BACK TO
MAJOR GENERAL CLEMENTS MCMULLEN BIOGRAPHY
IS THERE A UFO CONNECTION?
When I acquired the Frank McCoy
McMullen/Clements McMullen collection, I was unaware of the general’s claim to
fame in regard to the Roswell UFO event. I am a collector of USAF general
officer uniforms and militaria, a Borderlands historian, and not a person who
studies UFO phenomena. I was just as surprised as anyone when I learned the
papers, photos and documents were from a man who had such close ties to the UFO
event in 1947. Personally, I believe in life on other planets and it’s naive to
think all the multiple universes were made just for us. However, what I feel or
believe to be correct and what is factual, in many cases, may be two different
things. As a historian, I feel I am bound by empirical evidence and factual
documentation.
Since I have written the
biography on General McMullen, a number of people have asked if there is
anything in regard to UFO’s in the documentation from his son’s estate. The
direct answer to that question is an emphatic, NO! Sorry, no smoking gun. The
words disc, flying, saucer or any other combinations of words thereof are found
NOWHERE in the documentation. People seem to always look for the “smoking gun”
in order to substantiate a historical event or idea. Don’t get me wrong. A
“smoking gun” is great if one can be found but it’s not necessary to prove an
event if there are enough documented correlated events and related activity.
As a historian, I am
compelled to be open to the idea that a correlation may exist and someone may
not directly document an idea or event for it to be correct. Prior to our
knowledge of cigarette smoking, it was around for a long time before anyone
thought there was something wrong with inhaling smoke. No one documented
smoking was bad for you but a correlation existed between people dying of lung
related diseases compared to those who smoked. In addition, once the
correlation was recognized and gained public momentum, the powerful tobacco
companies went out of their way to historically document the opposite. Bringing
together correlated information and coming up with a conclusion is part of
historical research. Hopefully, the conclusion is correct but in some cases it
is not. That’s why some history books have changed over time.
What I present to you in
regard to the documents in the McMullen collection is correlated activities and
more unanswered questions. I am afraid I have no firm conclusions and maybe it
just speculation. There will always be a multitude of historical differences in
opinion and interpretation. At the end, you will have to come to your own
conclusions.
Allow me to ask you a
question:
What would you do if you
were a USAF general, you had insider knowledge of top secret information, the
information was state-of-the-art and you knew it had the potential to be a
trend for the future? Would you:
a) Maintain the information as it is classified?
b) Advise your country and the people who had the need to
know?
c) Advise your son’s on a related career field in the US
Air Force
without jeopardizing the security of
the information?
d) All the above?
I choose the letter “D.” Let’s
start by examining the information found in the documentation and photos from
the estate. For the most part, Colonel McMullen’s early career in the Army Air
Corps was, for a lack of better words, normal. He graduated from West Point,
followed through on assignments with multiple transfers, was shipped overseas
as a pilot during World War II and was awarded the Air Medal, had a military
transfer from the European Theater of Operation to the Asian Theater of
Operations close to the end of the war and everything seems to be carried
through normal military channels with the proper military documentation.
Whether dad had an influence over his military activities is not clear.
Everything seemed to be according to military protocol.
Normal military protocol
seems to change on 10 December 1947. On this date Captain McMullen receives
orders, while stationed in occupied Japan, to report directly to his father at
Andrews Field, Washington, D.C. which, at the time, was the Headquarters for
the Strategic Air Command of which his father was both Chief of Staff and
Deputy Commander. The Roswell incident was around 4 July 1947. By December it
was publicly defused and no longer mentioned.
Figure 1: The orders which Captain McMullen
receives having him report
directly to his father at Strategic Air
Command Headquarters located
at Andrews Field, Washington, D.C.
While Captain McMullen is
at Andrews Field with his father he receives a notice that advises him he is no
longer part of the US Army but has been transferred to the newly established
United States Air Force. This notice is clearly identified to the captain,
placing him at Andrews Field, Washington, D.C. around 31 December 1947.
Figure 2: Notice that informs Captain
McMullen he is part of the newly established
United States Air Force, dated 31 December
1947, and placing him at Andrews Field,
Washington, D.C.
While he is at Andrews
Field with his father he learns of his next assignment which he decided to
write on the top right corner of the notice. I can only assume his father
informed him of his next assignment, the 509th Bomb Wing located at
Roswell, New Mexico. This was the base that was directly involved with the
Roswell UFO incident. His effective transfer date must have been 23 December
1947 as marked on the top right of the notice.
There are no official
orders going through regular military protocol or channels assigning him to the
509th Bomb Wing. That I can tell, he was assigned to the location by
his father. The next set of official orders he receives is from Headquarters,
509th Bomb Wing, Roswell Air Field, Roswell, New Mexico. The orders
are dated 16 January 1948 and he is assigned to the 393rd Bomb
Squadron by orders of Colonel William Blanchard.
At this point, questions
arise. Why did the general who allegedly covered up the Roswell UFO event have
his son personally ordered to the site of the incident? Why the lack of
military protocol and documentation? Why the urgency during the holiday season?
Why not a direct transfer to the new location as had been done in the past? I
guess we will never know.
By the documents from the
estate, Captain McMullen is assigned to Roswell Air Field from 16 January 1948
to 22 March 1949. Shortly after his arrival the name of the base changes from
Roswell Air Field to Walker Air Force Base. There is no trace as to all the
activities of which the captain was involved while stationed at Walker Air
Force Base. He seems to have a regular work load, is placed on routine TDY
assignments as a pilot and for testing “special” equipment.
There is one document
dated 17 August 1948 in which the captain is appointed as the Summary Court
Officer for the purpose of administering the personal effects of T/Sgt Clyde N.
Vanderslice, deceased. The orders do not say what caused the death of TSgt
Vanderslice. However, his son, Rick Vanderslice, is a personal acquaintance of
mine and he explained to me that his father died in a B-29 crash which departed
from Roswell Air Field. He continued to state that the plane was overloaded with
men and cargo and went down. Rick Vanderslice, though very young, did not
remember any personal effects from his father. To date, I have found no records
of a B-29 crash that departed from Roswell Air Field within the time frame
mentioned. However, I have to admit, more research is needed in regard to the
B-29 crash.
Another observation which
I believe needs to be mentioned is the lack of photos Colonel McMullen retained
on himself. Most of the photos obtained from the estate were of his father, the
major general. There were only a few photos retained and kept with his orders
and documents, the remainder were with his father’s documents. For the most
part, his father’s photos have been identified; however, a few of the colonel’s
photos remain unidentified. Maybe you can help.
Figure 3: Photo 1 - Colonel William
Blanchard.
In regard to photo one,
why would Captain McMullen retain a photo of Colonel Blanchard, Commander of
the 509th and not a photo of all the other commanders he served under
in the past or future? The photo in itself is common. It is an official photo
that was widely circulated. Colonel Blanchard was directly involved with the
Roswell UFO incident.
Figure 4: Photo 2 - Major General Clements
McMullen and who and where?
Clearly a candid
shot of Major General Clements McMullen standing next to his staff car shaking
hands with an unknown full colonel in the middle of nowhere. Who is the colonel
and where is nowhere? That I know, General McMullen never visited Roswell Air
Field. At least I can find no record of such a visit but then this photo could
be anywhere in the middle of nowhere. Identifying the colonel may place the
location. The photo is dated by the uniforms they are wearing and the year of
the staff car. The uniforms are US Army Air Corps which places the year before
1949. The car is a 1946 or 1947 Chevrolet Fleetmaster. Why was this photo so
important and kept with the photo of Colonel Blanchard? One can also see what
appears to be a water tower to the immediate right of the trees.
Figure 5: Photo 3 – Captain McMullen (right)
shaking hands
with an unknown colonel at an unknown base.
More unknowns! Another one
of the few pictures Colonel McMullen retained with his documents. The third
photo is of an unknown colonel shaking hands with Captain McMullen at an
unknown base. The photo is dated between 1945 to 1949 by the uniforms they wear
and Captain McMullen’s rank. He was promoted to captain in 1945 and the US Air
Force uniform was introduced in 1949. Both men are clearly wearing US Army Air
Corps uniforms. Identifying the colonel would place the photo and help with the
date. There were five other photos with Colonel McMullen documents, a portrait
of himself, two other pilot friends with their baggage packed for shipping, an
unknown air field which was photographed from the air, the Meiji Building in
Tokyo, Japan dated 1 August 1947 on Air Force Day, and a Mount Fuji photo taken
from the air.
During and after Captain
McMullen’s assignment to Walker Air Force Base, he will complete courses which
will allow him to have ratings as Aircraft Observer (Navigator) and Aircraft
Observer (Bombardment). General McMullen, as Deputy Commander and Chief of
Staff of the Strategic Air Command, was pushing a strong cross-training program
for his pilot officers. I would think, as the general’s son, he tried his best
to keep up with the cross-training program.
Eventually, the cross-training program introduced by General McMullen
was discontinued.
As Colonel McMullen
continues his career, he attended courses in 1959 on Celestial Mechanics at
Georgetown University and completes his MS (Masters of Science) degree in
Aeronautics and Astronautics at MIT, Cambridge Massachusetts in 1962. By May
1963 he is working for the Air Force Special Weapons Center (AFSC) at Kirtland
Air Force Base, New Mexico and later the Office of Aerospace Research in
Washington, D.C.
Eventually, the Air Force
Special Weapons Center will change its name to the Air Force Special Weapons
Laboratory and be part of the Air Force Systems Command. However, in December
1949, it started as the Special Weapons Command. Kirtland Air Force Base, New
Mexico was the headquarters for the newly formed command. The Air Weapons
Command became the Air
Force Special Weapons Center on April 1, 1952. Its command status was changed
and it became a unit of the Air Research and Development Command (ARDC), the
original name of Air Force Systems Command. The Air Force Systems Command,
under General Bernard A. Schriever, USAF (ret. 1966), became the center and hub
of activity for the Air Force’s ballistic missile and military space program.
The Office of Aerospace
Research (OAR) was a separate and independent operating agency of the US Air
Force. The OAR was “responsible for planning, programming and managing the
basic research programs and a portion of the exploratory development programs
of the Air Force.” The objective of the OAR was “to increase the fund of
scientific knowledge and to analyze advanced concepts which may increase the Air
Force’s ability to develop superior aerospace weapons systems.” The OAR was closely
associated to the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) in physical
proximity to each other and professionally. In matter of fact, they were in
such a close proximity to one another that on 16 May 1966 the Department of the
Air Force used the same official memo titled to both agencies to let them know
they were moving to the Architect’s Building in Arlington, Virginia. The AFOSR
is interested in “long-term, broad based research into aerospace-related science
and engineering.” The AFOSR continues to exist today but as a component of the
Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) with headquarters at Wright-Patterson Air
Force Base, Ohio. If it is any indication, in 1969, the OAR and the AFOSR was
interested enough in UFOs that they requested the Library of Congress, Science
and Technology Division, to prepare an annotated bibliography titled UFOs and Related Subjects.
We have Colonel McMullen’s
job title at the Air Force Special Weapons Center which is Development
Engineering, Research and Technology Division. His job title while working for
the Office of Aerospace Research is Chief, Engineering Science Division,
Directorate of Research Programs. We also know he had a Top Secret security
clearance. However, we do not know the type of activities of which he was
involved and probably will never know. Was it space research or weapons
research or both? Whatever the activity, it seems like someone gave him good
advice in the past. After Roswell, Colonel McMullen made changes in his career
field which were quit profound. If someone was going to work on new alien
technology, he couldn’t have picked better places to be assigned. He retired
from the US Air Force in 1969 leaving his job at the OAR.
Lieutenant General Thomas
H. McMullen was the third son of Major General Clements McMullen’s four sons.
Taken from his biography off the official USAF web site, the following are
general McMullen’s degrees and qualifications: Bachelor of Science degree in
Military Engineering from West Point in 1951; Master of Science degree in
Astronautical Engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology,
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in 1964; Master of Science degree in
Administration from The George Washington University, Washington, D.C. in 1971;
and graduate from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces, Fort Lesley J.
McNair, Washington, D.C. in 1971.
Following his graduation
in 1964 from the Air Force Institute of Technology, “he was assign to the Space
Systems Division at Los Angeles Air Force Station, California as project
officer in the Gemini Launch Vehicle System Program Office.” He was part of the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Gemini program. In March
1968, he joined NASA headquarters in Washington, D.C as the Assistant Mission
Director of the Apollo program. He was directly involved with Apollo missions
six through thirteen. Our first landing on the moon was the Apollo eleven
mission.
Thomas was a test pilot and
assisted in the development of aircraft. He graduated from the Industrial
College of the Armed Forces in 1971 and was assigned to the Aeronautical
Systems Division at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. By 1975, he was the
commanding officer of the US Air Force Tactical Air Warfare Center at Eglin Air
Force Base. In a few short years he became the Chief of Staff for Systems, Air
Force Systems Command with headquarters at Andrew’s Air Force Base and in 1982
became the commander of the Aeronautical Systems Division, Wright-Patterson Air
Force Base, Ohio.
Lieutenant General Thomas
H. McMullen is a true American patriot and served his country with valor and
distinction in both the Korean War and the Vietnam War. However, when ones
examines his education, and the types of work of which he was involved, it
makes one think that he was formed by the same influences of his brother Frank,
Major General Clements McMullen.
Lieutenant General
McMullen retired in 1986 and presently lives in Alexandria, Virginia. Seems like
there are a lot of people with high level security clearances retired in
Alexandria, Virginia. I’ll bet they have nursing homes there that do not appear
on paper.
But then, the above could
all be a coincident and the events at Roswell could have been nothing more than
a big military blunder. In 1947, New Mexico was no more than a big laboratory
because of its isolation and security factors. An atomic bomb was developed at
Los Alamos and exploded at the Trinity Site in New Mexico and it was so
isolated that the general public did not know the truth. Over time the public
has figured out there were a number of classified military projects going on in
New Mexico. One of the projects could have inadvertently, directly or
indirectly, affected the general population.
An event which the public
knows little, or remembers, took place at the White Sands Proving Grounds
(WSPG). By 1946, the US was already test firing the V-2 Rockets brought back
from Nazi Germany and reassembled at White Sands. The rocket testing was no
secret and in the May 27, 1946 issue of Life Magazine there is an article with
photos dedicated to the test firing of V-2 rockets at White Sands. However,
what they don’t tell the public is how little control they had over the rockets
and they were a threat to any one of a number of population centers in New
Mexico and surrounding areas. In matter of fact, one missile got away from them
and hit a population center. At least I guess you could call it populated. In
May of 1947, one of the V-2 rockets test fired out of White Sands “strayed to
the south instead of heading north over the White Sands Range. The missile flew
directly over El Paso, Texas and eventually crashed into the Tepeyac Cemetery
in Juarez, Mexico.” The US inadvertently bombed Mexico. No one alive was hurt
but it did cause an international incident in which reparations had to be paid.
It became painfully clear that the rocket age placed population centers at
risk.
The inability to control
V-2 rockets test fired out of White Sands has been further documented by one of
the geophysicists present at the early test firings. The scientist, Monroe G.
Cheney, Jr., working for the Naval Research Laboratory, never published his
observations but he was one of the early scientists that worked with Wernher
von Braun and the V-2 program. He made a personal video tape of himself in the
1990s recalling his experiences. Mr. Cheney retired as a professor from the
University of Texas at Arlington and has since passed-on. In my quest for USAF
general officers items, I obtained the video-taped material from his estate. In
the video tape he clearly states that “they stationed me by the calculated
rocket impact point and from what I seen it was the safest place to be in the
whole desert.” He continued to state “they just never knew where those rockets
were going to go.”
Maybe its they were
influenced by a downed rocket.
Is it conclusive, NO! Does
it make you think, YES! The conclusion is up to you.