Area 51_ An Uncensored History of America's Top Secret Military Base - Annie Jacobsen [222]
16. The animals’ heads had been locked in gadgets: Oral history interview with Air Force colonel John Pickering, 52. Film footage viewed at the Atomic Testing Museum, Las Vegas.
17. “Teak and Orange events would ‘burn a hole’ into the natural ozone layer”: Hoerlin, “United States High-Altitude Test,” 43.
18. Von Braun can be seen examining the Redstone rocket: Teak shot film footage viewed at the Atomic Testing Museum library, Las Vegas.
19. left the island before the second test: Interview with Al O’Donnell; Neufeld, Von Braun, 332.
20. to dash up to Hitler’s lair: Neufeld, Von Braun, 127.
21. project called Operation Argus commenced: Final Review of Argus Fact Sheet, 16 Apr. 82. “The tests were conducted in complete secrecy and were not announced until the following year.”
22. Christofilos convinced Killian: Killian, Sputnik, Scientists and Eisenhower, 187.
23. “probably the most spectacular event ever conducted”: The White House Memorandum for the President, From J.R. Killian Jr., Subject: Preliminary Results of the ARGUS experiment, dated November 3, 1958, declassified 5/20/77.
24. Walter Sullivan hand-delivered a letter to Killian: The letter is marked “By Hand” and dated February 2, 1959, written on New York Times letterhead, and addressed to Dr. James R. Killian Jr. at the White House.
25. “Neither confirm nor deny such leaks”: Memorandum to Dr. James R. Killian, Jr. Subject: Release of Information on ARGUS. Dated January 20, 1959, signed Karl G. Harr, Jr. Special Assistant to the President. Among other things, it is interesting to note here that on White House stationery, Killian is referred to as “Dr. Killian.” He was not a doctor; he never received a PhD but rather a bachelor’s degree in management. This fact was confirmed for me by MIT library staffer Jennifer Hirsch. “Mr. Killian always went out of his way to remind people he was not a doctor,” I was told—apparently not so with the White House.
26. “I would be protected from congressional inquisition”: Killian, Sputnik, Scientists and Eisenhower, 25.
27. “Are you still there?”: Admiral Parker of the Armed Forces Special Weapons Project; Defense Technical Information Center Staff, Defense’s Nuclear Agency 1947–1997, 140; Defense Threat Reduction Agency, 2002.
Chapter Ten: Wizards of Science, Technology, and Diplomacy
Interviews: Harry Martin, Louise Schalk, Dr. Wheelon, Colonel Slater, Frank Murray, Roger Andersen, Ken Collins
1. Martin had been at Area 51 since the very first days: Interviews with Harry Martin.
2. The generals would inevitably show up: Classified Message, Secret 2135Z 14 May 62, To Director, Prity [sic] OXCART. “1. General Power, General Compton, Col Montoya and Col Geary [redacted], A-12… During the flight the visitors were shown [redacted]… Kelly Johnson flew back to Las Vegas with the group… General Power seemed very impressed with the aircraft.” Declassified by CIA, August 2007.
3. “Lou, wake up!”: Interview with Louise Schalk.
4. “The aircraft began wobbling”: Johnson, History of the Oxcart Program, 12.
5. “What in Hell, Lou?”: Rich, Skunk Works, 219.
6. Martin thought for sure the airplane was going to crash: Interview with Harry Martin.
7. Rare film footage of the historic event: CIA footage, T. D. Barnes’s personal collection.
8. Bud Wheelon: Central Intelligence Agency, “Biographic Profile, Albert Dewell Wheelon,” May 10, 1966, NARA, MRB, RG 263.
9. Howard and Jane Roman: Helms, A Look Over My Shoulder, 275. “When the CIA Counterintelligence Staff was established, Jim Angleton assumed responsibility for operational liaison with the FBI. Jane Roman, a veteran OSS X-2 officer, handled the daily meetings…”; interview with Dr. Wheelon.
10. hand-picked by President Kennedy’s science advisers: Central Intelligence Agency, R. V. Jones Intelligence Award Ceremony Honoring Dr. Albert Wheelon, December 13, 1994.
11. “in this way, I became the new ‘Mayor of Area