Aliens from Space
This is the cover of the paperback edition of Aliens from Space.
My reviews of Donald E. Keyhoe's books have been intended to provide an overview. A more detailed study of documented military secrecy about UFOs along with the resulting internecine conflicts between 1947 and 1973 is gained through reading the books in the entirety.
In Major Donald E. Keyhoe's fifth and final UFOlogy book Aliens from Space (1973), there are indications that Keyhoe's orientation to UFOs had evolved over the years. Although still avoiding analysis of 'contactee' claims, he had become acquainted with what he estimated to be "strong evidence that technically superior beings once visited our planet without harming any of Earth's inhabitants."
Keyhoe identified three segments of this evidence: the Piri Reis map, which had been brought to his attention by a Navy captain and a commander affiliated with the Office of Naval Intelligence; information from the Book of Dzyan and other sources encapsulated in the 1968 Air Force Academy analysis of UFOs (a textbook chapter that became public in 1970) with Keyhoe observing, "There is a curious similarity in the so-called legends, though the countries where they originated—in Europe and Asia—had little or no contact with each other"; and ancient rock carvings found in China, also cited in the Air Force Academy evaluation.
Kehoe wrote about the Air Force Academy analysis: "This serious evaluation had been prepared in 1968, as a means of giving senior AF cadets an appraisal of the problem. Combined evidence and discussions of the main angles were used for a special chapter of an Academy Space Science study . . . Dismayed AF censors ordered the chapter replaced with an all-out debunking job, deleting all the case evidence and all the serious disclosures . . . When a newspaper ran part of the original analysis, HQ hastily tried to offset it with the 'updated version.'"
Keyhoe remained suspicious that the UFOs could pose a threat as he identified rare cases where "some UFO pursuits have taken a grim toll." The theoretical elements of Keyhoe's perspective of these incidents were sometimes left unmentioned although in chapter 11, he provided a clarifying statement: "In reporting these strange aircraft accidents there is no intention to claim proof they were caused by UFOs." He also reiterated, "Unfortunately, the cover-up had increased the danger of public alarm, with the growing suspicion that something frightful was behind the secrecy." The grid breakdown that resulted with the great Northeast electrical blackout of November 9, 1965 was one of the occurrences where UFOs became a theoretical scapegoat.
In addition to ignoring the books of 'contactees' Truman Bethurum, Daniel Fry and Orfeo Angelucci, Keyhoe also made no mention of Arthur Shuttlewood's first three books that had been published in the UK. Other books left unmentioned include those chronicling the flying saucer commentary resulting from the trance channeling of Mark Probert, a subject of such books as The Coming of the Guardians: An Interpretation of the "Flying Saucers" as Given from the Other Side of Life (Third Edition 1957) compiled by Meade Layne; and Flying Saucer Pilgrimage (1957) by Bryant and Helen Reeve.
The summary of UFO secrecy offered in the Foreword and first chapter presented the following observations:
Many AF members privately oppose UFO secrecy.
In addition, many responsible scientists are now rejecting AF denials of UFO reality.
Despite all this, AF Headquarters, following a high-level policy, still publicly denies that UFOs exist, convinced this is best for the country. But for years the Air Force has had full proof of UFO reality.
During my long investigation of these strange objects I have seen many reports verified by AF Intelligence, detailed accounts by AF pilots, radar operators and other trained observers proving the UFOs are high-speed craft superior to anything built on Earth. Before the censorship tightened I also was given the secret conclusions by AF scientists and Air Technical Intelligence officers.
. . . UFO pursuits have continued without a break, concealed from Congress and the public. This is not an indictment of the censors. Many strongly dislike the cover-up and harsh ridicule of witnesses. But high officials, caught in a serious dilemma, are convinced it is best to delay admitting the UFOs are real.
Through censorship has recently been tightened, a few AF pursuits have leaked out.
Keyhoe examined secrecy measures while reporting these cases and revisiting some of the previous cases that were among the topics in his earlier books. An F-94 encounter with a UFO is considered to have involved a near collision although, as often chronicled in similar circumstances, UFO movements were often reported to have shown fantastic speed and amazingly fast maneuverability.
Many important cases, some as disturbing as the F-94 encounter, were hidden in AF Project Reports 1 to 12, kept secret by this official admonition:
WARNING. This document contains information affecting the national defense of the United States within the meaning of the Espionage Law, Title 18 USC, Sections 793 and 794. Its transmission, or the revelation of its contents in any manner to an unauthorized person, is prohibited by law.
The penalties for violations range from five years in prison to a fine of $10,000.
Included in this censored evidence were impressive reports by Army, Navy, Air Force and airline pilots and other competent observers, among them a Royal Air Force wing commander.
Keyhoe explained:
In 1967, after fifteen years of secrecy, the congressional "Freedom of Information" Committee forced AF Headquarters to release the long-hidden reports, for copying at the Pentagon. Though the photocopies secured by NICAP were marked "Declassified," all the Project Reports still bore the original SECRET OR CONFIDENTIAL stamps, plus the warning which invoked the Espionage Law.
He provided an example of how "AF ridicule of witnesses continued" —
Some of the attacks were almost incredible, as in this public statement by Col. Harold E. Watson, Chief of Intelligence at Wright-Patterson AFB:
"At the end of nearly every report tracked down stands a crackpot, a religious fanatic, a publicity hound or a malicious practical joker."
Keyhoe observed that foreign reports of UFOs that had become publicly known "add to AF debunkers' troubles."
Since 1947 there have been thousands of global sightings, in sixty countries. Among the impressive witnesses on record are Gen. Paul Stehlin of the French Air Force, Australian Air Marshal Sir George Jones, Commandant-General A. B. Melville of the South Africa Union, and army and air force members in most of the civilized nations.
In some countries the evidence for alien spacecraft has been openly discussed by defense department officials.
Keyhoe described a 1968 RAND Corporation report provided to him: ". . . it urges an uncensored central reporting agency and serious, accurate information from the press." Here is an excerpt from the report written by George Kocher. The report may be read online at several websites.
Those familiar with the UFO literature are aware that reports of Sightings did not begin with Arnold's sighting in 1947, but that phenomenology much the same as is reported today can be found in documents going back to the earliest times. Vallée (2) gives a sampling of this; B.L.P. Trench (3) has made a more thorough study and reports on the research of others able to study the original documents.
What was reported? Luminous discs, shields, globes and elongated objects in the sky, sometimes alone, sometimes in large numbers. Occasional descriptions of interactions with the observers are also mentioned, including landings, and seeing and communicating with occupants. The latter events especially were almost always interpreted in a religious context. A recent example is the repeated appearance of a typical UFO phenomenology at Fatima, Portugal on six successive months in 1917. The October 13 phenomenon was the best reported and was witnessed by a crowd of about 70,000 persons, including a number of scientists, reporters, atheists, and agnostics, as well as faithful Catholics.
Keyhoe recounted that the observed high speeds of UFOs resulted with numerous "anti-gravity projects, many of them under secret contracts." He also stated his belief that the Central Intelligence Agency had "strong influence with the heads of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps." The description of events offered additional information concerning what had been chronicled by Keyhoe in earlier books, including about the circumstances of the Air Force group that included Maj. Dewey Fournet, Headquarters Intelligence Monitor of the UFO Project.
. . . Major Fournet and several headquarters officers had secretly worked up a plan to give the public the facts.
To reduce the chance of public alarm, the secrecy would be frankly admitted and then explained as intended to keep from frightening the country while the AF tried to learn more about UFOs; since there was no proof of any hostile purpose, the AF now felt sure the public would take the disclosure without any serious hysteria. This also would help to take the censors off the hook—indicating their genuine concern for the citizens. And once the press had the documented story, the control-officers would probably be afraid to deny it. At least this is what the Fournet group was counting on in this daring operation.
Albert M. Chop, the HQ press official handling UFO information later was quoted:
"They killed the whole program. We've been ordered to work up a national debunking campaign, planting articles in magazines and arranging broadcasts to make UFO reports sound like poppycock."
Within a few days Chop quit the Air Force, but I learned more about the CIA take-over from Captain Ruppelt.
"What Al Chop told you isn't the worst of it. We're ordered to hide sightings when possible, but if a strong report does get out we have to publish a fast explanation—make up something to kill the report in a hurry, and also ridicule the witness, especially if we can't figure a plausible answer. We even have to discredit our own pilots. It's a raw deal but we can't buck the CIA. The whole thing makes me sick—I'm thinking of putting in for inactive."
In 1973, Keyhoe was no longer the director of NICAP, a post he held for thirteen years. After detailing some of his frustrated plans, Keyhoe attested:
In regard to UFOs, the CIA and the AF realize it is impossible to deceive all of Congress and the public. Their aim always has been to keep the majority convinced that none of the reports has been correct.
To carry out the program, they have been forced to resort to the "Big Lie" technique to insure success. But in doing this they have built up a foundation for dangerous alarm if an outbreak of mass UFO operations suddenly disproved the false claims.
One chapter of the book recounts incidents that occurred during 'the great 1965 flap' of UFO sightings. The following year, a turning point in UFOlogy involved J. Allen Hynek, whose perspective of UFOs would evolve throughout his career. Hyenk would write a book about his many years as scientific consultant to the United States Air Force, The UFO Experience: A Scientific Inquiry (1972). Keyhoe wrote in Aliens from Space:
Then on March 20 two or three lights were reported as moving around in a swamp area near Dexter. The next night similar lights were supposedly seen near Hillsdale, Michigan.
In hundreds of far more important cases there had been only local press stories, or none at all. Why the Dexter and Hillsdale reports exploded into nationwide publicity is still a mystery to many experienced investigators.
Overnight, the tension of 1965 revived. Newsmen descended on Dexter. On Capital Hill, House Minority Leader Gerald Ford demanded a congressional investigation, and other lawmakers backed him up. To reduce the excitement, the AF hurriedly sent Dr. Hynek to Michigan. His investigation was barely started when headquarters phoned a peremptory order:
"You will hold a press conference tomorrow morning and explain those reports!"
On the nights of the twentieth and twenty-first, there had been verified reports of flying discs, besides the conflicting stories of moving lights near the ground. Hynek had no explanation for the high-speed maneuvering UFOs. Put on the spot by the HQ order, he attempted to focus attention on the ground light stories.
Avoiding any direct claim, Dr. Hynek told assembled reporters the cause could have been marsh gas, created by decaying vegetable matter in the swampy areas.
Without waiting for Hynek to finish, newsmen ran for the phones and the marsh gas story quickly broke all over the country.
Never had an AF UFO explanation gotten such a furious reception.
"AIR FORCE INSULTS PUBLIC WITH SWAMP GAS THEORY," the South Bend Tribune headlined its attack. The Richmond News Leader admonished the AF for suppressing evidence and trying to discredit witnesses. The Houston Chronicle sarcastically hit at the AF for attempting to prove UFOs were a product of witnesses' imagination. The Indianapolis News urged a congressional inquiry to quiet public alarm.
National ridicule of the marsh gas answer built up so rapidly it was almost as if the '65 barrage had never stopped. Adding to the AF troubles, marsh gas experts publicly exposed the explanation. On the Johnny Carson show, Dr. Albert Hibbs, a California Institute of Technology scientist, emphatically rejected the answer. Press and TV commentators quoted a leading authority, M. Minnaert, author of The Nature of Light and Colour in the Open Air.
The methane marsh gas, according to Minnaert, can produce lights known as "will-o'-the-wisp." They resemble tiny flames, from one half an inch to five inches high, not over two inches across. Sometimes they are on the ground, at other times about four inches above it. At times they are blown a few feet by the wind before dying out.
Though Hynek was blamed, incorrectly, for trying to debunk all UFOs as swamp gas, the AF was the main target. Syndicated columnist Roscoe Drummond hammered at the need for a new, full-scale inquiry. So did many news editors, also members of Congress—both Democrats and Republicans. Cartoonists and TV comedians had a field day, deriding the swamp gas answer. Time, Life, Newsweek and other magazines played up the story, and networks carried daily UFO reports from pilots, tower operators and other witnesses from coast to coast.
Keyhoe's commentary about NASA—established in 1958—consisted of speculations from Raymond H. Wilson, Jr., Chief of Applied Mathematics, about the Mars moon Phobos; and also a variety of expectations about Mars with Keyhoe mentioning that announced Mars Committee Patrol bulletins never appeared.
As 1968 began, AF Headquarters was still baffled by the Soviet Union's sudden, intense concern over UFOs.
The Soviet Academy of Sciences, the top-level scientific agency in Russia, had announced it was preparing an official publication with confirmed UFO evidence. To anyone who knew the Academy's previous stand this was incredible: many of its officials and members had openly derided the subject. But the announcement was explicit. The analyzed evidence was to appear as a special UFO section in a USSR book called "Populated Outer Space." It was being edited by the Academy's vice president, Boris Konstantinov.
In an abrupt reversal, the Soviet Academy of Sciences denounced the new UFO Commission as "sensational and unscientific."
Regardless, Soviet ridicule of their own giant-spaceship reports relieved the Pentagon sensor's fears—one more lucky break for the AF.
Prior to the release of the Condon Report, NICAP members were still hoping for a public exposé of the Air Force cover-up when a welcome message came from Capitol Hill.
Hearings by the House Science and Astronautics Committee had been approved by Chairman George P. Miller. Congressman Roush would be in charge of the proceedings, and prominent scientists who knew the UFO problem would be invited to testify. The first two on the list were Dr. Hynek and Dr. James McDonald. The hearings would be public, beginning at 10 a.m., July 29, 1968.
But our optimism abruptly ended, when we learned the truth about the supposed hearings.
No Criticism of the Air Force of the Colorado UFO project would be allowed.
Although NICAP had played the leading role in securing the so-called hearings, we could not submit any information. Not only was our evidence blocked, we could make no comment on the discussions. No questions from the NICAP staff would be permitted, even if they were devoid of any AF or CU criticism—we could attend the meeting only as silent spectators. Although the discussions were officially called hearings, the meetings was also labeled as a symposium on unidentified flying objects, to remove any idea that this was an actual investigation.
Keyhoe described the media response to the event: "Disappointed at the lack of fireworks, they gave the symposium very little publicity."
After the release of the Condon Report (the subject of the previous blog article) Keyhoe reported about Dr. Hynek, "Because of his courageous criticism of the CU Project he was dropped after twenty years as the AF consultant on UFOs. About the same time, it was discovered that the AF had written a blistering letter to RAND, attacking the scientists who prepared the UFO Document."
The Betty and Barney Hill case had involved Keyhoe, whose commentary about the Hills included the following passages.
In the United States, during the sixties, there was a nationally publicized story of a supposed abduction by UFO beings. This was the famous case involving Betty and Barney Hill, a dramatic example of how fear of UFOs, under certain circumstances, can almost get out of control.
Five years before the case became widely known Mrs. Hill wrote me at NICAP. After reading her strange letter I arranged for a confidential investigation.
When Mrs. Hill wrote me, on September 25, 1961, neither she not her husband had any conscious knowledge of what might have happened during the lost two hours. But both remembered that a UFO had descended toward the highway, and something about it had caused them to speed away from the scene. When they arrived at their home, in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, their recollections were blurred, but on the following nights Betty Hill began to have disturbing dreams, apparently linked with whatever had happened during the lost hours.
A well-known journalist, John Fuller, had learned about the case in a confidential talk at NICAP. It was arranged that he should prepare the record, using Dr. Simon's taped questions and the Hills' answers.
Fuller's book, The Interrupted Journey (Dial Press, Inc., 1966), was syndicated in many newspapers and it received a surprising amount of serious attention, compared with the usual treatment of "contactee" stories. Dr. Simon's conclusions were made quite clear. The Hills, he said, actually believed this had been a true experience, but in his opinion the supposed abduction was a psychological reaction to an encounter with some unknown aerial activity or phenomenon.
The concluding chapter of Aliens from Space suggests that Kehoe's perception of the extraterrestrial crafts was becoming metaphysically more complex.
If the aliens had intended to attack or invade our world, they could have done so long ago. During the long surveillance there have been well over 3,000 UFO chases, including the capture attempts. Yet the space beings have shown surprising restraint. From all the evidence, it seems clear their main purpose requires peaceful contacts and co-operation with humans.
Keyhoe acknowledged that "there is evidence that the UFO beings can hear and understand us." He once more articulated his most fervent convictions.
The time has come to stop the long deception, the deliberate discrediting of thousands of honest witnesses.
At any time, there could be a sudden development for which we are totally unprepared. The secrecy, the censorship must be stopped.
We must end the dangerous gamble which could involve us all.
The book's Epilogue revealed that the NICAP organization had become ineffective in recent years. Kehoe observed, ". . . I have urged that NICAP try to regain the competent Subcommittee investigators and technical advisers it has lost and that it return to our original operating program and goals: To put the verified evidence on record, to expose the secrecy dangers and to end the cover-up."
After reading Keyhoe's five UFOlogy books, it is easy to understand that the UFO cover-up is sporadic. Bureaucratic secrecy regulations conflict with human interests, values and faith. Nonetheless, the age of the military-industrial complex has resulted with many followers as human free will is influenced by social hierarchies where directives and regulations may be overseen by government and corporation executives who in some cases may only be motivated by their own financial self-interests. These decisions seem to be made without any credence to the spiritual doctrines of karma, reincarnation and the afterlife.
Considering the UFO cover-ups documented by Kehoe and other authors, one can only wonder to what extent inculcated secrecy and disinformation techniques have also been and continue to be routinely implemented by personnel working throughout other government jurisdictions.
Betty and Barney Hill's car was a Chevy Bel Air during their UFO experience.
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