PART 19

A very bizarre but intriguing letter was sent to APRO in either
late 1980 or early 1981 and is commonly referred to by the name of
the initial subject of the letter, a Mr. Craig Weitzel. This letter
refers to a sequence of events which occurred in the mid-1980's at
both Kirtland AFB and in an area near Pecos, NM and also makes several statements to the effect that there is a UFO-investigation detachment
stationed at or near Kirtland. The writer also goes on to mention
among other things that there is at least one "object" stored in the
Manzano storage area. That the letter was at least legitimately received
at APRO can be ascertained by the vehement letter which Jim Lorenzen
mailed out rebuking the gentleman who released this letter without
official permission from APRO. However, can we determine if this letter
is a total hoax or is there even a grain of truth to be found in the information it conveys? In a conversation I had with Craig Weitzel
he claimed to know nothing of the details related in the letter, and
denied that he took any photographs. Strangely enough, however, he
did state that he and the other did see an unusual silvery object
hovering high in the sky which left the area, to use his words, "exponentially"! He had been training in mountain rescue operations
and he and the others had spelled out S-O-S on the mountain side using parachutes and were waiting for the rescue helicopters to spot them.
While looking for these helicopters they notices the silvery "UFO".
If this is all that occurred what could be the reason to fabricate
such a letter and yet give the name and address of a witness who was
sure to refute the claims? Was it just a bizarre practical joke? The
author of the anonymous letter claims that after Weitzel spoke with
AFOSI agent Dody (sic) he did not want to have anything more to do
with the matter and subsequently the Dody character denied that there
had been any photographs. Was this a circumstance that could have
been expected based on previous experience with Air Force handling
of such matters? Many government and military witnesses often refuse
to talk about their experiences to strangers either because of official pressure or simply for the sake of their own privacy. Motivation again
must be considered in efforts to find the complete truth.

In early October 1987 I had a strange conversation with an individual
who is unknown to me except by first name and who initially knew
absolutely nothing about my interest in UFOs. During a telephone
conversation which took place totally by chance, the subject of nuclear
weapons came up as this person indicated some knowledge of this
weaponry, being at the time a member of the Air Force. I jokingly
asked to know everything there was to know about Kirtland AFB, but
not due to my interest in nuclear weapons per se but because of something
else I thought may be stored at Manzano that "isn't nuclear weapons."
After a momentary chuckle this individual said, "yes...UFOs!" As astounded
as I was I asked for a little clarification, and after relating my
interest, I was told that there are two "objects" stored in the Manzano
area from what this person had heard during conversations by Air Force personnel in Germany. There had been some discussion about something
which was related to a UFO incident widely reported in German newspapers
in 1981 being similar to something which "they" had "over here."
Because of the circumstances under which this conversation occurred
and the fact that I had in no way even alluded to the subject I believe
that this may offer some support to some of the statements made in
the anonymous "Weitzel" letter.

A final note of interest has come up in the newly released book
on the "flying boomerang" objects reported in recent years in and
around New York state [NIGHT SIEGE, Ballantine 1987]. In the process
of investigating these incidents Hynek and Imbrogno were contacted
by an individual who claimed to work for the NSA. They apparently
verified this to their own satisfaction, and while this person professed
that his interest was only personal, they were struck by the inordinate
amount of interest this person showed in their investigations and
any evidence they uncovered. There are even indications that their
telephones may have been tapped. While it is unknown if this man's
interest went further than personal curiosity, it is clear that the investigators felt there was something unusual about it. Nevertheless,
here is yet another instance in which the National Security Agency
seems to have crept into the picture.

Do the facts as outlined here cast reasonable suspicion on the
NSA and its part in official interest in unidentified flying objects?
I believe that they do and that there is justifiable cause to suspect
that the project AQUARIUS which relates (at least in some way) to
UFOs is probably an NSA, or NSA related project. It also still seems
that in spite of the arguments and confusion concerning documents,
the designation "MJ-12" must be considered if not a certainty, than
at least potentially valid. Those who have taken the time to contact
witnesses and obtain their statements and help, have the best chance
to make up their minds for themselves, regardless of the confusion
concerning altered documents which seems to be precipitating furiously.
We do not want to throw the proverbial baby out with the bath water
simply because the facts seem confusing. Perhaps even the confusion
is being directed by someone somewhere. We should keep our sights
fixed firmly on the major issues and the facts we can prove in our
efforts to uncover the truth.

END

Thanks to all those sources both named and unnamed who have contributed
to the facts outlined here.

end of part 19


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