Air Force Releases Records on Microfilm

The U.S. Air Force has released four rolls of microfilm with information related to the military service’s participation in the airlift of bodies from Jonestown in 1978. As with the FBI and State Department, the Air Force’s reply to requests related to Jonestown is a generic offer of the rolls of film which may or may not contain the specific information sought in the requests. Also as with the other agencies, there is no index or guide to the material, although most of it seems to be related to military activities following the deaths – such as the body identification processes and airlifting – rather than any military interest in Peoples Temple prior to November 18, 1978.

The microfilm may be obtained directly from the Air Force Historical Research Agency/ISR, 600 Chennault Circle, Maxwell AFB, AL 36112-6424. You may refer to FOIA request #00-0472 filed by Rebecca Moore for faster service. The cost of the microfilm is $30 per roll, or $120 for the entire set. However, the Air Force responded favorably to our request for a fee waiver under the public interest provision of the FOIA.