Cash-Landrum Incident -- The Government Denials: What the Military Said

Cash-Landrum Incident -- The Government Denials: What the Military Said

The Pattern of Denial

Every U.S. military installation and agency contacted about the Cash-Landrum incident denied any knowledge of, or involvement in, the events of December 29, 1980. The denials were consistent, complete, and mutually reinforcing:

• No helicopters airborne in the FM 1485 area that evening
• No unusual operations in the area
• No record of any events consistent with the description
• No classified programs associated with the described aircraft

Specific Denials

Investigator John Schuessler and attorney Peter Gersten contacted multiple installations:

Ellington Air National Guard Base (Houston area): The closest major military aviation installation to the incident site. Denied any helicopter operations in the area on December 29, 1980. Also stated that CH-47 Chinook helicopters were not normally stationed at Ellington.

Fort Hood (Killeen, Texas): A major Army base with significant CH-47 Chinook assets. Denied any aircraft operations in the East Texas Piney Woods area that evening.

Bergstrom Air Force Base (Austin, Texas): Initially the venue for the witnesses' complaint to the Judge Advocate's office. No knowledge of the incident's source was forthcoming.

Multiple other installations: The systematic nature of the denials -- every installation denying any knowledge -- was itself noted by investigators as suggestive. A genuine absence of helicopters in the area would not require coordinated denial; it would simply be the case.

The FOIA Requests

Schuessler filed Freedom of Information Act requests with multiple agencies. The responses:

• Uniformly negative on records related to operations on December 29, 1980 in the described area
• Some requests produced no responsive documents whatsoever

The specific absence of any records for an operation witnessed by multiple people across a wide area is consistent with either:

• The operation genuinely not occurring (the government's position)
• The records being classified and exempt from FOIA disclosure
• The records having been destroyed

The Credibility of the Denials

The credibility of the military's denials has been questioned on several grounds:

• Multiple independent witnesses -- including a police officer -- observed both the craft and the military helicopters
• Twenty-three CH-47 Chinooks represent a major operational deployment; such an operation would leave extensive logistical records
• The anonymous helicopter pilot's confirmation of awareness of the incident and the witnesses' injuries directly contradicts the claim that nothing happened
• The Court's dismissal of the lawsuit was procedural, not a finding that the government was telling the truth