A U.S. Air Force veteran believes a UFO incident he experienced while on duty in 1980 is the root of his current health problems. However, initially the government denied he was on active duty at the time. With the help of a lawyer and U.S. Senator John McCain’s office, his records have been corrected and he has received his full medical disability. He and his lawyer now claim their victory represents the “U.S. government’s de facto acknowledgement of the existence of UFOs.”

John Burroughs was serving as a U.S. Air Force police officer at Royal Air Force Base (RAF) Bentwaters, near the Rendelsham Forest in Suffolk, United Kingdom in December 1980 when the UFO incident took place. The base, along with its sister base, RAF Woodbridge, were on lease to the U.S.

Late on the night of the fateful incident, lights were seen in the forest and Burroughs and several other security personnel were sent out to investigate. They saw a bright light that grew brighter as they approached. It then flew off into the night sky.

The next night the lights were seen again. Skeptical of the whole affair, and eager to figure out what he assumed was a prosaic answer to the sightings, Deputy Base Commander Charles Halt took a group of men out again. This group included Burroughs. This time the entire group saw lights flying around the forest. Some of these orbs of light beamed rays of light on the ground near the men’s feet and on the nearby munitions storage.

The event became a large story in the UK, and is still debated to this day.

Burroughs, who along with an airman named James Penniston approached closest to the object, feels his health issues stem from his proximity to the UFO. He has since found a document that was created by UK Defence Intelligence that also speculates this could be the case. A section of the report that covers UAP (Unidentified Aerial Phenomena) – another term for UFO – radiation, speculates, ”The well-reported Rendlesham Forest/Bentwaters event is an example where it might be postulated that several observers were probably exposed to UAP radiation for longer than normal UAP sighting periods.”

Burroughs has since suffered from congestive heart failure, which he says he has been told by scientists can be caused by radiation exposure.

While living in Arizona, Burroughs sought to get his medical records from the U.S. Air Force to help his doctor diagnose his problems. However, they said he was not in the service at that time. Burroughs sought the help of a lawyer familiar with Veterans Affairs (VA) cases and U.S. Senator John McCain’s office. McCain’s office was able to get his military records corrected, but, according to Burroughs and his lawyer Pat Frascogna, McCain’s office was not confident he would ever get his medical records.

In an Open Minds UFO Radio interview with Frascogna, he said it was not unusual that someone who worked on classified projects in the military would have records withheld. He said in these cases the military typically settles and grants disability. However, these are individuals who knowingly working on classified projects. Burroughs was not working on classified projects. However, the government is not required to say why military records have been classified or by whom.

At the recent 2015 International UFO Congress, Burroughs and Frascogna announced that, as Frascogna predicted, Burroughs was granted full medical disability. However, they say his medical records remain classified.

To Burroughs and Frascogna, the granting of the benefits signifies an admission by the VA and Department of Defense (DOD) that his health issues stem from his years in the service. Furthermore, they believe it is an admission that they are a result of his close proximity to a UFO.

In a press release titled “U.S. Government’s De Facto Acknowledgement of the Existence of UFOs,” Burroughs writes:

In January of 2015, after years of exhaustive efforts the VA settled, in full, with me. I needed someone to champion my cause, someone not afraid to put themselves at risk to help me. I was lucky. I found two to champion my cause, my attorney Pat Frascogna, and Senator John McCain and his staff. Through their efforts, I received lifesaving heart surgery to replace a badly shredded anterior mitral valve caused by the UAP radiation, and a settlement from the DOD and VA admitting I was injured in the line of duty in December of 1980.

Although this story has a happy ending, Burroughs and Frascogna say they aren’t finished looking into what really happened in the Rendelsham Forest in 1980, and what the UK and U.S. governments know about it.

Burroughs has submitted several Freedom of Information Act Requests in the UK and U.S. He has already been able to get the UK government to admit that they have more UFO files to release, even though they had previously claimed to have released all of their UFO files. He also says he is confident he will receive more files from the U.S. government that have not been available to the public before.

The Rendelsham Forest incident is often referred to as UK’s Roswell, and like its American counterpart, is the gift that keeps on giving with alleged new discoveries coming to light on a regular basis. Stay tuned for more revelations from Burroughs and Frasogna, and the other numerous dogged researchers out there who will undoubtedly continue their search for answers.

For his work getting the UK government to admit they had more UFO files to release, and for the discovery of the UK Defence Intelligence document speculating that the witnesses of the Rendelsham Forest Incident had been exposed to UAP (UFO) radiation, Burroughs was awarded the UFO Researcher of the Year award at the 2015 International UFO Congress. Watch the video below to view the presentation of the award.

Full text of the press release issued by Burroughs and Frascogna:

FOR RELEASE ON: February 22, 2015

U.S. Government’s De Facto Acknowledgement of the Existence of UFOs

PHOENIX, AZ — The United States Government has, for the first time ever, acknowledged by de facto the long-suspected reality of the UFO phenomenon. John Burroughs encountered a craft of unknown origin in England’s Rendlesham Forest in December of 1980 and suffered injury there from for which the Veterans Administration has now recognized by granting him full medical disability. The December 1980 Rendlesham Forest incident in the United Kingdom is arguably the most well documented and important UFO encounter in history. A UFO was seen over three consecutive nights by United States Air Force personnel stationed at the twin bases of Bentwaters and Woodbridge, near Ipswich, England — then the largest NATO air force bases at the height of the Cold War.

The UFO was tracked on radar and physical evidence was found at a site where the UFO was seen to land, including indentations in the frozen ground, scorch marks on the sides on the trees, and radiation levels subsequently assessed by the UK Ministry of Defense as “significantly higher than the average background”.

Airman First Class John Burroughs encountered the UFO at close proximity on the first night. While for many years the U.S. Government denied that this incident had even occurred, in 2006 the UK Government declassified an intelligence study on UFOs (codenamed Project Condign and classified as Secret UK Eyes Only) in which the following statement is found:

The well-reported Rendlesham Forest/Bentwaters event is an example where it might be postulated that several observers were probably exposed to UAP [Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon] radiation for longer than normal UAP sighting periods.

John Burroughs was one of those observers who was exposed to UAP radiation in the Rendlesham Forest in December 1980. However, despite having been exposed to UAP radiation as postulated by the UK’s own intelligence report, the U.S. Government stonewalled John, his attorney, and two United States senators for years. Now, after decades of persistence, the U.S. Government has finally acknowledged that John Burroughs suffered adverse health effects in the Rendlesham Forest and, therefore, has recognized the link between his health problems and the UFO he encountered. In an interesting twist, John’s complete medical records file from that time he served in England remains classified. In regard to the VA’s action on his case, John said:

In January of 2015, after years of exhaustive efforts the VA settled, in full, with me. I needed someone to champion my cause, someone not afraid to put themselves at risk to help me. I was lucky. I found two to champion my cause, my attorney Pat Frascogna, and Senator John McCain and his staff. Through their efforts, I received lifesaving heart surgery to replace a badly shredded anterior mitral valve caused by the UAP radiation, and a settlement from the DOD and VA admitting I was injured in the line of duty in December of 1980.

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