Recently, while reading Jacque
Vallee’s latest book, ‘Forbidden Science – Volume Three,’ (2016. Documatica
Research, LLC) I became interested in the research conducted by Richard Charles
Niemtzow; an American researcher. I therefore undertook a literature search for
material about him, and ended up compiling this post.
Update:
With the release of Jacques Vallee's 'Forbidden Science - Volume Four' in January, 2019, I now have some updates beyond the original post date of 1975-1991. Please see the update at the end of the main text.
Richard Charles Niemtzow was born
on 18 April 1942 at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. He attended the Admiral
Farrgut Academy, High School, June 1960, in Pine Beach, New Jersey; then Emory
University, Pre-Med Physics Major, 1960-1964, Atlanta, Georgia.
Between 1964-1965 he gained a BA
at Goddard College, Plainfield, Vermont. He then undertook training to become a
Medical Doctor, between 1965-1976 at Universite de Montpellier Faculte de
Medecine, Montpellier, France.
He then gained a PhD in
Biological Sciences, from Pacific Western University, Los Angeles, in February
1985. May 1992 saw him gain a Master’s degree in Public Health. He then
attended the United States Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine, and became a
Flight Surgeon, class of 891003, Brooks Air Force Base, Texas.
The APRO Bulletin. Vol. 23 No. 5 March 1975. pp1&6
Article. Niemtzow, R. ‘Paralysis
and UFO Close Encounters.’
The author (APRO representative
for France and a medical student) presents a clinical sketch based on reports.
‘The problem of paralysis and the UFO close encounter can not be explained by
current medical knowledge.’
MUFON Journal. No. 127. June 1978. pp6-7
Article. Niemtzow, R. C. &
Schuessler, J. F. ‘Seeking the Mechanism for Paralysis in Close Encounter
Cases.’
The two authors, members of the
Houston, Texas, USA based Vehicle Internal Systems Investigative Team (VISIT)
explore the issue of ‘…the paralysis of witnesses in close encounter cases.’
‘It appears that E-M fields may
indeed be responsible for what ufologists have thought to be ‘radiation
sickness;’ emphasizing the fact that E-M and not atomic radiation is associated
with the UFO phenomena.’
‘Because of the selective
paralysis of some bodily functions and the pathological absence involving the
autonomic nervous system, Niemtzow has suggested elsewhere (APRO March 1975)
that the clinical manifestations and paralytic pathways avoid the vital
functions of the organism and that nerve trunk diameter seems the differentiating
consideration of the paralytic process. This process seems to involve the large
diameter nerves and in muscle innervation rather than the smaller fibres
associated with autonomic regulation essential to the maintenance of life.’
MUFON Journal. No 131.Oct 1978. p19
‘Director’s Message.’ ‘Frequently
in the Director’s message I discuss MUFON activities, which could be titled
‘News Around the Network.’ The Houston UFO group, identified as VISIT…holds
monthly meetings…April 1, 1979 at the residence of Richard C Niemtzow, 1611
Ramada, Houston TX…’
MUFON Journal. No. 138. Aug 1979. p15
Article. Niemtzow, R. C. &
Schuessler, J. F. ‘Humanoid Physiology.’
‘Collecting data relating human
paralysis with the UFO phenomenon, the authors have discovered that the process
seems to involve large diameter nerves associated with voluntary movement as
opposed to the impunity of small diameter nerves found in regulatory functions
delegated to the autonomous nervous system.’
MUFON Journal. No. 139. Sep 1979. pp3-4
Article. Niemtzow, R. C. &
Schuessler, J. F. ‘CEIII in Tyler, Texas:
Nightmares or reality?’
The authors report on two cases
from Texas, in which the witnesses apparently know each other:
1. 17 Jan 1979. ‘Ron.’ Beam of
light on hand and arm. Later weight loss; hair loss; burning eyes; diarrhea;
excessive perspiration. Bleeding gums.
2. 24 Jan 1979. ‘Scott.’ Light
hit him. Two ships seen. Scared; shaky; cold; stomach in knots. 5 inch across,
diamond-shaped ‘burn’ on chest. Burnt hair. Burn on chest peeled in large,
heavy slabs initially, but did not fade away.
‘One cannot rule out fabrication
in this type of case, however it is the conclusion of this report that the
participants have revealed the details truthfully and to the best of their
ability.’
MUFON Journal. No 142. Dec 1979. p20
‘Lucius Farish.’ ‘In Others’
words.’
The 30 October 1979 issue of
National Enquirer newspaper, has a feature which ‘…tells of Dr Richard
Niemtzow’s research into the “paralysis effect” often noted in the vicinity of
a UFO.’
MUFON Journal. No. 147. May 1980. p5
Article. Niemtzow, R. C. & Schuessler, J. F. ‘Evaluation of Medical Injuries
Resulting from UFO Close Encounters.’
The authors describe three
categories of injuries. ‘The purpose of this paper is to recommend to physicians
the acquisition of certain data that may be helpful in the clinical setting to
evaluate and possibly assess the credibility of an actual close encounter.’
MUFON Journal. No. 147. May 1980. p7
‘Symposium Program.’ 11th
annual MUFON Symposium on 7/8 Jun 1980, will include a talk by:
Niemtzow, R C ‘Preliminary
Analysis of Medical Injuries as a Result of UFO Close Encounters.
MUFON Journal. No 149. Jul 1980. p3
‘Eleventh annual MUFON
Symposium.’ This symposium was hosted by Project VISIT. ‘The abovementioned
Project VISIT officers, as well as members Dr Richard C Niemtzow…are to be
congratulated for lending their reputation, time and attention…’
MUFON Journal. No 149. Jul 1980. p12
Article. Niemtzow, Richard C.
‘Preliminary Analysis of Medical Injuries A Result of UFO Close Encounters.’
This paper, presented at the 1980
MUFON Symposium, explores categories of injuries, nerves involved, and
psychological effects. ‘Unfortunately Niemtzow noted most CEIII witnesses have
not been submitted to a complete physical examination immediately following
their experience.’
MUFON Journal. No 154. Dec 1980. p14
Article. Stringfield, L H.
‘Status Report on Alleged Alien Cadaver Photos.’
‘As the day wore on, and as
prearranged, I showed the photos selectively to a few more close researchers,
medical personnel, NASA personnel…and Dr Richard Niemtzow….’
Vallee diary entry dated 22 February 1981
‘Kit came to see us last night…We
spoke about Richard Niemtzow, an M.D. who is a friend of both Kit and Poher.
Niemtzow, who is also close to John Schuessler, serves in the Air Force at
Travis AFB near Sacramento. Gepan regularly calls him about close encounter
cases in France. He advises them about appropriate tests, proposing to fly over
to study the cases, but Gepan calls back every time to tell him it was a hoax
after all.
“So why don’t they find a doctor
in France?” asks Kit. “And isn’t it strange that it always turns out to be a
hoax?”
Notes:
1. 'Kit’
is Dr Christopher ‘Kit’ Green.
2. Poher
is Claude Poher. Poher’s background was in astronomy, astrophysics, space
research and aeronautics. He created (in 1977) the official French UAP research
group named Groupe d’Etudes Des Phenomenes Aerospatiaux Non-Identifes. Poher
was GEPAN director between 1977 and 1979.
3.
John
Schuessler was an American researcher; MUFON member; member of VISIT based in
Houston Texas. He worked, among other places, for McDonnell Douglas; Boeing,
and NASA.
Vallee diary entry dated 9 March 1981
‘Last night Janine and I had
dinner with Richard Niemtzow and his wife Jacqueline at a Chinese restaurant at
the Cannery. A major difference between us is that he searches for
extra-terrestrial life with passionate idealism and relies on ufology as a path
to discover it. His image of extra-terrestrial life is of beings similar to us,
another big trap in my opinion. Along with John Scheussler, he is sure there is
a Big Secret hidden by the government. Another trap? I suspect the truth is
more mysterious, less simple and for the less romantic.
Niemtzow once met Rene Hardy, who
told him: “If you want to solve the UFO problem, take a region 100 km in
diameter…the phenomena is everywhere. Statistically you should be able to
observe it yourself. “
I found Niemtzow smart but
curiously impatient, looking around nervously, his eyes darting right and left
as if he expected to detect spies, or sudden danger.’
MUFON Journal No 158. Apr 1981. p18
‘Director’s Message.’ ‘Richard C
Nietzow, presently a Consultant in Radiation, has also accepted the post of
State Section Director for Solano County…’
Vallee diary entry dated 27 April 1981
‘Richard Niemtzow is actively
corresponding with Alain Esterle, the current head of Gepan. Richard believes
that Kit doesn’t have access to what the US military is really doing. After his
latest trip to France, Richard told Kit about Gepan’s interest in cooperating
with the U.S. Kit wrote an official memo that reached the level of the
president’s science adviser, but nothing happened. Richard also told me he had
seen a copy of Frank Fontaine’s medical file.
Notes:
1.
Alain
Esterle was director of GEPAN between 1979 and 1983, during which GEPAN issued
a series of technical notes.
Vallee diary entry dated 6 May 1981
‘I have spoken to Esterle, first
to relay a request by Niemtzow to become an official consultant (he does have
this position on an individual basis, but not in his role with the Air Force)
and to discuss Messengers.’
MUFON Journal No. 165. Nov 1981. p6
‘Medical network.’
‘Project UFOMD – a network of
doctors to intensively study UFO related injury cases – has been organised by
radiologist Richard C Niemtzow. Before being called to active duty in the Air
Force, Dr Niemtzow was active in MUFON and Project VISIT in the Houston, Texas
area.
Doctors in the MUFO network are
invited to contact Dr Niemtzow and offer their services.
Over about a 2-year period he
hopes to investigate and assess a minimum of 12 cases dealing with medical
injuries incurred during UFO close encounters, and possibly produce a catalogue
correlating the resulting data. Investigators aware of such cases are urged to
have the witness consult a physician of their choice, and Dr Niemtzow will be
available as a consultant to the primary physician. Clinical and laboratory
tests should be conducted on the witness in each case.
Interested physicians, including
doctors working with patients reporting UFO-related injuries, should contact Dr
Niemtzow at (707) 446-5050 or write to him at 532 Merchant Street, Varaville, CA
95688.
MUFON Journal No 161. Dec 1981. p18
‘On October 1, 1981, Richard C
Niemtzow, MD, a consultant to MUFON, established a new project titled ‘National
Investigation of Medical in juries Associated with Alleged UFO Close
Encounters’ or simply UFOMD. For further information on this ambitious new
project Please contact Dr Nietmzow at…MUFON endorses this new project and
encourages our medical people to participate…’
MUFON Journal No. 167. Jan 1982. p19
Lucius Farish ‘In Other Words.’
‘In the December 1981 issue of
the Journal under ‘Director’s Message,’ the formation of a new committee to
study medical injuries associated with alleged UFO close encounters was
announced by Richard C Niemtzow, M.D. Interested medical doctors and
psychologists may contact Dr Niemtzow at 166 Cannon Drive, Travis AFB, CA
94535. (This is a revision from the original address supplied.)
MUFON Journal No 176. Oct 1982. p3
Article. ‘Schuessler, J F. ‘Pentagon investigates
Cash-Landrum.’
‘Approximately, two weeks later,
I learned from Richard Niemtzow at Travis Air Force Base, that Capt Lampley had
concluded her investigation and the results were negative.’ This was in
reference to trying to find 23 helicopters said to have been involved in the
Cash-Landrum case.
Schuessler, J.F. (1998.) ‘The Cash-Landrum UFO Incident.’ Geo graphics
Printing co. La Porte, Texas. p145.
‘About two weeks later I heard
from USAF Capt Richard Niemtzow, at Travis Air Force Base in California, that
captain Lampley had concluded her investigation and the results were negative.”
(Re the search for the helicopters.)
MUFON Journal No 179. Jan 1983. pp14-16
Article. Niemtzow, R C.
‘Radiation UFO Injuries.’
‘Alleged Medical Injuries from
Intense Luminous Sources Stated To Be Unidentified Flying Objects. Project
UFOMD Report No 1.’
Explores general issues such as a
definition of the term radiation; paralysis; etc. “The exact mechanism of this
paralysis remains poorly understood. ‘
On the Cash-Landrum case – ‘I
will only speculate what occurred in the Cash-Landrum case because I never
examined or had access to their medical records.’
‘In May 1982, the author was
solicited as a consultant to the U.S. Army Inspector General’s Office,
Washington DC dealing with the Cash-Landrum case…The medical data used by the
author was solely that reported by various UFO journals. Clearly there is the
need for better medical data gathering and reporting which has now become our
responsibility by way of default.’
MUFON Journal No. 182 April 1983. p20
‘Director’s Message.’ The third
edition of the MUFON Field Investigator’s Manual includes ‘Richard Niemtzow,
M.D. and John F Schuessler for section XV, titled ‘Evaluation of Medical
Injuries from UFO Close Encounters.’
MUFON Journal No. 187. Sep 1983. p18
‘Director’s message.’ ‘Richard C
Niemtzow, M.D. (Capt. USAF) has been transferred from Travis, AFB in California
to Andrews AFB in Maryland. He has advised that correspondence concerning
‘Project UFOMD’ should now be addressed to him at 1111 Boston Road, Andrews
AFB, Maryland 20335 USA. His new telephone number is (301) 599-8957.’
Flying Saucer Review (UK). 1984. Vol. 29 No 3
Discusses the Cash-Landrum case;
radiations; microwaves; and physiological effects.
MUFON Journal No. 193. March 1984. p19
‘Director’s message.’ ‘Bruce S
Maccabee, State Director for Maryland has approved the appointment of two new
state section directors. Richard C Niemtzow, M.D., a consultant in Radiation
and former state section director in California, has been transferred to Andrew
AFB and is responsible for Prince Georges County. Dr Niemtzow is a captain in
the USAF.’
Vallee diary entry dated 29 April 1985
‘Allen called with two pieces of
news: one, we have been invited to go to France along with Richard Niemtzow to
visit Gepan, following similar contacts the French plan to have with the
Russians to discuss UFO research.’
Vallee diary entry dated 6 May 1985
‘Speaking to Richard Niemtzow
I’ve learned something new about Gepan. The changes relayed by Allen’s call to
me have their origin in a decision by Prime Minister Laurent Fabius who gave
orders to increase Gepan’s budget. Velasco is now looking for better
international contacts, including the USSR.’
Notes:
1.
Velasco
refers to Jean-Jacques Velasco, head of GEPAN/SEPRA between 1983 and 2004.
Vallee diary entry dated 19 May 1985
‘Richard Niemtzow finally called:
we do have a formal invitation from Gepan for Allen and me to travel to
Toulouse and also to meet with members of the science board in Paris. This is Gepan’s
last hope: the managers need to hear face-to-face confirmation that real
American scientist like us are interested in the phenomena. So I’ll be there in
late June…Richard made it clear that the higher levels of CNES were thinking of
disbanding Gepan. If our trip fails to convince them that the subject has real
scientific potential, they will probably stop all funding.’
Notes:
1. CNES
refers to The Centre national d’etudes spatiales.
Vallee diary entry dated 9 June 1985
‘Back in San Francisco my
daughter picked me up at the airport. She said Niemtzow had called, anxious to
plan our French trip.’
Vallee diary entry dated 23 June 1985
‘Jean-Jacques Velasco, current
head of Gepan, was supposed to meet us at Hotel Violet at 9.30am but he was two
hours late, having boarded the wrong flight at Toulouse. This gave me time to
talk at length with Niemtzow and Allen. Dr Richard Niemtzow, a close friend of
John Scheussler and Kit who has a long term interest in physiological effects
of UFOs, is an intense looking man with a high bald forehead, mid-forties, eyes
alive, a curious mind. A major in the Air Force, he heads up a trial project
for cancer treatment. He hopes to get invited by the French military to study
UFOs in France.
“Do you think I should ask
Velasco to help me?” he asked.
‘He doesn’t have that kind of
access,” I said “You’d be better with Mr Gruau. I understand he is the
interface with the puppetmasters.”
The three of us next went over
what we know of the Cash-Landrum case. Niemtzow and his friends have managed to
track down the helicopters involved. They belong to the Army, but it declines
responsibility because the machines had been borrowed by “another agency” to
carry out that project. Niemtzow thinks NSA is the party involved but a general
has pointed out to him that “if they liked their jobs they should both keep
quiet about it…”
…Niemtzow is certain that the
extra-terrestrial evidence goes very far. His ambition is to be the first
physician to uncover the existence of Aliens, and he dreams of the day when the
first alien autopsy report can appear in a medical journal. He is in touch with
Leonard Stringfield who promised to introduce him to a doctor who had done such
an autopsy, so he mentioned the conversation to kit, who got angry at what he
saw as his naïve acceptance of the claims. “Tell Stringfield to drop the whole
thing!” Kit told Richard. When Stringfield lost his job shortly afterwards,
Richard’s curiosity was further excited.’
Notes:
Mr Gruau refers to Mr Gruau,
Inspector General of the space centre and secretary to the GEPAN scientific
council.
Vallee diary entry dated 23 June 1985
‘After lunch Allen, Niemtzow and
I met with Velasco again. He introduced us to Dr Brehamet and François Louange,
both members of the Gepan team. We went over to Louange’s place, a fine
apartment on the top floor of a house in the Marais, “older than the United
States of America,’ he said. We reviewed the cast of characters at Cnes and
their personal ambitions.’
‘…I have given a new research
proposal to Allen, Velasco, Niemtzow and Poher. It concerns the implementation
of an expert system for rapid computer screening of UFO reports. I deliberately
picked information processing as my topic in forthcoming presentations to raise
the technical level of the debate and keep it non-controversial.’
Notes:
1.
Francois
Louange was born in Versailles in 1945, qualified as a doctor-engineer in
signal processing; joined the European Space Agency; became an independent
consultant for French Defense. Since 2007 he has been an independent consultant
to CNES/GEIPAN.
Vallee diary entry dated 24 June 1985
‘Later at Hotel Violet with Niemtzow, Allen, and Kaye, conversation turned to
the status of the new Center in Arizona.’
‘…Fortunately Richard Niemtzow
saved the day with an impeccable presentation on medical effects. He mentioned
Cash-Landrum, Bentwaters and six cases in Texas, including the diamond-shaped
skin discolouration noted in Tyler on 24 January 1979.’
Notes:
1.
Kaye
refers to Jeffrey Kaye, a wealthy Englishman who assisted J Allen Hynek to move
from Chicago to Scottsdale.
Vallee diary entry dated 6 July 1985
‘I have drawn two conclusions
from the Toulouse meeting: first Richard Niemtzow has convinced me that there
was a secret project within the US government. In the Cash-Landrum case there
were 23 helicopters around a flying object that melted the asphalt in the road
and injured three people. These helicopters had been borrowed from an Army base
by a group with extensive powers. The road was repaired the next day, the
medium strip repaired with all traces erased…’
MUFON Journal No. 208. Aug 1985. p12
‘News n’ notes’ By Walt Andrus.’ ‘French
Report.’
‘It was announced that Dr Hynek,
Dr Vallee and Dr Niemtzow had recently flown to France to evaluate the work of
GEPAN and to make recommendations upon future funding for UFO investigations
and research by the French Government. They also met privately with Claude
Poher former chief of GEPAN (see separate article in this issue concerning the
visit as related by Richard Niemtzow on his return.)
MUFON Journal No. 208. Aug 1985. p13
‘Outside advice.’
‘In order to evaluate further
funding for GEPAN, the Prime Minister of France sought the advice of sources
independent of political and scientific personnel in France who might be
prejudiced. Dr J Allen Hynek and Richard C Niemtzow were invited to met with
government officials and to make recommendations for the consideration of
GEPAN. Dr Jacques Vallee accompanied Dr Hynek and Niemtzow as an unofficial
observer to the meetings and conferences due to his interest and knowledge.
The triumvirate arrived in Paris
on June 23rd and had lunch with Claude Poher. Mr Poher is still very
interested in UFOs. In spite of numerous rumours circulating a few years ago he
is “alive and well.” Poher advised that he will continue to be watching the
progress of GEPAN from the sidelines as it faces political attacks.
On Monday, June 24
th,
a conference was held at the French National Space Centre in Paris (Centre
National D/Etudes Spatiales) attended by 20 to 30 space center officials and
university professors. Both Dr Hynek and Niemtzow presented papers to this
prestigious conclave. Dr Niemtzow’s paper was titled “Physiological and
radiation effects from intense luminous un identified flying objects.’ And Dr
Hynek’s was ‘An approach to the study of unidentified aerospace phenomenon.’
Hynek discussed his computerised UFO catalog and firmly advised that he
supported the activity and efforts of GEPAN and recommended that it not be
closed down.
Hynek and Niemtzow offered the
co-operation of UFO organisations in the U.S.A., to GEPAN and encouraged international
collaboration on exceptional UFO cases in either country.
If a significant case occurred in
France, Dr Hynek and Niemtzow would be invited to participate and likewise
GEPAN personnel would come to the United States. Unofficially Jacques Vallee was
present as an observer to offer his support to GEPAN and recommend its
continuance.
Dr Niemtzow, who speaks French
fluently, having attended medical school in France, had two private
conversations with top officials of the French space program. Mr Lions,
Director of the National Space Centre, felt that GEPAN should continue in spite
of political and scientific problems. Mr Gruau, Inspector General of the space
centre and secretary to the GEPAN scientific council also supported the
research work of GEPAN.
Space center
The National space center
headquarters and offices of GEPAN in Toulouse was the site for the meetings on
June 25th. Mr P Bescono, Under Director of the space center at
Toulouse, welcomed the U.S. consultants
to the seminar/symposium-style all day meeting.
Dr Jacques Vallee presented a
paper titled ‘Applications of methods of artificial intelligence for the
screening of witness reports.’ This is a method of determining by telephone,
using computer displayed questions, whether a case should be investigated
further.
All three consultants recommended
that GEPAN should continue in the future due to the wide collection of material
that would otherwise be wasted.
They also met Dr Alain Esterle
former chief of GEPAN who is now involved in evaluation of space programs. Dr
Esterle obtained his Ph.D. from the University of Washington and while chief of
GEPAN, he met with MUFON officers in Houston, Texas.
File access
On Wednesday June 26th,
Hynek and Niemtzow had the pleasure of personal access to the GEPAN UFO file
and computerised file. They found no evidence of humanoids or UFO crashes or
any type of aggressive sightings such as radar or aircraft. All cases were very
well investigated. They expressed their desire to continue working with GEPAN
and Jean-Jacques Velasco the chief.
In the Paris meeting
No press
For the record, Richard Niemtzow,
M.D. was invited as a private citizen and consultant to the GEPAN meetings by
the French government. In reality, Dr Niemtzow is a major in the U.S.A.F.
Medical Corp stationed at Andrews AFB, Maryland. He has a Ph.D. in Biological
Sciences Richard has been a MUFON consultant in Radiation since 1977, and is
presently the state section director for Prince George’s county in Maryland.
The U.S.A.F approved of Dr
Niemtzow’s visit to France, but he was forbidden to participate in any press
conference due to the sensitive nature of his position. We are indebted to Dr
Niemtzow for providing this information to the MUFON JOURNAL by telephone.
The Mutual UFO Network has been
cooperating with GEPAN since its inception and will continue to do so. In our
library, we have all their technical reports from No 3 dated April 1981 through
No 18 dated March 15, 1983, and Note D’Information numbers 2,3 and 4.
MUFON Journal. No. 211. Nov 1985. p8
‘Massachusetts Forum’ by Walter N
Webb.’
‘French Connection.’
‘As guests of the French National
Space Center and GEPAN, the official UFO agency, Drs Hynek, Niemtzow and Vallee
not only attended a two-day UFO conference in Paris and Toulouse but also
presented papers that were well received (see August 1985 issue) …Niemtzow’s on
UFO Related Medical Injuries…
MUFON Journal No 212. Dec 1985. p18
Article. Ware, D M ‘Security
Policy.’
‘Dr Niemtzow’s medical data bank
seems to be a superb effort that could benefit us all. It could shed light on
alien actions and on the dangers of proximity to some UFOs.’
Vallee diary entry dated 30 March 1986
‘Richard Niemtzow came over for
dinner on Thursday. We spent the evening in conversation, starting with the
whole array of medical effects of UFOs such as the Dr. X skin coloration (I had
brought back a series of new photographs from France) and ending with
speculation about the structure of the problem as a whole.
“Aren’t we faced with a
phenomenon that demands that we leave behind our classical methods? Doesn’t it
mock out attempts to measure it?” he asked.
“Of course,” I said, “but that’s
only more reason to drive all the measurements to their fullest extent, so we
have calibration…”
…Richard had noticed the same
thing as I did, about the phenomenon acting as a concentrator for
coincidences…’
MUFON Journal No. 215. Mar 1986. p17
‘The UFO Phenomenon-A Research
update.’
Announces that, on 19 April 1986
in Los Angeles, the LA section of the American Institute of Aeronautics and
Astronautics (AIAA) will hold a session with speakers including Jean-Jacques
Velasco; Richard Haines; Jacques Vallee and Richard Niemtzow.
MUFON Journal No 225. Jan 1987. p18
Article. Neal, Richard M.
‘Medical Injury Protocol.’
In an article reviewing the
subject of medical injuries reported by UFO witnesses, the author explores
reported physiological effects, and tests and documentation which would be
useful to conduct. In the text of the article is the following:
‘UFO-MD, which was visualized by
Dr Richard Niemtzow, produced only two cases from Oct 1, 1981 to Oct 1 1983.
His objective was to study at least 12 cases of medical injuries associated
with alleged UFO close encounters. It is clear that some type of national
screening network is sorely needed for referral of cases.
As physicians, we are extremely
frustrated because so many potentially good cases are lost due to lack of a
referral system. Referral or sharing of information at this time would be
appreciated.’
MUFON Journal No 233.Sep 1987. p23
‘Director’s Message,’ ‘The
International Society of Air Safety Investigators (San Francisco Chapter) is
conducting a “Symposium on the Investigation of UFOs and other Visual
Anomalies” on September 12, 1987…speakers scheduled include…Richard Niemtzow,
MD….’
Vallee diary entry dated 6 December 1987
‘Strange requests continue around
Richard Niemtzow. He received a call from a French Lieutenant Colonel trained
in pharmacology, a Dr Canonne, who said he was from the French Health Ministry.
He was in the U.S. on his way to Russia, had a meeting planned at DIA. Richard
was amused to be contacted ostensibly about UFOs. It was like the old French
joke, the recipe for lark pate: “one
lark,
one horse, one lark, one horse…”
The man spoke a little about UFOs, a lot about microwaves…This reminded me of
my visit to Poher. He was working on muscle paralysis using electromagnetism.
He was talking to the military about this idea, since the process could lead to
a non-lethal weapon. Poher is close to Niemtzow who is an expert on membranes’
electrical potential and ion transport on muscle cells.
“We like the way you’ve addressed
the phenomenon,” Canonne told Richard “We’d like to learn more about the
physical effects of microwaves on human tissue.”
“What are you really proposing?”
asked Niemtzow.
“We’re going to send people from France,
we’ve already written to DOD. Paul Tyler, a retired medical expert was
mentioned.
“This was all very strange,”
Niemtzow told me. “I assured this Dr Canonne that I could only help if the
request was official. He suggested I serve as liaison to this French group. I’m
very suspicious.
The man even asked me if I’d be interested in returning to
France, and gave me two bottles of wine before he left.”
“He didn’t know Velasco. He said
his group wasn’t really interested in the phenomena but all the questions came
back to it, which was really strange. He also said his project was classified.
He gave an address on the Rue St. Charles, as
Pharmacien en Chef, bureau des affaires scientifiques et techniques, Secretariat
General de la Defense Nationale.” A scientist named Bernard Veyret
,
a French expert in microwaves was also mentioned. Thus the rejection of UFOs by
French “rationalists” continues to serve as a cover for a very serious series
of military Intelligence projects, run from Paris, probing into every aspect of
the field.
Vallee diary entry dated 15 February 1989
“Last night I was kept awake by
some remarks of Richard Niemtzow, who had called me from Texas earlier in the
day. He was thinking of leaving the Air Force, where he was tired of doing
radiation oncology in an environment of insufficient budgets. When the
conversation turned to the possibility that the U.S. was hiding Aliens in its
freezers I was surprised to find him ready to believe the undocumented
anatomical descriptions circulated by Stringfield.
Richard assures me he was once
within one phone call of a doctor who had done an autopsy on an alien. Of
course “being within one phone call” means nothing as Kit had told me the
doctor in question had not done an autopsy but was only asked to review the
alleged results, quite a different thing. But Dr Neal, who knows the guy told Richard
that he started shaking visibly when the subject was brought up and that he
asked to be left alone. That still doesn’t prove anything.’
Vallee diary entry dated 5 June 1989
‘I had a long friendly talk with
Richard Niemtzow, about to be promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in the Air Force.
He continues to be puzzled by the advances made to him by the French: Jean-Jacques
Velasco makes it a point of paying him a visit later this month after the
Boulder conference of the Society for Scientific Exploration.
“Why is he coming, if Gepan is
getting disbanded?” asked Richard. And what about the team of microwave experts
who visited him a few months ago, bringing with them a man from French
Intelligence who is now stationed at the embassy in Switzerland?
“Why me?” Richard wonders. “I’m
not a microwave expert. They have more qualified people over there. Could it be
that they’re coming because of my UFO interests?”
Vallee diary entry dated 13 June 1989
‘Last night we had dinner with
Jean-Jacques Velasco…He confirmed that some of the French teams interested in
microwave weapons wanted to talk to Niemtzow, notably the shadowy Gilbert Payan
who works for ETCA (Etablissement
Technique Central de l’Armement.)’
Notes:
1.
‘Gilbert
Payan, a graduate (1948) of Ecole Polytechnique and a specialist in power
lasers, pursued parallel careers in industry and on the fringes of French
secret military services. After post-graduate studies in Germany (1951-52) and
at Cornell University (1952-53) Payan worked as a civil engineer, joining ENA
(now Technip) in 1959, developing a petrochemical plant in Shiraz (Iran). From
1964-1971 he worked at Creusot-Loire as project leader on the Epsodie nuclear
plant, becoming head of R&D in the mechanical department. In 1976 he was
president of the Mechanics division of the DGRST (a military research center).
From 1978 to 1981 he served as Chief Operating Officer, then CEO of Instruments
SA, a company developing military optics. He became president of a
franco-soviet group for scientific instrumentation in industry. In 1982 Payan
was director of the Mechanics-robotics-optics department at the Ministry of
research and technology, a position he left in 1985 to become advisor on power
laser developments under the Eureka program. He became CEO of Jobin & Yvon
about 1986. After 1990 he continued to work as a private consultant.
Vallee diary entry dated 18 June 1989
‘I just spoke again to Richard
Niemtzow: I told him that Dr. Richard Neal was trying to reach him. We ended up
talking about France.
“Whenever Velasco comes here to
talk about UFOs, all kinds of other stuff happens,” he said excitedly. “I’ve
just had another call from Dr Bernard Veyret, who is doing research on
electromagnetism at the University of Bordeaux. He’s the one who is trying to
validate the Priore machine and the use of microwaves in cancer treatment.”
“Jean-Jacques did tell me about
that.”
“Well, this Veyret is open minded
about UFOs, but I don’t think that’s his real interest. He mentioned it might
be possible for me to work half time at Sepra in Toulouse and half time in
Bordeaux. Does that sound reasonable?”
“Yes, that’s interesting. Things
are changing in France; you know: they are much more pragmatic today that just
a few years ago.”
“Veyret tells me I should meet
with Gilbert Payan, have you heard that name before?”
“Jean-Jacques did mention him: behind-the-scenes
guy, especially interested in microwaves.”
I didn’t tell him that
Jean-Jacques had told me, in the plane going to Boulder, that Payan was working
closely with the military at ETCA, like our friend Francois Louange and that he
was the one who had ordered the Petit experiments redone, sans Petit of course.
“Payan aime le secret,” were Velasco’s exact words.
In the last few days I have been
able to close many of the loops left open by our last trip to France and our
discussion with Guerin.
“Payan is a consultant with the Defense Nationale,” Niemtzow went on.
“Apparently he’s highly respected. They say he can get me a position in France.
Jacqueline would also have a job.”
The fact remains that Richard is
subtly being recruited to work in France on secret microwave projects, and I
cannot shake the impression that Poher is aware of all that…According to
Richard, Payan is in contact with a Monsieur Cannon, on Cannone, supposedly
with French intelligence at the Embassy in Switzerland who travelled to the US
on a mission hurriedly arranged by the Quai
d’Orsay last year.’
Vallee diary entry dated 30 July 1989
‘Conversation with Richard
Niemtzow: he left a message on my machine this week-end, stating he had just
flown back from France where he had met with Jean-Jacques Velasco and “people
within the hierarchy” representing the French government’s interest in the UFO
question. When I called him back he first told me he had just been promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel
in the Air Force and was still trying to decide whether or not to take a job in
France. He did interview for a position where he would head up oncology
clinical trials but he was disappointed at the offer, so the move does not make
sense.
He went on to Paris where he met
Gilbert Payan and Jean-Jacques Velasco. Payan invited them to lunch at his
apartment so there were no witnesses to their discussions of UFOs and
physiological effects of microwaves. Although Payan presented himself as a
high-ranking official of the Ministry of research, Richard suspected he was a
specialist in scientific intelligence using the research ministry as a cover.
He kept Richard and Jacqueline most of the afternoon asking many questions but
providing few answers himself. He was evasive when asked about the future of
the French program at Cnes.
During the lunch, which was
formal, with Payan keeping his jacket and tie, in spite of the sweltering heat
(I joked that he could not take them off because his tape recorder was inside
his breast pocket, his tie hiding the wire.) Payan mentioned that France was
making progress on ionic propulsion systems. He had also been associated with Poher’s
project to camouflage automated UFO detection devices into atmospheric
monitoring stations, and effort that went nowhere.
Payan asked Richard questions
about microwaves; would they interfere with recording equipment? No, replied
Richard with the impression Payan already had the answers. The apartment had an
excellent UFO library; Payan knew my work and had read all of Niemtzow’s
papers. He clearly occupies a position of clout in the administration, from
which he plans to retire in a few months, but Richard had the impression he did
not know much more than we did on UFOs, while he was very up-to-date about the
aerospace industry, both French and American. Space travel seems to be his
dominant interest, along with sophisticated weapons: his interest in UFOs is
linked to the desire to manufacture a “ray” that could paralyse people at a
distance like these objects do. Dr Cannone, of French intelligence, was again
mentioned as his “collaborator. And Payan considered the idea of hiring Richard
as a consultant on these issues.
Whenever they discussed UFOs it
was the medical aspect that came back. Would certain types of radiation be
useful in paralysing muscles? What was the effect of microwaves on tissue? At
what frequencies? These were the topics he wanted to discuss. They correlated
closely with those asked by Dr Bernard Veyret of Bordeaux University Medical
School, himself one expert on radiation impact on human tissue who recently visited
Richard in Texas.
…Velasco had told Niemtzow about
a highly confidential French government paper on microwave activity that
mentioned work at Brooks Air Force Base, among other things… When Richard asked
Velasco if he ever saw Poher he was told that they had not met for a long
time…’
Vallee diary entry dated 31 July 1989
‘Richard Niemtzow is puzzled:
Velasco has left a message on his machine asking him again to send his
biography urgently “as Cnes was considering making him an offer of employment.’
Payan has to be behind this move.
Richard wonders if he should take the job in France to see what is going on,
and if he should tell Kit about all this.’
Vallee diary entry dated 23 August 1989
‘Richard Niemtzow…picked me up at
the airport. We had the whole evening to discuss topics we hadn’t been able to
voice over the phone, notably the puzzling developments in France and our
mutual relationship to Kit. Richard showed me the latest letter from Gilbert
Payan (from Boulogne) inviting him to France. It suggested that he contact was
woman named Annie Wolff who seems to be his assistant.
As he told me before, it hinted
that they could help him secure a job at Hoffman-La Roche while he would be supplementing
his income working for “them” as a consultant. But who is “them?”
Another document Richard gave me
answered the question: it was an excellent summary of biological effects of
weak microwaves written by thee scientists form Bordeaux University on behalf
of the SGDN, the General Secretariat for National Defense.
“Clearly the French are moving
towards the development of what they call MOPAP weapons, Anti-Personal Pulsed
Microwaves,” he said.
“Do you think I should go there
and join their project? See where it leads? My wife is French; we could easily
move back. Payan has hinted I could work with Velasco in Toulouse. I could
become active in their UFO work…I have good contacts with amateur groups in France…
If I go there should I tell Kit what is going on? Perhaps he would want me to
gather information for him…”
Payan is no dummy. He must know
quite well that Niemtzow has to report on such contacts…
(Niemtzow.) “Those people are
clumsy: they screw up the simplest jobs. When the French came her, I arranged
their trip and then contacted AFOSI, our own Air Force Intelligence, to brief
them on the visit. They didn’t want me to come to their office because that was
too obvious…”
Vallee diary entry dated 10 December 1989
‘A brief conversation with
Richard Niemtzow on Friday had brought another surprise. He prefaced it by
saying that the Air Force has made plans to send him overseas instead of moving
him to Washington where his family lives. Her is now a fully-fledged flight surgeon.
Accordingly, he has approached a colonel who heads up another Department on the
base to see if he could transfer to his unit. After the customary interview the
man asked him about any other interests he might have. He mentioned UFOs.
“I’ve had some acquaintance with
the subject myself,” said the colonel. “So have a number of our pilots, but of
course it’s difficult to discuss it in the open.” After a brief silence he told
Niemtzow: “We really ought to have lunch and pursue this UFO thing together…He
went on, much to Richard’s amazement “Have you met Dr Robert Bright, the
forensic pathologist here? Why don’t you ask him some day about some of the
autopsies he’s done?”’
MUFON Journal. No 277. May 1991. p24
‘Director’s Message.’ ‘…Richard D
(sic) Niemtzow, M.D. (Clovis, New Mexico) for Curry, Quay, De Baca and Roosvelt
Counties. Dr Niemtzow is also a consultant in Radiation and a member since
1977.
MUFON Journal. No 283. Nov 1991. p13
Article. Neal, R M. ‘Paralysis by
microwaves.’
The author discusses the possible
mechanisms which might lead to paralysis in association with UFO close
encounters.
Notes:
1. Very
much a new look at Neimotzow’s work since 1975.
How many cases
involving injury did Dr Niemtzow personally investigate and document?
There are:
1. The 1979 two cases at Tyler, Texas. However, while there
are layman’s descriptions of the injuries, there are no medical, physician
style reports provided in the article. (MUFON J No 139, Sep 1979 pp3-4.) Indeed,
the authors write: ‘Without the full and continued cooperation of both Ron and
Scott it is impossible to draw firm conclusions from the information given to
date…Scott…desires no publicity and will no longer cooperate in the
investigation.’
2. Then there is the 1908
Cash-Landrum incident. Dr Niemtzow in an article in the MUFON J No 179 Jan 1983
pp14-16 writes, on the Cash-Landrum case, ‘I will only speculate what occurred
in the Cash-Landrum case because I never examined or had access to their
medical records.’ This despite the fact that the lead investigator was John
Schuessler, a fellow member of VISIT. However, John Scheussler in his 1998 book
‘The Cash-Landrum UFO Incident.’ (Geo Graphics Printing Co., La Porte, Texas)
on page 107 explanation this by stating ‘Then on March 12, 1981, I received an
offer of help from a highly qualified radiation medicine professional. He was
Dr Peter Rank, Chief of the Deaprtment of Radiology at Methodist Hospital in
Madison, Wisconsin…Under Dr Rank’s guidance we were able to set up the protocol
for obtaining medical records as well as discussing the results of the
treatments.’
Is there any other information?
a. In the MUFON J no 225 Jan 1987
p 15 article Dr Neal wrote: ‘UFO-MD, which was visualized by Dr Richard
Niemtzow, produced only two cases from Oct 1, 1981 to Oct 1 1983.’
b. Jacques Vallee’s diary entry
dated 24 June 1985 states: ‘…Fortunately Richard Niemtzow saved the day with an
impeccable presentation on medical effects. He mentioned Cash-Landrum, Bentwaters
and six cases in Texas, including the diamond-shaped skin discolouration noted
in Tyler on 24 January 1979.’
c. ‘The author has had the occasion to examine several
patients with alleged medical injuries from unidentified flying objects. In all
of the cases, the event occurred several months before the "patient"
seeked medical help. One case still had a chest lesion that was slowly fading,
but refused a biopsy. Two similar chest lesions came to my attention in both
the USA and France. Several laboratory tests were made with GEPAN on an
individual alleged to be abducted. The laboratory results were normal and the
case proved to be a hoax. In no instances has the author reviewed a series of
cases where clinical laboratory correlations have been made. (The article by
Richard C. Niemtzow, entitled Physiological and radiation effects from intense luminous unidentified objects, first appeared in URIP, Vol.11, No2/3 (1984).)
The same article informed that: ‘Two cases, both of which
had no apparent value, were the only yield in two years. Because of the paucity
of information, UFOMD was suspended.’
Bourdais, G. “From GEPAN to SEPRA:
Official UFO Studies in France.” International UFO Reporter. Winter 2000-2001,
pp10-13.
Bourdais, G. “From GEPAN to SEPRA:
Official UFO Studies in France.” International UFO Reporter. Winter 2000-2001
pp10-13.
