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Author Says WV Target For UFO's
Mannix Porterfield, Reporter
Beckley Register-Herald
Expect the government to remove the lid soon on a secret it has held religiously more than half a century: Unidentified Flying Objects are real and come from outer space, says a West Virginia author on the verge of releasing his second book on the subject.
Kyle Lovern figures United States authorities have covered up the existence of UFOs since the celebrated 1947 incident in Roswell, N.M., out of fear they couldn't control global unrest and fear.
"They thought the public would panic," says Lovern, whose latest book is a sequel to his first effort, "Appalachian Case Study: UFO Sightings, Alien Encounters."
"We went through World War II, the Korean War and the Cold War. They knew there was nothing we could do if these people were coming here from another planet. People would have panicked 40, 50 years ago. Look at the impact the 'War of the Worlds' broadcast by Orson Welles had on the public."
Given the plethora of attention given UFOs since the late 1940s, however, in movies, books, and documentaries, public attitudes have changed, and fear now seems to have been replaced by curiosity, and a strong desire to know the truth, Lovern said Monday in an interview.
"I do think things have changed now," the former West Virginia newsman said.
"I think we're very close to disclosure. I do believe there has been a cover-up. My good friend, Stanton Friedman (the world's premier authority and researcher) has called it a 'cosmic Watergate,' which I thought was a good quote."
Lovern points to the credibility of astronauts Edgar Mitchell, who walked longer on the moon than anyone else in the Apollo 14 mission, and Gordon Cooper, who have insisted they saw evidence of UFOs in space exploration.
"These are well-educated, military guys, and they have come forth now," the author said.
"They just don't want to take it with them. People want to know the truth. There have been just too many educated, honest and respected people who have seen a UFO or know someone close to them who have witnessed a sighting. And there have been at least two presidents who saw them â Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan."
The late Sen. Barry Goldwater, a retired Air Force brigadier general and pilot, once was quoted as saying, "I certainly believe in aliens in space and that they are indeed visiting our planet. They may not look like us, but I have very strong feelings that they have advanced beyond our mental capabilities."
One source who has spent years researching the subject â Frank Feschino â has suggested West Virginia has been the favorite target of UFO visits.
"My theory is because we're a remote area, very mountainous," Lovern said.
"They would be less likely to be detected than in a heavy populated area. There also have been a lot of sightings in the Southwest, desert areas, places that are not as populated. So, if you didn't want to be seen, that would be the place to go."
Lovern says it only makes sense that aliens would come to earth and snoop around as explorers.
"We're explorers," he said.
"We've been to the moon and want to go to Mars. We've got a space station lab. What's the difference if another race of some kind from another planet would want to come here and explore, too? That's why they venture to earth, to check us out and study our natural resources and do scientific study."
Are they also snatching up humans for some medical studies?
Lovern covers this aspect of the UFO phenomenon in his sequel, which bears nearly the same title, except the phrase "alien encounters" is replaced with "alien abductions."
A few stories on the subject are included in his second book, among them the account of three women who claim aliens abducted them while returning from a baby shower in 1976 in Stanford, Ky.
Their car went out of control and afterward the three women couldn't account for a lapse in time, the author said.
"They definitely feel like they were abducted, and so did the investigators from MUFON (Mutual UFO Network)," the author said.
Lovern's latest work is scheduled for an Oct. 11 release by the publisher, Woodland Press in West Virginia, and coincides with the West Virginia Book Festival that weekend at the Charleston Civic Center.
"A few people this time didn't mind giving me their names and allowing me to use their pictures," Lovern said of the subjects covered in the 19-chapter effort.
"It also gives some credibility when folks allow you to use their names." Mannix Porterfield, Reporter
Beckley Register-Herald
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