PRESS RELEASE  -  May 19, 2005 

Area 51 celebrates its 50th Anniversary - public gathering on Memorial
Day Weekend

GROOM LAKE, NEVADA 

     Marking the 50th Anniversary of  "the operating base near Groom
Lake" (official name of the popularly known Area 51 base), several
celebrations are being held this month in various locations.   The
construction of this sprawling aerospace complex in Nevada, the
world's most well-known but misunderstood "secret base", began in the
month of May of 1955.

     Some of the "official" celebrations, closed to the public, were
already held at the base itself.

     Other "private" celebrations also were already held at diverse
aerospace facilities both in Nevada and in Southern California,
including the Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards Air Force Base,
whose Detachment 3 operations are said to be tied in with the Nevada
base.

     However, aside from these private gatherings which were already
held,  there will still be a "public" celebration marking the Golden
Anniversary of Area 51.   On Saturday, May 28, 2005 a public gathering
will be held adjacent to the eastern boundary of the base alongside
Groom Lake Rd. and will be headed by Joerg Arnu, webmaster of Area 51
- The Dreamland Resort
http://www.dreamlandresort.com,
the world's largest online source of information on Area 51.

     Supporters and "aficionados" of Area 51, including military
aviation enthusiasts, are expected to celebrate outside the eastern
boundary of the base with a camp-out, barbecue and live music
entertainment along with various speakers.   A mini-stage will be set
up at the site.

     According to Arnu, May 28 was selected because it coincides with
the Memorial Day weekend and thus it would be easier for the public to
make it to the celebrations.   Some participants will begin to arrive
at the site in the late afternoon on Friday, May 27.   The
celebrations will continue throughout the weekend.

     The news media is expected to give some coverage of the event and
the BLM Rangers (Bureau of Land Management) are also expected to
participate by helping coordinate parking and other logistics needed
to make the event a success.

     For more info, go to:  Area 51 - 50-th Anniversary campout
celebration
http://www.dreamlandresort.com/campout.html

     For the past 16 years or so, Area 51 has been popularly and
erroneously (and "conveniently", according to some theorists)
associated with false rumors of "alien technology" and conspiracies.

     Norio Hayakawa, (  Civilian Intelligence Operations )
http://www.hometown.aol.com/groom51s4/index.html,
a supporter of the importance and necessity of this vital base for our
national defense, states that "the operating base near Groom Lake" is
a real aerospace complex which was originally not intended to be
established as a top secret, classified base.  (go to the bottom link
to read the excellent article by aerospace historian, Peter Merlin).

     According to Hayakawa, it became a "secret base"  mainly through
paranoia created by  misinformation, resulting from false rumors which
began in the late 80s and persisted throughout the mid 90s.

     Area 51 today is a vibrant aerospace R & D conglomerate test
base, employing anywhere from 1800 to 2400 defense contractor
employees, working in shifts on diversified projects.   Some of the
contractors include Raytheon, Lockheed, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, TRW,
E.G. & G. and General Atomics.

     One of the best recent color satellite photos of the base was
taken on Thursday, July 24, 2003:  Color Satelllite Photo of Area 51
taken on Thursday, July 24, 2003
http://www.lasvegasnow.com/area51/Area51-072503-LG.jpg

     Finally, perhaps the best history of Area 51 was recently
compiled by Peter Merlin, an aerospace historian who resides near
Edwards Air Force Base in California:

Area 51 Was Never A Secret, Classified Base.
http://www.dreamlandresort.com/pete/no_secret.html


END OF PRESS RELEASE

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