Wilson–Davis notes
From the UAP Encyclopedia, the open encyclopedia of UFO and UAP history · 🗓️ Event
Contents 8
| Date | 16 October 2002 |
|---|---|
| Topics | Crashes & retrievals (topic), Beings & bodies (topic), Secrecy & cover-up (topic) |
| People | Eric W. Davis, Thomas Wilson, Edgar Mitchell, David Grusch |
| Testimony | Shellenberger testimony, p. 149 |
| Year | 2002 in UFO history |
| Timeline | 2002 on the UAP Timeline |
| Sources | 12 |
The Wilson–Davis notes are a 15-page document that surfaced online in 2019, presented as physicist Eric Davis's record of a meeting on 16 October 2002 with Vice Admiral Thomas Wilson, former director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, in which Wilson described trying and failing to gain access to a contractor-run program holding recovered non-human craft. Their authenticity is disputed, and Wilson has said they are bogus.[1][2]
Thomas Wilson
Wilson, born in 1946, served in the U.S. Navy from 1969 to 2002, including as director of intelligence (J2) for the Joint Staff, and was the 13th director of the Defense Intelligence Agency from July 1999 to July 2002.[3]
Contents
According to the notes, Wilson said that in 1997, while on the Joint Staff, he learned of a special access program run by an aerospace contractor involving recovered craft of non-human origin, and tried to gain access to it, but was refused by the program's managers.[1][2]
Origin
The notes first appeared online in April 2019 and are said to have come from the papers of Apollo 14 astronaut Edgar Mitchell, who had worked with Davis at the National Institute for Discovery Science; accounts differ on exactly how they were obtained. They became a central document in the modern UAP debate, because they describe the kind of hidden contractor program later alleged by David Grusch in 2023, and at a House hearing in May 2022 Representative Mike Gallagher asked Pentagon officials about them.[1][4]
Disputes
Wilson told journalist Billy Cox that the documents were bogus and that Davis had never interviewed him. Davis has declined to confirm writing them. Supporters point to details in the notes that fit known facts, while skeptics note that other details appear incorrect. The Pentagon's All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office said in its 2024 historical report that it had found no evidence of such a program.[1][2][5]
People and topics
- Eric W. Davis — Physicist who worked on AAWSAP and has said the U.S. holds recovered craft.
- Thomas Wilson — Former DIA director named in the Wilson–Davis notes.
- Unidentified anomalous phenomena — The U.S. government's current term for unidentified objects in the air, in space and underwater.
- Defense Intelligence Agency — The Pentagon's military intelligence agency, which ran AAWSAP.
- Non-human intelligence — A term for intelligent beings of non-human origin, used in UAP legislation.
- Edgar Mitchell — Apollo 14 astronaut who spoke about UFOs and whose estate held the Wilson–Davis notes.
- NIDS — Robert Bigelow's research institute (1995–2004) that studied UFOs and other anomalies.
- David Grusch — Former intelligence officer who testified in 2023 that the U.S. has recovered non-human craft.
- AARO — The Pentagon office set up in 2022 to investigate UAP.
On the Timeline
- Norton AFB UFO files claim (1 September 2002) — A couple tells Vallée they saw a large collection of UFO files at Norton AFB in 1985.
- Nevada weapons storage orb (2002) (October 2002) — A three-foot orb is reported moving along fences at a Nevada nuclear weapons storage area.
See every 2002 event on the UAP Timeline →
References
- "The Wilson/Davis notes — latest data", UFOs Scientific Research (Oct 2020) · ufos-scientificresearch.blogspot.com · archived copy
- Wilson/Davis memo research site · daviswilsonmemo.github.io · archived copy
- Thomas R. Wilson — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- 2022 United States Congress hearings on UFOs — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- "Pentagon UFO office finds 'no empirical evidence' for alien technology in new report", Space.com (Mar 2024) · space.com · archived copy
- Documents on the vetting of 'Skinwalkers at the Pentagon' — The Black Vault · theblackvault.com · archived copy
- Skinwalkers at the Pentagon: book review — Bad UFOs (Robert Sheaffer) · badufos.blogspot.com · archived copy
- AARO Report on the Historical Record, Volume I — The Black Vault · theblackvault.com · archived copy
- documentcloud.org · documentcloud.org · archived copy
- isgp-studies.com · isgp-studies.com · archived copy
- youtu.be · youtu.be · archived copy
- sgp.fas.org · sgp.fas.org · archived copy
Further reading
- Majestic 12 — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- Majestic 12 file — FBI Vault · vault.fbi.gov · archived copy
- Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- Thomas R. Wilson — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
This page was last edited on 29 October 2026. Articles are written in our own words from the sources listed under References; disputed claims are attributed to the people who made them.
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