~tt. Ralph n4nkow 1145 Broadway N~w York I, New York Dear Mr. RIlnkow: 15 August 1965 Thank you for your letter of y 26 regarding your quostions concerning unidentified flying objects. I have not received a copy of the book, "The UFO Evidence, " and so cannot give you any opinion on If it were desirable to hold congressional hearings on the question of unidentified flying objects, 1 would certainly agree that they should be open to the public. uopv3P" .. "ul iJlIl ""J S, :1 ?l"uoQ lO~1I1l 'Pl" ""lA10~U> .. o.n :it 'lei\, "PATE AlllI'l"''':': .:::: Hn 'll-C::: 'U!liSUlI}J:lIJ!l Dec-mIMI' I, 1965 Mr. Jam M . aeed. Jr. 77 ".yeUe Avenue Kenmore, New York 14223 T hal1k you lor wrh1nS to me about you," intere.t in U1o"O' 1 have rec,ived 'averal letter. from other mambare al yoou aroup and I am ke_p1nl my .. U _braa_t of hdormation deyalOlled Oft th1_ aubJect. lapprae1ue )'QU.r thoulhttulna .. in ",ddol t o me on thh _ttlI'. !jr. It.31ph RMkow Photographic Illu~tr~ti 1145 Brae-Olla:! New York 1. lie", York Doar Hr. ~: Fcbru~ry 23, 1965 'l'h4nk you fol:' ec in!> f.'': yout" ViCV3 on unidentified fIy1ns: objects. I h.we note.:! f:>:= tke to. t ilr.c puc.lic diccullllionil cbout UI'J' s nd t;l!:! belles for ~cl\ phcn~na. Ft-om the evidence c.vailuLlc to date, I de not; believe that UFO phcnOCler.o. Clt"C c;:\tI:;ed L}" '1ch1cle8 of extr<ltorrc::;- tricl oriGin. However. IIcie::til)~e t.::;rcC th~t not cnou:>h is K:101.'l'\ about UFO elchtln:r., in ::;~,~ c~scz by refUtable uitnc~::;cs. to definitel y { dent!.::',. t!!::: cr.u::;c ::If the p hcnQ(Xlnc. I hope th;:lt tc1cmcc pr""J!.~r. tl!) l::th .::n ilnCi;cr to. thc:;Q unJ~ :lnpects of Ur"Or.. Sf.:::l..!:.rcly, ~obcrt F. Kcnnccy 11.5 BROAOWAV Senator Robert Kennedy Washington 25, D. C. Dear Senator Kennedy: NEW VOU: I, 1'1 Y First, I would like to offer ~ belated congratulations to you for your eleetion t o the Senat e . I am very pleased to have you represent me. I intentionally waited to write you sinee I didn't want the important topl e of thi5 letter to be lost in the shuffle of your getting settled In a new offIce. For many years now, I have been aware of the phenoaena ealled UFOs. You no doubt have some knowledge of the subject and of tbe stigma of ridieule wbieh is subjected upon those who have reported seeing one. At first, I too was inclined to reject this "wild" idea. However, upon eloser examination I discovered that hundreds of our most reliable and respected citizens have reported seeing these objects, and many more who haven't seen them believe them to be of extraterrestial Origt n . I eventually beea~e aware of a private, non-profit organization called NICAP.(Natlonal Investigations Committee Aerial Phenomena) Thi s gr oup has been investigating these sightings, gathering the facts with documented evidence, and through their bi-mont bl y publication, making them known to the public. fter a seven year study all the evidence thus &atbered has b~UbliShed in a f acinating report (la~ pages) and then distributed t o al l members of Congress and the 5enate. I don't know if you have seen a copy. If you haven't, I would like t o have one sent to you. I t would be well worth your t ime to read it. If by chance you have read it, I would like t o know your reaction to !t. I am well aware of the Air Fo?ce policy debunking and e:lplaining a .... ay sightifliS. This secrecy policy 1s a grave mistake. The facts must be made Known, an~ to this end I urge open Congrestional hearings. My feelings are well stated by Dr. Charles P. Olivier (President of the Ameriean Meteor Society). nIn serving as a NICAP Board Member, my only purpose Is to help in forcing further scientific investigation. UFOs nave not been fully studied SCientifically due to suppreSSion of pertinent data and subJecting reports of trained and reputable people to ridicule. It is possible UFOs might event- ually have serious effects upon our planet and its inhabitants, either for good or ill. I have no personal theory to advance or refute. In view of the importance of the subject, no matter what the Dutcome, I would be glad to see a very full inquiry RALPH RANKOW PJ.olofj f'ApJ.ic JJflUJIf'AliollJ and the old secrecy tully re~oved. What I want Is the ~hole truth brought out. I do not know what it 1s," I alll enclosing a 1ht of publhhed statements on O'FOs so that you can see what SODe well known people have to say about them. The llst, of course. Is only partial, but very revealing when compared to the Air Force's statements on the I would be grateful for a of how you feel on the subject. reply, and your statement Respectfully l,0urs,' Ra1.ph Rankow INVESTIGATIONS COIOlITTEB ON AJillIAL PHENOIlENA A Non-Profit Organization 1536 Connecticut Avenue, Waahington 6, D.C. Publiah e d State mente ~ Unidentified PIling Objecta AP Reserve Colonel: nPlying aaucers you call them, are real . " William Lear, winne r of Collier Aviation Trophy, Pre.!ident Lear, Inc. (Ai r _ oraft and eleotronic.! equipment) who haa . ighted a UFO: "I believe the f l y _ ing aaucere oome f rom outer epllce, piloted by being. oC auperior intelligence. " Rear Adm. D. S . Fahrney, Ret., fonner Nevy millail e chief: nRelieble report. indicate there a r e object.! coming into our atmosphere at very high .!peeda. The way they change position would indicate their motion 18 directed." Clare Booth Luca, former Ambae.ador to Italy. who with many other ighted e UFO.t ROIJIe: "I did see an objeot; I don' t know what it wa,l." Capt. W. B,Naah. Pan Americlln Airways, Who with his co-pilot s.w eight huge disce maneuver below their lIirliner : " I bell eve they were cOlltrolled lIle_ Chine. from outer apace. " IIa J. L . F . Baker, USAF. who wi th other AF wi tneasea saw a1Jl UFO' e: "They were circular, ahinI 11ke spun aluminum, They changed courlle instantiineously." Capt. Jas. Howard, British tran._Atlantio gilot, who with crew and 12 pallll_ engel's saw a huge UFO ani .ix .mall one.: It mUllt heve been. space ehip," Hermann Oberth. noted roclcet and space-travel authority: "I believe the fly- ing saucere coor.e frcm other worlds." Capt, Robert Adick .... TWA pilot, who with crew and aev .. n pt.sll .. ng .. re saw a glowing UPO pace their airliner: "Before tnen, I wa.n't convinced. Now 1 know ttley (flying e auc .. re) do exiet," Dr, Clyde W. Tombaugh. discoverer of the planet Pluto, chief of the armed aervices learcn for natur51 s atellitea, who h a e lighted UFO'a: "Thele thinga, whioh do appear t o be direoted, are unlike any other phenomena 1 e ver obeerved Other stars i n our galaxy may have hundreds of thouearxle of inhabitable wo rlds. Raees on these worlds ... y have billen able to utilize the trelllendous amounts of powlllr requirilld to blPdglll the epace between the sta r!l.R Flight ~t. J . R,Saland1n, RAP. whose jet allllost collided with e disc-ehaped, turreted object: "It lOOked lIIetallic. It was travelling at trlllllllllndoU!l .peed.~ Dr. J . C .Bartlett, Jr., noted Baltimore astronOlJler wbo he. ,ighted both dilllc- ahapad and rocket-shaped UFO'a: "It 11 not llBpossible thlllY come from another plllr1et.'" Cdr. R.W. Plllrcy, USNR, Re t . , electronics engineer for the FCC: '"I personilly believe UPO'. are Ipaceshlps f rom other, mOre advanced planet'." Dr. Carl G, Jung, famed psychologist , in writing NICAP DIrector Donald E, Keyhoe: " 1 am a NICAP subscriber. 1 1 m grateful for III thl courageous tninga you have dope i n elUcidating thl thorny p roblem of UFO rea11ty. I do not pOlaels l~lcient evidence which would enlble me to draw definite (Pleese turn to otner side ) conclusions. Th,! evld&n~ available, howevar, 1a convincing enough to "' ..... arouse a eontinuous and fervent in,terest. If it 1a true the UP (-'11181"10&n All" FQl'c,,) .withhold! tell:ta11.ng tacta than one can only 'a,. thh h the Clloat unplilyehologleal and ,Itll.'!h.4 ~ol1c,. one could invent The public ought to -be told the trl.it:h." '~ Col. Fl"llnk Millin!, Director, Baltll11Ol"lI Civil D.,t.,nllll. who haa dghtllld UFO',: "It 18 calculated risk to .. ssume the ao-called saucers do not conetltuteo a threat to the welfare and security of our citizens, we are glven to believe they are not hoatile but inforlllatlon on UFO' " is ol iried. Capt, Richard Calle, AlIlIIrlcan A1r11ne8, who with other pilote an:!. thousands of citizene aa. a large UFO oval" Indianapolia: "It ..... oontrolled cratt going three till ructar than .1 were." Albert M. Chop, former AF ofticial bandling UFO in!'ormaUon:"One thing u ablolutely certain, We're being .atchad by beingl f!"OlII outer 'pace," Rip. William H. Ayrel, Ohio: "Congreillonal invlltigationl ara baing held on thl p!"Oblem of UFO'I. KOlt of the lIIaterial 11 clauifiedj hearinge are never printed," Statement by NICAP Board Ih!llllber. Vice Adm, R.H.Hillenkoetter, Ret., fo~r Direc!;Qr, ClSltral Intelligence AgencYl "aJ. o.wey Fournet, USAF Relerva, forllllr Pentagon monieor of U1e UFO project; R ..... Alb"'rt Baller, Greenfield, KaliS,; Frank Edwardl, noted newlloaster; Dr. Marcul Bach, UniY, of Iowa; Rear Adm. H.B. Knowle" ret,; Col. R,B,Ellleraon, US A.rmy Relerve; and Pro!". Cbarlee A. "aney, Deflanc. UnlYarllty: "Froltl ... vldence In NICAP'I pOllel.!I1on, it 11 clear the Air Force ill still withholding information, inoluding sighting reports. on UFO'I. Publ1ahed StateMent. 2.!! !!!! Quution ~ Other Worlds Dr. HarlOW Snapla,., foraer Direotor, Harward Obaervatory: ~We MU8t now ac- cept it aa inevltable there are other worlds with thinking beingll." Dr. Harold C . Orey, lIIember, Marl Co==ittee, former co~leeioner of the Atomic Energy COlllllli .. lon: "It il exceedirl811 probable there ia other lifa in the univeI'1le more intelligent than ours. The National Invelltigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena colleote, evaluatel and prelents reliable UFO evidence to Congre'II, and to NICAP memberll in all 50 sta&aa and moet non-Communist countrilll. WeMberlhip. at $5, includel the bi_lIIonthl,. UFO INVESTIGATOR and special bulletins with latlat sightingl and important developments, AddreslI: NrCAP, 1536 Connecticut Avenue, Wasntngton l~oti~. Vi4qiniu .:1(.:0.: 1 io ;J copy o f the roply ~lhlctJ ! r.-coiv.d !:::o.m the Dopartznent o~ tho "ir :toz:co 1n rO>l':lon.)O to l:Iy lnll-;r.1t:1il.'l~1" ~o <lll 111'.oro.:lOOo 1?l:Irtio;J,'ul 101,,11 liS to ,.;, /,u :lol!r.; illve :;l.l~:iont: X'<l<;<lrdlm) u"l"U:; . ::. hu.,e !.h.,t tl" .io infoCilatio n UI'J .""ro any Que.tion. ~"Ou m..,y htlVtJ or ';hio <:Ia!:.t.,r. Pl"u:;;e d o IIvl-hCDH.atu to ~.:Ill upon Wi iJ! : ":Iln l><.: ~l~ further i.l 3:li;:;t,lUCV. Slnconlly. ('-obert !!. ktnnedy DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE Dear Senator Kennedy: This is in response to your inquiry in b~half of Private First Class Gary E. Stemm concerning unidentified flying objects (UFO). The investigation of UFOs reported 1n the skies over the United States is the responsibility of the Air Force. The name of this unclllssified project is Blue Book. A vital Dart of the pro~tam is the release of information to the public. There is no truth to the allegation that the Air Force withholds or censors any infonnation on UFOs, The results of all Air Force investigations have always been made available to bona fide news repl'esentatives and scientific researchers. Press releases are issued as warranteu, and an annual report on the oroject is available to the public, In 16 years of investigating over 9,000 reports of UFOs, the evidence has proved beyond reasonable doubt that all re_ ported aerial phenomena. have been objects either created and sent aloft by man, generated by atmospheric conditions, or caused by celestial bodies or the residue or meteoric activity. The Air Forcc will continue to invcstigate all reports of uousual aerial phenomena over the United States, The evaluations and conclusions reached by the Air force will be released to the public. The former Cha inman of the Honse Armed Services Committee, Mr. Carl Vinson, as recent as September of 1964, indicated his satisfaction with the conduct of the UFO program by the Air Force and stated that there i8 no need for Congressional hearings on this subject. Your interest in Air Force matters i s appreciated. Sincerely. Attachment Honorable Robert F. Kennedy United States Senate Hon. Roban F. I'ennecly Sen~te Office 8uilcling Wa.hington, D.C. Pear Senato~ Kennedy: Although 1 am curr ently serving in the U. S. Army, 1 am a rasidant of FTeeport, !leI. York and a former schooltcachc~ at Gl,n Cova, L.l. High School, 1 would like to re5pectfully u~se that you support ths c~plete investi'at-L.Qn...oJ.....cJa..ela ! fiNd Air FOrCe doC'''Vpt5 concerning Unidentified Fl!~ng ObJact s , There is an inc~easing need for thii info~ation to be brought to the attention o f the Congre and, it lntor.att on be relnated to the gene~.l public. Re5pectfully yours, Pfl GAll.'\' E. I't Eustis, Vi~ginia Pwt aa\1II. V'1q1A1a no t Mr-. at ' T k fCQ. lW J'OIQ" Utter (d J ..... ') a,. Au Jbtce "'<0"5" ito. tl"".f!!1n~ lbU4e!rU.N_ Fl1A6 .1M .. I "n aD _, I will btllru .Ii 111 '\'Q t, vJ:Q1 JIO'IL. Mr. John Laval 7 Idh' .... lId Lane Matawan, New Jer.e~ D ear Mr. Laval : Thank you f o r your letter ... king my v\e"". cODcerfth'j ",o-called UFO'. 01' unidantUI" d flying obj"c;:I . I have DOled from time to time public: dheuulona about UFO' ..... d the baH ... lor such pbenomefla. From th. evldell.l;e .vaUable to dUe, I do not believe that UFO phenomena are cauaed by "",hid ... of extrater .. e.trld origin. Howe" ... , scientlah 1.'1'''. lb.! not enought b known about UFO dllhtlllll;a, In .orne c ..... by ... putable .... itn "., to ddh:utely Identif y the caua .. of the phenome_. [hope that IC:i"nee rprovide ... a .... Ith an a".""er to thea .. unknown peel. of UF& dahlh",. SIncerely. Robert F. Ke ..... dy : rC:lf""ild L,,!:t" Iii r. 1"8"''''::-"r t:',e Nation<,-l Investis",',i(lnB l:::.(;l"c&tf:d 1n IN'r:'lne; yo:.:r o"p~nion of NI:/l.P':; "The t-:c" Fvlde',1e:e" Rl'pl)r., ot Hnl~'l "ou -[ere ~u"L"~e~ c. In 11th t of ~l;(' {cocuc on t"d evidence pre~ en tcd 11. .hl~ p.e?ort, ;lrovln(; we r~!l.ll~:, Dnc. unj'!".ee State, ~1I' "'Ol":C .t'c~,-,:,. '-nd ccn:;or~:-.l"p on ~a;:-.e, do :T1U believE: .'.:t ~or..t;re -l( .:-1 inv!"stigDion 0::-inqulr:' 1nto tOE! 11 lrdCl"? Til r.:~ VO\;. Mr. Rdph ~n1m)] Pbot09Y.Pbl~ Illuatationa Mew York 1 .... 'Xbrk '!bank you to!" nn4J.n9 .. YOUI' .~1t:l l viMt. on tJJ'O' .inoerely, RALPH RANKOW Pl.ologl'l!pJ. ic Y!lu.tI..alionJ 110 UOADW"l Senator Robert Kennedy Washington 25, D, C. Dear Senator Kennedy; 'HW YOlK I, N Y Thank you for your reply to Illy letter regarding UFOs. You stated tnat, "frca the evidence available to date, I do not believe that UFO phenomena are caused by venicles of extra- terrestrial or1gin. " with your per~lss1on. this should read "from the evidence avaiable to date,--to my knOWledge", When you speak of evidence, you can't 19nore the 7 year study puhllsb.ed. in book form called, "The UFO Evidence". Regard-ina this book. Senator Harrison williams Jr. of N.J. said, "The UFO Evidence Report 1s indeed an 1JRpresslve docllIIIent and should be given the most careful consideration," The Chicago Daily News service sald, "The report is a rather remarkable document." And, Senator Paul. H. DolJilas of Ill. said, "I alii encourage4 to see the concentrated efforts of NICA? to have all of the facts about UFOs brOUJj;ht out to the public. I viII certainly offer my contributIon of ti~e and effort to get to the bottom of these reports. " I will not vaste this space to ~ention aqy ~ore of the many, many endorsements of thIs extremely veIl documented book. Suffice to say that it is so regarded and deemed so 'P bY be vorthy of your attention. ~ :t book---and interest you. Tne vast . :~ the air are partic These people who Claim ships, or visiting other oriented organization of these people. of taking in is a scientifically refutes the vild claimS Your statement that not enough is knovn-------to definite~ of the phenomena", is not Quite accurate. Many \lho have acquainted them- selves with the facts UFO Evidence" have stated their beliefs the eItraterrestrlal theory, and III scientists agree that the facts should be made public and not suppressed by the Air Force. Many people, partlcUlar~ pilots, have stopped reporting these sightlngs, for fear of the public ridicule which the Air Force has subjected these individuals to 1n the past. Certainly RALPH RANKOW PI. olograp!.;c J)ttUJlra