- GROOM LAKE, NV -- Marking
the 50th Anniversary of "the operating base near Groom Lake"
(official name of the popularly known Area 51 base), several celebrations
are being held this month in various locations. The construction of this
sprawling aerospace complex in Nevada, the world's most well-known but
misunderstood "secret base", began in the month of May of 1955.
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- Some of the "official" celebrations, closed
to the public, were already held at the base itself.
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- Other "private" celebrations also were already
held at diverse aerospace facilities both in Nevada and in Southern California,
including the Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards Air Force Base, whose
Detachment 3 operations are said to be tied in with the Nevada base.
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- However, aside from these private gatherings which were
already held, there will still be a "public" celebration marking
the Golden Anniversary of Area 51. On Saturday, May 28, 2005 a public
gathering will be held adjacent to the eastern boundary of the base alongside
Groom Lake Rd. and will be headed by Joerg Arnu, webmaster of Area 51 -
The Dreamland Resort the world's largest online source of information on
Area 51.
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- http://www.dreamlandresort.com,
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- Supporters and "aficionados" of Area 51, including
military aviation enthusiasts, are expected to celebrate outside the eastern
boundary of the base with a camp-out, barbecue and live music entertainment
along with various speakers. A mini-stage will be set up at the site.
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- According to Arnu, May 28 was selected because it coincides
with the Memorial Day weekend and thus it would be easier for the public
to make it to the celebrations. Some participants will begin to arrive
at the site in the late afternoon on Friday, May 27. The celebrations will
continue throughout the weekend.
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- The news media is expected to cover the event and the
BLM Rangers (Bureau of Land Management) are also expected to participate
by helping coordinate parking and other logistics needed to make the event
a success.
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- For more info, go to:
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- Area 51 - 50th Anniversary campout celebration http://www.dreamlandresort.com/campout.html
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- For the past 16 years or so, Area 51 has been popularly
and erroneously (and "conveniently", according to some theorists)
associated with false rumors of "alien technology" and conspiracies.
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- Norio Hayakawa, (Civilian Intelligence Operations) http://www.hometown.aol.com/groom51s4/index.html,
a supporter of the importance and necessity of this vital base for our
national defense, states that "the operating base near Groom Lake"
is a real aerospace complex which was originally not intended to be established
as a top secret, classified base. (go to the bottom link to read the excellent
article by aerospace historian, Peter Merlin).
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- According to Hayakawa, it became a "secret base"
mainly through paranoia created by misinformation, resulting from false
rumors which began in the late 80s and persisted throughout the mid 90s.
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- Area 51 today is a vibrant aerospace R & D conglomerate
test base, employing anywhere from 1800 to 2400 defense contractor employees,
working in shifts on diversified projects. Some of the contractors include
Raytheon, Lockheed, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, TRW, E.G. & G. and General
Atomics.
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- One of the best recent color satellite photos of the
base was taken on Thursday, July 24, 2003: Color Satelllite Photo of Area
51 taken on Thursday, July 24, 2003 http://www.lasvegasnow.com/area51/Area51-072503-LG.jpg
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- Finally, perhaps the best history of Area 51 was recently
compiled by Peter Merlin, an aerospace historian who resides near Edwards
Air Force Base in California:
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- Area 51 Was Never A Secret, Classified Base http://www.dreamlandresort.com/pete/no_secret.html
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