U-Boats and UFOs

I've been fascinated with the Antarctic ever since I read the real life adventure book "South!" by Sir Ernest Shackleton. It tells the story of Shackleton's ill-begotten expedition to the South Pole in 1914, and if you have never read it you should, because it will fill you with awe at what we humans are capable of... After the expedition's ship, the Endurance, got caught in the icepack and was slowly ground to toothpicks, Shackleton and his men somehow found a way to survive on the ice for two years with virtually no hope of rescue. In the end, all the dogs died, and more than a few penguins ended up being served for dinner, but not a single man was lost.

Of course, the book would have been much shorter if Shackleton and his men had come across the secret Antarctic UFO base. Then again, they might not have survived the encounter, in which case there wouldn't have been a book at all. It would have to wait until WWII, when Admiral Byrd of the U.S. Navy led 4,000 Allied troops to Antarctica in what was known as "Operation Highjump" that the UFOs at the South Pole became a thing. Byrd, who was sent to "invade" Antarctica, allegedly encountered mysterious flying craft that are surrounded by mystery even today.

What a story! It's got everything: War! Nazis! Aliens! U-boats! Secret bases! UFOs! And. at the heart of the legend, the central mystery: were the flying ships piloted by Nazis, or aliens? No one knows for sure, but I can tell you one thing: in 4 months' time, we may all know.

Why do I say this? Well, my Dad, who turns 90 this November 15th and who has in his lifetime visited 6 of the 7 continents, decided last week to go visit Antarctica this December, and to take me and four of my siblings along for the ride.

My sister and brothers and I are still in disbelief. It had been a long-running conversation in the family that someday we would take Dad to Antarctica so that he could fulfill his dream of reaching every continent, but it always seemed pretty unattainable, for all the usual reasons: money; time; etc. Then out of the blue Dad decided to take us instead! Pretty cool guy, that Dad of mine.

I have about 4 months to prepare, and I plan to study up on "Operation Highjump" and try to figure out where Byrd and his men supposedly saw the flying saucers. Now, the secret Nazi U-Boat base that some say was connected to the UFOs is in what the Germans called Neuschwabenland, or New Swabia, and that is about a quarter of the way around the continent from where we will be making landfall at the Antarctic Peninsula. Still, I can hope... We'll be there 4 or 5 days, and, weather permitting, will make landfall several times. While my family and the other tourists are petting penguins, I'll be looking for odd, unearthly bits of metal protruding from the ice, or telltale landing pad impressions on the beach, or desiccated, shrivelled-up little corpses, or, better yet, the actual hole in the ice that leads to the secret U-Boat/UFO base...

Wait: the Nazis were working with the aliens and they still lost the war?

The point is, who has ever had the sheer, unmitigated audacity to head to the South Pole to investigate this story in the field? Has anyone ever before in the history of UFOlogy been bold enough to have their Dad take them to Antarctica so they could boldly investigate Byrd's story? I think not. Not Vallee. Not Hynek. Not Redfern. Not Dolan. Not Carey. Not Greer. Not even Adam Dew. Once again, I'm scooping them all.

Who knows? Maybe a year from now I'll be renting out the national auditorium in Mexico City to unveil a smoking gun of my own. Maybe I won't even charge you anything.