Jim Lorenzen
Leslie James 'Jim' Lorenzen was the technical and organisational partner in the husband-and-wife team that built the Aerial Phenomena Research Organisation. A WWII US Army Air Forces combat radio operator decorated with the Distinguished Flying Cross with Cluster, he worked as a radio station engineer in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, when he and Coral co-founded APRO in January 1952. His successive civilian positions, electronics technician at Holloman Air Force Base from 1954 and technical associate at the Kitt Peak National Observatory from 1960, tracked the organisation's relocations. He served as APRO's director until his death in August 1986 and co-authored five books with Coral between 1967 and 1977. Robert Barrow, a close associate, observed that Jim 'usually seemed content to let Coral vocalise about their work.'
A Life
Leslie James Lorenzen was born on 2 January 1922 in Grand Meadow, Minnesota. In 1942 he enlisted in the United States Army Air Forces and served as a radio operator through 1945, flying combat missions in the war's aerial campaigns. He was decorated with the Distinguished Flying Cross with Cluster, the Air Medal with Cluster, and a Presidential Citation.
After the war Lorenzen worked as a professional guitarist. He married Coral Lightner circa 1943 in Minnesota. In August 1951 he took a position as an engineer at a radio station in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. Five months later, in January 1952, he and Coral co-founded the Aerial Phenomena Research Organisation. His technical training, first in military radio operations and then in civilian broadcast engineering, became the practical foundation for the network they built.
The couple's successive relocations tracked Jim's civilian employment. In 1954 they moved to Alamogordo, New Mexico, where Jim worked as an electronics technician at Holloman Air Force Base. In 1960 they moved to Tucson, Arizona, where he took a position as a technical associate at Kitt Peak National Observatory, the National Science Foundation's optical astronomy facility southwest of the city. APRO established its permanent headquarters in Tucson that year. Jim and Coral had a son, Larry. Jim died of cancer on 28 August 1986 in Tucson, aged 64. He was buried with military honours at the National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona in Phoenix.
On UAP
Jim's role in APRO complemented Coral's. Where Coral served as international director, editor of the APRO Bulletin, and the organisation's primary public voice, Jim handled organisational management and the technical infrastructure that allowed the network of field representatives to function across more than fifty countries. His civilian positions at Holloman Air Force Base and Kitt Peak National Observatory placed the couple in proximity to both military installations and the astronomical community.
He co-authored five books with Coral between 1967 and 1977: Flying Saucer Occupants (Signet, 1967), UFOs Over the Americas (Signet, 1968), UFOs: The Whole Story (Signet, 1969), Encounters with UFO Occupants (Berkley, 1976), and Abducted!: Confrontations with Beings from Outer Space (Berkley, 1977). He did not publish solo-authored works. The books drew on APRO's case files and the couple's direct correspondence with witnesses and investigators across the network.
Jim died two years before Coral. The organisation they had built together closed in late 1988, within months of Coral's death on 12 April of that year. Its files, comprising thirteen file cabinets and fifty boxes of case data, correspondence, and administrative records, were transferred to the National UFO Historical Records Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in November 2023.
Jim usually seemed content to let Coral vocalize about their work.Robert Barrow, personal associate of the Lorenzens 1965 to 1988, memorial essay for Pursuit journal, revised August 2000.
Career Record
- 1922, Born 2 January, Grand Meadow, Minnesota.
- 1942 to 1945, United States Army Air Forces. Radio operator. Distinguished Flying Cross with Cluster, Air Medal with Cluster, Presidential Citation.
- Post-1945, Professional guitarist.
- Circa 1943, Married Coral Lightner, Minnesota.
- August 1951, Radio station engineer, Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin.
- January 1952, Co-founded the Aerial Phenomena Research Organisation with Coral Lorenzen, Sturgeon Bay.
- 1954, Electronics technician, Holloman Air Force Base, Alamogordo, New Mexico.
- 1960, Technical associate, Kitt Peak National Observatory, Tucson, Arizona. APRO relocated to Tucson.
- 1967, Co-authored Flying Saucer Occupants with Coral Lorenzen (Signet).
- 1968, Co-authored UFOs Over the Americas with Coral Lorenzen (Signet).
- 1969, Co-authored UFOs: The Whole Story with Coral Lorenzen (Signet).
- 1976, Co-authored Encounters with UFO Occupants with Coral Lorenzen (Berkley).
- 1977, Co-authored Abducted! with Coral Lorenzen (Berkley).
- 28 August 1986, Died, Tucson, Arizona. Buried at the National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona, Phoenix.
Document Trail
The five co-authored books with Coral constitute Jim's primary documentary contribution. The APRO Bulletin, 258 issues spanning 1952 to 1988, is held in this archive's newsletter collection. Jim's name appears on the masthead as director throughout the publication's run.
Jim's United States Veterans Affairs record, accessible through Find a Grave (Memorial ID 929132), confirms his military service, rank, decorations, and burial location. APRO's organisational files, held at the National UFO Historical Records Center in Albuquerque, contain correspondence and administrative records spanning the full period of Jim's co-directorship.
In the Archive
- Coral Lorenzen, wife and APRO co-founder.
- APRO Bulletin Collection, 258 issues, 1952 to 1988.
- Socorro Landing, the 1964 case APRO investigated in parallel with Project Blue Book.
- United States country profile.
