Excerpt taken from THE UFO CRASH/RETRIEVAL SYNDROME
Status Report II: New Sources, New Data
By Leonard H. Stringfield

Case A-2

Significant in this case is that the testimony from a secondhand source of information was substantiated when I reached the firsthand source. To achieve this took time and a stroke of strategy and luck in reaching the real source for a commitment. This case was first reported in Abstract #16 of my previous paper, the erstwhile informant being the wife referred to as SI. In review, her information revealed to me in August 1977 follows:

The year was 1973 when Carl, a Sergeant in the Air Force, an Air Policeman, was called to duty during the night. He was driven to a certain location, then was blindfolded. She said, he recalled that he was led across a field of wet grass, then was helped down a flight of stairs and escorted through a long corridor. At a certain point, he was halted and his blindfold removed. There, he was issued instructions about his mission and where to stand guard. To his shock, he was in a room with ranking officers and plainclothes specialists who were viewing three small humanoid bodies. The aliens were dead and were stretched out on a table. She remembers Carl telling her that the three bodies were about 3 feet tall, their heads abnormally large, and they seemed to have short fuzz on the top of their heads. The skin, she said, was an off-white or cream. She could recall no other facial features described by Carl, admitting that the only time Carl had talked about his experience was while they were courting. That was in 1975. At that time, she said, he seemed shaken by it.

"I believe he was dramatically affected," she said, adding, "One time, he told his sister about it and she just laughed. Since then, he refuses to discuss the matter with anyone, even me."

On several later occasions when I called Mrs. SI, I asked to speak to Carl. One night he was present, sitting at a table drinking coffee, when I called. I remember she asked him if he would be willing to talk with me about his experience, but he declined. Said SI when she returned to the phone, "He said he's not allowed to talk about it, and that he will tell everything he knows after President Carter makes an announcement."

Because of her illness, and SI's wish not to be involved in UFOs again, a long gap of time elapsed before I chanced a call to check on her well-being. Her health restored and sounding cheerful, I then brought her up to date on my successes and failures in the pursuit of retrieval stories. But when I asked to speak to Carl, she reiterated his reluctance to talk about his 1973 experience. "He won't talk," she said, "He was too emotionally affected."

Already knowing of Carl's place of employment, and that his on-duty schedule was subject to change, I asked her for the time of day he could be conveniently reached. I hinted that I might call him "on a long shot." She obliged, but offered no encouragement.

On October 17, 1978, a well-timed call reached Carl at work during a coffee break. Without hesitation, I announced my purpose, cited some strong data from other sources relative to his experience and assured him that his name or identity would never be disclosed. After a long silence, Carl, with seeming reluctance, confirmed his experience and described the scene he witnessed while on guard duty. While his information generally agreed with that expressed by his wife, he also revealed that the facial characteristics of all three entities were similar and that the skin was the same color as a "drowned cadaver just brought out of the water."

When asked about his reaction to the event, he said in a low voice, "I was shocked. I'd rather forget it." He offered nothing more, not did I want to press the issue. I felt that I had achieved a real breakthrough. Carl was now a firsthand witness.

 

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