11. The Air Force attended demonstrations of mental telepathy in 1957
Henry Puharich was an American-born parapsychological researcher, who obtained his MD from Northwestern University in 1947. In the early 1950s, he presented several papers on the subject of parapsychological research, drawing the attention of the CIA and defense intelligence agencies. The interest of the CIA and military intelligence drew the attention of the FBI. In September 1957, FBI agents interviewed the Chief of the Aero Medical Division, Air Force Offices of Scientific Research, one Dr. Savely. Dr. Savely stated he had visited Puharich at his facility in Maine, described as “…a 20-room mansion on a 60-acre estate at Glen Cove, Maine”. Among the subjects discussed were from whence Puharich obtained his funding for his research, and what sort of experiments were carried out.
From Dr. Savely, the FBI learned that Puharich was funded mostly through private donations and that his experiments were largely in the area of communication through mental telepathy. He also stated, according to the memorandum describing the interview, that Puharich, “…appears to be dedicated to the study of the science of transmitting messages from one person to another through mental telepathy”. Dr. Savely was also of the opinion that Puharich’s “…work is worthwhile and that Puharich could do some good in this field”. Evidently, Puharich’s political leanings were also discussed because the reporting agent noted that Dr. Savely, “…knows nothing of a derogatory nature or anything concerning SUBJECT’s political feelings or affiliations.”