17,909Documents 78Collections 1940–2025Years 25+Countries

Declassified UFO / UAP Document

Memorandum for Record: Comments on letters dealing with Unidentified Flying Objects

🏛 Applied Science Division, SI 📄 Memorandum for Record
UFOAir ForceCIACorrespondenceProcedure

Ever wanted to host your own late-night paranormal radio show?

Across the Airwaves · Narrative Sim · Windows · $2.95

You're on the air. Callers bring Mothman, Fresno Nightcrawlers, UFO sightings, reptilian autopsies, and whispers about AATIP and Project Blue Book. Every reply shapes how the night goes.

UFO & UAP Cryptids Paranormal Government Secrets Classified Files High Strangeness Strange Creatures
The night is long. The lines are open →

AI-Generated Summary

TL;DR

This 1958 memorandum establishes a formal procedure for the CIA to refer public inquiries regarding UFOs to the Air Force. It confirms that the Air Force requested to handle these communications directly to ensure they remain the primary point of contact for such information.

This memorandum, dated April 4, 1958, and authored by W. E. Lexow, Chief of the Applied Science Division, SI, documents a procedural decision regarding the handling of public inquiries about Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs). The document notes that the author had been in contact with Major Byrne's office (ASCI) regarding the release of a panel report to Mr. Davidson and Major Keyhoe. Following a referral to Major Tacker of the Office of the Secretary of Air Force Information Service (SAFIS), it was determined that the Air Force preferred to handle these inquiries directly. Major Tacker indicated that the Air Force was attempting to impress upon Major Keyhoe and others that the Air Force is the appropriate authority for such information. Consequently, the author consulted with Frank Chapin in the DDCI's office, confirming that the Air Force would take responsibility for answering the letters. The memorandum concludes by proposing that this method of referring UFO inquiries to the Air Force be established as a standard precedent for all future correspondence.

I think we can use this procedure as a precedent henceforth in all inquiries regarding UFO's.

Official Assessment

The document establishes a procedure for handling inquiries regarding UFOs, directing that such inquiries should be handled by the Air Force rather than the CIA.

Key Persons

  • ByrneMajor, office of ASCI
  • DavidsonRecipient of panel report
  • KeyhoeMajor, recipient of panel report
  • TackerMajor, Office of the Secretary of Air Force Information Service (SAFIS)
  • Frank ChapinEmployee in the DDCI's office

Organizations