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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.
“Socorro, New Mexico”40 pages
maneuver was in progress, unless the log of such maneuvers is produced, and better yet, the entire "crime" reinacted, preferably in Zamora's presence. I recognize that this will be a very difficult task, but in view of the importance of this case, I think every attempt should be made to do this. It will require, very possibly, the attention of the Secretary of the Air Force himself. It would be well, .further, for "files protection" for the Air Force to tabulate from its records, and from available records from other sources, of other reported landings, such as, for instance, the cronological list which appeared in the January-February 1964 issue of Flying Saucer Review. Ignorance of what NICAP and AFRO will designate as similar cases will be of little help. In about a month, I shall have occassion to return to the Socorro area, at which time I will discuss with Zamora and Chaves after the excitement has completely simmered down, some of the finer points of the sighting, such as the location at which radio calls were made, etc. The wind at that time was blowing very strongly from the south and I established by r~peated questioning that the object had taken off either at right angles to the wind, or partially into the wind. I have not stressed the insignia which Zamora reported, since he drew exactly the same t hing which he had drawn for Capt Holder. I did question him many times on the shape of the object, as to whether it had clear cut edges or fuzzy edges, as to bits of color, etc., but the results were virtually the same as the information given to Capt Holder. The object was egg-shaped, had the inverted V insignia on it, two legs seemed to ·be protruding from the object,which was not chrome but "whitish- aluminum', and it was further established that the great roar during its initial take-off disappeared suddenly and the horizontal flight away and over the dynamite shack was noiseless. I questioned Mr Art Burns of the FBI, and several others who had been on the site within the first hours after the sighting as to the alleged freshness of the tracks. They were all of the opinion that the tracks were, indeed, fresh. Although Zamora was the only witness to the actual sighting, nine people in all saw the markings. Altogether nine people saw the markings within hours of the sighting and before the hourds of curiosity .seekers descended upon the place t he following day. After I visited the place of the sighting,· I had several other talks with local people, and, in particular, with ~~e reporter of the El Defensor Chieftan, or perhaps it was the editor (its a small paper). I believe that I talked with Mr Lewis A Reddell, the publisher of the El Defensor. 6Rob Mercer
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