Well, not so much. A science fiction writer who invents a religion that Hollywood decides to follow? Truth is stranger than fiction.
In May 1943, L. Ron Hubbard took command of the USS PC-815 submarine chaser despite having minimal naval experience. Just days into his first command, Hubbard detected what he believed to be enemy submarines off the coast of Oregon. What followed was a 68-hour engagement where his crew dropped depth charges and fired relentlessly at targets that simply weren't there. Hubbard had misread the sonar equipment, likely detecting magnetic deposits on the ocean floor or a log.
The incident didn't end there. During the same patrol, Hubbard's vessel shelled the Coronado Islands, which belonged to Mexico, a neutral country at the time. The U.S. Navy had to issue a formal apology to the Mexican government for the unauthorized attack on their territory. An investigation revealed Hubbard's incompetence and reckless decision-making.
In June 1942, Navy records indicate that Hubbard suffered "active conjunctivitis" and later "urethral discharges". After being relieved of command of the sub-chaser, Hubbard began reporting sick, citing a variety of ailments, including ulcers, malaria, and back pains. In July 1943, Hubbard was admitted to the San Diego naval hospital for observation—he would remain there for months. Years later, Hubbard would privately write to himself: "Your stomach trouble you used as an excuse to keep the Navy from punishing you."
On April 9, 1945, Hubbard again reported sick and was re-admitted to Oak Knoll Naval Hospital, Oakland. He was discharged from the hospital on December 4, 1945.
Despite this disastrous military career, Hubbard would later fabricate stories of his wartime heroism when founding the Church of Scientology. Military records paint a very different picture from the decorated war hero he claimed to be.
After the war
After Hubbard chose to stay in California rather than return to his family in Washington state, he moved into the Pasadena mansion of John "Jack" Whiteside Parsons, a rocket propulsion engineer and a leading follower of the English occultist Aleister Crowley. Hubbard befriended Parsons and soon became sexually involved with Parsons's 21-year-old girlfriend, Sara "Betty" Northrup. Hubbard and Parsons collaborated on "Babalon Working", a sex magic ritual intended to summon an incarnation of Babalon, the supreme Goddess in Crowley's pantheon.
During this period, Hubbard authored a document which has been called the "Affirmations", a series of statements relating to various physical, sexual, psychological and social issues that he was encountering in his life. The Affirmations appear to have been intended to be used as a form of self-hypnosis with the intention of resolving the author's psychological problems and instilling a positive mental attitude.
en.wikipedia.org
In May 1943, L. Ron Hubbard took command of the USS PC-815 submarine chaser despite having minimal naval experience. Just days into his first command, Hubbard detected what he believed to be enemy submarines off the coast of Oregon. What followed was a 68-hour engagement where his crew dropped depth charges and fired relentlessly at targets that simply weren't there. Hubbard had misread the sonar equipment, likely detecting magnetic deposits on the ocean floor or a log.
The incident didn't end there. During the same patrol, Hubbard's vessel shelled the Coronado Islands, which belonged to Mexico, a neutral country at the time. The U.S. Navy had to issue a formal apology to the Mexican government for the unauthorized attack on their territory. An investigation revealed Hubbard's incompetence and reckless decision-making.
In June 1942, Navy records indicate that Hubbard suffered "active conjunctivitis" and later "urethral discharges". After being relieved of command of the sub-chaser, Hubbard began reporting sick, citing a variety of ailments, including ulcers, malaria, and back pains. In July 1943, Hubbard was admitted to the San Diego naval hospital for observation—he would remain there for months. Years later, Hubbard would privately write to himself: "Your stomach trouble you used as an excuse to keep the Navy from punishing you."
On April 9, 1945, Hubbard again reported sick and was re-admitted to Oak Knoll Naval Hospital, Oakland. He was discharged from the hospital on December 4, 1945.
Despite this disastrous military career, Hubbard would later fabricate stories of his wartime heroism when founding the Church of Scientology. Military records paint a very different picture from the decorated war hero he claimed to be.
After the war
After Hubbard chose to stay in California rather than return to his family in Washington state, he moved into the Pasadena mansion of John "Jack" Whiteside Parsons, a rocket propulsion engineer and a leading follower of the English occultist Aleister Crowley. Hubbard befriended Parsons and soon became sexually involved with Parsons's 21-year-old girlfriend, Sara "Betty" Northrup. Hubbard and Parsons collaborated on "Babalon Working", a sex magic ritual intended to summon an incarnation of Babalon, the supreme Goddess in Crowley's pantheon.
During this period, Hubbard authored a document which has been called the "Affirmations", a series of statements relating to various physical, sexual, psychological and social issues that he was encountering in his life. The Affirmations appear to have been intended to be used as a form of self-hypnosis with the intention of resolving the author's psychological problems and instilling a positive mental attitude.
