The Search For Noah's Ark
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1. Agency for
International Development
|
DATE: |
21JUL95 |
REPLY TO
ATTN OF: |
PGX-4 |
SUBJECT: |
Analysis of "Anomaly" on 1949 Mr. Ararat Imagery and response to FOIA taker 95-007122 |
TO: |
PS-FOIA |
1. (U) Location: The anomaly identified by Mr. Taylor on photographic enlargements provided to PSP-FOIA is located at approximately 39 42' 10" N 044 16' 30" E at an elevation of approximately 14-15000' and approximately 2.2 KM horizontal distance West of the summit. This position is map derived and should not be considered geodetically precise.
2. (U) Exploitation: Analysis of the "anomaly" was conducted through stereoscopic analysis of duplicate positive imagery of two frames (2 and 23) of a HQ USAFE mission dated 17JUN49. These two frames are the only frames from the mission which cover the area of the "anomaly". Records show these frames were declassified by the U.S. Air Force in 1982. It is our understanding that only frame 2 was provided to Mr. Taylor in response to his earlier FOIA request. Frame 23 is enclosed. Also enclosed are 1 monoscopic enlargement of the anomaly and 3 anaglyphic stereo enlargements produced through digital manipulation of each frame and rendering of a composite image.
3. (U) Analysis: The "anomaly" is located along an unstable precipice near the edge of the permanent glacial ice cap atop Mt. Ararat. The instability of this feature is evidenced by the observation of an avalanche in progress just to the east of the "anomaly" on frame 2. The accumulated ice and snow along this precipice obviously fall down the side of the mountain at frequent intervals, often leaving long linear facades. It appears that the "anomaly" is one of these linear facades in the glacial ice underlying more recent accumulated ice and snow. Further, the tone and texture of the "anomaly" and avalanche debris immediately below are consistent with that of the shadowed snow,ice, and debris prevalent along the face of the precipice.
4. (U) POC: Questions may be directed to
5 Enclosures a/s
I have to scanned parts of frames 2 and 5 and posted them here. The other frames supplied (4 and 6) are views of the north face of Mt. Ararat and do not show the subject "anomaly". Frame 23 is similar to frame 2 but a photograph taken farther away containing less detail.
I did not receive the "1 monoscopic enlargement of the anomaly and 3 anaglyphic stereo enlargements " and plan to subsequently ask for them. -- MK
|
|
Frame 2 - West Face of Ararat |
Frame 5 - North Face of Ararat |
5. Defense Mapping Agency
NATIONAL IMAGERY AND MAPPING AGENCY
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGMENT
DATE OF REQUEST |
2. DATE RECEIVED |
3. CASE NUMBER |
24 Mar 97 |
7 Apr 97 |
970049 |
This is an acknowledgment of your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, received in this office on the above date. Your request has been assigned a case number. Your request will be processed in accordance with DoD Regulation 5400.7-R at 32 CFR 286. The actual processing time will depend on the complexity of your request. The National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA) has established a multitrack processing system. Requests are sorted based on the amount of time required to retrieve and review the requested records. You may have the opportunity to limit the scope of your request and qualify for expedited processing. Factors considered in determining multitrack processing are : the sensitivity of the information, the volume of the records, the scope of the search and the amount of coordination needed among parties who have an interest in the requested record.
Correspondence regarding your request can be sent to: NIMA, Mail Stop D-10, ATTN: FOIA Officer, 4600 Sangamore Road, Bethesda, MD 20816-5003, telephone number 301-227-2268.
NIMA FORM 5400-1, DEC 96 Replaces DMA FORM 5400-1, SEP 93, WHICH IS OBSOLETE.
6. National Reconnaissance
Office
NATIONAL RECONNAISSANCE OFFICE
14675 Lee Road
Chantilly, VA 20151-1715
Information Access and Release Center
(703) 808-5029
11 April 1997
Dear Mr. Kneisler:
Your letter, dated 24 March 1997, was received in the Information Access and Release Center of the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) on 9 April 1997. Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), you are requesting "records... regarding 'The Noah's Ark' anomaly...specifically...latitude and longitude at which anomaly is located."
Your request did not indicate a willingness to pay any charges incurred. Under the procedural requirements of Department of Defense (DoD) Regulation 5400.7-R, requestors must indicate a willingness to pay assessable fees. You have been placed in the "other" category of requestors which incurs an obligation to pay assessable search fees in excess of two hours and duplication exceeding 100 pages. In accordance with the FOIA, search fees are assessable even if no records are found, or if found, we determine that they are not releasable. This means you will be charged search fees even if our search results are negative or if it is determined that no information is releasable under the FOIA.
Please provide a statement of your willingness to pay incurred charges for processing your request for records. Upon receipt of this additional information, we will begin to process your request.
Regarding your request for a fee waiver, please be advised that fee waivers or reductions are granted when there is a public interest in disclosure of the information which will contribute significantly to the public's understanding of the operations or activities of the NRO. A decision to waive or reduce fees cannot be made until after responsive documents to be disclosed have been reviewed for "public interest."
For identification purposes your request has been assigned case number F97-0029.
Sincerely,
Barbara E. Freimann
Chief, Information Access and Release Center
Attachment
excerpt from DoD Reg 5400.7-R
30 April 1997
Barbara E. Freimann
Chief, Information Access and Release Center
National Reconnaissance Office
14675 Lee Road
Chantilly, VA 20151-1715
Fax: (703) 808-5082
Re: Case F97-0029
Dear Ms. Freimann:
Your letter dated 11 April 1997 was received on 15 April 1997. I apologize for the delay for I had pressing personal matters and a business trip since receipt of your letter. After talking to you on the phone, I obtained the FAX number through which I am sending this letter.
I hereby provide the NRO with my willingness to pay upto $100 for services rendered in searching for and copying records pertaining to "the Noah's Ark anomaly" or "the Ararat anomaly" located on Mount Ararat in northeastern Turkey. If the fees exceed this value, please notify me as to your future actions.
I truly appreciate all of your efforts and your most recent follow up phone call as of 30 April 1997.
Sincerely,
Matthew Kneisler
PS I think the the name of the town "Chantilly" means "whipped cream" in French. Just a little bit of trivia for you. Please correct me if I am wrong.
7. United States
Information Agency
Office of the General Counsel
United States
Information
Agency
Washington, D.C. 20547
Case #97-225F
April 8, 1997
Dear Mr. Kneisler:
This is in response to your March 24 Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for any records, including photographs, typed documents and/or audio tapes, about "The Noah's Ark" anomaly located on Mount Ararat Turkey.
This agency is not a "general" information agency and does not maintain the type of information you are seeking. The Freedom of Information Act is a Federal Statute that applies only to records in the possession of government agencies.
For your information, enclosed is a Fact Sheet which describes the agency's mission.
Should you have any questions, please call Ms. Xiomara George, of my office, on (202) 619-5499.
Sincerely yours,
Lola L. Secora
FOIA/Privacy Officer
Office of the General Counsel
Enclosure
8.
National Aeronautics & Space Administration
National Aeronautics and
Space Administration
Headquarters
Washington, DC 20546-0001
PO (97-086)
May 5, 1997
Dear Mr. Kneisler:
This is in response to your letter of March 24, 1997, pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, requesting "a copy of any records (photographs, typed document and/or verbal description) be provided to me regarding "The Noah's Ark" anomaly located at about 13,000 feet on Mount Ararat in Turkey."
I have been informed by NASA's Office of Mission to Planet Earth that they have not identified any specific information related to your request from NASA generated data. They also have no record of any previous NASA response to this query. Please note that imagery derived from space flight programs such as Landsat may exist for this region and, if so, would presumably be available to the public at nominal cost. To explore this avenue further, it is suggested that you contact the Earth Resources Observation Satellite (EROS) Data Center is Sioux Falls, South Dakota, to seek hardcopy or electronic files of Landsat imagery. Specific geolocation information will, of course, speed the inquiry.
Sincerely,
Patricia M. Riep-Dice
Freedom of Information Act Officer
9.
National Archives & Records Administration
10.
National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
OFFICE OF FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION
April 14, 1997
Dear Mr. Kneisler:
This is in response to your FOIA request concerning records of "The Noah's Ark" anomaly located in Mount Ararat, Turkey. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has no information concerning "The Noah's Ark" anomaly.
I am forwarding your request to the Department of Interior (DOI). There is a possibility the the Earth Research Technical Satellite images you seek are located at the U.S. Geological Survey within the DOI. The DOI FOIA Officer will contact you concerning your request.
Thank you for your interest in NOAA and I hope that the DOI can assist you in your search for the Noah's Ark anomaly.
Sincerely,
Rita E. Argueta
NOAA FOIA Office
cc: DOI FOIA Officer
United States Department of the Interior
OFFICE OF THE SECRETARYWashington, D.C. 20240
April 17, 1997
Dear Mr. Kneisler:
This is in reference to your March 24, 1997, Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to Maria C. Krug, FOIA/PA Officer, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). In your request, you seek access to any records regarding the "Noah's Ark" anomaly located at about 13,000 feet on Mount Ararat in Turkey. NOAA referred your request to the Department of the Interior (DOI) on April 14, 1997 (received in this office on April 17, 1997).
For your information, the DOI has a decentralized FOIA Program which means that each bureau is responsible for responding to FOIA requests for records under its purview only. Therefore, by copy of this letter we are forwarding your request to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) which will respond to you directly (43 CFR 2.15(a)). We are enclosing a list of the Department's FOIA Officers should you need to contact the USGS concerning your request.
If we can be of further assistance, please contact me at (202) 208-5342.
Sincerely,
Alexandra Mallus
Departmental Freedom of Information Act Officer
Enclosure
cc:
Maureen Ackerman - USGS FOIA Officer
Rita E. Argueta - NOAA FOIA Office
United States Department of the Interior
U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
Reston, Virginia 22092 In Reply Refer To
Mail Stop 518
May 5, 1997
Dear Mr. Kneisler:
This is in response to your March 24, 1997, Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request concerning records of "The Noah's Ark" anomaly located in Mount Ararat, Turkey. The U.S. Geological Survey has no information concerning this anomaly. However, if you could provide the latitude and longitude of a location, we could research our data base to determine if any satellite images of the area are available. If images are available, the EROS Data Center will provide copies of images at the cost of reproduction.
The Global Land Information System (GLIS) is an online interactive way for you to do your own search of our image data base, and is available free of charge on the World Wide Web. GLIS can be accessed at http://edcwww.cr.usgs.gov/webglis .
For assistance in determining if data exists or to order products from our archive, please contact:
Customer Services
U.S. Geological Survey
EROS Data Center
Sioux Falls, South Dakota 57198
Telephone: 605-594-6151 Fax: 605-594-6589
Sincerely,
Joseph S. Pillera
Freedom of Information Act Representative
National Mapping Division
10 May 1997
Customer Services
U.S. Geological Survey
EROS Data Center
Sioux Falls, South Dakota 57198
Telephone: 605-594-6151 Fax: 605-594-6589
Dear Sirs:
As directed by Joseph S. Pillera (USGS FOIA Representative, National Mapping Division), I am requesting research for aerial and/or satellite photographs of Mount Ararat located in eastern Turkey at approximately 39 degrees 42' 10" North and 44 degrees 16' 30" East.
Additionally, I am requesting that the acceptable photographs be qualified for a time frame of late summer upto early fall or August and September time frames throughout your historical data base, and, that the cloud cover for these images be 50% or less.
Although I would consider just about an "good" photograph which meets the above criteria, I would prefer image resolution of 50 feet or less. Please let me know resolution limitations of your data. And, is any of your acceptable data classified?
I am prepared to pay for any acceptable photographs for a nominal cost and appreciate your efforts to expedite my request.
Sincerely,
Matthew Kneisler
11. National Security Council
Case # F9700169
NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20504
April 1, 1997
MATTHEW Kneisler
Dear Sir/Madam:
This letter acknowledges receipt of your letter of request.
Our backlog of such requests is quite large, and, in fairness to the requesters we serve, we process the requests in the order in which they are received. The National Security Council Staff will make every effort to expedite our response. Should you wish to contact us about this request in the interim, please refer to the case number assigned above.
Sincerely,
DAVID S. VAN TASSEL
Director
Access Management
NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20504
April 7, 1997
Dear Mr. Kneisler:
This is in further response to your Freedom of Information Act request of March 24, 1997, for information relating to "The Noah's Ark anomaly located at about 13,000 feet on Mount Ararat in Turkey ... " as described in that letter.
As an organization in the Executive Office of the President that advises and assists the President, the National Security Council takes the position that it is not subject to the Freedom of Information Act. However, the NSC accepts and processes requests from the public and releases information as appropriate on a discretionary basis.
In accordance with that policy, the National Security Council staff has searched its records and found no documents responsive to your request.
If you have not already done so, you may wish to contact the National Aeronautics & Space Administration, the National Security Agency, and the Nixon Presidential Materials Project.
If you would like reconsideration of this determination, please write to the Executive Secretary, National Security Council, Washington, D.C. 20504, within sixty (60) days of receipt of this letter.
Sincerely,
DAVID S. VAN TASSEL
Director
Access Management
NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20504
April 14, 1997
Dear Mr. Kneisler:
This is in further response to your telephone request of April 11, 1997, for the addresses of the National Security Agency and the Nixon Presidential Materials Project.
Enclosed please find copies of listings containing the addresses and phone numbers you requested.
Sincerely,
Charlene Bolinski
Access Management
Enclosures
12. State Department
United States Department of State
Washington, D.C. 20520
Request Number 9701143____
Dear Sir/Madam:
Thank you for your letter of 03/24/97______ in which you requested:
Copies of "The Noah's Ark" located on Mount Ararat in Turkey.
_____________________________________________________
The following information may explain certain boundaries of the Department's search for documents in response to Freedom of Information Act requests.
[ x ] Before we can proceed, we need the additional information requested in the marked paragraph(s) in Section A and/or B. (We attempted to reach you by phone on ___________ to discuss the need for this information). We will hold your request open for ninety (90) days from the date of this letter pending receipt of the requested information.
[ x ] Please review the fee information provided in Section C.
SECTION C
The Freedom of Information Act permits agencies to collect fees to recover the direct costs of processing requests, unless a fee waiver has been granted of the charges fall below a certain amount. The following marked paragraphs address these issues:
[ x ] Based upon the information that you have provided, this request will be processed in accordance with the fee schedule designated for the following category of requesters. (See Subsection 171.14 of the enclosed Rules and Regulations.)
[ ] commercial use requesters
[ ] educational institutions
[ ] non-commercial scientific institutions
[ ] representatives of the news media
[ x ] all other requestersThe Department's search and review fees are:
Administrative/Clerical $8.00/hour
Professional $17.00/hour
Executive $30.00Copy costs are assessed at the rate of $0.25 per page.
[ x ] Initial inquiries indicate that total costs for processing this request will be below the minimum amount charged in your requester category. Accordingly, your request will be processed at no cost to you. Please note that this determination pertains only to this case.
Please be advised that the Department of State processes requests in stages: receipt and acknowledgement of the request; search for and retrieval of responsive documents; review of the documents; and, response and release to the requester. Within each stage, requests are generally handled on a first-in, first-out basis. Due to its central role in conducting U.S. foreign affairs and the significant public interest in access to its records, the Department receives requests of a number, range and complexity perhaps unparalleled among government agencies. Because of the large number of requests now pending with the Department, we anticipate that our response to your request will be delayed. Exceptions to the first-in, first-out rule are made in those rare instances in which the request has been determined to satisfy applicable regulations regarding expeditious processing (See 22 C.F.R. §171.12).
If you have any questions with respect to the processing of your request, you may write to the Office of Information Resources Management Programs and Services, IM/IPS, Room 1512, Department of State, 2201 C Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20520-1512, or telephone: (202) 647-6070. Please be sure to refer to your request number in all correspondence about this case.
Sincerely,
John Livornese, Acting Chief
Office of Information Resources
Management Programs and Services
Enclosure(s):
_____ Rules and Regulations.
_____ Requests for Fee Waivers.
_____ Requester Categories.
13. The White House
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
April 1, 1997
Dear Mr. Kneisler:
The Office of Counsel to the President has received you letter of March 24, 1997. Your request is based on the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. § 552.
The FOIA applies only to records maintained by an "agency" within the Executive Branch See 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(3). The President's immediate personal staff and units in the Executive Office of the President whose sole function is to advise and assist the President are not included within the term "agency" under FOIA. Consequently, the FOIA does not establish a statutory right to the documents that you have requested from the White House, if such documents exist.
Sincerely,
Robert W. Schroeder III
Assistant Counsel to the President
The Phone Call: Mr. Taylor
I would like to publicly apologize to Mr. Taylor for presenting information on this page that I claimed he said. I made a retraction and have since deleted the information. I am very appreciative of his efforts and in no way want to stifle that relationship or progress. Porcher, best wishes and may God guide you in your continued efforts to help locate the Ark. MK 6/16/98
I phoned Porcher Taylor (4/12/97) and talked to him about some email that I received from an "Ark Buddy" Dudley Cates. For your information, Porcher wrote a fifteen page article about how he was able to obtain declassified satellite photographs from the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). The article contained additional information on analysis of the photos from various retired US Military "photo experts". There seemed to be a resounding confirmation that this was truly an anomaly on the mountain and was man-made. Compartments could be seen in a "broken" structure .
These photographs were obtained by the US Air Force aerial photography on June 17, 1949. They were subsequently classified. Recently, President Clinton signed a bill that declassified records that were twenty five years or older. These photographs fell into this category and have since been moved from the DIA to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).
Porcher was the one, who through contacts with ex-CIA Directors, finally cracked the secrecy surrounding the "Ararat anomaly" photographs. They were released to him on March 14, 1995 by the DIA. He mentions that several of these retired government officials were actually glad that this information is now available to the public, now allowing others to share the joy of their suspicions that the Ararat anomaly could be Noah's Ark.
Porcher indicates the anomaly is located at 15,500 feet, 2.2 kilometers west of the summit. It is located on a "plateau" which is one mile by one-half mile in size.
I have since requested these photographs. Once I receive them, I will scan them and post them here. Stay tuned for more late breaking news .....
National Archives and Research Agency
Room 3320
Cartographic and Architectural Branch
NWD NC
8601 Delphi Rd.
College Park, Maryland 20740-6001
FAX: 301-713-7488
Attention: Aerial Team
April 21, 1997
Dear Sirs:
I am requesting research for the attached map. More specifically, I am requesting aerial photographs of Mount Ararat located at 39 degrees 42' 10" North and 44 degrees 16' 30" East. These images are located at 15,500 feet 2.2 km west of the summit.
Five images were taken June 17, 1949, were previously in the possession of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), and were subsequently released to the NARA.
I appreciate you efforts to expedite my request.
Sincerely,
Matthew Kneisler
Attachment
Let's Get Bent
Hold onto your hats.... it's getting kind of windy outside..... it's time to get bent out of shape. What do you think? Do you agree? Do you disagree? Let me know if you are bent or unbent!
Fellow Arkologists,
I have been home all weekend, sick, hence the large quantity of email from me. I have been catching up on all the Noah's Ark info which is now beginning to proliferate the Internet. I have started to collect email addresses for my "group" mailout. Anyone know ICR's? They are certainly not posted on their website. I am sort of the voice of one crying in the wilderness when it comes to Noah's ark. Anything that I see which seems absurd or ridiculous, I consider fair game for a good critique. I would rather the region of Ararat not become the next Bermuda Triangle.
Speaking of the well-intended, but ridiculous, I have been reading Matthew Kneisler's homepage (and have included his email, but no response yet). Supposedly, via second hand information, we are on the verge of discovering Noah's Ark ... and apparently the government has known where it is all along! He writes:
"Mr. Largent (his congressman), I believe that we are on the verge of revealing Noah's Ark to the world. Your assistance could help knock it over the edge. An expedition is at hand, the photographs do exist, and people are ready."
What is his source?
"I have since talked to James Hall who spoke here in Tulsa (1/11/97) for the Institute for Creation Research (ICR). He is planning a trip to Turkey to search for Noah's Ark. I told him that all he needed was a Latitude and Longitude on Ararat to locate the Ark and that satellite photographs can do this for us today." and "He said that a young friend of his who works as a clerk for the government, saw a classified photograph of an object on Mount Ararat. He had to file it away and could not make any copies. Mr. Hall had the young man draw a picture of what he saw. The drawing was similar to what several other first hand eye witnesses have seen"
And in a later phone call with James Hall:
"I phoned James Hall (3/31/97) and talked to him about the clerk who had seen the photograph. He mentioned that the clerk did not want to be identified but thought that the clerk worked in "Army Intelligence". and "I am hoping that I have covered this base by sending the letter to four different Defense Department Agencies: Defense Information Systems Agency, Defense Intelligence Agency, Defense Mapping Agency and National Reconnaissance Office."
Let's see .... James Hall THINKS .... THINKS .... that this "clerk" works in "Army Intelligence". WOW, ROTFL!!!!!!!!! And so now the letters fly, not only to DISA, NIMA (mistakenly called DMA by Matt), DIA, and the NRO, but the website has letters to virtually every government agency that exists ... the White House, DOS, you name it.
Who is this clerk ... some army spec-4 or something? a corporal? Give me a break.
And the results .... five pictures of Ararat from DIA from 1949 ... ROTFL again!!!! Even IF .... IF they had a "picture" of the ark ... what is the ground resolution? Two miles? Taken from what? A co-pilot in a B-17 or something?
Okay folks. Let's get real. The government has no pictures of Noah's Ark, and no one that I have seen with a website claims to be a Remote Sensing Specialist. Anyone know what that is? Well, if you don't, don't bother the government. The CIA and NRO told you, Matthew, to fork over some $$$, and it still wouldn't matter, because they don't have any imagery to give you. Unless you want some junky souvenir crud from Corona.
And it's satellite IMAGERY .... not PHOTOGRAPHY. Photography comes from cameras. Imagery from sensors. Both make pretty pictures, but they are different.
I have a copy from one of those grocery store newsstand magazines of an article about some guy in Pennsylvania who is holding a piece of "gopher" wood, and claims he found Noah's Ark in his backyard. Anyone care to post that on their website, too?
In brotherly love, #####
Did you feel the "love" in that letter? What do you think? Are you bent too? Pass a note along and be careful..... it might get posted here!
November 18, 1997 News Release
"CIA spy photos sharpen focus on Ararat Anomaly", reads the title of the November 18,1997 article by Bill Gertz for the Washington Times. The article provides insight in to the continuing effort to extract US government photos of Mount Ararat by Porcher Taylor. You will find that Porcher is in line to receive these photographs from the CIA through his FOIA requests. Likewise, I am also in line to receive them and when they are released, I will post them here.
Here is the link to the Washington Times Article
US Military Measurements of Noah's Ark
These Web pages have attracted a lot of attention which has generated a lot of comments and good leads to other sources. With his permission, I am posting a letter from retired Lt. Col. Robert Livingston who has seen first hand such images that I am trying to acquire. Sit back and read with pleasure his intriguing story:
On behalf of Matthew Kneisler, Tulsa, Oklahoma
November 27, 1997
"OUR MEASUREMENT OF NOAH'S ARK"
The actions of which I write took place about 1954 at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, near Dayton, Ohio. We were a small Field Office of what is now the Topographic Engineering Center, in Fort Belvoir, Virginia. We were Corps of Engineers civilians, and our landlord was Chief of Air Force's Reconnaissance Laboratory; we supplied the technical liaison between the two Services in aerial photomapping research and development in both peacetime and rapid combat mapping systems. I was there from 1948 to 1972, and was Chief of Field Office at its demise when the Defense Mapping Agency was formed. So much for our introduction into the relatively alien environment of an Air Force Base whose population numbered about 27,000 people at the time!
Our life with the Air Force was cordial, because we could serve them in so many "oddball" ways, in addition to our liaison activity. This brings us to the morning when a nicely uniformed Air Force captain came to our Office bearing a single aerial photograph which had been supplied by the American attaché in the Turkish Embassy. It was supposedly exposed by the camera as the pilot flew over Mount Ararat, which lies just within the eastern tip of Turkey, and in close proximity to both the Russian and Iranian boundaries.
He probably had come to us because he was aware that we had the equipment for his measurement within an "anomaly" area which appeared on the picture. At the time, Eldon was the Boss, I was his deputy, and George was our instrument man. The picture apparently had been taken with an Air Force long-focal-length reconnaissance camera which would provide larger detail on the photograph that out six-inch mapping lens would have given.
The Captain probably gave us the height of the aircraft as it flew at the time of the photo exposure. We were aware that the height of the mountain was about 17,000 feet, but we had to make an "educated guess" on the elevation of the object showing within the anomaly area. This was the figure that we needed to produce some sort of scale. As I remember, we decided that the anomaly area lay about 3000 feet down the mountain.
So George placed the picture under his scope and began measuring the object. Our picture may have been selected specially from a roll of film which had been exposed at runaway speed (3 or 4 seconds apart). We all took a look at the picture! As I recall, the object was right in the center of the picture, which would indicate it was near vertical.
The object appeared as an elongated rectangle (several times longer in length than in breadth). Its outline was somewhat darker than the immediate area around it, which might indicate that it was protected under a glacial ice formation. The remainder of the picture showed a very rough, rocky terrain, with little vegetation, if any. It was probably that the picture had been exposed in August or September when melting of the snow might have revealed the glacial ice cover.
Now was the time to check the Holy Bible for corroboration of our morning effort. But, how in the world would we be able to find a Bible, on short notice, at a place like Wright-Patterson Air Force Base? My Boss (a good Churchman) had one in his desk! We immediately moved to the 6th Chapter of Genesis to refresh our memories of the cubit, the unit of measurement at the time of Noah and his family.
The Lord is telling Noah how the Ark is to be built. "The Ark is to be 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high. Make a roof for it and finish the Ark to within 18 inches of the top, etc." We can eliminate the 45-foot height, which will not be used in our calculations, and the 18-inch mentioned happens to be the approximate length of a cubit. This is a study Bible, so the fine print below the text shows the Hebrew values for the dimensions of the Ark are 300 cubits long, 50 cubits wide, and 30 cubits high. Again, we can discard the 30-cubit value, since we have no way of measuring its height.
The next thing we considered with the Air Force Captain was the value of the ratio between the measurement of the length to that of the Ark's width. For example, if we divided 50 cubits into 300 cubits, our answer would be 6, and the ratio of the two dimensions would be one to six. And, if you wanted to use feet in your calculations you would divide 75 into 450 and again come up with another 6 and the same ratio of one to six. The ratio of one to six should be strong factor in proving the relevance of the scale factor, which came closer than expected.
Our session with the Captain lasted about an hour. When we were finished with the measurements and the explanations, the son-of-a-gun thanked us, took his photograph, grabbed the sheets with our mathematical manipulations, and "hit the road". We never saw him around Wright Field thereafter.
I retired from the Corps of Engineers 20 years later. If there had been anything in our files pertinent to this incident, it could have been thrown away in one of our file "downsizings".
George #######, our instrument man moved to our home base in Fort Belvoir, Virginia in 1957, worked there for several more years, and retired to the Manassas area near Alexandria. I have lost contact with him completely.
Eldon ######, my Boss for eleven years at Wright Field, lives about 20 miles north of us in #########. He and his wife have been our close friends since the Spring of 1941, when he and I were together in the 30th Engineer Topographic Battalion. All of us are still ambulant, and we see each other about once a week. He has helped in the preparation of this response -- two old memories are better than one! We are both in our early Eighties (he is the younger). Please be aware, however, that we octogenarians may possess brain recorders which are more cognizant of what happened 40 years ago than might have occurred day before yesterday. Eldon has helped to prepare this response.
Why have I gone to so much trouble, Matthew, in preparing this rambling dissertation in answer to your letter of October 28? First, I commend your ability again to pursue so complete a campaign for obtaining information on the location of Noah's Ark. Next, I have read the book, "The Lost Ship of Noah", by Charles Berlitz, and I cannot understand why so many photographs of the Ark and it location have been taken through the years, and none of them seem to be available in anyone's possession. I wish you well in your search!
Sincerely,
Robert G. Livingston
Wow! Thanks, Bob for your fascinating and interesting letter. I know that you had some reservations about making your story public, but I am sure that your audience has enjoyed it immensely. Thanks for your courage and fortitude!
