Wilhelm Reich and UFOs - Part II: Examining the Evidence and Allegations

Abstract: This is a two-part article, the first part of which relates Dr. Wilhelm Reich’s sighting accounts, experiences, deductions and conclusions concerning UFOs. Also examined are the reactions, perceptions, rebuttals and dismissals of his findings by others, and, in some cases, their opinions concerning his sanity. “Wilhelm Reich and UFOs Part II” addresses evidence in support of his UFO related accounts and conclusions. Much of the evidence presented is in the form of excerpts from previously classified documents and reports which encompass a cross-section of American military and intelligence sources ranging from 1947 to 1980.

“What do they want for Proof?”-There is no proof. There are no authorities whatsoever. No president, no academy, court of law, congress or senate on this earth has the knowledge or power to decide what will be the knowledge of tomorrow. There is no use in trying to prove something that is unknown to someone who is ignorant of the unknown, or fearful of its threatening power. Only the good, old rules of learning will eventually bring about understanding of what has invaded our earthly existence (2:xxii).

In the introduction to Contact With Space, Dr. Wilhelm Reich asks what constitutes proof that some UFOs are the product of intelligences from somewhere other than Earth. Short of an actual sighting or contact experience, what constitutes proof for you? If we find a subject disturbing enough, we are capable of prejudging anything offered into evidence and discounting its value – no matter how many eyewitnesses affirm its reality, no matter how many photographs are taken, or how many relevant tests have been preformed. Rocks falling from the sky were a frightening thought in the 1790s, and why not? It is a frightening thought.

A similar controversy now surrounds the issue of UFOs and the plausibility of present-day extraterrestrial visits. If anything, they’ve become emblematic of “the unknown” in out time and in this culture. This while many continue to laugh off even the possibility of their existence. Should a popular state of denial here surprise us? Not really. From 1947 – the outset of our modern age of UFO sightings – most people have been well-conditioned by the media and the government to accept the entire matter as something less than scientific and not of serious concern. Where are we to look for “acceptable” evidence relating to the soundness of Reich’s observations, deductions and conclusions? Legal actions initiated under the Freedom of Information Act, and, when it is still allowed, the natural governmental process of reviewing and downgrading the classifications of dated, sensitive materials, have, over the years, resulted in the release of thousands of pages of UFO-related documents. Generated by many branches and offices of our military, intelligence, and governmental communities, these papers include information from foreign sources as well. The agencies involved have a standing policy of not commenting on documents released, but they will confirm authenticity. It is mainly in this verification that I have been able to build to build a case for Wilhelm Reich’s UFO findings.

Literally every type of UFO-related phenomena Reich observed and recorded in military and intelligence documents of the period or earlier. Many of his conclusions about UFOs were shared or seriously considered, on paper, by highly placed individuals in military, intelligence, and government, including Air Force personnel, members of Air Force intelligence, the CIA, the FBI, the National Security Agency, the Atomic Energy Commission, the Rand Corporation, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, several NASA astronauts and two Secretary Generals of the United Nations.

Evidence indicates that some UFOs are indeed highly advanced craft of some type, of undetermined origin, and that there is a direct relationship between their observed functioning and Reich’s discoveries of the dynamics of energy functioning.

Addressing Dr. Reich’s scientific methodology, a first question is: Was he guilty of, in the words of author Jerome Greenfield, “haste and insufficient regard for scientific method in arrival of his conclusions concerning UFOs.” (3:140). Faced with a genuine scientific challenge for which there were no specimens to examine, few specialized laboratory tools to validate, and subject to overt hostility from the rest of the scientific community, he proceeded in the most responsible manner he was able: by observing, reading, photographing, working with the cloudbuster, and continually reconfirming his findings against those of his similarly involved colleagues. Most important, without tools, he continued to utilize his finest scientific instruments as well as humanly possible: his fine mind and keen senses. There has never been a question about Reich’s ability to make deep and sustained contact with uncomfortable and difficult material1.

(Footnote 1) Reich’s own Rules to Follow in Basic Research bear witness to his scrupulous methodology. They are available from the Wilhelm Reich Museum Store at Orgonon, Rangeley, Maine, or from this author.

Due to some of the unique problems and limitations inherent in responsible scientific UFO research at this time, Reich’s choice was to proceed in this matter aware of the limitations in this new field of inquiry, or not to proceed at all; Reich proceeded. The rate at which his observations, experiences, and findings translated into reported or published results was not done in “haste”; it simply took as long as required given the circumstances. Reich loved the truth; in pursuing more knowledge about UFOs, he risked his reputation. In fact, he did reach disturbing and unpopular conclusions. He employed the only procedures and methodologies left open to him, applying thirty five years of using proper scientific method to guide him in arriving at these findings.

Credibility of Keyhoe

Reich’s first source of written information on UFOs with USMC Major (ret.) Donald Keyhoe’s book, Flying Saucers Are Real, with which he was much impressed. He also read Keyhoe’s next book, Flying Saucers from Outer Space, published in 1953, and continued to hold the author and his work in high regard. Was Reich justified in taking Keyhoe’s writings seriously?

In January 1953, Albert Chop of the Department of Defense Office of Public Information wrote to Keyhoe’s publisher, Henry Holt & Co.:

We in the Air Force recognize Major Keyhoe as a responsible, accurate reporter. His long association and cooperation with the Air Force, in our study of unidentified flying objects, qualifies him as a leading civilian authority on this investigation. The Air Force and its investigating agency, “Project Bluebook,” are aware of Major Keyhoe’s conclusion that the “Flying Saucers” are from another planet. The Air Force has never denied that this possibility exists … if the apparently controlled maneuvers reported by many competent observers are correct, then the only remaining explanation is the interplanetary answer. (Doc. 1)

Following his retirement as the first Director of the CIA (1947-50), Admiral Roscoe Hillenkotter, at Keyhole’s invitation, joined the board of directors of Keyhole’s research organization, the National Investigating Committee of Aerial Phenomena (NICAD), the largest, most respected, and influential UFO organization existing at that time. Hillenkotter himself became quite outspoken on the subject of UFOs after leaving the agency. He is on record as saying, “The unknown objects are operating under intelligent control. It is imperative that we learn where the UFOs come from and what their purpose is” (5:22). Keyhole’s pioneering work was and is worthy of respect.

“Star-like” References

Quoting from Contact With Space: “some of the blinking lights hanging in the sky were not planets or fixed stars but space machines (2:xxii). Here and at other points, Reich refers to UFOs as sometimes being star-like in appearance. Are there similar references on the official record? Many. From a January 13, 1981 Department of Air Force report written by RAF Bentwaters (Suffolk UK) Deputy Base Commander Charles I Halt. It describes part of the December 1980 Bentwaters-Woodbridge UFO incident:

Later in the night a red sun-like light was seen through the trees. It moved about and pulsed. At one point it appeared to throw off glowing particles and then broke into five separate white objects and then disappeared. Immediately thereafter, three star-like objects were noticed in the sky, two objects to the north and one to the south. (Doc. 2)

Next is an excerpt from a September 20, 1976 priority cablegram from the U.S. Defense Attache’ Officer at the American Embassy in Teheran to the Secretaries of State and Defense, the CIA and the White House, among others:

Received four telephone calls from citizens living in the Shemiran area of Tehran saying they had seen strange objects in the sky. Some reported a bird-like object while others reported a helicopter with a light on. There were no helicopters airborne at the time. After he told the citizens it was only stars and had talked to Mehrabod [Airport] tower, he decided to look for himself. He noticed an object in the sky similar to a star, bigger and brighter. (Doc. 3)

Star-like references (and signs of intelligent control) from Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado. From the NORAD [North American Radar Air Defense Command] Director’s log for November 8, 1975:

Personnel picked up objects 10-13,000 feet [traveling at] 18 knots [at] 12,000 [feet] … Lost radar contact, fighters broke off at 0825, looking in area J331 … From SAC CP [Strategic Air Command Post] : L-sites had objects and fighters; fighters did not get down to object …when fighters arrived in the area, the lights went out; when fighters departed, the lights came back on.-From SAC CP (Sabotage Alert Team): L-5 reported objects increased in speed-high velocity, raised in altitude and now cannot tell objects from stars.

UFO Activity and Clouds

On different occasions, Reich observed what he felt was a direct relationship between UFO activity and clouds (2:136-172). He postulated that if UFOs were orgone-fueled machines, DOR would be their exhaust. Is such a relationship existed, it would have a functional basis. The presence of DOR would destroy clouds (2: 168-172). The following excerpts pertain to DOR activity and the absence of a vapor trail.

1. Air Material Command’s Opinion Concerning “Flying Discs” to Commanding Gen. Twining (later to head the Joint Chiefs of Staff), date September 23, 1947 - under “command description of the objects: “Absence of trail, except in a few instances when the object apparently was operating under high performance conditions.” (Doc. 6).

2. An Air Force document dated 28, 1952: “Under certain power conditions, the craft seem to have the ability to cut a clear path through clouds - width of path estimated on-half mile. Only one incident indicated this phenomenon.” (Doc. 7).

3. Excerpt under “Commonly Reported Features”: “The absence of an exhaust trail except in a few instances when it was reported to have a bluish color like a diesel exhaust, which persisted for approximately one hour.” Other reports indicated a brownish smoke trail (Doc. 9).

4. FBI Memorandum: From Special Agent in Charge, San Antonio, Texas. To J. Edgar Hoover, Director. Subject: “Protection of Vital Installations,” dated January 31, 1949 - reference to UFO sighted over Alabama by Eastern Airlines pilot, co-pilot and passages in July 1948: “It appeared out of a thunderhead ahead of the Eastern Airlines plane and immediately disappeared into another cloud narrowly missing a collision with the Eastern Airlines Plane.” (Doc 10).

5. Relative to cloud destruction, Reich observed in Arizona, “Twelve Air Force planes overflew the site and their jet trails quickly dissolved.” (2). Project Sign, the Air Force’s first comprehensive report on UFOs, February 1949, classified “SECRET,” observed that “UFOs were not known to produce any physical effects, other than the one case in which a cloud was evaporated along the trajectory [of the UFO], it is not certain that the laws of mechanics, for instance, would be sufficient [to explain this].” (Doc. 9-21)

6. A Department of Army Intelligence Report from Kabul, Afghanistan, dated December 3, 1959. Four days earlier “A bright object was observed in Mazar-I-Sharif (northwest Afghanistan) moving with high speed from North-East towards South-West. The object disappeared in three minutes in the clouds.” (Doc. 10)

7. A photograph taken in Denmark, Sunday morning November 17, 1974, by a Mr. Lauersen with his 35mm camera while walking his dog. He looked up to see a hovering disc-shaped object, flat metallic in appearance, generating a cloud around itself, and then disappearing in a white vaporous cloud. (Figure 1) Site: Viborg on the Jutland Pennisulla. Film: Kodacolor negative (100 ASA). Weather” clear. Temperature: 5 degrees Centigrade. Time: 9:00 AM. Distance from camera: approximately 250-300 m. Elevation from horizon: 30 degrees. Diameter estimate: 30 m. Investigated by Hans Peteren, head of the Danish UFO research organization, IGAPE. Analyzed by Col. (Ret.) Colman S. VonKeviczky, MMSE.

8. From a November 1977 Russian academic paper: “Over Pulkovo the UFO delineated on the sky a giant 8 [eight] and left behind a contrail.” (Doc 4)

Color Change Sequence

Reich observed a specific sequence of color changes in the UFO sights: “Yellow to red or white, flashing, pulsating, changing color from yellow to red or green visa versa” (2). Other UFOs have been described in this manner.

1. From the Federal Aviation Authority’s report of Japan Airlines (JAL) Flight 1628's sighting over Alaska on May 1, 1987: “Lights: “Yellow, amber, green, no red. Rotating beacon. Many small lights.” (Doc 11)

2. From Department of Defense, Joint Chiefs of Staff Message Center in Brasilia, Brazil, to Defense Intelligence Agency, May 19, 1986:

Shortly afterward, radar contact was made with similar objects near Brasilia three Mirages (the french made jet fighter) were launched from Annapolis AB ... all made radar contact at 20,000 feet. They reported that they were escorted by 14 of these discs with red, green and white lights at a distance of one to three miles. The objects then rapidly disappeared from both ground and airborne radars (Doc 11)

3. Excerpt from the January 13, 1981 memorandum written by RAF Bentwaters Deputy Base Commander, Lt. Col. Charles I. Halt: “The objects moved rapidly in sharp angular movements and displayed red, green and blue lights.” (Doc 2)

4. From a September 20, 1976 Joint Chiefs of Staff PRIORITY cablegram:

the visual size of the object was difficult to discern because of its intense brilliance The light that it gave off was that of flashing strobe lights arranged in a rectangular pattern and alternating blue, green, red and orange in color. The sequence of the lights was so fast that all the colors could be seen at once. (Doc 3:2)

5. Taken from an April 1990 letter to American Ufologist Colman Von Keviczsky, from Yuri E. Lototsev, Associate Professor of Engineering, Deputy Chairman and Scientific Secretary of the Voronezh Anomalous Phenomena Research Committee, “Subject: October, 1989, {Russian} UFO incident and continuing UFO activity in the area. The major types of UFOs in the sky over Voronezh were the following ‘classic saucer,’ hatshaped, ball-shaped, egg-shaped, etc. The colors were metallic, orange, red, blue and others.” (Doc. 13)

Ability to Appear and Disappear

The “star-like” UFOs Reich observed seemed to have these abilities. Is there any official confirmation of these phenomena?

1. The Air Force’s “Draft of Collection Memorandum” of October 28, 1952 clearly states, “Commonly reported features that are very significant and which may aid in the investigations”-: f. The ability to disappear by high speed or by complete disintegration; g. The ability to suddenly appear without warning as if from an extremely high altitude.” (Doc 7)

2. From a “Summary of Information” dated October 17, 1950. Subject: Objects Sighted Over Oak Ridge [Tennessee - one of America’s earliest nuclear installations]. On October 13, after being sighted over the facility, it disappeared:

Approximately five minutes later the object appeared again having reappeared from approximately the same location from which it had disappeared. The object was seen again five minutes later for approximately ten seconds. [Then] The controller ... at the Knoxville Airport Radar Site made a report that he had seen particular readings on the radar scope at approximately 1520 hours. Apparently the radar picture was indefinite, intermittent, and inaccurate because the objects sighted by radar would only make a short “painting” on the scope and would then disappear only to reappear at another location.” (Doc. 14)

Pulsation

Reich observed that UFOs have the ability to pulsate, as have numerous others.

1. A summary of objects sighted over the Oak Ridge Nuclear complex in 1950 states that the object was bullet-shaped, with a tail: “... the tail appeared almost transparent and was glowing intermittently, in sections. The tail appeared to have four or five sections which would glow intermittently.” (Doc. 14)

2. Lt. Col. Halt’s “Unexplained Lights” letter of January 1981 reports that the craft which appeared during the first night’s incident: “The object had a pulsing red light on top.” (Doc. 2)

3. Excerpt from the FAA’s January 5, 1987 transcribed interview with the pilot and co-pilot of Flight 1628, both of whom observed and reported a huge UFO while en route over Alaska:

Beckner (FAA Inspector) : “Okay, ah, sis the intensity of these lights change, at all ... or were they pretty much the same intensity for the time you saw them?”

Tamefuji (1st Officer): “... How should I say? ... On and off but became stronger, ah, became stronger, became weaker, became stronger, became weaker, different from the strobe lights.”

Mimoto (Japanese interpreter): “Some got stronger, and changed to weaker, stronger then weaker, and stronger, weaker ...” (Doc. 11)

Blue Color

As noted, Reich was intrigued by the writings of pioneer UFO researcher Marine Maj. (Ret.) Donald Keyhoe, who observed that UFOs were sometimes surrounded by bluish light, the color of orgone energy under laboratory conditions and in the atmosphere. Do other, independent accounts of Keyhoe’s observations exist?

1. An October 28, 1948 Air Force Memorandum states that in one particular case, a UFO had “The absence of an exhaust trail except in a few instances when it was reported to have a bluish color.” (Doc. 15)

2. A November 9, 1975 entry in the NORAD Command Director’s Log: “FAA Watch Supervisor reported to have five air carriers in vicinity of UFO, United Flight 157 reported seeing a meteor, ‘are welder’s blue’ in color. SAC CP advised, sites still report seeing object stationary.” (Doc.5-3)

3. Lt. Col. Halt’s January 1981 account of the Rendlesham Forest UFO incident notes the craft had “... Bank(s) of blue lights underneath.” (Doc. 2)

4. And from a 1977 paper entitled “Are We Alone in the Universe? Intelligence in Outer Space,” by Vladimir Azhazana, Member of the National Academy of Sciences of the USSR: “The UFOs are rounded with a burning plasma-cloud which makes it difficult to photograph. In spite of this, it has been observed that its powerful start resembles typical welding arc-light. When the starting speed is lower, the color is blue.” (Doc. 4:4)

Background Radiation

Reich states that during the December 1954 Tucson UFO incident, “The background radiation count jumped to an alarming 100,000 CPMs [counts per minute]” (2). The usual background count had been about 600-800 CPMs.

1. A 1952 CIA report concludes: “Reports of erratic operation of various kinds of instruments in the vicinity of sightings. Sightings of UFOs reported at Los Alamos [New Mexico] and Oak Ridge [Tennessee] at a time when the background radiation count had risen inexplicably ... Here we run out of even ‘blue yonder’ explanations that might be tenable, and we still are left with numbers of incredible reports from credible observers.” (Doc. 16: 27-28)

2. Again, from the Air Force’s “Unexplained Lights” report of January 1981: “... The following night ... the area was checked for radiation. Beta/gamma readings of 0.1 milliroentgens were recorded at peak readings in the three depressions and near the center of the triangle formed by the depressions. A nearby tree had moderate (.07-.07) readings on the side of the tree toward the depressions.” (Doc. 2)

3. Excerpted from an August 28, 1990 letter to the author from Prof. Yuri Lototsev in Voronezh, U.S.S.R.: “It is significant that the landings that are most outside the U.S.S.R. ... also caused heightened radiation. It [the background radiation count] was less than in England (maximum 0.04 milliroentgens) and recorded in one of the four depressions.” (Doc. 17)

Motor Source

Relative to UFOs, was the United States government interested in orgone energy as a motor source?

1. From a classified 1947 Air Force report which reviewed aspects of UFO landing gear, then examined locomotive theories under the heading of “Power Plant.” The propulsive systems reviewed are piston, gas turbine, jet, turbo, rockets, ram jets, pulse jets, and nuclear propulsion, alone or in combination. Noting the aircraft would be characterized by a lack of fuel space, it goes on to say, “The presence of an unconventional propulsion system cannot be ruled out and should be considered of great interest.” (Doc. 15)

2. From Canada, a memorandum to the Controller of Telecommunications, dated November 21, 1950, “Subject: Geo-Magnetics: We believe that we are on the track of something which may well prove to be the introduction to a new technology. The existence of a different technology is borne out by investigations which are being carried on at the present time in relation to flying saucers.” (Doc. 18:1)

Defying Conventional Laws of Mechanical Flight

Acceleration, climb, zigzag, hover, etc. Some examples:

1: CIA Information report, August 8, 1950. UFO sighted from ship in the North Atlantic. Observer states that:

The object made no noise. As it passed abeam of the ship, it appeared to pick up considerable speed . It was not flying smoothly by impressed me as having a churning or rotary motion. It was a shiny aluminum color and sparkled in the sunlight. [A second object appears. He observes it for a total of 15 seconds] I believe that it was traveling at a tremendous rate of speed, possible faster than 500 MPH. During the time I saw it, it was approximately 70 feet off the water and I judge it was approximately 10 miles away. I clearly saw its shadow on the water. I last observed it off the starboard quarter and it seemed to be increasing speed and ascending. It had an elliptic [sic] shape and I could clearly see that it had three dimensions. It wobbled in the air, made no noise, and was a metallic white in color.” (Doc. 19)

2. From Central Intelligence Corps, October, 1950, Summary of Information: Objects sighted Over Oak Ridge. First seen at 12,000-15,000 feet:

This object continued to descend in a controlled drive, and when it approached the ground it leveled off and flew slowly, parallel to the ground ... The object is said to have approached a nine foot cyclone chain link fence and made a controlled movement to clear the fence, then a willow tree, then a telephone pole and wire, after which the object gained momentum and altitude and cleared a hill at approximately one mile away. (Doc. 14)

3. CIA Information for Foreign Documents or Radio Reports Form; August 16, 1952:

Recently, two fiery disks were sighted over the uranium mines located at the southern part of the Belgian Congo in the Elizabethville District ... The disks glided in elegant curves and changed their position many times. So that from below the sometimes appeared as plates, ovals, and simply lines. Suddenly, both disks hovered in one spot and then took off in a unique zigzag flight to the northeast. ... The whole performance lasted from 10 to 12 minutes. ... The disks traveled in a precise and light manner, both vertically and horizontally. Changes in elevation from 800 to 1,000 meters could be accomplished in a few seconds; the disks often shot down to 20 meters of the top of the trees.

The CIA form notes the observer making the report was a military pursuit pilot and “... is regarded as a dependable officer and a zealous flier. He gave a detailed report to his superiors which, strange enough, in many respects agreed with varied results of research.” (Doc. 20)

4. From an Air Intelligence Information report dated October 14, 1955 titled, “Observations of a Traveler in USSR.” Its Top Secret classification seems in line with the identity of the three American witness, Richard B. Russell, Georgia Democrat on a fact finding mission to the Soviet Union. As Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Russell was one of the most influential and powerful member of the Senate at the time. From the original cable sent to Washington by his military aide:

On October 4, 1955 ... ten minutes by rail after departing Atjaty in Trans Caucasus Region, two round and circular unconventional aircraft resembling flying discs or flying saucers were seen taking off almost vertically one minute apart. Disk ascended near dusk with outer surface revolving slowly to right and with two lights stationary on top near middle part. ... Both flying disk aircraft ascended relatively slowly to about 6,000 feet, then speed increased sharply in horizontal flight both on Northern heading.” (Doc. 21)

5. Taken from June 1980 cablegram from US Defense Attache’ Officer, Lima, Peru. To Defense Intelligence Agency, Washington, D.C. Source is an officer in the Peruvian Air Force (FAP) and “has reported reliably in the past”:

On May 9, while a group of FAP officers were information, they spotted a UFO that was round in shape, hovering near the airfield. The Air Commander scrambled an SU-22 aircraft to make an intercept. The pilot, according to a third party, intercepted the vehicle and fired upon it at very close range without causing any apparent damage. The pilot tried to make a second pass on the vehicle, but the UFO out-ran the SU-22. (Doc. 22)

Integrity of Deductions

Based on his observations of their behavior, was Reich acting in a scientifically responsible way when he deduced over time that these “things” were machines under intelligent control, likely from outer space, whose behavior and implications should be taken seriously?

1. From Gen. Twining’s letter to Gen. Schulgen Spetember 23 1947: “It is the opinion that: the Phenomenon reported is something real and not visionary or fictitious.” (Doc. 6)

2. Excerpt, Gen. Schulgen’s October 28, 1947 letter to Chief of Air Intelligence Requirements Division. In it, Schulgen is speaking for the Secretary of the Air Force:

For the purpose of analysis and evaluation of the so-called “flying saucers,” the object sighted is being assumed to be a manned craft of unknown origin. While there remains a possibility of Russian manufacture, based on the perspective, thinking and actual accomplishments of the Germans, it is the considered opinion of some elements of that the object may in fact represent an interplanetary craft of some kind.” (Doc. 15)

3. Noted in a USAF Intelligence Division report entitled, “Flying Saucer Incidents in the United States,” dated November 8, 1948:

There remains a certain number of reports which no reasonable everyday explanation is available. ... The possibility that the reported objects are vehicles from another planet has not been ignored. However, tangible evidence to support conclusions about such a possibility are completely lacking.” (Doc. 23)

A memorable excerpt from the Air Force’s February 1949 report (classified Secret), Project Sign:

Space Ships: The following considerations pertain: If there is an extraterrestrial civilization which can make such objects as are reported, than it is most probable that its development is far in advance of ours. This argument can be supported on probability arguments alone without recourse to astronomical hypotheses. ... Such a civilization might observe that on Earth we now have atomic bombs and are fast developing rockets. In view of the past history of mankind, they should be alarmed. We should, therefore, expect at this time above all to behold such visitations. ... Since the acts of mankind most easily observed from a distance are A-bomb explosions, we should expect some relation to obtain between the time of A-bomb explosions, the time at which space ships are seen, and the time required for such ships to arrive from and return to their home-base.” (Doc. 9:25)

5. From Air Force Project Sign: “The lack of purpose apparent in the various episodes is also puzzling. Only one motive can be assigned; that the spacemen are ‘feeling out’ our defenses without wanting to be belligerent. If so, they must have been satisfied long ago that we can’t catch them.” (Doc 9:35)

6. CIA Deputy Director to Acting Chief, Weapons and Equipment Division. August 1, 1952, concerning “Flying Saucers”:

So long as a series of reports remains “unexplainable” (interplanetary and alien origin not being thoroughly excluded from consideration), caution requires that intelligence continue coverage of this subject. ... It is strongly urged, however, that no indication of CIA interest or concern reach the press or public, in view of their probable alarmist tendencies to accept such interest as “confirmatory of the soundness of ‘unpublished facts’ in the hands of the U.S. Government.” (Doc. 24)

7. CIA, Robertson Panel, February, 1953:

... It is interesting to note that none of the members of the panel were loath to accept that this earth might be visited by extraterrestrial intelligent beings of some sort, someday. ... Mr. Fournet, in his presentation, show how he had eliminated each of the known and probable causes of sightings leaving him with “extraterrestrial” as the only one remaining in many cases. Fournet’s background as an aeronautical engineer and technical intelligence officer ... could not be slighted.” (Doc 25: 10-11)

8. National Security Agency monograph, “UFO Hypotheses and Survival Questions. Taken from a 1968 draft:

Some UFOs are related to extraterrestrial intelligence: According to some eminent scientists this hypotheses cannot be disregarded. This hypothesis has a number of far-reaching human survival implications. Human history has shown us time and again the tragic results of a confrontation between a technologically superior civilization and a technologically inferior people. The ‘inferior’ is usual subject to physical conquest. In confrontation between two peoples of significantly different cultural levels, those having the inferior or less virile culture, most often suffer a tragic loss of identity and are usually absorbed by the other people.

Reich observed that we will often evade the obvious, especially if it brings with it a possibility we do not want to face or cannot tolerate. To quote Spinoza:

It is related by a peasant that he had persuaded himself that beyond his fields there were no others, and when he happened to loose a cow and was compelled to go in search of her, he was astonished at the great number of fields beyond his own few acres. This must also be the case of many theorists who have persuades themselves that beyond this field or little globe of earth there lie no other worlds - simply because he has not seen them.

Reich compared the totality of his work to a flight over a newly discovered continent. In this exploratory flight, he did not linger over any particular area, always restless, pushing onward, constantly breaking into new regions, leaving the details and refinements to be worked out by others. The final region Reich surveyed includes his observations of the behavior and energetic functioning. The observations and deductions he made and the conclusions he reached were based on decades of scientific study and were not reached in haste. His opinions, findings and theories were shared by a varied, independent, and credible individuals and institutions, contemporaneous with Reich or since his death in 1957. His contributions to this field deserve a respected place in UFO studies, the world of science at large, in all serious histories of Post War America, and in the history of the science of Orgonomy iself. Whether or not such acknowledgments will ever come to pass remains to be seen.

End

REFERENCES

1. Fort, Charles C.: The Complete Books of Charles Fort, Dover Publishing Co., Inc, New York, 1974

2. Reich, W.: Contact With Space, Orgone Institute Press, Rangely, Maine, 1957

3. Greenfield, J.: Wilhelm Reich vs. the U.S.A., Norton, New York, 1974

4. Goran, M.: The Modern Myth - Ancient Astronauts and UFOs, A.S. Barnes & Co., New Jersey, 1978

5. Buckley, G.: “Ex-CIA Chief Wants UFO Probe,” The Evening Gazette, Worcester, Massachusetts, May 1, 1960

6. Elbert Hubbard’s Scrapbook, William Wise & Co., New York, 1923

7. Bok, S.: Secrets, Pantheon Books, New York, 1982

DOCUMENT FILE

1. Letter from Department of Defense Office of Public Information to New York publisher Henry Holt & Co., January 26, 1953

2. Department of Air Force letter dated January 13, 198, Subject: Unexplained Lights, Lt. Col. Charles I. Halt, Deputy Base Commander, RAF Bentwaters, Suffolk, East Anglia, England (81 st Combat Support Group), to RAF/CC. Credit: Larry Warren, Lt. Larry Fawcett (Coventry, Connecticut Police Department), Robert Todd and CAUS (Citizens Against UFO Secrecy). 1983 Freedom of Information Act Release

3. Priority cablegram from the U.S. Defense Attache Officer, U.S. Embassy, Teheran, Iran, to Secretaries of State, Defense, etc., September 20, 1976

4. “Are We Alone in the Universe? Intelligence in Outer Space - Fact and Hypotheses.” From lecture given at the Novosty Press Agency by Vladimir G. Azhaszha, Assistant Head of Oceanographic Department of the National Academy of Sciences, of the U.S.S.R. Credit ICUFON Archive, New York

5. Excerpts from NORAD (North American Air Defense) Director’s Log. Entries are from October 29 through November 9, 1975; released October 4, 1977, to Mr. Todd Zechel of Guttenberg, New Jersey

6. AMC {Air Materiel Command} Opinion Concerning Flying Discs, to General George Schulgen from General Nathan Twining, 3 pp., September 23, 1947, classified SECRET

7. Draft of an Air Force Collection Memorandum dated October 28, 1948, entitled Intelligence Requirements on Flying Saucer Type Aircraft, classified SECRET

8. FBI Memorandum from Special Agent in Charge, San Antonio, Texas, to J.E. Hoover, Director. Subject: Protection of Vital Installations, January 31, 1949

9. Technical Report on Unidentified Aerial Objects, Project SIGN, issued by HQ, Air Materiel Command, Wright-Patterson AFB, Dayton, Ohio, 44 pp., February 1949, classified SECRET

10. Department of the Army Intelligence Report, Subject: Unidentified Objects, from US Embassy, Kabul, Afghanistan, December 3, 1959

11. Excerpt: Federal Avation Authority preliminary notes on UFO sighting over Alaska by crew of Japan Airlines Flight 1628, p. 2, January 5, 1987

12. Department of Defense, Joint Chiefs of Staff Message Center, Brasilia, Brazil. Information Report to Defense Intelligence Agency, Washington, D.C., May 19, 1986

13. Letter from Prof. Yuri Lozotsev, Voronezh, U.S.S.R., to Hungarian Col. (ret) Colman S. VonKeviczky, April 17, 1990

14. Summary of Information Form. Preparing Office: Central intelligence Corps, Knoxville, Tennessee; Subject: Objects Sighted Over Oak Ridge; 3 pp., October 17, 1950, classified SECRET

15. Memorandum from General George F. Schulgen, for the Secretary of the Air Force, to the attention of the (intelligence) Plans and Collection Branch; 6 pp., October 28, 1947, classified SECRET. Credit: Dr. Bruce Maccabee

16. From a 28 page draft of a CIA Intelligence Advisory Committee paper entitled Summary of the Discussion; August 15, 1952, classified SECRET

17.Excerpt, letter from Prof. Yuri Lozotsev to the author, August 28, 1990

18. Canadian Department of Transport Intra-Departmental Correspondence, known as the “Smith Memo.” Subject: Geo-Magnetics: 3 pp., November 21, 1950, classified TOP SECRET. Credit: Stanton T. Friedman

19. CIA Information Report Form. Subject: Unidentified Airborne Object, at Sea, north Atlantic, August 18, 1950. Credit: ICUFON Archives, New York City

20. CIA document, Information from Foreign Departments or Radio Broadcasts. Subject: Flying Saucers Over Belgian Congo Uranium Mines, August 16, 1952

21. Air intelligence information Report, by Lt. Col. Thomas S. Ryan, U.S. Air Attache, Prague, Czechoslovakia. Subject: Observations of Traveler in U.S.S.R.; 5 pp., October 14, 1955. Classified TOP SECRET

22. Cablegram from U.S. Defense Attache Officer, Lima, Peru, to Joint Chiefs of Staff/Defense Intelligence Agency. Title: UFO Sighted in Peru, dated June 1980

23. Letter from HQ USAF, to Commanding General, Air Materiel Command, Wright-Patterson AFB, Dayton, Ohio; 4 pp., November 8, 1948, classified SECRET

24. CIA, Deputy Assistant Director Edward Tauss, to Acting Chief, Weapons & Equipment Division. Subject: Flying Saucers, August 1, 1952, classified SECRET

25. From minutes of the CIA’s ‘Robertson Panel’ meeting, February 1953

26. National Security Agency, excerpt from draft of 1968 paper, UFO Hypotheses and Survival Questions. Classified SECRET

Note: Earlier versions of these papers were published in The Journal of Orgonomy, volume 24, number 2, November 1990, and volume 25, number 1, May 1991.