Truman Bethurum | Exo News

Tag: Truman Bethurum

Aliens In a Diner?

August 14, 2018
ExoNews Editor

by Nick Redfern July 26, 2018 (mysteriousuniverse.org)

• In the early 1950s, Truman Bethurum encountered an attractive alien female humanoid being named Aura Rhanes. The first time he saw Rhanes was at a distance out in the desert, with ‘her crew of little men’ next to their large spacecraft. But Redfern’s tale focuses on a subsequent encounter when Bethrum saw Rhanes with a ‘little man’ in a diner.

• It was at 3:00 am on an August morning in 1952, Bethurum and a work friend, Whitey, had just finished their work shift and went to an all-night diner in Glendale, Nevada. Bethurum had confided in Whitey about his experiences (?) with Aura Rhanes, but Whitey was skeptical. But when they went into the diner, they saw the petite woman with a diminutive man. She was dressed in black except for a “glaring red” skirt. They watched as the pair sat down at a table.

• Soon, Bethurum worked up the courage to walk up to her table. Whitey freaked out and went out to his truck to wait. Bethurum asked politely,“I beg your pardon, lady, but haven’t we met before?” Rhanes glared at Bethurum and just said ‘no’, almost like a “deadly hiss,” in Bethurum’s own words.

• Bethurum persisted, “You very closely resemble a lady I met some time ago out on Mormon Mesa.” Again the woman said ‘no’, threateningly. This went on with each question he asked her. The little man remained silent.

• Bethurum went back to his seat. The waitress came over to him and wondered if these folks were “the saucer people you told us about.” The waitress noted that the little man had ‘penciled on’ a scar on his face. The little man paid their bill and left. The waitress immediately came back over to Bethurum and said, “The lady told me to tell you that she knows you, and that she was sorry and ‘yes’ is the answer to some of your questions.”

• Bethurum went outside to find Whitey standing out front. When Bethurum asked where the pair went, Whitey replied, “They never came out. Honest, not a blessed soul passed through that door until you came out.”

The strange saga of Truman Bethurum – a man who, in the early 1950s, claimed flirty encounters with a hot space-babe named Aura Rhanes – is one which provokes either hoots of derision or deep intrigue. I have friends who fall into the former category and others who fall into the latter. A good case can be made, though, that Bethurum’s encounters were born out of a combination of sleep paralysis and a yearning for something beyond two failed marriages. But, according to Bethurum, it wasn’t all fun and flirty action.

On two occasions, Bethurum said, he encountered Aura Rhanesunder circumstances very different to those which occurred out in the desert, with Rhanes’ huge flying saucer and her crew of little men in view. These additional encounters saw Rhanes operating in what can only be termed disguise. There was nothing flirty or friendly about these close encounters, however: they were downright hostile. The first occurred around 3:00 a.m. – a time when a wealth of supernatural activity typically occurs – one August 1952 morning.

Bethurum and a work friend, “Whitey,” had just finished their shift and decided to head off in Whitey’s pick-up truck to a favorite, all-night diner in Glendale, Nevada. Whitey was someone who Bethurum had quietly confided in about his experiences with Aura Rhanes. He was also someone who, although fascinated by Bethurum’s claims, was somewhat skeptical of the story. That is, until they entered the diner. Any skepticism Whitey had was very soon to be wiped out. As the pair sat and drank coffee and ate pie, a noticeably quiet Whitey elbowed Bethurum in the ribs and motioned him to take a look at the end of the counter. Bethurum looked up. He was amazed and shocked to see Aura Rhanes, and an equally small male individual, standing there.

“It’s her, isn’t it?” asked Whitey. Bethurum nodded, pretty much in a state of near-shock. Both men watched carefully as Rhanes and her colleague took seats at a window table. In stark contrast to everyone else in the diner, Rhanes was dressed in black: black beret, wraparound black sunglasses, black velvet blouse, and black boots. The only thing that wasn’t black: a “glaring red” skirt.

A worried Whitey asked: “What are you going to do?” Bethurum knew exactly what he was going to do. He composed himself, and walk over and talk to them. Whitey, however, was having none of it. He quickly exited the diner, preferring to sit in his truck, in the overwhelming darkness of the desert, rather than confront creatures from another world.

READ ENTIRE ARTICLE

FAIR USE NOTICE: This page contains copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. ExoNews.org distributes this material for the purpose of news reporting, educational research, comment and criticism, constituting Fair Use under 17 U.S.C § 107. Please contact the Editor at ExoNews with any copyright issue.

How Closely Are Ufologists Watched By Government Agencies?

June 8, 2018
ExoNews Editor

by Nick Redfern May 25, 2018 (mysteriousuniverse.org)

• Beginning in the 1950’s, the FBI and the CIA closely kept their eye on UFO-themed researchers, groups and abductees such as George Adamski, Truman Bethurum, George Van Tassel, and Frank Stranges. They seemed more interested in their possible ties to communism than their UFO experiences. In 1950’s England, the British Police Force’s Special Branch secretly watched the Aetherius Society, but not for their beliefs in aliens or UFOs, but because of their opposition to atomic weapons.

• A CIA document dated February 9, 1953 reveals that an agent infiltrated a meeting of the California Committee for Saucer Investigations (CSI) in L.A. where Dr. Walter Riedel, the former Chief Designer at the German Experimental Rocket Center at Peenemunde who came to the U.S. as a ‘paperclip’ scientist spoke. Reidel was now a project engineer in the Aerophysics Department of the North American Aviation Corp. “He [Reidel] gave every impression of being a competent scientist, especially knowledgeable on rocket matters. He seemed a balanced person, not given to fixations.”

• The CIA document goes on to say that the CSI had received some 1570 letters relating to reported UFO sightings. The agent was impressed at how thorough they conducted their investigations, considering only a small fraction of sightings to be actual unexplained UFOs. Those are forwarded to Wright Field, Dayton, Ohio.

• Dr. Riedel even indicated the CSI planned to perpetrate a ‘hoax’ UFO sighting over Malibu in front of thousands of people in order to gauge public reaction and response. “This experiment is designed to give a better background against which future sightings can be evaluated.” This hoax may have occurred in late January 1953.

• The CIA agent also reported that the CSI monitored the Russian newspaper, PRAVDA, and that a CSI associate, George P. Sutton, also of Aerophysics Department in North American Aviation, Inc., gave a presentation before the American Rocket Society in New York City on December 4, 1952 entitled ‘Rockets Behind the Iron Curtain.’
• Of incidental interest, the National Aeronautical Association politely suggested to Dr. Riedel that he disassociate himself with the California Committee for Saucer Investigations.

• [Editor’s Note] For a thorough discussion of former Nazi rocket scientists’ corporate incursion into the United States military industrial complex during the 1950’s read Dr Michael Salla’s latest book, Antarctica’s Hidden History – Corporate Foundations of Secret Space Programs.

That’s a question I’m often asked, mainly because of my interest in the Men in Black mystery. Although there is no doubt in my mind that the vast majority of all MIB encounters are of a paranormal nature, at least a small number are connected to government agencies. Indeed, there is hard evidence showing that UFO-themed researchers and groups have been watched – and at times watched closely. For example, the FBI has released its files on many of the Contactees of the 1950s, such as George Adamski, Truman Bethurum, George Van Tassel, and Frank Stranges. It’s important to note, though, that the UFO aspects of the investigations were secondary; sometimes, even further down the line than that. Issues relative to politics and communism were far more pressing, from the FBI’s perspective. In the U.K., in the late 1950s, the Aetherius Society was secretly watched by the British Police Force’s Special Branch. Not for their beliefs in aliens or UFOs, though, but because of their stance on atomic weapons.

With that all said, it’s time now to take a look at one of the earliest UFO research groups that was watched by the CIA: the Civilian Saucer Investigation (although in some of the CIA’s papers on the CSI, it’s incorrectly referred to as the California Committee for Saucer Investigation). A CIA document of February 9, 1953 begins as follows (you can find the document at this CIA link):
“1. Recently a member of the Los Angeles Office had occasion to hear Dr. Walter Riedel tell something of the activities of the California Committee for Saucer Investigations (CSI). His comments, as follows, may be of interest: 2. Dr. Riedel indicated he was formerly Chief Designer at the German Experimental Rocket Center at Peenemunde. He has been in the US as a ‘paperclip’ scientist for some years. He is now a Project engineer in the Aerophysics Department (Guided Missiles) of the North American Aviation Corp. He gave every impression of being a competent scientist, especially knowledgeable on rocket matters. He seemed a balanced person, not given to fixations.”

READ ENTIRE ARTICLE