Former RAF Bentwaters Airman John Burroughs – Was He Taken Into A Craft?

“…Adrian Bustinza said that yes, the light appeared to pull me up inside.
Adrian also told me that he did not fall down. He was knocked down and
something held him to the ground.”

– Former USAF Airman John Burroughs

John Burroughs, age 49, in Tempe, Arizona, on October 4, 2008. Image © 2008 by Linda Moulton Howe.

September 24, 2009 Phoenix, Arizona – John Burroughs was born in Bloomington, Illinois in 1960, and joined the U. S. Air Force right after high school graduation. He received orders to go to RAF Bentwaters, England, and arrived in July 1979, about eighteen months before the highly strange encounters with lights, beams and craft in the Rendlesham Forest between RAF Bentwaters and nearby RAF Woodbridge the end of December 1980. During that time, John worked as an Air Force police officer and says nothing strange ever happened until after midnight on December 26, 1980.

Earlier, John had Christmas dinner with his landlord in Ipswich where he rented a room in a house and reported for his normal police duty at 11 PM. A little before 3 AM, he and his boss, Staff Sgt. Bud Steffens, arrived at the East Gate together and noticed blue, red, orange and white lights glowing in Rendlesham Forest that John had never seen before. Steffens and Burroughs drove out the East Gate as far as the road would go to the trees, felt static electricity in the air and returned to the East Gate to call the law enforcement desk about something strange in the woods outside the base.

Then, Staff Sergeant James Penniston, the base security supervisor, got a call to go to the East Gate and brought along a new airman, Edward Cabansag. Sgt. Penniston called the 81st Police Squadron Shift Commander, Lt. Fred “Skip” Buran, and asked for an Eastern Radar check. Lt. Buran told Sgt. Penniston there was an object over the base and that “something had disappeared off radar.” That convinced Shift Commander Lt. Buran to give Sgt. Penniston permission to go off base to investigate. Sgt. Penniston asked Sgt. Steffens to go with him into the woods, but Steffens did not want to leave base property. So, John Burroughs volunteered to join Sgt. Penniston and Airman Cabansag. The three men traveled in a pickup truck from the East Gate toward the unusual, colorful lights in the forest.

Jim Penniston remembers approaching the lights, seeing a solid black, glassy, triangle- shaped craft on the forest floor resting on tripod legs. He photographed the craft, he drew sketches of it in his notebook and copied the odd symbols scratched into the black, glassy surface. He walked off the size at 9 feet by 6.5 feet. But John Burroughs, who was there with Penniston, does not remember any of that. Later, Jim Penniston realized that his notebook’s time line had 45 minutes of missing time. Further, Airman Richard Bertolino on Bunker Hill was listening to Sgt. Penniston’s radio transmissions until Security Control called for radio silence about an hour after Sgt. Penniston and the other men went into the forest. John Burroughs recently talked with Lt. Fred Buran who said radio silence was requested because Security Control lost all radio contact with Sgt. Penniston for about 45 minutes.

Right from the beginning, the men saw what they could not explain and something happened to the minds of those eyewitnesses – either in the forest, in military interrogations later on, or both. The results have been blank or confused memories. Even two men, Sgt. James Penniston and Airman John Burroughs, who were next to each other in Rendlesham Forest between RAF Bentwaters and RAF Woodbridge, do not remember the same details.

Interview:

Former USAF Airman John Burroughs was a military policeman at RAF Bentwaters, Suffolk County, England, in 1980, and was in Rendlesham Forest two nights on December 26 and 28, 1980, when lights, beams and a craft were encountered: “The hardest part for me is that I remember certain things. I know what I remember and I know what my statement says. I know that what I drew (in report) is what we came close to. That part I definitely remember.

John Burroughs sketch of lights he saw on the first night of December 26, 1980. Date of his above sketch was January 2, 1981.

[ John Burroughs notes on January 2, 1981, sketch of lights: “This would move back and forth, up and down, but the blue and white and orange would come out when it was sitting in one place. Blue lights would come out of the beam and the white light below. Blue lights would blink on and off inside the beam, plus the beam would be red and orange. A white light would come out below the beam in the trees. ( AIC John Burroughs 81SPS SPOL CFLT”)]

The stories over the years coming out saying I jumped on something or I was drawn into something could have been the night with Penniston; it could have been the third night when I was out there with Col. Halt. How much missing time? I do believe there was some kind of distortion in time. And it was very interesting under hypnosis to confirm something did happen to me and I had some kind of interaction with whatever was out there.

WE’RE STILL TRYING TO GET FURTHER BREAKTHROUGH TO SEE IF YOU CAN REMEMBER MORE DETAILS.

Yes. The hardest problem I have is that I spent 26 years in the U. S. Air Force and what happened over those three nights – we did not follow proper procedures and protocol. Things that went on do not add up. Things that went on afterwards do not add up. We were in the largest tactical fighting wing in the U. S. Air Force. We were a front line NATO base that if war broke out, our aircraft would proceed over to Germany and they would bring in other aircraft for another mission. We had some officers that all went on to some very distinguished careers in space command and all of them were sitting there trying to tell us that, ‘Well, we really didn’t have anything to do with it. Something did happen and you were good men doing your job, but we can’t really comment on it.’

JIM PENNISTON MADE THE COMMENT THAT IT APPEARED THAT THE BASE COMMANDER THEN, COL. TED CONRAD, MUST HAVE HAD A LOT MORE INFORMATION THAN HE EVER SHARED WITH YOU AND JIM PENNISTON WHEN BOTH OF YOU WERE ASKED TO SEE, FIRST, LT. FRED BURAN, THE [RAF BENTWATERS 81ST POLICE SQUADRON SHIFT COMMANDER]. THAT WENT IN A KIND OF PERFUNCTORY WAY. AND THEN A COUPLE OF DAYS LATER, OR MAYBE BY DECEMBER 29, 1980, YOU WERE ASKED TO GO AND TALK TO COL. CHARLES HALT. HE ASKED BOTH OF YOU A LOT OF QUESTIONS, BUT THEN YOU WALKED ACROSS THE HALL TO THE BASE COMMANDER’S OFFICE, COL. CONRAD. HE ASKED YOU AND JIM TO SIT DOWN AND TELL HIM WHAT YOU HAD SEEN AND HE NEVER ASKED YOU A SINGLE QUESTION.

Right. Something did happen off base. We were out there for three different nights. Something did happen around the Weapons Storage Area. I do know the radio traffic was recorded through the command post that night, and I believe to this day that Captain Verano came forward and said a tape was sent over to Germany and I believe that was the actual tape of the radio traffic that night. If that tape was ever to be released – and I still believe it’s out there – that would blow this case completely wide open.

THE VERY FACT THAT WHAT WAS HAPPENING IN THE TOWERS AND BEING RECORDED HAS NEVER BEEN RELEASED – THAT’S A COVER-UP.

Right, because the tape did not get destroyed. What took place off base and what took place in the area of the Weapons Storage Area – that tape was listened to. I’ve also been told that the NSA (National Security Agency) has files on the incident and they have different document there, so my best bet is that the tape is sitting at the National Security Agency. The fact that it would confirm a lot of what’s been said and it would clearly show that there was some kind of strange phenomena going on over the base. Col. Halt’s tape showed that something very strange happened.

THOSE AUDIOTAPES THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN DONE BY PEOPLE WHO WERE IN CONTROL TOWERS WOULD BE EXTREMELY VALUABLE AS THE RUNNING TIME LINE OF EVENTS AS THEY HAPPENED THOSE THREE NIGHTTS. FURTHER, IT MIGHT EXPLAIN WHY COL. HALT TOLD PETER ROBBINS WHEN HE WAS WORKING ON THE BOOK, ‘LEFT AT EAST GATE,’ IN THE MID 1990S THAT HE KNEW FOR A FACT THAT A BEAM HAD COME DOWN INTO THE RAF BENTWATERS WEAPONS STORAGE AREA AND HAD GONE THROUGH SOIL, METAL AND CEMENT AND INTERACTED WITH NUCLEAR WARHEADS.

C-5 Flew to RAF Bentwaters on December 28, 1980, and Parked Near Weapons Storage Area

I do know that a C-5 came in Sunday night (December 28, 1980). It involved the Weapons Storage Area. It was parked and had its own security.

C-5 Galaxy flying in June 1970. Photo courtesy U.S. Air Force.

A C-5 Galaxy offloads its cargo. Image courtesy USAF.

[ Editor’s Note: Wikipedia – The Lockheed C-5 Galaxy is a large, military transport aircraft built by Lockheed. It was designed to provide strategic heavy airlift over intercontinental distances and to carry outsize and oversize cargo. The C-5 Galaxy has been operated by the United States Air Force since 1969 and is one of the largest military aircraft in the world. ]

RAF Bentwaters view of Weapons Storage Area (WSA) from Victor Alert tower. Image by RAF Bentwaters History.

JOHN, YOU’RE TALKING ABOUT WHAT DATES?

Christmas was Thursday, December 25th and the plane came in on Sunday night (December 28, 1980). I do know that on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday (December 29, 30 and December 31, 1980), I was posted on the East Gate. I do know there was activity in the woods all three days. I did see a chopper lift something out of the woods and bring it over to the RAF Woodbridge flight line over by the 67th ARS, which was para rescue on Tuesday night (December 30, 1980). So, I do know there was stuff going on afterwards and there were people in the woods.

I was posted on the East Gate and I was told that because I was involved in the incidents and saw strange things that that is why they put me there and if I saw anything strange happening in the woods, not to call it on the radio. They were well aware there was activity going on in the woods.

THEY MEANT, DON’T GO THROUGH RADIO TRAFFIC, CALL US ON A PHONE LINE?

Yes.

THEY WANTED TO KEEP A LOW PROFILE IF ANYTHING MORE HAPPENED IN THE WOODS.

Right, or anything that I saw going on.

CONTROL OF THE PHENOMENA WAS ALREADY STARTING TO KICK IN, WHETHER YOU KNEW WHAT WAS HAPPENING AT HIGHER LEVELS OF AUTHORITY OR NOT. YOU ARE ALREADY BEING TOLD, ‘DO NOT CALL ON THE RADIO. CALL ON THE PHONE.’

Yes, that’s what I was told. To me, we weren’t taken care of. I mean, we were out doing our job. General Williams said that – that we ‘were good men doing our jobs.’ We were not taken care of. We all should have been checked out because we had something strange happen to us. So, medically we should have been brought in and checked out. We should have been debriefed on everything that happened to us. People have said they have been interrogated, which I don’t understand why guys doing their job would be interrogated. That just doesn’t make any sense to me.

THE FACT THAT STAFF SERGEANT JAMES PENNISTON WAS ASKED TO DO SODIUM PENTOTHAL HYPNOSIS AND THAT IT LASTED FOR THREE AND A HALF HOURS.

And that’s totally wrong.

John Burroughs Back In Rendlesham Forest On December 28, 1980

“…when I talked to Adrian on the phone a few years later,
he said that yes, the light appeared to pull me up inside.
Adrian also told me that he did not fall down. He was knocked down
and something held him to the ground.”

– John Burroughs

CAN YOU DESCRIBE HOW YOU GOT BACK INTO RENDLESHAM FOREST AND WHAT WAS YOUR INTERACTION WITH COL. HALT?

We saw something like lights, really bright and white that came down and started hovering out in the distance in the Rendlesham Forest. Col. Halt asked me if that was what we saw the first night. I told him I wasn’t sure and I asked him if I could move forward to get a better view of it and he cleared me to go forward with Bustinza [ Sgt. Adrian Bustinza]. Bustinza had a radio and he and I went towards the object.

THIS IS SGT. ADRIAN BUSTINZA. VERBAL CLEARANCE WAS GIVEN BY THE DEPUTY BASE COMMANDER, COL. HALT, FOR YOU TO GO FORWARD TOWARDS THE NOW REDDISH-ORANGE LIGHT IN THE SKY WITH ADRIAN BUSTINZA. WHAT HAPPENS?

We’re in contact with the WSA (Weapons Storage Area) tower. Adrian and I were running towards the object. Adrian went down to the ground and I got closer to it and the next thing I know – I don’t know how long it was afterwards – I’m standing in the field right where I got close to whatever it was and it’s gone and I’m just standing there with Adrian behind me.

WHAT DO YOU SAY TO EACH OTHER?

Well, I went back towards Adrian and he told me that whatever the light was came over the top of me. [Third night on December 28, 1980]

DID ADRIAN BUSSTINZA SEE YOU RISE UP INTO THIS OBJECT?

He didn’t tell me when we were out in the field, but when I talked to Adrian on the phone a few years later, he said that yes, the light appeared to pull me up inside. Adrian also told me that he did not fall down. He was knocked down and something held him to the ground.

THIS WOULD EXPLAIN ALL OF THE RUMORS ABOUT YOU EITHER JUMPING ON THE CRAFT OR BEING TAKEN UP IN A BEAM OF LIGHT INTO THE CRAFT.

Yes, it would. I’ve always felt that when those rumors came out that it was not the first night with Jim and me. I went under hypnosis to try to figure out what happened.

Did Col. Halt and Others See John Burroughs Rise Up Into Reddish-Orange Light?

SOMETHING AS DRAMATIC AS ADRIAN BUSTINZA BEING ABLE TO TELL YOU LATER THAT HE SAW THE REDDISH-ORANGE LIGHT COME OVER YOU AND THAT YOU APPEARED TO GO UP INTO IT – COL. CHARLES HALT AND EVERYBODY ELSE MUST HAVE KNOWN WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU AND BUSTINZA IN THE FOREST?

The Col. was behind us, so I’m not sure exactly what he saw.

YOU HAVE A MEMORY LOSS, A MISSING TIME, ON THAT EARLY MORNING HOURS EVENT WITH ADRIAN BUSTINZA ON DECEMBER 28, 1980?

Yeah, there is definitely something – I mean, when I got close to whatever it was, I have no idea what happened. Also, I have spoken to the guy that was in the tower that night and he did confirm that what I am saying is true. He remembers talking to me on the radio, he remembers me getting close to the object. He also remembers clearly that he could see the object hovering over the woods and he said the object was there for quite awhile.

ADRIAN BUSTINZA, AS FAR AS HE IS CONCERNED, WENT PRONE TO THE GROUND IN A DEFENSIVE MOVE?

He said he fell to the ground. But he claims that he was pushed down. Something forced him to the ground and held him to the ground. He never went to the ground on his own. Something forced him to the ground.

Why Sodium Pentothal Hypnosis with Sgt. Jim Penniston in February 1981?

ADRIAN BUSTINZA SAW YOU RISE UP INTO INTO THE REDDISH-ORANGE LIGHT, NOT THE BLUE LIGHT. WHY DO YOU THINK THAT STAFF SERGEANT PENNISTON IN EARLY FEBRUARY 1981 – A FULL MONTH AFTER THE EVENTS IN RENDLESHAM – THAT OSI (OFFICE OF SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS) ASKS STAFF SERGEANT JAMES PENNISTON TO COME IN FOR THE SODIUM PENTOTHAL HYPNOSIS. WHY DO YOU THINK THEY FOCUSED ON STAFF SERGEANT JAMES PENNISTON AND NOT YOU, THE PERSON THAT ADRIAN BUSTINZA SAYS WAS TAKEN UP INTO THAT LIGHT?

Col. Halt, he clearly told me that he knows I was brought in and he knows I was interrogated. He knows who did it, what was involved and everything else. I don’t remember it. So, I’m not trying to say I wasn’t. Just what I honestly remember is that I was never brought in.

IF THE POINT OF THE SODIUM PENTOTHAL HYPNOSIS SESSIONS WAS TO BLOCK OR ERASE THE MEMORIES OF MEN WHO ACTUALLY ENCOUNTERED SOMETHING OF EXTRATERRESTRIAL ORIGIN, OR TIME TRAVELERS, OR FROM OTHER DIIMENSIONS – IT MIGHT EXPLAIN WHY FOR THIRTY YEARS, YOU HAVE BEEN HAUNTED BY NOT BEING ABLE TO SLEEP EASILY AND HAVING DREAMS/NIGHTMARES AND THAT YOUR MIND IS TRYING TO REMEMBER IN SPITE OF THE EFFORTS OF THE UNITED STATES AND THE BRITISH GOVERNMENTS TO BLOCK YOUR MEMORY?

That very well could be because, I mean, the thing that sticks with me is that under hypnosis most everything I said comes out. There’s just more to it. I can’t describe what Jim and I encountered as good as Jim can. So, there are a ton of discrepancies on what we saw and what went on. As Lord Hill-Norton said, ‘It had to be of defense significance.’ Lord Hill-Norton could not understand how all this could happen, that good men were doing their jobs, and that so little would be commented on by either government, and the way it was handled by either government.

Lord Peter John Hill-Norton. February 8, 1915 - May 16, 2004. Video image © by James Fox. — Lord Peter John Hill-Norton. February 8, 1915 – May 16, 2004. Video image © by James Fox.

[ Editor’s Note: Wikipedia – Lord Peter John Hill-Norton (Feb. 8, 1915 to May 16, 2004) was a five-star Admiral of the Fleet, was Chief of the Defence Staff of the United Kingdom and Chairman of the NATO Military Committee. In later years he took an interest in UFOs, which included inquiries to Parliament about the December 1980 RAF Bentwaters and Rendlesham Forest light, beams and craft encounters. ]

WHY IS IT THAT THE THEN PRIME MINISTER OF ENGLAND, MARGARET THATCHER, WOULD TELL GEOGINA BRUNI – A JOURNALIST WORKING ON A BOOK (ABOUT THE RAF BENTWATERS MYSTERY) – ‘YES, IT HAPPENED, BUT WE CAN’T TELL THE PEOPLE.’AND THAT WAS THE TITLE GEORGINA USED FOR HER BOOK. WHAT IS IT THAT MARGARET THATCHER AND THE VARIOUS NEED-TO-KNOW AGENCIES IN THE UNITED KINGDOM AND THE UNITED STATES KNOW ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED IN THE RENDLESHAM FOREST DECEMBER 26 TO 28, 1980, THAT THE REST OF THE WORLD CANNOT KNOW?

That’s a good question. And OSI and NSA need to explain what their involvement was.”

Former U. S. Air Force 1st Class Airman John Burroughs is now organizing a 2010 reunion in England for all the military personnel in RAF Bentwaters and RAF Woodbridge who were involved in the mysterious light phenomena of December 26 – 28, 1980. John would like to hear from all who were there and has created a website and email account to organize a 2010 Bentwaters reunion.

Website with email address: http://backtobentwaters.blogspot.com/

Also see: Earthfiles Parts 1 – 6, beginning July 17, 2009.

Also see: Other RAF Bentwaters security eyewitnesses, Earthfiles Parts 1 – 2

Also see: Sgt. James Penniston Recalls Black, Glassy, Triangular Craft, Symbols and Missing Time

More Information:

For further information about the worldwide UFO phenomena, please see Earthfiles Archive (partial list below) and my books, An Alien Harvest and the 2-volume Glimpses of Other Realities in the Earthfiles Shop.

08/31/2009 —Part 9: Non-Human Entities (NHEs): One View from Alleged Government Insiders
08/30/2009 —Part 7: UFOs and the National Security State with Historian Richard M. Dolan
08/27/2009 —Part 4: 1980 Bentwaters Lights – Were They Time Travelers?
08/27/2009 —Part 5: USAF Col. Charles I. Halt (Ret.) Says 1980 RAF Bentwaters Lights and Craft Were “Extraterrestrial In Origin”
08/27/2009 —Part 6: Is Time Travel Past and Future Possible?
08/23/2009 —Part 8: Non-Human Entities (NHEs): One View from Alleged Government Insiders
08/18/2009 —Part 3: Silbury Hill “Quetzlcoatl Headdress” First Filmed At Dawn
08/14/2009 —Part 7: Non-Human Entities (NHEs): One View from Alleged Government Insiders
07/31/2009 —Silver Disc Videotaped Near Barbury Castle
07/22/2009 —Part 3: 1980 RAF Bentwaters Lights and Craft Were “Extraterrestrial In Origin”
07/20/2009 —Part 6: Non-Human Entities (NHEs): One View from Alleged Government Insiders
07/19/2009 —Part 2: 1980 RAF Bentwaters Lights and Craft Were “Extraterrestrial In Origin”
07/17/2009 —Part 1: 1980 RAF Bentwaters Lights and Craft Were “Extraterrestrial In Origin”
07/16/2009 —Part 2: Silbury Hill “Quetzlcoatl Headdress” and Mysterious Tall Blonds
07/14/2009 —Part 5: Non-Human Entities (NHEs): One View from Alleged Government Insiders
07/12/2009 —Mysterious Aerial Lights Mimicking Stars in Texas and Oregon
07/06/2009 —Part 4: Non-Human Entities (NHEs): One View from Alleged Government Insiders
06/25/2009 —Part 3: Non-Human Entities (NHEs): One View from Alleged Government Insiders
06/21/2009 —Part 2: Non-Human Entities (NHEs): One View from Alleged Government Insiders
06/17/2009 —Updated Part 1: Non-Human Entities (NHEs): One View from Alleged Government Insiders
06/09/2009 —Update Podcast: Aerial Lights That Mimic Stars, Helicopters and Airplanes
06/05/2009 —Part 2: Mysterious, Silent, Large Aerial Triangles
06/04/2009 —Part 1: Mysterious, Silent, Large Aerial Triangles
06/01/2009 —Part 10: High Strangeness Files about EBENs
05/29/2009 —Part 3: 1954 SOM1-01 Training Manual and Challis, Idaho, Huge Triangle
05/29/2009 —Part 4: 1954 SOM1-01 Training Manual and Challis, Idaho, Huge Triangle
05/28/2009 —Part 1: Idaho Hunters Describe Huge Triangle Aircraft Over Their Campsite
05/28/2009 —Part 2: Idaho Hunters Describe Huge Triangle Aircraft Over Their Campsite
05/26/2009 —Part 9: High Strangeness Files about EBENs
05/13/2009 —Part 8: High Strangeness Files about EBENs
05/12/2009 —Part 3: Astronomical Information in U.K. 2009 Crop Formations?
05/10/2009 —Part 2: 800-Foot-Long Pattern in U. K. Oilseed Rape – A Sigil Someone Wanted Destroyed?
05/09/2009 —Part 1: 800-Foot-Long Pattern in U. K. Oilseed Rape – A Sigil Someone Wanted Destroyed?
05/05/2009 —Part 7: High Strangeness Files about EBENs
04/30/2009 —Part 1: First 2009 U. K. Crop Formations Counting Down to 2012?
04/30/2009 —Part 2: First 2009 U. K. Crop Formations Counting Down to 2012?
04/29/2009 —Part 6: High Strangeness Files about EBENs
04/22/2009 —Part 5: High Strangeness Files about EBENs
04/21/2009 —Apollo Astronaut Edgar Mitchell Says Governments Covering Up E. T.s