Seminole, TX: Annotated Jessup UFO Book Sent to ONR
In April 1956, an annotated copy of Morris K. Jessup’s UFO book was mailed from Seminole, Texas, to a Naval Research Office admiral, featuring notes from three individuals claiming knowledge of extraterrestrial intelligences. ONR officers investigated, leading to a limited reprint by Varo Manufacturing.
Background
Background
In April 1956, Adm. Frederick R. Furth, head of the Office of Naval Research (ONR), received an annotated paperback of Morris K. Jessup's "The Case for the UFO" (1955) in an envelope postmarked Seminole, Texas. The handwritten notes in three colours of ink apparently came from three people: A, B, and Jemi, who wrote in detail about space beings, undersea cities, force fields, and other phenomena.
Investigation by ONR
The book reached Maj. Darrell L. Ritter, a USMC officer at ONR, who showed it to Capt. Sidney Sherby and Cmdr. George W. Hoover. They took an interest and were permitted — without official Navy involvement — to send it to the Varo Manufacturing Company in Garland, Texas, which held military contracts. Varo reprinted 25 spiral-bound copies in black and red to make the annotations visible.
Connection to Allende Letters
Jessup had previously received letters from Carlos Miguel Allende (January 13 and May 25, 1956) describing an experiment in October 1943 in which a destroyer (possibly USS Eldridge or USS Engstrom) became invisible, with side effects on the crew. Sherby spoke with Jessup, who recognised the parallels between the letters and the notes. Gray Barker's Saucerian Press later published the Varo edition (1972). Allende confessed to a hoax in the 1970s, then retracted the confession.