I also predicted that UFO research would find itself in the libraries, looking at old cases, trying to learn if there was something more to them. Were the facts as they had been reported in the various books and magazines as they had been observed by the witnesses? Was there more that could be learned by a reinvestigation of those older, but now classic cases! Was UFO investigation still a worthwhile activity!
The answer here is "Yes!"
And that's what we're going to look at in this book. Those old cases that deserve more attention, and the many new cases that will someday join the ranks of the classics. What we see, in the investigation of these cases, whether it is a reexamination of a classic or a new investigation of a modern case, is an increase in the capability of the investigator. No longer do we have amateurs who have no clue as to how to proceed. Instead, we have talented researchers who are leaving no stone unturned in their quest for the truth.
In the "Alien Autopsy Circus," for example, we see Kent Jeffrey, an airline pilot by trade, who has gone to extremes in his search for information. He is largely responsible for learning the inside details of how military cameramen operated at the end of the 1940s. Given the nature of the autopsy film, this is highly relevant and very persuasive evidence. It allows us to understand why the film is in such dispute, and provides us with the information to develop an informed opinion of the event.
We see the same dedication to research in the Gulf Breeze photographic case. Carol and Rex Salisberry are able to run down some fantastic leads in their attempts to validate the pictures taken by Ed Walters. Again, they have dayjobs, but are able to bring a unique investigative insight to their research so that in the end we understand what happened in Gulf Breeze. And we learn some interesting facts about the nature of UFO organizations as they exist today.
The same can be said for Jerry Black. He was interested in the Travis Walton abduction, one of the first to receive widespread publicity. Black's desire for the truth and his beliefs about the case were challenged by Walton and others. Rather than digging in to defend his position, Black charged out in a quest for new information that might shed some light on the case and provide us with the truth.
Or Chris Styles and Doug Ledger, who have been chasing information about a possible UFO crash in the Shag Harbour area of Canada. Although it is a case that took place in October 1967, their research has been conducted over the last few years, in the archives of various governmental agencies. It is a fascinating bit of detective work.
I certainly could go on in this vein. The names of those who provided data has become longer and longer. The list of those who are taking their work as UFO investigators seriously is growing. We see the evidence of the improved research as we study the cases. No longer are the researchers interested in validating their theories; they are interested in learning what the truth is, even when that truth flies in the face of their beliefs. That is something that is important to understanding UFO investigations in the last decade.
There is another point to be made here. I find that this work has become more negative than I intended. I selected the areas of study here because they were the cases that were getting the greatest attention. The Alien Autopsy film, for instance, had been talked about for nearly two years, FOX-TV has shown their special four or five times, and it was a prime discussion on dozens of other television broadcasts in other nations. The Internet, UFO magazines, and UFO conferences were filled with discussions about it. But what was the real story? It was necessary to explore it, even if the results were negative .
Or what about the Gulf Breeze case? Again, it was the subject of a number of books and television shows from tabloid television to respected programs. It, too, was a huge topic of conversation at UFO conventions. It was the subject of several investigations ordered by MUFON (the Mutual UFO Network). It deserved to be examined carefully, even if the results were not those that I wanted to see or pleasing to those supporting the case.
Or what about MJ-12? Here is something that began about a decade ago. Again, there are books on the topic, there are dozens of magazine articles, there are special reports, and there are experts to be interviewed. Are we looking at the "smoking gun" that provides us with the evidence of a government cover-up and alien visitation? Are the documents' disinformation designed to keep the lid down and the cover-up intact? Or are they frauds, designed to promote a belief in extraterrestrial visitation and to bring the spotlight to bear on specific individuals? A complete look at the UFO situation today must contain information about all the MJ-12 documents.
Or what about the Jim Ragsdale story? This is part of the famous Roswell case. Can we really examine the UFO phenomenon today without some word on the Roswell case? This is the granddaddy of them all. It is world famous. It has been written about in this country by a variety of authors, it has been featured on more television shows than Madonna, and it was the subject of one original cable television movie. And, as if that weren't enough, it was a central part of the major blockbusting movie of the summer of 1996, Independence Day. It has been featured in "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine," is mentioned frequently in "The X-files," and has turned up in all sorts of arenas including Penthouse. It is almost impossible to write a UFO book today without mentioning Roswell.
But Roswell has also become a financial football in which dozens are now involved, each with his or her own agenda. The Jim Ragsdale story seems to illustrate this better than any other. By providing the complete story, rather than the edited and somewhat misleading version that has been published by the International UFO Museum, we learn a few things about the selling of Roswell.
This is not to say that everything you are about to read is negative. Far from it. What we have is the story of the UFO phenomenon today. It is the story of solid investigation, a reliance on fact, and conclusions that are drawn not from wishful thinking, but from the facts as they have been determined. In this light, we have much that is positive in this book. We have much that leads us to conclude that alien visitation is taking place. All we have to do is separate the noise and clutter from the facts as they have been established.
So I make no apologies for the negative aspects reported here. It is the truth as I have been able to learn it. I have attempted to provide all the relevant data; how it was gathered, the sources of that data, and how it can be verified for those who wish to do so themselves. I have tried to paint an honest picture of the UFO phenomenon as it exists today. I have tried to provide all the information that can be found. And I have tried to suggest ways for those who have neither the time nor the resources to venture thousands of miles from home to continue to investigate themselves.
We look at some of the cases that are beginning to break as I complete this work. In Brazil, there seems to be a case of a UFO crash and the recovery of a number of living aliens. In Latin America, there are reports of a strange creature that kills small mammals and sucks their blood. Many researchers have linked the creature to UFOs. And, there is the continuing saga of the Air Force attempts to explain the Roswell case as nothing more than a weather balloon and radar target. Oh, sure, they've changed the name, but it is the same lame answer they provided fifty years ago, and it doesn't work any better today than it did then.
So, yes, there are some negatives in this book, but there are also some positives. This book is the story of UFO investigations today. It is the story of the research that is being conducted today. It is the story of the UFO phenomenon as it exists today and what can be done by researchers who have no personal agenda other than the truth. It demonstrates where we are and what we are doing.
But on a much more positive note, the one which everyone should come away from this work with, is the fact that we have elevated UFO research from the pits it was in to a much higher plain. We, inside the UFO community, without the help of the scientists or the journalists, have taken UFO investigations into a new arena. We might have exposed some of the classic cases as hoaxes, but we have demonstrated that we are in search of the truth, whatever that truth might be. We have done it on our own without any help from the outside, and that is the most positive aspect of UFO research today.