Enclosed below is a re-typed 1965 newspaper article.
There are portions of the article which are
simply not legible. These portions are noted, as I
could not 'make the connections' by presuming to
insert what was not readable.
The article, written by Cincinnati Post columnist [for 36-years] Mary Wood, quotes WLWT Channel-5 meteorologist Frank Pierce, who recounts some odd comments allegedly made by Carl Sagan concerning UFOs. Pierce was chief meteorologist for WLWT Channel 5 [NBC] in Cincinnati for many years. Wood also adds that Pierce was involved at the first Air Force office in the Pentagon during the '47 & '48 time-period.
I once tried to locate Pierce to inquire further about
this issue, but could not locate him. There
are two obituary items for a Frank Pierce found in
an index of Cincinnati newspapers, so it may be
likely that he has passed away.
It doesn't seem likely that such a comment ever came
from Sagan but through private discussion, as I
have not heard of anything like this from him [publicly,
that is] before. Would anyone have any
information that Pierce was an associate or shared
correspondence with Sagan?
-- Kenny Young
"Frank Edwards Convinces Mary UFOs Do Exist"
Frank Edwards, whose new book "Flying Saucers - A Serious Business"
is a bestseller, has been in
town all week appearing on Ch. 5 shows to talk about UFOs. Since I
recently read Edwards' book and was immediately converted from being a
skeptic about Flying Saucers into a firm believer, I was
anxious to meet Frank.
Actually, it was Ch. 5's weatherman, Frank Pierce, who first stimulated
my interest in UFOs when he talked about them during an interview we had
several months ago. Pierce is a pure scientist and the last man to ever
go off on flights of fancy. He was also in the first Air Force office at
the
Pentagon in 1947 and '48, which was set up to handle UFO information.
Frank is a believer and
insists that about three percent of all UFO sightings cannot be identified
by anyone.
"The government admits that they are there, but can't explain them," said Pierce. "Anybody connected with UFO investigation knows that there are unexplained objects."
I had lunch with the two Franks -Pierce and Edwards- this week and listened
avidly to their
discussion.
'That three percent that the Air Force admits to does not include 700 UFO sightings that I know they have reports on, but which they haven't revealed," argued Edwards. "Why should we assume that somewhere in our galaxy there does not exist a civilization far in advance of ours? Only eight years ago, we couldn't get a four-pound satellite off the launching pad at Cape Canaveral, but today we have conquered space.
Frank Pierce [text illegible] a bit of news about [illegible] UFO investigations.
"From now on, [illegible] investigation will [illegible] away
from the [illegible] he told me.
[illegible] will be divided into sectors, with [illegible] scientists
[illegible]
I asked why the Government had taken such a hush-hush approach to UFOs in the past.
"It's very simple," Edwards explained. "In July, 1952, when UFOs swarmed over Washington, D.C., the Air Force either had to admit they were there and couldn't do anything about them, or deny that they were there. They chose to deny."
I wondered if either Pierce or Edwards had any inkling from which planet
the Flying Saucers
originated? They both said they didn't nor did anyone else.
"But Dr. Carl Sagan, adviser on Extra-Terrestrial life for the Armed
Services, said we must assume
that they have bases on the other said of the Moon," said Pierce.
"We should also assume that our life span may not be as long as the
life span on other planets,"
added Edwards.
Frank Pierce says he is skeptical about humanoids manning UFOs- "Before
I will believe there are
humanoids I'll have to see on," said Pierce. Frank Edwards, on the
other hand, is convinced that
humanoids exist and have been seen.
"Too many credible witnesses in all parts of the world have seen them and describe the same people," said Edwards. "According to scientists that I know, we will make contact with The Humanoids within three years."