We now enter a topic as rancorous and disputed as the Roswell controversy. In December 1984, filmmaker Jaime Shandera received an unmarked package in the mail, containing an undeveloped roll of film. Along with his friend, UFO researcher William Moore, the two had the film developed. The photographs were of documents that looked like a secret briefing paper for then-president-elect Dwight Eisenhower, dated November 18, 1952.
The documents stated that flying saucers were the product of an extraterrestrial civilization, that several flying saucers had crashed (including at Roswell) and come into the possession of the U.S. government, and that the U.S. had one of the aliens in custody for some time before it died. The documents claimed that President Truman had established a top secret control group to deal with the UFO problem, called MJ-12, on September 24, 1947. The group’s original members were CIA Director Adm. Roscoe Hillenkoetter, Dr. Vannevar Bush, Secretary of Defense James Forrestal, Gen. Nathan Twining, Gen. Hoyt Vandenberg, Dr. Detlev Bronk, Dr. Jerome Hunsaker, Sidney Souers, Gordon Gray, Dr. Donald Menzel, Gen. Robert Montague, and Dr. Lloyd Berkner. Included was a memorandum from President Truman, addressed to James Forrestal, which established the group. It was dated September 24, 1947, and stamped “TOP SECRET” and “EYES ONLY.” It read as follows:
Memorandum for the Secretary of Defense
Dear Secretary Forrestal:
As per our recent conversation on this matter, you are hereby authorized to proceed with all due speed and caution upon your undertaking. Hereafter this matter shall be referred to only as Operation Majestic Twelve.
It continues to be my feeling that any future considerations relative to the ultimate disposition of this matter should rest solely with the Office of the President following appropriate discussions with yourself, Dr. Bush, and the Director of Central Intelligence.
[signed] Harry Truman
It is not known with certainty who sent the film, but the strongest evidence points to members of the U.S. intelligence community, specifically ten or so individuals from the air force Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI) at Kirtland AFB. In his UFO research, William Moore had already been in contact with several intelligence people at the base, including Master Sergeant Richard Doty, a special agent with OSI. This group informed Moore that they opposed UFO secrecy, and would assist him in his research by leading him to key documents. Unfortunately, the group members were skilled disinformation and psy-ops specialists, a fact that throws the legitimacy of the documents into doubt.
Few have denied that the documents look impressive. They looked authentic enough to get the attention of many who would be in a position to know. Former CIA Chief of Operations Richard Bissell, for example, commented, “The document certainly looks authentic. On the basis of the material you have sent me, I personally have little doubt that it is authentic.” Others who seem to concur are former Truman administrative assistant David Stowe and former National Security Council planning and board member Robert R. Bowie.59 Even Roswell debunker Kal Korff was surprisingly easygoing on the MJ-12 documents. At best, he said, there was only
Research on the documents proved very interesting. Moore enlisted the help of Stanton Friedman, who spent many hours at the Truman and Eisenhower libraries, checking dates and other relevant information. Friedman learned quite a lot. First, that the Truman library archives confirmed that September 24, 1947, happened to be the only day that Truman and Vannevar Bush met between May and December. Forrestal was also present at the meeting, and had met with Bush for a half hour beforehand (Friedman believed this was when the two prepared the memorandum.) As for the meeting with Truman, there were “no indications in the archives to say what was discussed.” Friedman also found supporting information for the other key date, November 18, 1952. On that day, Eisenhower received a forty-three-minute national security briefing on matters that are still classified, during which Gen. Nathan Twining was present.61
