Rev. Barnes' UFO report to FBI's Hoover, Cascades, 1949

[PAGE 1] U. S. Department of Justice FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION [Stamps: COPIED FOR FOIPA, requested by Couan(?), FEB 7 1980; COPIED FOR FOIPA, MAR 1 1978; ENTIRE FILE REVIEWED FOR HISTORICAL DECLASSIFICATION; CLASSIFIED INFORMATION ENCLOSED] Declassification authority derived from FBI Automatic Declassification Guide, issued May 24, 2007 117-HQ- SERIALS 71-145 SECTION 2 Serial: 109 USE CARE IN HANDLING THIS FILE Transfer-Call 3421 NW 91173 DocId:34743666 Page 1 [PAGE 2] First Presbyterian Church REV. CHARLES C. BARNES, PASTOR BOX 391 McMinnville, Oregon January 31, 1949 Mr. J. Edgar Hoover Washington D.C. Dear Mr. Hoover: Here is a bit of information which may be of great significance, or may be merely an observation of a scientific experiment. It may be known by military authorities and the A.E.C. or only a few may have seen it and none reported it to the right place. Here it is. Can you pass it to the right persons? Last May one afternoon I saw four beams in the sky passing from the northwest to the southeast and converging in the Cascade mountains. In those four narrow beams small clouds were forming. And where the beams met apparently against the mountains a great explosion effect was to be seen. I would say that they were visible for at least 10 minutes or longer. The sight brought to mind an article read before the war about experiments carried on in Europe with various types of radio beams to effect rainfall. I would guess that I had seen the article in the Science Digest. The Columbia River flood of last summer and the unusual precipitation this winter have forced me to feel that this observation of mine should be sent somewhere in the interest of national security. I have one son in the Air Corps and another works with the A.E.C. at Hanford which causes me to pray for peace, as well as the fact that as a minister I deplore the waste and tragedy of war. That is one reason that I have refrained from passing on information and ideas that might incite warlike attitudes. May I add these words to paragraph two. The explosion effect seemed to rise to a height of about ten thousand feet. Sincerely, C. C. Barnes C. C. Barnes [Stamps/notes: 61899; 117-0-109; FBI MAR 7 1949; RECORDED - 119; INDEXED - 119; EX-22; handwritten: "Ack 2-9-49"; "cc to Air Force, A.E.C. CWB 3-3-49"; handwritten marginal note along left edge (not legible)] NW 91173 DocId:34743666 Page 2 [PAGE 3] RECORDED - 119 February 9, 1949 EX-22 117-0-109 Reverend Charles C. Barnes First Presbyterian Church Box 391 McMinnville, Oregon Dear Mr. Barnes: I have received your letter of January 31, 1949, and want to thank you for sending the information with reference to the matter you mentioned. It was indeed thoughtful of you to communicate with me in this connection. Sincerely yours, John Edgar Hoover Director [Stamps: COMMUNICATIONS SECTION MAILED 15 FEB 10 1949 P.M., Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Department of Justice; RECEIVED READING ROOM FEB 9 1949 5:49 PM; routing list (Tolson, Clegg, Glavin, Ladd, Nichols, Rosen, Tracy, Egan, Gurnea, Harbo, Mohr, Pennington, Quinn Tamm, Tele. Room, Nease, Gandy); handwritten initials] NW 91173 DocId:34743666 Page 3 [PAGE 4] RECORDED - 119 INDEXED - 119 EX-22 117-0-109 BY SPECIAL MESSENGER Date: March 3, 1949 To: Director of Special Investigations, The Inspector General, Department of the Air Force, The Pentagon, Washington 25, D. C. From: John Edgar Hoover - Director, Federal Bureau of Investigation Subject: AERIAL PHENOMENA A letter has been received from Reverend Charles C. Barnes of McMinnville, Oregon, advising that last May he observed four beams of light in the sky passing from the northwest to the southeast and converging over the Cascade Mountains. In these beams small clouds were forming. According to Reverend Barnes, where these beams met an explosive effect was to be seen. This was visible for approximately ten minutes. The explosive effect seemed to rise to a height of about 10,000 feet. Reverend Barnes requested that this information be passed on as he felt it might be merely an observation of a scientific experiment known to the military authorities or the Atomic Energy Commission. This is furnished for your information. cc - Atomic Energy Commission, Room 38, Public Health Building, Washington, D. C. Attention: Rear Admiral John E. Gingrich, Director of Security and Intelligence CWB:arm [Stamps: COMMUNICATIONS SECTION BY SPECIAL MESSENGER MAR 3 1949, Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Department of Justice; routing list; handwritten initials. The word "CONFIDENTIAL" is struck through] NW 91173 DocId:34743666 Page 4