On December 17, 1987 a liquid fell from the UFO into the school yard, and some was apparently caught in a plastic butter container. The liquid , mixed with dirt and algae, was determined to be diluted seawater by Pioneer Laboratory Inc . , in Pensacola, and by the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority in Texas. For an unknown reason the fluid in the plastic container bubbled for nearly a month .
The same night the UFO had been photographed near the ground in the school yard. Nearby, the grass died ·in a circular area fourteen feet in diameter, and it did not grow back in the spring. Extensive tests by the Florida Cooperative Extension Services three weeks later could not determine the cause, but they suggested that exposure to a short-lived toxic chemical or to an energy source could have killed the grass. An investigator from Mobile, Alabama, was previously provided funds by MUFON for the Alabama Forensic Sciences Department to do a soil sample analysis, but he refused to provide the report to the investigative team. Another visiting investigator, Dr. Willy Smith , said he definitely could smell petroleum products at the circle, although the other investigators could not. The extensive testing showed no petroleum residue.
On January 13, 1988, at about 08:30, two men in an un marked white American-made sedan came to Ed’s home and knocked on his door. They wore civilian suits and visually exposed large pistols under their coats. One of them said, ‘ ‘Are you Ed Walters?, ‘ ‘ to which he replied in the affirmative. They introduced themselves as agent McKathy and agent – of Air Force Special Security Ser vices. Agent McKathy said, “We have a Material Seizure Warrant. We understand you have some photographs of UFOs. It is against the law to withhold them. ‘ ‘ They came in and looked around his office. He told them he had given the photos to the Miami Herald reporter, Dave Barry. Ed said, “If you call Dave he’s going to say he does not have them; because, he told me he would deny having them. “
One man said, ‘ ‘You know if you are lying to us you are in big trouble, because this is a Material Seizure War rant. ‘ ‘ Then they left. On February 18 and 23, 1988, Ed submitted himself to a polygraph examination by Harvey McLaughlin, Jr. The purpose of the examination was: ‘ ‘To verify the authenticity of the photographs, personal sightings, experiences, and general information supplied by Mr. Walters concerning his experiences with UFOs since November 1987. ‘ ‘
After over five hours of working with Ed, the examiner stated his opinion: ‘ ‘With the information that is available to this examiner at this time, it is felt that Mr. Walters truly believes that the photographs and personar sightings he has described are true and factual to the best of his ability.”
Later Michael Kradz, of Dector Counterintelligence and Security, Inc. in Glen Burnie, Maryland, processed two of Ed’s tape-recorded interviews with a psychological stress evaluator (PSE- 101). He said Ed ” . . . is being truthful about what he saw and what he did, and does not show any reactions to cause this examiner to doubt his answers”
Also, psychological tests given Ed by Dr. Dan Overlade prior to his ten hours of regression found no evidence of any psychopathologies. These tests included the Wachsler Adult Intelligence Scale (Revised), the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Interview, the Thematic Apperception Test, the Draw-A-Person Test, and the Rorschach “inkblot test. ” Ed and Frances Walters have documented their story for a book entitled The Gulf Breeze Sightings, published in 1989 .
Shortly after the Gulf Breeze UFO encounters got their first publicity, three low-level radar vehicles were moved into the area: a ship named the Jan Tide, an Army Division Air Defense vehicle, and a NASA long-range tracking ship. Several witnesses reported fighter planes or light fixed-wing aircraft coming directly toward a UFO at low level. Also, strange helicopters were seen orbiting the school yard where the circle of dead grass had been found. Other incidents indicate some kind of government know ledge of some of the UFO activity.
On November 21 , 1988, an eighteen-year-old boy re ported that he and his friends were evicted from a public national seashore area east of Pensacola Beach by the Air Force Security Police. The boys were told they could not stay there because there was an incident in progress. At 20:45, about thirty minutes later, James Larkin saw a UFO low over the trees about two miles north of where the boys were. Some investigators wonder if there is a connection between these two incidents.
Several of the sightings of late 1988 were north of Navarre toward the Eglin AFB reservation. For example, in early December 1988, Annette Spear and her children re ported a row of red lights, each appearing slightly larger than the full moon, moving toward the reservation as if they were attached to a large silent vehicle. A helicopter also seen in the area at the same time must have been aware of this object.
Other photographs submitted to the investigators by individuals, or by the Gulf Breeze Sentinel, show objects that have not been identified. These include: the nine photos of December 23, 1987, showing the Type- 1 objects reported by “Believer Bill” ; two prints from a 35-mm camera showing type- 1 objects that the anonymous photographer, “Jane, H said were taken in June 1986; a roll of 110 film with five photos of orange balls taken by “MikeH at Pensacola Beach on April 2, 1988 (one glowing ball appears to be about twelve and a half feet in diameter); two 35-mm negatives taken on April 6, 1988, by “Milli” showing orange ovals that appear to be glowing or reflecting sunlight some distance up (the image was only 0.001 radians); eight suspicious photos_ later submitted by “A Believer” Which were probably faked.
Most other sightings near Gulf Breeze are too numerous to include here, but a few will suffice. A neighbor a few doors from Ed saw a glowing object the size of a saucer at ann’s length, over the school yard just before Christmas 1987. Ed’s neighbors across the street had a close encounter of the third or fourth type on April } , 1988, that lasted two hours, and they reported later sightings in 1988. On December 2, 1987, Pat McClellan, with his wife and daughter, saw a UFO jump from one spot to another and fly silently close overhead before it departed, with a military plane close behind. On February 12, 1988, two ladies in Cantonment saw a boomerang-shaped object with many lights fly low and slow overhead. A visiting investigator, Paul Norman, said he interviewed a lady who reported an object that approached her and her friend rapidly three times, before it dived into the Gulf, on March 10.
Mr. Truman Holcomb [who struck me as completely sincere when I met him in July 1988-Editor] reported a close sighting of the Type- 1 vehicle shining a blue beam across Highway 98 on April 28, as well as another sighting later in the year. On July 8, Dr.Fenner McConnell and his wife, Shirley, saw a Type- I vehicle hover near the water beside their pier for two or three minutes as they were about to go jogging at 04:54. (They had earlier sent out 535 invitations to a “UFO Watch” party to be held two days later at their home, but they were afraid to tell their guests about their sighting. Their annual party is a major social event in Gulf Breeze. Several investigators have suggested this event seemed to be more than a coincidence.)
July 8 was also the day of the abductee support group meeting in Pensacola. Since UFO investigations by news papers, TV, and MUFON were generally accomplished without ridicule, twelve people were encouraged to tell MUFON of their experiences involving missing time or extremely strange dreams. Some of these people were having trouble coping with their experiences. MUFON established a support group, including abductees, investigators, and a clinical psychologist to help reduce the fear of the unknown. Dr. Overlade has been quite successful in both recovering blocked memories and in relieving stress. In December 1988 his regression techniques were reviewed by a distinguished group of his peers at the Ericksonian Congress in San Francisco. This review of Dr. Overlade’s video tapes increased his confidence in his procedures and also gave the review group some food for thought.
In February 1988, WEAR-TV of Pensacola made a thirty minute documentary, The Sightings, with Mark Curtis as interviewer. On October 5 , Gulf Breeze was featured on an NBC Unexplained Mysteries program. Then on October 14, the two-hour production, UFO Cover-up ? Live, was broadcast from Gulf Breeze, Washington DC, and Moscow.
The Gulf Breeze sightings and photographs are proof of alien visitation, in my opinion. The level of technology demonstrated indicates that they can come and go at will and can reside in a variety of places; the bottom of our oceans, inside major high-altitude ice fields, in Earth or bit, on the Moon, or even on Mars.
The increasing national media coverage of the UFO phenomenon, spurred by the Gulf Breeze encounters, may cause many more abductees to gain the courage to talk about their experiences. Perhaps some will seek help in understanding what happened to them. Investigators and psychologists around the world should work together to provide this help.