf\ClAL F\LE COPY I . 'l'DEW/UFO UP'O Sighting Socorro, Nev Mexico Test…
  • p. 23 …18 May 1964 TSgt Moody called Mr Opal Grinder at 835-9916 in Socorro New Mexico…
  • p. 24 …capt Quintanilla contacted the FTD liaison office at Holloman AFB regarding the Socorro sighting and requested…
  • p. 25 …with an unidentified flying object sighting at Socorro, Nev Mexico . The Air Force is · investigating the…
  • p. 28 …Cloud ~ ap operations were conducted in an area about a hundred miles north of Socorro, New…
  • p. 29 …Cloud Gap operations were conducted in an area about a hundred miles north of Socorro, ~J…
  • p. 76 …Byrnes to;ould like for me to contact him at the state Po.Lice Office, Socorro…
  • p. 77 …1~f'r tI - ~ - Socorro of .t! ~- Wheels skidded. Made three attempts to climb hill~ ,Pl…
  • p. 86 ,, ttro~EL' Sccc; Apr11 ~ ~Y !·!.e:dco .1.964 Lonnie Zamora., 606 Resevoir street~ Socorro, !The…
  • p. 93 …jl.P..nci, lil%t of the Socorro t--otin~ D~:>J,.b"'Ul: ::.nt., , ;.~ - ~'>b…
  • p. 96 INFORMATION RELATIVE TO THE SOCORRO SIGHTING OF UFO BY LONNIE z.A.'.iORA At 0530, Sunday…
  • p. 98 …Coral Lorenzen and husband were in Socorro at the time and had inter- viewed both Lonnie…
  • p. 100 .>, REPORT ON SOCORRO NEW MEXICO TRIP On TUesday, April 28, 1964, in resp6nse to a call…
  • p. 103 …No 9 shows the town of Socorro in the distance, looking down longatudi- nally through the…
  • p. 105 …In about a month, I shall have occassion to return to the Socorro area, at which…
  • p. 106 …But, it is essential .that the Socorro case be given the treatment. I also questioned, while…
  • p. 126 …details on the April 24, sighting at Socorro, New Mexico, made by Lt. Zmmora. ,, Project 1964…
  • p. 127 …As I recall, the man ~as driving into Socorro at the time. Unfortunately, I no longer…
  • p. 129 …ly over his car. :Socorro on an isolated hill re- On AP'ril 24, 1964, Socorro…
  • p. 132 …ing of an unidentified flying object at the outskirts of Socorro Friday afternoon ·and the sighting…
  • p. 133 …American UFO Committee Review, Vol 1 No 2, Sep V'+ Socorro 1 H. H. : . . I •t…
  • p. 134 …policeman Lonnie zamora. !shaped object on the desert l about a mile south of Socorro. POLICE…
  • p. 135 …the so>clu·lf:'d hill where Socorro i an ~'.. an \\edg~:--l'?f'Pd im…
  • p. 136 ASTRONOMER TO NEW MEXICO Flying Objects Area Probed SOCORRO, N.M.-(jp)-An !Wright-Patterson Air…
  • p. 137 …ALBuQUERQUE JOURNAL SOCORRO, NEW MEXICO 24 Apr 64DATE: 29 APR 64 Air Force UFO Expert to…
  • p. 138 …28 APR 64 . • • SOCORRO NEW MEXICO DATE: 24 APR 64 A rash of unidentified fly- e…
  • p. 139 …SOCORRO, April 27 lA'! - Socorro police were called to the scene last night where an . ·cer…
  • p. 140 '~"'~ ' i' '... . " . .. .n~".· ,, J ~-"'t:~".t · ·s ,)~.l~"~.l ) i.,:i:'\.11 SOCORRO ll'l -Dr. J…
  • p. 141 …his investigation of a Socorro policeman's report that he saw a mysterious ilying ob-- ject…
  • p. 143 …the heels of e similar report from a Socorro pol ! r.-~ :nr:.n. Lonnie Zamora, who…
  • p. 144 …the one-11 l desc·ribej at Socorro. Sho s :lid i she is investigating the…
  • p. 145 …southwest or Socorro Sunday night, where city officer Lonnie · Z3mora firsl r('poft"l.!tl see…
  • p. 147 …r : (! from a Socorro tee::1ager . •u A;bu-! querquc motorist, ) ~ · .'i :: 1•< o I men…
  • p. 149 …5 CASES of sightings 1n 1963 or early 1964 reported subsequent to Socorro Sightings · 25 Apr…
  • p. 150 …BE A'I'l'RIBUTED TO THE SOCORRO, NEW MEXICO SIGHTING: 1. 26,Apr 64, Grants…
  • p. 151 …were irregularly ly landed there," Chavez A report by a Socorro po- spaced with the distance…
  • p. 152 …gained ·sudden national attention Friday after he saw an egg-shaped flying object near Socorro said…
  • p. 153 …drove 1 to Socorro from Tucson to take samples of the soil and , indicated the story…
  • p. 154 …sightin J! of a UFO in Socorro puzzled by lack of radar con- balls and meteorites…
  • p. 155 …29 A.r 6 Flying Object Expert Checks Socorro Scene Astronomer Takes Photos At UFO Site…
  • p. 159 …Gallegos' report came on I the heels of a similar report II from a Socorro policeman…
  • p. 160 …objects ( in the sky between here and ~ Socorro. ~' The rash of incidents start- ed .Friday when…
  • p. 161 …Gallegos' report came on• the heels o! a similar report 1 from a Socorro policeman, Lonnie…
  • p. 162 .ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL 26 APRIL 1994 ) 1JE JOU:-'''/' '- \Mysterious Object Pays Visit to Socorro Area I SOC…
  • p. 163 ' , PRICE lOc SOCORRO: Inhabited Since 1540 Home of the Famed New Mexico Institute of Mining & Technology…
  • p. 166 …The original Socorro report had wide public 1ty, hut to date the A F has never…
  • p. 167 …P'ass and 1 ound scorched indentations o;: :ed&'e-shaped the Socorro aft e &'round…
  • p. 168 …Sam Chavez said he was told by Socorro policeman Lonnie Zamora . that the UFO he saw…
  • p. 170 …burned by exhaust a mile south of Socorro. He denied from the saucer. j seeing any…
  • p. 171 …United Press International thing very few have ever flew away after he got within SOCORRO, N…
  • p. 172 …Flymg Obects Zamora, when contacted at since Friday when Socorro sat~ from h~s Oklahoma…
.>,
REPORT ON SOCORRO NEW MEXICO TRIP
On TUesday, April 28, 1964, in resp6nse to a call from Captain Quintanilla,
I enplaned for Albuquerque to meet with Major Conner of Kirtland Air Force
Base and associates. I called a prospective graduate student in astronomy,
now working at K~and Air Force Base, before I left the office, asking
him to meet me. rrhis proved totally unnecessary since, when the plane
from Denver arrived in Albuquerque, I heard some mummurs from the front
pert of the plane to the effect that "there must be a celebrity aboard"
· and discovered to my amazement that, as I left the plane, numerous flesh-
bulbs began popping, and I was importuned for one interview after another.
Since I knew nothing, there was very little that I could say, and conse-
quently I got out of the situation very easily. It would appear that
Major Conner's PIO man was very effective. I had unfortunately neglected
to ask Major Conner in advance to keep things quiet.
As soon as I got the reporters out of my hair, we went to Major Conner's
office at Kirtland Air Force Base, where I called Dr LaPaz by phone to
ask whether he might go down to Socorro with us. He"Vasunable to make
it, but told me that a number of a years before he had worked with
Zamora on a field trip in search of a fallen meteorite. He gave Zamora
a very clean bill of health and said that he was a completely reliable
. person. We then headed down in an Air Force car for Socorro, which is
some· 75 miles south of Albuquerque, and when we were nearly there, we
had a flat ·tire. It turned out that the jack was missing, although the
car had been reported in excellent shape, and so we had to hail passers-
by,finally snagging one car whose occupants indicated that they would
inform the sheriff's office When they got into town. Time passed and
we snagged another car, this time with four wone n in it. They took me
into town so that I could relay the call, and this was rather fortunate;
all in ell, because I had the chance to have a preliminary with Sergeant
Chaves before the rest (Major Conner and Mr James Wray, the prospective
graduate student ) got down. It was during this preliminary interview
in the jail that Sergeant Chaves told me that Zamora was getting dis-
gusted with the whole thing and with the general misrepresentation he
was the victim of. After some general reluctance, Sergeant Chaves
agreed to have Zamora there that evening after dinner, provided tha~
Zamora end he could talk to me privately. I agreed to this,. and when
the repaired car finally got down with its occupants, we went to dinner
{ paid for all the meals of the two from Albuquerque both this day and
the next) , and after dinner, Major Conner and Mr Wray went back to
Albuquerque, and I went to the jail to talk for the next two hours · with
Zamora and Chaves.
After a fairly lengthy time spent in getting them warmed up to the subject, .
I got the major sketch of the situation. During one or two times when
Zamora (who was on duty) had to step out of the room, Chaves told me of
some of Zamora's reactions. Apparently Zamora was not going to say any-
thing about it, but it was at Chaves' advice that he did. He then apparentlyRob Mercer

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