Kriti Mehrotra
As a documentary that delves deep into the congressional efforts to uncover what intelligence agencies really know about UAPs (UFOs), ‘The Program’ really breaks all bounds. That’s because it incorporates not just archival footage but also exclusive interviews with politicians, witnesses, and experts alike to really shine a light upon whether there is non-human intelligence and existence or not. Among those to thus feature in this original was Fredrick “Fred” Claussen, who served in the United States Air Force as a fighter pilot for years and himself has a strange story to tell.
Fred Claussen is a Vietnam War Veteran
Although a native of Nebraska, Fred was just a young boy when he enrolled in the United States Air Force, thinking he would be serving the nation, and ended up stationed in Florida. It was there he pursued his higher education while also climbing the ladder in the military, unaware his whole world would turn upside down in 1970. After all, that’s when he fought in the Vietnam War, where he claims his F105 fighter jet essentially became an extension of him. The likelihood of death at every step was not something he wasn’t aware of, but it became evident to him in September.
After all, on September 23, 1970, Fred saved the life of a fellow pilot after the latter jet took a terrible hit. It was apparent he wouldn’t make it to the nearest landing site and had to eject, so the former circled overhead, drawing closer and shooting off any potential enemies while his friend ejected and drifted to the ground unconscious, dangling from a bullet hole-ridden parachute. Fred sadly couldn’t help him further as he himself was losing fuel, so he called in the location so a rescue team could hurry, and his decision to stay those extra seconds and help earned him his second Distinguished Flying Cross.
By this point, Fred had named his jet Christie after his daughter, so when he flew this plane back to the US by himself in October 1970 from the Takhli Royal Thai Air Force Base in central Thailand, it earned a distinction in itself. So, today, it remains that he is the last fighter pilot to ever fly that Republic F-105D jet in combat, and it is now in possession of the American Airpower Museum in Farmingdale in New York. It is on loan to them by the United States Air Force.
Fred Claussen Has a Lot of Trauma From His Time in The Air Force
While Fred’s experience in the Vietnam War gave him post-traumatic stress disorder owing to how hectic everything was and how he lost any of his friends either during or after from suicide, he remained dedicated to his work. In fact, he gradually became a Colonel and conceded that he missed being on jets owing to the adrenaline rush it gave him. However, he never could have imagined that the spring of 1980 would turn even this around as he would allegedly come face to face with a UAP.
As per Fred’s own narrative, he was a colonel when he was scrambled to see a disturbance in the air over the North Sea by his superiors, only for it to change his life. According to his own accounts in the aforementioned original, he saw a golden glowing orb the shape of a football hovering over the sky and making no noise. He couldn’t discern any prior or propulsion system either, meaning it was as if it wasn’t man-made at all. Therefore, he decided to get closer to see what it was and what the fuss was all about, only to be left confused when it suddenly took off.
As per Fred’s account, though, this aircraft didn’t move in the direction he expected; instead, it shot straight up before disappearing in the blink of an eye. What’s even stranger is that when he returned, he was told by his supervisors to forget what he had seen, and even the photographs/videos he had taken were confiscated from his vessel for good. He was essentially told to remain quiet, or he would face severe consequences, so he remained calm about every aspect of this until 2024, when he realized UAPs were being taken seriously by congress.
Fred Claussen Now Leads a Quiet Life
At the age of 82, Nebraska-turned-Florida resident Fred currently seems to be leading his best possible life as a retired fleet manager in every sense of the term. Yes, he does want the truth of what he allegedly witnessed to come to light with the clear assertion that the higher-ups did interfere in such instances since at least the 1980s, but he is also leading a good life with his family. After all, he is not only a loving husband and father but also now a loving grandfather whose priorities these days are travel, spending time with loved ones, and making the best of every moment he has with them. He is proud of everything he has achieved, and he will let no one and nothing that away from him.
