by UFO History Buff & Author, Charles Lear
This is the last of a series of blogs looking at the Gulf Breeze, Florida, UFO flap that started with the publication of a photograph of a clearly-defined, lit-up UFO in the November 19, 1986, Gulf Breeze Sentinel. More followed from the same photographer who remained anonymous for over a year and was mostly referred to as “Ed” or “Mr. Ed.” The director of the Mutual UFO Network, Walt Andrus, met with Ed, and Andrus, along with Bruce Maccabee, local MUFON investigators, and the editor of the Sentinel, Duane Cook, became staunch supporters of Ed’s claims that the photos were of real craft taken during encounters which included attempted abductions and psychic communication. Just as word got out that Ed had made a publishing deal and received a $200,000 advance, a double exposed photo alleged to have been taken by Ed as a party trick was brought to the attention of the press by a teenager, Nick Mock, who said he was there at the time. The photo showed a ghost behind another teenage guest, Jennifer Bloomfield, and she came forward and confirmed the story. This was evidence against Ed’s claim that he didn’t know how to make double exposures. In the August 6, 1988, Miami Herald there is an article (page 11 of the pdf) covering the publishing deal and the photo. It was written by Sidney Freeberg headlined “Flash! UFOs are Real!” with the subhead, “Is ‘Mr. Ed’ Giving Us the Horse Laugh?” and at the end of it, Freeberg presents Ed’s full name and aliases: “He is Edward Daniel Walters, alias Daniel Edward Walters, alias Daniel Walters, alias Daniel Hanson.”
Walters’s book, titled Gulf Breeze Sightings, cowritten with his wife, Francis, was published on March 1, 1990. As Walters and his supporters defended the case in the press, the article (the second page is here) by Craig Meyers headlined “Gulf Breeze UFO Model Found” appeared in the June 10, 1990, Pensacola News Journal. Included is a photo of Meyers’s hand holding the model and a double exposure made with it at the Journal that is remarkably similar to Walters’s photos. According to Meyers, it was found in a house that Walters used to live in by the new owner who was looking for a water line in the attic while in the midst of installing a new ice maker. Walters claimed it was planted and is quoted as saying, “The debunkers will go to any lengths to discredit me.” Read more
Martin Willis sits down with Anne Ramsey Cuvelier, who for years opened her historic Newport, Rhode Island mansion to UFO experiencers, researchers and investigators seeking a private place to share extraordinary encounters without ridicule. Anne recalls gatherings that included Dr. John Mack, Budd Hopkins, Barbara Lamb, Peter Robbins and members of the Allagash abduction case. Now 92, she reflects on a lifetime connected to the UFO mystery, including her father’s comments about unusual aerial objects, his friendship with former Secretary of Defense James Forrestal, her experiences investigating crop circles in England, and her memories of leading figures in the experiencer community. The conversation explores the stigma once surrounding abduction reports, how attitudes have changed, and the important role Anne played in giving experiencers a place where they knew someone would listen.
Martin Willis sits down in person with Lue Elizondo for a wide-ranging conversation about UAP disclosure and what may be happening behind the scenes in Washington. Elizondo reveals that he has returned to the Washington, D.C. area and says he is once again working for the U.S. government, although he cannot disclose his specific role. He discusses why some UAP information remains classified, his restrictions on discussing alleged crash-retrieval programs, and the long-rumored 23-minute UAP video, which he says isn’t the most compelling footage that exists. The conversation also covers NASA and unusual observations involving the Moon, historical UAP performance, Ross Coulthart’s recent claims about Elizondo, whether the government truly understands the phenomenon, and the possibility that humanity perceives only a tiny fraction of a much larger reality.
In last week’s blog, we looked at a case that started when the Sentinel out of Gulf Breeze, Florida, 
Martin Willis welcomes analytical chemist and longtime paranormal researcher Matt Moniz for a fascinating discussion of the physical evidence surrounding UFO and abduction cases. Matt describes his laboratory examination of material from Betty Hill’s dress, including microscopy and chromatography comparing affected areas with control samples, and discusses other materials he has collected or studied from notable UFO cases. He explains the importance of provenance, contamination, metallurgy and isotope ratios when evaluating alleged UFO materials and discusses several classic cases he believes deserve further scientific investigation. The conversation then becomes deeply personal as Matt recounts his own claimed abduction experiences beginning in early childhood, including encounters he says continued throughout his life and an extraordinary later meeting with someone he remembered from one of those experiences. Martin and Matt also explore consciousness, ghosts, paranormal investigation and the difficult question of how science can approach phenomena that are unpredictable and difficult to reproduce.
Former British military intelligence officer Franc S. Milburn joins Martin Willis to discuss military accounts of an alleged UFO retrieval in northern England and RAF encounters, distinguishing what his sources told him from what he can verify. He also explores the Nimitz Tic Tac incident, his exchanges with Eric Davis, and his family’s reported experiences. Milburn then presents his case for Russian drone operations behind incidents at UK airbases and around the Baltic Sea, emphasizing the importance of separating conventional threats from unexplained UAP.
by UFO History Buff & 
Martin Willis welcomes Navy veteran Jimmy Hernandez III and filmmaker David Beaty for a closer look at the 2004 USS Nimitz Tic Tac encounter. In his first live public interview, Jimmy recounts hearing Commander David Fravor’s startled radio communications while working in Primary Flight Control, witnessing men removing recordings, and signing a nondisclosure agreement. He explains why he remained silent for years, even with his wife. Beaty discusses his expanded documentary, The Nimitz Encounters, as the conversation explores conflicting witness accounts, missing data, radar spoofing theories, and the unanswered questions surrounding this remarkable UFO case.
Serving UK Police Inspector Roy Teague joins Martin Willis to discuss Close Encounters of the Police Kind and his interviews with more than 300 serving and retired officers about UFO and paranormal experiences. Roy shares accounts of a police helicopter crew watching a craft apparently disappear into a “hole in the sky,” an unusual RAF radar incident, and a black triangle encounter involving electrical failures and missing time. They explore alleged abductions, Roy’s investigative methods, and the professional stigma that can keep officers silent for decades.
In last week’s 
BIO: Jimmy Hernandez III, 47, is a U.S. Navy veteran who served aboard USS Nimitz from July 2001 to June 2006. He and his wife, Jennifer M. Rogers Hernandez, have been married for 11 years. His commitment to following orders led him to keep his account of the Tic Tac incident private, even from his wife, until a few months before his interview for The Nimitz Encounters. Jimmy comes from a family with a history of military service. His maternal grandfather served as a machine gunner aboard a tracked landing vehicle in the Pacific during World War II, and his paternal grandfather served in the Korean War. He enlisted in the Navy in March 2001 and reported aboard Nimitz that July, shortly after the ship emerged from dry dock at Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia. Following the September 11 attacks, the ship changed its homeport to Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego, California. During his 
time aboard Nimitz, Jimmy completed two Western Pacific deployments and worked in Primary Flight Control directly under the Air Boss and Mini Boss. In 2006, he transferred to shore duty at Naval Outlying Landing Field San Nicolas Island. In 2008, he volunteered for an Individual Augmentee assignment and trained with the Army at Fort Bliss, Texas, before deploying to Iraq with Naval Provisional Detainee Battalion Ramadi 2. He conducted detainee operations briefly at Camp Bucca and later at Camp Taji. Jimmy completed his active duty service honorably after eight years, eleven months, and nineteen days and held an active Secret security clearance until 2013.