* * * * * * * * * * * *
* TOP SECRET *
* * * * * * * * * * * *
secret committee of scientists, military leaders, and government officials that are responsible directly and
only to the President of the United States. It was supposedly formed by a special, classified executive
order of U.S. President Harry S. Truman on September 24, 1947, upon the recommendation of Dr. Vannevar
Bush and Secretary James Forrestal. The purpose of MJ 12 was to investigate UFO activity in the wake of
the Roswell incident, the purported crash of an alien spaceship near Roswell, New Mexico in July 1947.
Projects such as Research and Development/Intelligence Operations are carried out under the control of
the Majestic Twelve group. It is thought that Majestic 12 is also responsible for the covering up of the UFO
phenomena from the American public. The primary evidence for the existence of a group named Majestic
12 is a series of debatable documents that first emerged in 1984 and which since then have been the
subject of much debate.
This alleged committee is an important part of the UFO conspiracy theory of an ongoing government cover
up of UFO information. The original members of the Majestic Twelve group were designated as follows:
Dr. Vannevar Bush
Secy. James V. Forrestal*
Gen. Nathan P. Twining
Gen Hoyt S. Vandenberg
Dr. Detlev Bronk
Dr. Jerome Hunsaker
Mr. Sidney W. Souers
Mr. Gordon Gray
Dr. Donald Menzel
Gen. Robert M. Montague
Dr. Lloyd V. Berkner
unfilled until August 1, 1950, when Gen. Walter B. Smith was designated as permanent replacement.
