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John S. Herrington

Reagan's Secretary of Energy who reportedly cried every night after being briefed about UFOs at an underground facility, later telling a family friend that aliens are real and he had seen them.

FieldDetails
Full NameJohn Stewart Herrington
BornMay 31, 1939
RoleFormer Government Official / Cabinet Secretary
Positions HeldAssistant Secretary of the Navy (1981–1983), Deputy Assistant for Presidential Personnel (1983–1985), Secretary of Energy (1985–1989)
AdministrationRonald Reagan
EducationA.B. Stanford University (1961); LL.B. University of California Hastings College of Law (1964)
PartyRepublican
Evidence RatingMODERATE EVIDENCE

The UFO Briefing Claim​

According to Hollywood writer-producer Brent Friedman, a family friend of Herrington's, the Secretary was briefed for approximately six to eight weeks at an underground facility outside of Washington (reportedly in West Virginia). The experience was so profound that Herrington allegedly cried himself to sleep every night during the briefing period.

The Exact Quote​

"I had to be briefed and I lived in an underground facility in West Virginia for months and every night after they would brief me I would cry myself to sleep.

This is not the world I thought I brought my daughters into. Aliens are real, they are here, and I've seen them."

— John S. Herrington, as relayed by Hollywood director Brent Friedman

Background​

John Stewart Herrington was born in Los Angeles, California, on May 31, 1939. He earned his undergraduate degree from Stanford University in 1961 and his law degree from the University of California Hastings College of Law in 1964. He practiced law privately from 1965 to 1981, primarily in San Francisco, and served as a deputy district attorney of Ventura County.

In the Reagan Administration, Herrington served in increasingly senior positions:

  • Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Manpower and Reserve Affairs) — 1981 to 1983
  • Deputy Assistant to the President for Presidential Personnel — 1983 to 1985
  • Secretary of Energy — February 7, 1985 to January 20, 1989

As Secretary of Energy, Herrington oversaw the Department of Energy, which manages the nation's nuclear weapons complex, nuclear energy research, and the national laboratory system — institutions with deep connections to classified aerospace and defense programs.

After government service, Herrington became Chairman of Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich, Inc.

How the Story Became Public​

The account was made public by Bryce Zabel, co-creator of the NBC series Dark Skies (1996–1997), and his writing partner Brent V. Friedman. Friedman was a family friend of Herrington's — Herrington had asked Friedman to drive his car across the country in 1981 when Herrington took his first position in the Reagan administration.

According to Friedman, Herrington later confided in him about the UFO briefing experience. The story was included in Zabel and Richard Dolan's book A.D. After Disclosure and has been discussed on Zabel and Friedman's podcast Sound, Light & Frequency, which investigates the relationship between UFO disclosure and Hollywood.

Key Details of the Account​

  • Duration: Six to eight weeks of briefings
  • Location: Underground facility outside Washington, reportedly in West Virginia
  • Emotional Impact: Cried himself to sleep nightly during the briefing period
  • Core Claim: "There is intelligent life in the universe. It's here. And I've seen it."
  • Personal Impact: Expressed anguish about the world his daughters were growing up in

Why This Matters​

Herrington's position as Secretary of Energy is significant. The Department of Energy:

  • Manages the nation's nuclear weapons stockpile and production complex
  • Oversees the national laboratory system (Los Alamos, Sandia, Lawrence Livermore, Oak Ridge)
  • Controls some of the most highly classified programs in the U.S. government
  • Has historically been connected to crash retrieval and reverse-engineering allegations (per David Grusch's 2023 congressional testimony)

If Herrington was briefed on UAP-related programs, his position would have given him access to programs run through the national labs and nuclear weapons complex — precisely the kind of legacy programs that UAP whistleblowers have described.

The Counterargument​

  • The account is secondhand — it comes from Brent Friedman relaying what Herrington told him privately, not from Herrington making a public statement
  • Herrington has not made any public, on-the-record statements about UFOs or aliens
  • No official documentation confirms that such a briefing took place
  • The underground facility in West Virginia could refer to the Greenbrier bunker (a known continuity-of-government facility), but this connection is speculative
  • Critics note that Friedman and Zabel have professional interests in UFO-related entertainment content (Dark Skies, podcasts), which could influence their incentive to share such stories

Connection to the Reagan Administration and UFOs​

President Reagan himself had a documented interest in UFOs:

  • Reagan reported witnessing a UFO during a 1974 plane flight while governor of California, corroborated by his pilot Bill Paynter
  • In a famous 1987 speech to the United Nations General Assembly, Reagan said: "I occasionally think how quickly our differences worldwide would vanish if we were facing an alien threat from outside this world"
  • Reagan reportedly referenced alien threats in private conversations and public speeches on multiple occasions

The fact that Reagan's own Secretary of Energy allegedly had a profound UAP briefing experience fits within a broader pattern of Reagan-era officials reportedly having knowledge of UFO programs.

See Also​

  • UAP Pillar — Part of the consciousness research pillar on government officials and UAP disclosure

Sources​

This information was built by Grok and Claude AI research.