Is the Admiral Wilson memo, mentioned in the recent congressional hearing on UAP, genuine?
Within our report on the recent UAP congressional hearing, we mentioned the Admiral Wilson memo. The subject was brought up by Wisconsin’s Representative Mike Gallagher - with the outcome that the document was entered into the official records.
We’ve deliberately never been part of the “ufology” scene, although we’ve quietly observed it for decades (often with shakes of the head). Our aim is education, especially with regards to championing the need for psychological maturity. We’re not conspiracy theorists. We fly the flag for an evidence-based approach and critical thinking skills. Our speciality is psychological attitude - and we know that this crucial aspect of human behaviour can be a reliable indicator in helping to determine what’s what.
A number of dodgy documents have surfaced over the decades, purporting to be official “smoking guns” that “prove” the US government has recovered technology made on another planet, hidden away somewhere - even leading to “a secret space program”. So you’ve got to be extremely suspicious of fraud, especially given all the iffy characters out there who are desperate for their 15 minutes of fame.
Admiral Tom Wilson (Credit: Defense Intelligence Agency)
For anyone who doesn’t already know, what is this memo? It’s the account of an alleged meeting between Eric Davis, a physicist, and Vice Admiral Tom Wilson (Retired) on 16th October 2002. The claimed conversation between these two men refers back to a time in question, April to June 1997, when Wilson was a rear admiral and Vice Director for Intelligence (VJ2), The Joint Staff in the Pentagon. The astronaut Edgar D. Mitchell* and several others met with Admiral Wilson to ask about an unacknowledged UFO reverse engineering program. That this meeting took place isn’t in dispute. Admiral Wilson allegedly followed up and found out that such a hidden program existed, although he was refused access despite his lofty position within the Pentagon. That’s the story, in a nutshell. You can read all 15 pages of the memo here (which might be a good idea, so you can more fully appreciate what’s written below).
Some believe the memo to be a true smoking gun, whereas others think it’s bogus. Eric Davis gave a “No comment” when asked about its authenticity - whereas Admiral Wilson has strongly denied any such meeting took place, calling it “pure fiction”. The memo came to light from the files of the deceased Edgar D. Mitchell, apparently originally sent to him by Hal Puthoff, who is another physicist with close links to both Mitchell and Davis. Hal Puthoff also offered a “No comment”.
Billy Cox, a journalist, has elicited several statements from Tom Wilson and Oke Shannon. The latter gentleman apparently knew both the admiral and the physicist, vouching to the former that the latter could be trusted. But Admiral Wilson has denied knowing everyone he supposedly mentioned during this meeting, stating all are “completely unknown to me”, including Oke Shannon. This was despite the alleged reference to Wilson describing himself as a “Big Oke Shannon fan!” Billy Cox found that denial “jarring”, not unsurprisingly because when he’d interviewed Oke Shannon - who sounded apologetic for any role he’d played in making life difficult for Wilson and Davis - Shannon had said: “Let’s just leave it at the fact that I do know both of these gentlemen. Tom Wilson is an honourable man. And if this has embarrassed Tom Wilson, I am really sorry.” Now, psychologically speaking, those words have a clear ring of authenticity to them.
One sceptic has poured scorn on why the newly-retired admiral would have been in any way motivated to talk with a physicist who’s not particularly notable, suggesting this is a good reason to dismiss the memo as mere fiction. However, there is a valid explanation for why the meeting could have happened. Assuming the memo describes a real chain of events, Tom Wilson would likely have been left quietly fuming at having been denied access to the UFO program. He’d, allegedly, been told not to pursue his enquiries further by those above him in the Pentagon, so seeking outlets in-house to vent any lingering frustration might have been considered unwise. But talking, off the record, to Davis - an outsider, with basic security clearance, interested in the subject, and vouched for by Oke Shannon - might have seemed an attractive option. And he did, again allegedly, make clear to Davis that if the private conversation between them ever became public, Wilson would “deny meeting you, deny everything said”. Once more, psychologically, this does make sense.
If you watch film of Eric Davis, he seems to have a puffed-up ego issue - which probably could also be said of many in “ufology” who, conversely, have done little or nothing other than spout opinions. Could this be behind his reason for saying “No comment”, if the whole story was false, as the attention would nevertheless hype his standing as being “someone in the know”? Or, alternatively, would he be quick to unambiguously distance himself from it if untrue? Both interpretations are plausible, but we’d go with the latter one as being more likely.
Interpreting psychology without seeing an individual is limited and therefore far from being ideal. When you see someone, you can read intricate micro-expressions and subtle tones of voice - all in context, if you’re sufficiently knowledgeable and experienced. And there are layers upon layers of behaviour to understand, so it’s rarely simple.
Admiral Tom Wilson has obviously read in full the lengthy memo of the alleged conversation because he has challenged Eric Davis’ “characterisation of my attitude, emotions, and sentiments about other individuals” as being untrue. But would he really bother to go through all the wording if he absolutely knew the document was a complete fabrication? Wouldn’t he instead instantly dismiss it and move on?
Overall, Wilson’s denial can be taken either way. Believers who want to believe would say “He would deny everything, wouldn’t he?!”. And the rest of us would understand that if the meeting did actually happen, then he would need to completely distance himself from any suggestion that it might be true. But, on the other hand, if he knew the claim was nonsense, he’d likewise call it out as such.
We could walk you through the memo, bit by bit, arguing that it has plausible psychological coherence. But it can’t get us anywhere conclusive because it’s ultimately just speculative interpretation. Admiral Tom Wilson is, we presume, a decent man who served his country well. If the memo is pure fiction, you can sympathise with him being wrongly tarnished in this way. Likewise, if it’s true, you can easily empathise with him being stuck between a rock and a hard place.
The way forward to a resolution of this matter would be to have both men testify as witnesses in a future congressional hearing, cross-examined if necessary by those in authority determined to get to the bottom of it all. If the memo is a transcript of a real conversation - and just one of the two participants was willing to state that under oath - then a can of worms would be opened. But is this scenario likely to happen - with a string of explosive consequences? Or is it all just pure fiction?
Written by Iain Scott, 16th June 2022
* For the purpose of transparency, Ed Mitchell - who died in 2016 - was supportive of our work, and to myself in particular. That said, we remain objective in our analysis of this matter and no specific discussions about the Wilson memo took place between us.