X Descending (32 page)

Still, the fact remains that the vehicles Ray Stanford filmed were demonstrating a level of technology that our own science is only now beginning to realize. The implications of that are profound on all levels. What other advances could be made from studying his films? What other films must exist that could lead to even greater discoveries if only the right people saw them?

Whatever meaning we find in the UFO phenomenon, and however it is ultimately defined, what is shown in these two films is evidence of its reality. At the heart of this phenomenon are as many mysteries as there are answers still waiting to be found. Those with the courage to face them will find them.

A)
Richard Doty, John Lear, and a connection in Laos

B)
Paul Bennewitz and Directed Energy Beams

C)
The Socorro Sighting

D)
Propulsion Concept Inspired By Mystery Aircraft

Appendix A

Richard Doty, John Lear, and a connection in Laos

(Some names have been changed for reasons of privacy)

When I began writing this book, Richard C. Doty was simply one of the characters in the story I had to tell. His role in the Bennewitz case was significant, but I had no reason to include anything at length about him beyond explaining how his role factored into what I had learned. Then I came upon information that suggested there may be far more to Doty than I had suspected, and what I eventually learned became significant enough that I believe it warrants inclusion here. The discovery of a message in the Vietnam war forum on the web site of The History Channel led to troublesome questions about his military service and background. My efforts to verify the details in that message led to a body of evidence indicating he has had a long standing interest in, and involvement with, events in Laos. This included his claimed presence at locations there during the late 1960’s—a time when, according to his official military service records, he had not yet joined the Air Force. Perhaps the most unsettling discovery is that Richard Doty and John Lear, two individuals with no apparent connection other than their mutual involvement with the Bennewitz case, could, by their own accounts, both be placed at a highly secret CIA base in Laos known as ’20 Alternate’.

More than thirty years have passed since Richard Doty first contacted Paul Bennewitz. Even now Doty's role is still argued among those who followed the ensuing controversy. Some suggest he may have acted alone, a rogue agent, fabricating his own bizarre stories purely for profit. Others are convinced that a deeper counterintelligence operation was—and possibly still is—underway, with Doty merely the visible tip of the iceberg. Rather than fading into the woodwork he has maintained a visible presence, even sparring with UFO enthusiasts on occasion. Throughout all this time, he has presented a conflicting picture of his own position on the phenomenon. From his recent connection to tales of a "Project Serpo", and his apparent availability for an upcoming documentary/book appropriately titled
Mirage Men
(2010, Skyhorse Publishing), Richard Doty is still influencing the undercurrents of public interest in the UFO phenomenon. Why? With what little is really known about him can anyone be absolutely certain who or what he was when he first knocked on Paul Bennewitz’s door? He appeared as an AFOSI agent but, considering the background he has presented so far, that may not have been all there was.

On January 25, 2005, ‘Rick’ Doty wrote the following message in the Vietnam war forum on the web site, HistoryChannel.com:

"I spent two tours of duty in Laos as an Air Force Combat Controller. I spent some time at Lima Site 85, from January 28 to February 19, 1968. The site was attacked on March 10-11, 1968, with Sgt Roger Huffman, Combat Controller on the ground. I was at Lima Site 20A during the attack. I met with Roger in May 68 at NKP, Thailand, where he discussed the incident.

Few people know of another incident that occurred at Site 5 (CIA code name for site), near Phong Saly. This site was also overrun and several CIA contract personnel were either captured or killed. Six USAF personnel were at the site and fortunately, all made it out. Two CIA paramilitary case officers died at the site."
⁷¹

As described in Chapter 18, after verifying that the author of this message was the Richard Doty I was familiar with, I wrote and asked him why the dates in this message did not match his military service records. I was surprised when he tried to distance himself from this message, which made me suspicious that there was more to this than I initially thought. At first I suspected only that there may be something wrong with the dates of his service. Laos is not mentioned in his service records, but for all I knew no one's records would openly state that they had served there. The war in Laos was a secret war, and is still a sensitive subject in some circles, though forty years later, whole books have been written on the subject. Many people proudly served during the Vietnam era and no one I have met has ever tried to hide their service. So what in this message was a problem?

If what Doty had written in the above message was true, then to be in the Air Force and already overseas in January of 1968, he must have enlisted in 1967, or earlier. Also, if the date of birth in his service records, February of 1950, is accurate, then he would have had to enlist before he turned eighteen. It was certainly a possibility, but how likely I had no idea. There was still the nagging problem of why his official service records showed an Air Force enlistment date of September, 1968. Despite these questions, which could have had unusual but reasonable answers, it was his strong reaction to my asking him about this message that motivated me to dig deeper.

Though this 2005 message was buried among years of other messages, it was nevertheless published on HistoryChannel.com for all to see. Anyone reading through the 'Vietnam' discussion group could see that a 'Rick' Doty had claimed he was stationed in Laos in early 1968. On the other hand, the email address listed in the authors profile was not one commonly associated with Doty, and definitely not one he typically used when he wrote messages on UFO-related topics. Anyone who saw the message would be very unlikely to associate it with the Richard Doty known for his connection to the UFO phenomenon, if it occurred to them at all. Doty was apparently unconcerned about casual readers seeing what he had written, but my spotting it and questioning him about it had bothered him considerably. Why this strong reaction to me? The only difference I could see between a casual reader and me was that I knew of his role in the events surrounding Paul Bennewitz and I had noticed that his claims in this message conflicted with his official service records.

Doty's message was primarily about a site in northern Laos that had been called LS-85 (Lima Site 85). His message stated he had been there in early 1968, though his military service records indicated he had not enlisted until later that same year. His records also indicated he had not been sent to South Vietnam until October of 1969. So, if his service records were to be believed, some rather important information was missing if he had actually been in the Air Force and in Laos in early 1968? It was difficult to imagine he was simply boosting his ego by making himself out to be someone he was not, commonly called a "wannabe", but it was a possibility that had to be considered. With these questions in mind, I set out to find evidence that might verify or refute the statements he had made in the message.

In the following months, I contacted a number of people I hoped might shed light on Doty's claims. Some of these people had been in Laos in 1968, and others had access to records that might be useful. Most of them were very helpful and willing to do whatever they could. To my surprise, I soon discovered I was not the only one suspicious of Doty's interest in the events surrounding LS-85. Someone intimately familiar with the site had become suspicious of him in the early 1990's when a mysterious screenwriter/producer stirred up emotions among survivors and family members. Doty became part of a web of strange circumstances indicating he has had a very strong interest in the LS-85 story for many, many years.

I focused first on LS-85 because it was the only location for which Doty had provided specific dates. There was a wealth of information and photographs available online about both LS-85 and the second site Doty mentioned, LS-20A (shown in
Figure 16
). Several other good sources were also available, including a site that maintained a "Laos List" of names of people who had served overseas. Unfortunately, I did not find Doty's name anywhere, but, because of the secretive nature of operations in Laos and what has been called the "CIA's war", not finding his name did not necessarily prove anything.

Judging by his message on the History Channel web site, Doty apparently had strong feelings about the story of LS-85. I quickly learned that LS-85 was the site of a well known and tragic attack that resulted in the single largest ground troop loss during the war in Laos. Being such a memorable event, it occurred to me that some of the men who had been at LS-85 might have kept in contact over the years. If so, then establishing whether or not Doty had been there a few weeks before the attack could be as simple as finding others who were known to have been there and asking them if they knew him. On March 31, 2007, I wrote a question in the guest book of a web site called
LimaSite85.com
.

In my message I explained that I was hoping to locate someone who was very familiar with LS-85 and would know the men who had been there in the 1967-1968 time frame. I did not mention Doty's name at that time. Almost as soon as my message appeared in the web site's guest book, I received an email message from the sites moderator assuring me that my message would definitely be seen by someone who could help me. Sure enough, less than 48 hours later I had a response from a man who is intimately familiar with the entire operation of LS-85, Colonel Gerald H. (Jerry) Clayton. Col. Clayton was commander of the men who operated the radar and TACAN (Tactical Air Control and Navigation) equipment installed at the site, and though he is now retired, he is still closely involved with the men and the history of LS-85. The men may have left LS-85 long ago, and many of them have since passed away, but the tragedy is still close to the hearts of those who remain. With his integral role in the operation of this secret installation I was incredibly fortunate that Col. Clayton was willing to help me. Over the next few months, we communicated a great deal and he was always willing to listen to my questions and answer them fully. In the case of Richard Doty, we shared a common interest.

In my first email exchange with Col. Clayton, I learned that he knew Doty's name very well. How he came to know Doty is a bizarre story in itself and will be explained in the coming pages, but though he said he knew him, he was also adamant that to his knowledge Doty
had not been to LS-85
! Col. Clayton's duties involved decisions about personnel access to the site, so he was understandably surprised to hear that Doty had claimed to have actually spent time there. In one of Col. Clayton's first emails to me he wrote "I have communicated with him for years and not once did he ever tell me he had been to LS-85".