Saturday, December 29, 2012

Dayton Woman Sues Over ‘UFO Injuries’

The Baytown Sun,  Sunday, January 22, 1984, Baytown, TX
Dayton Woman Sues Over ‘UFO Injuries’ 
(NOTE: Gersten misspelled as Gerston throughout article as originally printed.) 
DAYTON- Vicki Landrum, 60, can’t go outside without “breaking out in big blisters.” 

Chronic illnesses have plagued Mrs. Landrum, her 10-year old grandson Colby Landrum and Betty Cash, 54, after their supposed December 1980 encounter with an unidentified flying object.

The women and the boy have sued the US Government seeking $20 million in damages for injuries they claim were caused by radiation emitted from the UFO that hovered above them, outside of New Caney.

They say the federal government is somehow involved and should pay for their medical care. 

“She gets very upset when she has to talk to anyone about this,” a daughter-in-law of Mrs. Landrum said Saturday. “She hasn’t even been able to go outside because she breaks out in big blisters.”

She added that Mrs. Landrum has lost her hair as a result of the encounter. 

The Sun was unable to talk directly with the plaintiffs Saturday.

A New York lawyer representing Mrs. Cash, Mrs. Landrum and Colby Landrum said they suffered severe headaches, nausea, swollen earlobes and eyelids, diarrhea, and facial blisters for a few days after the the incident.

The health of Mrs. Cash, who received the most exposure, deteriorated substantially, attorney Peter Gersten said.

She was admitted to Parkway Hospital for one week and later two weeks. She was in and out of the hospital October through December 1981 with chronic illness.

The attorney said the victims still experience nausea, loss of appetite, skin blotches and blisters.

Gersten has represented several organizations in lawsuits related to UFOs. 

On December 29, 1980, the three were returning home from a bingo game. about seven miles outside of New Caney, when they noticed a bright object glowing in the sky.

“The object hovered above the road and was so bright they couldn’t make out its shape,” Gersten said. 

The object was flaming and gave off so much heat and light that Mrs. Cash and her friends could drive no farther,  Gersten added.

They got out of the car for awhile and Mrs. Cash rested her hand on the vehicle. When she removed her hand, he said, she found it had left a permanent imprint on the car. 

Driving away, they counted 23 helicopters near the object, but  Gersten said they were unable to determine whether the choppers were escorting the object or pursuing it.

The three have twice filed administrative claims for medical treatment with the Air Force, but were refused help each time.  Gersten quoted one Air Force statement as saying “our investigation has revealed no evidence of involvement by any military personnel, equipment or aircraft in this alleged incident.”

 Gersten said finding “no evidence” means Air Force investigators merely did not have access to classified information.

The incident has been independently investigated, said Gersten, by John Schuessler, a National Aeronautics and Space Administration engineer who has specialized in a study of UFOs.

 Gersten said the incident also was witnessed by a deputy sheriff. 

Mrs. Cash, Mrs. Landrum and Colby Landrum asked in their suit for damages totaling $20 million.

 Gersten said his clients want also to determine what type of radiation they had been exposed to so they could seek appropriate medical treatment.

“The government has all along denied any responsibility for the incident,” he said. “They are not willing to come forward and reveal the type of object to help three people.” 

 Gersten said he is optimistic about his clients’ chances of winning the suit. “If we can show the incident happened -- and we can -- then they (the government) have to show they’re not responsible.” 

Friday, November 23, 2012

James W. Moseley - Radio Shows and Podcasts



Jim Moseley Radio shows and Podcasts

(See this page for Jim's many Paracast appearances)





Jim Moseley appeared on about two zillion radio programs in the 50s and 60s, when he was a frequent guest on the Long John Nebel show, and later on James Randi's program. When the UFO flap of 1966 launched Jim into celebrity as a UFO expert lecturer, he toured the country and was once again featured on many radio and television programs, most of which are now lost. Here's a collection of some of the more recent programs that are still available. 
(More will be listed as they are discovered.)




Radio Misterioso May 27, 2012
Greg Bishop and Tim Brigham in conversation with

Jim Moseley: Saucer Smear and Other Foibles


The Stench of Truth April 28, 2012 -  Jim Moseley Interview
Stench of Truth along with special guest-host Andy Colvin, hop on board the acclaimed Saucer Smear co-founder James W. Moseley’s campaign stump to drive away the pesky Martian aliens. 


Open Minds Radio April 2011




PsiOp-Radio May 23, 2010:SMiles Lewis and MackWhite with their special guest James Moseley.
http://psiopradio.com/media/2010/POR100523a.mp3

Unravelling the Secrets  with guest Jim Moseley 2/15/2009 (iTunes link)
Living Legends of UFO Research - Feb 15, 2009


Radio Misterioso September 7th, 2003 
From The Archives: James Moseley – Saucer Smear and Other Controversies
Greg Bishop: "On September 7th, 2003, Jim was in Los Angeles for the National UFO Conference. For some reason, he did not want to make the 5 mile drive to the studio for an interview, so we called him in his hotel room at the Beverly Garland hotel in North Hollywood. Ralph Coon, director/ writer/ producer/ editor of the Gray Barker documentary Whispers From Space was on hand to ask non-sequitur questions."

Long John Nebel Show WOR radio
(Re-presented on Don Ecker's Dark Matters)
There's a fair amount about his travels and excavations at Peru, including some discussion of the Nazca Lines. Also some state of the art assessment of the flying saucer scene and the failings of UFO groups.


Wednesday, November 21, 2012

James W. Moseley 1931-2012

Some images and articles in the memory of 
Saucer Smear's Supreme Commander


Panama City NewsTuesday, May 11, 1954, Panama City, Florida






ProspectorFriday, March 31, 1967, El Paso, Texas



Jim and Gray Barker's "Lost Creek Saucer", 
a film Jim used in his lectures.


Mt Vernon Register NewsTuesday, April 11, 1967, Mt Vernon, Illinois


On the Joe Pyne Show circa 1967
SHOW HT #37 - JAMES MOSELEY is the Editor and Publisher of Saucer News who discuses “The Moth Man,” a strange creature that inhabits the wilds of West Virginia.  He also discusses “the legitimate side of the UFO.”


Review of one of Jim Mosley's college lectures 









2002 NUFOC Conference
Jim begins at 31:40






Monday, November 12, 2012

Cash-Landrum Radio Programs


This is a collection of audio programs relating to the Cash-Landrum case, from 1984 to 2013. These all feature interviews with people with an imitate involvement with the case, not merely talk shows. No doubt, there were many more recorded over the years, and if you can help locate them please let me know.

1984: Bill Moore on The Open Mind
William L. Moore, co-author of The Roswell Incident, appeared on Bill Jenkins' The Open Mind radio program in early 1984 and discussed the Cash-Landrum case. See the link below for a transcript on the C-L discussion and a link to the recording. 

January 16th, 1999: John Schuessler
An interview with John Schuessler, shortly after Betty Cash’s death on the Jeff Rense program. The host asks a few questions that threaten to take Schuessler off his scripted story, chiefly about one of the witnesses seeing military emblems on the helicopters.
“Well, Betty thought she could see some markings, but she couldn’t tell what they were. Uh, My belief is they really didn’t see much markings other than the colors where they have emergency places or markings for emergency doors and that sort of thing.”
Schuessler goes on to imply it doesn't really matter, as only the military were flying that type of helicopter.

Another item is the nearly forgotten matter of the alleged injury beneath Betty Cash's ring:
“In fact where her ring was on her finger it got very hot too, and burned even under the ring.”

Betty Cash Story – Jeff Rense interviews John Schuessler


December 2000: John Schuessler on UFO Update
From 2000, on the 20th anniversary of the event, there's an interview with John Schuessler on UFO Update. This was shortly after the release of his book, and the details should have been fresh in his mind. There were some inaccurate statements, which I'll document at some point. For the most part, the story is the same as in his book, but it is interesting to hear him describe them.

UFO Update was a regular feature on KFAI’s Musical Transportation Spree (1997-2006).

"The Cash-Landrum Incident in 1980 involved huge UFO in Texas and a deadly close encounter. Researcher John Schuessler details the documented witness physical effects and the official cover-up, in an interview with Jerry Modjeski on the year 2000 anniversary."
Best of UFO Update Volume One (Track 1)


2012: John Schuessler and Kevin Barry
Paradigm Unhinged was a UFO radio show cohosted by Ken Storch and Todd Knurr. (Storch was a briefly a later investigator in the Cash-Landrum case.) They have two shows of interest, the first with John Schuessler, and a portion of that program covered the case, almost exactly repeating his comments from the 2000 Rense interview (and strangely not mentioning alleged newer developments mentioned in a 2011 Coast To Coast interview.)  Secondly, Kevin Barry, the director of two Cash-Landrum television episodes, The Unexplained, and years later the UFO Hunters episode "Alien Fallout." 

December 4, 2013: Colby Landrum
Martin Willis of Podcast UFO secured "an extremely rare interview with Cash-Landrum UFO Incident witness Colby Landrum." Joining with questions were researchers Chris Lambright and Curtis Collins. Check the link below for our article and show details.

In the years since, there have been many radio shows or podcasts about the case, but most amount to chatter and do not involve Cash-Landrum witnesses or original investigators, so are not listed.

  

Friday, October 19, 2012

Bill Moore on the Cash-Landrum Case


UFO superstar researcher William L. Moore, co-author of The Roswell Incident, appeared on Bill Jenkins' The Open Mind radio program in early 1984 and discussed the Cash-Landrum case. Moore had an excellent knowledge of the case, and some direct familiarity with it. Moore was a member of APRO, and supposedly, Moore was responsible for John Schuessler becoming involved in the case. Bill Moore (along with Richard Doty) also circulated rumors of a secret flight of a test vehicle originating from Kirtland AFB, which fed into the development the myth of the nuclear-powered WASP 2.

Bill Moore


Here's a transcript of the portion of the show discussing the Cash-Landrum case:

Listener “Mike” calls in a with a question about the Cash-Landrum incident, asking if Moore is familiar with it and the witnesses’ legal case against the U.S. Government.

Moore:
Yes, very familiar with all aspects of that case. In fact I was the first investigator called on the case. I put it in the hands of the people dealing with it now. 

Mike: I, see so it’s probably a pretty good case, then?

Moore:
It appears to be on the surface.  (Commercial break)
The case in question was the Cash-Landrum case. Betty Cash and Vickie Landrum and a young boy - I think he was seven years old at the time, Colby Landrum. In December of 1980, driving home at night, after dark, encounter an unusual object above the highway, stop the car, get out to look at it. It’s bright, it’s essentially obstructing the road ahead of them. It appears to be in trouble, there’s a loud roaring noise, flame comes out the bottom, suddenly a bunch of helicopters appear around it and it seems to get control of itself and takes off across the tree line. They don’t know what it was, they’re terrified. They think- one of them thinks it is the Second Coming, they just don’t know what to make of it. They get home they experience physical symptoms which are quite similar in many respects to radiation poisoning. And they continue to experience physical effects now, three years later after the fact- quite serious physical effects as a matter of fact. 

The question at issue of course, is just what is it they saw, where did the helicopters come from. There were a number of independent reports verifying helicopters were in the area at the time. The road surface was damaged, there was damage to some of the vegetation in the area and all of this of course makes for a “what’s going on here” type case. Certainly they saw something, the medical effects were caused by something. And the case was investigated largely by John Schuessler in Houston Texas, who was the deputy director of MUFON, The Mutual UFO Network, one of the three major national organizations that deal with UFOs. MUFON has a oh- about 900 members worldwide, I guess, publishes a journal (has a local chapter here in Los Angeles, as a matter of fact, that is sponsoring this get-together next weekend at the Culver City Civic auditorium Saturday afternoon 1:00 to 5:00 and we’ll talk some more about that later). 

But back to Cash-Landrum, Schuessler did what I would consider to be a “credible” investigation in may respects, in that he covered a lot of territory in a short amount of time, but he, being only one individual, seemed to have skipped a few points, I guess understandably. But the result was that the Air Force instituted an investigation of their own, or at least they claim it was an official investigation through the Judge Advocate general’s office, and the Inspector General’s office, trying to in essence get themselves off the hook. And they concluded that they [Gersten’s clients] could not show Government involvement in the case. They [Gersten’s clients] could not produce any evidence that would indicate whose helicopters were there. That’s point one. 

At that point, Peter Gersten, a New York attorney, got involved with it and filed a complaint against the Department of the Air Force on behalf of these people, claiming that the Government was responsible at least for the injuries and the medical treatment of these people because they were citizens, because the Government had an obligation to protect its citizens against whatever this thing was since it had caused damage. That claim was rejected on the grounds that Gersten had totally failed to connect the injuries, which they didn’t deny, with anything which was sponsored by the Government. They didn’t deny the incident occurred, or the injuries occurred, they simply said, “We're not responsible because you haven’t produced any evidence indicating that we are responsible,” they threw the burden in his lap, you see. He appealed that, and in September, a ruling was issued by the Judge Advocate of the Air Force upholding the initial denial on the same grounds, that Gersten failed to prove in any way to implicate the Government in the occurrence. And until he could show that they in fact were responsible through some action on their part, they claimed that he had no cause of action, and I know that his intention was then to appeal that in a Federal Court in a civil matter against them, to gain judgement against them, against the Air Force. 

And I assume he has done that, but I don’t really know for certain if he has. And I really have some problems in wondering if he’s going to get anywhere with it simply because if in fact the Government was involved in any way, he’s going to have one whale of a time in trying to prove it. If they’re going to cover it, they’re certainly not going to produce information and there’s certainly provisions within the security and classification procedures which allow members of military intelligence or military projects to deny the very existence of these things if disclosure would effect the National security.

Jenkins:
Just takes a short session with the judge.

Moore:
That’s right, it’s happened in the past. So I’m very sympathetic to the problems that these people are having, and I really wish I could do something to alleviate them but at this point, I don’t see a lot of hope unless somebody comes out of the wood work and says “hey the Government was involved in this thing in some way,and here’s the proof, here’s the connection, here’s the evidence,” and willing to testify on that behalf that the evidence is authentic. So we’re left with a question: Did they see a legitimate UFO, and was some unit of the military aware of its presence, and did they send out what amounted to 20-some odd helicopters to try to intercept it, and is that what the helicopters were doing there,

Jenkins:
Or, were they trying to help it?

Moore:
Or, were they trying to help it?, which is another question. Or, and I tend to lean more in the direction of a second alternative, and that is that what we have in fact run into here is the test of some secret project-type vehicle, which may be nuclear propulsion, and which went out of control and threatened to crash and they said, “hey guys, we're going down,” and the helicopters were sent out to cordon the area off and try to recover the object and keep the public away from it. 

Now we know that there has been considerable interest on and off in the area of nuclear propulsion for use within the atmosphere since 1946, going back to the old NEPA project, the Nuclear Energy for Propulsion of Aircraft,  NEPA, and you know, that’s almost forty years ago, that considerable research was done and that it slowed up in the 60s, the late 60s, but it’s possible somebody made a breakthrough and we have in fact developed a nuclear propelled craft and that it was on a test mission, went out of control and that’s what happened. I tend to believe that that’s more realistic in this case than the fact that they encountered a legitimate UFO - simply because of the circumstances. I think that tends to be more credible. You don’t send off 26 or 25 CH-46 helicopters, Chinook helicopters, CH-47 (I guess they are) after a UFO. You send a fighter-interceptor.

Jenkins:
They’re not going to be very effective against (inaudible)...

Moore:
Yeah, you don’t send out Chinooks loaded to the gills with personnel. You do that if you’re going to cordon off an area. If you’re going to secure an area and try to protect the public from going in there and to protect the security of the project involved, then you send out helicopters full of people. But if you’re after a UFO, in every case you send out a fighter-interceptor.

(Interview turns to other topics.)



Wednesday, September 5, 2012

If and Then

 If the Cash-Landrum incident was a training exercise related to the rescue of the American hostages held by Iran, then this is the memo that required it be kept secret.

Friday, August 31, 2012

The UFO "bigger than a water tower"

The witnesses used a water tower as a point of reference when trying to describe the UFO. What kind of water tower were they familiar with? Here's an old water tower they would have seen in the town of Liberty,  just a bit east of Dayton.


View from the street in Google maps:


View Larger Map


The Courier (Conroe Texas) story 
Two women share terror of mysterious encounter 
by Cathy Gordon Feb. 22, 1981

Vickie Landrum joined in the tale of the mysterious object:
It was if the whole sky was splitting ahead of us,” Landrum said, adding that “torch-like” fire shot from the middle-bottom of the object, appearing to ricochet off the tree tops. ”The part where the fire was coming out of the thing- it looked to be the size of a water tank,” she said.
"Landrum said neither she nor Cash could define a shape for the object because the 'blinding' light projected from it. However, she said, Colby, who was viewing the object through the car's windshield insisted that it was “diamond-shaped”.

“Someone knows where the helicopters came from,” Landrum said, adding that she feels certain they encountered some sort of military experiment.
“I’m not one to believe in flying saucers or nothing like that,” she said. “I think it’s more likely it’s something the military is up to- why else would all them planes be up there if they didn’t know what was going on?”

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

An Interesting Precedent



Jerry McAlister had a UFO sighting on September 11, 1980. It hit the tabloid press first in November in the Globe, and again in December 9, 1980 in the National Enquirer. The case was also covered by the national television program, "That's Incredible!", broadcast in prime time.

This case featured a huge, brilliant UFO that allegedly left the witnesses suffering eye damage and radiation burns.




 
Link to original newspaper story:
The Sumter Daily Item - Sep 11, 1980 Sumter, SC

A strange coincidence. In Dec. 1980, just before the Cash-Landrum sighting, Jerry Mcalister's story was being filmed for a tabloid TV program. From The Index-Journal, Greenwood, South Carolina, March 13, 1981:

Flying Saucer
ANDERSON (AP) The television program "That's Incredible" plans a segment April 6 on Jerry McAlister. the Anderson man who was the first to spot a flying saucer last fall. Deputy sheriffs who went to McAlister's house confirmed the sighting. A crew from the ABC program was in Anderson for two days in December filming the segment on the UFO.

Monday, July 9, 2012

The Cash-Landrum Video Documentary Collection


The Cash-Landrum case has been covered several times on television over the years, and below is a collection of what is available online. Several key video documents of the Cash-Landrum UFO case are not available, chiefly:
  • "Good Morning America" (ABC TV) 1981 Featured Vickie Landrum and was the first televised national coverage of the case.
  • That's Incredible!'" ABC-TV/Alan Landsburg Productions, broadcast November, 16, 1981. Features Vickie Landrum hypnotized, also appearing: Colby Landrum, Betty Cash, Dr. Leo Sprinkle and John Schuessler. This episode also featured a recreation of the event which the witnesses felt was accurate.
If you know where to locate these or others, please contact me.


Cash-Landrum Case Video Coverage

"The UFO Experience" September 1982, an hour-long documentary created by San Francisco TV station KPIX, directed by Ron Lakis. Features interviews with Colby Landrum, Betty Cash, Vickie Landrum, Dr. V. B. Shenoy, John Schuessler and Major Dennis Haire of Ellington AFB. Also, of note is an on-scene recreation of the incident by the witnesses, with a small commercial helicopter playing the role of the UFO.

Segment begins at 13:50.
The UFO Experience


HBO documentary America Undercover episode: “UFOs: What's Going On?” August 1985
Robert Guenette, 1985, 56 minutes, HBO Cable TV/Robert Guenette Production, produced and directed by Fred Rosen.
Betty Cash and Vickie Landrum were interviewed, Colby shown, and it included comments on the case by Phil Klass and Stanton Friedman. Video of BC demonstrating how VL's handprints were left in the dashboard. The Cash-Landrum segment begins at 35:30.


UFOs: What's Going On?


UFO Cover Up? Live 10/14/1988
Notorious for its wild claims, this program had another credibility problem. The producer required guests to "perform" a pre-written script. The claims made by "Falcon" of the UFO's origin were outrageous, but Betty seemed to like the idea of the US Government's involvement.
Segment with Betty Cash and Vickie Landrum:
 
UFO Cover Up? Live


Unsolved Mysteries February 6, 1991
Interviews with Betty Cash, Vickie Landrum, John Schuessler, Dr. Bryan McClelland and L.L. Walker. This show was broadcast in prime time and reached millions of people. It lives on in reruns even today, and is the best-known media coverage of the case. 


Sadly, there are many inaccuracies in it, and the depiction of the UFO bears little resemblance to what the witnesses initially described.
See partial transcript with photos at http://unsolved.com/archives/texas-ufo




Sightings (Fox television series) season one, episode 11 from July 31, 1992
Interviews with Vickie Landrum and John Schuessler. There are some sensational claims by Vickie Landrum, claims that disagree with the documented facts of the case.


Sightings


Encounters: The UFO Conspiracy, Feb. 22, 1994 on Fox, pilot episode of the 90s TV series. Hosts: John Marshall, Sandra Pinckney, Russell Rhodes, Natalie Brunt. Featuring: Stanton Friedman, George Knapp, Jim Dilettoso, Bob Oechsler, Bruce Maccabee, Larry Fawcett, Don Berliner, Betty Cash, Steven Schiff, Chuck DeCaro. The Betty Cash segment begins at 6:26 and runs about four minutes.


The Unexplained episode "Close Encounters" from July 9, 1998.
Produced by Towers Production, Inc. for A&E Network ; writer/producer Kevin Barry. 
Betty Cash, Vickie Landrum, John Schuessler, Dr. Bryan McClelland, attorney William Shead, and Ken Storch are interviewed.




The Unexplained: "Close Encounters"

Mysterious Worlds episode, "UFO Secrets" aired in the USA in 2002, it was produced for TLC, originally shown on The Learning Channel, written and directed by Kevin Barry. It featured the last known filmed interview with Vickie Landrum and included archival footage of Betty Cash (from Encounters: The UFO Conspiracy, Feb. 22, 1994). It also featured re-enactments of the story and new interviews with John Schuessler, and Dr. Bryan McClelland. (This French language version aired on France's Planete Choc.)


Mysterious Worlds: UFO Secrets

Link to English version below. Segment starts at about 12 minutes.
Watch Mysterious Worlds Online - S01:E05 - UFO Secrets | Tubi TV


UFO Hunters "Alien Fallout" episode aired January 14, 2009.
Kevin Barry writer/producer. Colby Landrum, Mickey Geisinger (Betty Cash’s daughter), Dr. Bryan McClelland and Colonel George Sarran were interviewed. This show focused on the US Government conspiracy theory and the legend of the road burned by the UFO. 

UFO Hunters: Alien Fallout

These videos sometimes vanish either due to copyright claims or users closing their accounts. I'll periodically refresh the links as available.


More C-L Documentaries


This YouTube playlist features some of the videos above, plus several others since discovered:
. . .

There were many stories on the C-L case, especially local news stories from Texas, from Houston CBS affiliate KHOU. If anyone has more information on locating other programs, please post a comment or send an email.