A little error occurred in 1967 when Congressman James Hanley congratulated me in a letter intended for another person. When I brought the mistake to his office's attention, the response (shown here) included a compliment regarding NICAP's integrity. Apparently, as time went on, he was becoming increasingly familiar with the UFO evidence, and often mentioned the subject in his letters.
The congressman's other letter here accompanied a brief government document dated October 17, 1967, in which Congressman Wyman requests House Committee on Science and Astronautics hearings to look into the UFO issue, as many in Congress by then had become frustrated with both the Air Force's and Colorado University's (Condon) negative position on UFOs. The consensus among some thinking members of the House was that Colorado had ignored the evidence (true), the Air Force was concealing information and something needed to be done.
Rep. Hanley was not optimistic about the proposal, but indeed there were hearings held in 1968. Well, there was a hearing held -- a one day hearing. Actually, it wasn't even called a hearing; instead, the designation symposium was substituted. And what a pathetic event this turned out to be! As sterile as a neutered cat, the proceedings allowed for no criticism of either the Air Force or the Colorado University UFO investigation, NICAP representatives were not allowed to present UFO evidence or ask questions, and even members of the press were silenced, unable to address any issues of importance that cried out for attention. Obviously, this instance of government, at whatever level, clamping down on its own efforts to gather facts, prevented a golden opportunity to bring evidence forward, even with the presence of such notables as astronomer Dr. J. Allen Hynek and physicists Dr. James McDonald and Stanton Friedman. This was not a hearing as much as a muzzling intended by certain congressional members -- and perhaps others unknown.
An overview of the 1968 session as perceived by Donald E. Keyhoe may be found at http://nicap.org/crit.htm
