◆ SpookStack

+ . is * | , ago when I was finishing the groundwork for my recently published article, "A Hard Look at UFO News Management," 4 which was cleared by the Defense Department on October 10, 1963. Here is how it began. On July 23, 1963, I wrote to the Sheriff of Sussex County, Va., requesting any UFO sighting data that he might possess. While on duty at Fort Eustis the afternoon . of September 17, I received a 10-minute visit from local FBI agent John S. Castles. Not only did Mr. Castles inquire about the Sussex letter, but also about a similar letter I sent on August 8, 1963, : to the Commander of the Norfolk (Va.) Naval Base. Upon furnishing Mr. Castles the information he desired on my Civil Service position ‘and my UFO writings, I asked if it were customary for the FBI to interrogate anybody who expresses an interest in UFO's. He said no, that since his office was queried by the addressees of the two letters he was just seeking information oniwhich he could write a "memorandum for the files." Mr. Castles volunteered the following: “If the FBI has any such data /on UFO sightings7, it is probably of an intelligence nature and thus would be unavailable to the public and to private individuals." Again, the "authorities" have shown a serious, persuasive concern about the writings of a private citizen on objects