The Air Force and UFOs, 1979 - Part 3 of 3

The Air Force and UFOs, 1979 - Part 2 of 3

The Air Force and UFOs, 1979 - Part 1 of 3

For the sake of history, I'll hold my nose and present these 1979 pages from the U.S. Air Force declaring the negative aspects of the UFO issue (in three sections). However, on behalf of all the military pilots from all branches of service, it sure would be great if we ever saw the day when our government would simply come forth and acknowledge the unexplained and sometimes dramatic UFO encounters so many experienced in decades past. Dream on.

You Said WHAT, Congressman? - Part 2

In June of 1980 I again contacted Congressman Gary Lee, hoping for new information about his surprising revelation concerning a possible new Air Force study on UFOs (see copy of my typewritten letter). His response proved something of a letdown, for he seemed to back off considerably from his original statement, and now referenced the University of Colorado study and other "ancient history" regarding official UFO interest.

However, I did note with interest his comment about "if" the Air Force has conducted another UFO study (it wouldn't be available yet).

Thus, what started out as a potentially dramatic prelude to a new Air Force conclusion about UFOs ultimately ended up as yet another postscript to a lengthy list of could-have-beens in the UFO arena. I was hoping for more. You were hoping for more.

I intend next time to show you the 1979 response I received from the Air Force when I queried them about their current UFO interest. This, of course, I had done because of Congressman Lee's initial comments, without actually naming him as my source. The 1979 response really doesn't vary that much from previous postings of Air Force UFO "fact sheets" offered on this blog, as you will see, but as an historical reference the USAF response really should be reiterated here in its 1979 version -- and, again, this was a time when they were apparently up to their ears in UFO inquiries from the public (even the cover letter was a photocopy with my name typed in, no personal replies here!), perhaps because of a wave of UFO sightings similar to what we experienced in Central NY. I'll probably offer these pages in three separate blog entries (I have problems when I try to post too many pages at one time), so stay tuned.

You Said WHAT, Congressman? - Part 1

Long before now, assuming you haven't cheated by reading these blog entries out of chronological order (shame on you if you didn't start at April, 2007, where some really good stuff lurks), you probably believe that all the letters I wrote to members of Congress over the decades concerned only the UFO subject. It sure looks that way.

But I also have files sprinkled with copies of letters to and responses from public officials about other topics, covering energy, the environment, crime, punishment, politics and a number of other common topics. Nevertheless, they aren't nearly as fascinating as those one-in-a-million UFO-related letters one sometimes finds in the mailbox from a congressman writing candidly -- using words that simply astonish.

For a brief time, one term I think, Central New York was represented by yet another member of Congress, Gary Lee. I wrote him about several issues at one point, and received a July 23, 1979 response of a seemingly typical nature. There's nothing surprising on page one, as you can see here, but page two presents another story of an obvious eye-popping variety. The Air Force -- the non-UFO, goodbye Project Blue Book Air Force -- looking into the UFO issue in some renewed, generally unknown manner? What? What? Had this tidbit appeared in a shady tabloid magazine, I would have relegated it to the trash heap, but this was coming from a member of Congress, and the wording was just too intriguing to pass up.

Taking Congressman Lee at his word, I immediately notified APRO and others, but decided not to identify him as the source out of concern that he might be priviliged to information that might ultimately be withheld from him, should he be publicly named. Instead, I wrote a short article for APRO to print as a tip-off to other researchers. Coral Lorenzen was eager to publish it (see letter) and the piece appeared in the October, 1979 issue of The A.P.R.O. Bulletin.

However, things aren't always what they seem. Or are they? In the next blog entry, I'll offer more about this situation and my further inquiry -- and I wonder to this day whether there was indeed more to this story than we'll ever know.