Person
Barry Goldwater
Also known as Barry M. Goldwater, Senator Goldwater, Goldwater
- U.S. Senator (R-AZ), elected 1952, 1958 and 1968; Senate Armed Services Committee; 1964 Republican presidential candidate
- Army Air Forces pilot (1941–1945); Major General, U.S. Air Force Reserve (ret.)
Barry Goldwater (1909–1998) was a Republican U.S. Senator from Arizona for five terms, the Republican presidential candidate in 1964, and a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. He flew with the Army Air Forces in the Second World War and retired as a major general in the Air Force Reserve, so he spoke on military matters with unusual standing.
He is the source of the best-known story about a secret room at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. In a 1994 television interview he said he believed the Air Force kept what it knew about UFOs in certain places at Wright-Patterson, and that when he asked Gen. Curtis LeMay to let him into the room, LeMay angrily refused and told him never to ask again. Goldwater said he could not back up his belief and disclaimed any direct knowledge of UFOs; the account is his recollection of a private conversation, not a record.
Sources: U.S. Air Force biography (our copy) · Larry King's UFO Cover-Up Live (CNN/TNT, 1994)
Facts and claims
- documented His Air Force biography records that he “flew in India, China, Burma and Europe with the U.S. Air Force between 1941 and 1945 and retired as a major general in the U.S. Air Force Reserve”, was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1952 and 1958, ran for president in 1964, and was elected again in 1968, when he joined the Senate Armed Services Committee. Source: af.mil (archived)
- claimed In a 1994 television interview he said: “I can't back that up but I think that at Wright-Patterson Field if you could get into certain places you'd find out what the Air Force and the government knows about UFOs.” — Barry Goldwater Source: UFO Cover-Up Live with Larry King (CNN/TNT, 1994) at 1:04:13
- claimed He described asking Gen. Curtis LeMay for access: “I know we have a room at Wright-Patterson where you put all this secret stuff. Could I go in there? I've never heard him get mad, but he got madder in hell at me, cussed me out, said don't ever ask me that question again.” The programme noted that he disclaimed direct knowledge of UFOs. — Barry Goldwater Source: UFO Cover-Up Live with Larry King (CNN/TNT, 1994) at 1:04:50
Connected files
Places
- Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (claims about) — He believed the Air Force kept what it knows about UFOs in a room at Wright-Patterson; Gen. LeMay refused him access
Videos
- UFO Cover-Up Live with Larry King (CNN/TNT, 1994) (appears in)
Mentioned in videos
- Citizen Hearing 2013: Opening statements (Mitchell, Hellyer)
- Joe Rogan Experience #2065 - David Grusch