Hello everyone,
First off I'm not sure if this is the correct forum but it does kind of pertain to secret facilities so if a mod feels this should be moved, please do
so.
Also, I have been a long time lurker on ATS and understand that because I only have a few posts, a lot of you may breeze past this post. I am hoping
to maybe find some of you crazy researchers who might be able to validate some of this story. My mom, dad and I have always been curious if there was
any truth to his stories or if it was just the ramblings of an old man.
So... where to start.
My mother is an in home caregiver. Has been for 31 years since I was born. I admire that she can create a close connection with someone, help them
with their pain and suffering, deal with the loss of them at some point and then move on to help the next. It takes a very strong person to do that.
Anyway, onto the story.
Back in the mid 1990's she started taking care of a gentleman in his late 60's. He was a very nice guy. Would always give me coins for my collection
and get our entire family xmas and bday presents. Over the few years my mother took care of him, he became like an uncle or cousin to our family.
As he grew closer to passing away, he began to tell my mother (and myself if I was there) about some of the things he had done in his life. Now, he
did have children however, he was never very close to them. In all the years my mother took care of him, she never once caught him in any kind of a
lie. This is important. From everything I remember (I was only around 10-11) and everything my mom and dad said, he was a man of his word. There was
never any sign of him losing his memory or having dementia, alzheimer's.
He stated that he was in the air force for most of his life. Started out in low level positions and worked his way up to earning his wings and
becoming a test pilot. He goes on to tell my parents that he was a test/reconnaissance pilot for one of the spy planes. My parents aren't sure if it
was the U-2, SR-71 or another entirely however, he says that it was totally top secret, under the radar at the time. The government refused to
acknowledge its existence and he was given instructions should he ever get shot down or crash into enemy territory, he was on his own and they would
deny any affiliation with him should he be captured (yes, I know, this sounds like every typical holy wood spy movie since WWII). Well he goes on to
say that he actually was shot down or crashed. He says he was in hostile territory for a period of time moving mostly at night before he was able to
cross the border into an allied country and that upon his return, he was debriefed, told to never mention the crash and was assigned to a new base. He
says that his mission, the crash and even the existence of the plane were covered up as at the time, it would have caused embarrassment and escalated
tensions in an already heightened time (I'm assuming the start of the cold war era).
I wish I had been a bit older and into that kind of stuff as I would have had a field day sitting and talking to him and getting as much information
as I could have. My mother keeps referring to him as a "spy" and that I likely wont be able to find anything about it although I never remember him
saying he was a spy. Just that he worked on these top secret flights/plane developments and that he was involved in the crash and cover up.
Here is the small bit of information I do have
His name was Blaine Thomas DeBerry
He was born in Utah on 06/29/1929
Passed away in Nampa/Boise Idaho on 12/21/1997.
He stated he was a test or reconnaissance pilot.
States he was involved in the "spy" plane projects (again, not sure if U-2, SR-71 etc although he would have been 28 when the U-2 came out and 37 when
the SR-71 came out)
He stated that at one time, he was at the Groom Lake Facility (Not sure if that is what he called it but my dad said that he was referring to area 51.
It may have just been a stop over on a test flight and not actually stationed there as I have no further information about this claim)
Hopefully someone here can throw some ideas out where to start digging on this. Again, I am not sure if any of it is true however, again as stated, he
was never one any of us knew to lie or make up stories especially to my mother who spent the last few years of his life at his side.
I attempted to attach a photo of him when he was younger however all I get is an empty box with a green X when I try to attache it. Any
suggestions?
edit on 30-10-2017 by infectious208 because: spelling