Part 2-19: "Cover-up of the Complicity"
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Final
entry for June 28, 2006: I would like to verify Mantell's
WWII
service. Doesn't seem likely that a mere troop transport pilot
would come to the attention of brass like Gen Garland. Capt Tyler's
statement says that Mantell flew "transition in B-24's" in WWII (not
sure what "transition" means unless he was training for B-24 flight
duty). B-24's were bombers not troop transports, and flew much
higher (to 32,000 ft), where oxygen was necessary and thus Mantell had
to be familiar with oxygen requirements from personal experience.
The excuse that he only flew low-altitude transports doesn't cut
it. ------------------------------ June 29, 2006 Dan Wilson: During January 1948, Police
Officer Joe
Walker conducted an investigation of an aircraft accident which crashed
into the yard of Mrs. Carrie Phillips, Route 3, Lake Spring Road, 5
miles southwest of Franklin, Kentucky. (W J Phillips farm) http://www.nicap.org/docs/mantell/mantell480107docs19.htm MAXW-PBB3-707 Brad Sparks: Then later Godman Field denied
there
was a recording ever made. It took months, Major Duesler who was
supposed to have gotten the tape transcribed was himself transferred
out. But there is another "trick" possibly involved here. There
was something called a Plan 62 Interphone System linking several
CAA (and presumably AACS) control towers in the region. One guy
at Lockbourne (if I recall which base correctly) actually listened in
on Godman's Tower conversation and wrote down the Godman base
theodolite trackings of azimuth and elevation for an unidentified
object later that evening, which he heard over this interphone system
hundreds of miles away from Godman. Without his record we
wouldn't have most of those readings from Godman itself. Thus it is
possible ANOTHER BASE recorded the Godman Tower communications rather
than Godman itself. Later Godman could weasel-wordedly say that
they at Godman didn't record anything. Jean Waskiewicz: The base was Lockbourne and the
person was Pickering, also from Kevin Randle's analysis of the case: "Richard Miller, (1953) in a privately circulated "Prologue," reported that he had been in the Air Force in January 1948 and that he had been stationed at Scott Air Force Base near Belleville, Illinois. Like Albert Pickering, he had been listening to the intercept over the closed communications link. Miller reproduced the inter-plane and the communications with the tower accurately, suggesting, "At 3:15 P.M., ... Mantell called in again and said, 'It's still above me making my speed or better. I am going to 20,000 feet. If I'm no closer then, I'll abandon the chase.'" Miller than added, "This is where the official Air Force account ends. However, there was on further radio transmission from Mantell at 3:18 that afternoon. His last statement has been stricken from all of the official records. He said, 'My god (sic). I see people in this thing.'" There is, of course, no corroborated record of Mantell ever having said anything like either of these two statements. The official record, now available to UFO researchers, was originally classified, and had Mantell uttered anything like that, it would have been included in that file. Air Force investigators would have expected the file to remain classified and would have had no reason to censor themselves. These sorts of quotes, and stories, created without proper foundation, while interesting, add nothing to the understanding of the case. They should now be expunged from the record." Whether this is true or not, could someone at Scott AFB have recorded the transmissions? Brad Sparks: Thanks Jean. Yes you've refreshed
my
memory. That's exactly what I mean, some other base such as Scott
AFB or Lockbourne or Wright Field, whatever, might have recorded
Godman's communications over their interphone system. Maybe Maj
Duesler knew which base had the recording but was transferred before he
could get it and didn't bother to tell anyone. Fran Ridge: This thing about Duesler not
being
available for Loedding's question about the status of the investigation:
"Capt. James F. Duesler is no
longer
a
member of this Organization, therefore his status of investigation
promised Mr. A. C. Loedding by subject officer cannot be determined."
Didn't Duesler make out a report? Anyway,
why couldn't he be summoned or written to? Brad Sparks: I am in the process of exposing a
coverup of the complicity of Mantell's wingmen in the crash. More
than just a possible UFO coverup is involved here but also ordinary
corruption and deceit. Lt Clements' statement is riddled with
falsehoods from start to finish evidently designed to minimize or omit
his role in supporting Mantell's chase without oxygen (he Clements was
the only one with oxygen and he used it) in violation of AF Regs, above
14,000 ft. Apparently, as I infer, Clements saw the object for a
substantial portion of the approximately 15-minute chase contrary to
his statements that he only saw something at the very end. Thus
he was puzzled or entranced with the object and went along with
Mantell's ill-advised pursuit for a very long time without warning him
not to. Clements has falsely compressed all this into a "few
minutes" drama. If in fact they flew for roughly 15 minutes above
14,000 ft without Mantell having oxygen (or Hammond either) then why
didn't Clements warn him again and again and again? It cries out
for explanation. The Accident Investigating Board was also
complicit in this coverup, which pinned the entire blame on Mantell --
who was conveniently dead and unable to respond to charges and unable
to be punished -- and thus absolved Clements and Hammond of any
responsibility whatsoever. They saw "something" too and that's
why they, like Mantell, went on for so long at too high an
altitude. Brad Sparks: I spent too many hours yesterday
working out the Mantell timeline but drafted up most of it. I
just need to finish it. It's the timeline that sinks
Clements. He and the Board claimed that Mantell was gunning it
into a maximum climb at full power right from the start just above
Godman Field. I found out that's an absolute impossibility, they
made it up to make Mantell look bad. It turns out that at max
climb rate of about 2,000 ft/min at 15,000-20,000 ft it would have
taken only 4 MINUTES to have gotten from 14,000 to 22,500 ft where the
last contact with Mantell was made -- if that was true they would have
barely gotten out of the vicinity of Godman!!!! At max climb the
P-51's speed drops to only 180 mph and in 4 minutes they would only
have gotten about 12 miles away from Godman Field! Mantell's
crash site was 92 miles away and the Bowling Green area the Mantell
flight flew over was 67 miles Fran Ridge: Check this out:
http://arnold-air.org/roster/06/
(now archived at:
http://web.archive.org/web/20080407180313/http://arnold-air.org/roster/06/
)
Tommy Mantell Squadron, AFROTC
Det.
295, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY
http://www.afa.org/contact_links.asp?searchby=state&stabbr=KY&ent=chapter
Local AFA Chapters
Still hoping to find his service
record. He wasn't an "ace". We knew that, but WFIE thought he was. They
got an email that corrected that. But he was highly regarded and I
would like to know what they say about him. Fran Ridge: This is unverified information,
1996,
with no supporting evidence for the unusual claims.
...... "Sightings" had an
interview
with former Army sergeant Quinton A. Blackwell, who was in the tower at
Godman Field, Fort Knox, Kentucky the afternoon of January 7, 1948,
when Captain Thomas F. Mantell had his fatal encounter with a UFO.
During his meeting with Capt. Mantell's two sons and sister, Blackwell
made a startling statement. He said that once Capt. Mantell had the
large metallic saucer in sight, the pilot remarked, "We're going to
need hot guns." Brad Sparks: Capt Richard Tyler's statement
says
Mantell flew in B-24 bombers during WWII not just troop
transports. B-24's flew as high as 32,000 feet. Thus
Mantell did have personal experience with high-altitude oxygen
requirements. The troop-carrier story doesn't wash (they said he
didn't know about oxygen requirements because he had only flown
low-altitude troop transports). Also, Mantell had 67 hours of flight
time in the P-51D, which had a service ceiling of 41,000 feet or
so. Did he not fly it with oxygen sometime during those 67
hours? ------------------------------ June 30, 2006 Fran Ridge: Apparently Mantell
was
pretty sharp. Jean read somewhere where it describes his service
activity pretty well with some hair-raising hollywood type incidents.
But Wendy's account says Mantell told the
tower
they were not the planes from Standiford but were returning from a
ferry flight from Atlanta to Standiford. He agreed to
seek out and investigate the object but wanted the aircraft from
Standiford to be aborted. (Apparently to avoid congestion
while they investigated. Found a page in the accident report signed by
LEE MERKEL Brad Sparks: Yes I noticed that Merkel had
signed
the accident reports, as KNG Commander. I don't have any reliable
report that any general was in the Godman Tower but there were
Colonels, Majors, Captains, etc. Godman expected 2 planes from
Standiford scrambled but they did not show up. Godman Tower personnel
all saw the object apparently. I am unsure if Mantell's other
wingman Hammond saw anything -- he was suffering from hypoxia. Fran Ridge:(Did not show up)
That's
because Mantell had them abort the flight Fran Ridge: Be interesting if we
could
find a coroner's report that DIDN'T support anoxia for the cause of
death. I assume that's how he died, but WHAT IF he didn't
die that way? The plane crashed funny, just
like you
always said. Bet we don't have a coroner's report
Brad Sparks:
Yes we do have a coroner's report
(it's
in the Accident Report and states the wristwatch stopped at 3:18 PM)
but what we don't have is an AUTOPSY exam as it seems it was not done.
Brad Sparks: The Accident Report is based only
on
what the reporting station (Standiford) had and does not use any Godman
Tower witnesses. I am in the process maybe today of comparing
Godman witnesses' accounts of radio transmissions with Clements' false
account. I believe he lied about almost everything.
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