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Ford Press Releases - UFO, 1966
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Ford Press Releases - UFO, 1966
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Unidentified flying objects
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The original documents are located in Box D9, folder "Ford Press Releases - UFO, 1966"
of the Ford Congressional Papers: Press Secretary and Speech File at the Gerald R. Ford
Presidential Library.
Copyright Notice
The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of
photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. The Council donated to the United
States of America his copyrights in all of his unpublished writings in National Archives collections.
Works prepared by U.S. Government employees as part of their official duties are in the public
domain. The copyrights to materials written by other individuals or organizations are presumed to
remain with them. If you think any of the information displayed in the PDF is subject to a valid
copyright claim, please contact the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library.
Digitized from Box D9 of The Ford Congressional Papers: Press Secretary and Speech File at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library
UFO Enclosures
Library of Congress book
(UFO material)
Blue Book
"
Air Force Statement about UFO
11
at Dexter, Michigan
March 25, 1966, News Release
(UFO statements)
March 28, 1966, News Release
"
April 3, 1966, News Release
"
April 21, 1966, News Release
##
April 16, 1967, Editorial from
(UFO information)
The New York Times
April 17, 1967, Editorial from
00
The Detroit Free Press
October 7, 1966, News Release
"
July 31, 1966, UFO Sighting
"
May 9, 1966, News Release
"
April 17, 1966, Ravenna, Ohio
"
September 3, 1965, Exeter, New Hampshire
и
March 2, 1965, Brooksville, Florida
11
April 24, 1964, Socorro, New Mexico
**
February 24, 1959, UFO over Pennsylvania
"
November 23, 1953, Kinross Incident
"
July 19/20 and 26/27, 1952, Washington, D. c.
"
January 7, 1948, The Mantell Case
11
June 24, 1957, Mt. Ranier, Washington
"
Air Force Regulations 80-17 and 80-17A
"
(Only in special cases; see page 5 of blue book)
CONGRESSMAN
NEWS
GERALD R. FORD
HOUSE REPUBLICAN LEADER
RELEASE
FROM THE OFFICE OF HOUSE MINORITY LEADER GERALD R. FORD, R-MICH.
FOR RELEASE ON RECEIPT
MARCH 25, 1966
WASHINGTON--House Minority Leader Gerald R. Ford, R-Mich., today
proposed that Congress investigate the rash of reporte sichtings of
unidentified flying objects In Southern Michigan and other parts of the
country.
Ford said he believes a confressional inquiry would be worthwhile
because the American people are becoming alarmed by the UFO stories.
He noted that Air Force investigators have been checking on such
reports for years but have come p with nothing conclusive.
"In the light of these new sightings and incidents," Ford said,
"it would be a very wholesome thing for a committee of the Congress to
conduct a number of hearings and to call responsible witnesses from the
executive branch (of the government) and witnesses who say they have
sighted these objects."
"I think the American people would feel better if there was a
full-blown investigation of these incidents, which some persons allege
have taken place."
###
BERALD E.FORD VIBRARY
CONGRESSMAN
NEWS
GERALD R. FORD
HOUSE REPUBLICAN LEADER
RELEASE
FOR RELEASE TUESDAY, P.M.
MARCH 28, 1966
NOTE TO ALL NEWS MEDIA: House Minority Leader Gerald R. Ford,
R-Michigan, today sent the attached letter to the chairmen and the ranking
Republican members of the House Committees on Armed Services and Science
and Astronautics, urging that one committee or the other investigate the
subject of Unidentified Flying Objects (UFO's).
Ford is not satisfied with the Air Force explanation of the recent
sightings in Michigan and describes the "swamp gas" version given by
astrophysicist J. Allen Hynek as "flippant."
Ford has received a number of telegrams and letters from individuals
anxious to see a congressional investigation of UFO's.
###
COPY
March 28, 1966
Rep. George P. Miller, Chairman
Rep. L. Mendel Rivers, Chairman
Science and Astronautics Committee
Armed Services Committee
U. S. House of Representatives
U. S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D. C.
Dear Chairmen Miller and Rivers:
No doubt you have noted the recent flurry of newspaper stories about
unidentified flying objects (UFO's). I have taken special interest in
these accounts because many of the latest reported sightings have been
in my home state of Michigan.
The Air Force sent a consultant, astrophysicist Dr. J. Allen Hynek of
Northwestern University, to Michigan to investigate the various reports;
and he dismissed all of them as the product of college student pranks or
swamp gas or an impression created by the rising crescent moon and the
planet Venus. I do not agree that all of these reports can be or should
be so easily explained away.
Because I think there may be substance to some of these reports and
because I believe the American people are entitled to a more thorough
explanation than has been given them by the Air Force to date, I am
proposing that either the Science and Astronautics Committee or the
Armed Services Committee of the House schedule hearings on the subject
of UFO's and invite testimony from both the executive branch of the
government and some of the persons who claim to have seen UFO's.
I enclose material which I think will be helpful to you in assessing the
advisability of an investigation of UFO's.
May I first call to your attention a column by Roscoe Drummond, published
last Sunday in which Mr. Drummond says, "Maybe all of these reported
sightings are whimsical, imaginary or unreal; but we need a more credible
and detached appraisal of the evidence than we are getting."
Mr. Drummond goes on to state, "We need to get all the data drawn together
to one place and examined far more objectively than anyone has done so far.
A stable public opinion will come from a trustworthy look at the evidence,
not from belittling it."
"The time has come for the President or Congress to name an objective and
respected panel to investigate, appraise, and report on all present and
future evidence about what is going on."
I agree fully with Mr. Drummond's statements. I also suggest you scan
the enclosed series of six articles by Bulkley Griffin of the Griffin-
Larrabee News Bureau here. In the last of his articles, published last
January, Mr. Griffin says, "A main conclusion can be briefly stated. It
is that the Air Force is misleading the public by its continuing campaign
to produce and maintain belief that all sightings can be explained away
as misidentification of familiar objects, such as balloons, stars, and
aircraft."
I have just today received a number of telegrams urging a congressional
investigation of UFO's. One is from retired Air Force Col. Harold R. Brown,
Ardmore, Tennessee, who says, "I have seen UFO. Will be available to
testify."
Another, from Mrs. Ethyle M. Davis, Eugene, Oregon, reads, "Nine out of
ten people want truth of UFO's Press your investigation to the fullest."
(MORE)
Rep. George P. Miller, Chairman
Rep. L. Mendel Rivers, Chairman
Page Two
March 28, 1966
Ronald Colier of Los Angeles, who identifies himself as "a scientist from
M.I.T.," urges that you "do everything in your power to make Air Force
Project Blue Book (the AF name for its study and verdicts on UFO reports)
known to the people."
Are we to assume that everyone who says he has seen UFO's is an unreliable
witness?
A UPI story out of Ann Arbor, Michigan, dated March 21, 1966, states that
"at least 40 persons, including 12 policemen, said today that they saw
a strange flying object guarded by four sister ships land in a swamp near
here Sunday night."
Matt Surrell of Station WJR, Detroit, cites an eye witness account of a
recent UFO sighting by Emile Grenier of Ann Arbor, an aeronautical engineer
employed by Ford Motor Company. He points out that an aeronautical
engineer can hardly be considered an untrustworthy witness.
In the firm belief that the American public deserves a better explanation
than that thus far given by the Air Force, I strongly recommend that there
be a committee investigation of the UFO phenomena,
I think we owe it to the people to establish credibility regarding UFO's
and to produce the greatest possible enlightenment on this subject.
Kindest personal regards.
Sincerely,
/s/
Gerald R. Ford, M.C.
GRF:plr
Enclosures
###
CONGRESSMAN
NEWS
GERALD R. FORD
HOUSE REPUBLICAN LEADER
RELEASE
FOR RELEASE TUESDAY, P.M.
MARCH 28, 1966
NOTE TO ALL NEWS MEDIA: House Minority Leader Gerald R. Ford,
R-Michigan, today sent the attached letter to the chairmen and the ranking
Republican members of the House Committees on Armed Services and Science
and Astronautics, urging that one committee or the other investigate the
subject of Unidentified Flying Objects (UFO/s).
Ford is not satisfied with the Air Force explanation 01 the recent
sightings in Michigan and describes the "swamp gas version given by
astrophysicist J. Allen Hynek as "flippant."
Ford has received a number of telegrams and letters from individuals
anxious to see a congressional investigation of UFO's.
###
GERALD AUVUSIT
COPY
March 28, 1966
Rep. George P. Miller, Chairman
Rep. L. Mendel Rivers, Chairman
Science and Astronautics Committee
Armed Services Committee
U. S. House of Representatives
U. S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D. C.
Dear Chairmen Miller and Rivers:
No doubt you have noted the recent flurry of newspaper stories about
unidentified flying objects (UFO's). I have taken special interest in
these accounts because many of the latest reported sightings have been
in my home state of Michigan.
The Air Force sent a consultant, astrophysicist Dr. J. Allen Hynek of
Northwestern University, to Michigan to investigate the various reports;
and he dismissed all of them as the product of college student pranks or
swamp gas or an impression created by the rising crescent moon and the
planet Venus. I do not agree that all of these reports can be or should
be so easily explained away.
Because I think there may be substance to some of these reports and
because I believe the American people are entitled to a more thorough
explanation than has been given them by the Air Force to date, I am
proposing that either the Science and Astronautics Committee or the
Armed Services Committee of the House schedule hearings on the subject
of UFO's and invite testimony from both the executive branch of the
government and some of the persons who claim to have seen UFO's
I enclose material which I think will be helpful to you in assessing the
advisability of an investigation of UFO's.
May I first call to your attention a column by Roscoe Drummond, published
last Sunday in which Mr. Drummond says, "Maybe all of these reported
sightings are whimsical imaginary or unreal; but we need a more credible
and detached appraisal of the evidence than we are getting."
Mr. Drummond goes on to state, "We need to get all the data drawn together
to one place and examined far more objectively than anyone has done so far.
A stable public opinion will come from a trustworthy look at the evidence,
not from belittling it."
"The time has come for the President or Congress to name an objective and
respected panel to investigate, appraise, and report on all present and
future evidence about what is going on."
I agree fully with Mr. Drummond's statements. I also suggest you scan
the enclosed series of six articles by Bulkley Griffin of the Griffin-
Larrabee News Bureau here. In the last of his articles, published last
January, Mr. Griffin says, "A main conclusion can be briefly stated. It
is that the Air Force is misleading the public by its continuing campaign
to produce and maintain belief that all sightings can be explained away
as misidentification of familiar objects, such as balloons, stars, and
aircraft."
I have just today received a number of telegrams urging a congressional
investigation of UFO's. One is from retired Air Force Col. Harold R. Brown,
Ardmore, Tennessee, who says, "I have seen UFO. Will be available to
testify."
Another, from Mrs, Ethyle M. Davis, Eugene, Oregon, reads, "Nine out of
ten people want truth of UFO's Press your investigation to the fullest."
(MORE)
Rep. George P. Miller, Chairman
Rep. L. Mendel Rivers, Chairman
Page Two
March 28, 1966
Ronald Colier of Los Angeles, who identifies himself as "a scientist from
M.I.T.," urges that you "do everything in your power to make Air Force
Project Blue Book (the AF name for its study and verdicts on UFO reports)
known to the people.'
Are we to assume that everyone who says he has seen UFO's is an unreliable
witness?
A UPI story out of Ann Arbor, Michigan, dated March 21, 1966, states that
"at least 40 persons, including 12 policemen, said today that they saw
a strange flying object guarded by four sister ships land in a swamp near
here Sunday night."
Matt Surrell of Station WJR, Detroit, cites an eye witness account of a
recent UFO sighting by Emile Grenier of Ann Arbor, an aeronautical engineer
employed by Ford Motor Company. He points out that an aeronautical
engineer can hardly be considered an untrustworthy witness.
In the firm belief that the American public deserves a better explanation
than that thus far given by the Air Force, I strongly recommend that there
be a committee investigation of the UFO phenomena.
I think we owe it to the people to establish credibility regarding UFO's
and to produce the greatest possible enlightenment on this subject.
Kindest personal regards.
Sincerely,
/s/
Gerald R. Ford, M.C.
GRF:plr
Enclosures
###
CONGRESSMAN
NEWS
GERALD R. FORD
HOUSE REPUBLICAN LEADER
RELEASE
FOR SUNDAY A.M. RELEASE
APRIL 3, 1966
STATEMENT BY HOUSE MINORITY LEADER GERALD R. FORD, R-MICHIGAN
As I had expected, some persons have ridiculed my call for a congressional
investigation of unidentified flying objects (UFO's). These people are a
fraction of those who have given me their reaction to my proposal. The
overwhelming majority of those expressing a view in letters to me believe
a congressional investigation would be useful and is needed.
Those who scoff at the idea of a congressional investigation of UFO's
apparently are unaware that the House Armed Services Committee has scheduled
a closed-door hearing on the matter Tuesday with the Air Force and that
Rep. Joseph E. Karth, D-Minn., headed a three-man subcommittee which held
two days of hush-hush hearings five years ago on behalf of the House Science
and Astronautics Committee, Karth has confirmed in conversation with a
member of my staff that he conducted these ecret hearings.
The present Science and Astronautics Committee chairman, Rep. George P.
Miller, D-Calif., has shied away from a UFO probe at this time, saying his
committee does not have jurisdiction over the Air Force. But the late
Rep. Overton Brooks, D-La., obviously had different ideas because he tapped
Karth to summon Air Force witnesses and question them after a flurry of UFO
sightings in 1961.
Karth has informed me that his subcommittee made an oral report to the
full committee but never released anything to the public. According to
Charles F. Ducander, the committee's staff director, no record was made of
conversation between Karth subcommittee members and Air Force witnesses.
The hearings, he said, took place in Karth's congressional office.
I have never said that I believe any of the reported UFO sightings
indicate visits to earth from another planet. Apart from pranks and natural
phenomena, some of these objects may well be products of experimentation by
our own military. If this is so, why doesn't the Air Force concede it and
in this way reassure the American people? There would be no need to go into
detail on the nature of the experiments.
###
Offire capy
CONGRESSMAN
NEWS
GERALD R. FORD
HOUSE REPUBLICAN LEADER
RELEASE
FOR SUNDAY A.M. RELEASE
APRIL 3, 1966
STATEMENT BY HOUSE MINORITY LEADER GERALD R. FORD, R-MICHIGAN
As I had expected, some persons have ridiculed tay call for a congressional
investigation of unidentified flying objects (UFO's). These people are a
fraction of those who have given me their reaction to my proposal. The
overwhelming majority of those expressing a view in letters to me believe
a congressional investigation would be useful and is needed.
Those who scoff at the idea of a congressional investigation of UFO's
apparently are unaware that the House Armed Services Committee has scheduled
a closed-door hearing on the matter Tuesday with the Air Force and that
Rep. Joseph E. Karth, D-Minn., headed a three-man subcommittee which held
two days of hush-hush hearings five years ago on behalf of the House Science
and Astronautics Committee. Karth has confirmed in conversation with a
member of my staff that he conducted these secret hearings.
The present Science and Astronautics Committee chairman, Rep. George P.
Miller, D-Calif., has shied away from a UFO probe at this time, saying his
committee does not have jurisdiction over the Air Force. But the late
Rep. Overton Brooks, D-La., obviously had different ideas because he tapped
Karth to summon Air Force witnesses and question them after a flurry of UFO
sightings in 1961.
Karth has informed me that his subcommittee made an oral report to the
full committee but never released anything to the public. According to
Charles F. Ducander, the committee's staff director, no record was made of
conversation between Karth subcommittee members and Air Force witnesses.
The hearings, he said, took place in Karth's congressional office.
I have never said that I believe any of the reported UFO sightings
indicate visits to earth from another planet, Apart from pranks and natural
phenomena, some of these objects may well be products of experimentation by
our own military. If this is so, why doesn't the Air Force concede it and
in this way reassure the American people? There would be no need to go into
detail on the nature of the experiments.
GERALD
# # #
CONGRESSMAN
NEWS
GERALD R. FORD
HOUSE REPUBLICAN LEADER
RELEASE
FOR RELEASE ON THURSDAY, P.M.,
APRIL 21, 1966
STATEMENT BY HOUSE MINORITY LEADER GERALD R. FORD, R-MICHIGAN.
The Air Force has informed me it is arranging for a study by high-caliber
scientists of some of the UFO sightings which have never been explained.
This study will be placed under contract soon after July 1, start of the new
fiscal year. It will be carried out by a university which has no close ties with
the Air Force so that the findings will be completely objective, Air Force officials
tell me.
Those people engaged in the study will be high-caliber scientists who have
never taken a position on UFO's the Air Force said. It will be made clear to them
that they are not being hired to come up with findings in support of previous Air
Force statements regarding UFO'S, I am informed.
The Air Force said there is too much effort involved to ask these scientists
to make this study without pay.
The report will definitely be made public, the Air Force assured me. The
whole purpose of the study is to clear the air as far as the public is concerned.
This, of course, was my purpose in recently requesting that public hearings
on the subject of UFO's be conducted by either the House Armed Services Committee
or the House Science and Astronautics Committee.
It was as a result of my call for a congressional investigation that the Air
Force now is arranging for a study of UFO's by topflight scientists not connected
in any way with the Air Force.
I would have preferred a congressional investigation with witnesses to include
reliable persons from among those who say they have seen UFO's. I still think this
would be beneficial. But the UFO study by a panel of scientists, with the report
FORD
to be made public, is a step in the right direction.
###
GERALD.
LIBRARY
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE DEF ENSE
NEWS RELEASE
OFFICE OF ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF DEFENSE (PUBLIC AFFAIRS)
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
WASHINGTON, D.C. - 20301
PLEASE NOTE DATE
Office Copy
NO. 847-66
OXford 7-5131 (Info.)
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 7, 1966
OXford 7-3189 (Copies)
AIR FORCE SELECTS UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO
TO INVESTIGATE UNIDENTIFIED FLYING OBJECT REPORTS
The University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, has been selected by the
Air Force to conduct independent investigations into unidentified flying object
(UFO) reports.
A research agreement, valued at approximately $300,000, is being negotiated
with the university by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research to analyze
phènomena associated with UFO sightings and to make recommendations on the Air
Force's methods of investigating and evaluating UFO reports -- a program known
as Project Blue Book. A report is expected to be made to the Air Force in early
1968.
Dr. Edward U. Condon will direct the scientific phases of the work, while
Robert J. Low will serve as project coordinator. Principal investigators working
with Dr. Condon will be Dr. Franklin E. Roach and Dr. Stuart W. Cook.
Dr. Condon, former director of the National Bureau of Standards (NBS), is
a professor of physics at Colorado and a fellow of the Joint Laboratory for
Astrophysics which is co-sponsored by the university and NBS. Mr. Low is an
assistant dean of the university's graduate school. Dr. Cook is chairman of
the university's psychology department, and Dr. Roach is an astrophysicist with
the Environmental Science Services Administration (ESSA).
Colorado is expected to select several other universities to take part in
the research. These and other consultants will bring the number of scientists
involved to over 100.
The National Academy of Sciences has indicated its willingness to assist
by appointing a panel--at the time the Colorado report becomes available to the
Air Force--to review the investigating team's work. This panel will not be part
of the investigating team, but will provide a further independent check on the
scientific validity of the method of investigation.
In announcing the selection, Air Force Secretary Harold Brown said, "We
are more than pleased to be able to place this grant with respected individuals
in a university of such high standing in the scientific community. Additionally,
the location of the university should prove invaluable to the investigators,
since the National Center for Atmospheric Research and the research headquarters
of the Environmental Science Services Administration are located at Boulder.
These organizations conduct research on the properties of man's natural environ-
ment, specializing in the physical characteristics of the atmosphere and the
near-space medium."
MORE
-2-
Air Force Project Blue Book files, as well as any other UFO information
in the possession of the Air Force, will be made available to the team.
Additionally, all Air Force installations within the U.S. will assist the team
if requested. The investigators will, however, conduct their research
independently of and without direction from the Air Force.
The decision to enter into a research agreement for this work was based
on a recommendation of the Air Force Scientific Advisory Board which completed
a review of the resources, methods and findings of Project Blue Book earlier
this year. While complimenting the Air Force on the organization of Project
Blue Book, the Board recommended that the program be expanded to include
investigation of selected sightings by independent scientists.
Within the Department of Defense, the Air Force has the responsibility
of investigating UFO reports. The Air Force has been investigating such reports
since 1948 under its role of air defense of the United States, and the
university's research does not alter Project Blue Book responsibilities of
receiving, investigating and evaluating UFO reports.
END
(DOD Release No. 388-66, May 9, 1966, refers.)
DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE
WASHINGTON
Office Copy
OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY
7 OCT 1966
Dear Mr. Ford:
Knowing of your continuing interest in Air Force matters the
Secretary of the Air Force has asked me to inform you of our selection
of the University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, to conduct independent
investigations into unidentified flying object (UFO) reports.
Attached is a copy of the news story scheduled for release at
11:00 A. M. EDT today, October 7, 1966.
If further information would be helpful, please let us know.
Sincerely,
Bryce POLI
BRYCE POE, II, Colonel, USAF
Attachment
Chief, Plans Group
Legislative Liaison
Honorable Gerald R. Ford
House of Representatives
GERIAD FORD E) GRAND