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Project Blue Book Socorro file

The Black Vault · 167 pages · text by GLM-OCR

This Black Vault release compiles 1964 newspaper and wire service clippings plus a Project Blue Book summary on the Socorro, New Mexico sighting by policeman Lonnie Zamora on April 24, 1964, when an egg-shaped object left four depressions and burned brush. It covers J. Allen Hynek's site visit, APRO and NICAP comment, and related New Mexico reports at La Madera, Edgewood and Albuquerque. The Air Force summary reports that soil and brush analysis found no radiation or propellant, and the case remained open.

  • p. 6 …was here today to examine the secluded hill where a Socorro policeman reported seeing a mysterious…
  • p. 14 …that she saw a fire in the hills southwest of Socorro Sunday night, where city officer…
  • p. 23 …pm, in an unpopulated area full of hills and gullies and covered with sagebrush. Following is…
  • p. 30 …The tourist also commented that he had seen a police car heading up the hill. This…
  • p. 56 …He also observed the police car heading up the hill toward the spot where the UFO…
  • p. 75 …ago south of Socorro on an isolated hill remains unsolved. And to help find clues to…
  • p. 77 …travel a little-used road over several hills and gullies. After two or three efforts to…
  • p. 97 …You suggest that when Zamora's car created the hill, the hoaxers triggered another blast of…
  • p. 100 …As you may know, we have rented a house at 57 Avon Hill Street. I hope…
  • p. 114 …Made three attempts to climb hill. First sighting of object. Stopped car for a couple of…
  • p. 123 …Could not see bottom of flame because it was behind hill. No smoke noted. Noted some…
  • p. 125 …I was still running and I jumped just over the hill--I step because I did…
  • p. 126 …ran from object, jumped over edge of hill, then got back to car and radio as…
  • p. 128 …He turned off the road and proceeded to a point up a hill where he could…
  • p. 132 …He thus came up upon the object from behind the hill and from the side, so…
  • p. 137 …The tourist also commented that he had seen a police car heading up the hill. This…
  • p. 149 …One year ago Saturday Zam investigated what sounded two explosions in the hills so of Socorro…
  • p. 150 …an unidentified flying object on a lonely hill-just south Socorro. Among results were an Force…
  • p. 151 …reports." Dr Hyek visited yesterday the secluded hill where Socorro policeman Lonnie Zamora reported seeing an…
  • p. 153 …was here today to examine the secluded hill where a Socorro policeman reports seeing a mysterious…
  • p. 160 …As Zamora moved closer he lost sight of the object behind a hill. He continued driving…
  • p. 165 …short "men." Zamora continued driving up the hill to get a closer look. When he stopped…
  • p. 166 …HYNEK VISITED TODAY THE SECLUDED HILL WHERE SOCORRO POLICEMAN LONNIE ZAMORA REPORTED SEEING AN EGG-SHAPED…

Read from the scan by GLM-OCR; expect the odd misread word.

it on a global basis and the UFO phenomenon apart from the Socorro case is certainly not limited to the United States.

After these discussions in Texxikari the editorial offices, Raqnor and I went out for lunch and asked Sgt. Chaves to join us. While we were waiting for him, I showed Raqnor the letter from Menzel and his comments about parts of it were, "Childish." But we went over it point by point, and likewise Chaves did. Chaves' reaction to the letter was rather strange. He had sort of a resigned, almost pathetic look on his face, and said, "I really feel sorry for Lonnie. He's had to take an awful lot." Then he told of a recent case where Zamora was arresting a kid for speeding, and the kid said, "What do you want to give me a ticket for? Don't you know a flying saucer might come right down on us now?" (or something like that.)

I asked him what the whole movie situation had been on Zamora and how it had effected him. He said that Zamora had not wanted to be in the picutre, but it was at the Mayor's insistence, via his boss, that he consented to do so. I can't quite believe this myself. When I talked to Zamora later, he seemed to be reasonably pleased about being in the movie. Clearly, with a world premiere in Socorro, it would be a strange human who did not get some quick out of a thing like that.

I will come back to the Menzell letter later because I discussed it with Dr. La Paz who knows Menzell well. That was the next day in Albuquerque.

I purchased five newspapers which had various stories about the movie or about related matters. The papers were for Tuesday, February 9; Thursday, February 25; Tuesday, March 9; and Thursday, March 11. The first one I think you have; it states, "Socorro Part of Film on UFO's Completed; Zamora's Account Jibes With Sixteen Verified Sightings." The February 25th issue contains a front page story on a UFO sighted over Gallup which as far as I can see, is nothing more than a meteor. The March 2nd issue contains a lovely story about

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Document, cited by the archive. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is above. The text was read from the page images by GLM-OCR; expect the odd misread word. 167 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.