Majestic 12

I seem to see UFO connections in innocuous things.

In culling together resources for an impending lecture on Isaac Newton, I pulled a book from the shelf that was simply titled Astronomy. Its author was Donald Menzel.

That is a name significant not only for contributions to that eponymous field of science but also because he was allegedly a member of Majestic 12. This was a cabal of experts said to have been brought together by President Harry Truman in 1947 to both study and conceal UFO phenomena. Given that I am concurrently researching a book on Dulce, I decided to revisit the idea of Majestic 12 and a governmental UFO conspiracy (for a primer, please check out my review of Stanton Friedman's book, Top Secret/MAJIC.)

While Majestic 12 is purported to have been formed in 1947, I have found assertions that the United States government knew about UFO activity long before then. A pivotal moment is thought to be the Battle of Los Angeles. This was a documented case that occurred in February of 1942. Just slightly over two months after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, an object of unknown origin moved into the airspace over Los Angeles. With the nation already on a firm war-footing, this prompted a response of searchlights and numerous anti-aircraft shells. Nothing much officially emerged from this stour aside from it maybe being one of (if not the) first UFO incident where the explanation of "weather balloon" was given. Yet this object seemed to take multiple hits from heavy ordinance and keep moving. Kinda tough to manage for a balloon (click the link to see the object outlined in the spotlights.)

What I didn't know about was that there are those who claim that an actual craft was downed in this "battle." It crashed into the Pacific and was recovered by the U.S. military. This supposedly prompted the formation of the Interplanetary Phenomenon Unit. Of course if you read this post by Kevin Randle, you can see for yourself how the IPU was all disinformation and bunk. We shall press forward, though.

So in 1947, this thing called Roswell happens. It is arguably the most well-known UFO incident in history. There's far too much to get into for this post, but I'll try for the "long story short" treatment. At the beginning of July of that year, something crashed in the desert outside of Roswell, New Mexico. It is said that it was an alien spacecraft. The craft...and its occupants...were recovered by the U.S. military (as you can see, this is starting to become a theme of sorts, what with all these crashes.)  This is where conventional conspiracy theory marks the formation of Majestic 12. Shortly after this, Project Sign published an Estimate of the Situation, a top secret document that contained accounts of UFO sightings by pilots and scientists, as well as concrete evidence that supported Project Sign's conclusion that UFOs were likely extraterrestrial in origin.

One of the most intriguing, compelling, and yet disturbing connections to Majestic 12 is the sudden and shocking demise of James V. Forrestal. Forrestal was Secretary of the Navy during World War II and was the very first Secretary of Defense. He is also named in the supposed Majestic 12 documents as being one of the 12. In 1949 he was admitted to Bethesda Naval Hospital due to mental exhaustion. On May 22nd, 1949, Forrestal died from a fall from the window of his hospital bed. The incident was ruled a suicide. However, many have doubted that conclusion, believing that he was the victim of officially sanctioned assassination. Was he about to divulge the truth (whatever it is) about UFOs? His alleged involvement with Majestic 12 adds another strand to his death that is both more dramatic and sinister.

As for Majestic 12 itself, the documents that spawned their legend are dubious. Much criticism has arisen as to their authenticity. Still, if you read Stanton Friedman's work, you'll find that he at least presents a compelling argument for them. I don't know.

Sorry for my ufological brain farts. I obviously need sleep.






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