In 1984, a copy of what became known as the "Halt Tape" fell into the hands of researchers. Unfortunately, because of static and the fact that the tape had been dubbed on an old machine, much of its background conversations could not be discerned.
SCI FI has now acquired the original recording, which documents Lt. Colonel Halt (USAF) and his patrol investigating a UFO sighting in Rendlesham Forest in December 1980. This tape not only reveals much more of the background conversations but features names that could not be heard on the poor-quality 1984 dub. Below are five excerpts from the 17-minute-and-52-second recording, and a brief introduction to the material by UFO researcher Georgina Bruni, author of You Can't Tell the People.
In late December 1980, in Rendlesham Forest, England, numerous U.S. military personnel witnessed what has come to be regarded as the most significant military-UFO incident in the history of Great Britain.
The servicemen were posted to the RAF Bentwaters and RAF Woodbridge facilities — which together constitute one of the largest NATO bases in rural Suffolk, East Anglia — when, on December 27, they noticed unusual lights and activity near the base's back gate. A trio of security patrolmen led by Jim Penniston, thinking a military aircraft might be down or in distress, ventured into Rendlesham Forest to investigate. There they observed a variety of unearthly phenomena that none of them could explain, as well as an airborne object obscured by its own blinding light.
The next day, December 28, they returned to the forest and found three radioactive depressions in the ground where the object had been sighted. That night, other witnesses in surrounding areas saw an intense red light pulsating and moving through the trees.
Soon afterward, several of the men involved, including Airman Larry Warren, were debriefed by U.S. and British officers and ordered to sign documents contradicting their firsthand accounts. Furthermore, they were told to remain silent and were warned by U.S. military intelligence personnel that, if they didn't, "Bullets are cheap."
Two weeks after these incidents, Lt. Colonel Charles Halt (who retired years later following his promotion to colonel) wrote a memo detailing everything that the patrolmen had seen and sent the document to his superiors at the Pentagon — and the most comprehensive cover-up in the history of Britain began.
But the truth has refused to remain hidden. In December 2002, the British Ministry of Defense released a file on the Rendlesham incident that comprised 180 pages of previously classified memos, letters, reports and correspondence. But despite the British government's admission that a UFO-related incident took place near the Bentwaters and Woodbridge airfields in 1980, the U.S. government still refuses to release its own files about the encounter.
Now SCI FI brings you this shocking exposé, complete with documentation, new physical evidence and firsthand accounts by both military and civilian witnesses — including Penniston and Halt, who have jeopardized their reputations and military pensions in order to seek out the truth. Join host Bryant Gumbel as SCI FI presents its exclusive investigation of one of the most important UFO incidents of the 20th century.
Learn about efforts to get the government to release what it knows about UFOs
