As a new recruit in the military an undersized enlistee was given a mysterious serum that helped give an ordinary man some extraordinary abilities. No, this isn’t Captain America’s origin, but the story of Don Siedenburg; a man who claims he was fed an alien food source as part of a military experiment in the 1950s.
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Siedenburg’s story was an obscure one as MUFON deemed it not worthy of their time, and the link to a lengthy video interview he did from 2016 was just floating around on a few message boards. Siedenburg was eager to share his story with this site and provided paper work to help corroborate his story. The military records were legit, and his blood work was looked at by a nurse here and said to be “exceptional” for a man his age. He also attribute his great health, basketball prowess, exercise habits and increased focus to the experiments that happened over 50 years ago. Siedenburg also believes if the serum he was given was able to be duplicated there wouldn’t be a world hunger problem.
There will be skeptics who will dismiss this story from its bold claims, and a critical eye is always necessary when investigating these cases, but through dealing with Siedenburg he seems like a genuine, eager guy who just wants his story to be told.
The following account is from Siedenburg himself, and has only been edited for AP style, grammar or clarity.
His story starts fresh out of high school. …
My story begins with my trip from Savanna, Illinois to Edwards Air Force Base in California when I was 18 years old. On May 28, 1954,the day of my high school graduation,I went from Savanna to the U. S. Army Ordnance Base to meet with my recruiter/handler who went by the name of Buck. The U.S.Army Base was nine miles from Savanna.
We met at base Commander Colonel L. A. Burbank's office where I signed the U. S. government's non-disclosure agreement covering my silence regarding a U. S. Army Medical Experiment that I had volunteer for as part of my enlistment in the U. S. Army. Along with Colonel Burbank, handler Buck, and my father, Albert Siedenburg, who was a 12- year employee at the U. S.Army Ordnance Base, they all witnessed my signature on this important document.
As you will note from my Discharge Document,DD214, my date of entry to the U. S. Army was June 1, 1954 in Chicago, Illinois. Since Chicago was a 130 mile train ride from Savanna,handler Buck and I spent the day of June l at the U. S. Army Induction Center in Chicago submitting my enlistment papers. We went back to Savanna that evening.
On June 2, 1954, handler Buck and I boarded a U. S. Army C-47 airplane at the U. S. Army Ordnance Depot at Savanna around noon and flew to Edwards Air Force Base in California. The distance was 1,500 miles as the "crow flies". We stopped three times before landing at Edwards at about 5 a.m. on June 3, l954. Buck and I were the only passengers on the plane and the flight crew numbered three. The plane was primarily used for cargo shipments, and was not comfortable. When we reached Edwards the plane taxied to a hanger and we unloaded our gear.
A story about Don Siedenburg’s basket ball skills.
Up to this point in our association, handler Buck had been very congenial and friendly. However, after we left the U. S. Army Ordnance Base in Savanna, I would soon find out that Buck's demeanor would change, and I was sternly given the no-nonsense details for my next three weeks during the flight to Edwards. Buck took out two pictures from his briefcase. One was the flying saucer that had crashed somewhere, and the other was two expired crew members.
The coming project that I had volunteered for was a three week space alien flight simulation and I was the crew member. The surroundings were similar in size to the crashed space ship in the picture. I would eat, sleep, exercise,and be a space ship crew member. I was medically monitored daily,and the hypnotist constantly reminded me of my secrecy oath. They were very concerned about claustrophobia, and other physical concerns. Handler Buck was the supervisor. I spoke to no one about this experience until I reached the age of 80.
When I was interviewing with the recruiting officer at the U. S. Army Ordnance Base in Savanna, and I agreed to participating in the experiment, the alien food source was discussed. I assumed the food source was found in the crashed ship. Besides telling me the food source has been subjected to lab mice for a period of time, I was told the food source had never been tested on humans. They also admitted that I was the first one to qualify physically (5'3" and 120 pounds) for the study.
The time was 8 a.m. on June 3, l954 and the experiment began with Buck giving me table spoon of what they called the Serum. There was no immediate reaction. The Serum had no taste,was odorless, white in color and a thick liquid. Before I was given the Serum,I had not eaten for about six hours and that was only a box lunch on the plane. They ask me if I had been hungry and what was the reaction to my first dose of the space food. My hunger had almost immediately passed, and I was to remind them when or if I got hungry again.
Well,my hunger never came back during the three week period. I was given a table spoon of Serum every morning at 8 a.m. for the next 20 days. My thoughts about Serum was how amazing it was.
During the three weeks I was kept very busy. My exercise monitor introduced me to what they called the "Isometric Bar" found on the crashed space ship. I worked out with this item frequently. He showed me six or seven positions to get the most circulation benefit. At the end of the three week experiment my monitors were pleased with the results. They appeared to be surprised on how effective the Serum was.
On June 24, 1954,I said goodbye to my friend Buck, and the other monitors and I boarded a similar U S. Army - C-47 airplane for my 1400 mile trip to Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri.
Don Siedenburg’s recent blood work.
Private Siedenburg spent the next eight weeks learning how to be an infantryman followed by eight weeks at the Army Administration Clerk Typist School.
After that I was sent to Orleans, France and the U. S. Army Engineer Supply Control Center for a two and a half years. I spent all my duty time as a typist and eventually becoming a "speed typist!" My duty station was 60 miles south of Paris.
It was surprising to me when I got 12 extra doses of the Serum after a tonsillectomy operation at an Orleans Hospital. Since I couldn't eat solid foods for twelve days after the operation the Serum fit the bill. I was also surprised to find out my friends at Edwards were still following my progress.
Well, this concludes my experience from June 3, 1954 until June 24, ,1954 with this medical experiment and I have waited all these years to tell my story. Now that I have reached 83 years of age; many times I have wondered just what the world would have been like had someone been able to duplicate the Serum! World hunger would be a thing of the past. …
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Jordan Pease did the initial video interview in 2016 and described Siedenburg as " honest and sincere, and his story deserves much more attention” in a previous Punk rock and UFOS story.
This being the third story Punk rock and UFOs have done on him, and in dealing with Siedenburg it is deemed his story (true or false) is important to be told. After several phone and e-mail correspondents, Siedenburg remained helpful and sincere in his intentions to have his story told. In conversing with him he mentioned he enjoyed the CW special “Roswell: Mysteries Decoded” and when it was suggested he read “The Day After Roswell” by Phil Corso he obliged and read it and another book on the subject within days.
While he’s not the first to claim involvement in UFO /military based experiments, Siedenburg’s story alleges a lot of circumstances that could shed new light to the UFO debate.
-By MIKE DAMANTE