Paul Frederic Bennewitz, Jr. (September 29, 1927 – June 23, 2003) was an American businessman and
UFO
An unidentified flying object (UFO), more recently renamed by US officials as a UAP (unidentified aerial phenomenon), is any perceived aerial phenomenon that cannot be immediately identified or explained. On investigation, most UFOs are id ...
investigator. According to multiple sources, Bennewitz was the target of a government disinformation campaign that ultimately led to his psychiatric hospitalization.
Career
Bennewitz was the son of Stella A. Sharp and Paul Frederic Bennewitz, Sr. (1900–1949).
Bennewitz was a native of Kansas.
Bennewitz earned a Bachelor's degree from Arizona State, but had no formal training in electronics.
During World War 2, Bennewitz was a radio electronics engineer for the Coast Guard.
He worked as a engineer for San Francisco CBS station KPIX, and KPHO in Tucson.
On February 25, 1949, Bennewitz married Cindy Bunch in Phoenix, Arizona.
Around 1953, Bennewitz moved to New Mexico and started working for Gulton Industries, doing sales; Bennewitz later began his own industrial sales company.
In 1966, Bennewitz acquired the rights to a humidity sensor from Sandia National Laboratories. He founded Thunder Scientific, a small family business, with wife Cindy serving as bookkeeper.
In April 1981, Bennewitz was profiled in the Albuquerque Tribune about his company, Thunder Scientific.
The paper reported that Thunder did about $1 million in sales, but profits had waned over recent years; In 1978, Thunder employed 30 people, but by 1981, that number had dropped to only 18 employees.
UFO conspiracy theories
During the 1970s, Bennewitz became a member of Arizona's
Aerial Phenomena Research Organization
The Aerial Phenomena Research Organization (APRO) was a UFO research group started in January 1952 by Jim and Coral Lorenzen, of Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin.
The group was based in Tucson, Arizona after 1960. APRO had many state branches, it remaine ...
(APRO), a civilian UFO investigation group. By the mid-1970s, cattle mutilations had become associated with UFOs. On April 20, 1979, U.S. Attorney R. E. Thompson and US Senator
Harrison Schmidt held a public meeting about cattle mutilations. The meeting was attended by about 80 -- one attendee was Paul Bennewitz.
[Mirage Men,Ch 11, p. 87-88]
''Mirage Men'' includes the suggestion that government agents likely "first identified" Bennewitz at this meeting
or outright targeted him for his participation. At the meeting, Bennewitz was introduced to highway patrol officer
Gabe Valdez who was investigating the incidents.
Bennewitz later listed July 1979 as the beginning of a "personally funded study" into UFOs. Bennewitz reportedly began filming strange lights and recording unusual radio signals over Kirtland Air Force Base.
Meeting with 'Myrna Hansen'
On May 6, 1980, State Police in Cimarron, New Mexico received a report from a woman calling herself "Myrna Hansen" (not to be confused with
the movie star of the same name) describing a story involving interplanetary visitors, bright lights, and herds of cattle. Police in Cimarron referred the case to their colleague in Dulce, Gabe Valdez, who they knew to be "the cattle mutiliation guy" for his interest in the cases. Valdez, in turn, contacted Paul Bennewitz.
On May 7, Hansen and her son traveled to Albuquerque to meet with Bennewitz, staying in his home. Hansen reported driving near
Eagle Nest, New Mexico
Eagle Nest is a village in Colfax County, New Mexico. The population was 290 at the time of the 2010 census. Located along the Enchanted Circle Scenic Byway, Eagle Nest is a small summer-home and resort destination. Originally named Therma, the ...
on May 5 when she and her son witnessed two huge, silent objects "big as two Goodyear blimps" hover over a meadow.
APRO director James Lorenzen suggested contacting
Leo Sprinkle, a psychologist and tenured professor at the University of Wyoming who had been investigating "UFO contact" reports. Bennewitz arranged for Sprinkle to fly to Albuquerque to hypnotize Hansen. When Sprinkle arrived, Hansen and Bennewitz insisted the sessions be conducted in Bennewitz's Lincoln Town Car, parked inside the family garage, with the car's windows covered with thick aluminum foil. During her first regression, she reported a recollection of a cow being sucked into a hovering spaceship by a tractor beam.
On May 11/12, 1980, under hypnosis, Hansen reported recollections of an abduction and of being taken to an underground base with "body parts floating in vats". Hansen's recollections would later evolve into the legend of
Dulce Base
Dulce Base is the subject of a conspiracy theory claiming that a jointly-operated human and alien underground facility exists under Archuleta Mesa on the Colorado–New Mexico border near the town of Dulce, New Mexico, in the United States. Cla ...
. During the session, she exclaimed "Where's Roswell, New Mexico?", although most members of the public had not yet connected the town to UFO folklore. Hansen reported recalling having been given an 'implant' by the aliens.
On June 3, Sprinkle returned to visit Bennewitz, he found Bennewitz armed with pistol and rifle, concerned that "aliens could swarm over the walls at any minute". Bennewitz expressed a desire to protect himself, his family, and Hansen.
Bennewitz then turned to hypnotist
James Harder, abduction researcher and a professor of Engineering; Harder had conducted a hypnotic regression of
Travis Walton in 1975. The two believed Hansen was under the influence of alien beams and wrote detailed instructions on how to use aluminum foil to 'shield' a room from the beams before conducting a regression.
Gabriel Valdez's son has argued "It is a possibility that the Myrna Hansen story was also part of the disinformation campaign... I will go out on a limb here and say that the story of Myrna Hansen was probably a well-orchestrated hoax because of a very important fact: the listening devices found in my dad’s house. The government heard all the conversations on the phone between my dad and
ennewitz so such a hoax would be relatively easy to accomplish... Myrna Hansen came into the picture in May of 1980 and the Air Force did not even acknowledge contact with Paul until November of 1980... Although this evidence can barely be viewed as even circumstantial, it would explain a lot of things and how and why they transpired during the 1980s based on what we currently know."
Relationship with US government
On October 24, 1980, Bennewitz contacted Kirtland Air Force base to report his findings. On November 10, 1980, Bennewitz briefed people at Kirtland.
"Dulce War"
In December 2, 1981 letter to U.S. Senator Pete Domenici, Bennewitz explained that "sometime late 79 or first of 80 an argument insued
icover weapons and the military abandoned
ulce base the final circumstance of the men unknown...". Wrote Bennewitz:
:To date, as noted, I have not heard from you and therefore will assume with all your new duties that you are very busy and just have not had the time.
:The facts I gave Captain Harris are simple and straightforward as follows:
:1) I knew the location of the Alien bases in Northern New Mexico in the center of the Jicarilla Apache Reservation 4.5 miles northwest of Dulce, NM.
:2) I know that someone in the military made a deal with the Aliens several years ago, giving the Indian land, cattle, etc. and apparent assurance of safety to the Alien in trade for Technology in the form of an Atomic powered ship at the same time establishing an extensive US base alongside to test the ship.
:3) That sometime late 79 or first of 80 an argument insued
icover weapons and the military abandoned; the final circumstance of the men unknown.
:4) That I had very high resolution official NASA U2 CIR (color infrared)photos in addition to low level and ground photos showing the base in total detail, (photos obtained legitimately through UNM)
niversity of New Mexico:5) The ship design traded for is over thirty (30) years behind the alien technology.
:6) I advised Captain Harris I knew of the two women and child near Austin, TX who were severely exposed to radiation at close distance from the ship in trouble and that it was seen to come west with helicopters (unmarked) and that the government was quietly paying their hospital expenses.
:I am also very concerned that the President has not been totally advised of the situation and have forwarded a copy to him, cover letter enclosed for your record. It is hoped you will value this valuable input and in time get in touch with me.
In 1984, Bennewitz again referred to a 1979 conflict that led to the closure of the Alien-Human base. The "Dulce War" would later be espoused by conspiracy theorists like John Lear, Bill Cooper, and Phil Schneider.
Increasing publicity
Bennewitz began contacting UFO researchers like Linda Moulton Howe and John Lear, as well as U.S. Senators Harrison Schmidt and Peter Domenici.
By 1982, Bennewitz began to spread his ideas regarding Dulce Base to others in the
ufology
Ufology ( ) is the investigation of unidentified flying objects (UFOs) by people who believe that they may be of extraordinary origins (most frequently of extraterrestrial alien visitors). While there are instances of government, private, and f ...
community.
Bennewitz detailed his assertions to the
Aerial Phenomena Research Organization
The Aerial Phenomena Research Organization (APRO) was a UFO research group started in January 1952 by Jim and Coral Lorenzen, of Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin.
The group was based in Tucson, Arizona after 1960. APRO had many state branches, it remaine ...
, who regarded him as a
deluded paranoid
Paranoia is an instinct or thought process that is believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety or fear, often to the point of delusion and irrationality. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of conspiracy concer ...
.
On April 8, 1983, Bennewitz was discussed in a UPI wire story about his supposed 1980 filming of UFOs over the Manzano Weapons Storage facility.
He also reported being in communication with aliens via his computer.
In 1984, Bennewitz's relationship with the government was detailed in UFO conspiracy book ''Clear Intent: the government coverup of the UFO experience''
The story spread rapidly within the UFO community and by 1987,
UFOlogist
Ufology ( ) is the investigation of unidentified flying objects (UFOs) by people who believe that they may be of extraordinary origins (most frequently of extraterrestrial alien visitors). While there are instances of government, private, and f ...
John Lear
John Olsen Lear (December 3, 1942 – March 29, 2022) was an influential American conspiracy theorist, record-breaking pilot, and a one-time candidate for Nevada State Senate.
Unlike previous UFO conspiracy theorists, Lear promoted a story of al ...
claimed he had independent confirmations of the base's existence.
In 1986, George Clinton Andrews discussed Dulce Base legends in his book ''Extra-Terrestrials Among Us''. In 1988, the
tabloid ''
Weekly World News
The ''Weekly World News'' was a tabloid which published mostly fictional "news" stories in the United States from 1979 to 2007, renowned for its outlandish cover stories often based on supernatural or paranormal themes and an approach to news t ...
'' published a story entitled "UFO base found in New Mexico" which claimed that "diabolical invaders from another solar system have set up a secret underground base in the rugged mountains of northern New Mexico – so they can
shanghai
Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...
human guinea pigs for bizarre genetic experiments". The ''Weekly World News'' story used supposed quotes from UFOlogist
Leonard Stringfield
Leonard Stringfield (1920–1994) was an American ufologist who took particular interest in crashed flying saucer stories. He died in 1994.
Stringfield was director of Civilian Research, Interplanetary Flying Objects (CRIFO), and published a mo ...
as a source for its claims. Upon learning of the story, Stringfield protested, "I never read such a distortion of facts in my life".
In 1988, Paul Bennewitz wrote a paper titled "Project Beta" detailing how the base might be successfully attacked.
; Beliefs
Bennewitz claimed the existence of a plot involving an extensive network of UFO bases tied to an
alien
Alien primarily refers to:
* Alien (law), a person in a country who is not a national of that country
** Enemy alien, the above in times of war
* Extraterrestrial life, life which does not originate from Earth
** Specifically, intelligent extrater ...
colonization and control scheme to subjugate mankind. After he saw the hypnosis sessions of Myrna Hansen, who claimed to have UFO experiences, he became convinced that
cattle mutilation
Cattle mutilation (also known as bovine excision and unexplained livestock death, or animal mutilation) is the killing and mutilation of cattle under unusual, usually bloodless circumstances. This phenomenon has been observed among wild animals ...
s were due to aliens. As a result, Bennewitz claimed to have uncovered evidence of aliens controlling humans through electromagnetic devices, and furthermore claimed that UFOs were regularly flying near
Kirtland Air Force Base
Kirtland Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located in the southeast quadrant of the Albuquerque, New Mexico urban area, adjacent to the Albuquerque International Sunport. The base was named for the early Army aviator Col. Roy ...
and the nearby
Manzano Nuclear Weapons
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions (thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bomb ...
Storage Facility and Coyote Canyon Test Area.
Convinced that he was intercepting electronic communications originating from alien spacecraft located outside of
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...
, Bennewitz soon believed that he had located a secret alien facility that he called
Dulce Base
Dulce Base is the subject of a conspiracy theory claiming that a jointly-operated human and alien underground facility exists under Archuleta Mesa on the Colorado–New Mexico border near the town of Dulce, New Mexico, in the United States. Cla ...
.
Hospitalization and disinformation revealed
By August 1988, Bennewitz was accusing his wife of being in control of the extraterrestrials. After attempting to barricade himself in his home using sandbags, his family admitted him to the mental health unit of
Presbyterian Anna Kaseman Hospital; He remained under observation there for one month.
On July 1, 1989,
William Moore revealed that he tried to push Bennewitz into a mental breakdown by feeding him false information about aliens.
In 1990, the Bennewitz story was featured in
Howard Blum
Howard Blum () (born 1948) is an American author and journalist. Formerly a reporter for ''The Village Voice'' and ''The New York Times'', Blum is a contributing editor at '' Vanity Fair'' and the author of several non-fiction books, including t ...
's book ''Out There: The Government's Secret Quest for Extraterrestrials''. Blum publicized that the government had sent undercover agents to befriend and mislead Bennewitz using counterfeit documents.
Death and legacy
In 1999, the Albuquerque Tribune anniversary page featured mention of Paul and Cindy's 50th anniversary.
Paul Bennewitz died on June 23, 2003. He was buried at
Santa Fe National Cemetery
Santa Fe National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery in the city of Santa Fe, in Santa Fe County, New Mexico. It encompasses , and as of 2021, had 68,000 interments. Administered by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, it ...
.
In 2005, the book "Project Beta: The Story of Paul Bennewitz, National Security, and the Creation of a Modern UFO Myth" by Greg Bishop further publicized the events.
Mark Pilkington's book about the project, also called ''Mirage Men'', was published in 2010 by
Constable & Robinson
Constable & Robinson Ltd. is an imprint of Little, Brown which publishes fiction and non-fiction books and ebooks.
Founded in Edinburgh in 1795 by Archibald Constable as Constable & Co., and by Nick Robinson as Robinson Publishing Ltd in 1983, ...
.
The book was adapted into the 2013 documentary "
Mirage Men
Mirage Men is a 2013 documentary film directed by John Lundberg, written by Mark Pilkington and co-directed by Roland Denning and Kypros Kyprianou. ''Mirage Men'' suggests there was conspiracy by the U.S. military to fabricate UFO folklore in o ...
". Former special agent for the U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations
Richard Doty
Mirage Men is a 2013 documentary film directed by John Lundberg, written by Mark Pilkington and co-directed by Roland Denning and Kypros Kyprianou. ''Mirage Men'' suggests there was conspiracy by the U.S. military to fabricate UFO folklore in o ...
claimed that in the 1980s he was tasked with hoaxing documents and feeding false information to UFO researchers, including Bennewitz.
References
Further reading
* Greg Bishop, ''Project Beta: The Story of Paul Bennewitz, National Security, and the Creation of a Modern UFO Myth'', Paraview Pocket Books, 2005;
*
Jerome Clark
Jerome Clark (born November 27, 1946)"Jerome Clark". ''Contemporary Authors Online''. June 12, 2002. Retrieved on April 11, 2012. is an American writer, specializing in unidentified flying objects and other paranormal subjects. He has appeared ...
, ''The UFO Encyclopedia, Volume 3: High Strangeness, UFO’s from 1960 through 1979''; Omnigraphics, 1996;
*
Jerome Clark
Jerome Clark (born November 27, 1946)"Jerome Clark". ''Contemporary Authors Online''. June 12, 2002. Retrieved on April 11, 2012. is an American writer, specializing in unidentified flying objects and other paranormal subjects. He has appeared ...
, ''The UFO Book: Encyclopedia of the Extraterrestrial'', Visible Ink, 1998,
External links
*
Brad Smith on Paul Bennewitz and Dulce(2003)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bennewitz, Paul
1927 births
2003 deaths
Burials at Santa Fe National Cemetery
UFO conspiracy theorists
Ufologists
American conspiracy theorists