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The memo British Ministry of Defence and to the Third Air Force. The memo described the sighting of Penniston and the two patrolmen of the triangular object on the ground; the depressions and other physical evidence we found at the landing site; and the various lights and objects that I and numerous others witnessed subsequently. Sometime later, my new boss found my tape and, unbeknownst to me, started playing it at cocktail parties. Word of it got out, and an American researcher started digging for more information. In 1983,1 got a call from Pete Bent, acting Third Air Force Commander, and he told me that my memo from the Third Air Force files was going to be released under the Freedom of Information Act. I knew Pete and asked him to please burn it, to destroy it, and told him my life and his would never be the same because of what would happen if this were released. He said that too many people knew of the statement, so he had no choice. In October 1983, my worst fears were realized: The popular British tabloid News of the World ran a huge headline with the story on its front page, and reporters were swarming the base looking for the author of the memo. Fortunately I was already on a flight to the United States at the time, but this was only the beginning. In 1984, the audio tape was made public as well. The original tape was returned to me, and I also have the actual pocket tape recorder that was used that night. If the memo had not been released, I would have continued to remain silent. This experience is not something I ever wanted to speak about publicly. On the other hand, no one has ever tried to influence me not to do so. When I had my final debriefing before leaving the Air Force, it wasn't even mentioned, so I asked if I could talk about the case, and was given permission, as if it really didn't matter. Over the years, I have heard privately from many other witnesses. The weapons storage area tower operator and a communications worker in the same tower both told me they saw an object that went into the forest near Woodbridge base. The air traffic control tower operators at base. The control tower near Woodbridge base. The air traffic control tower operators at Bentwaters also saw an object and observed something cross their screen at extremely high speed, up to 3,000 to 4,000 mph—the radar monitor registered one streak as opposed to the usual series of blips for even the fastest aircraft. Others have now come forward with similar accounts. All at might know about the Rendlesham Forest incident. Over the years, it has become clear to me that agents from the Office of Special Investigations (OSD, the Air Force's major investigative service, were on the base and secretly investigated the case in the days following. The incident had everyone very nervous. The high-ranking officers wanted to stay out of it, and the OSI didn't want anyone involved whom they couldn't control. OSI operatives harshly interrogated five young airmen, some of them in shock near Woodbridge had been cautioned not to talk by someone up the chain of command, or were afraid to talk at the time for various reasons. Many have wondered how much the United States government