Just watched this last night and was wondering what the consensus was. Briefly, she claimed that while under hypnosis she regained memories of a past life in which she was a young navy man named John Gillespie who was killed during Pearl Harbor.

A few things struck me as odd.

Of course, no records of a serviceman named John Gillespie could be found, allegedly because of fires.

She had memories of an Ensign Joseph Taussig losing his leg. I did some Googling and his story is actually pretty widely known. Granted, I'm not sure how common such knowledge would have been at the time.

She didn't use her real name on the segment.

Finally, she seemed to have a odd relationship with her therapist who was her number one supporter on the segment. I say odd because it was disclosed, for instance, that they traveled to Hawaii together which is when she began having further recovered memories of the attack on Pearl Harbor. Granted, I know nothing about her therapy aside from the fact that UM mentioned she originally sought out the therapist because she wanted to lose weight and couldn't through traditional means (so maybe something psychological was suspected). In any event, it seemed atypical of therapist/patient relationships. I also found it interesting that UM made a point to polygraph both of them specifically to see if the story was a hoax.

Any thoughts?

Was that the one where she said the guy liked to eat a lot of white bread or something? I seem to remember that odd detail.

Was that the one where she said the guy liked to eat a lot of white bread or something? I seem to remember that odd detail.

Possibly? To be honest, I was doing other things while it was on and not paying super close attention.

She did say that the guy grew up on a farm in Nebraska. Also, he had a girlfriend named Sugar whom he met while stationed in Hawaii. A composite drawing of her was shown and Stack mentioned she would be in her 70s if alive (or real).

I guess I always sort of suspected the two may have been running a con to score a book deal or some such thing. Certainly more likely than the presented story, after all.

I did find this (incomplete) article which was written before the UM segment aired:

A hypnotist says his client claims that she was Seaman 1st Class John Gillespie on the USS Nevada. Baranowski said it began in 1980, when the client came to him for help in weight loss. One of Baranowski's techniques, he said, is to take a client back to an early age to see whether and how she has been "programmed" to overeat for instance, by parents who tell a child, "There are children starving in China" or "Eat everything or Mommy won't love you." When the woman was regressed to age 2, however, she was in a nightmare about water burning, fire surrounding her, and planes attacking. Baranowski said he quickly brought her up to age 4 and then age 8, and she was still in the nightmare. Baranowski questioned the woman's family and determined that she had had this nightmare all her life. She also became very moody and teary each year around Dec. 7. Several months later, the woman had lost about 30 pounds but not the nightmare. Baranowski says he now has spent eight years tape-recording the woman under hypnosis and seven years researching her story at a cost of about $51,000. He has more than 700 pages of documents in an effort to prove that his client's recall of that day is accurate. With Scanlan's help getting military records, Baranowski was able to confirm that there was a John Gillespie in the Navy and that he did die at Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. Baranowski said he led a tour group to Hawaii, and the woman, who was 27 at the time, went along. "One day, the group met at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel for a harbor tour," he said. "Everybody else was laughing and happy, and (the woman) was extremely upset. She kept saying all those hotels weren't supposed to be there, and she was very agitated." When the group got to Pearl Harbor for the tour, he said, his client was almost out of control, saying the planes were coming and everyone had to run. On the tour boat, Baranowski said, she was sobbing and saying, "I don't want to die, oh Sam, oh Sam." He said that when they reached the USS Arizona Memorial, she lost it completely. "She was running up to people, grabbing them by the shoulders and saying, 'They're drowning, they're drowning, oh Sam, Sam,' " Baranowski said. He said he took her to a private corner and hypnotized her. "When I asked her name, she said, 'Seaman 1st Class John Gillespie of Omaha, Nebraska, of the USS Nevada'. "He was 20 years old, and his best friend was Sam, Sherman Maurice Watts, who was on the USS Arizona." Kris Palmer of Los Angeles, segment producer for Unsolved Mysteries, heard the story from a friend who had met Baranowski at a resort. "We get hundreds and hundreds of calls and letters a week, most of which aren't really mysterious," she said. "But this was intriguing. The people involved were credible, and after studying it, I got more interested in the fact that a 27-year-old woman would know what went on". Palmer is unsure of the airdate for the show, but said it will not be before fall. Among the mysteries the show will try to resolve is the woman's memories of John Gillespie's Hawaiian sweetheart, whom he had nicknamed "Sugar." They had had a fight the night of Dec. 6, and he was supposed to return the next afternoon so they could resolve their problem. "Under hypnosis, (the woman) described 'Sugar,' and a sketch artist drew pictures," Baranowski said. "They will be shown on the show." We're hoping she's still alive. If so, she can confirm all this and more." Scanlan said he had mixed emotions when Baranowski requested his help. "I had never made up my mind if I believed in reincarnation," he said. "After listening to Frank's tapes, I thought it just might be possible." "After retrieving records and helping Baranowski validate the woman's claims, is he a believer now? "You bet," he said.

Was Sharon Johnson's first visit to the Arizona memorial the trip she took with Baranowski? I don't know how it was in the '80s, but the names of the deceased are posted throughout the grounds.

Was that the one where she said the guy liked to eat a lot of white bread or something? I seem to remember that odd detail.

That case is actually another UM reincarnation segment, Bruce Kelly. He believed that he was a U.S. Navy submariner who died in 1942, James Edward Johnston. Bruce was actually able to find Johnston's family. When talking to them, they seemed to confirm some things about Johnston's life, including the detail about Johnston eating the ends of the loaf of bread.
http://unsolvedmysteries.wikia.com/wiki/Bruce_Kelly

That case is actually another UM reincarnation segment, Bruce Kelly. He believed that he was a U.S. Navy submariner who died in 1942, James Edward Johnston. Bruce was actually able to find Johnston's family. When talking to them, they seemed to confirm some things about Johnston's life, including the detail about Johnston eating the ends of the loaf of bread.
http://unsolvedmysteries.wikia.com/wiki/Bruce_Kelly

Yes! That's the one. I seem to remember catching it during the final years of the Lifetime run and haven't seen it since.

Yes! That's the one. I seem to remember catching it during the final years of the Lifetime run and haven't seen it since.

It's a pretty interesting segment actually. There is interviews with Johnston's family, including Johnston's cousin Elizabeth, whom Bruce had apparently seen while under hypnosis. According to unsolved.com, the Farina version is on Amazon Prime. That means that the RS version will probably be on Amazon Prime when that season comes out.

Was Sharon Johnson's first visit to the Arizona memorial the trip she took with Baranowski? I don't know how it was in the '80s, but the names of the deceased are posted throughout the grounds.

Good question.

The cynic in me wants to say she researched beforehand, but then again why use an alias and be filmed in silhouette? Outside of the article which talks about UM and the UM segment, I don't see any signs that this woman was seeking publicity or financial gain. And I don't know why she would decide to fake the story while she was seeing a shrink for weight loss.

The only logical theory I can come up with is that she had a recurring nightmare as a kid about drowning (possibly a movie she saw about Pearl Harbor as a kid), and the hypnosis session brought this out. I can't explain the naming of John Gillespie though.

The cynic in me wants to say she researched beforehand, but then again why use an alias and be filmed in silhouette?

Well, Ed Walters certainly did. ;)

Outside of the article which talks about UM and the UM segment, I don't see any signs that this woman was seeking publicity or financial gain. And I don't know why she would decide to fake the story while she was seeing a shrink for weight loss.

This is a fair point. It could very well be this woman truly believed the spirit of a deceased sailor rested in her. It's a little more difficult for me to envision the therapist also truly believing the spirit of a deceased sailor rests in his client, but I surmise it's possible. I'm not sure if I think it's as likely as one or both seeking publicity or financial gain, however.

The only logical theory I can come up with is that she had a recurring nightmare as a kid about drowning (possibly a movie she saw about Pearl Harbor as a kid), and the hypnosis session brought this out. I can't explain the naming of John Gillespie though.

If I'm understanding it correctly, Sharon didn't mention that name until she was at the Arizona memorial, right?

Ludicrous segment, either they were working a hoax together for attention/to make money, or the shrink was planting false memories as is common with things like alien abduction, satanic ritual abuse etc.

If I'm understanding it correctly, Sharon didn't mention that name until she was at the Arizona memorial, right?

Yes you're right, I missed that part in the article I posted.

Which makes me think she had a recurring nightmare about drowning, and then through the power of suggestion in Hawaii came up with the claim that she was a reincarnated sailor from Pearl Harbor. I don't think it was intentionally done for profit though.

Ludicrous, indeed.

This segment, to me, is one of the least credible to appear on UM. I don't know how it came to be, but I wouldn't be surprised if Frank Baranowski himself called Unsolved Mysteries with his ludicrous claims, to get publicity.
First, why does he hypnotize people in his own home? Doesn't seem legit to me. That could be the reenactment, though. But he sounds like a total con artist, who had something in mind, and implanted "memories" in one of his patients.
http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/dead-air-6415984

I've always tended to believe the Bruce Kelly story over Johnson's. Bruce actually went to the family and confidently answered anything they asked.

Just saw this and her therapist or whatever he was tried far too hard to convince this as real. I imagien he was the driving force.

I was rather grated when added how they used a polygraph. Oh great so how we try to prove 1 form of bs past life regression is by using another discredited pseudo-scientific idea. That should convince any skeptic right!

Sorry to bring an old post back to life, but I just saw this episode (again) on Pluto and felt compelled to look up 'john gillespie' on ancestry.

John M. Gillespie Jr. WAS a real person. He WAS the son of John M. Gillespie Sr. He WAS born in Omaha, Nebraska. He WAS a veteran of WWII.

Sound amazing, right? Well... not so much.

First of all, John wasn't born in 1921, but on 14 December 1925 in Omaha, the second son of John M. Gillespie Sr. (whose census record was shown in the episode) and Dolly (Mowrey). John didn't serve in the Navy, but the Army - and more important for the story - he didn't die at Pearl Harbor. He didn't die during the War at all, but in 1976.

You can see his grave at https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/698200/john-m-gillespie

His widow was actually alive when the episode aired.

So yeah, this story is utter garbage.

I always get a little sick to my stomach when this segment comes on, honestly I don't think I've ever watched it all the way through.

So yeah, this story is utter garbage.

Thank you for that update. Seems like Baranowski was using Sharon Johnson and leading her on as some sort of medium for potential profit. It's even more embarrassing that UM didn't even do a cursory check of the people killed at Pearl Harbor to see if there was in fact even a "Gillespie" that died (there wasn't).

It's even more embarrassing that UM didn't even do a cursory check of the people killed at Pearl Harbor to see if there was in fact even a "Gillespie" that died (there wasn't).

Something something, visions aren't clear and lack detail, yadda yadda yadda, some of the details get lost through time, blah blah blah, all that matter is that life goes on, oh and be sure to buy my book.

I, too, am convinced that Baranowski implanted false memories in that woman's subconsciousness in order to gain publicity.

I, too, am convinced that Baranowski implanted false memories in that woman's subconsciousness in order to gain publicity.

Or were they in on it together?

Or were they in on it together?

That's possible, too. She claimed she began sessions with him because she needed help losing weight. Who's to say she wasn't lying about that, too?
Either way, I don't believe that her memories of a "past life" were genuine.

I ran across this while checking if UM did any Pearl Harbor/Japanese War Foreknowledge segments.

I don't know what to make of this. The fact that she did not want to be identified always gave it some credibility in my mind. May have been a real vision that saw some mix of historically accurate and inaccurate events. Given the time, its possible the girlfriend had died or otherwise been lost to time making that angle impossible to confirm.

I don't get the hate for the segment though, its classic UM.

Just watched this last night and was wondering what the consensus was. Briefly, she claimed that while under hypnosis she regained memories of a past life in which she was a young navy man named John Gillespie who was killed during Pearl Harbor.

A few things struck me as odd.

Of course, no records of a serviceman named John Gillespie could be found, allegedly because of fires.

She had memories of an Ensign Joseph Taussig losing his leg. I did some Googling and his story is actually pretty widely known. Granted, I'm not sure how common such knowledge would have been at the time.

She didn't use her real name on the segment.

Finally, she seemed to have a odd relationship with her therapist who was her number one supporter on the segment. I say odd because it was disclosed, for instance, that they traveled to Hawaii together which is when she began having further recovered memories of the attack on Pearl Harbor. Granted, I know nothing about her therapy aside from the fact that UM mentioned she originally sought out the therapist because she wanted to lose weight and couldn't through traditional means (so maybe something psychological was suspected). In any event, it seemed atypical of therapist/patient relationships. I also found it interesting that UM made a point to polygraph both of them specifically to see if the story was a hoax.

Any thoughts?


She's loony tunes. When Unsolved Mysteries did segments like this, I would usually go fix myself a snack, or make a phone call, since i never considered anything paranormal credible.