Bad news continued when Low visited NICAP’s headquarters soon after. After some prodding by Keyhoe, he admitted that Condon considered the early reports to be worthless. For Keyhoe, this was almost too much—nearly everything NICAP had was an “early” report. Before NICAP wasted any more time providing UFO reports to the Colorado Project, he said, he wanted to know from Condon about the recent 1965 cases NICAP had just provided. Otherwise, NICAP might pull out altogether. Low tried to assure Keyhoe of a fair investigation.11
On January 12, 1967, the air force advisory panel held a special briefing in Boulder. This time, Condon was deferential. He discussed project plans and asked for air force opinions on where the emphasis should be placed with respect to policy questions. Lt. Col. Robert Hippler, the chief liaison with the University of Colorado Project, replied, “You see, first of all, we (the air force) have not charged you, and you have not promised, to prove or disprove anything.” Eventually, however, Hippler remarked that, “I don’t think we want any recommendation from you unless you feel strongly about it.” By January 16, Hippler’s position evolved a bit more in a letter to Condon, stating that since no one knew of any extraterrestrial visitation, there was therefore “no visitation.” Instead, Condon needed to consider the air force’s cost of investigating UFOs and decide whether taxpayers ought to foot the bill on this wasteful project “for the next ten years.”12
Despite such omens as these, others tried to keep faith in Condon. By the end of 1966, APRO had sent about 250 UFO reports to Boulder. Hynek, too, expressed hope in the project in a December 17, 1966, article in the Saturday Evening
THE PROJECT BEGINS
Throughout the later part of 1966, strange UFO reports continued, many of which were now headed for Boulder as well as ATIC. Several described UFO occupants, such as a November 2 incident in Parkersburg, West Virginia, and a November 17 case in Gaffney, South Carolina, in which two patrolmen saw a craft on the ground and a small man in a shiny suit who spoke perfect English. On the night of December 30, 1966, in Haynesville, Louisiana, a physics professor driving through a wooded area saw a bright, pulsing, orange and white glow, deep in the woods. The next day, he found traces of burns and called the air force and the University of Colorado.14
With the exception of David Saunders, however, project members showed little interest in UFOs. It is not surprising that the project started sluggishly. In November, Low took the project’s first field trip—with Hynek—to Minot and Donnybrook, North Dakota, to investigate the August 1966 sighting. In December, project member Dr. William Scott, a psychologist, devised a questionnaire for UFO witnesses. He devoted only one page to fundamentals (size, shape, color, etc.) and about twenty pages to the psychological reaction of the observer. When Scott discovered that his perspective was not the project’s main focus, he took his questionnaire and went home. Saunders began to wonder whether such a disparate academic group could work together as a team.
In December, Michael Wertheimer was in Washington investigating the 1952 sightings. Virtually every witness still disputed Gen. John Samford’s public explanation. Wertheimer initially concluded the sightings could not be explained but soon wrote a paper discussing visual misperceptions, implying this as the explanation. It was a “logically indefensible jump,” he said, from seeing something unexplainable to concluding that extraterrestrials were behind it.
On January 13, 1967, Low traveled with project member Jim Wadsworth to Joplin, Missouri. The trip stimulated much press interest and, according to contemporary reports, each man ran interference for the other the whole time.15
CONDON LOSING ALLIES
Condon continued to cause public relations mishaps. On January 25, 1967, he was in Corning, New York, making another speech. This time the
It is my inclination right now to recommend that the government get out of this business. My attitude right now is that there’s nothing to it ... but I’m not supposed to reach a conclusion for another year.
After this, Keyhoe told Saunders that NICAP was “through” with the Colorado Project. Saunders was astonished by Condon’s remarks. It must be a mistake, he thought, and he checked with Condon the next day. No, said Condon, he had been accurately quoted: what is all this fuss about? Saunders convinced him to write a letter to Keyhoe to patch things up. Condon grudgingly sent off a weak note to the major.16
