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Nixon Answers his Mail A search of the Richard Nixon papers shows that Richard Nixon (according to the available documents) did not have a lot of UFO mail as President. The records available at the National Archives in Washington show only three letters. At the time these documents were reviewed, only 7 of 44 million pages had been proceeded of the Nixon papers. It is possible that more may turn up in future years, especially in light of the fact that Jackie Gleason claimed that Nixon was very interested in the subject. Like Presidents before him, most of his mail was answered by Special Assistants. All three of the letters in the file were of some interest or importance. The first was a request that came to President Nixon was an October 1973 letter from the Mayor of Palacios, Texas. It had been forwarded to the White House for a reply through Texas Senator John Tower. It appeared that the Mayor of Palacios, W.C. Jackson had decided to proclaim the City of Palacios as the Interplanetary Capitol of the Universe. He had sent through Senator Tower the Proclamation declaring Palacios the Interplanetary Capitol, and he wanted President Nixon to sign it. Perhaps President Nixon knew where the actual Capitol of the Universe was, and there couldn’t be two capitols. Nevertheless, a letter was sent back to the Mayor stating that "it would not be in accord with presidential policy" and therefore Nixon could not sign it. Nixon is unique in that he is one of only three Presidents who signed a letter after becoming President that had the word UFO in it. The Nixon letter was a strange one, especially considering how rare Nixon signed letters were on any subject. In December of 1971 President Nixon received an undated letter from a 12-year old girl in Tennessee telling the President about her UFO theory:
Just before Christmas, President Nixon took a couple minutes from his busy day to sign a letter responding to Melissa about her UFO theory. Not only did he write a letter responding to Melissa’s flying saucer theory he sent along a children’s booklet as a gift.
December 23, 1971
The third letter UFO letter of significance began with a letter to President Nixon from Lawrence M. Kirsch. Kirsch, founder of SAUCER (Scientific Analysis on Unidentified Craft and Evaluating Reports) and publisher of the "Flying Saucer Examiner," was writing in response to an article that was published in the September 1969 Beyond Magazine. In the Beyond article the claim is made that President Nixon had contacted UFO contactee Daniel Fry to advise his about people for his new administration. Kirsch stated that he and the members of his group "find it had to believe there is any truth to this article." Daniel Fry was an engineer, working for Aerojet General Corporation at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, who in 1949 claimed that he had been taken aboard an unmanned flying saucer. Taking through and intercom type arrangement, the alien, who called himself Alan, had stated that his ancestors had lived on earth tens of thousands of years ago. In 1954, five years after the unmanned flight, Alan made physical contact with Fry. Alan claimed to have become acclimatized to the earth environment. He claimed to have established liaison with a number of high officials - including some U.S. Presidents. Significant in this regard , is that in 1954 Nixon was Vice -president to President Eisenhower. Based on records at the national Archives, the letter was handled at the White House by Helen Colle who sent the Kirsch letter to Bill Gulley with a handwritten note stating "This guy wants to discuss flying saucers. Can this go to Defense for handling?" Bill Gulley in turn wrote a memo to John Noble stating:
Kirsch did not get a reply to his letter to President Nixon, but according to the Beyond magazine article, Fry did get a reply to his recommendations made to Nixon on staff for the new administration. The March 13, 1969 letter came from Presidential Aide Harry S. Fleming. He thanked Fry for his "thoughtful recommendations for appointments to the administration." The letter from Fleming, along with the original letter from Nixon to Fry, were shown to researcher Timothy good, during a visit to Fry’s home in Tonopah, Arizona.. The letter from Nixon read as follows:
Office of the President-Elect Richard M. Nixon Washington D.C.
December 2, 1968 Mr. D. Fry Merlin, Oregon 97532 Dear Mr. Fry: As you may know, I have pledged to bring into this Administration men and women who by their qualities of youthfulness, judgment, intelligence and creativity, can make significant contributions to our country. I seek the best minds in America to meet the challenges of this rapidly changing world. To find them, I ask for your active participation and assistance. You, as a leader, are in a position to know and recommend exceptional individuals. The persons you select should complete the enclosed form and return it to you. I ask that you attach your comments. My staff will carefully review all recommendations for inclusion in our reservoir of talent from which appointments will be made. I will appreciate greatly, Mr. Fry, your taking time from your busy schedule to participate in this all-important program. Sincerely, (Signed) Richard M. Nixon
A search of the open Nixon files at the National Archives, failed to turn up copies of the two letters. This may be because only 7 of 45 million pages of the Nixon files had been opened for research in 2000 when the search was done. Further support to support that Fry may have had a relationship came from the fact that Fry had also received a letter from Ronald Reagan, which he showed to Timothy Good. Reagan like Nixon was rumored to have had a strong interest in the subject of UFOs.
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