Podcast episode · American Alchemy · 7 September 2026
Mario Woods and Michael Johnson reunite after 49 years
Jesse Michels' team finds Michael Johnson, Mario Woods' missing partner from the November 1977 encounter at Ellsworth launch facility November-5, and brings the two men together in Austin. Johnson recalled 'the UFO' unprompted on the first call, gives his own account of the night and the medical that followed, and is regressed on camera by Yvonne Smith. Michels walks through the forged L-9 report and the old chain that names Richard Doty as its author, and the nuclear-sites cases from Ellsworth 1953 to Malmstrom.
Timeline
On the recordWitness testimonyAlleged / one person's word
People across the timeline · click a name or a dot
Click a person to follow their thread.
1961
Saucers over a Port Arthur churchWoods, aged six, with his mother
Nov 1977
Close Encounters opensWoods walks out of the theatre
2008
UFOs and NukesHastings' book; Woods and Johnson in it
18 Nov 2026
Voyager 1 one light-day outNASA date; 49 years after the night
The claims, checked
On the record (8)
Johnson, prompted only with 'Ellsworth, 1977, November-5', said 'Oh, the UFO... it was big... it was white'.Recorded cold call of 26 June 2026, aired in the episode.firsthandMichael JohnsonTwo airmen and a craft at an Ellsworth missile site
November-5 is the launch facility nearest a town, and Woods woke behind a reservoir dam near Newell.The wing's site list puts N-05 2.1 miles west of Newell; the Belle Fourche Reservoir (Orman Dam) lies just outside the town.firsthandMario WoodsTwo airmen and a craft at an Ellsworth missile site
The L-9 report is a fake.No matching Air Force record, misspellings, two Social Security numbers ending 7556, survey-meter readings that don't fit (Brad Sparks).analysisJesse MichelsThe 'Lima-9' security report, Ellsworth AFB (Nov 1977)
L-9 lies about 8 miles from November-5 in the same squadron.From the wing's site coordinates.analysisthis projectThe 'Lima-9' security report, Ellsworth AFB (Nov 1977)Two airmen and a craft at an Ellsworth missile site
Ellsworth 1953: radar lock and an F-84 chase; Ruppelt called it one of Blue Book's best.Blue Book case; Menzel proposed the star Capella (natural cause proposed, not demonstrated).analysisJesse MichelsEllsworth radar-visual chase
Doty fed Paul Bennewitz fake stories and documents.Doty's own admissions; Greg Bishop's Project Beta.firsthandRichard DotyDisinformation by design
Close Encounters came out the same week as Woods' night.Released 16 November 1977.analysisJesse Michels
Voyager 1 reaches one light-day from Earth on 18 November 2026, 49 years after the night.NASA date; 'to the hour' depends on settling the night.analysisJesse Michels
Witness testimony (8)
An object wider than the fence line hung over November-5; light came down on the truck; beings approached; both men lost about five hours.Two named firsthand witnesses.firsthandMario Woods and Michael JohnsonMario WoodsMichael JohnsonTwo airmen and a craft at an Ellsworth missile site
A flight surgeon took a skin sample from Woods; Johnson was given an injection and pentothal was mentioned.Their own accounts; any record would be medical.firsthandMario Woods and Michael JohnsonMario WoodsMichael JohnsonTwo airmen and a craft at an Ellsworth missile site
Johnson got an Article 15 and a re-entry code that kept him out of the Marines and Navy.In his own service record, which he can request.firsthandMichael Johnson
Woods' right glove went missing that night; Johnson recalled a silver glove on a shiny floor.Checked on camera decades later.firsthandMario Woods and Michael JohnsonMario WoodsMichael Johnson
Woods saw three saucers over a Port Arthur church in 1961.Childhood memory; no record found.firsthandMario Woods
Malmstrom 1967: missiles offline with an object over the gate.Salas' '30 missiles lost' is his own figure.firsthandRobert SalasMissiles shut down at Malmstrom
Big Sur 1964: Bob Jacobs filmed an object beaming a dummy warhead; Major Mansmann backed him.Firsthand accounts; the film never surfaced.firsthandBob Jacobs; Florenz MansmannBig Sur: a beam at an Atlas warhead
Bigelow has said aliens walk among us.He told 60 Minutes (2017) they are 'right under our noses'.firsthandRobert Bigelow
Alleged / one person's word (5)
Two Meade County deputies and a state trooper were sent that night.Secondhand to Woods, but it names a record outside Air Force control.secondhanda deputy's family member → Mario Woods → told itMario WoodsTwo airmen and a craft at an Ellsworth missile site
Richard Doty was the junior OSI agent at Woods' debrief.Woods recognised him on TV in 2014; Michels says Doty admitted it on a podcast. Not found in any Doty statement; Johnson's ID from a photo is not firm.secondhandMario Woods → Jesse Michels → told itRichard DotyMario WoodsTwo airmen and a craft at an Ellsworth missile site
Doty confessed to forging the L-9 report and said the incident really happened.Hastings 1989; four links from Doty.secondhandRichard Doty → Bill Moore → Bruce Maccabee → Robert Hastings → told itRobert HastingsRichard DotyThe 'Lima-9' security report, Ellsworth AFB (Nov 1977)Two airmen and a craft at an Ellsworth missile site
Under hypnosis both men describe beings, a table and Johnson asking 'Why am I here?'Two regressions agree, but hypnosis-recovered memory stays a lead.firsthandMichael Johnson and Mario Woods (Yvonne Smith)Yvonne SmithMichael JohnsonMario Woods
A Los Alamos operator told Woods the craft are 'grown, not built'.Unnamed source.secondhandunnamed Los Alamos operator → Mario Woods → told itMario Woods
Doesn't hold as stated (2)
The L-9 paper was dated a day before Woods' night.Not settled: the paper says 16 November, Woods says 18 November 1977.analysisJesse MichelsThe 'Lima-9' security report, Ellsworth AFB (Nov 1977)Two airmen and a craft at an Ellsworth missile site
Gise, who showed Malmgren the Bluegill debris, was Jeff Bezos' grandfather and founder of DARPA.He was Bezos' grandfather and worked at the AEC and ARPA; 'founder' overstates it.analysisJesse MichelsHarald Malmgren