Quick Info
On April 16, 1997, Admiral Thomas Wilson, then Deputy Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) and Vice Admiral in the U.S. Navy, met with physicist Dr. Eric Davis in a parked car outside a Las Vegas hotel. During a 45-minute conversation, Wilson confirmed the existence of a deeply hidden UFO crash-retrieval and reverse-engineering program that even he, with his top-level clearances, was denied access to. Davis took detailed handwritten notes on the spot. Those notes became the famous 15-page "Wilson-Davis memo" that leaked in 2002 and resurfaced again in 2019–2021.
The memo is widely regarded as one of the most explosive pieces of evidence ever to surface in UAP history: a sitting flag officer admitting that a secret program holds recovered non-human craft and bodies, and that the system is so compartmented it excludes even the President, Congress, and most of the military/intelligence leadership.
Who is Eric Davis?
Eric W. Davis is a physicist with a long career in breakthrough propulsion physics and advanced aerospace research. He holds a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Arizona and has worked on classified and unclassified programs involving warp drives, anti-gravity, and exotic propulsion concepts. In the 1990s he was a key researcher for the National Institute for Discovery Science (NIDS), founded by Robert Bigelow to study UFOs and paranormal phenomena using rigorous scientific methods. He also consulted for the Defense Intelligence Agency's AAWSAP program (Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications Program) and later worked with Bigelow Aerospace on advanced space technologies.
Davis was already deep in the UFO research world by 1997, investigating crash-retrieval claims, interviewing witnesses, and trying to get inside the black projects rumored to hold recovered craft. He was trusted by high-level insiders because of his scientific credentials and discretion. When mutual contacts suggested Admiral Wilson might be willing to talk, Davis flew to Las Vegas with a notebook ready. He knew the meeting could be career-ending if it leaked prematurely, so he documented everything carefully and kept the notes private for years, sharing only with trusted colleagues like Hal Puthoff.
When the memo finally surfaced, Davis publicly confirmed it was genuine and that the conversation happened exactly as written. His reputation as a serious scientist gives the document enormous credibility, this wasn’t a tabloid writer or fringe figure; it was a Ph.D. physicist with government contracts taking verbatim notes from a flag officer.
Who Was Admiral Thomas Wilson?
Thomas E. Wilson was a career U.S. Navy officer who rose to the rank of Vice Admiral. By 1997 he was Deputy Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), one of the highest intelligence positions in the U.S. government, and had held top-secret and special-access clearances throughout his career. He had served in key roles involving naval intelligence, strategic planning, and oversight of classified programs. He was not some mid-level bureaucrat; he was a three-star admiral with access to virtually every compartmented program in the defense and intelligence community, except, as he told Davis, the one involving recovered non-human craft.
Wilson was known for being direct, no-nonsense, and deeply frustrated by bureaucratic roadblocks. When he met Davis, he was angry, not at Davis, but at the system that had locked him out despite his clearances. He named names, described the compartmented structure, and confirmed the program held "vehicles" and "biologics" of non-human origin. When reporters later confronted him about the leaked memo in 2002, Wilson did not deny the meeting or the conversation, he said only that he could not comment, and that the document "speaks for itself." That non-denial from a man of his rank and position is seen as powerful corroboration. He retired from the Navy in 2001 and has remained silent since, but he never disavowed the meeting or the content of Davis’s notes.
Timeline of the Wilson-Davis Meeting & the Memo
Reconstructed from Eric Davis's handwritten notes, the leaked memo, Admiral Wilson's 2002 non-denial/confirmation statements, and later public confirmations by Davis and others.
- Early 1997 Dr. Eric Davis, a physicist working on advanced propulsion research for the National Institute for Discovery Science (NIDS) and Bigelow Aerospace, is investigating UFO crash-retrieval claims. He is put in contact with Admiral Thomas Wilson through mutual government channels.
- April 16, 1997 – Las Vegas Wilson and Davis meet in a parked car outside Wilson's hotel after a conference. Davis has a notebook ready. Wilson, frustrated and angry, confirms the existence of a secret program involving recovered non-human craft and bodies. He says he was denied access despite his clearances and position as Deputy Director of DIA. He names the program manager and describes the compartmented structure that excludes even the President and Congress.
- During the conversation Wilson tells Davis the program is real, that he tried to get in and was blocked, that the gatekeepers threatened his career if he pushed further. He describes the recovered craft as "vehicles" and the bodies as "non-human biologics." Davis writes everything down verbatim in real time.
- Post-meeting Davis keeps the 15-page notes private but shares the essence with trusted colleagues (including Hal Puthoff and others in the UAP research community). The memo circulates quietly among insiders for years.
- 2002 The Wilson-Davis memo leaks online (first via a UFO forum, later hosted on multiple archives). Wilson is confronted by reporters and does not deny the meeting or the content, he says "I can't comment" and that the document "speaks for itself." This non-denial is seen as powerful corroboration.
- 2019–2021 The memo resurfaces strongly during the UAP Task Force era. Eric Davis publicly confirms the meeting happened exactly as described in the notes. Multiple sources (including Lue Elizondo and others in intelligence) say the document is authentic and accurately reflects what Wilson told Davis. The memo becomes central to congressional UAP hearings and briefings.
- 2023–2026 The Wilson-Davis memo is cited in every major UAP disclosure discussion. Davis reaffirms its accuracy in interviews. Wilson remains silent but has never disavowed the conversation. The document is now seen as one of the strongest pieces of evidence that crash retrieval and reverse-engineering programs exist, and are hidden even from most of the government.
Key Excerpts from the Wilson-Davis Memo
Here are some of the most powerful and frequently quoted lines from Eric Davis's handwritten notes of the conversation (paraphrased slightly for readability, but faithful to the leaked document).
"There is a program. I was denied access. They told me it was above my clearance level and that if I pushed it, my career would be over. The program involves recovered vehicles and biologics, non-human."
– Admiral Thomas Wilson (to Eric Davis, April 16, 1997)
"The program is so compartmented that even the President, the Congress, and most of the military/intelligence leadership are cut out. It's buried deep. They threatened me when I tried to get in."
– Admiral Thomas Wilson (to Eric Davis)
"I met the program manager. He confirmed the vehicles are real. The biologics are non-human. They have been recovered from crashes. The program has been running for decades."
– Admiral Thomas Wilson (to Eric Davis)
The Wilson-Davis Meeting – What Really Happened
Admiral Thomas Wilson was no low-level bureaucrat. In 1997 he was Deputy Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), Vice Admiral in the U.S. Navy, and had held top-secret clearances his entire career. Eric Davis was a physicist working on breakthrough propulsion physics for Bigelow Aerospace and NIDS. Davis had been investigating UFO crash-retrieval claims and was told Wilson might be willing to talk.
The two met in Las Vegas after a conference. They sat in Wilson's rental car in the parking lot. Davis had a notebook ready. Wilson, visibly angry and frustrated, poured out the story: he had tried to access a rumored program involving recovered non-human craft and bodies. He was blocked at every level. The gatekeepers told him the program was real, above his clearance, and that pushing further would end his career.
Wilson named the program manager, described the compartmented structure, and confirmed the existence of "vehicles" and "biologics." Davis wrote it all down in real time. The meeting lasted about 45 minutes. Wilson never denied the conversation when confronted later, he simply said he could not comment.
Great video on the Wilson Davis Memo from UAPGerb
More videos from the great UAPGerb
Legacy in 2026
Almost 30 years after the meeting, the Wilson-Davis memo remains one of the most explosive pieces of evidence in UAP history. A sitting flag officer with top clearances admits under no duress that a secret program holds recovered non-human craft and bodies, and that even he was locked out. The memo has been confirmed by Davis himself, referenced in congressional briefings, and cited by every major UAP whistleblower since 2017.
In 2026, with UAP hearings forcing more transparency, the document is seen as the smoking gun that crash retrieval programs exist, are deeply compartmented, and have been hidden from Congress and the President for decades. The silence from Wilson and the refusal of the government to address it directly only adds fuel to the fire. This is not just a story, it's a window into the reality that has been kept from the public since at least 1947.
