Overview
A record in the U.S. National Archives Catalog has renewed attention around the long-running controversy over the purported Majestic 12 (MJ-12) documents, with online discussion claiming that former intelligence official Richard M. Bissell Jr. believed the papers were authentic. The archival entry, titled “Letter from Richard M. Bissell regarding Majestic 12,” confirms that a document exists in the Eisenhower Presidential Library’s holdings. However, the catalog information provided does not, by itself, establish what Bissell wrote or whether he endorsed the documents’ authenticity.
The item is identified by the National Archives as NAID 493468585 and is listed as one image within the Bissell papers. It forms part of the “Correspondence Files” series, specifically the file unit “Reading File 1987–1992 (3).” The catalog also indicates that a transcription is available, although the supplied record excerpt does not reproduce the letter’s text or summarize its contents.
What the Archive Record Shows
According to the National Archives entry, the material belongs to Collection DDE-1259: Richard Mervin Bissell, Jr. Papers, held by the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library. The broader collection covers Bissell’s papers from 1909 to 1995, while the relevant correspondence series spans 1931 to 1994. The catalog identifies Bissell, who lived from 1909 to 1994, as the creator or most recent contributor associated with the material.
The archive classifies the item as an unrestricted textual record, while noting that use may be subject to copyright restrictions. A downloadable image and a PDF are provided through the National Archives Catalog. The listing contains no public comments, tags, or contextual notes explaining the circumstances of the letter, its recipient, or the specific MJ-12 material under discussion.
The Majestic 12 Dispute
Majestic 12 refers to an alleged U.S. government group supposedly established in the aftermath of the 1947 Roswell incident to oversee the recovery and study of extraterrestrial technology. Documents purporting to describe the group emerged publicly in the 1980s and have been disputed ever since. Researchers and skeptics have questioned their provenance, formatting, terminology and chain of custody, while some UFO investigators have argued that they reflect genuine classified activity.
The alleged documents have never been accepted as authentic by the U.S. government. Investigations and archival reviews have also failed to establish that a formal organization called Majestic 12 operated as described in the papers. As a result, any historical figure’s reported opinion about the documents would represent one piece of evidence in a broader authenticity debate, rather than conclusive proof.
Why Bissell’s Name Matters
Bissell was a senior Central Intelligence Agency official who became associated with major Cold War intelligence and covert-action programs. His professional background makes a letter concerning purported secret government records potentially significant to historians and UFO researchers. Nevertheless, the importance of the document depends on details not included in the supplied catalog excerpt: whether Bissell personally examined the papers, what documents he was discussing, when the letter was written, and whether his remarks reflected certainty, speculation or hearsay.
For now, the National Archives listing verifies the existence of a Bissell-related letter about Majestic 12, not the claim that he definitively authenticated the purported documents. The original scan and available transcription would need to be reviewed before drawing conclusions. Until that examination is completed, the claim should be characterized as reported or alleged, rather than established fact.
