JFK, Outer Space, and UFOs
I can hardly wait for the June 12 release of Steven Spielberg’s new film, Disclosure Day. I know I’m not alone. With all the buzz attending NASA’s recent Artemis moon mission, the Trump administration’s pledge to disclose all UFO files, the recent (May 8) dump of 162 declassified UFO files by the Pentagon, and unending social media chatter about UFOs, I find myself rocketing back to the days of my youth. Kudos to Florida congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna for her unwavering stand for full disclosure of all Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP). She won’t be quiet until she gets the government’s 46 UAP videos.
Growing up during the Cold War involved an unrelenting onslaught of information regarding outer space, astronauts, competition with the Russians, and speculation about ‘men from Mars’. The sky above never seemed more sinister.
Outer space and alien invasions were ubiquitous themes in film and on TV. All the kids lined up at the movie theaters to watch The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951), Forbidden Planet (1956), Invasion of the Saucer Men (1957), The Blob (1958), and It! The Terror from Beyond Space (1958). Comedic versions such as Abbott and Costello Go to Mars (1953), The Three Stooges in Orbit (1962), Way… Way Out (1966) starring Jerry Lewis, and The Reluctant Astronaut (1967) with Don Knotts, were hits at the box office, too.
Most people my age remember the serialized ‘short films’ that served as part of the theaters’ Saturday matinee package, along with several cartoons and trailers for coming attractions that preceded the showing of the main feature film. I recall watching with great joy Zorro, the Lone Ranger, and Flash Gordon with their trademark cliffhangers.
Sometimes Hollywood allowed for cross-contamination space movies such as Robinson Crusoe on Mars (1964), Frankenstein Meets the Space Monster (1965), or Hercules and the Moon Men (1964).
Television was certainly instrumental in promoting the popularity of outer space themes. I faithfully watched Fireball XL5, Space Patrol, The Outer Limits, Lost in Space, The Invaders (identifiable by their ‘pinkies’), The Jetsons, It’s About Time, Star Trek (of course), and My Favorite Martian.
Oh yes… we also chowed down on Space Food sticks and guzzled TANG (which the astronauts took with them to the moon). We all knew by heart the names Yuri Gagarin, Alan Shepard, and John Glen. It became axiomatic that an individual considered sort of ‘way out’ or ‘far out’ was a beatnik (playing off Sputnik).
And we all could sing Frank Sinatra’s 1964 cover of the song “Fly Me to the Moon” as well as The Byrds’ 1966 pop hit, “Mr. Spaceman.” Did you know that Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin played Sinatra’s tune while on the lunar surface and that Roger McGuinn hoped his song would be heard by aliens? In an interview with ZigZag magazine, he said:
“I was interested in astronomy and the possibility of connecting with extraterrestrial life and I thought that it might work the other way round, if we tried to contact them. I thought that the song being played on the air might be a way of getting through to them.”
President John F. Kennedy’s speeches concerning space exploration, landing on the moon, and America’s rivalry with the Soviet Union were delivered within the context of the Cold War. More pragmatic than philosophical, he spoke regularly about national security, never of natural wonder. We all listened as he offered in his inaugural address the opportunity of cooperation over competition with the Soviet Union: “Together, let us explore the stars.” We also heard his Rice University speech the following year where he famously pledged, “we choose to go to the moon…in this decade…not because it is easy but because it is hard….”
The frontier of outer space was evidently on his mental horizon just ten days before his fateful visit to Dallas, Texas. He wrote one memorandum—and possibly a second—on November 12, 1963. The first was addressed to James Webb, then Administrator of NASA. Here it is:
NATIONAL SECURITY ACTION MEMORANDUM NO. 271
TO: The Administrator, National Aeronautics and Space Administration
SUBJECT: Cooperation with the USSR in Outer SpaceI would like you to assume personally the initiative and central responsibility within the Government for the development of a program of substantive cooperation with the Soviet Union in the field of outer space, including the development of specific technical proposals. I understand that you will work closely with the Department of State and other agencies as appropriate.
These proposals should be developed with a view to their possible discussion with the Soviet Union as a direct outcome of my September 20 proposal for that purpose.
In connection with this responsibility, you should also take the military subsystems into account, as appropriate, and I would like to receive a report on the progress of this effort by December 15.
[Signed] John F. Kennedy
The second memorandum—written to Director of the CIA, John McCone—is a matter of some controversy among scholars. No ‘carbon copy’ of the memo has been found in the files and neither the JFK Library nor the National Archives accept it as authentic. But some historians do. Here it is:
TOP SECRET
November 12, 1963
MEMORANDOM FOR: The Director, Central Intelligence Agency
SUBJECT: Classification review of all UFO intelligence files affecting National Security
As I had discussed with you previously, I have initiated and have instructed James Webb to develop a program with the Soviet Union in joint space and lunar exploration. It would be very helpful if you would have the high threat cases reviewed with the purpose of identification of bona fide as opposed to classified CIA and USAF sources. It is important that we make a clear distinction between the knowns and unknowns in the event the Soviets try to mistake our extended cooperation as a cover for intelligence gathering of their defense and space programs.When this data has been sorted out, I would like you to arrange a program of data sharing with NASA where Unknowns are a factor. This will help NASA mission directors in their defensive responsibilities.
I would like an interim report on the data review no later than February 1, 1964.
/S/ John F. Kennedy
During the first year of John F. Kennedy’s presidency, a peculiar event took place in rural New Hampshire that might have given him pause had he known of it.
But the news of this story involving the alien abduction of Betty and Barney Hill wouldn’t go public until 1965-66.
Betty and Barney Hill with their dog Delsey, holding a copy of the Boston Traveler. Photo
from allthatsinteresting.com
Betty and Barney Hill, an interracial couple who lived in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, were driving home on US Route 3 from a Canadian vacation on September 19, 1961, when they began to see strange lights moving about in the evening sky. Curious about the mysterious images, they pulled off the road, grabbed a pair of binoculars, and got out of the car to investigate.
What they saw turned innocent curiosity into sheer terror. They watched as a ‘pancake-shaped’ spacecraft with windows and multicolored lights descended from the sky—hovering something like 80-100 feet above their car. Barney saw several humanoid figurines looking back at him through the windows.
Freaking out, they scrambled back into the car and drove off like a bat out of hell. But then they noticed strange ‘beeping’ and ‘buzzing’ noises coming from their trunk. The car began vibrating.
Upon arrival at home, they not only were disturbed by what they’d experienced, their distress increased by the fact that their arrival was later than the expected time, their clothing had odd changes, and, worse, they had absolutely no memory of the ‘lost’ two hours.
And then things grew steadily worse. Both began experiencing recurring nightmares. Anxieties mounted and mysterious health issues appeared. Barney’s work at the postal service in Boston began to suffer, as did Betty’s job as a social worker. Up to this point, they had not told anyone about their roadside ‘alien’ encounter. They knew they needed help.
They put out a few preliminary feelers, with no noticeable relief, but finally obtained a referral to a world -renowned psychiatrist in Boston who had treated soldiers traumatized by battle during the Second World War. They met with Dr. Benjamin Simon in his Back Bay office on December 14, 1963. The couple began weekly hypno-therapy sessions with Dr. Simon, continuing until June 1964.
While dubious about their claim involving an alien encounter, he recognized in both a sincere and severe case of psychological torment. Through a process of regressive hypnosis, he was able to get them to recall what had happened during their two-hour blackout on September 19, and to draw pictures of the aliens they had seen. Under hypnosis Betty described being taken aboard the spaceship where she was probed by a needle in her navel. Barney explained how he’d been led up a ramp into the spacecraft. Once inside, he was placed on an examination table and subjected to a series of non-consensual procedures. They put a device on his groin (took a sperm sample?), investigated his skin, ears, and throat. The aliens seemed particularly perplexed by his dentures. Barney notably said the creatures were gray in color, not green. Here’s what they drew:
Dr. Simon had the Hills speak to a small group of UFO enthusiasts in Quincy, Massachusetts. Unbeknownst to them, this confidential meeting was being taped by one of the attendees, who then leaked the recording to a journalist named John H. Luttrell. Without their consent, he went ahead and published a five-part series in the Boston Traveler, beginning on October 25, 1965, under the headline: “A UFO Chiller: did THEY seize the couple.”
Free floating in damage control to their professional careers and determined to control their story, the Hills connected with a reputable journalist named John G. Fuller. The trio collaborated on an authorized narrative of the story that was published in book form in 1966 under the title, The Interrupted Journey. The Hills were national news and Look magazine came calling. Their alien experience and work with Dr. Simon was featured as a two-part installment in 1966.
Barney Hill died in February 1969 from a cerebral hemorrhage at the age of 46. Betty passed away from lung cancer in October 2004 at age 85. She had remained an active member of the UFO community until her death.
NBC adapted Fuller’s book into a made-for-television movie called The UFO Incident. It aired to a massive viewing audience on Monday, October 20, 1975. James Earl Jones played Barney, Estelle Parsons played Betty, and Bernard Hughes played the role of Dr. Benjamin Simon.
The Hills’ extraordinary saga has recently attracted attention in the academic world. Matthew B. Bowman, an Associate Professor of the History of Religion at Claremont Graduate University in California, published in 2023 The Abduction of Betty and Barney Hill: Alien Encounters, Civil Rights, and the New Age in America (Yale University Press). Dr. Bowman’s work emphasizes the stress of being an interracial couple in the 60s and the Hills’ active participation in the Civil Rights Movement as contextual factors in their alien encounter story.
This would make for an excellent high school research paper.