Whitley Strieber’s 1989 novel, Majestic, is a fictionalized account and interpretation of the events at Roswell, New Mexico in 1947. The book contains the text of a number of “documents” created in the wake of the event – some of which are attributed to the Majestic Twelve group. Listed below a brief summary for each of the documents. There is good evidence that Strieber’s assertion that the “documents” were nothing more than fiction created by him (and not leaked to him by insiders) is indeed correct. One example of this can be found in Document 1 that appears in my version of the book on pages 34-44 and that is dated 8 July 1947 and titled National Board of Estimate Intelligence Estimate on Flying Disk Motives. Under the section of the document titled Detailed Analysis, you will see a reference to a case from 1871 that involved a man named William Robert Loosley. In reality, this encounter never happened and the “case” is actually extracted from a fictional story written in 1979 by David Langford. David’s story is titled Account of a Meeting With Denizens of Another World. In other words, as this can be verifiably shown to have been written by Langford for a 1979 fiction book, it cannot have appeared in a 1947 U.S. intelligence report.
National Board of Estimate Intelligence Estimate on Flying Disk Motives (462k)
Document 1 is a National Board of Estimate Intelligence Estimate on Flying Disk Motives. Dated 8 July 1947 and prepared by the Office of Research and Analysis, Central Intelligence Group, the document details the background to the UFO controversy that began in the summer of 1947 with the Kenneth Arnold encounter of 24 June. The report discusses several other cases from 1947 and then turns its attention to a discussion of a potential relationship between “a number of unsolved cases of disappearance and flying disk activity,” including the disappearance of a village full of people in Canada in 1930. The document states that, “If these cases of disappearance are indeed related to the flying disks, the conclusion can be drawn that the strangers are interested in us but do not have any regard for us.” In the Recommendations section of the document, it is stated that, “The public should be insulated from any certain knowledge that the disks are real until such time as we have a clear understanding of the nature and motives of their occupants,” and that, “…every effort should be made to obtain samples of a flying disk as soon as possible.”
Top Secret Army Air Force Intelligence Estimate (295k)
Document 2 is dated 9 July 1947 and is a Top Secret Army Air Force Intelligence Estimate that discusses the UFO subject from a historical perspective. It contains data on UFO encounters dating back to 1913 and also includes a summary of the “ghost aeroplane” encounters of the 1930s; the “Foo Fighter” mystery of the Second World War; and the huge wave of “Ghost Rocket” incidents of 1946 across Scandinavia. The document reaches no conclusion with regard to the nature of these incidents beyond saying that, “The objects observed may be controlled by some intelligence agency, whether it is a human government, a clandestine private group in possession of powerful technology, or another as yet unknown source.”
Memo to Wilfred Stone (274k)
Document 3 dates from 10 July 1947 and is classified Most Secret. It is a brief document and discusses the discovery of “an apparent alien disk,” near Roswell, New Mexico and plans initiated to transport the material evidence to the Los Alamos Laboratory, NM. The document also discusses the ways in which any leaks of information may be contained by the use of “blanket denial.” Ominously, it makes a reference to the fact that, “The use of extreme or final means must be approved by this office.”
Carswell Army and Air Force Base Press Conference (272k)
This is a fictionalized summary of a press conference held at Fort Worth, Texas on 8 July 1947, in which the military asserts that the material discovered at Roswell originated with a weather balloon and not a flying disk.
Interrogation of Roswell Witness (340k)
This is an undated, fictionalized account of an interrogation of Roswell witness “Robert Ungar” undertaken by Joseph P. Rose, Central Intelligence Group. The interrogation covers several days, during which the interrogating officer tries – eventually with success – to convince “Ungar” to change his story from having found on New Mexico ranchland the remains of a Flying Disk to having found the remains of a weather balloon. The interrogating officer informs “Ungar” that the Earth is being “invaded” by an alien force “doing strange, awful things that we do not understand.”
Disappearance of a PFC Burleson (284k)
Document 6 dates from 12 July 1947, is 4-pages in length and was intended for the attention of – among others – the President; the Secretary of Defense; the Joint Chiefs of Staff; and the Central Intelligence Group. It discusses the disappearance of a PFC Burleson of the 1395th MP Company at Roswell Army Air Force Base, who had been “on sentry duty at the site of a crashed alien disk in southern New Mexico…on the night of 7/10/47.” This was followed shortly thereafter by a similar disappearance, both of which are attributed to, “the probable result of unknown alien activity.”
Establishment of the “Majestic Agency” (345k)
Document 7 – of 12 July 1947 – concerns the establishment of the “Majestic Agency” for the specific purpose of investigating the UFO crash at Roswell, New Mexico and the complexities of the UFO subject in general. Areas recommended for investigation by the Majestic Twelve include: (a) an attempt to establish communications with aliens; (b) the use of propaganda “and maintenance of public ignorance;” (c) regulations governing the recovery of crashed alien craft; (d) the relationship with the Soviets on the UFO problem; (e) the creation of a historical study program to determine the extent of alien activity on Earth prior to 1947; and (f) operations designed to better understand “the nature of alien biology.”
Autopsy Report #1 (352k)
Document 8 is a 7-page report of 14 July 1947 and is classified Top Secret Majic. It details the results of the “autopsy of the body of an apparent alien creature.” Having been recovered in a condition of “significant deterioration,” it is described as being 44 inches in length and 27 pounds in weight. It reportedly had an “enlarged cranium;” and “showed some evidence of surgical intervention.” However, the conclusion of the report is that the body is “a human male fetus that has been subjected to forced maturation without normal gestation,” and that it “had been the subject of considerable alteration and modification, some of it obviously surgical.”
Autopsy Report #2 (273k)
Similar in nature to Document 8, this document is also dated 14 July 1947 and concerns the autopsy of another body – 36 inches in length and with a weight of only 8 pounds. The body was described as being “not of a human type.” The head is described as round and large; the eyes were almond-shaped; the internal organs are described as being very different to those exhibited by human beings; and the creature reportedly lacked both a respiratory system and stomach. The conclusion states that the body “appears to be a form of creature utilizing elements of both the animal and the vegetable.”
Unconventional Aircraft (237k)
Top Secret in classification and dated 13 July 1947, this is a one-page order to “All Operating Commands, Continental US,” to engage in hostile action and shoot down any and all “glowing objects;” “flying disks;” or “airships” that might be encountered in US airspace. Concern is expressed about ensuring that the public does not learn of these developments.