Comments on Letters Dealing with Unidentified Flying Objects

This memorandum for the record, dated April 4, 1958, outlines the administrative procedure for handling external inquiries regarding Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs). The author, W. E. Lexow of the Applied Science Division, SI, details his efforts to coordinate the release of a panel report to Mr. Davidson and Major Keyhoe. After initially contacting Major Byrne's office, Lexow was directed to Major Tacker at the Office of the Secretary of Air Force Information Service (SAFIS). Major Tacker indicated that the Air Force preferred to handle such inquiries directly, requesting that the CIA forward relevant letters to his office, where they would be answered with copies of unclassified reports. Following this, Lexow consulted with Frank Chapin, who confirmed that the Air Force was insistent on managing these responses. Consequently, Lexow proposed that this method of referring UFO-related inquiries to the Air Force should serve as a formal precedent for all future correspondence on the subject.