1962 in UFO history
From the UAP Encyclopedia, the open encyclopedia of UFO and UAP history · 📅 Year
Contents 5
| Year | 1962 |
|---|---|
| Events | 3 |
| Decade | 1960s |
| Topics | Beings & bodies (topic), Government programs (topic), Military encounters (topic), Bases & Area 51 (topic) |
| Timeline | 1962 on the UAP Timeline |
1962 in UFO history — the UAP Timeline records 3 events in 1962, mostly about beings & bodies and government programs. People named in these events include Richard Hall, Leonard Stringfield, Linda Moulton Howe, Arthur Sylvester, John F. Kennedy.
Overview
The UAP Timeline's three entries for 1962 all concern what the government kept from the public. The best documented is a statement on 29 October by Defense Department Assistant Secretary Arthur Sylvester. The timeline reports that he defended withholding information when it was in the public interest. It cites Air Force Regulation 11-30, which allowed information to be withheld "in the public interest," and AFR 11-7, under which information requested by Congress might not be furnished "even in confidence."[1] The episode is known on the timeline as the "right to lie" remarks.
The other two entries are second-hand claims. Ufologist Richard Hall said a "former Project Blue Book chief," possibly Lieutenant Colonel Robert Friend, told him that gun-camera films from jet encounters with UFOs were routinely sent to the CIA's National Photographic Interpretation Center, where their existence was not acknowledged.[1] A Navy Reserve test pilot known as "PJ" said that during a hurricane evacuation to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in 1962 he and five others walked into a guarded hangar. There they saw a roped-off, rivetless saucer about 12 to 15 feet across, and he was later told he had broken security.[1] These accounts have not been independently verified.
Elsewhere, 1962 fell within the long period of Project Blue Book, which continued to catalogue reports until its closure in 1969. Its case files are now held, without witnesses' names, at the National Archives.[2]
Events
- Gun-camera films sent to the CIA claim (1962) — Researcher Richard Hall says jet gun-camera UAP films were routinely sent to the CIA.
- Navy reserve pilot's Wright-Patterson saucer claim (1962) (1962) — A Navy reserve pilot says he saw a saucer at Wright-Patterson in 1962.
- Arthur Sylvester's "right to lie" remarks (29 October 1962) — A Pentagon spokesman defends withholding information when it's in the public interest.
People
- Richard Hall — NICAP assistant director and author of Uninvited Guests.
- Leonard Stringfield — Former Air Force intelligence officer and NICAP researcher who collected anonymous crash-retrieval accounts from 1978 to 1994.
- Linda Moulton Howe — Journalist and filmmaker who runs the Earthfiles website and has reported many crash-retrieval claims.
- Arthur Sylvester — Pentagon spokesman who defended the government's right to withhold information in 1962.
- John F. Kennedy — 35th U.S. president, named in disputed MJ-12 memos.
- Donald Keyhoe — Retired Marine officer, author and director of NICAP who campaigned against UFO secrecy.
Nearby years
1961 in UFO history · 1963 in UFO history
References
- UAP timeline published with Michael Shellenberger's 2024 congressional testimony, entries for 1962 · oversight.house.gov
- Project Blue Book records — National Archives · archives.gov
This page was last edited on 29 October 2026. Articles are written in our own words from the sources listed under References; disputed claims are attributed to the people who made them.
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