Howard Menger, then a sign painter from High Bridge, NJ, first came to public attention on the famous Long John Nebel all-night radio show. In passing, let me say that Long John was a pioneer in the talk show field, and his show was the ancestor of Coast-to-Coast AM, because it also featured paranormal discussions.
Menger delivered the usual claims of the period, that he was in touch with blond aliens from outer space.
A few years later, his book, "From Outer Space to You," appeared courtesy of the late Gray Barker's Saucerian Press. Knowing Barker, I suspect the manuscript was heavily edited before it appeared in print.
Now in the mid-1960's, I was working with Jim Moseley on Saucer News. Jim got a call from Menger, and we all hooked up for lunch at a restaurant across the street from the magazine's famous offices at 303 Fifth Avenue. Menger, despite being criticized extensively in the magazine, proved personable, and gave us some unexpected news. He said that he had begun to feel that his contacts were actually with government agents, who used him as part of a disinformation campaign.
In later years, Menger was trying to sell plans for portable spacecraft and other stuff.
I don't know what motivated him to make the claim of government participation. At the same time, I wouldn't be surprised if he told us the truth. Further, that other contactees of that era might have also been manipulated in that fashion. In the end, it made the UFO field look foolish to many people, and if that was the intent, it was a success.
Menger delivered the usual claims of the period, that he was in touch with blond aliens from outer space.
A few years later, his book, "From Outer Space to You," appeared courtesy of the late Gray Barker's Saucerian Press. Knowing Barker, I suspect the manuscript was heavily edited before it appeared in print.
Now in the mid-1960's, I was working with Jim Moseley on Saucer News. Jim got a call from Menger, and we all hooked up for lunch at a restaurant across the street from the magazine's famous offices at 303 Fifth Avenue. Menger, despite being criticized extensively in the magazine, proved personable, and gave us some unexpected news. He said that he had begun to feel that his contacts were actually with government agents, who used him as part of a disinformation campaign.
In later years, Menger was trying to sell plans for portable spacecraft and other stuff.
I don't know what motivated him to make the claim of government participation. At the same time, I wouldn't be surprised if he told us the truth. Further, that other contactees of that era might have also been manipulated in that fashion. In the end, it made the UFO field look foolish to many people, and if that was the intent, it was a success.
