Barry Goldwater and the Wright-Patterson room
From the UAP Encyclopedia, the open encyclopedia of UFO and UAP history · 🗓️ Event
Contents 8
| Date | 28 December 1973 |
|---|---|
| Topics | Secrecy & cover-up (topic), Congress & law (topic), Bases & Area 51 (topic) |
| People | Barry Goldwater, Curtis LeMay |
| Testimony | Shellenberger testimony, p. 77 |
| Year | 1973 in UFO history |
| Timeline | 1973 on the UAP Timeline |
| Sources | 8 |
Barry Goldwater (1909–1998), a five-term U.S. senator from Arizona, the 1964 Republican presidential nominee and a major general in the Air Force Reserve, said repeatedly that in the early 1960s he had been refused access to a room at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base said to hold UFO material. His account became central to the "Blue Room" and "Hangar 18" legends.[1][2]
Goldwater's account
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Goldwater said that he asked his friend General Curtis LeMay, then Air Force chief of staff, whether there was any truth to rumours that UFO evidence was kept in a secret room at Wright-Patterson, and whether he could see it. In a 1988 interview with The New Yorker, he said LeMay gave him "holy hell" and told him not only that he could not get in but never to mention it again. In a letter of 28 March 1975 he wrote that he had been refused and that the information was still classified above Top Secret.[1][2]
His views
Goldwater spoke openly about UFOs for decades. In a 1988 radio interview with Larry King he said he believed the government was withholding UFO evidence and that he believed in life in space more advanced than humanity. According to one account, he corresponded with atmospheric physicist James McDonald on the subject and was a member of the civilian group NICAP.[1][3]
The legend
Believers place the "Blue Room" inside "Hangar 18" at Wright-Patterson, linking it to the 1947 Roswell incident; in 1974 writer Robert Spencer Carr claimed that two flying saucers and alien bodies were hidden there, and the 1980 film Hangar 18 popularised the idea. The Air Force says there has never been a Hangar 18 at the base, though there is a Building 18, and stated in January 1985 that there were not, and never had been, any extraterrestrial visitors or equipment there.[2]
Status
Goldwater's own words are well documented, but what he was refused access to, if anything, remains unclear.[1][2]
People and topics
- Barry Goldwater — U.S. senator and Air Force Reserve general who said he was denied access to UFO material at Wright-Patterson.
- Unidentified anomalous phenomena — The U.S. government's current term for unidentified objects in the air, in space and underwater.
- Wright-Patterson Air Force Base — The Ohio air base that housed Project Blue Book and is linked to the Hangar 18 legend.
- U.S. Air Force — The U.S. military service that ran the official UFO projects from 1947 to 1969.
- Unidentified flying object — An object in the sky that can't be identified; the older term for UAP.
- Curtis LeMay — Air Force chief of staff who reportedly refused Barry Goldwater access to UFO material.
- Hangar 18 — The legendary hangar at Wright-Patterson said to hold alien craft and bodies.
On the Timeline
- Secret project asks about remote viewing (1973) (27 October 1973) — Puthoff tells Vallée a secret UAP project with an official charter asked about remote viewing.
- Expected 1974 disclosure rumor (1974) — A sergeant says a retired Army official told him crash and occupant information would soon be released.
See every 1973 event on the UAP Timeline →
References
- "Senator Barry Goldwater", NOUFORS · noufors.com · archived copy
- "Hangar 18: the UFO legend at Wright-Patterson", History.com · history.com · archived copy
- "Goldwater", White House UFO blog (Jul 2023) · whitehouseufo.blogspot.com · archived copy
- Wright-Patterson and the 'Blue Room' — Sacred Texts · sacred-texts.com · archived copy
- youtu.be · youtu.be · archived copy
- files.afu.se · files.afu.se · archived copy
- ufoexplorations.com · ufoexplorations.com · archived copy
- noufors.com · noufors.com · archived copy
Further reading
- Wright-Patterson Air Force Base — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- Hangar 18 (the legend and 1980 film) — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- Barry Goldwater — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
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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