Aug 2nd, 2009 - Dick Hall tribute

[Gareth]

Surprised no one has made a thread yet.

I found this to be an interesting show despite not having much exposure to Hall's work. Hearing everyone's thoughts on the man gave me a good insight into what he was all about.

The main takeaway for me was Paul Kimballs assessment of Dick Hall's later life. Extremely sad. I gotta say though, hearing Paul talk about how he found a way to pay Dick when he appeared in his doco really put a smile on my face. Its the sort of thing I know I would try and do if I ever found myself in the same position as Paul.

 

[CapnG]

I dare say there's no thread because the episode isn't really "thread-worthy". There are no tremendous insights offered or grand revealations made but neither are there any great flaws or reasons to complain.

In the annals of the Paracast this episode seems to float exactly in the middle on the theoretical good/bad chart.

 

[Double Nought Spy]

I liked it a lot, partly because the participants are people I consider heroes of the field. It was great to listen to the group trade stories about Hall, and pay their respects. Hall never compromised on his principles, never caved in. Even though I disagree with a lot of his conclusions or beliefs or whatever, I have great respect for him. He did a lot of honest, hard work that is tragically under appreciated by too many newcomers to the field.

My compliments to Gene and David for the two recent tribute shows. The guests were first rate, the tone was appropriate and you guys have some serious talent if you can keep that many strong personalities "in the groove" for two hours at a time. Of course it helps to have such good people as guests, but still it can't be easy keeping the flow going in the intended direction. The results are two very satisfying shows.

 

[Apocalypto]

I'll agree with Spy. Great show. One thing I'm starting to notice about The Paracast is that it deals with the whole "round-table" discussion style in a very effective and coordinated style.

I would venture to guess that this technique is going to be become more and more important going forward in ufology, simply because that is the trend - and reality - of the future of digital communications. When you stop to think about it, most - if not all - of the folks on this show (and some other round-table shows) were busy in the field way back when the Internet didn't even exist. Imagine if they were all starting out in the field now, and could use the Internet and other modern means to communicate and work together?

I'm starting to see how this style of open communication can really benefit the discussion and investigation of UFO cases in the future. When a bunch of great UFO experts such as these fellows discuss cases and share notes online in forums like The Paracast, they (and we) all benefit from it. The future is now, and it's exciting.

Kudos to Gene and Dave!

 

[Schuyler]

The most surprising insight I got on the show was the idea that NICAP self-destructed and that it had nothing to do with infiltration by the CIA. Dolan has a lengthy entry suggesting the latter that has become almost iconic and a 'given' yet these guys, who were actually there, have blown a big hole in that account. I also hadn't realized Keyhoe was a Naval Academy graduate. I knew he was a 'Marine Corps aviator' and never put the two together which is, of course, possible if not common. In fact Admiral Hillenkoetter graduated from the Naval Academy the same year as Keyhoe, 1919.

 

[Gareth]

The most surprising insight I got on the show was the idea that NICAP self-destructed and that it had nothing to do with infiltration by the CIA. Dolan has a lengthy entry suggesting the latter that has become almost iconic and a 'given' yet these guys, who were actually there, have blown a big hole in that account. I also hadn't realized Keyhoe was a Naval Academy graduate. I knew he was a 'Marine Corps aviator' and never put the two together which is, of course, possible if not common. In fact Admiral Hillenkoetter graduated from the Naval Academy the same year as Keyhoe, 1919.

Not to mention Hall's reaction at hearing that some people thought McDonald might have been 'suicided'. Very interesting.

 

[Paul Kimball]

Not to mention Hall's reaction at hearing that some people thought McDonald might have been 'suicided'. Very interesting.

Gareth,

Dick wasn't the only one. Stan Friedman and others who knew McDonald have told me that they all think Dolan's speculation on that point was absolutely unfounded, to the point of being ridiculous. I'm pretty sure that Jerry, Don, Bruce and Kevin would / did concur.

What is rarely talked about within the UFO field is how many problems these "old school" UFO researchers had with Dolan's first book. Younger people, mostly unfamiliar with the history of the subject, thought it was ground-breaking; the people who have been around all this time, and in many cases actually lived it, usually thought otherwise, and were often appalled at Dolan's flights of fancy.

"This is a book that ought to be read with a large saltshaker at hand." - Jerry Clark
www.virtuallystrange.net/ufo/updates/2002/oct/m-29-023.shtml

"Although his UFO history is reasonably accurate, I would seriously dispute the 'scholarly' label when it comes to his conspiratorial view of Government secrecy." - Hall
www.virtuallystrange.net/ufo/updates/2002/oct/m29-010.shtml

Dick later called Dolan's reasoning "paranoid".
See: http://www.virtuallystrange.net/ufo/updates/2004/nov/m03-010.shtml

I've seen Stan's copy. Let's just say he wore out a yellow highlighter underlining the things he disagreed with, or thought Dolan had gotten wrong.

That's not to say that Dolan's book is worthless, because it wasn't - just that Jerry was quite right when he said to take it with a large grain of salt.

Paul

 

[Unky]

I enjoyed the show. That was bar-none the best collection of UFO all-stars I've heard on a single radio show. I've followed the books, interviews, research, and opinions of these men for years. Each one of the guests is someone that ranks squarely on the "good guys" list.

Interesting details always present themselves when a bunch of veterans get together for such a discussion. I feel certain in saying that of the five guests, Jerry Clark had formed the closest relationship with Dick Hall over the years, and seemed surprised and unaware when Don Ecker stated that Keyhoe had fired Hall from NICAP at one point.


I first heard the theory that NICAP may have been deconstructed by the CIA in George Knapp's BAE documentary he made back in the '90's. I'm assuming this idea stemmed from the inclusion of CIA members (like Director Hillenkoetter) on NICAP's board, and the authenticity of the Eisenhower Briefing Document still being uncertain. After hearing some of the more relevant reasons for NICAP's demise last night, and despite Dolan's conclusions, this seems less likely.

 

[Hoffmeister]

I really enjoyed this show! First of all it basically had all of my favourite paracast guests in one episode. Kimball and Ecker are always excellent being able to produce not only interesting facts, but grounded views and straight talking opinions. Jerry, Kevin and Bruce are always brilliant to listen too, and have such a good knowledge of the field.
Now i had never even heard of Hall before this show, but given more time I am compelled to look into some of his work, and I really got a good picture of his life.


On the Dolan subject, I am currently re-reading his first book in preparation for the second and have to say it somehow manages to represent all that is good and all that is bad about research into this field.
Dolan's research must have been painstaking, and he continually hits us with intriguing case after case making the author realise the full extent of the mindboggling number of sightings in UFO history.

The problem is that he throws too much of his own paranoid opinions and suspicions into the mix, making the reader start to think that perhaps the whole topic is all just suspicious bunk and crazy talk. For a long time i refused to even read any UFO books because I believed that there was always a risk of an author insidiously influencing the reader towards their potentially wacky views and ideas.

If it had been a lot more objective it would have been an absolute masterpiece, but then again it probably would have sold far fewer copies...

Still, i'll definately be reading the second one, and i am enjoying a re-read of the first