In 1967, Dr. Frank E. Stranges would introduce the world to Valiant Thor through the book “Stranger at the Pentagon”. Retelling a story that was 10 years in the making. But who was this man that was brought in to meet an alien from another world? Today we’ll explore Stranges’ life and perhaps gain some insight into this tale.

Some of my earliest info on Dr. Stranges would actually come from a story from The Minneapolis Star from January 8th, 1952, when Frank was abducted at gunpoint and forced to drive 75 miles. Nothing was stolen, as reportedly the gunman took his wallet and saw he was a minister and only had $2 on his person. Stranges was pastor at the Spring Lake Assemblies of God church (which was currently under construction).

Dr. Stranges would become involved in alien life when he was a student at Eastern Bible College in 1945, where his roommate would tell him a story of a UFO encounter. He was interviewed by the author Adam Gorightly in an interesting discussion, and it was made evident that there was interest in his followers for both extraterrestrial life and the word of the Bible (includes a discussion of his meeting Valiant Thor in 1959, and interactions with Howard Menger, who also figures into the Valiant Thor legend.)

By 1958, Frank would be advertising himself as a former special investigator (which lead him to be brought in on the Thor case naturally) while doing his Evangelism tour:

It is interesting to note that he was a member of the NICAP, not to be confused with the organization that he would later be the founder of the National Investigations Committee on Unidentified Flying Objects (NICUFO). By the time of this advertisement, he had also published his first book “Flying Saucerama” that same year by International Evangelism Crusades as mentioned in an article from that same paper. This would factor into what would follow Frank for most of his life as it brings into question his credibility:

The sixties would see Dr. Stranges making many appearances, and by 1960 he was already including Valiant Thor in his lectures, even before the book.

Also in 1960, the FBI would start inquiries into Dr. Stranges, in FOIA requests previously submitted and open to public inspection, a Bureau letter dated 10/17/60 would discuss Stranges’ lectures and the book “Flying Saucerama” inferring that his special investigator status was issued by the FBI or that Frank was, in fact, a former FBI agent. In fact, the person who had made the complaint had attended several lectures and in reference to Valiant Thor, the FBI reported the following:

it further goes on to state in reference to printed fliers and advertisements that (redacted) volunteered that he believed that the use of the phrase ‘Former Special Investigator’ might be misleading and he, therefore, intended to delete it from the newspaper ad (for the Seattle Revival Center visit on 10/26/1960)

I would be remiss if I didn’t talk a little about “My Friend from Beyond Earth” which was published in 1960 and could often be found at Frank’s lectures (and is mentioned frequently in the FBI FOIA).

Also included in the file is this interesting advertisement for “My Friend”:

This would be a great time to pull some of the threads together. It’s important to remember that according to Harley Byrd/Frank Stranges Val Thor came to Alexandria on 3/16/57. This of course brings us to John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” You can’t talk about the Valiant Thor case without seeing all the connections of a minister who ties a hunger for ufo stories, bringing forth this mysterious being that of course…knows and encourages the teachings of Jesus Christ.

As we read in Part 2, Harley Byrd’s endorsement of Frank Stranges’ story of going to the Pentagon simply did not hold weight. Neither does the obvious con man antics of a fellow that would construct a legend that people are still fighting over in 2021. Is there a Valiant Thor? I guess it depends on who you believe. Myself? I can’t believe in the tales told by Byrd/Stranges, but as always, I leave you to make up your own mind.