it had been hovering there was now a blue-green "football" that flew away at 6:05 A.M. Jeansreported the sighting to the French police.My wife and I investigated this sighting during a research trip through the west <strong>of</strong> France inDecember 1973. Many strange data came to the surface. First we found that this was not the firstsighting. Two months earlier, the young man had seen three yellow spheres in staggered formationover the same beach while driving with his brother-in-law. That sighting took place about 7:00 P.M.,and the spheres appeared to be about twelve to fifteen feet above ground."What was the pattern <strong>of</strong> the lights?" we asked Noel Jean."There was a yellow light, a second one above, a third one to the left above again, and some metalin between.""What was it doing?""The lights came on and <strong>of</strong>f and it followed the car.""And you, what did you do?""We stopped to look at it, and when we got back into the car the lights were turned <strong>of</strong>f on theobject."Since the second sighting the elder man has decided not to go out <strong>of</strong> his house anymore. He nolonger goes fishing. He locks himself in his room when the investigators come to ask him questions.Does he know something he does not want to discuss?We saw no traces on the beach. The gendarmes confirmed to us that the grass in the dunes had notbeen affected. The barbed wire nearby was checked for magnetic effects. The test was negative. Weheard that a local ham radio amateur had noticed at the time <strong>of</strong> the near landing that his recieverwas blocked out for several minutes."It was in the middle <strong>of</strong> the nets," Noel Jean told us."The papers have said that it measured 1.5 by 1.5 meters," we pointed out."That's not true. It was rectangular, about 2.5 by 1.5 meters. It was as big as a stove!""What time did it end?""We got there at 5:30. It disappeared between 5:50 and 6:05.""What happened when the object disappeared?""We went away looking at the rectangular light all the time, and it turned toward the dunes, thencame back on us. It was turned <strong>of</strong>f, and then we saw a small blue-green ball above the spot. It gotsmaller, and after six we couldn't see anything anymore.""How big was the ball?""It was like a soccer ball.""What did you do when you got on the beach and saw the rectangle <strong>of</strong> light?""I started going toward it, but it got brighter and brighter. So my father said, 'Forget it, come back tothis side.'"There is a large radar installation near Cherbourg, at a place called Mauperthuis, located thirty-eightkilometers away from Carteret. The range <strong>of</strong> the antenna is two hundred kilometers. At 6:10 A.M.on that particular morning it picked up an echo in the southwest, moving to the north <strong>of</strong> Cherbourg.An object flying from the direction <strong>of</strong> Carteret toward Great Britain would have followed thiscourse. The same morning something peculiar happened on the coast. The French trawler Archipel,which was close to the rocky shore <strong>of</strong> Urville directly west <strong>of</strong> Cherbourg (on the trajectory theobject must have followed if the radar echo corresponds to the UFO), went <strong>of</strong>f course. In view <strong>of</strong>the frequently observed magnetic perturbations in the vicinity <strong>of</strong> a UFO, it can be hypothesized thatits magnetic navigation system gave erroneous indications. The boat got too close to the coast, hitthe rocks, and sank, fortunately without loss <strong>of</strong> life.The observation <strong>of</strong> the yellow "window" on the beach had lasted no less than five minutes. Whyhad the two fishermen not walked closer to the object to ascertain its nature? There seems to be tworeasons: first, the "window" became brighter as they walked within 150 yards, and this discouragedthem from approaching any closer; and, second, they felt "paralyzed with fear." Whether thisparalysis was an actual physiological inhibition or the result <strong>of</strong> psychological fear – or both – hasnot been ascertained.
The observation had taken place early Sunday morning. The following Friday, local peoplediscovered some interesting items on a nearby beach. These consisted <strong>of</strong> a complete set <strong>of</strong>pr<strong>of</strong>essional underwater exploration equipment, a radioactivity tester, sonic signalers, along withtrousers and jackets with English-language labels.Suddenly the local police, with the assistance <strong>of</strong> the DST (French counterintelligence) and theSDECE (main intelligence arm <strong>of</strong> the French government), "discovered" that the whole sightingwas a case <strong>of</strong> underwater radiation detection. Such was the substance <strong>of</strong> the carefully designedrumor that began circulating.This is what I call the second coverup: the release <strong>of</strong> carefully contrived <strong>of</strong>ficial "explanations" thatdo not really explain anything but which provide skeptics with an excuse for dismissing the story.Difficult cases are swept under the rug at all cost if psychological pressure on the witness is notenough to discourage him from telling his story in the first place.How could the discovery <strong>of</strong> some diving equipment "on a nearby beach" explain the twoobservations <strong>of</strong> the unidentified objects? What about the radar echo? The "explanation" iscompletely invalid, but it is typical <strong>of</strong> stories engineered to discredit witnesses and reassure localpopulations. These objectives are generally reached. The witnesses are intimidated, and the localpolice, the only source <strong>of</strong> accurate data, are generally anxious to see things return to normal.Besides, they have jobs to protect.We were fortunate to be able to investigate this case within a few days <strong>of</strong> the events, before thecoverup was organized. What would be the reaction <strong>of</strong> a scientist stumbling upon such a case a fewweeks or a few months later? He would simply brush it aside, and with some reason. The witnessesquickly become uncooperative; one <strong>of</strong> them stays home and will not talk to visitors; the local policeno longer have anything to say; the military radar operators in Cherbourg have recieved orders todeny their statements <strong>of</strong> the night in question; and the information that appears in the newspapers isconfused, garbled, and inaccurate.A local newspaper published a cartoon showing the little town <strong>of</strong> Carteret with a flying saucer and aMartian in the foreground. A smiling Frenchman has approached the little Martian and asks: "Whatkind <strong>of</strong> mileage do you get?" Laughter releases the lingering tension.In a later development, which will appear ironic in light <strong>of</strong> the coverup attempts at Carteret, aFrench Cabinet member acknowledged for the first time the reality <strong>of</strong> the UFO problem as a subjectfit for scientific research. In March 1974, the Minister <strong>of</strong> Defense, Robert Galley, agreed toparticipate in a series <strong>of</strong> radio interviews that included reports from witnesses and statements bythree French scientists who had studied the UFO phenomenon for many years: Dr. Pierre Guerin, <strong>of</strong>the Paris Astrophysical Institute; Dr. Claude Poher, head <strong>of</strong> scientific studies for the Frenchequivalent <strong>of</strong> NASA; and myself. What the Defense Minister told reporter Jean-Claude Bourret thatday might be a lesson for other government <strong>of</strong>ficials around the world:I am deeply convinced that we must regard these phenomena with an attitude <strong>of</strong> completelyopen mind. A number <strong>of</strong> breakthroughs have been made in the history <strong>of</strong> mankind becausesomeone has attempted to explain the unexplainable. Now, among these aerial phenomenathat have been gathered under the label <strong>of</strong> UFOs, it is undeniable that there are facts that areunexplained or badly explained.In 1954 the Defense Ministry created a special section for the gathering and study <strong>of</strong> witnessaccounts regarding these unidentified flying objects. I have before me a number <strong>of</strong> theseaccounts, that have developed over the years until 1970; there are approximately fifty <strong>of</strong>them. Among the earliest ones is a statement <strong>of</strong> personal observation by Lieutenant d'Emery,Jean, from Air Force Base 107 at Villacoublay, dated November 20, 1953. There are alsoreports from the Gendarmerie and some observations from pilots and Air Centercommanders. There are many elements, whose convergence is <strong>of</strong> concern, during the year1954. Therefore the attitude one must have is that <strong>of</strong> a completely open mind, an attitude inwhich one does not deny the observations a priori. Our ancestors in prior centuries musthave denied the reality <strong>of</strong> a number <strong>of</strong> things that seem to us today absolutely elementary,
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Foreword by Whitley StrieberThere a
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It is sad that, as the twentieth ce
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PART ONE: THE ALIEN CHRONICLESIn th
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lot about it, but nobody said 'Let'
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The resemblance of the Dogu statues
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various forms of error worship unde
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them. These apparitions are scarce,
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was again shot at. Another creature
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The story is fantastic. Yet it remi
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their virginity in the sanctuaries
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A letter from a British woman begin
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The recollections of the legionnair
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lades. In less time than it takes t
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e called Smith said: "No, we cannot
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Celtic legends, along with the docu
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probably took place in the second p
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Australian Air Force Intelligence p
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ings in the fields and prairies?One
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From behind the object, two beings
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"in smooth English." They did not s
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to four feet tall, dressed in white
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expectations as if they were mere t
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came out of it, but this person was
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6. When men did not inhabit most of
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the negative reactions of scientist
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other in appearance, dress, mode of
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saw that they had made a grin, he h
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and rode out after dark in search o
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sighting, and the Sonny Desvergers
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PART TWO: ANOTHER REALITYDuring the
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pencil in a buttonhole with a piece
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short perpendicular line on each en
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sudden displacement of warm air or
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popular today. But a second - and e
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ecorded about 1825 in the Vale of N
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- Page 150 and 151: About the AuthorAn astrophysicist b