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McLeod Andrews (1:07)
There are claims throughout history of visitors walking among us, hidden in plain sight. But what happens when one of them steps into the spotlight? During the height of the space race, as humanity reached for the stars, something reached back. And as this visitor found himself in our halls of power, walking corridors from the Pentagon to the White House, he left a legacy that isn't just redacted. It's out of this world. Welcome to Sightings, the series that takes you inside the world's most mysterious supernatural events. Each week, we bring you a thrilling story that puts you at the center of the action, followed by a discussion that dives into the accounts that inspired the story and our takes on them. I'm McLeod.
Brian Sigley (1:56)
And I'm Brian. And today we're diving into the wildest conspiracy story I think I've ever heard.
McLeod Andrews (2:01)
Did an extraterrestrial really infiltrate the highest levels of our government in the late 1950s? And more importantly, were our leaders ready to hear what he had to say? Find out on this episode of Sightings. I know I don't talk much about my past. I prefer to keep things quiet simple. Even if my life was anything but. You knew I was Chief of Staff to President Eisenhower way back in the 1950s, didn't you? Yep, your great granddad was a pretty big deal. But now I'm old and withered and, well, I don't think I'm long for this Earth. And since you've always been my favorite, I need to level with you man to man. Because I can't die with a clear conscience unless something's been said. Understand? Good boy. Because this story is going to change absolutely everything you think about this country. No, the world. But I'm getting ahead of myself to follow everything I'm about to tell you. To relive those events of, what was it, 1957 through 1960, we need to go back a little earlier to February 1954, Palm Springs, California. See, Eisenhower was on vacation there and I happened to be there too. Not as Chief of Staff, not yet, but as part of his team nonetheless. And the trip was going normal, perfectly normal actually, until it suddenly wasn't. Because Eisenhower disappeared, see, straight up vanished in the night with his head of Secret Service. And no one, not even his then Chief of Staff, knew where he went. There were rumors, of course, a late night tryst, an off the books appointment. And naturally the media had a field day with the AP even going so far as to suggest that Eisenhower had died, which was obviously incorrect. But the next morning, there he was, safe and sound at breakfast and told all of us he'd chipped a tooth over a chicken wing and needed emergency dental work. But we knew that was a to bull because we'd heard something else. Something shocking, frankly, because Eisenhower had allegedly driven out into the desert for what's likely the most high stakes meeting in human history. A meeting with aliens. See, and that night a treaty was signed, the content of which I still don't know to this very day. But I'll tell you this, that wasn't America's last interaction with aliens. No, not at all. Because what would happen three years later would blow the top right off Palm Springs and change my life for good. So jumping ahead to 1957, March 16, 1957, to be specific. Normal day at the White House, but outside Washington. Well, let's just say something was in the air out there. There were reports of strange objects in the skies that morning and eventually a UFO landed in a field just outside Alexandria. It was your pretty typical flying saucer, far as I heard from the boys in blue who spotted it. And wouldn't you know it, they drove their patrol cars right out into that and approached the thing with their pistols drawn. Braver men than I, that's all I can say about that. But anyway, a huge seamless door opened up in the side of this ship and a figure stepped out. A human figure. Six feet tall, buck, 85, brown hair, brown eyes, straight up. The most handsome fella you've ever seen in your. He was wearing a golden jumpsuit with no seams. And when he spoke, his voice carried an easy confidence. And you know what he said to those troopers? He said, I mean you no harm and I need to speak to the President of the United States immediately. And well, put yourself in those troopers shoes and ask yourself what you'd have done when you're staring at a man who just walked out of a spaceship. I'd have run for the hills. But those troopers put him in the back of their patrol car and drove towards the Capitol. And the government was alerted, naturally, and the Secretary of Defense, six staff members and six armed guards were waiting at the Pentagon for his arrival. And after seeing he was unharmed, and after hearing him reference that night back in Palm Springs, it was decided that this spaceman ought to see President Eisenhower straight away. That's where I come into the story, because I was among those who greeted the Pentagon entourage at the West Wing doors. And Secret Service were everywhere, absolutely swarming the place. And they herded the spaceman into the Oval Office and right up to President Eisenhower. And it was a sight to see, I tell you. One man and one spaceman facing off in front of the Resolute desk. And then the spaceman raised a hand and the Secret Service instantly reacted, drawing their revolvers. But Eisenhower nodded it was all right and shook the spaceman's hand. It's funny. Eisenhower seemed unfazed by the entire meeting. He simply asked where the spaceman was from, and the spaceman replied, I come from the planet your Bible calls the morning and the evening star. Of course, that meant Ven. Captain. Eisenhower considered that for a moment, then asked, calm as can be, please, sir, what is your name? And I'll never forget the slight smile as the spaceman replied, my name is Valiant Thor. The meeting between Eisenhower and Val, as I'd come to call him Val, lasted another several minutes, during which Val explained that Earth had been under scrutiny by his race for hundreds of years. Then, to their horror, the 1945 bomb went off, and thus Vel had been sent by his High Council to convince the leaders of Earth to deactivate their nuclear arsenals. Naturally, Eisenhower was skeptical of this proposition. We were smack in the middle of the Cold War after all, and throwing aliens into the mix didn't seem advisable. The people of Earth, Eisenhower said, are not ready to cope. But despite his polite rejection of Val's proposition, Eisenhower did extend the tall, handsome spaceman an invitation. And it sounds patently absurd as I'm telling it now, I suppose all of this does. But he wanted Val to Stay on Earth for a while to work in secret with our scientists. To allow us to learn more about one another and to bridge the gap between our peoples. So I, at that point, still a few years from becoming Eisenhower's Chief of Staff, was designated as liaison between VAL and the President. And at that moment, I don't fully recall what I felt just then. Other than knowing I'd just become swept up in the biggest geopolitical development in American history. In Earth's history. Even so, I smiled at the nice space, extended an arm and escorted him out of the Oval Office. Little did I know then that Val would spend three years in Washington. That's right, three. And not as a prisoner, mind you. We gave him a well appointed apartment in the Pentagon and a guarantee he could leave anytime. In return, he shared everything he could with anyone willing to listen. And often enough that anyone was me. Because, believe it or not, I was right there for all of it. At first, I found myself rather shy around this strange visitor. He was a formidable specimen in that he looked human, yet somehow not. He was too perfect, almost intimidatingly so. And what would I alone politico, have of possible import to say to him? So in the first weeks, I escorted him quietly from meeting to meeting. Our top scientists were fascinated with him, of course, and he was happy to undergo rigorous tests. We quickly discovered his IQ was well over 200. And the strange uniform he wore upon arrival here, a beautiful gold and silver thing, was found to be made of an entirely unknown fabric that couldn't even be penetrated by a diamond drill bit. Acid even rolled off it and burned holes in the floor when tested. It was alternately unbelievable and invigorating around Val. And soon enough, he and I started talking. All silly things at first, like how pop culture worked. But soon I felt a real connection growing between us. I even picked up on advanced scientific theories as Val worked tirelessly with our most advanced medical and space scientists. But most of all, we bonded over books. As you know, I love reading. And it turns out, so did Valley. He was a voracious consumer of print. Dozens of books a day on all topics imaginable. Plus newspapers, magazines, leaflets, everything. And as we talked endlessly about the topics of the day, I found myself forgetting I was talking to someone who wasn't exactly human. To me, he was just foul. But all this while, he was making little progress on his actual mission. Even when surrounded by scientists and officials, few would lend an ear to hear about nuclear de escalation. And as he continued to subject himself to test after test and briefing after briefing about propulsion systems, he began to worry he was being used. And behind the scenes I knew it was true. So I decided I'd try and do something about it. And I didn't know it at the time, but it nearly exposed Val to the world, almost derailed my career, and set me down a path that very nearly killed me. Hey, I'm Ryan Reynolds. Recently I asked Mint Mobile's legal team if big wireless companies are allowed to raise prices due to inflation. They said yes. And then when I asked if raising prices technically violates those onerous two year contracts, they said, what the are you talking about, you insane Hollywood.