Link: https://youtu.be/rjUdn6FklAU

Duration: 167 min

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Short Summary

This is an American Alchemy podcast interview reuniting former U.S. Air Force Security Policemen Mario Woods and Michael Johnson nearly 50 years after they shared a 1977 missing-time encounter with a glowing sphere and entities at a live thermonuclear missile at Ellsworth AFB. The episode weaves their personal abduction accounts, hypnotic regression details, and the Air Force OSI interrogation aftermath into a broader history of UFO activity at U.S. nuclear weapons sites, alleged government disinformation campaigns, and recurring "do not fear" patterns echoed in biblical encounter narratives.

Key Quotes

1. "Had I said that I saw these beings, they would have immediately removed me from the PRP, personal liability program. I'd have lost my clearance. I'd have lost my job. I'd have never been on the missile field again. And I was uh newly wet at the time and I needed a job." (00:52:43)
2. "Do not fear. Two men, two rooms, hours apart, neither an earshot of the other. The same three words. Words Mario has attached to his memory since 1977. Whatever happened in November of 1977 at Ellsworth, those words were definitely a part of it." (01:17:08)
3. "he worked, you know, with the the Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in an official government capacity in order to kind of reverse engineer UFOs. And he has quoted, you know, in multiple interviews saying that aliens walk among us." (01:31:31)
4. "We're talking between September of ' 66 and March of ' 67, we lost 30 missiles to UFO activity." (01:36:55)
5. "Well, I had one guy just say, "Well, I can Their propulsion systems are not built. They're grown."" (02:03:21)

Detailed Summary

American Alchemy — The Ellsworth AFB UFO Reunion: Detailed Summary

Interviewee Background and Public Profile

• Mario Woods served in the U.S. Air Force from 1975 to 1983 as a Security Policeman, was 23 years old during the 1977 incident, and has publicly told his story since 1996 across more than 40 appearances on outlets including the History Channel, Discovery Plus, and News Nation.
• Michael Johnson was Mario's partner on the shift and trained at the Security Police Academy at Lacklin AFB and at Camp Bullis alongside Rangers and Special Forces over a six-week course.
• Michael served under a squadron commander Colonel at Ellsworth whose last name he could not recall at the time of the interview.

The November 5, 1977 Encounter at Ellsworth AFB

• The two worked the 6:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. shift at a Minuteman missile site; Michael had been added to the shift after Steve Welsh left for North Carolina.
• At approximately 9:15 p.m., Mario spotted a large unusual light to the east and flashed his vehicle lights on and off three times; about 30 seconds later the distant light mirrored the pattern back.
• Just after midnight, both inner and outer zone alarms triggered simultaneously above and below ground at the missile site designated "November 5," and Mario described a pulsating glow rising from the ground at the 4:00 position.
• The officers drove to the end of a dirt/clay road, pulled up at a 45-degree angle, and were enveloped in a "sunshine bright" shield of light whose diameter reportedly exceeded the missile site's fence line.
• Both officers experienced chest pressure and difficulty breathing; Mario, wearing a parka and bunny boots, felt lifted toward the back window and observed glitter-like particles emanating from the vehicle's center dashboard vent.
• After flashing a black 3-cell Maglite (3D) flashlight 3-4 times, Mario felt relief and was able to breathe again; a 4-6 foot black sphere with vent-like lines then appeared for roughly three seconds before vanishing, described by the host as "a tear in the fabric of reality."
• A sulfur/ammonia smell entered the vehicle (compared to "bad shrimp in a cooler"), and a voice shifting from low to high pitch said "Do not fear. Do not fear" from the right side.
• Three smaller figures and one taller figure about 1.5 feet behind them glided rather than walked; the smaller figure on the right wore a uniform with an 8-10 inch rod resembling an elementary-school pencil eraser, and all had large black almond-shaped eyes.
• Michael Johnson was found frozen to the steering wheel, paralyzed, unable to speak or blink, and later described a human-form entity with a pointed head delivering a "don't fear/don't worry" message.
• When Mario regained consciousness, his watch read about 6 a.m., the truck was parked behind a reservoir dam wall near Newell more than 8 miles from the missile site, his boots sank into mud that should have been frozen solid, and at least 5 hours of time were missing.

Aftermath: Interrogation, Medical Procedures, and Career Impact

• The vehicle radio lit up with "Wind security control to November 1. What's your location?" and "Do you need medical help?"; two deputy sheriffs were dispatched from Sturgis (29 miles south of Newell).
• Sergeant Garza arrived, told Mario he could not discuss the incident, and escorted him back to the launch control facility; Michael and Mario were taken separately and interrogated apart, with OSI (Air Force Office of Special Investigations) present during Michael's interrogation.
• Michael was escorted to medical by an LT and a Master Sergeant facility manager, received an injection, a physical, and an eye exam; sodium pentothal (a "truth serum") was mentioned, which Michael connected to the Rendlesham Forest case at RAF Bentwaters where three USAF officers had reportedly been given truth serum and to CIA mind-control experiments.
• Michael described the interrogation as feeling like interrogators were "scrambling his brain," and his right arm became permanently sore and weaker than his left despite no torn tissue or broken bones.
• Fellow airmen slowed down and stared at him without speaking, and he became an outcast because he didn't drink, smoke, or play cards, leading some to suspect he was OSI or an undercover snitch.
• At one missile site, a larger sergeant repeatedly bullied and grabbed Michael; Michael responded by putting an M16 to the sergeant's neck and cocking it, after which he was placed on "L's words" medication and assigned degrading menial duties like picking up trash, painting buildings, and mowing grass.
• Michael ultimately received an honorable discharge but his record was coded 1A, blocking re-enlistment in the Marines or Navy and requiring an act of Congress to remove the code.

The 49-Year Search and Reunion

• After the Air Force transferred Johnson, the two did not see each other again for nearly 49-50 years; Mario hired private investigators, consulted the FBI, and was told by AARO (the Pentagon's UFO office) that they would search, but all leads came up empty.
• Mario estimated approximately $10,000 was spent trying to locate Michael; agencies including Chicago and the FBI were confounded by the many Michael Johnsons in existence and the missing middle initial "C."
• A fan of the "American Alchemy" show named Jason Miller located a Facebook page for a 70-something-year-old Michael Johnson in South Carolina whose profile referenced Ellsworth service from 1975 to 1977.
• On June 26, 2026, host Jesse called Michael Johnson at his job, and within about a week a recruiter with a laptop confirmed his identity and arranged the reunion; Michael confirmed he was assigned to the 66th or 67th area while Mario was in the 68th area.
• Mario's confirmation came when Michael immediately responded "Oh, the UFO" to the November 5, 1977 date, giving him chills; Jesse called Mario 3-4 days before the meeting saying "We found Michael. Get to Austin."
• Mario drew a parallel to the film "Disclosure Day," calling the two of them "walking hard drives" brought together like puzzle pieces, and the host proposed flying both men to Austin to meet in person and film the reunion.

Hypnotic Regression and Craft Interior Details

• Legendary hypnotherapist Ivonne Smith (author of "Chosen: From the Alien Hybrid Program to the Fate of the Planet") was flown out to perform the regression on Michael, who had repressed the experience for 50 years and had never been hypnotized before.
• Michael described three spinning objects around the truck, three creatures with big eyes, protruding foreheads, skinny builds, and putty-like bodies, plus four shapes (three small, one tall) gliding rather than walking.
• The beings pulled him out of the truck against his will; he heard water/fire-hydrant sounds, saw no ground beneath him, developed a severe headache, and felt his head squeezed from top and sides.
• A device placed behind his left ear reminded him of a crab; breathing something helped him relax, and when he asked "Why am I here?" a being answered plainly "Because he's here," referring to Michael a foot away.
• Sensations included hands on his chest, cuts into his thighs and ankles, and a grip on his groin; the beings said "Do not fear. We mean you no harm" and "We're helping you. Please stop."
• The setting resembled an operating table under bright lights; a rubber object was placed in his mouth, a cable-connected device was pressed into his wrist after it was bent backward, and his back was sliced along the spine with a cold-blade sensation.
• Mario recalled a dream-memory of a room of antiques (gramophones, vinyl players, an iron, sewing machine, lamp post) resembling items from his childhood home in Port Arthur, Texas, with a small being leading him through it and a round window with a pie-slice cutout he was told he could look through.
• During the regression, Mario's phone displayed a "verse of the day" reading "Do not fear," coinciding exactly with Michael's playback of his encounter memory—a coincidence Mario found striking.

The Missing Glove and Broader Implications

• Michael vividly recalled seeing one of Mario's distinctive "nice clean silver civil gloves" lying on a shiny floor inside the craft while Mario was being probed nearby.
• Mario had pulled off his right glove to work his flashlight that night; the flight surgeon later found that gloveless hand burned, and when Mario emptied his "diddy bag" at home, only the left glove remained—the right glove was missing.
• Mario speculated the beings might be "archaeologists or scientists" collecting items from the human race, and stated he believes some people in society may not be fully human, a view he has held for years.
• The episode referenced billionaire Robert Bigalow (a UFO research pioneer who worked with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to attempt to reverse-engineer UFOs) and his public statements that aliens may walk among us as hybrids or lookalike beings.
• Mario reported suffering depression, anger, mental anguish, and insomnia (waking at 2 or 3 AM while needing to be at work at 8 AM) and now attends VA counseling.
• Michael described being stopped by a police officer while hauling a load from El Paso toward Dallas on Route 20; he took a wrong turn, lost about 2 hours, ended up in Nevada on government property near Area 51. The officer was short, puffy-faced, wore a Deputy Dawg-style hat, spoke slowly, and warned him not to return—characteristics that made Michael suspect the officer was not fully human.

Historical Context: UFOs at U.S. Nuclear Sites

• Robert Hastings authored "UFOs and Nukes," a nearly 600-page book documenting UFO encounters at nuclear bases; he has personally met almost 170 experiencers including missile security personnel, radar operators, weapons officers, and photo instrumentation specialists.
• At Malmstrom AFB in March 1967, 10 Minuteman missiles went offline while security police reported an object over the gate, confirmed by two men in separate rooms, one being launch control officer Bob Salis.
• Between September 1966 and March 1967, a total of 30 nuclear missiles were lost to UFO activity.
• In September 1964, an Air Force camera crew under Lt. Bob Jacobs (managing 134 personnel) filmed an object firing beams at a dummy nuclear warhead; Jacobs was told "You are never to speak of this again. It never happened." He was vindicated in the 1990s when his Major, Floren Mansman, corroborated the incident.
• The 1980 Rendlesham Forest incident occurred at the site holding Europe's largest nuclear stockpile; alleged UFO debris from the Bluegill Triple Prime high-altitude test was reportedly rushed to Sandia National Labs.
• On August 5, 1953 at Ellsworth AFB, a civilian spotter reported a pulsing light, radar locked on, and a dispatched pilot chased the object 120 miles without closing a 3-mile gap.
• That same night in 1953, 45 townspeople and air defense personnel in Bismarck, North Dakota watched strange lights for two nights; Captain Edward J. Rupelt of Project Blue Book called it the best UFO report in Air Force files, never officially explained.
• Thousands of declassified documents from 1945 (advent of nuclear weapons) through 1954 (first U-2 spy plane) from the Army, Navy, CIA, and FBI document UFO activity around U.S. nuclear bases.

The 1977 Ellsworth Document and Alleged Disinformation Campaign

• A fabricated Air Force document dated November 16, 1977 at site L9 Minuteman missile field describes alleged aliens attacking security personnel with beam weapons, with errors including misspelled "missile" as "missle" and matching Social Security numbers (7556) for two airmen.
• Junior OSI agent Richard "Rick" Dodie was present at Mario's debrief; Mario recognized Dodie's face on his TV in 2014, 37 years later. Dodie later spent the early 1980s as a special agent at Kirtland AFB running disinformation against UFO researchers.
• Per Greg Bishop's book Project Beta, Dodie's campaign targeted Albuquerque engineer Paul Benowitz with fabricated Dulce, New Mexico alien base claims, forged documents, and a computer purportedly for decoding alien signals, contributing to Benowitz's psychiatric hospitalization.
• According to physicist Bruce Mcabe, Bill Moore acknowledged that Dodie confessed to forging the entire Ellsworth L9 document, with investigator Brad Sparks showing the radiation figures were physically inconsistent with real survey meters.
• The government UFO strategy shifted from "be silent or else" to "flood the zone" with disinformative claims like stories about 16 alien races from four star systems.

Childhood Sightings and Cultural Background

• Mario is part Honduran/Mayan; in first grade (around age 5½-6) at D.Q. Queen Elementary in Port Rother, Texas, his mother pointed out three identical disc-shaped craft hovering 25-50 feet above a church while K-12 students pointed up in silence. His scared sister was told "There's no reason to be afraid."
• Michael grew up in St. Louis, Missouri, bullied for being different, and would sit alone at Ollon Park at about 9:00 PM watching unusual lights moving along Interstate 70 near the Gateway Arch.
• Michael's Cherokee mother warned him as a child "Somebody going to come down and snatch you like that" and said "We not alone out here"; she raised him in East Texas after her own mother was Cherokee.
• In 1977 or 1978, while traveling toward Kilo 10 in Antarctica with team leader Mark Wade to dig out a snowed-in antenna, Michael saw an egg-shaped object zigzag downward and disappear 300-400 yards behind his vehicle via the side rearview mirror.

Additional Post-Service Anomalies

• In the weeks before the November 1977 incident, cattle around the Ellsworth missile field were found dead without predator involvement, with eyes or tongues missing, split in half, or bloodless with precise incisions consistent with classic cattle mutilations; Michael's camera was confiscated after photographing one.
• After service, Mario went directly to the Department of Energy at Oak Ridge and Los Alamos with a Q clearance that took over 8 months to obtain and was reinvestigated every 18 months.
• A DOE contact told Mario the propulsion systems of recovered craft are "not built but grown," like biological material rather than assembled like a V8 engine.
• Michael compared the encounter to the 1977 film Close Encounters of the Third Kind, citing low-pitch humming, objects pulled upward, loss of gravity, download-like transmission of unfamiliar understanding, and sunburns.

The Reunion Gathering and Ongoing Circumstances

• The group rented a house by Lake Austin for Mario and Michael to reminisce; they live just 230 miles apart now, are over 70 years old, still working blue-collar jobs, and live paycheck to paycheck.
• A GoFundMe was launched to provide retirement funds for the two men, with the narrator emphasizing the recruiter with a laptop succeeded where multiple government agencies had failed.
• Mario texted the interviewers: "Can't wait to see you guys. I appreciate what you have been doing to make me feel a little easy after a half a century of not knowing who I am."
• The narrator described the worst harm as the human response: interrogators tried to explain away the experience, followed by demotions, overseas deployment, and decades of denial; the system's response was to gaslight them, split them apart, and manufacture stigma.

Philosophical and Symbolic Framing

• The phrase "do not fear" surfaced in 1961 at the Texas schoolyard, in 1977 in a dead truck, in two separate hypnosis sessions, and finally in a push notification, forming a recurring three-beat structure: terror, reassurance, message, transformation.
• The narrator draws parallels to biblical encounters: Daniel by the Tigris with a face like lightning, Zechariah in the temple, Mary at the annunciation, shepherds outside Bethlehem, women at the empty tomb, and Ezekiel's interlocking wheels covered in eyes wrapped in fire and storm.
• Jacques Vallée's Passport to Magonia argues the UFO phenomenon isn't new or necessarily extraterrestrial but wears whatever cultural mask is available, from biblical angels to medieval demons to "good folk" to 1977 craft at missile bases.
• These beings allegedly favor moments of peak instability (Sodom, Jerusalem during David's plague, Assyrian camp) to preserve or discard; missile fields in South Dakota and Montana fit this framework.
• The host characterizes nuclear weapons as humanity acquiring fire from the skies reserved for heaven, comparing the situation to the Trinity nuclear test on July 16, 1945 in New Mexico, where Oppenheimer quoted the Bhagavad Gita: "Now I am become death, the destroyer of worlds."
• The Voyager record carried greetings in 55 languages including the Navajo night chant; on November 18, 2026 at 3:16 a.m., exactly 49 years from Mario and Michael's blackout, Voyager 1 will be one full light day from Earth.
• Stanton Friedman is characterized as holding the beings are probably extraterrestrial, contrasted with Vallée's mytho-sociological analysis.
• Synchronicities observed during the trip included numbers 62626, 111, and 222 (Omar taking off at 111, a car with 111, Michael being picked up at 222).