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War of the Words: The True but Strange Story of the Gulf Breeze UFO

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Millions of Americans believe that we are regularly visited by beings from outside the Earth, and many are sure they have seen UFOs and even see them regularly. Craig R. Myers has not only seen one, but he has held it in his hand. This was in Florida, in the middle of the famous Gulf Breeze UFO mania of twenty years ago, and the UFO which he had himself captured was of distinctly terrestrial origin, but it had been made by the hoaxer who had sparked the Gulf Breeze sightings. There are plenty of books to tell you where UFOs come from, how we can invite more of them, and what to do when one captures you. _War of the Words: The True but Strange Story of the Gulf Breeze UFO_ (Xlibris) probably won't match sales of many of those other books, but it is shocking and revelatory in its own way. It is impossible to argue, of course, that since this episode was a hoax, all UFO sightings are hoaxes and those who sight them are being fooled, but Myers has given a story with a skeptical bent that indicates the most useful way to regard such "phenomena". It is a funny book; it even includes Dave Barry's amusing column about his own visit to Gulf Breeze and his investigation of the mania. It is, however, a serious report by a journalist who covered the story at the time; skeptics ought to enjoy it and True Believers ought to learn from it.

Myers is grateful that he was around for what he calls "the most interesting, frightening and funny story of my at-that-time short career." Part of his enjoyment is that he was a reporter for the _Pensacola News Journal_, and it was the rival _The Gulf Breeze Sentinel_ that printed the UFO stories and photos, which Myers got to expose. The area had already been favored for seeing lights in the sky when local contractor Ed Walters presented (at first anonymously) photos of UFOs buzzing the area. Walters had a history of scaring people with double-exposure "spook" photographs, but he also told a strange story of heroically battling the blue telepathic ray of the UFO. It wasn't long before MUFON, the Mutual UFO Network, showed up, its members ready to continue its mission of confirming the existence of UFOs, and yes, Walter's sightings and story got their official confirmation. Myers got a scoop when he discovered in Walters's former home a paper and styrofoam-plate construction that matched Walters's photos nicely. Walters was called to the _Journal_ newsroom and was furious to see the model, claiming that the _Journal_ was involved in a conspiracy against him. The model had been planted, he insisted, and Myers had been tipped off to look for it.

It should have been an open and shut case, but it will surprise no one that those who want to believe can still find reason to believe. MUFON even put Rex and Carol Salisberry on the case, the pair they had just months before declared their "Investigators of the Year". When the Salisberrys issued their report that the photos were fakes, MUFON booted them and replaced them with investigators that could give a report more to MUFON's liking. Myers is an amusing and clever writer, and it is obvious that he enjoyed this story of deception and gullibility hugely. It pains me to report that he cannot get the objective case right in dual objects of verbs and prepositions ("Rex said he fully expect MUFON to blackball he and Carol..."), but it is a pet peeve of mine, and darn it, Myers gets it wrong every time. But grammar is not the story here, of course, and Myers has provided a fascinating in-depth look at one particular UFO story, which can be studied for general principles. It isn't so much that a prankster made fools of Gulf Breeze, but that those who were eager to believe allowed, and still allow, themselves to be fooled, even when there was evidence to show their folly.