ls blood faster in the military. They wanted some
kind of an official statement and they wanted it soon. Some people in
intelligence wanted to say just, "We don't know," but others held out
for a more thorough investigation. I happened to be in this latter
category. Many times in the past I had seen what first seemed to be a
good UFO report completely fall apart under a thorough investigation.
I was for stalling the press and working all night if necessary to go
into every aspect of the sighting. But to go along with the theme of
the Washington National Sightings--confusion--there was a lot of talk
but no action and the afternoon passed with no further investigation.

Finally about 4:00P.M. it was decided that the press, who still
wanted an official comment, would get an official "No comment" and
that I would stay in Washington and make a more detailed investigation.

I called Lieutenant Andy Flues, who was in charge of Project Blue
Book while I was gone, to tell him that I was staying over and I
found out that they were in a de luxe flap back in Dayton. Reports
were pouring out of the teletype machines at the rate of thirty a day
and many were as good, if not better, than the Washington incident. I
talked this over with Colonel Bower and we decided that even though
things were popping back at ATIC the Washington sighting, from the
standpoint of national interest, was more important.

Feeling like a national martyr because I planned to work all night
if necessary, I laid the course of my investigation. I would go to
Washington National Airport, Andrews AFB, airlines offices, the
weather bureau, and a half dozen other places scattered all over the
capital city. I called the transportation section at the Pentagon to
get a staff car but it took me only seconds to find out that the
regulations said no staff cars except for senior colonels or
generals. Colonel Bower tried--same thing. General Samford and
General Garland were gone, so I couldn't get them to try to pressure
a staff car out of the hillbilly who was dispatching vehicles. I went
down to the finance office--could I rent a car and charge it as
travel expense? No--city buses are available. But I didn't know the
bus system and it would take me hours to get to all the places I had
to visit, I pleaded. You can take a cab if you want to pay for it out
of your per diem was the answer. Nine dollars a day per diem and I
should pay for a hotel room, meals, and taxi fares