WHEN THE CHILDREN SQUABBLE: Menzel As Gadfly

Scanning the manuscript by Hector Quintinella Jr. regarding his experiences with the life, and death, of Project Blue Book, one is struck by the animosity he expresses regarding J. Allen Hynek. True by the last few years of the program Hynek was chaffing a bit as his personal views had shifted somewhat from his previous hubris driven role as official debunker to a scientist more often to fully and scientifically exploring the mystery of the "UFO". 

Oddly, in that same swan song time of the project another name, usually seen only in the shadows or through massive copies of his gallery sheets or photocopied sections of his book, comes forward.  Dr. Donald H. Menzel, who many believe was one of the early consultants, from a distance, used by the Pentagon when the "flying discs" first showed up.

Stanton T. Friedman, in his book, TOP SECRET/MAJIC: Operation Majestic-12 and the United States Government's UFO Cover-up (NY: Marlowe, 1997).  Among the information Friedman had found, regardless of where one stands on the truth or hoax of the MJ-12 papers, were some fascinating tidbits of background missing from most official bios of Menzel. 

-According to Friedman, he had been an acquaintance of Vannover Bush since the mid-1930's Bush was the man who would head up what would become the Atomic Energy Commission. He was a firm believer in the use of compartmentalization for security issues.  The AEC grew out of the Manhattan Project and would eventually become the Department of Energy. It is not beyond the realm of possibility that as a young man getting his degree, earning his "spurs", and making a name for himself, he might have become associated with clandestine government work.

- According to Friedman, that is what he did, and his association was with agencies who were so secret their very existence was largely unknown for many years. 

It is interesting that General George F. Schulgen was in Massachusetts in 1930 within driving, rail, or walking distance of MIT, Harvard, and other offices and specialists. Menzel. himself, in the summer around that time was doing internship work at Harvard.  Schulengen was with Intelligence for the Air Force. What he was doing there is unknown, but he stayed at a very respected hotel; his career is all fairly mysterious until he pops up post the Roswell debris debacle and is enlisting the "help" of the FBI. Subsequent records indicate he was paving the way for the FBI to do the leg work while the Air Force followed a separate agenda regarding the "flying discs."

Indeed, one source does outline his involvement with Naval intelligence: "During the years before World War II, Menzel began teaching at Iowa, Ohio, and Harvard. During the war, Menzel was asked to join the Navy as Lieut. Commander, to head a division of intelligence, where he used his many-sided talents, including deciphering enemy codes. Until 1955, he improved radio-wave propagation with the Navy by tracking the Sun’s emissions and studying the effect of the aurora on radio propagation for the Department of Defense." (Source: Donald Howard Menzel and the UFOs - SciHi BlogSciHi Blog)

It is interesting to note that Menzel wrote a book on "UFO's" called "Flying Saucers" (Cambridge: HArvard Press, 1053) and it has been mostly or intentionally forgotten. He preferred that term, apparently, for its minimizing and demeaning aspects.  The Wikipedia article on him does not mention his later work with Boyd at all. Oddly, he mentions that the "official Air Force report recounts Arnold's story in some detail" (pg. 7) and presents the questions for a "Report Sheet for Saucer Observers" with instructions to send it to ATIC at Wright Field or to him and if he felt it contains significant information, he wouold forward it to the Air Force (pg. 297). Nowhere, however, in preface material, content, or notes does he list the Air Force as the source of help, information, or access. A startling oversight in a book written by an academic and published by an academic publishing house.

It appears that his book "The World of Flying Saucers: A Scientific Exploration of a Major Myth of the Space Age" , written with Lyle G. Boyd (1963, Doubleday) was a rehash with some updated examples of the explanations he provided in the earlier book. 

With all that in mind, it makes the appearance of more prominent and informal communication with PBB Head Quintinella in 1968 seem a bit - interesting. He seemed particularly upset by the times Hynek used - or allowed go be used - the term "Air Force Consultant." Quintinella seemed extremely disturbed by the fact he was a "Project Blue Book Consultant" NOT the Air Force. To the majority of the population they were one and the same, unless Quintinella knew something we do not.  

In the August 15 file for events at Xenia and Yellow Spring, Ohio ( a 72 pgs file) there are portions of two letters between Quintinella and Menzel. It was obvious that Quintinella was running cases by Menzel because they were commenting about Hynek's interpretation of the case. Menzel's tone is scathing and professionally insulting.

In the process, he clarifies his own presumptions and attitudes, concerning the value of eyewitnesses and their ability to see and report with any accuracy.  He dismissed Hynek's acceptance of witness statements. "I simply don't share Hyneks' faith in the reliability of human beings." (Nov. 8, 1968, letter written by Donald H. Menzel in PBB Archive file 1968 08 9676993, August 1968, Xenia and Yellow Springs, OHIO). In an October letter to Quintinella he recommended terminating Hynek's consultancy agreement (contract).

Just as exploring the back issues of the NICAP newsletter, "UFO Investigator" discloses a lot of targeted attacks against NICAP and the UFO field in general from the Pentagon Press Office of the Air Force, the presence of these 'shadow' influencers in the Project Blue Book files are hard to explain. There was apparently no secret project of a magnitude to warrant the attacks, the false presentation of report facts, and other tactics.

It was clear in the time right after the 'flying disc' in 1947 there was extreme competition between the three "children" of the U.S.: The Navy, the Air Force, and the Army.   It was clear that there was some competition between the FBI and the Air Force. Was there an equal amount of in-fighting in the clandestine ranks as well?

There is an almost ironic twist to things in one section where he explores how a Denver university class dealt with a "expert" (renowned hoaxer-conman Newton of Aztec NM fame). The instructor developed a set of criteria for judging authenticity and reliability of information. It is humorous because the first is apparently one he was not following later in life (as expressed by the letters in the file) and others were indicators of just the Air Force Project Blue Book failed as an investigative effort. 

"Criteria for judging authenticity and reliability of information:

1.  First-hand account.
2.  Free from all prejudice
3.  Information carries more weight from trained vis untrained observers
4.  Data should be available for double checking 
5.  Statements must be signed. Unsigned statements carry no implied responsibility for correctness." (pg. 149, Menzel. Flying Saucers. 1953)

1968: Dueling Giants

August 15 - Zenia to Yellow Springs, Oh . 4 witnesses observed the object(s) for 30 minutes.

Gold and white object, "piece of pie" shape with corners rounded off, flying tip up, plate or round, light bright enough to illuminate road and surround, It was observed directly overhead, later it moved to the east. 

The case contains comments from Dr. Donald H. Menzel pushed the moon explanation, as he pushed any and every explanation that was not one that accepted the concept of UFO's as craft from another world. He was stridently opposed to the extraterrestrial hypothesis. In later years, as if evident in these and other documents, this created a rift between Dr. J. Allen Hynek and Menzel. Hynek had a tendency to follow the science, even when the science suggested things that were a little hard to accept and recognized the need to continue to ask questions and challenge assumptions. Menzel, as he displays in his book The World of Flying Saucers, articles, and in the statements he makes in these documents, had a more narrow view that viewed science as more set in stone than open to ongoing revision as new data was found.

Menzel explained away the apparent erractic movement as "auto kinesis", dismisses as imagination witness descriptions of events, and discounts as standard practice the full statements of witnesses to make the theory fit his presumptions of the events. He chides Hynek for accepting that it was not the moon, as Menzel affirmed, simply because a witness said what they saw was not the moon "because the moon doesn't do that."  For Menzel, he did not even need to investigate because he did not believe in UFO's as craft of other worlds and thus could speak authoritatively that the witnesses had mistaken the moon for something more.

Menzel dismissed Hynek's acceptance of such witness statements : "I simply don't share Hynek's faith in the reliability of human beings." (Nob. 8, 1968, Menzel to PBB). Earlier in October he had advised PBB head Quintinella to terminate Hynek's consulting agreement. With the same tenacity that he pressed for "ball lightening" as the explanation for events in one Texas series of sightings, he was no doubt behind later explanation for the October Minot AFB events were the still ill-defined and much questioned "plasma" rationale had replaced the ball lightening of an earlier day.  The fact that plasma had been pushed by another individual of questionable intent, Phillip Klass is worth noting. Both men shared an unprecedented, and often unidentified, connection to the back room workings of Project Blue Book. Both, most probably (to use PBB terms), were working to serve the hidden agenda of the project and provide debunking as needed. The arrival of both Klass and the appearance of Menzel in the pages of the project both occur at roughly the same time that Hynek is becoming more vocal about the possibilities behind the whole UFO subject and the continued need to address with unbiased scientific inquiry the totality of the subject. The timing is very interesting.