Conspiracy Corner: The Men From Majestic
Welcome back, men (and women) in black, to this week’s Conspiracy Corner. Of all the conspiracies in the world, one of the most popular is that centering around aliens and the government employees who work to hide them. I refer, of course, to the infamous Men In Black. First mentioned in Gray Baker’s 1956 book, They Knew Too Much About Flying Saucers, these ill-omened agents were known to hassle those who claimed to have witnessed UFOs and forced them into silence. Through the decades, they have appeared again and again in UFO folklore and reports – evidently working to keep news of alien existence from getting out. They’ve even bled over into the mainstream with shows like The X-Files and Will Smith’s tour de force Men In Black. But we are not here to discuss the MIB. Rather, we aim for their lesser known predecessor, the Majestic-12.
The story of the Majestic-12 began in 1984 when ufologist, Jaime Shandera, received an anonymous package in the mail. Within was a roll of film containing photos of several government documents discussing “Operation Majestic-12″.
The first document is an explanation of Operation Majestic-12 supposedly meant for then President-Elect Eisenhower. It claims that the operation was formed via executive order under President Truman and called for the creation of a committee of twelve scientists and government officials. These twelve include CIA director Roscoe H. Hillenkoetter, Dr. Vannevar Bush, Secretary of Defense James Forrestal, Air Force general Nathan Farragut Twining, Air Force general Hoyt Vandenberg, Dr. Detlev Bronk, Dr. Jerome Clarke Hunsaker, Director of Central Intelligence Sidney Souers, Gordon Gray, Dr. Donald Menzel, Army general Rober Miller Montague, and Dr. Lloyd V. Berkner.
But what was the purpose of this committee? It was created on September 24th, 1947. Roughly two months after the infamous Roswell Landing. The documents further claim that not only did an alien ship crash in the New Mexico desert but that the government had seized the wreckage. Included in this were the bodies of four deceased aliens. Supposedly, the Majestic-12 was formed to study the wreckage. They came to the conclusion that the ship was designed for scouting, lacking the utilities to make it an effective long-journey vessel. The means of flight and power source could not be discerned, however.
Next, the documents explain the Majestic-12’s speculation on the craft’s origins. They agreed that it was extraterrestrial but there was debate over which planet. Some believed it to have originated from Mars while others believed it to be from a separate solar system.
The fourth document claims that the Majestic-12 worked closely with Project SIGN, a forerunner of the more well-known Project Blue Book. For those unaware, Project Blue Book was a study conducted by the U.S. Air Force to gather and investigate reports of supposed UFOs. It was officially ended in 1970. The fourth document also describes a second object crashing down in Texas – though most of it was supposedly destroyed on impact. The page ends with the declaration that the Majestic-12 must remain secret to avoid mass panic.
The final document is a response letter by Harry Truman stating that the operation has the go-ahead to begin.
Something strange to consider is that the Majestic-12 were formed in September of 1947. The same month Roscoe H. Hillenkoetter was made director of the CIG (Central Intelligence Group) and, in December of the same year, was appointed director of the newly formed CIA.
The Majestic-12 was supposedly mentioned in a government document called the “Cutler/Twining memo”. Later on, a man named Richard Doty claimed to be in possession of evidence proving the existence of Majestic-12 along with documents stating the supposed aliens to be from the Zeta Reticuli star system. Said Evidence has yet to be provided.”
Ultimately, the Majestic-12 is believed to be a hoax and the documents were forgeries meant to cash in on the wave of UFO speculation in the 80’s. Even the FBI has gone so far as to release a statement that the supposed Majestic-12 documents were “bogus”. The documents can even be seen on the FBI’s website – with the word “BOGUS” written across each page.
But then again, isn’t that exactly what they would say?
