July 12, 1947

How do you think it feels to be born nearly on the threshold of UFOlogy, on July 12, 1947, near a major American Naval base, in Norfolk, Virginia?

Eight Kenneth Arnold-like flying saucers were photographed in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on my exact birthdate.

On July 12, 1947, Kenneth Arnold sent a telegram giving his permission, for the first time, to General Twining to disseminate information about Arnold's June 24th sighting to all military commands.

As many of you know, I, Loren Coleman, cryptozoologist and Fortean, was born on July 12, 1947. I co-wrote The Unidentified: Notes Towards Solving the UFO Mystery in 1975, and Creatures of the Outer Edge in 1978, both with Jerome Clark, published by Warner Books in New York City. It was republished as a combined volume with a new introduction in 2006 from Anomalist Books.

Jerry Clark and I had an intellectual side trek to get off our chests, and for me, my Jungian journey into ufology in our 1975 book was enough. But it is intriguing to me that my first book would, in essence, be about "ufology."

Also, Bertrand Méhuest, ufologist, was born on July 12, 1947. Méheust's early work was linked to ufo. His first book, in 1978, was on ufology. Méheust's mentor is Aimé Michel, who was also be a powerful influence on Jacque Valleé. It is a small world, after all.

Ufology Deaths on June 24

In a few days, it will be Saint John's Day, June 24, 2020, a Christian feast day celebrating the birth of John the Baptist. All over Europe "Saint John's fires" have been, historically, lit on mountains and hilltops on the eve of his feast (the critically significant St. John's Eve). As the first day of summer, Saint John's Day is considered in ancient folklore one of the great "charmed" festivals of the year. 

It is a day about new beginnings, birth, and rebirth. But in ufology, it often is about endings and death.
Births

I have written earlier that due to the Anniversary Syndrome, ufo-related deaths do infrequently occur on June 24ths. The Anniversary Syndrome or Effect is tied to birthdays and important dates in a person's life that some people "wait" for on which to die. There is no more important date in ufology that it's "birthday," June 24, 1947.

For ufologists June 24th is of critical importance. On June 24, 1947, the modern era of UFOs began with Kenneth Arnold’s dramatic sighting of “saucers” flying between Mount Rainier and Mount Adams in Washington State. The primary significance of this particular date, St. John’s Day, cannot be diminished within ufology.

In 2020, let us look at one more wrinkle in time connected to June 24, 1947.  Instead of deaths, how about examining a birth?

Who was born on this exact date? One remarkable figure is the popular culture individual ~ Peter Weller, who was born on Saint John's Day, in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, and grew up to be a well-known actor, as well as a tv director and Ph.D. art historian. Weller is famed for several roles among his 70 films and tv series, including RoboCop (1987) and its sequel RoboCop 2 (1990), in which he played the title character, The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984) and Star Trek Into Darkness (2013). He has also appeared in such films as Woody Allen's Mighty Aphrodite (1995), the Oliver Stone-produced The New Age (1994), David Cronenberg's adaptation of William Burroughs's novel Naked Lunch (1991), and the Christian Duguay-directed adaption of a Philip K. Dick short story, the movie Screamers (1995).

As we move towards June 24, 2020, let us ponder the past June 24ths' duels with deaths, from 1947 to 2019.

Deaths
Here is a quick overview of the notable ufo-related deaths on or near June 24:

June 24 or 23, 1964, Frank Scully, 72, author of one of the first crashed-saucer books, Behind the Flying Saucers (1950), dies.

June 24, 1967, two British UFO contactees, Arthur Bryant, a contactee, and Richard Church, an author and chairman of CIGIUFO, die.

June 23, 1967, Frank Edwards, 55, popular UFO author and radio personality in the 1950s, dies a few hours before Arthur Bryant. James Moseley stunned the delegates assembled for the 1967 Congress of Scientific Ufologists at New York City’s Hotel Commodore on June 24th, with the news of the sudden death of Frank Edwards.

June 24, 1969, Willy Ley, 62, a rocket scientist and Fortean author, dies. Willy Ley was one of the first respected modern scientist to attempt to answer the question of what is a flying saucer. In 1952, he was one of the first, if not the first person, to say that 85% of UFO sightings are misidentified craft, leaving the other 15% open to notions of "interplanetary travel," that he began writing about in 1926.

June 24, 1978, Robert Charroux, 69, the best-known pen-name of Robert Joseph Grugeau dies. Charroux was a French author known for his ancient astronaut theories and writings on other Fortean subjects, in such books as Masters Of The World: Groundbreaking New Revelations About The Ancient Astronauts (1979).

June 24, 1987, Jackie Gleason, 71, the actor, who was an early advocate of flying saucer research, dies. Gleason's known interest in UFOs allegedly prompted President Richard Nixon to share some information with him and to disclose some UFO data publicly.

June 24, 2006, Lyle Stuart, 83, the renegade publisher who published anomalist writer Frank Edwards’ Fortean book, in 1959, Stranger than Science, a paperbook full of information on ufology and other unexplained accounts, dies.

June 24, 2013, James Martin, 79, a former rocket scientist, computer scientist, and author of After the Internet: Alien Intelligence (2000), is found floating dead in the waters off Agar's Island. Dr. Martin bought Agar’s Island in 1977 and made his home in Bermuda. The multi-millionaire kept a relatively low profile in Bermuda.

June 24, 2013, Alan Myers, 58, the most prominent drummer (1976-1987) of the band Devo, dies of stomach cancer in Los Angeles. Devo played punk, art rock, post-punk and new wave music, and performed stage shows that mingled kitsch science fiction themes, deadpan surrealist humor, and mordantly satirical social commentary. Devo recorded at their own self-named "UFO Studios." More.

June 24, 2015, Mario Biaggi, 97, dies.  The former Bronx congressman was involved in the "UFO disclosure" movement, and was once pictured on the cover of Ideal's UFO Magazine, December 1978, Number 4. Within the periodical, there appears the article, "Interview: Mario Biaggi 'There Is A UFO Cover-Up By The Government.'" On the cover, an image of Biaggi is shown with President Jimmy Carter. More.

June 24, 2018, Roswell, X-Files, and The Shining television guest star Stanley Anderson dies. 

June 24, 2018, the Voice of New York radio during the Great Northeast Blackout (caused by UFOs?), Dan Ingram dies.

See further information on Anderson, Ingram, and others who died in 2018, here.

June 24, 2019, news reporter Sean Dunleavy, dies. The journalist was a witness to and a participant in the famed Linda Cortile UFO abduction case of November 30, 1989, Manhattan, New York. Read more.

+++

In 2014, in response to a contemporary blog posting I wrote on the possibility of another ufologist dying on June 24, the self-described "ufo skeptic" Robert Sheaffer (born 1949) commented: "June 24th is coming up soon, so I'm going to be hiding under the bed."

+++

Obviously, getting tired of me talking about these deaths for years, Nick Redfern decided to write a book about them (I'm joking, of course):

Nick Redfern is to be congratulated for finding detailed material to fill this "aware and awoke" book, Close Encounters of the Fatal Kind: Suspicious Deaths, Mysterious Murders, and Bizarre Disappearances in UFO History (Weiser, released six years ago on June 23, 2014).

+++

Everyone interested in this topic should acknowledge the work of Otto Binder, who wrote 1971's investigative article for Saga, "Liquidation of the UFO Investigators," looking at the mysterious deaths of many researchers' deaths. 

Binder's early publisher (EC, Entertaining Comics) overlapped with the Fayette Factor, as it was located at 225 Lafayette Street, New York, New York, for his horror comic work. He was the co-creator of Supergirl and for his many scripts for Captain Marvel Adventures and other stories involving the entire superhero Marvel Family. From 1941 to 1953, he penned 986 of 1743 the Marvel Universe stories. 

Binder passed away after his own incredible personal tragedy.

Otto Binder's daughter Mary [at the age of 14] had been on her way to school one morning when a car jumped the curb, went into the driveway in front of the school and killed her. As film producer and comics historian Michael Uslan, a family friend, recalled, "Otto never recovered. His wife never recovered. She had a breakdown, and Otto started drinking, and eventually he dropped dead of a heart attack. And the three of them were gone, like in a flash." Source.

Binder died, at age 63, in Chestertown, Warren County, New York, on October 13, 1974. [The county is named in honor of General Joseph Warren, an American Revolutionary War hero of the Battle of Bunker Hill (which occurred on June 17, 1775).]

Binder is honored in the first episode of the 2015 television series Supergirl as the title character prevents a malfunctioning jet from crashing into the "Otto Binder Bridge."

+++

Do other religions have an acknowledgement of June 24th? In 2017, June 24th was Muslim's beginning of Eid al-Fitr, the beginning of the end of Ramadan, the breaking of the month of fasting. But the date shifts, year to year.

Why are no women on the list above? Why no people of color? More research needs to be done on this, sociologically. A broader net must be thrown out for more data. Send along any new information you have.

For now, be careful on June 24th.

Cryptokubrology: Bowie + 4, Roeg + 2, Henry + 0

Four years ago today, January 10, 2016, David Bowie died (born January 8, 1947). 

Bowie wore Buck Henry’s glasses in The Man Who Fell to Earth (director Nicolas Jack Roeg, released June 24, 1976). 

June 24, 1947, denotes the "birth of flying saucers."

Roeg died November 23, 2018 (born August 15, 1928). 

Buck Henry died January 8, 2020 (born December 9, 1930).

June 24th Prediction

I posted the following tweet on Twitter early on June 22, 2017.

Yes, I am predicting a well-known researcher, author, eyewitness, or figure (a celebrity, if you will), in the UFO field, shall pass away on June 24th this year.

For those who are familiar with my writings on the "anniversary syndrome" and what I've said before about the significance of "June 24s" in the ufology community, you will not be surprised.

I have written earlier that due to the Anniversary Syndrome, ufo-related deaths do infrequently occur on June 24ths. The Anniversary Syndrome or Effect is tied to birthdays and important dates in a person's life that some people "wait" for on which to die. There is no more important date in ufology that it's "birthday," June 24, 1947.

For ufologists June 24th is of critical importance. On June 24, 1947, the modern era of UFOs began with Kenneth Arnold’s dramatic sighting of “saucers” flying between Mount Rainier and Mount Adams in Washington State. The primary significance of this particular date, St. John’s Day, cannot be diminished within ufology.

Here is a quick overview of 11 notable UFO-related deaths on or near June 24:

(1) June 24 or 23 (there is some dispute), 1964, Frank Scully, 72, author of one of the first crashed-saucer books, Behind the Flying Saucers (1950), dies.

(2 and 3) June 24, 1967, two British UFO contactees, Ernest Arthur Bryant, a contactee, and Richard Church, an author and chairman of CIGIUFO, die.

(4) June 23 (US) or 24 (UK), 1967, Frank Edwards, 55, popular UFO author and radio personality in the 1950s, dies a few hours before Arthur Bryant. Indeed, Edwards passes away shortly before midnight on the 23rd, which would have been the early morning of June 24th in the UK, thus being the same date as Ernest Arthur Bryant's death. James Moseley stuns the delegates assembled for the 1967 Congress of Scientific Ufologists at New York City’s Hotel Commodore on June 24th, with the news of the sudden death of Frank Edwards.

(5) June 24, 1969, Willy Ley, 62, a rocket scientist and Fortean author, dies. Willy Ley was one of the first respected modern scientist to attempt to answer the question of what is a flying saucer. In 1952, he was one of the first, if not the first person, to say that 85% of UFO sightings are misidentified craft, leaving the other 15% open to notions of "interplanetary travel," that he began writing about in 1926.

(6) June 24, 1978, Robert Charroux, 69, the best-known pen-name of Robert Joseph Grugeau dies. Charroux was a French author known for his ancient astronaut theories and writings on other Fortean subjects, in such books as Masters Of The World: Groundbreaking New Revelations About The Ancient Astronauts (1979).

(7) June 24, 1987, Jackie Gleason, 71, the actor, who was an early advocate of flying saucer research, dies. Gleason's known interest in UFOs allegedly prompted President Richard Nixon to share some information with him and to disclose some UFO data publicly.

(8) June 24, 2006, Lyle Stuart, 83, the renegade publisher who published anomalist writer Frank Edwards’ Fortean book, in 1959, Stranger than Science, a paperbook full of information on ufology and other unexplained accounts.

(9) June 24, 2013, James Martin, 79, a former rocket scientist, computer scientist, and author of After the Internet: Alien Intelligence (2000), was found floating dead in the waters off Agar's Island. Dr. Martin bought Agar’s Island in 1977 and made his home in Bermuda. The multi-millionaire kept a relatively low profile in Bermuda.

(10) June 24, 2013, Alan Myers, 58, the most prominent drummer (1976-1987) of the band Devo, dies of stomach cancer in Los Angeles. Devo played punk, art rock, post-punk and new wave music, and performed stage shows that mingled kitsch science fiction themes, deadpan surrealist humor, and mordantly satirical social commentary. Devo recorded at their own UFO Studios. More.

(11) June 24, 2015, Mario Biaggi, 97, a former Bronx congressman was involved in the "UFO disclosure" movement, and was once pictured on the cover of Ideal's UFO Magazine, December 1978, Number 4. Within the periodical, there appeared the following, "Interview: Mario Biaggi 'There Is A UFO Cover-Up By The Government.'" On the cover, an image of Biaggi was shown with President Jimmy Carter. More.

++++
Posted after June 24, 2017:

(12) June 24, 2017, Loren Janes, 85, a legendary stuntman and stunt coordinator, was involved in some intriguing UFO-related movies.

Loren Janes (also known as Loren James) was the safety stunt coordinator for the UFO cult classic film, Repo Man, which has its fair share of UFO insider jokes about flying saucers, the name game, Men in Black, and conspiracy theorists. Loren Janes gets a cryptokubrology mention too. In Stanley Kubrick's Spartacus (1960), Janes was Kirk Douglas' stunt double ("slave general"). Janes also was a "salt mine slave," and a "gladiator."

Synchromystic cinema connections are there, throughout Loren Janes' life. Janes got a credit in Back to the Future (1985), for the stunts. In the closeted UFO story of Steven Spielberg's 1941 (1979). In the intriguing Logan's Run (1976) and Ice Station Zebra (1968). More.

UFO Name Game Hits Shootings

In The Eighth Tower, a dark work, John A. Keel, as the publisher notes, pulls no punches, and probes the ultimate question: "Are we pawns in a celestial game?" 

Monday was the 13th of January. A day like any other day, but one in which the Fortean name game picked to play its game.

First up, Roswell. The Roswell Incident took place in the U.S. in 1947, when allegedly an unidentified flying object crashed on a ranch near Roswell, New Mexico. The name "Roswell" has become famous or infamous in association with UFOs, and Roswell today even has a museum dedicated to ufology.

On January 14th, Tuesday, a middle school student opened fire in his gym with a shotgun and critically wounded two students in Roswell, New Mexico.

The injured were a 13-year-old girl and a 12-year-old boy who were "simply sitting in their gym waiting to go to class," New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez said. The shooting occurred shortly before class was to begin at Berrendo Middle School.

The Eastern New Mexico Medical Center confirmed it treated two patients, who were then air lifted to the University Medical Center in Lubbock, Texas, located about 175 miles from the middle school.

("The Lubbock Lights were an unusual formation of lights seen over the city of Lubbock, Texas, from August–September 1951. The Lubbock Lights incident received national publicity and is regarded as one of the first great UFO cases in the United States," notes Wikipedia. That is, perhaps, after the "Roswell Incident.")

A spokesperson for UMC said the boy, who the governor said was 12, is out of surgery and is listed in critical condition. The girl, 13, is also being treated at the hospital and is listed in serious condition, according to the spokesperson. A school staff member suffered a minor injury and declined treatment.

The names of the shooting victims or the shooter have not yet released.

After the shooting, here's how the Chicago Tribune described the town where it occurred:

Roswell, a city of 48,000 people in southeastern New Mexico, is best known for its association with UFO lore because of the 1947 crash at a nearby site of an object UFO proponents believe was an alien ship. The U.S. military says materials recovered near the site were from an experimental surveillance craft.

Earlier, on January 13th, a familiar surname in UFO circles - Reeves - became the focus of another shooting.

Curtis Reeves, Jr., 71, (shown above) a retired Tampa Police Captain was arrested and held without bail for shooting a man and his wife after an apparent argument over texting while at a Wesley Chapel, Florida, movie theater (Cobb Theater's Grove 16 & CineBistro).

At the Monday afternoon showing of the film Lone Survivor, Reeves and his wife were sitting behind another couple, Chad and Nicole Oulson, watching the previews, when Reeves became agitated with Chad for texting before the movie began.

Lone Survivor is set during the War in Afghanistan, the film dramatizes the failed United States Navy SEALs mission Operation Red Wings, in which a four-man SEAL reconnaissance team was tasked to track Taliban leader Ahmad Shah. was principally filmed in New Mexico, working 42 days there. Filming first took place at the Sangre de Cristo ("Blood of Christ") Mountains of the Santa Fe National Forest. Then the production moved to Chilili, New Mexico for two weeks of filming, and finally to the Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

At the Wesley Chapel-January 13th screening of Lone Survivor an argument broke out between the couples, popcorn was thrown, after which Reeves reportedly left the theater, came back, took out a gun and fired at Oulson and his wife (shown from their Facebook page). Officials said Nicole tried to block the bullet, resulting in a gunshot wound to her hand, before Chad was struck. And killed.

The Tampa Police Department issued a statement on Reeves Monday evening:

Curtis Reeves Jr. retired from the Tampa Police Department on 9/30/93 as a Captain. He was instrumental in establishing the department's first Tactical Response Team. We are not aware of any contact with the department since his departure more than 20 years ago.

+++

John A. Keel once raised the question of name selectivity in his writings: "Hundreds of thousands of phenomenal events have been described in newspapers, magazines and books, and hundreds of thousands of witnesses have been named in print. When dealing with such a large body of evidence – or population – certain laws of probability should surface. We might expect that more Smiths would see UFOs than anyone else, simply because there are more Smiths around. But, in actuality, the name Smith rarely appears in a UFO report."

What Keel found was that unusual names were the point of convergence for the phenomena. He saw McDaniel, Reeves/Reaves, Maddox, Heflin, Allen, Hill, and others, as being selected for UFO and related experiences, as I first pointed out in my "Name Game" chapter in 1983, in Mysterious America.

Perhaps it was merely a coincidence that on January 13th, the postal service delivered my copy of the new edition of John A. Keel's 1975 book, The Eighth Tower: On Ultraterrestrials and the Superspectrum. Anomalist Books, in conjunction with Keel's relatives, republished this book. Keel's first book, Jadoo, and his introspective ufological book, Operation Trojan Horse, where the author tackles the games of names and dates of the "Cosmic Joker," have all been reprinted by Anomalist Books, with newly added material.

Reeves. Roswell. Keel.