Did Wilbert B. Smith Communicate W/Non-Human Intelligence?

[Jeff Davis]

MR. Smith was truly an incredible and enigmatic person. A writer/radio engineer, who actually headed up a Canadian government sponsored UFO observatory! (Project Magnet) After having read of Smith many years back, it wasn't until I listened to an interweb episode (Paracast I believe, episode with Grant Cameron possibly) in the last year that my mind once again absorbed and became electrified by this historically powerful, almost folkloric character in nature, that was Wilbert B. Smith.

It's truly tough to shake MR. Smith's persona when his kindred ufological ghostly curiosity is upon you.

Check out some of these links if you are not already familiar with Smith. I have come to recognize that several of the members posting here on the Paracast Forums are what I would consider "advanced researchers" whom I have already learned a great deal from. I am very interested in everyone's input, but I am exceptionally interested to learn of any sage convictions concerning this amazing man. What kind of scrutiny does Wilbert bear up under? Has it been rigorous? Even if you, unlike myself, believe him less than amazing and more or less an outright quack, I would very much like to hear your opinion.

Project Magnet - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Wilbert Smith

 

[Randall]

Here's another link with a picture of the Project Magnet detection station: Topics In Ufology - Project Magnet

 

[boomerang]

I had read about Smith, but had no idea he might have considered himself to be a contactee.

Note also that resources allocated to Project Magnet are historical evidence of the degree to which the UFO problem was taken seriously by governments. And the seriousness was evident and overt until--about the mid-fifties? It's hard to believe such interest would simply have evaporated overnight.

 

[Randall]

I had read about Smith, but had no idea he might have considered himself to be a contactee.
Note also that resources allocated to Project Magnet are historical evidence of the degree to which the UFO problem was taken seriously by governments. And the seriousness was evident and overt until--about the mid-fifties? It's hard to believe such interest would simply have evaporated overnight.

I think you're absolutely right. It's pretty obvious to anyone who studies the subject that UFOs have been an ongoing concern. Plus it's just logical. Because the objects in some UFO reports could be foreign aircraft intruding on restricted air space, the defense establishment would have to take those reports seriously. The only way they could conceivably be sure that UFOs don't represent a threat to national security is if they know what they are and that they aren't hostile. So the question is, what else is out there that behaves evasively and doesn't conform to any natural or manmade object or phenomenon, and that we're sure doesn't represent a threat to national security? Hmmm ... and just how are we so sure of this again?

 

[Goggs Mackay]

I agree with the above two posts. I am about half-way through reading 'Nightsiege' by Phil Imbrogno and J Allen Hynek. I realise there are huge problems now with Imbrogno but it's not in dispute that there was a long on-going UFO flap in the Hudson Valley area in the early 1980's and hopefully the fact the book was co-authored by Hynek should afford the accounts some credibility in accuracy as to date, I've not heard Hynek's character called into disrepute.

Anyway, during these years, enormous numbers of people sighted craft that were huge and very slow moving, sometimes hovering and the craft also moved unlike known aircraft. This is stated by numerous pilots and other credible people, including many police officers. The usual 'explain-away' explanation put about by the FAA was that ultra-light aircraft were flying in formation. This is a laughable attempt at an explanation. Surely I don't need to list reasons why that explanation is unlikely.

Anyway, I wonder who at the FAA decided to use this explanation and more importantly, did anyone outside of the FAA 'order' them to do so? Surely these numerous multi-witness sightings would have fallen into the category that the USAF let slip existed when Project Blue Book disbanded? Even if the ultra-light story was true and I am sure it is not, it would be of course extremely important to find out exactly who the pilots were and from where were they flying? These pilots, having the skill no-other has must have had a very, very good reason to perpetuate this hoax over many nights, many locations and keep it going for years without being discovered? That scenario is so unlikely you have to laugh when it is touted as the explanation.

My point is though, who would have been investigating these sightings officially, especially as some were over restricted airspace and if that isn't a reason for the Air Force to get interested then I don't know what is. It is inconceivable that they would not be interested, especially as literally thousands of people were calling the police, local media and control towers/FAA to report sightings.

Looking back now, I wonder what the skeptical view of the Hudson Valley flap would be?

 

[Randall]

I agree with the above two posts. I am about half-way through reading 'Nightsiege' by Phil Imbrogno and J Allen Hynek ... Looking back now, I wonder what the skeptical view of the Hudson Valley flap would be?

The Hudson Valley sightings are really interesting. If I recall correctly, the ultralight explanation also has some twists that involve pilots connected with the military. Of particular note is the absence of evidence for the so-called Stormville Flyers. I tried doing a search and all I found was the same hearsay repeated over and over again in skeptical posts. I haven't found any interviews of the pilots, no verifiable admissions of a hoax, no nmaes, no website or videos heralding the accomplishments of these fantastically coordinated night flyers. Besides that, if these people were known, then why were no charges laid against them for their shenanigans? I can think of a few misdemeanors at the very least, especially since the police were involved.

Elsewhere there are rumors that the Stormville Flyers weren't simply "bored pilots", but were affiliated with the military and flew Cessna O2 spy planes. Given the numerous witness reports, the ultralight hoax sounds a lot more like a counterintelligence move designed to add noise to the reports of the real thing. Meanwhile, skeptics predictably dismiss reports that don't match the Stormville Flyer hoax proclaiming without any of the evidence they claim is so important, that they are examples of exaggeration, confabulation, hallucination, UFO believer syndrome ... you name it, it was anything but a UFO.

The more online research I do, the more I lean toward the idea that the Internet has become an information battleground where any truth that they don't want published about UFOs is attacked and obscured. BTW goggs, what's the hit count for the forum these days? There seems to be an inexplicably small number of forum participants these days. This is still by far the best format I've run across. Any ideas why there are so few active participants?

 

[Jeff Davis]

...meanwhile, located somewhere behind the innocent facade of small private observatory, MR. Smith's ghost is still just as curious as ever and this small matter of thread topic deviation he finds a bit...well, certainly not mutinous in any sense, but assuredly anomalous nonetheless<---I love that word!

How could such a figure have escaped a Ufological absolute in terms of legitimacy within it's annals of exceptional historic significance? Minds even more so curious than MR. Smith's are dying to know!