Item 2.24: Ike Librarian Denies Possessing Any Film Footage of Eisenhower's Viewing of UFO-E.T. Artifacts
[LWB note: In a near-historically timely response to my 19 Feb 09 FOIA request (posted as Item 2.20 of this blog - http://ufoview.posterous.com ), a staffer at the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library in Abilene, Kan., has sent me a snail-mail reply dated Feb. 20, 2009. Though he - Tim Rives - apparently has done no actual records search for the alleged UFO-E.T. film footage in question, he nevertheless declares that the library contains no such material. I'm quoting his reply, below. Meantime, his denial raises some key points, e.g.:
(1) Either he's been misinformed or is lying about the whereabouts of the film's original negative, or he's keeping the door open on whether the (inherited) copy now in the hands of a fellow named "Bob" may indeed be the original version.
(2) Here's a professional librarian we'd expect to have some excitement over a citizen's possible discovery of a monumental slice of presidential history, and he refrains from even suggesting how his institution (or some other one) might facilitate the forensic vetting of that specimen.
(3) How many times during his librarianship has Rives encountered such a claimed discovery only to end up so jaded as to greet with an arbitrary shoulder-shrug any public inquiry about it? His reaction to the claim has all the irony of the ending of the movie "Raiders of the Lost Arc," whereby the original negative of the Ike UFO-E.T. film reposes on some obscure, dusty basement shelf amidst dozens of canisters labeled, say, "Army Recruitment Training Films of the 1950s Era."] == TEXT OF MR. RIVES'S 20 FEB 09 LETTER TO L.W.B == Dear Mr. Bryant: This letter is in response to your Freedom of Information Act request, which we received in this office on February 20, 2009. I am sorry, but we do not hold motion pictures, still photographs, or records of any kind documenting President Eisenhower's alleged inspection of alien bodies or UFOs. You also inquired whether we would accept such a record should it be offered to us. The short answer is yes, provided it conforms to the criteria outlined in our acquisitions policy below: Historical materials sought will be those documenting the private and public lives of General and President Dwight D. Eisenhower, as well as the historical events and governmental policies which shaped the mid-Twentieth Century and on which he exercised considerable influence. * Materials must have substantial historical value.
* The creator, either individual or corporate, must have had a direct - or if indirect, significant - relationship with, or impact on, the life and/or political and governmental activities of General and President Eisenhower, or the larger social, cultural, political, and economic environments that shaped Eisenhower's private life and public service. Papers and associated historical materials will be solicited from: ** The President and the President's family.
** Close personal friends of the President and Mrs. Eisenhower.
** White House staff holding political and policy positions as well as White House career administrative staff whose functions included significant, regular contact with the First Family.
** Executive Office of the President officials who held political and policy-related positions.
** Executive Department Secretaries, Under-, Assistant-, and Deputy-Secretaries. The papers of non-political (career) officials who held solely operational and administrative responsibilities will be solicited only in special circumstances.
** Historical materials of or relating to governmental or nongovernmental organizations with which Dwight D. Eisenhower was associated.
** Collectors of historical memorabilia, particularly those holding presidential and political items relevant to the Museum's exhibit programming. Again, we would welcome the donation of any substantial historical material fitting the criteria defined as above. Please note, however, that as a federal agency we are prohibited by law from buying material. It must be given to us. Please let me know if I can be of further assistance. Sincerely, TIM RIVES
Supervisory & Solicitation Archivist
Eisenhower Presidential Library & Museum
(1) Either he's been misinformed or is lying about the whereabouts of the film's original negative, or he's keeping the door open on whether the (inherited) copy now in the hands of a fellow named "Bob" may indeed be the original version.
(2) Here's a professional librarian we'd expect to have some excitement over a citizen's possible discovery of a monumental slice of presidential history, and he refrains from even suggesting how his institution (or some other one) might facilitate the forensic vetting of that specimen.
(3) How many times during his librarianship has Rives encountered such a claimed discovery only to end up so jaded as to greet with an arbitrary shoulder-shrug any public inquiry about it? His reaction to the claim has all the irony of the ending of the movie "Raiders of the Lost Arc," whereby the original negative of the Ike UFO-E.T. film reposes on some obscure, dusty basement shelf amidst dozens of canisters labeled, say, "Army Recruitment Training Films of the 1950s Era."] == TEXT OF MR. RIVES'S 20 FEB 09 LETTER TO L.W.B == Dear Mr. Bryant: This letter is in response to your Freedom of Information Act request, which we received in this office on February 20, 2009. I am sorry, but we do not hold motion pictures, still photographs, or records of any kind documenting President Eisenhower's alleged inspection of alien bodies or UFOs. You also inquired whether we would accept such a record should it be offered to us. The short answer is yes, provided it conforms to the criteria outlined in our acquisitions policy below: Historical materials sought will be those documenting the private and public lives of General and President Dwight D. Eisenhower, as well as the historical events and governmental policies which shaped the mid-Twentieth Century and on which he exercised considerable influence. * Materials must have substantial historical value.
* The creator, either individual or corporate, must have had a direct - or if indirect, significant - relationship with, or impact on, the life and/or political and governmental activities of General and President Eisenhower, or the larger social, cultural, political, and economic environments that shaped Eisenhower's private life and public service. Papers and associated historical materials will be solicited from: ** The President and the President's family.
** Close personal friends of the President and Mrs. Eisenhower.
** White House staff holding political and policy positions as well as White House career administrative staff whose functions included significant, regular contact with the First Family.
** Executive Office of the President officials who held political and policy-related positions.
** Executive Department Secretaries, Under-, Assistant-, and Deputy-Secretaries. The papers of non-political (career) officials who held solely operational and administrative responsibilities will be solicited only in special circumstances.
** Historical materials of or relating to governmental or nongovernmental organizations with which Dwight D. Eisenhower was associated.
** Collectors of historical memorabilia, particularly those holding presidential and political items relevant to the Museum's exhibit programming. Again, we would welcome the donation of any substantial historical material fitting the criteria defined as above. Please note, however, that as a federal agency we are prohibited by law from buying material. It must be given to us. Please let me know if I can be of further assistance. Sincerely, TIM RIVES
Supervisory & Solicitation Archivist
Eisenhower Presidential Library & Museum
