The Majestic 12, also known as MJ-12, is a purported secret committee that allegedly formed in 1947 to investigate and manage unidentified flying objects (UFOs). The existence of MJ-12 was first brought to public attention in 1984 through a set of documents that were anonymously sent to researcher Jaime Shandera who received an envelope containing film which,
when developed, showed images of eight pages of documents that appeared to be briefing papers describing “Operation Majestic 12”. The history of MJ-12 is intricately tied to the Roswell UFO incident of 1947. According to the alleged documents, President Harry S. Truman established MJ-12 on September 24, 1947, in response to the recovery of a crashed UFO near Roswell, New Mexico.
The committee’s purpose was to investigate and manage the extraterrestrial technology recovered from the crash and to handle matters related to UFO sightings. Claiming to be connected to the United States Air Force Office of Special Investigations,
a man named Richard Doty told filmmaker Linda Moulton Howe that the MJ-12 story was true, and showed Howe unspecified documents purporting to prove the existence of small, gray humanoid aliens originating from the Zeta Reticuli star system[1]. Doty reportedly promised to supply Howe with film footage of UFOs and an interview with an alien being, although no footage ever materialized. The authenticity of the MJ-12 documents has been widely debated among researchers, ufologists, and scholars. Critics argue that the documents are likely hoaxes,
pointing to inconsistencies in the formatting, language, and signatures. Additionally, some of the individuals named in the documents were found to have no historical record of serving in the positions attributed to them.
Proponents of MJ-12,
on the other hand, argue that the inconsistencies can be explained by the need for secrecy and the possibility of deliberate misinformation within classified documents. They also claim that subsequent investigations have uncovered corroborating evidence supporting the existence of MJ-12.
Possibles for Service in the 12
- Secretary of Defense James Forrestal
- Central Intelligence Group Director Roscoe H. Hillenkoetter
- Dr. Vannevar Bush, head of the Office of Scientific Research and Development
- General Nathan F. Twining, Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air Force
- Admiral Sidney W. Souers, first Director of Central Intelligence
- General Hoyt S. Vandenberg, Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air Force
- Dr. Detlev Bronk, President of the National Academy of Sciences
- Dr. Jerome Hunsaker, Chairman of the Research and Development Board
- Dr. Donald Menzel, astrophysicist
- Dr. Edwin N. Hubble, astronomer
- Dr. Theodore von Kármán, aerospace engineer
- Dr. Lloyd Berkner, physicist and member of the Central Intelligence Group’s Scientific Advisory Panel
- Gordon Gray, Secretary of the Army under President Truman
Footnotes
- The Zeta Reticuli star system is a binary star system located about 39.3 light-years away from Earth in the southern constellation Reticulum. It gained attention in ufology due to claims made by Betty and Barney Hill, who asserted that they were abducted by extraterrestrial beings from a craft originating from Zeta Reticuli in 1961. Despite the widespread fascination with this star system in popular culture and ufology, it is important to note that there is no scientific evidence supporting the existence of extraterrestrial life or the alleged abductions associated with Zeta Reticuli. The scientific exploration of the Zeta Reticuli system continues, primarily through astronomical observations and studies. References for further reading on Zeta Reticuli include academic papers and astronomical databases, such as the SIMBAD Astronomical Database or relevant peer-reviewed articles. [Back]/
Further Reading
Sources
- “The Secret History of Majestic 12” https://skeptoid.com/episodes/4528
- Majestic 12 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Majestic_12
- SIMBAD Astronomical Database: http://simbad.u-strasbg.fr/simbad/
- Betty Hill and Barney Hill UFO Abduction: https://www.history.com/topics/paranormal/betty-and-barney-hill-ufo-incident
