Vale, Stanton Friedman

Mac Tonnies and Stan Friedman at the 2006
New Frontiers Symposium in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

"The American-born nuclear physicist turned full-time UFO investigator - or ufologist - never actually spotted a flying saucer himself in more than six decades of research on the subject... But UFO believers and enthusiasts around the world held him in high regard, and he gave more than 700 lectures titled “Flying Saucers Are Real” at institutions in the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and elsewhere over the course of his career.

Throughout his career, Friedman was aggressive about his beliefs and always claimed to have an answer to whatever question the “debunkers” - as he often referred to UFO skeptics - could throw at him. One of his most famous sayings was: “Don't be an apologist ufologist.”

The editor of UFO Truth Magazine, Gary Heseltine, described Friedman as the 'greatest ufologist of all time.'"

- Excerpt from a Newsweek article reporting on the passing of Stanton Friedman, May 13th of this year.

"Despite intermittent correspondence and having read his books, I'd never actually seen Stan Friedman in person until the Symposium. It was worth the wait. Stan's a virtuoso speaker and makes a provocative case against both the "SETI cultists" (his term -- and an apt one) and the "noisy negativists" who deride the possibility that some UFOs could very well be extraterrestrial craft. Regardless of your take on the Roswell incident, one of Friedman's pet cases, there are few, if any, rational arguments against his modest proposition that technological progress comes from doing things in unexpected ways."

- Mac Tonnies from an October 18, 2006 PHB post.

"In "TOP SECRET/MAJIC," Friedman provides a detailed examination of the Roswell UFO crash and subsequent cover-up, challenging the reader with an exhaustive analysis of the "MJ-12" documents: apparent TOP SECRET documents detailing security procedures in the wake of the Roswell Incident. Friedman also tears into the criticisms of arch-debunkers Philip Klass and Carl Sagan. "TOP SECRET/MAJIC" includes the never-before-published "SOM1-01" MJ-12 manual, an apparent "field guide" to extraterrestrial crash recovery leaked to writer Don Berliner ("Crash at Corona"). Friedman remains a voice worth hearing."

- Mac's review of Stanton Friedman's TOP SECRET/ MAJIC found on his website page: UFO Book Reviews.

"Paul Kimball's posted another excellent clip of ufologist Stan Friedman. While I agree with Friedman on relatively little when it comes to the nature and ultimate meaning of specific UFO encounters (such as Roswell or the Hill abduction), his ability to cast light on the bureaucratic and media implications of the phenomenon in general is always engaging. I saw him speak (for free) last year and would gladly pay to see him again -- even knowing I'd find myself objecting to many of his conclusions."

- Mac Tonnies from a September 07, 2007 PHB post.

***

I was over at Radio Misterioso earlier today and was sad when I read Greg Bishop's most recent posting and learned of Stan Friedman's death. (See: Stanton Friedman - Recollections.) It's like the official ending of an era... the "Old Guard" of early UFO researchers who, on occasion, still let slip antiquated terms like "flying saucer."

But, I think few would deny that Stanton Friedman will always be remembered as one of the Greats of ufology and, in my eyes, he was the first person - a former physicist - to give any real credibility to UFOs. 20 years ago he was the go-to guy for any serious discussion regarding extraterrestrials - on television or otherwise. In other words, it was men like Stan who brought the subject of UFOs to the public's attention.

Mac always admired and respected Stan, and I sensed that, regardless of their differences of opinion, he felt a type of affection for him. Stanton Friedman had a great investigative mind, wit, and a sense of humor that will be missed in the field of ufology.

(Happy trails to you, Mr. Friedman.)


(Of note: Nick Redfern has also posted about Stan here. And Paul Kimball announced Stan's retirement last year with a review of his long career. Incidentally, Mac's cartoon which appears on the cover of the second Posthuman Blues compilation is a caricature of Stan and can also be found here.)

(Additional links - 5/23/2019.) I had reason to use the library computers today and finally got to visit my old favorite site, the Daily Grail. My obsolete computer system prevents me from visiting about 50% of what's on the web now. Anyway, while there I found a nice tribute to Stan Friedman by Red Pill Junkie from May 15th, and news of another tribute by the New York Times (which I also can't access anymore). (BTW, guys, love that new DG logo of yours... and if it isn't new, well, then I guess I've been away too long.)

(Recently found at Mysterious Universe: Legendary Physicist and UFO Researcher Stanton Friedman Dies at 84.)