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NATIONAL SECURITY INFORMATION
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BRIEFING DOCUMENT: OPERATION MAJESTIC 12
PREPARED FOR PRESIDENT-ELECT
DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER: (EYES ONLY)
18 NOVEMBER, 1952
WARNING_: This is a TOP SECRET - EYES ONLY document containing
compartmentalized information essential to the national security of the
United States. EYES ONLY ACCESS to the material herein is strictly limited
to those possessing Majestic-12 clearance level. Reproduction in any form or
the taking of written or mechanically transcribed notes is strictly
forbidden.
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SUBJECT: OPERATION MAJESTIC-12 PRELIMINARY BRIEFING FOR PRESIDENT-ELECT
EISENHOWER
DOCUMENT PREPARED 18 NOVEMBER, 1952
BRIEFING OFFICER: ADM.
ROSCOE H. HILLENKOETTER (MJ-1)
NOTE: This document has been prepared as a preliminary briefing only. It
should be regarded as introductory to a full operations briefing intended to
follow.
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OPERATION MAJESTIC-12 is a TOP SECRET Research and Development/Intelligence
operation responsible directly and only to the President of the United
States. Operations of the project are carried out under the control of the
Majestic-12 (Majic-12) Group which was established by special classified
executive order of President Truman on 24 September, 1947, upon
recommendation by Dr. Vannevar Bush and Secretary James Forrestal. (See
Attachment "A".) Members of the Majestic-12 Group were designated as
follows:
The death of Secretary Forrestal on 22 May, 1949, created a vacancy which
remained unfilled until 01 August, 1950, upon
which date Gen. Walter B. Smith was designated as permanent replacement.
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On 24 June, 1947, a civilian pilot flying over the Cascade Mountains in the
State of Washington observed nine flying disc-shaped aircraft traveling in
formation at a high rate of speed. Although this was not the first known
sighting of such objects, it was the first to gain widespread attention in
the public media. Hundreds of reports of sightings of similar objects
followed. Many of these came from highly credible military and civilian
sources. These reports resulted in independent efforts by several different
elements of the military to ascertain the nature and purpose of these
objects in the interests of national defense. A number of witnesses were
interviewed and there were several unsuccessful attempts to utilize aircraft
in efforts to pursue reported discs in flight. Public reaction bordered on
near hysteria at times.
In spite of these efforts, little of
substance was learned about the objects until a local rancher reported
that one had crashed in a remote region of New Mexico located
approximately seventy-five miles northwest of Roswell
Army Air Base (now Walker Field).
On 07 July, 1947, a secret operation was begun to assure recovery of the
wreckage of this object for scientific study. During the course of this
operation, aerial reconnaissance discovered that four small human-like
beings had apparently ejected from the craft at some point before it
exploded. These had fallen to earth about two miles east of the wreckage
site. All four were dead and badly decomposed due to action by predators and
exposure to the elements during the approximately one week time period which
had elapsed before their discovery. A special scientific team took charge of
removing these bodies for study. (See attachment "C".) The wreckage of the
craft was also removed to several different locations. (See Attachment "B".)
Civilian and military witnesses in the area were debriefed, and news
reporters were given the effective cover story that the object had been a
misguided weather research balloon.
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A covert analytical effort organized by
Gen. Twining and Dr. Bush acting on
the direct orders of the President, resulted in a preliminary consensus (19
September, 1947) that the disc was most likely a short range reconnaissance
craft. This conclusion was based for the most part on the craft's size and
the apparent lack of any identifiable provisioning. (See Attachment "D".) A
similar analysis of the four dead occupants was arranged by Dr. Bronk. It
was the tentative conclusions of this group (30 November, 1947) that although
these creatures are human-like in appearance, the biological and
evolutionary processes responsible for their development has apparently been
quite different from those observed or postulated in homo-sapiens. Dr.
Bronk's team has suggested the term "Extra-terrestrial Biological Entities",
or "EBE's", be adopted as the standard term of reference for these creatures
until such time as a more definitive designation can be agreed upon.
Since it is virtually certain that these craft do not originate in any
country on earth, considerable speculation has centered around what their
point of origin might be and how they get here. Mars was and remains a
possibility, although some scientists, most notably Dr. Menzel, consider it more likely
that we are dealing with beings from another solar system entirely.
Numerous examples of what appear to be a form of writing were found in the
wreckage. Efforts to decipher these have remained largely unsuccessful. (See
Attachment "E".) Equally unsuccessful have been efforts to determine the
method of propulsion or the nature or method of transmission of the power
source involved. Research along these lines has been complicated by the
complete absence of identifiable wings, propellers, jets, or other
conventional methods of propulsion and guidance, as well as a total lack of
metallic wiring, vacuum tubes, or similar recognizable electronic
components. (See Attachment "F".) It is assumed that the propulsion unit was
completely destroyed by the explosion which caused the crash.
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A need for as much additional information as possible about these craft,
their performance characteristics and their purpose led to the undertaking
known as U. S. Air Force Project SIGN in December, 1947. In order to
preserve security, liaison between SIGN and Majestic-12 was limited to two
individuals within the Intelligence Division of Air Material Command whose
role was to pass along certain types of information through channels. SIGN
evolved into Project GRUDGE in December, 1948. The operation is currently
being conducted under the code name BLUE BOOK, with liaison maintained
through the Air Force officer who is head of the project.
On 06 December, 1950, a second object, probably of similar origin, impacted
the earth at high speed in the El Indio - Guerrero area of the Texas -
Mexican border after following a long trajectory through the atmosphere. By
the time a search team arrived, what remained of the object had been almost
totally incinerated. Such material as could be recovered was transported to
the A.E.C. facility at Sandia, New Mexico, for study.
Implications for the National Security are of continuing importance in that
the motives and ultimate intentions of these visitors remain completely
unknown. In addition, a significant upsurge in the surveillance activity of
these craft beginning in May and continuing through the autumn of this year
has caused considerable concern that new developments may be imminent. It is
for these reasons, as well as the obvious international and technological
considerations and the ultimate need to avoid a public panic at all costs,
that the Majestic-12 Group remains of the unanimous opinion that imposition
of the strictest security
precautions should continue without interruption into the new
administration. At the same time, contingency plan MJ-1949-04P/78 (Top
Secret - Eyes Only) should be held in continued readiness should the need to
make a public announcement present itself. (See Attachment "G".)
TOP SECRET from
Harry Truman
EYES ONLY
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
September 24, 1947
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.
/s/Harry Truman
July 14, 1954
TOP SECRET RESTRICTED_SECURITY
INFORMATION
MEMORANDUM FOR GENERAL TWINING
SUBJECT: NSC/MJ-12 Special Studies Project
The
President has decided that the MJ-12 SSP briefing should take place
during the already scheduled White House meeting of July 16, rather than
following it as previously intended. More precise arrangements will be
explained to you upon arrival. Please alter your plans accordingly.
Your concurrence in the above change of arrangements is assumed.
ROBERT CUTLER
Special Assistant to the President
Declassified COPY from
THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES Record Group No. RG341. Authority: NND 857013 by
912/TH
Date 1/12/87
Records of the Headquarters, United States Air Force
THE PRESIDENT'S
APPOINTMENTS FRIDAY, JULY 16, 1954
8.50 - The President will receive the Governor of the Farm Credit
Administration and the
Members of the Federal Farm Credit Board
9.00 - Cabinet Meeting
11.00 - The President will sign S. 3291, An Act, Authorizing the
President
to present a gold medal to
Irvin Berlin.
12.15 - The President will receive a group of Congressmen, who wish to pay
their respects and
pledge their continuing support of the President's program.
1.00 - (LUNCH)
NATIONAL ARCHIVES Washington, DC 20408
Date: July 22, 1987
Reply to
attn of: Military Reference Branch
Subject:
Reference Report on MJ-12
To: The Record
The National Archives has received many requests for documentation and
information about "Project MJ-12". Many of the inquiries concern a
memorandum from Robert Cutler to General Nathan Twining, dated
July 14,
1954. This particular document poses problems for the following reasons:
1. The document was located in Record Group 341, entry 267. The series is
filed by a Top Secret register number. This document does not bear such a
number.
2. The document is in the folder T4-1846. There are no other documents in
the folder regarding "NSC/MJ-12".
3. The Military Reference Branch (Edward Reese) has conducted a search in
the records of the Secretary of Defense, the Joint Chiefs of Staff,
Headquarters US Air Force, and in other related files. No further
information has been found on this subject.
4. Inquiries to the US Air Force, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the
National Security Council failed to produce further information.
5. The Acting Director of the Freedom of Information Office of the National
Security Council informed us that "Top Secret Restricted Information" is a
marking which did not come into use at the National Security Council until
the Nixon Administration. The Eisenhower Presidental Library also confirms
that this particular marking was not used during the Eisenhower
Administration.
6. The document in question does not bear an official government letterhead
or watermark. The NARA conservation specialist (Mary Ritzenthaler) examined
the paper and determined it was a ribbon copy prepared on "dictation
onionskin". The Eisenhower Library has examined its collection of the
Cutler
papers. All documents created by Mr. Cutler while he served on the
NSC staff
have an eagle watermark in the onionskin carbon paper. Most documents sent
out by the NSC were prepared on White House letterhead paper. For the brief
period when Mr. Cutler left the NSC, his carbon copies were prepared on
"prestige onionskin".
7. The Judicial, Fiscal, and Social Branch searched the Official Meeting
Minute Files of the National Security Council and found no record of a
NSC
meeting on July 16, 1954. A search of all NSC Meeting Minutes fro July 1954
found no mention of MJ-12 nor Majestic.
8. The Judicial, Fiscal and Social Branch (Mary Ronan) searched the
indices
[sic] of the NSC records and found no listing for: MJ-12,
Majestic,
unidentified flying objects, UFO, flying saucers, or flying discs.
9. The Judicial, Fiscal, and Social Branch (Mary Ronan) found a memo in a
folder titled "Special Meeting July 16, 1954" which indicated that
NSC
members would be called to a civil defense exercise on July 16, 1954.
10.The Eisenhower Library states, in a letter to
NNMR, dated July 16, 1987:
"President Eisenhower's Appointment Books contain no entry for a special
meeting on July 16, 1954 which might have included a briefing on
MJ-12.
Even when the President had
'off the record' meetings, the Appointment Books
contain entries indicating the time of the meeting and the participants....
The Declassification Office of the National Security Council has informed us
that it has no record of any declassification action having been taken on
this memorandum or any other documents on this alleged project.... Robert
Cutler, at the direction of President Eisenhower, was visiting overseas
military installations on the day he supposedly issued this memorandum --
July 14, 1954. The Administration Series in Eisenhower's Papers as
President
contains Cutler's memorandum and report to the President upon his return
from the trip.
The memorandum is dated July 20, 1954 and refers to
Cutler's visits to
installations in Europe and North Africa between July 3 and 15. Also, within
the NSC Staff Papers is a memorandum dated July 3, 1954, from
Cutler to his
two subordinates, James S. Lay and J. Patrick Coyne, explaining how they
should handle NSC administrative matters during his absence; one would
assume that if the memorandum, to Twining were genuine, Lay or
Coyne would
have signed it."
JO ANNE WILLIAMSON
Chief, Military Reference Branch
Military Archives Division
Explanations from
Friedman, Shandera and Moore
The above letter raises several questions about the authenticity of the
MJ-12 Documents. However, below are some relevant explanations from
Friedman, Shandera and Moore after being challenged about the above evidence
by none other than well known UFO debunker and skeptic Philip Klass.
Below are some of the objections raised by
Klass, and selected answers given
by the team members.
Question:
Robert Cutler was in Europe at the time the Cutler-to-Twining Memo
was allegedly written.
Friedman: "That's a stupid argument. The memo wasn't signed by
Cutler. [But]
he gave his people instructions to keep the ball rolling while he was gone.
"We have two other memos from Cutler to Twining, which we've gotten at the
Library of Congress, one is signed and the other isn't. The one that's not
signed has an '/s/' indicating where the original was signed."
Moore: "The absence of a signature on the document is consistent with the
fact that Cutler was overseas when it was written. If the document had been
signed, then we would have reason to worry.
Question: The lack of the characteristic "Eagle" watermark found on all of
Cutler's memoranda stationery.
Friedman: "But how many? They didn't have at the
Eisenhower Library OR the
National Archives, these two Cutler memoranda that we found at the Library
of Congress! Absence of evidence is not evidence for absence."
Question: The lack of a Top-Secret registration number on the document.
Friedman: "Neither of the other documents we got from the Library of
Congress had registration numbers, either."
Moore: "NONE of the Top-Secret
Cutler memoranda we have seen have
registration numbers."
Question: The presence of typewriter key impressions through the back of the
document indicates it was typed as an original, not as a carbon.
Moore: "This just shows that [Klass] has not done a shred of original
research. He couldn't have looked at the original. If he had, he would have
seen that the paper is definitely old, and the ink on the paper is blue.
Friedman: "I have trouble with that. The ink is blue. Who uses blue
typewriter ribbons?"
Question: The use of the security classification "Top Secret - Restricted,"
which did not come into use by the NSC until at least a decade later.
Friedman: "Well, that's what these guys are saying, but I don't even know
that that's true. 'Restricted' can mean 'nobody else sees.' Also, in that
same year of '54, the Atomic Energy Act brought in the use of
'Secret-Restricted Data' when you're dealing with anything nuclear... and
Twining obviously thought there was a nuclear connection with
UFOs because
in a 1947 memo he said all the data should go to the AEC and the
Nuclear Energy Propulsion Applications Project."
Question: The
Sept. 24, 1947 letter from Pres. Truman to Secy. Forrestal is
not consistent in format with other Truman letters to Cabinet members.
Moore: "Nonsense. We have a letter from a Congressional historian that says
that the form and style ARE consistent."
Question: The
Truman letter was created by "superimposing a spurious message
on a photocopy of an authentic Truman letter."
Shandera: "The 35mm film we have of the [Truman] document is very clear, its
a very good photo. If anything like that had been done, it would easily show
up."
Moore: "He's dreaming. The evidence is just the opposite. If you look at the
document on the film, there are some areas where a different color ink was
probably used, probably red, which contrast highly with the rest of the
document. If this were a [composite photocopy], there wouldn't be this much
contrast."
In the CSICOP press release, and previously in other media,
Klass has said
that he has invited Moore and his associates to "join in his own efforts" to
get to the bottom of the MJ-12 scenario. Moore claims that
Klass "has never
extended such an invitation to any one of us."
It seems that there are cases both for, and against the
MJ-12 Papers. What
is certain is that this definitely isn't the end of the story.
