New Brunswick: Stanton Friedman UFO Exhibit

(David Smith / The Daily Gleaner / The Canadian Press file photo)

Fredericton native Stanton Friedman was a noted nuclear physicist and well-known ufologist.  He was a leading authority on unidentified flying objects, alien abductions and the Roswell incident, considered by many to be the definitive UFO event.  Stanton said his belief in extraterrestrials was based on his research into data about UFO events he found buried in American government documents.

CBC News clip 27 May 2021:  https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/1902166595521.

Stanton grew up in Linden, New Jersey, and worked for 14 years as a nuclear physicist with General Electric, Westinghouse, and McDonnell-Douglas.  

(SF family photo)

He had dual American and Canadian citizenship.  He was married to his second wife Marilyn and came to Fredericton in 1980.  His daughter Melissa Friedman grew up here.  Melissa Friedman is a CBC Producer, as well as a horse-lover and storyteller.  She was previously a journalist with CBC Radio in Bathurst and in Moncton, New Brunswick. Melissa kindly donated much of Stanton’s records, archives, and memorabilia to the New Brunswick Provincial Archives, and to the Fredericton Region Museum, some of which you will see in the exhibit which is open inside the museum.

(Author Photo)

David, Melissa and Marilyn Friedman visiting the Stanton T. Friedman UFO Exhibit in the Fredericton Region Museum on 29 June 2021.

(Author Photo)

Rachel and Marilyn Friedman visiting the Stanton T. Friedman UFO Exhibit in the Fredericton Region Museum on 30 December 2022.

Stanton Friedman UFO Exhibit

https://www.frederictonregionmuseum.com/2021/06/16/stanton-friedman-is-out-of-this-world-exhibit-opens-june-26/

(Bettmann Archive Photo)

A photo of a UFO spotted spotted on 16 October 1957, near Holloman Air Force Missile Development Center in New Mexico, which was released by the Aerial Phenomena Research Organization.  Stanton first became interested in UFOs in 1958.  He began lecturing on the topic in 1967, but he never actually saw one himself.  

Stanton carried out detailed research and on-site investigations into the subject of UFOs and alien life forms, physically visiting archives and meeting with contactees. He was known for being highly intelligent and had a great sense of humour.  He was interviewed for numerous documentaries on radio and television and gave presentations on UFOs for hundreds of colleges and professional groups around the world.  He was inducted into the UFO Hall of Fame in Roswell, New Mexico (1 July).  Friedman is recognized in the New Mexico town as the original civilian investigator of the so-called Roswell Incident. Friedman, who was originally from New Jersey, promoted the hypothesis that an alien spacecraft crashed on a ranch northwest of the city in 1947. Roswell's annual UFO Festival will mark its 75th anniversary this year with a ceremony that will feature the unveiling of a planet-shaped marker with Friedman's name embedded in the sidewalk. A marker will also be unveiled for Jesse Marcel Sr., a U.S. air force officer who helped recover debris found at the ranch and later transferred to the air force base in Roswell.

(CBC)

Stanton Friedman, a leading authority on UFOs, is pictured taking part in a parade in McMinnville, Oregon., in 2013. His work was celebrated by City of Fredericton when it declared 27 Aug 2007, Stanton Friedman Day, in his honour.

(31 July 1996)

Stanton examined the documentary evidence for the existence of a clandestine government group called "Majestic-12" supposedly formed in 1947 to deal with the remains of a crashed flying saucer near Roswell, New Mexico on 6 July 1947.  The Majestic-12 documents refer to a top-secret research operation created by President Truman to coordinate the study of debris and alien bodies recovered from the crash site.  The U.S. government has consistently denied there ever was such an incident or group.  Friedman attempted to authenticate these documents that mysteriously appeared in 1984 and 1994.  He also refuted arguments by debunkers such as Carl Sagan and Phillip Klass.

(21 May 1997)

Book by Don Berliner and Stanton T. Friedman, Crash at Corona, drawing on interviews with more than one hundred witnesses to reveal the story of the crash of a UFO in New Mexico in 1947 and the subsequent government efforts to cover up the event.

(15 Aug 2007)  

Stanton investigated the 1961 UFO abduction of Betty and Barney Hill, a New Hampshire couple who claimed to have been taken aboard an alien spacecraft.  Stanton joined with Betty’s niece Kathleen Marden to produce the book Captured!

The Hill story emphasized the character of the aliens, including their curiosity, their democratic discussions, and their desire to avoid inflicting pain.

While inside the spacecraft, Betty and Barney were physically examined, and one of the five humanoids they encountered communicated with to Betty.  Betty noted that "it was uncomfortably cold in the ship".  After the examination she asked him where they are from.  In response he showed her a three-dimensional map with various sized dots and lines on it. The humanoid asked Betty if she knew where she was on map number 7.  She didn't know.  After the examination, Betty and Barney were returned unharmed to their car.  The humanoid told her that she would forget what happened.

J. Allen Hynek, chairman of the department of astronomy at Northwestern University, investigated this incident.  Hynek described how the Hills recalled the details of their encounter in his book, The UFO Experience (Henry Regnery Company, 1972).

"Under repeated hypnosis they independently revealed what had supposedly happened. The two stories agreed in considerable detail, although neither Betty nor Barney was privy to what the other had said under hypnosis until much later. Under hypnosis they stated that they had been taken separately aboard the craft, treated well by the occupants — rather as humans might treat experimental animals — and then released after having been given the hypnotic suggestion that they would remember nothing of that particular experience. The method of their release supposedly accounted for the amnesia, which was apparently broken only by counter-hypnosis."

(Steven Hammond Illustration)

Betty Hill famously drew a star map from memory, in 1964, under psychoanalysis. The map supposedly showed the sky as seen from a planet orbiting the star Zeta Reticuli, from which the alien abductors had arrived.  Betty described the map as "three-dimensional, like looking through a window. The stars were tinted and glowed. The map material was flat and thin (not a model), and there were no noticeable lenticular lines like one of our three-dimensional processes."

Betty estimated the map was "approximately three feet wide and two feet high with the pattern covering most of the map." She was standing about three feet away from it. She said there were many other stars on the map but she only (apparently) was able to specifically recall the prominent ones connected by lines and a small distinctive triangle off to the left. There was no concentration of stars to indicate the Milky Way ( galactic plane) suggesting that if it represented reality, it probably only contained local stars. There were no grid lines."  The Lines on the map, according to Betty Hill, were described by the alien as “trade routes” or “places visited occasionally” with the dotted lines as “expeditions”.

The two stars are known as Zeta 1 and Zeta 2 Reticuli, or together as simply Zeta Reticuli. They are each fifth magnitude stars, which are barely visible to the unaided eye, located in the obscure southern constellation Reticulum.

The map is derived from a model of our stellar neighborhood by Marjorie Fish, an Ohio schoolteacher, amateur astronomer and member of Mensa.  It shows the stars that coincide with those on the Hill map.  This map, prepared by Marjorie Fish, shows all the stars located in a vast volume of space extending out about 55 light-years in the direction of Zeta Reticulli. The viewing angle is from a point in space beyond that limit looking back toward the sun.  Marjorie Fish noted 16 stars whose positions are remarkably close to the stars in the drawing made by Betty Hill.

David R. Saunders, a statistics expert at the Industrial Relations Center of the University of Chicago, stated, "I can find no major point of quibble with Marjorie Fish's interpretation of the Betty Hill map."  By various lines of statistical reasoning he concludes that the chances of finding a match among 16 stars of a specific spectral type among the thousand-odd stars' nearest the sun is "at least 1,000 to 1 against".

(5 June 2008)

Flying Saucers and Science, Stanton T. Friedman Book.

(19 Sep 2016)

Fact, Fiction, and Flying Saucers, a follow-on book by Stanton T. Friedman and Kathleen Marden.

(Universal History Archive Photo via Kathleen Marden and Melissa Friedman)

The Hill story emphasised the character of the aliens, including their curiosity, their democratic discussions, and their desire to avoid inflicting pain.

(Author Photo)

2D Alien artwork by Eric Duivenvoorden, Betty Hill star map by Laila Emad.  The Stanton Friedman Exhibit work crew include Doug Hall, Ian MacEacheren, Laila Emad, Melynda Jarratt, Melony McCarthy, Holly Gallant, Andrea Gauvin, Alexzandrea Stockford, April Saulis, Ariel Ottens, Joanna Kerr and Hal Skaarup.

Laila Emad completed the background design for the star map and the entrance is now set up and suitable for visitors to take selfie photos with the 2D alien and star map.

When you visit the Fredericton Region Museum, you will encounter an exhibit we have assembled to honour Stanton – elements of his personal collection of awards, artifacts and letters are on display.  Artwork and UFO-related illustrations have been assembled and placed inside the imagined interior of a UFO, which you are invited to step into.  At the entrance, a diagram of the Betty Hill star map is presented as the backdrop to a full-scale illustration of one reported type of alien being.  Visitors are invited to have their “selfie” taken with along with additional 3D alien representations inside the exhibit area.

Drake Equation slide

The Drake equation is a probabilistic argument used to estimate the number of active, communicative extraterrestrial civilizations in the Milky Way galaxy.  The equation summarizes the main concepts which scientists must contemplate when considering the question of other radio-communicative life.

The Drake equation is where:

N = the number of civilizations in our galaxy with which communication might be possible (i.e., which are on our current past light cone); and

R∗ = the average rate of star formation in our galaxy;

fp = the fraction of those stars that have planets;

ne = the average number of planets that can potentially support life per star that has planets;

fl = the fraction of planets that could support life that actually develop life at some point;

fi = the fraction of planets with life that actually go on to develop intelligent life (civilizations);

fc = the fraction of civilizations that develop a technology that releases detectable signs of their existence into space;

L = the length of time for which such civilizations release detectable signals into space.

Canada

Early Canadian studies of UFOs included Project Magnet (1950–1954) and Project Second Storey (1952–1954), supported by the Defence Research Board.

The Department of National Defence (DND) has dealt with sightings and investigations of UFOs across Canada.  DND conducted investigations into crop circles in Duhamel, Alberta.  (The marks appeared in a farmer's field in 1967, and varied from five to seven inches wide, and the smallest circular mark was 31 ft., 9 in. in diameter.  Three of the rings were essentially circular, with the largest mark being slightly elliptial, varying from 34 ft., 5 in. to 36 ft., 3 in.  There were no exhaust blasts, scorch marks or disturbances of the soil, and vegetation within the circles had apparently been removed by the object that made the marks.  The official investigation report implies that the marks were most likely left by a 135-ton aircraft or spacecraft.

(The Royal Canadian Mint)

The Falcon Lake incident occurred in May 1967, when Stefan Michalak saw two unusual silver objects in the sky over Manitoba’s Whiteshell Provincial Park.  One landed about 50 metres away from Stefan on a flat rocky area. The other craft left, but the first stayed, said Stefan. He observed it from the bush for about half an hour before approaching it. When Stefan approached the craft, which he later described as saucer-shaped and made of a stainless steel material, he touched it and the heat melted the fingertips of his heavy gloves. There was an opening he put his head through, said Stan, but he didn't enter. The craft then expelled a cloud of gas and lifted off, knocking Stefan off his feet, setting his shirt aflame and leaving a distinct pattern of burns on his chest. .  Investigations were carried out by the RCMP, the Canadian Forces and U.S. officials. None have conclusively determined what happened.  The Royal Canadian Mint has produced a $20 silver coin to commemorate the event. The coin shows the moment the craft lifted from the rock, with a figure lying on the ground with a hand in the air, as if to ward something off. In the dark, the craft on the coin glows, as does the gas coming from the ship.

The Shag Harbour incident  (Wikipedia)

The Shag Harbour UFO incident in Nova Scotia also remains unsolved. This was the reported impact of an unknown large object into waters near Shag Harbour, on 4 October 1967.  The reports were investigated by various Canadian civilian (RCMP and Canadian Coast Guard) and military (Royal Canadian Navy and RCAF) agencies as well as the U.S. Condon Committee.

On the night of 4 October 1967, at about 11:20 pm Atlantic Daylight Time, it was reported that something had crashed into the waters of Shag Harbour.  At least eleven people saw a low-flying lit object head towards the harbour.  Multiple witnesses reported hearing a whistling sound "like a bomb," then a "whoosh," and finally a loud bang.  The object was never officially identified, and was therefore referred to as a UFO in Government of Canada documents.  The Canadian military became involved in a subsequent rescue/recovery effort.  The initial report was made by local resident Laurie Wickens and four of his friends.  Driving through Shag Harbour, on Highway 3, they spotted a large object descending into the waters off the harbour. Attaining a better vantage point, Wickens and his friends saw an object floating 250 to 300 m (820 to 980 ft) offshore in the waters of Shag Harbour.  Wickens contacted the RCMP detachment in Barrington Passage and reported he had seen a large airplane or small airliner crash into the waters off Shag Harbour.

Assuming an aircraft had crashed, within about 15 minutes, 2 RCMP officers arrived at the scene.  Concerned for survivors, the RCMP detachment contacted the Rescue Coordination Centre (RCC) in Halifax to advise them of the situation and ask if any aircraft were missing.  Before any attempt at rescue could be made, the flying object, with lights still showing, started to sink and disappeared from view.

A rescue mission was quickly assembled.  Within half an hour of the crash, local fishing boats went out to the crash site in the waters of the Gulf of Maine off Shag Harbour to look for survivors.  No survivors, bodies or debris were taken, either by the fishermen or by a Canadian Coast Guard search and rescue cutter, which arrived about an hour later from nearby Clark's Harbour.

By the next morning, RCC Halifax had determined that no aircraft were missing.  While still tasked with the search, the Captain of the Canadian Coast Guard cutter received a radio message from RCC Halifax that all commercial, private and military aircraft were accounted for along the eastern seaboard, in the Atlantic provinces and New England.

The same morning, RCC Halifax also sent a priority telex to the "Air Desk" at the RCAF headquarters in Ottawa, which handled all civilian and military UFO sightings, informing them of the crash and that all conventional explanations such as aircraft, flares, etc. had been dismissed.  Therefore, this was labelled a "UFO Report."  The head of the Air Desk then sent another priority telex to the RCN headquarters concerning the "UFO Report" and recommended an underwater search be mounted.  The RCN, in turn, sent another priority telex tasking Fleet Diving Unit Atlantic with carrying out the search.

Two days after the incident had been observed, a detachment of RCN divers from the Fleet Diving Unit Atlantic was assembled and for the next three days, they combed the seafloor of the Gulf of Maine off Shag Harbour looking for an object.  The final report said no trace of an object was found.

(The Royal Canadian Mint)

The Royal Canadian Mint has issued an innovative glow-in-the-dark coin that captures the eerie scene more than 50 years ago when an officially documented UFO crashed into the waters off Shag Harbour in southwestern Nova Scotia. On 4 Oct 1967, many witnesses reported seeing a series of flashing lights moving at high speed and then hitting the water, about 300 metres from shore. At 11:20 p.m., a glowing, orange sphere — described as being about the size of a city bus — slipped beneath the surface without a sound, leaving behind a strange, orange foam. A series of searches, including a three-day scan of the harbour's floor, turned up nothing. However, reams of police and military documents have since confirmed authorities had no idea what they were dealing with. There were specific references to unidentified flying objects, and no attempts were made to explain away what people had reported.

(Commemorative Coin, The Royal Canadian Mint)

On the night of 26 Oct 1978, a UFO was sighted in the skies of Clarenville, Newfoundland and Labrador. RCMP Constable James Blackwood responded to a call from astonished onlookers. When he arrived at the scene, witnesses directed his attention to a brightly lit object in the sky. Using binoculars and a high-powered scope, they observed the fin-tailed, oval-shaped craft as it hovered above the water near Random Island. It emitted no sound; and when the officer flashed the lightbar on his police cruiser, the mysterious craft instantly mimicked the lights. It remained in the area for nearly an hour before rising up suddenly and vanishing into the night, leaving no traces of its passage – except a credible eyewitness account.

The Heath Steel Mine UFO New Brunswick Incident

Paul Bedard wrote about this UFO event which took place on 27 Oct 1989, in the middle of a sunny afternoon, in north-eastern New Brunswick which was witnessed by three different groups of observers in three cars.  They saw two UFOs and some of their occupants.  One UFO was small, circular, about five metres in diameter and topped with a frosted translucent dome. It was perfectly symetrical with a slight pinkish tint and small red lights.  It was silent, hovering and deployed a beam of bright bluish white light visible even with the sunlight.  The witnesses observed several four-foot tall aliens with pale beige skin, oversized heads, large, black, almond-shaped eyes and long necks that seemed relatively fragile came out of it.  They wore black uniforms.  There was a second UFO, much larger than the first, parked on the ground.

The observers remained in their cars, but witnessed ten small grey aliens walking around examination the vegetation and looking through the windows of a trailer near the landing site.  The observers reported the aliens seemed to levitate/teleport to the trailer.  Two other alien entities appeared, similar in size but shorter, and stood on either side of the observer's cars like guards.  These aliens had eyes like a cat with oval pupils.  Two or three other beings on site were observed on the ground, while another stood at the entrance to the larger UFO.  These being were larger, with approximately the same build as humans.  They had regular faces and hair, and were dressed in white robes.  Some of these beings were carrying what appeared to be instruments in their hands.  Movement of other aliens inside the spaceship was also observed through its portholes.  It was very quiet.  The witnesses noted that there were no ambient bird or forest sounds during the encounter,

The second ship was about 20 metres across, dull grey in colour, and lined with portholes.  It had metal arms on top, possibly to place the smaller ship on top, in order to travel as a single unit.  The two ships took off silently, apart from a slight whirring noise and flew off.  The larger ship issued a powerful beam of light, then disappeared at a very high speed.

...then the authorities came.

The Exhibit

(Author Photo)

Doug Hall has attached a 3D UFO to the Southwest Wall, I painted a northern lights mural behind it, and Ian MacEacheron painted the silver interior of the UFO around it.  Doug installed additional wood panels and cut triangular windows open to two miniature aerial views of the pyramids and sphinx, one set by me and clay models by April Soulis, set up on a table viewable at waist height.  Doug added buckets of sand to make the display more realistic and plans to add periscopes at child height to view the pyramids through a few, and other periscopes to view the painting of the UFO crash at Roswell.

Stanton had an excellent sense of humour, but we wish to emphasize, the FRM exhibit is to honour him.  The interior portion of our exhibit is designed to give the sense of being inside a UFO, with this being a view from an external window.  A few who claim to have been taken inside a UFO, describe that you can see the outside as though it is a giant window.  In this case, looking at our mural with Doug Halls aluminum UFO in the distance.

Holly, Laila and Melony, discussing the layout of the UFO Exhibit.

A great deal of work has been completed on the layout and the work inside the display space.  The room now has the appearance of the interior of a UFO, complete with control console, space window views with art murals and UFO illustrations, two seven foot tall 3D gray alien figures, artwork at the entrance to the exhibit including a 2D full scale alien and artifact displays.

Melony McCarthy and Laila Emad working on the construction of the alien exhibit.

(Author Photo)

One of our two seven-foot tall reptilian alien manikins.

(Author Photo)

The second reptilian alien manikin.

(Author Photos)

Alien autopsy impression based on the Roswell Museum display. Eric is on the Gurney.

(Author Photo)

Artwork and sculptures in one of the UFO exhibit rooms.

Doug and Holly discussing the plans for the SF Exhibit.

There is a “command and control centre/bridge with views of earth from space, the Moon and UFOs facing the Northeast.  Melony McCarthy is building a small dwarf alien to be added to the set overlooking the “bridge”.

Doug has built a control panel with working lights – we would like to add sound to the teleporter (details to be worked out).  There is a rotating chair for visitors to take selfies in, in place.  Doug has built enclosed Plexiglas display shelves for Stanton’s trophies, jacket, tie, and memorabilia, which were provided by his daughter Melissa Friedman.  We have several books he has written to include in the display.

Holly and Melynda are blowing up illustrations and views of letters describing some of the UFO experiences fans have written to Stanton (specific wall spaces to be finalised for best viewing).  The 3D aliens presenting stand on either side of the mural on the south wall and the display has already been used for several photo sessions.  Even with long term work to be done, the exhibit is far enough along that we expect to be hosting guests in small numbers at a time from Halloween onward.

Holly and I have recorded a 3-minute audio introduction to go with photos for the exhibit (text attached).  Mel and Holly are designing and arranging for a large bilingual information board which will be mounted on the Southwest wall at the entrance to the space room (the current information board will be reversed so that it can be saved for future exhibits and the Friedman information and photos will be added.  This graphic board hangs to the right of the star map and 2D alien display (in progress, to be completed).

Ariel Ottens and Joanna Kerr with the Provincial Archives visited the FRM and are offering several Stanton’s artifacts for display after taking a tour of the exhibit.  These will include a set of alien masks and artifacts but will require secure glass boxes for them that can be locked (being worked on).

Doug built a “gurney” for the rubber alien “autopsy” manikin (being ordered by Melynda, which will go in the centre of the room, but set up so as not to interfere with the central display space for group photos.  

There needs to be sufficient space around the exhibits for a guide to offer a “spiel” for the visitors and to make the interior of the exhibit extremely child friendly (no easily dislodged parts).  

Covid-19 has disrupted much of the work in progress (we are all wearing our masks meetings and work on the project, but it is progressing to completion. There is considerable interest in the project and the group will continue to work on getting it ready as volunteer time and effort permit.  Come visit us in 2021.

(Author Photo)

Alien mask from the Stanton Friedman Collection on loan from the New Brunswick Provincial Archives.

James Smith observations on the 6 July 1947 UFO crash site in New Mexico

Observations and assessments by Private James W. Smith, 414th Fighter Group, as documented by his son Shawn G. Smith, 26 Jan 2010.  Reviewed 11 March 2021.

In the summer of 1947, James was a US Army Air Force (USAAF) airman undergoing Reserve training on the 4th of July weekend at Fort Worth Air Force Base (AFB), Texas.  At that time, he was an aviation mechanic qualified to work on early jets.  On the 6th of July (his birthday), he was ordered to take a Redeye flight to New Mexico as one of a group of aircrew.  The aircraft they flew on was a Douglas C-54 Skymaster, a four-engined transport aircraft used by the USAAF in the Second World War.  A second C-54 and two fighter aircraft accompanied them.  A USAAF Brigadier General was also onboard.

James noted the atmosphere on the aircraft was tense, as they were accompanied by two Military Police (MP) armed with Thompson .45 cal sub-machine guns.  He spoke with them to try and determine what the mission was about.  The MPs thought they were investigating the crash of a Russian jet that had gone down on US soil.

On arrival at Roswell AFB in New Mexico, the group was taken in trucks and jeeps to a remote location in the central part of the state.  Other MPs were already at the site, and the convoy was stopped until the General gave the OK for them to proceed.  James stated that at the site, he saw “the scattered remains of some sort of crashed aircraft…different from other crashes” he had seen.

James had studied jet propulsion.  He had trained as a mechanic on the Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star, the first jet fighter used operationally by the USAAF.  The General knew this, and asked James to take a look, to see “what he could make of it.”  James noted, “nothing resembled the shape of a conventional aircraft or rocket.  There were thick pieces of relatively undamaged metal framework, and many smaller, thinner pieces of what looked like fuselage…all made of a strange metal alloy...Some of the pieces were oxidized and looked as if they had been subjected to a very high heat.”

He added, “there were no discernable seams, welds, or rivets anywhere in the wreckage…it looked as if the entire craft had been molded in one piece…There were what looked like small lights and long solid plastic pieces”, of what he called “spaghetti”, that “were not wires or tubes, with no apparent function.”  There were “strange characters cast into some of the pieces, a type of writing…but only on the inside of the craft.  There were no markings on the outside.  There were…formed metal child-sized reclining seats, with indentations for head, body, arms, and legs, including hand-shaped indentations with spaces for six fingers.  There were no bodies in the wreckage.”

(Lockheed Martin Photo)

On 6 July 1947, James W. Smith, USAAF, one of the first mechanics to train on the Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star, was directed to assist in the examination of one of the crash sites in New Mexico.

(NMUSAF Photo)

James stated, “the recovered wreckage was flown in the two USAAF Douglas C-54 Skymaster transports back to Fort Worth AFB, Texas, escorted by two fighters.  Three small bodies (were) packed in ice (and) loaded aboard the aircraft.  Everyone took a look at them.”  James was told, “they had been the occupants of the crashed craft.”  He was able to examine the bodies, and made the following observations:

(Roswell Museum)

1. They were humanoid, with a head, two arms, two legs, two eyes, a mouth, and a nose.
2. The had no ears and no teeth.
3. They were small and frail, with unusually large heads.
4. They had large eyes, but no eyelids.
5. They had no genitalia.
6. They had six fingers on each hand.
7. They had skin like a shark.
8. They were the perfect size and shape to fit into the formed metal reclining seats he had seen in the wreckage.

Upon arrival at Forth Worth AFB, the wreckage and bodies were immediately loaded upon another transport, and under heavy guard, were flown to another location (possibly Washington, D.C.).  James heard a rumour that a fourth body had been recovered separately later and was sent along with the rest of what was recovered.  All personnel who had taken part in the operation were debriefed and ordered to sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) under severe penalties for speaking about the event.

James noted that, although they were forbidden to speak about the subject outside the circle, the “insiders” did speak often and freely among themselves.  He continued to “follow u” and gathered information on the subsequent developments.  Those involved formed a fraternity surrounding the recovery events they had experienced.  He kept a record of the things he learned in the following years:

(Author artwork)

UFO found at the crash site in the hills of Corona/Roswell, New Mexico on 6 July 1947, as described by witnesses interviewed by Stanton Friedman.  (Painted from a picture on a coin produced by the Franklin mint).  This UFO was found at crash site No. 5 of the 7 crashes documented as taking place in New Mexico in 1947.

1. The wreckage was taken to a hangar and carefully re-assembled. It was saucer shaped.  Many pieces were missing.  Some had been taken as souvenirs, and not all were recovered.

Alien writing, seen and copied from memory by Jesse Marcel, c1947.

2. The writing inside the craft was never decoded.

3. When electrical currents were applied to the pieces of the craft themselves, and the materials found within it, they would change shapes and exhibit strange properties.

4. It was determined that the frame and fuselage of the craft incorporated built in wiring and circuitry that was invisible to the naked eye, somehow arranged perfectly, atom-by-atom, within the metal.

5. It was determined that the craft itself and all materials in held, had somehow been “grown” as singular pieces on a molecular level, crystal-by-crystal, one molecule at a time. The materials were perfectly arranged in geometric lattice patterns, with molecular alignment, creating unusual alloys and amalgams with properties no found in natural materials.  James noted, “our best scientists were unable to reproduce the materials or determine how they had been made.”

6. The creatures (his term) recovered at the crash site had circulatory systems, but no digestive organs. It was determined that they somehow absorbed nutrients through their skin.

7. The creatures had unusually large brains with four hemispheres separated by bony plates and an extraordinarily large amount of sensory nerve tissue throughout their bodies, arrange in specific patterns.

8. The creatures were connected to the craft through a form of wireless technology and formed an integral part of the craft. The creatures and the craft functioned as a single unit.  The creatures were not occupant or passengers in the craft, per se, but rather they were an operational part of the craft itself.  They were far more than mere pilots.

9. The creatures were biologically engineered robots manufactured for a specific function and were merely another component of the craft. They were grown in a laboratory, using similar methods as the other materials.  Their flesh and bones exhibited molecular alignment, like the other materials, and were unusually tough and resilient.

10. It was determined that the creatures were not representative of the physical appearance and biological type of the beings who designed and built the craft. They were merely drones or machines and the creators of this technology were believed to be considerably different physiologically.

11. There was no propulsion unit within the craft. At first, it was believed that the propulsion unit was destroyed in the crash, but it was later determined that propulsion was provided by the creatures themselves, as an “advanced form of telekinesis”.  The minds of the creatures themselves, were the propulsion and navigation units.

12. It was determined that the brains of the creatures served as on-board computers for the craft.

13. It was determined that the craft and its components functioned through a type of non-physical energy which we do not yet have access to, an energy apparently harnessed and controlled by the minds of the creatures.

14. It was determined that the energy that powered, controlled, and propelled the craft was a form of focused consciousness or thought power.

15. It was determined that the cause of the crash was lightning striking the craft. The lightning apparently incapacitated one of the creatures, which somehow created an imbalance in the forces that propelled the craft, tearing it apart.  The craft could not function properly without all the creatures acting in perfect unison.

16. The origin of the craft was never determined. It was believed to have originated from one of three sources, a) another planet within the Milky War galaxy, or another galaxy in this universe, b) a planet in another dimension, or c) from the earth’s own distant future.

17. It was determined that the craft was able to travel and maneuver faster than the speed of light. It was able to virtually dematerialize and rematerialize instantly, moving from one location to another in this manner while defying the known laws of physics.  It was determined that the craft could travel many light years in an instant, by somehow traveling in a “bubble” of space time, or “warping” or “folding” the space time around it and “jumping” through dimensions.  It was determined that it possessed the capability to travel inter-dimensionally and was believed to be able to travel forward and backward in time as well.

18. Attempts were made to reverse engineer all the technology discovered within the craft, with only limited success.

19. Another identical craft had been recovered intact, but it was never made functional. The craft would not function without the presence of the creatures, which were the crucial operating component of the machine.

20. Efforts to clone the creatures have been made without success.

James noted, “the secrets of the discs were feasible technologies that humans could and would one day master”.  His son Shawn stated his father, “had a lifelong drive to understand how the craft functioned and to reproduce the technology, noting, “work was being done to reproduce their propulsion system”.

(US Army Photo)

SCR-584 radar unit, in service in 1947.  It may have contributed to the disruption of the UFO operating systems, causing a collision and crash.

"The Debris Field" lithograph, Elmore Larry.  Major Jesse Marcel inspects material as "Mac" Brazel discusses finding the Debris Field on the ranch near Corona, New Mexico (Roswell), 7 July 1947.  (Postcard)

(Internet)

Sketch of the UFO crash near Corona, New Mexico (Roswell), 7 July 1947.  Drawn from a description by campers who saw it at the crash site near their campsite, just as the USAAF arrived.

(USAAF Photos)

Trucks, cranes, and bulldozers that were needed to recover the UFO in 1947.  Observed by the campers at the scene the night of the crash.  More kit than required to recover a weather balloon.

Roswell Daily Record newspaper, July 1947.

(USAAF Photo)

Major Jesse Marcel, presenting a downed weather balloon used as the cover story for the crashed UFO.

(Author Artwork)

Giant triangular-shaped UFO, dark in colour, typically observed at night, described as large, silent, hovering, moving slowly, and displaying pulsating, colored lights.  This UFO was seen by thousands of Belgians in November 1989.  F-16 fighter jets were launched to intercept it, but couldn't catch it.  Many Canadians have described seen them in Ontario and the Maritime provinces.  (Painting mounted above the UFO control console)

The Belgian UFO wave began in November 1989. The events of 29 November were documented by over thirty different groups of witnesses, and three separate groups of police officers. All of the reports related a large object flying at low altitude. The craft was of a flat, triangular shape, with lights underneath. This giant craft did not make a sound as it slowly moved across the landscape of Belgium. There was free sharing of information as the Belgian populace tracked this craft as it moved from the town of Liege to the border of the Netherlands and Germany.

Illustration of a "barbell" shaped UFO, reportedly sighted over Northern Ontario in 2013.

(Author artwork)

Illustration of one of the most commonly reported forms of UFO/Flying saucer sightings.  They have been described as silver saucer-shaped UFOs with a rounded dome on top and with three round lights underneath, sometimes reported as dark patches.  Others report seeing glowing white lights on the bottom, and viewing windows all around the edges, often with passengers visible.

(Internet)

Illustration, Ezekiel's wheel within a wheel.  Since he was taken captive along with King Jehoiachin in March of 597 B.C., this first vision would be on 3 July 593 B.C.

Ezekiel 1:1-29

1:1.  Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the river Chebar, that the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God.

1:2.  In the fifth day of the month, which was the fifth year of King Jehoiachin’s captivity.

1:3.  The word of Jehovah came expressly unto Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and the hand of Jehovah was there upon him.  

1:4.  And I looked, and, behold, a stormy wind came out of the north, a great cloud, with a fire infolding itself, and a brightness round about it, and out of the midst thereof as it were glowing metal, out of the midst of the fire.

1:5.  Also out of the midst thereof came the likeness of four living creatures.  And this was their appearance: they had the likeness of a man.

1:6.  And every one had four faces, and every one had four wings.

1:7.  And their feet were straight feet; and the sole of their feet was like the sole of a calf’s foot; and they sparkled like burnished brass.

1:8.  And they had the hands of a man under their wings on their four sides; and they four had their faces and their wings.

1:9.  Their wings were joined one to another; they turned not when they went; they went every one straight forward.

1:10.  As for the likeness of their faces, they four had the face of a man; and the face of a lion on the right side; and they four had the face of an ox on the left side; they four had also the face of an eagle.

1:11.  Thus were their faces: and their wings were stretched upward; two wings of every one were joined one to another, and two covered their bodies.  

1:12.  And they went everyone straightforward: whither the spirit was to go, they went; and they turned not when they went.

1:13.  As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, and like the appearance of lamps: it went up and down among the living creatures; and the fire was bright, and out of the fire went forth lightning.

1:14.  And the living creatures ran and returned as the apperance of a flash of lightening.

1:15.  Now as I beheld the living creatures, behold one wheel upon the earth by the living creatures with his four faces.

1:16.  The appearance of the wheels and their work was like unto the colour of a beryl: and they four had one likeness: and their appearance and their work was as it were a wheel in the middle of a wheel.

1:17.  When they went, they went upon their four sides: and they turned not when they went.

1:18.  As for their rings, they were so high that they were dreadful; and their rings were full of eyes round about them four.  

1:19.  And when the living creatures went, the wheels went by them; and when the living creatures were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up.

1:20.  Whithersoever the spirit was to go, they went; thither was their spirit to go: and the wheels were lifted up over against them; for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels.

1|:21.  When those went, these went; and when those stood, these stood; and when those were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up over against them: for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels.

1:22.  And the likeness of the firmament upon the heads of the living creature was as the colour of the terrible crystal, stretched forth over their heads above.

1:23.  And under the firmament were their wings straight, the one toward the other: the one toward the other: every one had two, which covered on this side, and every one had two, which covered on that side, their bodies.

1:24.  And when they went, I heard the noise of their wings like the noise of great waters, like the voice of the Almighty, the voice of speech, as the noise of a host: when they stood, they let down their wings.

1:25.  And there was a voice from the firmament that was over their heads: when they stood, and had let down their wings.

1:26.  And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone; and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it.  

1:27.  And I saw as the colour of amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it, from the appearance of his loins even downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about.

1:28.  As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake.

THE HOLY BIBLE, King James Version, (Thomas Nelson Inc., Camden New Jersey, 1970)

Sighting of a UFO by a Canadian pilot over Fort Macleod, Alberta, 27 Aug 1956.

Oumuamua (European Southern Observatory ), artist’s impression.

Once speculated to be a UFO "lost in space", 'Oumuamua is the first known interstellar object to be detected passing through the Solar System.  Formally designated 11/2017 U1, it was discovered by Robert Weryk using the Pan-STARRS telescope at Haleakal? Observatory, Hawaii, on 19 October 2017, 40 days after it passed its closest point to the Sun on 9 September 2017. When it was first observed, it was about 33 million km (21 million mi; 0.22 AU) from Earth (about 85 times as far away as the Moon), and already heading away from the Sun.

Oumuamua is a small object estimated to be between 100 and 1,000 metres (300 and 3,000 ft) long, with its width and thickness both estimated to range between 35 and 167 metres (115 and 548 ft).  It has a dark red color, similar to objects in the outer Solar System.  Despite its close approach to the Sun, Oumuamua showed no signs of having a coma (nebulous envelope), but did exhibit non-gravitational acceleration.  Nonetheless, the object could be a remnant of a disintegrated rogue comet (or exocomet), according to a NASA scientist.  The object has a rotation rate similar to the average spin rate seen in Solar System asteroids, but many valid models permit it to be more elongated than all but a few other natural bodies.  While an unconsolidated object (rubble pile) would require it to be of a density similar to rocky asteroids, a small amount of internal strength similar to icy comets would allow a relatively low density.  Oumuamua's light curve, assuming little systematic error, presents its motion as tumbling, rather than smoothly rotating, and moving sufficiently fast relative to the Sun that few possible models define a Solar System origin, although an Oort cloud origin cannot be excluded.  Extrapolated and without further deceleration, the path of ?Oumuamua cannot be captured into a solar orbit, so it would eventually leave the Solar System and continue into interstellar space.  Oumuamua's planetary system of origin, and the age of its excursion, are unknown.  In July 2019, astronomers reported that Oumuamua was an object of a "purely natural origin".  (Wikipedia)

(Author Photo)

Stanton T. Friedman MUFON Award for Excellence in UFOlogy, August 2007.

Stanton Friedman cartoon.

(Author artwork)

UFO, cylinder shaped, spotted on 16 Oct 2017 over Virgie, Kentucky, by Allen Epling over Virgie, Kentucky. He said it the object “looked like two fluorescent bulbs, side by side, parallel, shining very brightly. It would get so bright they would seem to merge, and you could see it very clearly with the naked eye. Then it would dim down almost invisible.”  Several people from New Brunswick have also reported seeing variations of these sy,inder UFOs.

(Author artwork)

UFO illustration from a sketch by an observer at 10:30 pm on 5 July 2000.  The UFO was estimated to be at least 40 feet long, with the lights underneath it "moving like ocean waves" and with the peculiar balls on the outside edges ringed with pink bands with brown dots.

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(Author artwork)

Painting of a view of the Earth from the control console inside the UFO Exhibit.  (Maritimes prominently visible)

Reptilians and Triangle UFOs

Artist's interpretation of a Reptilian alien.  A human is shown for comparison of relative size.  (Camilo Sanchez)

In a letter to Stanton Friedman dated 3 Feb 1998, Kaetheryn Walker provided a description of a "grey" being who came to her in Oct 1992.  "It was rather reptilian, brown scaled, with a short snout, small, even teeth, which...seemed pointed; the eyes were reddish brown, pupils slitted like a cat's pupils.  There were no ears or hair, and I do not remember the nostrils clearly; if there were any, they were quite small.  I could see that the individual was wearing a garment of sorts, the collar was something like mock-turtle design and seemed to be a heavy fabric with thick gold brocade threads running through it....there was some sort of epaulet or other decoration on the shoulders.  Without moving "his" lips, the individual said to me, "I see you, and I know you see me too."  I wish people would not refer to these beings as lizards.  They look more like crocodiles, to me."

Kaetheryn described their craft as "a large triangular craft...very black with huge red lights at each corner...there were also smaller red lights along each edge, between the corner lights...on the bottom of the craft...(there was) some sort of seam work in a star-formation, much like the underside of a starfish."

Professor Stanton T. Friedman, “speculated that the reason alien intelligence may have been attracted” to what goes on here (the Philadelphia Experiment, for example), “might be because of large concentrations of electromagnetic “oversplash” produced by the experiment itself.”  He theorizes that, “if aliens are observing our world, they would be likely to have a functional electromagnetic map, and, when bright spots or points appeared, (that were) not accounted for by their grid, they would naturally investigate its source.”  William L. Moore & Charles Berlitz, The Philadelphia Experiment, Project Invisibility.  An Account of a Search for  Secret Navy Wartime Project That May Have Succeeded – Too Well, Fawcett Crest, New York, 1979, p. 267.

In a document written by Stanton Friedman for his presentation to MUFON 2000, he summed up his stand on both Roswell and the Operation Majestic 12 documents:

Roswell

"As the initial civilian investigator of the Roswell Incident beginning with a conversation with Lydia Sleppy in the early 1970s, and then later with Major Jesse Marcel (1978), Walter Haut and a host of other Roswell witnesses, I have been completely convinced by overwhelming evidence that the United States Government recovered wreckage of at least 2 crashed alien flying saucers in New Mexico in early July 1947.  One debris field was on the Foster Ranch operated by M. Brazel about 75 miles Northwest of Roswell.  The other event took place at the same time in the Plains of San Augustin west of Magdalena and Socorro, New Mexico."

Operation Majestic 12

"I am...convinced that the Original MJ-12 Documents (The Eisenhower Briefing Document (EBD) date 18 November 1952; The Truman-Forrestal Memor (TF) of 24 Sep 1947, and the Cutler-Twining (CT) Memo of 14 July 1954), are indeed genuine and the most important classified documents ever leaked to the public... (while) many others that have turned up are most certainly fraudulent."

As this is a major item in any discussion on visitors, I asked the group for more details.  “What can you tell us about what actually happened and on what was found?  What is the present status of the debris and the remains that were found?  Where are they kept, how much and how many have been recovered and what is being done with them?”

Open sources and other readings have led to the following story.  On 18 November 1952 American president-elect Dwight D. Eisenhower was briefed about the crash of a visitor disc near Roswell, New Mexico.  Stanton T. Friedman, Top Secret/Majic, Marlowe & Company, New York, NY, 1996, p. 222

A number of investigative organizations and studies were set up to look into this, and possibly other incidents.  Such studies included Project SIGN, established in December 1947, and the formation of the government group previously mentioned that was designated “Majestic-12.”  These studies were followed in turn by Project GRUDGE in December 1948, and later by the study called Project BLUE BOOK.  Stanton T. Friedman, Top Secret/Majic, Marlowe & Company, New York, NY, 1996, p. 242.

Stanton Friedman and other investigators asked this question, “What part did visitors play in the 24 June 1947 sighting by Kenneth Arnold, a civilian pilot flying over the Cascade Mountains in the State of Washington, when he observed nine flying disc-shaped aircraft traveling in formation at a high rate of speed?  Stanton T. Friedman, Top Secret/Majic, Marlowe & Company, New York, NY, 1996, p. 243.

I would also add this additional question on the same theme, “What other sightings and reports exist or have taken place prior to or in the same era as this first “widespread” report, that you were part of?”

Secrets

Concerning secrets, all governments have them.  The government of the United States for example, has been accused of covering up secrets concerning the visitors.  This has extended to what can only be determined to be “beyond curious.”  According to Whitley Strieber, in the late 1970s physicist Stanton T. Friedman “precipitated along with the Citizens against UFO Secrecy (CAUS)” an investigation into a possible U.S. government cover-up on the subject.  Under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), “CAUS asked to obtain UFO information from the CIA.  The CIA claimed that it had none.  After the demand was made through federal Judge Gerhard Gesell, the CIA produced documents, some of which suggested that other agencies, including the National Security Agency (NSA), also had files.  “The CIA admitted finding over 900 pages of material concerning UFOs and released a list of 57 documents originating with other agencies, including the State Department and the DIA and 18 from the NSA.  The NSA, when taken to court and forced to do a search, admitted finding 239 UFO documents with 79 originating with other agencies, including 23 from the CIA, which somehow hadn’t found them when doing its initial search.”  Stanton T. Friedman, Top Secret/Majic, Marlowe & Company, New York, NY, 1996, p. 249.

Friedman, Stanton T.  Top Secret/Majic, New York, NY, Marlowe & Company, 1996.

Guest Speakers

The Fredericton Region Museum has been actively engaged in a guest speaker program. A number of Stanton's former colleagues have honored him by giving presentations that are now available and free to watch on you-tube.

Stanton Friedman Memorial Speaker Series - Hal Skaarup, President YSHS, Introduction

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T76xGD4ep4s&t=4415s

UFO talker podcast

https://www.buzzsprout.com/2010144/14725359

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Stanton Friedman Memorial Speaker Series - Kathleen Marden, UFO Researcher and Author

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0No0NH4Xs8

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Stanton Friedman Memorial Speaker Series - Jennifer Stein and Travis Walton

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WqgYl-02Z4

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Stanton Friedman Memorial Speaker Series - Joanna Aiton-Kerr, NB Provincial Archives

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QS5KgxEXx0Y

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Stanton Friedman Memorial Speaker Series - Chris Styles, the Shag Harbour Incident

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsNAr6DpTU0

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Stanton Friedman Memorial Speaker Series - Chris Rutkowski, UFO Investigator and Author

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLtz7-mOaf0

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UFO

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This is Fred, checking in on his partner, Eric, in the Fredericton Region Museum.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWzzu35g5Hg

Youtube video of a presentation on Stanton Friedman given in Saint John on 28 October 2023.