What Happened at Truman's September 24 Meeting?

Introduction

The strongest genuine fact behind the alleged Majestic-12 authorisation date is also a narrowly limited one: President Harry S. Truman really did meet Secretary of Defense James Forrestal and scientist Vannevar Bush at 11:30 a.m. on 24 September 1947. Truman’s official appointment diary records both men together at the White House and says the appointment was arranged at Forrestal’s suggestion.[Truman Library]trumanlibrary.govTruman Library Daily Appointments of Harry S. Truman | Harry S. TrumanTruman LibraryDaily Appointments of Harry S. Truman | Harry S. TrumanSeptember 23, 1947…Published: September 23, 1947

That is an unusually precise match to the story told by the alleged MJ-12 documents. The purported 1952 Eisenhower briefing says Truman created Majestic-12 on 24 September on the recommendation of Forrestal and Bush, while an accompanying supposed Truman memorandum of that date refers to a recent conversation and authorises Forrestal to proceed with an undertaking called “Operation Majestic Twelve”.[Wikisource]en.wikisource.orgMJ-12 DocumentMJ-12 Document - Wikisource, the free online libraryNovember 18, 1952…Published: November 18, 1952

But the authentic appointment record does not say what Truman, Forrestal and Bush discussed. No surviving entry identifies MJ-12, Roswell, recovered spacecraft or any comparable subject. The meeting therefore establishes a real historical coincidence behind the alleged authorisation story, not evidence that the authorisation itself occurred.

What Truman’s appointment diary actually records

The Truman Presidential Library’s daily appointments provide the clearest primary-source anchor for 24 September. The relevant entry reads, in substance, that at 11:30 a.m. Truman was to see James Forrestal, Secretary of Defense, and Dr Vannevar Bush; the appointment had been “arranged at the suggestion of Secretary James Forrestal”.[Truman Library]trumanlibrary.govTruman Library Daily Appointments of Harry S. Truman | Harry S. TrumanTruman LibraryDaily Appointments of Harry S. Truman | Harry S. TrumanSeptember 23, 1947…Published: September 23, 1947

Several details matter. First, this was not merely a day on which Forrestal and Bush happened to be somewhere in Washington. The presidential calendar puts Truman, Forrestal and Bush together in a scheduled White House appointment. Second, Forrestal appears to have initiated the meeting. Third, the calendar gives no stated purpose for it — unlike some surrounding appointments, whose purposes were explicitly noted.[Truman Library]trumanlibrary.govTruman Library Daily Appointments of Harry S. Truman | Harry S. TrumanTruman LibraryDaily Appointments of Harry S. Truman | Harry S. TrumanSeptember 23, 1947…Published: September 23, 1947

The timing also places the meeting in a busy presidential morning. Truman had appointments at 11:15 and 11:45, with further appointments at noon, 12:15 and 12:30. On the face of the surviving schedule, Forrestal and Bush therefore occupied a roughly 15-minute slot, although a presidential appointment book cannot by itself prove the exact duration of a conversation.[Truman Library]trumanlibrary.govTruman Library Daily Appointments of Harry S. Truman | Harry S. TrumanTruman LibraryDaily Appointments of Harry S. Truman | Harry S. TrumanSeptember 23, 1947…Published: September 23, 1947

That last point helps keep the evidence in proportion. The diary is strong evidence that the meeting was planned and occurred within Truman’s official schedule. It is not a transcript, minutes sheet or subject memorandum. Its silence about the subject cannot prove that a particular matter was not discussed, but neither can the blank be filled with the MJ-12 narrative simply because that narrative later supplied a subject.

Why Forrestal and Bush fit the alleged MJ-12 story

The coincidence becomes striking when the genuine calendar entry is compared directly with the disputed documents. The alleged Eisenhower Briefing Document, dated 18 November 1952, describes Majestic-12 as a secret research and intelligence operation reporting directly to the president. It says the group was established by a classified executive order from Truman on 24 September 1947, “upon recommendation” of Vannevar Bush and James Forrestal.[Wikisource]en.wikisource.orgMJ-12 DocumentMJ-12 Document - Wikisource, the free online libraryNovember 18, 1952…Published: November 18, 1952

Its supposed supporting attachment is a one-page memorandum bearing the same date and addressed by Truman to Forrestal. The text refers to their “recent conversation”, tells Forrestal that he is authorised to proceed with his undertaking, and declares that the matter will thereafter be known as “Operation Majestic Twelve”. It further says future decisions should rest with the presidency following discussions involving Forrestal, Bush and the Director of Central Intelligence.[Wikisource]en.wikisource.orgMJ-12 DocumentMJ-12 Document - Wikisource, the free online libraryNovember 18, 1952…Published: November 18, 1952

Set beside the authentic diary, the fit is unusually neat:

• Alleged authorisation date: 24 September 1947.
• Documented White House meeting: 24 September 1947 at 11:30 a.m.
• People named in the alleged foundation story: Truman, Forrestal and Bush.
• People documented together at the meeting: Truman, Forrestal and Bush.
• Alleged memo’s reference to prior discussion: compatible in a general sense with the existence of a real meeting, although “recent conversation” does not specify that meeting.[Wikisource]en.wikisource.orgMJ-12 DocumentMJ-12 Document - Wikisource, the free online libraryNovember 18, 1952…Published: November 18, 1952

This is why the appointment has remained one of the more interesting details in the MJ-12 dispute. A fabricated document constructed with access to Truman’s historical schedule could have been dated to a real meeting and populated with the people who attended it. Conversely, if the document were authentic, this is approximately the kind of appointment one might expect to find. The calendar coincidence therefore works in both directions and cannot authenticate the disputed memo by itself.

The historical identities of the participants also make the pairing superficially plausible. Forrestal had just become the first US Secretary of Defense following the 1947 national-security reorganisation, while Bush was one of the country’s most prominent scientific administrators and wartime science advisers. Nothing inherently implausible attaches to Truman meeting the two men together. What requires evidence is the much narrower proposition that this particular meeting concerned the extraordinary programme described by the MJ-12 papers.

What the meeting record cannot establish

The central evidential problem is straightforward: the authentic record verifies the participants and date, but not the claimed subject. The Truman Library calendar contains no mention of “Majestic”, “MJ-12”, UFOs, flying discs, Roswell, recovered bodies or an extraterrestrial recovery programme in its entry for the 11:30 appointment.[Truman Library]trumanlibrary.govTruman Library Daily Appointments of Harry S. Truman | Harry S. TrumanTruman LibraryDaily Appointments of Harry S. Truman | Harry S. TrumanSeptember 23, 1947…Published: September 23, 1947

That gap becomes more important when the meeting is considered alongside subsequent archival searches. The National Archives reports that its staff searched Air Force, Joint Chiefs of Staff and National Security Council holdings for the alleged MJ-12 material. The Truman and Eisenhower presidential libraries also searched their holdings. Searches of National Security Council indexes under terms including “MJ-12”, “majestic”, “unidentified flying objects”, “UFO”, “flying saucers” and related expressions did not uncover an authentic documentary trail establishing the alleged organisation.[National Archives]archives.govNational Archives Project BLUE BOOKNational ArchivesProject BLUE BOOK - Unidentified Flying Objects | National ArchivesJune 25, 2024…Published: June 25, 2024

The US General Accounting Office, now the Government Accountability Office, reached a similarly important conclusion in 1995. After seeking the views of the Information Security Oversight Office, Air Force, National Archives and presidential-library archivists, GAO reported that there was no evidence that the circulated Majestic-12 material consisted of actual documents originating in the executive branch. GAO found nothing in its own work contradicting those agencies’ conclusions.[Government Accountability Office]gao.govGovernment Accountability Office[Comments on Majestic 12 Material] | U.S. GAOJuly 28, 1995…Published: July 28, 1995

This does not mean that every private conversation in Truman’s presidency can now be reconstructed from surviving files. Secret government activities can leave incomplete records, and an appointment diary is obviously not designed to capture everything said behind closed doors. The narrower point is evidential: where an extraordinary institutional claim depends upon a secret presidential authorisation, a real appointment involving the alleged principals is weaker evidence than an authenticated directive, contemporaneous working papers, security records, budget documentation, correspondence or independent references to the resulting organisation. Those corroborating records have not emerged from the relevant official searches.[National Archives]archives.govNational Archives Project BLUE BOOKNational ArchivesProject BLUE BOOK - Unidentified Flying Objects | National ArchivesJune 25, 2024…Published: June 25, 2024

The alleged Truman memo has its own authenticity problem

The meeting coincidence would carry considerably more weight if the purported 24 September memorandum could independently be established as genuine. Instead, the memo is itself part of the disputed MJ-12 package rather than an authenticated White House record.

One particularly important challenge concerns Truman’s signature. Aviation journalist and MJ-12 critic Philip J. Klass reported that the signature on the alleged Forrestal memorandum matched one on an authentic Truman letter to Vannevar Bush dated 1 October 1947, including a small accidental feature in the handwriting. Klass argued that this indicated that the authentic signature had been reproduced onto the purported MJ-12 memorandum rather than independently signed by Truman.[Center for Inquiry]cdn.centerforinquiry.orgCenter for InquirySPECIAL REPORTNovember 14, 2024…Published: November 14, 2024

That argument has been disputed within pro-MJ-12 literature, where explanations have been offered for the close similarity of the signatures. Even a website devoted to arguing for the Majestic documents’ authenticity acknowledges the problem, noting the discovery of the closely matching signature on the genuine Bush correspondence.[Majestic Documents]majesticdocuments.comdocuments dated prior to 1948Majestic DocumentsDocuments Dated Prior to 1948 | Majestic DocumentsOctober 29, 2018…Published: October 29, 2018 The dispute is important because the appointment diary cannot rescue a document whose own provenance remains unverified.

The broader federal assessment is less ambiguous. The FBI says that after copies of the alleged Majestic-12 briefing reached two field offices in 1988, an Air Force investigation determined the document to be fake. The FBI’s public description of its MJ-12 file likewise characterises the purported classified material as bogus rather than as an authenticated government disclosure.[FBI]vault.fbi.gov— Federal Bureau of InvestigationFBI — Federal Bureau of Investigation…

A real meeting is not a record of MJ-12

The 24 September appointment is therefore best treated as a confirmed historical anchor inside an unconfirmed story. Truman met exactly the two men whom the alleged MJ-12 narrative says recommended creation of the organisation, and he met them on exactly the date that the disputed papers assign to its creation. That makes the date more interesting than an arbitrary chronological coincidence and explains why it features prominently in arguments over the documents.

Yet the inference stops there. The genuine Truman record establishes who met, when they met and that Forrestal suggested the appointment. It does not establish their subject of discussion.[Truman Library]trumanlibrary.govTruman Library Daily Appointments of Harry S. Truman | Harry S. TrumanTruman LibraryDaily Appointments of Harry S. Truman | Harry S. TrumanSeptember 23, 1947…Published: September 23, 1947 The claim that the meeting concerned Majestic-12 comes from documents whose executive-branch provenance federal archivists and investigators were unable to verify, and whose authenticity was rejected by the federal agencies that examined the issue.[Government Accountability Office]gao.govGovernment Accountability Office[Comments on Majestic 12 Material] | U.S. GAOJuly 28, 1995…Published: July 28, 1995

For Truman’s alleged 1947 authorisation timeline, that distinction is decisive. 24 September 1947 is genuinely present in Truman’s White House record, and Forrestal and Bush genuinely appear there together. What is missing is the documentary bridge from that meeting to MJ-12. Without authenticated minutes, correspondence, an executive directive or independent contemporary records identifying the programme, the appointment remains corroboration of the setting of the story — not corroboration of the story itself.

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Endnotes

1. Source: en.wikisource.org
Title: MJ-12 Document
Link:https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/MJ-12_Document

Published: November 18, 1952

2. Source: archives.gov
Title: National Archives Project BLUE BOOK
Link:https://www.archives.gov/research/military/air-force/ufos

Published: June 25, 2024

3. Source: gao.gov
Link:https://www.gao.gov/products/154832

Published: July 28, 1995

4. Source: vault.fbi.gov
Title: — Federal Bureau of Investigation
Link:https://vault.fbi.gov/search?SearchableText=Majestic

5. Source: archives.gov
Link:https://www.archives.gov/research/topics/uaps/presidential-libraries

6. Source: vault.fbi.gov
Link:https://vault.fbi.gov/unexplained-phenomenon/search

7. Source: fbi.gov
Link:https://www.fbi.gov/video-repository/inside-the-fbi-ufos-102921.mp4/view

8. Source: vault.fbi.gov
Title: Majestic 12
Link:https://vault.fbi.gov/Majestic%2012

9. Source: trumanlibrary.gov
Title: Truman Library Daily Appointments of Harry S. Truman | Harry S. Truman
Link:https://www.trumanlibrary.gov/calendar/search?body_value_op=word&comment_k=&page=75

Published: September 23, 1947

10. Source: trumanlibrary.gov
Title: Truman Library Daily Appointments of Harry S. Truman | Harry S. Truman
Link:https://www.trumanlibrary.gov/calendar/search?body_value_op=word&comment_keywords=forrestal&page=1

11. Source: cdn.centerforinquiry.org
Link:https://cdn.centerforinquiry.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/1990/01/22165233/p30.pdf

Published: November 14, 2024

12. Source: majesticdocuments.com
Title: documents dated prior to 1948
Link:https://majesticdocuments.com/documents/majestic-documents/documents-dated-prior-to-1948/

Published: October 29, 2018

13. Source: majesticdocuments.com
Title: National Archives & Records Administration | Majestic Documents
Link:https://majesticdocuments.com/documents/official-ufo-documents/national-archives-records-administration/

14. Source: phatsoheff.tripod.com
Link:https://phatsoheff.tripod.com/ufo.html

15. Source: internationalflyingsaucerbureau.com
Title: Majestic 12
Link:https://www.internationalflyingsaucerbureau.com/majestic-12/

16. Source: Wikipedia
Title: Majestic 12
Link:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Majestic_12

17. Source: trumanlibrary.gov
Title: HS T-FBP_16-019_01
Link:https://www.trumanlibrary.gov/node/368129

18. Source: trumanlibrary.gov
Title: Daily Appointments of Harry S. Truman | Harry S. Truman
Link:https://www.trumanlibrary.gov/calendar/search?body_value_op=word&comment_keywords=lovett&page=0

Additional References

19. Source: facebook.com
Link:https://www.facebook.com/groups/ai.philosophy/posts/34579145721729303/

20. Source: medium.com
Link:https://medium.com/[stanton-friedmans

21. Source: muckrock.com
Link:https://www.muckrock.com/news/archives/2017/jun/05/fbi-majestic-12/

22. Source: ufoplanet.yolasite.com
Link:https://ufoplanet.yolasite.com/mj-12.php

23. Source: dugganusa.com
Link:https://www.dugganusa.com/post/majestic-12-fails-every-check-we-run-on-a-forgery-and-the-fbi-already-said-bogus

24. Source: noufors.com
Link:https://noufors.com/new_majestic-12_documents.html

25. Source: scribd.com
Link:https://www.scribd.com/document/706046693/Top-Secret

26. Source: bibliotecapleyades.net
Link:https://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/sociopolitica/esp_sociopol_mj12_10.htm

27. Source: facebook.com
Link:https://www.facebook.com/OMGTheWhyFiles/posts/the-real-purpose-behind-mj-12/1684237507045076/

28. Source: bibliotecapleyades.net
Link:https://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/sociopolitica/esp_sociopol_mj12_21.htm