5:45 PM, April 24, 1964. On that day and time, Police officer Lonnie Zamora, of Socorro, New Mexico, saw an egg shaped object landed and two small figures of people dressed in white overalls.
This EC-III –according with J. Allen Hynek’s classification who investigated personally the case—has been the centerpiece of many articles, and books.
Until today, it remains unexplained.
Philip J. Klass, thought that is was a hoax perpetrated by Zamora to give the little town of Socorro some extra cash from tourism created due to his report.
That is totally nonsense.
Zamora was a truthful and reliable man, as per all the people who met and knew him personally.
The chief of the BlueBook, USAF Major Héctor Quintanilla wrote about the case:
"There is no doubt that Lonnie Zamora saw an object which left quite an impression on him. There is also no question about Zamora's reliability. He is a serious police officer, a pillar of his church, and a man well versed in recognizing airborne vehicles in his area. He is puzzled by what he saw and frankly, so are we. This is the best-documented case on record, and still we have been unable, in spite of thorough investigation, to find the vehicle or other stimulus that scared Zamora to the point of panic." [as is referred by NICAP]
The well known investigator Ray Stanford, wrote in 1976 a book under the title
“Socorro ‘saucer’ in a Pentagon Pantry”, probably one of the most complete stories about the case, if not the only one.
Among the problems presented by the case was a very famous sign seen by Zamora in the object.
Stanford wrote:
“what Zamora really saw on the object was, as Martinez quoted Zamora in Spanish, "...un 'V' invertido, con tres líneas debajo," meaning exactly what it says, "an inverted 'V' with three lines beneath it", and not the thing he was drawing and telling others that he saw, after Holder's request.” (Reference to USAF Captain Richard T. Holder, who investigated the case - mwh).
But even the drawing presented by Stanford is not the right one, if we follow the words given by Mike Martínez, the police dispatcher in Socorro.
And now, more recently, UFOlogistMr. Anthony Bragalia comes with another explanation for the case. Under the title The Socorro UFO hoax exposed, Bragalia argues that the case originated on a hoax perpetrated by very intelligent students at the New Mexico Technology College.
Nothing so new after all. We have to remember that Harvard astronomer Donald Menzel first suggested that Zamora had been the victim of a complex prank engineered by high school students who "planned the whole business to 'get' Zamora."
You can see the article of Mr Bragalia and judge for yourselves, at
http://ufocon.blogspot.com/2009/09/socorro-hoax-exposed-famous-1964.html"
1 comment:
Even after his death, Zamora's integrity and courage continue to baffle experts and obfuscate skeptics alike. What is often not focused upon is the degree of courage Lonnie exhibited in getting close to this object and continuing to monitor it after it left! This was before space walks and during the Cold War, so there were other things to worry about concerning this bizarre incident--and probably things that went through this officer's mind during the incident!
Post a Comment