Significant Discovery Of US Military
Records Highlighting "UFO Problem" During
The Vietnam War
Part 2
Recently, in Part 1 of this series, I
discussed the discovery of US military records which comment liberally on “unidentified
flying objects”, usually shortened to just “UFOs”, during the Vietnam War.
These records, discovered by myself and Boston based research Barry Greenwood,
were originally created by all four branches of the US armed forces. The sorts
of records we have found include “Histories” and “Chronologies”, “Mission
Reports”, “Patrol Logs”, “Daily Staff Journals”, and so-called “Lessons
Learned” publications. Also represented in these finds are “Project CHECO”
publications, specific to the United States Air Force (USAF). Most of these
records have come from either the Defence Technical Information Center (DTIC)
or National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). This came on top of
other ongoing work which dealt specifically with unresolved questions around
the USAF’s accidental strike on Australia’s warship, the HMAS Hobart. Part 1 and Part 2 of
that work is complete, and there will be a third installment at some point in the
future.
One of the issues I have raised is a question of terminology. It should easy to write off the term “UFO” as some sort of lazy “catchall”
for unknown, unidentifiable aircraft. Helicopters, especially seen at a
distance, or only briefly plotted on primary radar, would have fallen into the the
“UFO” category. However, the problem is rather more complex than that. Time and
time again in official military documents we have seen the term “UFO” being alongside, or distinct from, “unidentified aircraft”, “unknown helicopters”, and
the like. This is both inconsistent and unexpected in such a wide range of
military records. Still, is it possible that these references to, and reports
of, “UFOs” or “unidentified flying objects” in Vietnam were merely bumbling
enemy helicopters and tricks of light in the jungle? Unfortunately, simple explanations
fail to solve the issue to my satisfaction.
Though not found by either Barry
Greenwood or myself, it is worth taking a look at a 17th of April, 1967 UFO
report made by US Army Specialist (SP4) Robert M. Harkinson who was assigned to
Headquarters, 524th Military Intelligence Detachment, Saigon. Harkinson’s typed
report was submitted on a two page US Army “Counterintelligence Spot Report”
form, with a “Subject” line reading “Sighting of Unidentified Flying Objects”. He
states that at around 2:20am:
“…I
observed five large, illuminated oval-shaped objects, traveling in close
formation and at a very high rate of speed across the sky. At that time, I was
on the roof of the Saigon Field Office of the 524th MI Detachment… …I first saw
these objects near the horizon to my left and watched them cover the entire
field of my vision in what I believe to be less than five seconds. During that
period of time, the objects travelled from where I first saw them, near the
horizon to my left, passed almost directly over me at what seemed to be a very
great height, and then moved out of sight behind a cloud formation at the
horizon to my right. The sky was partly cloudy but, at the time of the
sighting, the area of the sky over which they travelled was very clear, with
the exception of a few small patches of scattered clouds, which they seemed to
be above. As the objects passed over these clouds, they were obscured from my
vision until they emerged on the other side. I also observed that, as they passed
between my line of sight and a star, they covered the star and blocked out its
light until they had passed. This indicated to me that the objects were not
transparent.”
Following on, the witness attempts to compare
the objects to known aircraft, and conveys limitations in describing the
objects in detail:
“It
was apparent that they were not any form of conventional aircraft due to their
size, shape, rate of speed and the fact that they made no noise audible to me.
Prior to the sighting of these objects, I had been observing conventional
aircraft, both propeller and jet-powered, and there is no question in my mind
that they were a great deal larger than any craft I have ever seen in the sky.
They were also traveling at a rate of speed which I would estimate to be at
least five times greater than any jet-powered aircraft I have ever seen. They
were too distant and traveling too fast for a detailed description to be
possible. I was only able to see that they were definitely oval in shape and
glowed a steady white...”
Finally, Harkinson states:
“I
have never held any opinion concerning unidentified flying objects. Neither
have I ever seen any, previously. However, I believe that these objects were
spacecraft of some kind. I am convinced that they were not reflections,
conventional aircraft, meteorites or planets.”
Whatever SP4 Harkinson witnessed, or
believed he witnessed, it certainly had nothing to do with North Vietnamese
helicopters. The report was submitted to the USAF’s Air Force Systems Command’s
(AFSC) Foreign Technology Division (FTD) which controlled Project Blue Book,
but, as far as we know, wasn’t investigated. In the covering letter to the FTD,
the witness was described as “…a stable, mature member” of the Army’s military
intelligence community in Saigon. Astronomer and Project Blue Book consultant J.
Allen Hynek took interest in the case, writing to Maj. Hector Quintanilla, the
head of the flawed Blue Book UFO investigation project, on the 20th of
November, 1967, about acquiring more details from the US Army in Saigon. In the
letter, Hynek stated, amongst other things, that:
“As
reported, this case is completely unidentified and much additional information
is called for. It is inconceivable that military intelligence would not have
looked further into this case, and therefore I should like to request that any
further information gathered… …be forwarded to Project Blue Book”
Any follow-up investigation is yet to
come to light. Harkinson’s two-page “Sighting of Unidentified Flying Objects” Counterintelligence
Spot Report form is imaged below.
As I have frequently pointed out, the
terms “UFO” and “Unidentified Flying Object” are used alongside terms like “unidentified aircraft”, “unknown aircraft”, “unidentified helicopter”
and the like. This would imply that the unknown objects being commonly
witnessed by military forces were not
fitting into more mundane categories. Who would want to use the term “UFO” over,
say, “unknown helicopter”? Numerous United States Marine Corps (USMC) “Command
Chronology” publications exemplify this conundrum.
One such example comes from “Command Chronology, Headquarters, 3rd
Marine Division, 1st Amphibious Tractor Battalion, 1 June, 1968 to 30 June,
1968”. In the “Sequential Listing of Significant Events” section of the
document, there are pages and pages of raw, tabulated text which discuss the
daily activities of the 3rd Marine Division’s 1st Amphibious Tractor Battalion
while they were patrolling the southern edge of the demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in
1968. The entries logged on the 18th of
June, between 8:35pm and 9:09pm, state:
“Tower
at AmTrac CP reports two UFOs at 2 o’clock, 8000m
Co
‘A’ at C–4 position reported unidentified aircraft due east of C–4 position.
Elms
Co ‘A’ at Oceanview reported 6 UFOs vic of the mouth of the Ben Hai River
Co
‘A’ at C-4 position reported AA fire at UFO in vic of Gio Linh.
Tower
at AmTrac CP reported helicopter flying north over the peninsula.”
The terms “unidentified aircraft”, “UFO”
and “helicopter” are used in a very short period of time indeed. Startlingly
also is the reference to reported anti-aircraft fire “at UFO”. I have imaged
this page below.
The same USMC battalion, by September,
1968, was reporting UFO’s to the USAF’s regional Direct Air Support Center
(DASC) at Dong Ha Airfield. Such is stated in the “Sequential Listing of
Significant Events” in “Command
Chronology, Headquarters, 3rd Marine Division, 1st Amphibious Tractor
Battalion, 1 September, 1968 to 30 September, 1968”. The entries logged on
the 17th of September, between 8:15pm and 9:00pm, state:
“Co
‘B’ platoon, at Oceanview, (YD 2917151), reported sighting 4 UFO’s at an
azimuth of 6200 mils, approximate distance 8000 to 10000 meters. Notified Da
Nang DASC.
“Co
‘B’ platoon, at Oceanview, (YD 2917151), reported sighting 10 UFO’s from
azimuth 5900 mils to azimuth 6200 mils, approximate distance 8000 to 10000
meters. Notified Da Nang DASC.”
The page is imaged below.
The National Archives and Records
Administration (NARA) in Washington DC have released thousands of pages of
“Daily Staff Journal Or Duty Officer’s Log” records which were compiled by the ground
forces of the US Army’s 4th Infantry Division. One such set of logs, penned by
the 14th Infantry Company, 1st Battalion, 3rd Brigade, contains numerous
references to radar contacts and visual observations, including landings,
which, one would think, should be referred to as “helicopters” or “aircraft”.
But, instead, they are listed as “UFOs”. For instance, on the 13th of January,
1969, starting at 1:13am, the 14th Infantry Duty Officer writes:
“To
NCS from Radar… …radar picked up UFO moving east.”
An hour later, it is stated:
“To
NCS from Radar. Spotted UFO circling, two landings…”
These sorts of entries continue, and
include numerous “sightings”, plus a “touch down”. Also listed is the firing of
five rounds of 105mm Howitzer fire. The log goes on to state, at 4:01am, that:
“Spooky
23 will be in vicinity of LZ Laura for any possible engagement of UFO’s. Spooky
arrived at 0407.”
“Spooky” was the name given to the
USAF’s AC-47 gunship aircraft employed for low level ground attack and light
air-to-air combat. In this case, apparently, the “UFOs” were gone by the time
“Spooky 23” arrived. But, just before 5am, radar picked up the unknown
intruders for another half an hour before they vanished. Finally, at 7:30am, it
is written that:
“Brigade
wants 1/14 to check out the area where artillery was employed… …where UFOs were
fired upon this morning.”
The log entries for the rest of the day
make no mention of anything being found “where UFOs were fired upon”, so
evidently nothing was. The above detailed page is imaged below.
The above log entry is but just one
example. With ample time and space, I could highlight similar events, with a
detailed summary of each page, but there are simply too many. Suffice to say,
some entries are more noteworthy than others. On the 14th of January, for
example, at 4:30am, it is said that:
“…Radar
reported visual sighting over LZ Chara Bde… …In the 1st ten minutes, there have
been 4 landing… …also there is electrical interference coming from that area.”
Electrical interference? This is an
effect often reported during localised, close range UFO incidents. Whatever the
specifics, and there unfortunately isn’t enough of them, these 14th Infantry
logs are loaded with unsolved, unidentified entries about “UFOs”. Helicopters
are never mentioned, and, in fact, some of the “UFO” sightings specifically
discuss the total lack of sound. None of the sightings end up being actually
solved. Also not mentioned, ever, are hostile aircraft, contrails, flak or
flares. It’s always “UFOs”. Maybe the wartime environment, plus unpredictable
enemy activity, could be responsible for the inability to identify these
objects. However, again, there seems to be no association between the “UFOs”
and, say, helicopter activity or the sounds of engines. Needless to say,
whatever the objects or phenomenon were, the USAF was not taking reports from
the 14th Infantry, nor anyone else in the 4th Infantry Division.
Since the early 1950’s, the US Joint
Chiefs of Staff (JCS) and Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) have promulgated a series
of “Merchant Ship Intelligence”
(MERINT) instructions which contained a standardized process for reporting
unusual, unidentified or potentially hostile aircraft or vessels. While promulgated
within “Joint Army Navy Air Force
Publication 146” (JANAP 146) doctrine, MERINT instructions were by both non-military
maritime professionals aboard US and Canadian flagged ships. Usually running at
twelve pages or so, they were often published alongside the more well-known “Communications Instructions for Reporting
Vital Intelligence Sightings” (CIRVIS) procedures, and, in fact, some
shortened versions of JANAP 146 have both the MERINT and CIRVIS sections
combined into one chapter.
Specifically, MERINT instructions
requested the reporting of unidentified aircraft, or, formations of
unidentified aircraft, missiles, hostile or unidentified submarines and surface
vessels, and other unusual or unexpected air or waterborne activity. Also
specified are “unidentified flying objects”. A submitted MERINT report would
include a description of the sighting, including the object(s) shape, size,
color, any discernible features, associated sound, direction of travel, length
of sighting, etc. Historically, addressee’s included, to name a few, the
Commander-in-Chief, North American Air Defense Command (CINCNORAD), the USN’s
Chief of Naval Operations, (CNO), the USN’s Director, Naval Ocean Surveillance
Information Center, (D-NOSIC), and the Canadian Navy’s Commander, Maritime
Command.
The US Navy (USN) was serious about the
promulgation of MERINT instructions through a document titled “Military Sea Transportation Service, Far
East, Instruction 3360.1A”. The four page document, distributed in June,
1967, was sent from the Commander, Military Sea Transportation Service, Far
East, San Francisco, to various USN Naval Communication Stations (NAVCOMMSTA)
in the Asia-Pacific region. Starting on Page 1, the subject line of the
document is “Reporting of Vital
Intelligence Sightings from Seaborne Sources (SHORT TITLE – MERINT)” and highlights
JANAP 146(E) in the reference list. In the “Purpose” section, it is stated:
“To
emphasise the importance of prompt and accurate reporting of intelligence
sightings by USNS ships under the operation control of the Commander, Military
Sea Transportation Service, Far East (COMSTSFE)”
Following on, the “Background” section
discusses the significance of “intelligence sightings” reporting, and the importance
of complying with the established procedures in the interests of national
security. The next section, titled “Action”, states:
“All
USNS ships under the operational control of COMSTSFE are directed to report the
following intelligence sightings by message:
a.
Hostile or unidentified single aircraft or formation of aircraft which appear
to be directed against the United States forces.
b. Missiles.
c. Unidentified Flying Objects (UFO)
d.
Hostile or unidentified submarines.
e.
Hostile or unidentified group or groups of military surface vessels.
f.
Individual surface vessels, submarines, or aircraft of unconventional design,
or engaged in suspicious activity or observed in an unusual location.
g.
Unidentified objects of either scientific or warlike appearance seen submerged
or floating on the surface of the water.”
Note here that a distinction is drawn
between “Unidentified Flying Objects”, or, “UFOs” and “missiles”, “unidentified
single aircraft or formation of aircraft”, etc. Thus, UFOs do not seem to mean
the same thing. I have imaged the page below.
While it is probably unnecessary to
reproduce the rest of “Military Sea
Transportation Service, Far East, Instruction 3360.1A” here, I should
mention that the second page lays out what exactly should be contained in a
report, including items such “Date and time of sighting”, “Altitude of object
expressed as Low, Medium or High”, “Direction of travel of object”, “Speed of
object” and “Conditions of sea and weather”. Clearly, MERINT instructions, as
well as the more familiar CIRVIS procedures mentioned before, are primarily for
the reporting of unidentifiable aircraft or vessels which could be hostile.
However, unusual UFO events have indeed been reported using MERINT and CIRVIS procedures.
The USAF’s Project Blue Book case files contain a significant number of them,
as do Canada’s UFO files, formally held by the Department of National Defence
(DND). And these are only the cases we know about…
It is easily argued that significant
MERINT and CIRVIS reported UFO cases never even made it to Blue Book or the
DND, and, in fact, stayed well within operational areas of air defence, air
intelligence and so forth. The infamous “Bolender Memo”, which was actually an
USAF “Air Staff Study”, and not a memorandum as such, stated that “…reports of
unidentified flying objects which could affect national security are made in
accordance with JANAP 146… …are not part of the Blue Book system.”. Signed on
the 20th October, 1969 by Brigadier General Carrol H. Bolender, Deputy Director
of Development, USAF, the document also went on to state that “…reports of UFOs
which could affect national security would continue to be handled through the
standard Air Force procedures designed for this purpose.”. Thus, it is
established that JANAP 146, which contained CIRVIS and MERINT reporting
procedures, was one of a number of ongoing examples of doctrine that allowed
for, even demanded, the reporting of “UFOs” which “could affect national security”.
CIRVIS and MERINT reportable events have continued to be submitted with
urgency. Canada’s Department of Transport (DOT) has released some of these
reports, but the USAF and NORAD have not, and Freedom of Information requests
have been knocked back time and time again.
Actual MERINT instruction booklets, like
the example referred to in “Military Sea
Transportation Service, Far East, Instruction 3360.1A”, have been released,
and are quite clear in textual and graphical presentation. While there have been
different versions released since the 1950’s, a good example of a Vietnam
War-era MERINT booklet is “OPNAV 94-P-3”.
Signed off by Admiral James S. Russell, Vice Chief of Naval Operations, USN,
and promulgated in July, 1959, this version of MERINT was current until
January, 1967. Page 6 contains the typical “What
To Report” section. It is stated, “Report all airborne and waterborne objects
which appear hostile, suspicious, or unidentified…”. Examples such as “guided
missiles” and “aircraft or contrails…” are listed as distinct from
“unidentified flying objects”. Also displayed are shaded illustrations next to
each example. Next to “unidentified flying objects” is a somewhat classic
flying saucer craft, as well as a Buck Rogers type rocket. So, again, there is
certainly a requirement here that UFO’s were to be reported. Below is the page
in question.
In March, 2015, researcher Barry Greenwood discovered that the National
Archives and Records Administration (NARA) had made a previously unknown
collection of Vietnam War-era records partially available. Titled “Combat Air
Activities Files” (CACTA), these records were originally controlled by the
Joint Chiefs of Staff’s (JCS) J-3 (Operations) Directorate, and contain vast
amounts of tabulated data regarding combat missions flown over southeast Asia. The CACTA database is keyword
searchable. Using the search term “UFO”, dozens of records populate the results
display. Furthermore, the term “UFO” is often accompanied by other terms. The
results are as varied as “UFO CHASE”, “SUS UFO” and “UFO SEARCH”. The actual missions that contain these
terms include “Air Interdiction”, “Visual Reconnaissance”, “Flare Drop”,
“Strike” and “Airborne Alert”. Amazingly, although the raw data in these records
are available, the actual hardcopy
records at NARA are still classified SECRET. So, even after five decades, the
controlling authorities have not seen fit to make them fully available. Barry
Greenwood, probably the world’s leading expert on government UFO records
availability, says:
“There
would seem to be no good reason to withhold the reports if a FOI request were
filed. These events were fifty years ago. Invoking “National Security” for a
war that ended in the distant past would not be convincing.”
Still, what little we see in these
summarised CACTA records is enough to, once again, conclude that the US military,
was using the term “UFO” regularly, and, it was being used as a standard
descriptor. This should not have been the case. Project Blue Book was being
finalized, and the Colorado UFO Study had actually ended when some of these
aerial missions over Asia were evidently still listing some events as “UFOs”. Below
is one of the digital results pages from the online CACTA database.
To conclude, there is undoubtedly far
more Vietnam War-era documentation yet to be declassified and released. We have
only seen a fraction of the administrative records painstakingly produced by
all four branches of the US military. We have, likewise, only scratched the
surface when it comes to operational records – records we know exist by category
or title, but have yet to be made available to researchers. There are “Strike
Reports”, “Air Interdiction Results”, “After Action Mission Reports”, “Base Alerts”,
“Reconnaissance Reports”, “Bombardment Reports”, “Daily Staff Journals”, “Air
Traffic Control Logs”, and myriad other groupings of day-to-day paperwork. If
the comparatively tiny number of released records, so far, are littered with references
to “UFOs”, then the rest of them will hardly be any different. Experience tells
us that these current discoveries will not be a freak statistical fluke.
More importantly, considering that “UFOs”
were being reported distinctly from other aerial activity, Project Blue Book investigation, with only a handful of exceptions, was absolutely
nowhere to be seen. Researchers are well area that the North American Aerospace
Defence Command (NORAD), Aerospace Defence Command (ADCOM), and the old Strategic
Air Command (SAC) were not submitting UFO cases to Project Blue Book when they
should have been, but now we can safely say that American forces in Vietnam were
no better. Congress, the press and the public were being regularly told that
Blue Book was the final word in UFO case collection and study.
Even the most extremist, most boneheaded
debunker cannot fail to see dishonesty and inconsistency here. Astoundingly, when
America’s leaders specifically ask about the UFO matter, they are told untruths.
In a reply letter to Senator Patty Murray, dated August 25, 1993, Lieutenant
Colonel Thomas Shubert, USAF, stated:
“As
information, the Air force began investigating UFOs in 1948 under a program
called Project Sign. Later, the program’s name was changed to Project Grudge
and, in 1953, it became known as Project Blue Book. On December 17, 1969, the
Secretary of the Air Force announced the termination of Project Blue Book...
…As a result of these investigations, studies, and experience, the conclusions
of Project Blue book were: 1) no UFO
reported, investigated and evaluated by the Air Force has ever given any
indication of threat to our national security…”
Compare this with the contents of the
Bolender Memo, which stated “…reports of unidentified flying objects which
could affect national security are made in accordance with JANAP 146…”. As I
have highlighted, JANAP 146 laid out CIRVIS and MERINT procedures, which,
needless to say, specifically ask for the reporting of “unidentified flying
objects”. Moreover, actual copies of CIRVIS and MERINT reports held in America are
still classified, despite the fact that some are thirty or forty years old. The
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), while powerful, has not yielded anything. The
Canadian government has done better, releasing interesting CIRVIS reports as
they see fit. Apparently though, Canadian MERINT reports are not available. Below is a copy of the reply letter to Senator Patty Murray.
As for Vietnam, whatever the situation –
UFO’s, helicopters, unknown aircraft, whatever phrase or term used, there is an
awful lot of questions that need to be answered, and a gigantic quantity of military
records which need to be seen. We are making progress on the latter.