In 1961, I managed to get an appointment with Harold Brown, then Director of Defense Research and Engineering. During the meeting, I pointed out to him the fraudulent nature of the 1941 report and just how important the Burnelli Lifting Body Design could be for our defense posture. I found Mr. Brown to be a pompous, arrogant ass, and I was not surprised at him telling me that the D.O.D. stood by the 1941 report, and, "if Burnelli did not like it, the Burnelli Company could attempt to sue the government." Brown is the guy, you will remember, who nurtured the ridiculously incapable F-111 and the fabulously expensive C-5A airplanes into the Air Force inventory.

Despite Brown's rebuff, we soldiered on. I think we had a glimmer of hope of getting the scandal onto the agenda of the House of  Representatives in 1963, when I caught Infectious Hepatitis in Greece. The attack was almost terminal, and I was still recovering when dear Vince Burnelli suffered a fatal stroke in 1964. Those were depressing days, indeed, and, for numerous reasons, we were forced to suspend our campaign. My illness had not only debilitated me, but my finances as well, and I had to get out and market some used airplanes again. My constant stream of correspondence with the Pentagon did not produce any meaningful results.

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