For decades, the mystery of UFO crash retrievals has fascinated researchers and skeptics alike. From incidents like Roswell to the classified Majestic 12 files, this article examines the hidden history of UFO recoveries and the secrets that governments may have kept from the public for decades.
Wilbert Smith (1910–1962), a senior radio engineer for Canada’s Department of Transport, developed a keen interest in UFOs during the late 1940s. His fascination with the phenomenon led to discussions with government scientists on both sides of the border.
One notable exchange took place during a 1950 trip to Washington, D.C., where Smith conversed with an American government scientist about the mysterious “flying saucers.” According to a recently declassified Canadian government document, he was informed that:
A. Flying saucers exist.
B. The matter is the most highly classified subject in the United States government, rating higher even than the H-bomb.
C. Their modus operandi is unknown but concentrated effort is being made by a small group headed by Dr. Vannevar Bush.
D. The entire matter is considered by the United States authorities to be of tremendous significance.
Canadian UFO researcher Arthur Bray identified the American scientist involved as Dr. Robert Sarbacher, following his discovery of handwritten transcript notes in Wilbert Smith’s personal files. Sarbacher, a Harvard professor in 1941 and a wartime science consultant for the U.S. Navy from 1942 to 1945, later served as President of the Washington Institute of Technology in the 1980s.
In 1983, researchers Stanton Friedman and William Steinman interviewed Sarbacher, with Steinman even receiving a typewritten letter from him. In this correspondence, Sarbacher confirmed that UFO crash retrievals had indeed occurred. He disclosed that in the early 1950s, he was officially informed about the recovery of a non-terrestrial craft in the southwestern United States.
Reflecting on his knowledge, Sarbacher wrote:
“The only thing I clearly remember is that materials reportedly recovered from flying saucer crashes were exceptionally light and remarkably tough. I am certain our laboratories analyzed them thoroughly. There were also reports that the operators or occupants of these crafts were similarly lightweight. From discussions with colleagues, I got the impression that these beings were constructed similarly to certain insects.”
Dr. Robert Sarbacher revealed that several distinguished figures were involved in a top-secret UFO project, including Dr. Robert Oppenheimer, Dr. Vannevar Bush, and Dr. John von Neumann. He confirmed that high-level discussions about UFOs and their recoveries had indeed taken place. However, he noted with regret that, despite receiving invitations to attend these meetings, he had not personally participated in them.
At least one such meeting is believed to have occurred at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio, with the findings reportedly submitted to the Defense Department’s Research and Development Board. During a phone conversation with Stanton Friedman, Sarbacher identified Dr. Eric A. Walker as another key participant in these discussions.
Dr. Walker, a prominent scientist and academic, served as president of Penn State University and was a founding member of the National Academy of Engineering. He also chaired the Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA) for many years, a prestigious think tank that advised the highest levels of the Pentagon and the Office of the Secretary of Defense.
In 1984, Jaime Shandera, a Hollywood producer with a background in intelligence, received an undeveloped film by mail containing what would become a controversial revelation. Three years later, in 1987, Shandera, alongside investigators William Moore and Stanton Friedman, made public the first of the now-infamous MJ-12 documents.
These documents detailed the recovery of a crashed flying saucer and its non-human occupants near Roswell, New Mexico, in 1947. They also introduced the existence of a secret committee, code-named Majestic 12 or MJ-12, allegedly established by an executive order from President Harry S. Truman in 1947. This elite group, tasked with managing UFO and extraterrestrial-related issues, reportedly consisted of 12 high-ranking figures from the U.S. national security establishment.
The MJ-12 documents identified the following individuals as the committee’s “designated members”:
- Vannevar Bush: engineer, inventor and science administrator, head of the U.S. Office of Scientific Research and Development
- Lloyd Berkner: physicist and engineer
- Detlev Bronk: biophysicist
- James Forrestal: 1st United States Secretary of Defense
- Gordon Gray: Secretary of the Army
- Roscoe H.Hillenkoetter: 3rd Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
- Jerome Clarke Hunsaker: aeronautical engineer
- Donald H.Menzel: one of the first theoretical astronomers and astrophysicists in the United States
- Robert Montague: Lieutenant General in the United States Army
- Sidney Souers: 1st Director of Central Intelligence
- Nathan F. Twining: United States Air Force General
- Hoyt Vandenberg: Chief of Staff of the Air Force
In a 1989 telephone conversation, Stanton Friedman shared an intriguing detail with UFO researcher Grant Cameron. Friedman recounted, “I was going through the records of the Office of the Secretary of Defense, and they’re badly managed and poorly arranged. However, there was one sheet that mentioned a briefing for Eric Walker by the CIA or a similar entity.”
During a separate discussion with researcher William Steinman, Dr. Eric Walker confirmed, “Yes, I attended meetings concerning that subject matter.” When pressed about the existence of the group known as MJ-12, Walker admitted he was aware of it but issued a stern warning: “You are delving into an area that you can do absolutely nothing about. Leave it alone.”
Despite initial confirmations, Walker became increasingly evasive in subsequent communications, offering fewer details and retreating from the topic.
The leaks of MJ-12 documents continued for years, with Dr. Robert M. Wood and Ryan S. Wood collecting and authenticating an extensive number of them.
The documents are available on this website: https://majesticdocuments.com/.
If you’re interested in exploring more about UFO crash cases, don’t miss my article:
UFO Crash retrievals: Uncovering the Secrets of Extraterrestrial Recoveries.
UFO INDIGO 