Roswell Crash Timeline Part 2

From TinWiki.org

Roswell Crash Timeline continued from part 1

From July 1st thru July 4th, from sightings of UFOs, to the crash/es.

Most of the events in this timeline comes from the commonly accepted series of events as noted by organizations such as National Investigative Committee on Aerial Phenomenon (NICAP), with inclusions from first hand research, as well as going into the details of the support for each event.

Military

Sheriff Wilcox, wondering what happened out at the crash site, sends two more deputies out. This time they run into the cordon thrown up by the military and are turned back. The army is letting no unauthorized personnel onto the crash site.

A large part of the next events involves various teletypes from both the United Press (UP) and Associated Press (AP). Some of these are from originals possessed by Frank Joyce, others were on file from these entities. Frank’s copies have been confirmed by UP.

At 2:26 P.M. the story is out on the AP (Associated Press) wire. The story announces: "The army air forces here today announced a flying disc had been found." This was the Roswell base press release from Walter Haut. The following (in quotes) is the AP wire:

"Roswell, N.M. The army air forces here today announced a flying disk had been found on a ranch near Roswell and is in army possession."

Wreckage & Disk

The phones at the base start ringing. Irritated at his inability to get a line out, Blanchard orders Haut to do something about all the incoming calls. Haut says there is nothing he could do about incoming calls. (from Haut's interviews)

Robert Shirkey, standing in the operations building, watches as MPs begin carrying wreckage through to load onto a C-54 from the First Air Transport Unit. To see better, he has to step around Colonel Blanchard.

At 2:30 PM. Blanchard decides it is time to go on leave. Too many phone callers into the base are asking to speak with him. He, along with a few members of his staff, drive out to the debris field. Those left at the base are told to inform the reporters that the colonel is now on leave. Relating to the AP Press Release:

It said that Lt. Warren Haught [sic], public information officer of Roswell field, announced the object had been found "sometime last week." And the story also said the object had been sent on "to higher headquarters."

At 2:41 PM. A UP (United Press) teletype states the following (from Frank Joyce’s saved originals)

DXR (Denver UP Office) 54

MORE FLYING DISC (DXR53)

-0- THE INTELLIGENCE OFFICE REPORTS THAT IT GAINED POSSESSION OF THE "DISK:" THROUGH THE COOPERATION OF A ROSWELL RANCHER AND SHERIFF GEORGE WILSON OF ROSWELL. THE DISC LANDED ON A RANCH NEAR ROSWELL SOMETIME LAST WEEK. NOT HAVING PHONE FACILITIES, THE RANCHER, WHOSE NAME HAS NOT YET BEEN OBTAINED, STORED THE DISC UNTIL SUCH TIME AS HE WAS ABLE TO CONTACT THE ROSWELL SHERIFF'S OFFICE. THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE IN TURN NOTIFIED A MAJOR OF THE 509TH INTELLIGENCE OFFICE. ACTION WAS TAKEN IMMEDIATELY AND THE DISC WAS PICKED UP AT THE RANCHER'S HOME AND TAKEN TO THE ROSWELL AIR BASE. FOLLOWING EXAMINATION, THE DISC WAS FLOWN BY INTELLIGENCE OFFICERS IN A SUPER- FORTRESS TO AN UNDISCLOSED "HIGHER HEADQUARTERS." THE AIR BASE HAS REFUSED TO GIVE DETAILS OF CONSTRUCTION OF THE DISC OR OF ITS APPEARANCE. RESIDENTS NEAR THE RANCH ON WHICH THE DISC WAS FOUND REPORTED SEEING A STRANGE BLUE LIGHT SEVERAL DAYS AGO ABOUT THREE O'CLOCK IN THE MORNING. J241P 7/8

At 2:55 PM. the AP reports in a "95," just under a bulletin in importance, that a flying disk had been found. (and where)

At 3:00 P.M. Marcel is told that he is going to Fort Worth with the wreckage. Only a few packages are loaded onto the plane. One, a triangular package about two feet long, is wrapped in brown paper. The other three are about the size of shoe boxes. They are so light that it feels as if there is nothing in them. The special flight, a B-29, takes off for the Fort Worth Army Air Field. Affidavit of 1st Lieutenant Robert Shirkey:

(1) My name is Robert Shirkey

(2) My address is: XXXXXXXXXX

(3) I am ( ) retired ( ) employed as: __________________________________

(4) In July 1947, I was stationed at the Roswell Army Air field with the rank of 1st Lieutenant. I served as the assistant flight safety officer and was assigned to base operations for the 509th Bomb Group.

(5) During that period, the call a B-29 ready to go as soon as possible. Its destination was to be Fort Worth, on orders from the base commander, Col. Blanchard. I was in the Operations Office when Col. Blanchard arrived. He asked if the aircraft was ready. When he was told it was, Blanchard waved to somebody, and approximately five people came in the front door, down the hallway and on to the ramp to climb into the airplane, carrying parts of what I heard was the crashed flying saucer.

(6) At this time, I asked Col. Blanchard to turn sideways so I could see what was going on. I saw them carrying what appeared to be pieces of metal; there was one piece that was 18 x 24 inches, brushed stainless steel in color. I also saw what was described by another witness as an I-beam and markings.

(7) Several days later, a B-25 was scheduled to take something to Ft. Worth. This was the second flight during this period: the third was a B-29 piloted by Oliver W. "Pappy" Henderson directly to Wright-Patterson.

(8) I learned later that a Sergeant and some airmen went to the crash site and swept up everything, including bodies. The bodies were laid out in Hanger 84. Henderson's flight contained all that material.

(9) All of those involved--the Sergeant of the Guards, all of the crewmen, and myself--were shipped out to different bases within two weeks.

(10) I have not been paid or given anything of value to make this statement, and it is the truth to the best of my recollection.

Signed: Robert Shirkey 30 April 1991

Signature witnessed by: Lupe V. Sandoval

Also corroborated by another, Master Sergeant Robert Porter (his affidavit)

(1) My name is Robert R. Porter

(2) My address is: XXXXXXXXXX

(3) I am (X) retired ( ) employed as: __________________________________

(4) In July 1947, I was a Master Sergeant in the U.S. Army Air Force, stationed at Roswell, New Mexico. I was a flight engineer. My job entailed taking care of the engines in flight, maintaining weight and balance, and I was responsible for fuel management. We mostly flew B-29s.

(5) On this occasion, I was a member of the crew which flew parts of what we were told was a flying saucer to Fort Worth. The people on board included: Lt. Col. Payne Jennings, the Deputy Commander of the base; Lt. Col. Robert I. Barrowclough; Maj. Herb Wunderlich; and Maj. Jesse Marcel. Capt. William E. Anderson said it was from a flying saucer. After we arrived, the material was transferred to a B-25. I was told they were going to Wright Field in Dayton, Ohio.

(6) I was involved in loading the B-29 with the material, which was wrapped in packages with wrapping paper. One of the pieces was triangle-shaped, about 2 1/2 feet across the bottom. The rest were in small packages, about the size of a shoe box. The brown paper was held with tape.

(7) The material was extremely lightweight. When I picked it up, it was just like picking up an empty package. We loaded the triangle-shaped package and three shoe box-sized packages into the plane. All of the packages could have fit into the trunk of a car.

(8) After we landed at Fort Worth, Col Jennings told us to take care of maintenance of the plane and that after a guard was posted, we could eat lunch. When we came back from lunch, they told us they had transferred the material to a B-25. They told us the material was a weather balloon, but I'm certain it wasn't a weather balloon. I think the government should let the people know what's going on.

(9) I have not been paid or given anything of value to make this statement, which is the truth to the best of my recollection.

Signed: Robert R. Porter June 7, 1991

Signature witnessed by: Ruth N. Ford 6/7/91

Fabricated story

At 3:10 PM. AP goes national, in Albuquerque, AP reporter Jason Kellahin and photographer/wire technician are dispatched to Roswell to cover the story.

At 3:11 PM. No word from the Pentagon (AP Release)

"The war department in Washington had nothing to say immediately about the reported find."

At 3:16 PM. Another UP teletype:

FRR (Sante Fe UP Office) 8

(SUB) ROSWELL, NEW MEXICO---THE INTELLIGENCE OFFICE OF THE 509TH BOMB GROUP OF THE ROSWELL ARMY AIR BASE REPORTS THAT IT HAS RECEOVERED A "FLYING DISC" AND THAT IT IS BEING FLOWN IN A SUPERFORTRESS TO "HIGHER HEADQUARTERS" FOR STUDY. ARMY OFFICIALS AT THE ROSWELL BASE WILL NOT DISCLOSE THE LOCATION OF THE "HIGHER HEADQUARTERS." SHERIFF GEORGE WILCOX (CORRECT) OF ROSWELL WAYS THAT THE DISC WAS FOUND ABOUT THREE WEEKS AGO BY A RANCHER BY THE NAME OF W. W. BRIZELL ON THE FOSTER RANCH NEAR CORONA, ABOUT 75 MILES NORTHWEST OF ROSWELL NEAR THE CENTER OF NEW MEXICO. SHERIFF WILCOX SAYS THE RANCHER DOES NOT HAVE A TELEPHONE, AND THAT HE DID NOT REPORT FINDING THE DISC UNTIL DAY BEFORE YESTERDAY. SHERIFF WILCOX SAYS THAT BRIZELL SAID HE DIDN'T KNOW WHAT IT WAS, BUT THAT AT FIRST IT APPEARED TO BE A WEATHER METER. (Note that this is after Brazel was in ::military custody, and the Sheriff was well aware of this military custody) HOWEVER, OFFICIALS AT THE ROSWELL ARMY AIR BASE WERE NOTIFIED, AND AN OFFICER AND AN ENLISTED MAN CAME TO THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE TO CLAIM THE OBJECT. (Thus we have press confirmation of debris being taken to the Sheriff’s office) SHERIFF WILCOX QUOTES BRIZELL AS SAYING THAT "IT MORE OR LESS SEEMED LIKE TINFOIL." WILCOX SAYS THAT BRIZELL SAID THAT THE DIXC WAS BROKEN SOME, APPARENTLY FROM THE FALL. THE SHERIFF SAYS THAT BRIZELL DESCRIBED THE OBJECT (large piece of debris, remember that an intact craft wasn’t found at the Brazel site) ABOUT AS LARGE AS A SAFE IN THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE. HE ADDED THAT THE SAFE WAS ABOUT ::THREE AND ONE-HALF BY FOUR FEE. (Again, Brazel at this time is in military custody and will soon publicly recant his story as ordered) -0- (DXR WILL HV ANOTHER ADD IN ABT 5 OR 10 MINWS.) V7/8

For the next few minutes, a few quick teletypes as the base press release is confirmed.

Sometime between 3:17 PM and 3:22 PM the following UP teletype: (just more confirmation of Marcel’s whereabouts and plans to return)

NAJ DXR (Denver UP Office)

FYI, ROSWELL REPORTS TT MAJOR JESSE A. MARCEL, INTELLIGENCE OFFICER FOR 509TH BOMBER GROUP AT ROSWELL ARMY AIR BASE, IS IN FORT WORTH, TEX., AT 8TH ARMY HDQUARTERS, "IF HE HANT ALREADY STARTED BACK FOR ROSWELL." SUGG U GET DA IN ON IT FASTEST. TT MITE BE WHERE DISC WAS FLOWN. FRR V7/8

Press Release

Calls come into Roswell from all over the world as the press release hits the various news wires.

Marcel is in Ramey's office with some of the debris. The general wants to see where the debris was found. Marcel accompanies him to the map room. Once Ramey is satisfied, they walk back to the general's office, but the debris is gone. In its place is a ripped-apart weather balloon with debris scattered on the floor. (according to Marcel in interviews). This is also corroborated by then Colonel (now retired as a Brig. General) Thomas Dubose (in his affidavit): (Dubose is the usually unnamed man in these photos)

(7) The material shown in the photographs taken in Maj. Gen. Ramey's office was a weather balloon. The weather balloon explanation for the material was a cover story to divert the attention of the press.

Marcel's reputation

This counters the skeptics criticizing Marcel, or his rep within the military:

Besides Dubose independently corroborating Roswell intelligence officer Major Jesse Marcel's story of a weather balloon cover-up, Dubose's subsequent actions also lend to Marcel's credibility. Dubose recommended Marcel for promotion to Lt. Colonel in the Air Force Reserve several months later, along with Roswell base commander Col. Blanchard. Dubose also co-signed Blanchard's highly laudatory evaluation of Marcel the following spring and recommended Marcel attend Air Command and Staff School. (click here to view document) Similarly Gen. Ramey a few months later wrote that he thought Marcel command officer material. (click here to view document) If Dubose (or Ramey) had any doubts about Marcel's competency following the encounter in Ramey's office, it isn't evident in Marcel's record.

Thomas Jefferson Dubose Affidavit

At 3:42 PM. A UP wire:

FRR (Santa Fe UP Office) 8

EEDITORS; PLEASE SUB FOR 5TH PGH AND REMAINDER OF FRRE8 -0- HOWEVER, OFFICIALS AT THE ROSWELL ARMY AIR BASE WERE NOTIFIED IMMEDIATELY BY THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE. MAJOR JESSE A. MARCEL--- INTELLIGENCE OFFICER OF THE ROSWELL BASE---AND AN ENLISTED MAN THEN CHECKED WITH THE SHERIFF. SHERIFF WILCOX QUOTED BRIZELL AS SAYING THAT "IT MORE OR LESS SEEMED LIKE TINFOIL." WILCOX SAID THAT BRIZELL RELATED THAT THE DISC WAS BROKEN SOMEWHAT---APPARENTLY FROM THE FALL. THE SHERIFF SAID THAT BRIZELL DESCRIBED THE OBJECT ABOUT AS LARGE AS A SAFE IN THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE. HE ADDED THAT THE SAFE WAS ABOUT THREE AND ONE-HALF BY FOUR FEET. BRIZELL DID NOT BRING THE OBJECT TO THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE, BUT MERELY DROVE THE 75 MILES FORM THE RANCH TO ROSWELL TO REPORT HIS FINDING. SHERIFF WILCOX SAID THAT MAJOR MARCEL LEFT SHORTLY AFTER RECEIVING THE REPORT FOR THE AREA WHERE THE DISC WAS FOUND. MEANWHILE, A REPORT FROM CARRIZOZO, NEW MEXICO, SAID THAT A DISC WAS FOUND 35 MILES SOUTHEAST OF CORONA. THE REPORT---WHICH WAS NOT SUBSTANTIATED---MERELY SAID THAT IT WAS "A RUBBER SUBSTANCE AND TINFOIL ENCASE." HOWEVER, IT WAS PRESUMED TO BE THE SAME AS THE ONE REPORTED TO ROSWELL. (Given this location, seems to be the Foster Ranch, i.e. Brazel’s site) REPORTS FROM THE ROSWELL BASE SAID THAT MAJOR MARCEL WAS AT EIGHTH ARMY HEADQUARTERS IN FORT WORTH, TEXT, BUT THAT "HE MIGHT BE ON HIS WAY BACK TO ROSWELL BY PLANE NOW." HOWEVER, OFFICIALS AT THE ROSWELL BASE SAY THEY KNOW NOTHING ABOUT THE DISC OR ITS DESCRIPTIONG, OR WHERE THE "HIGHER HEADQUARTERS" WHERE IT REPORTEDLY WAS TAKEN ARE LOCATED. V342P7/8

Ramey Announcement

At 3:53 PM. Roger Ramey announces that the flying disk has been sent on to Wright Field near Dayton, Ohio. This is where Ramey is officially involved in the story. This also shows that Ramey had already spoken with the Pentagon by this time. In Fort Worth, reporter/photographer J. Bond Johnson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram is dispatched to Fort Worth AAF to cover the story.

At 4:02 PM. AP has put together its first full story. It appears in western evening newspapers (such as the Los Angeles Herald-Express and the Seattle Times), but is too late (6:02pm) for the east coast and central papers. Starts like this (from the AP teletype)

"Albuquerque, N. M. The army air forces has gained possession of a flying disk, Lt. Warren Haught, public information officer at Roswell army airfield, announced today.”

Debris field cleanup

More men arrive at the debris field and are assigned to assist in cleaning it. Soldiers with wheelbarrows move across the field, tossing in the debris. When the wheelbarrows are filled, the soldiers take the debris to collection points. The debris is then loaded into covered trucks to be driven into Roswell.

At 5:03 PM. The Pentagon starts to hint at the weather balloon explanation. (from an AP internal teletype)

At 5:30 PM. a solution for the mystery is offered by Major E. M. Kirton who tells the Dallas Morning News that a balloon is responsible for all the excitement. An AP teletype also reports:

"Fort Worth Roswell's celebrated 'flying disk' was rudely stripped of its glamor by a Fort Worth army airfield weather officer who late today identified the object as a weather balloon."

Weather balloon

Warrant Officer Irving Newton is ordered from the weather office at the Fort Worth Army Air Field to Ramey's office. Newton, in front of a small number of reporters and officers of the Eighth Air Force, identifies the wreckage on the office floor as a balloon. He is photographed and then sent back to his regular duties. (from statements by Newton)

At 6:17 PM. the FBI sends a Teletype message to FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover telling him that a balloon is responsible for the reports. It is on its way to Dayton for examination by army air force experts. This is of course, well after the coverup story has been put into motion. (this document was released under FOIA) This is an early indication that Mogul is to be the cover story. But, the teletype also shows that the radar reflector story was different from what Wright Field was saying. (note the following phrase: "but ... telephonic conversation between their office and Wright Field had not borne out this belief.")

The 1994/95 Air Force report on Roswell quoted the first part of this teletype, about the object resembling a weather balloon/radar reflector, but curiously omitted the part about phone conversation with Wright Field giving a different assessment of the debris. As even the skeptics will agree, Mogul contained no materials that were classified, only the objective of Mogul was classified.

At 7:30P.M. the AP breaks into its last message with a bulletin telling the world that the Roswell flying disk is nothing more than a balloon.

Ramey, with the identity of the wreckage established in the public arena, announces to the world that the officers at Roswell had been fooled by a weather balloon. Ramey also appears on Fort Worth-Dallas radio station WBAP. One can only imagine what is going through the officers’ heads back at Roswell. Then again, they know they are following orders.

An unscheduled flight from Boiling Field (Washington, D.C.) arrives. Lewis Rickett meets it at Roswell and gives the crew a sealed box with wreckage in it. He is required to get a signature before he can surrender it.

At 10:00 PM. ABC News "Headline Edition" tells the audience that Roger Ramey has identified the Roswell wreckage as a weather balloon.

At 11:59 PM. one of the photographs taken by J. Bond Johnson is transmitted to New York on the news wire.

One of Bond’s photos, showing General Ramey and Col. Thomas Dubose. (the red box is to show where the Ramey memo below came from)

All the while, when he is posing for pictures with substituted debris, all to debunk the story, little does he realize that eventually, technology will be able to read the damning memo held in his hand, which tells a different story of what really happened.

With the public now breathing a sigh of relief, confident that the military has fully investigated and that there are no little men from Mars, the story dies and fades away into history, not unlike other such early UFO incidents. That is of course, until years later when researchers start to discover clues to this fascinating story. With the story then back in public view, more and more come forward (along with those out to capitalize on it as well, and who are less than truthful). Still, for all the frauds that have tarnished the event, they simply pale in comparison to the overwhelming evidence, testimony from military officers, documents referencing Roswell, and some of the major changes in defense that came about in response to this event. Part IV, The Aftermath, examines all this.

Aftermath

At this point, the press had broken the story, but hours later, the balloon coverup goes into full swing. By morning, the incident is destined to be laughed off for decades to come. However, away from the public eye, the rest of the recovery operation is still taking place, and Brazel is still in the Army’s custody. A bit severe for recovering some balsa wood and tin foil, as the government continues to claim.

Wednesday, July 9, 1947

Morning newspapers trumpet the story that the "flying saucer" found near Roswell is a weather device. Some quote Ramey while others quote "informed" sources, including senators in Washington.

Gen. Ramey Empties Roswell Saucer

Ramey Says Excitement is Not Justified General Ramey Says Disk is Weather Balloon

Roswell Daily Record

Headline of the Roswell Daily Record for July 9, 1947

Clean-up on the various sites resumes at sunup. The military is trying to get everything picked up before any more civilians stumble across the field.

At 8:00 A.M. members of the First Air Transport Unit begin loading crates into C-54s. They load three or four aircraft with an intermediate destination of Kirtland. From there they are to be taken on to Los Alamos. Armed guards watch the loading of the aircraft.

(The above provided for visualization, shot of a C-54 takeoff from Roswell-though not taken on July 9th)

Testimony from Sergeant Robert Smith (from interviews, 1991)

A lot of people began coming in all of a sudden because of the official investigation. Somebody said it was a plane crash, but we heard from a man in Roswell that it was not a plane crash, it was something else, a strange object. There was another indication that something serious was going on. One night, when we were coming back to Roswell, a convoy of trucks covered with canvas passed us. When they got to the [airfield] gate, they headed over to this hangar on the east end, which was rather unusual. The truck convoy had red lights and sirens. My involvement in the incident was to help load crates of debris into the aircraft. We all became aware of the event when we went to the hangar on the east side of the ramp. There were a lot of people in plain clothes all over the place. They were inspectors, but they were strangers on the base. When challenged, they replied they were here on Project So-and-So, and flashed a card, which was different from a military ID card.

We were taken to the hangar to load crates. There was a lot of farm dirt on the hangar floor. We loaded [the crates] on flatbeds and dollies. Each crate had to be checked as to width and height. We had to know which crates went on which plane. We loaded crates on three [or] four C-54s. We weren't supposed to know their destination, but we were told they were headed north. . . .There were armed guards around during loading of our planes, which was unusual at Roswell. There was no way to get to the ramp except through armed guards. There were MPs on the outskirts, and our personnel were between them and the planes. The largest [crate] was roughly twenty feet long, four to five feet high, and four to five feet wide. It took up an entire plane. It wasn't that heavy, but it was a large volume. The rest of the crates were two or three feet long and two feet square or smaller. [. . . All I saw was a little piece of material. . . .] The sergeant who had the piece of material said [it was like] the material in the crates. The entire loading took at least six, perhaps eight hours. Lunch was brought to us, which was unusual. The crates were brought to us on flatbed dollies, which was also unusual.

Officially, we were told it was a crashed plane, but crashed planes usually were taken to the salvage yard, not flown out. I don't think it was an experimental plane, because not too many people in that area were experimenting with planes. I'm convinced that what we loaded was a UFO that got into mechanical problems. Even with the most intelligent people, things go wrong. (F&B)

Jud Roberts along with Walt Whitmore, Sr., attempt to drive out to the debris field but run into the military cordon and are turned back. (From Jud Roberts’ affidavit)

(1) My name is George "Jud" Roberts

(2) My address is: XXXXXXXXXX

(3) I am (X) retired ( ) employed as: __________________________________

(4) In July 1947, I was a minority stockholder and manager of KGFL Radio in Roswell, New Mexico. We did an interview with W.W. "Mac" Brazel, the rancher who found some debris on his property. He hid him out at the home of the station owner, W.E. Whitmore, Sr., and recorded the interview on a wire recorder.

(5) The next morning, I got a call from someone in Washington, D.C. It may have been someone in the office of [Senators] Clinton Anderson or Dennis Chavez. This person said, "We understand that you have some information, and we want to assure you that if you release it, it's very possible that your station's license will be in jeopardy, so we suggest that you not do it." The person indicated that we might lose our license in as quickly as three days. I made the decision not to release the story.

(6) I made an attempt to go out to the crash site to see it for myself, but I was turned back by a military person who said we were in a restricted area.

(7) At that time, there was quite a clamp on any discussion concerning the event. We just decided for Walter Haut's sake that we should sit tight and not say anything, even though in our own minds, we had some question about the validity of the weather balloon explanation. Weather balloons were launched about a block from our station every day. We didn't accept the official explanation, but we had no evidence to the contrary.

(8) I have not been paid or given anything of value to make this statement, and it is the truth to the best of my recollection.

Signed: George F. "Jud" Roberts 12/30/91

Signature witnessed by: Signature Guaranteed Sunwest Bank of Roswell, N.M. Roswell, New Mexico

By: Nancy Montgomery, Assistant Cashier

According to Roswell Army Air Field head secretary Elizabeth Kyle (from interviews), the telephones at the base are still tied up by the incoming calls. (an interesting side note, “Elizabeth” and “Kyle” were later chosen as character names for the Roswell TV series.)

Boxed Wreckage

More of the wreckage is brought into the base and is now being taken to be boxed into crates of various sizes and shapes.

Bud Payne, a rancher in the Corona area, tries to go to the Foster ranch. He is turned back. (From his Affidavit of 9/14/93)

"When I heard about the flying saucer coming down on the Foster ranch a few days after it happened in early July 1947, I decided to see if I could get a piece of the thing. The site where the saucer came down was about two or two and a half miles east of the east boundary of our pasture. I drove over there in a pickup truck.

"Before I reached the site, I was stopped by two soldiers sitting in an Army truck parked beside the ranch road I was on. They were in field uniforms, and they may have been armed, wearing pistols. There were more vehicles and soldiers on higher ground beyond where I had been stopped.

"I told the two soldiers who stopped me I was going to where the flying saucer came down. They said 'We know where you're going, but you can't go in there." They did not threaten me, but they had their instructions to turn everybody back."}}

At 12:00 PM. the crate that has been sitting in the empty hangar guarded by the MPs is moved out to bomb pit number one. Nothing other than weapons has ever been stored in the bomb pit.

In Roswell Floyd Proctor and Lyman Strickland see Mac Brazel under escort by three military officers. He ignores both of them, something that he would not have done under normal circumstances.

According to Daily Record editor Paul McEvoy, the military officers escorted the rancher out of the news office immediately upon the conclusion of the interview. While they were walking toward the car, two of Brazel's neighbors — Floyd Proctor and Lyman Strickland — passed by. Both men were surprised that their friend didn't acknowledge them in any way.

Proctor said later that the military was keeping Brazel on a very short leash. Two other neighbors — Leonard Porter, who lived on the ranch south of Brazel's, and Bill Jenkins, another rancher — reported they saw Brazel surrounded by military personnel in downtown Roswell. The rancher kept his eyes down and pretended he didn't notice his neighbors.

Nurse's drawing

At lunch (at the officers’ club) the nurse tells Dennis she is sick and wants to return to the barracks. In the course of the meal, she has provided Dennis with an account of what has happened and given him a drawing of the alien bodies. (from Dennis’ affidavit, mentioned earlier in this series…see Sections C&D of the timeline)

David Wagnon.

(1) My name is David N. Wagnon

(2) My address is: XXXXXXXXXX

(3) I am ( ) employed as: Toxicologist (x) I am semiretired.

(4) I arrived in Roswell, New Mexico, in April 1946 as an enlisted member of the U.S. Army Air Force. I served at Roswell Army Air Field (RAAF) for two years, assigned to Squadron "M," the medical unit, as a technician in the base hospital laboratory. After leaving the service, I earned an undergraduate and graduate degrees in science, taught high school, and was a school principal and drug education consultant. In July 1947, I was 19 and a private first class.

(5) I do not recall anything about a crashed flying saucer incident during the time I was stationed at RAAF, but I do remember an Army nurse named Naomi Self, who was assigned to the base hospital. She was small, attractive, in her twenties, and, I believe, a brunette. I seem to recall Miss Self was transferred from RAAF while I was still stationed there, but I am not at all certain about this.

(6) Miss Self's name really stuck with me because it is somewhat unusual and she was dating the local Red Cross representative, who was quite a bit older, probably in his late forties. I do not remember the man's name, but do recall he had an office in town and was always hanging around Squadron "M" and the emergency room. (this is likely Glenn Dennis, but he did not confirm this)

(7) There were rumors about Miss Self have a D&C (dilatation and curettage) in the base hospital, the tissue being sent off (probably to Brook Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas), and the biopsy report coming back with some indication of fetal tissue. There was a lot of speculation about this in the squadron.

(8) I have not been paid or given anything of value to make this statement, which is the truth to the best of my recollection.

Signed: David N. Wagnon Date: November 15, 1993

SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN TO BEFORE ME THIS 15 DAY OF Nov 1993 Lisa C. Watson, NOTARY PUBLIC

Miss Self disappearance

Two different individuals claiming to know the individual, and even to her duties on the base, and yet she seems to have vanished without a trace. Then, if one recalls the testimony of several of the Roswell witnesses, such as Proctor, Dennis, etc. then it is easy to remember that that is exactly what the military threatened to do to people who talked. They threatened to not only kill such witnesses, but also to erase their existence. Others who attack Dennis as a witness should also know that the claim of bodies was not made later in interviews, but actually also at the time of the event, as stated by former Roswell police chief L. M. Hall (from an affidavit)

(1) My name is L. M. Hall

(2) My address is: XXXXXXXXXX

(3) I am ( ) employed as: _________________________________ (x) retired,

(4) I came to Roswell, New Mexico, in 1943, while serving in the Army Air Force. I was a military policeman and investigator at Roswell Army Air Field (RAAF). In 1946, after being discharged from the service, I joined the Roswell Police Department, and in 1964 I was appointed chief of police, serving for 14 and a half years. I am now a member of the Roswell City Council.

(5) In 1947, I was a motorcycle office, with patrol duty on South Main Street, between town and RAAF. I and other police officers would often take our breaks in the small lounge at the Ballard Funeral Home t 910 South Main, where Glenn Dennis worked. I had gotten to know Glenn when I was a base MP because he made ambulance calls to the base under a contract Ballard's had, so I would sometimes have coffee with him if he was at work when I stopped in.

(6) One day in July 1947, I was at Ballard's on a break, and Glenn and I were in the driveway "batting the breeze." I was sitting on my motorcycle, and Glenn stood nearby. He remarked, "I had a funny call from the base. They wanted to know if we had several baby caskets." Then he started laughing and said, "I asked what for, and they said they wanted to bury [or ship] those aliens," something to that effect. I thought it was one of those "gotcha" jokes, so I didn't bite. He never said anything else about it, and I didn't either.

(7) I believe our conversation took place couple of days after the stories about a crashed flying saucer appeared in the Roswell papers.

(8) I have not been paid or given anything of value to make this statement, which is the truth to the best of my recollection.

Signed: L. M. Hall Date: 9-15-93

The New Roswell Story

Under military escort Brazel is taken into town and into the offices of the Roswell Daily Record. There he gives reporters, including R. A. Adair and Jason Kellahin from Albuquerque, a new story. Now he claims to have found the debris on June 14. He also says he has found weather observation devices on two other occasions, and what he found is no weather balloon.

Ramey's weather officer; Irving Newton, says the weather balloon is a special kind. "We use them because they go much higher than the eye can see.

An officer from the base sweeps through Roswell picking up copies of Haut's press release, including those at the two radio stations. (Art McQuiddy said that a military officer had retrieved the copies of the press release written by Haut.)

Late in the afternoon, a flight crew at the skeet range is told they have a special flight coming up. The squadron operations officer; Edgar Skelly, tells the aircraft commander to keep everyone together.

The aircraft loaded by Robert Smith and other members of the First Air Transport Unit takes off for Albuquerque. The crates will eventually reach Los Alamos. All the crates are marked with stencils saying TOP SECRET. Members of the flight crew pulled from the skeet range quickly preflight their aircraft. Once that is accomplished, they taxi out to the bomb pit. The only places on the base where the bomb pit can be observed are the tower and portions of the flight line.

A sealed, unmarked wooden crate is brought out and loaded into the bomb bay of the B-29, tail number 7301. Six armed MPs guard it, never allowing it out of their sight.

At Fort Worth a number of officers meet the aircraft. One is a man the bombardier recognizes as a mortician with whom he went to school. (From the affidavit of Sergeant Robert Slusher, of the 393rd Bomb Squadron, Pflock, FUFOR, 1993)

Sgt. Robert Slusher

On July 9, 1947, I boarded a B-29 which taxied to the bomb area on the base to get a crate, which we loaded into the forward bomb bay. Four armed MPs guarded the crate, which was approximately four feet high, five feet wide, and 12 feet long. We departed Roswell at approximately 4:00 PM for Fort Worth [later Carswell AFB]. ... On arrival at Fort Worth we were met by six people, including three MPs. They took possession of the crate. The crate was loaded on to a flatbed weapons carrier and hauled off. Their MPs accompanied the crate. One officer present was a major, the other a 1st lieutenant. The sixth person was an undertaker who had been a classmate of a crewman on our flight, Lt. Felix Martucci. ...

Lt. Felix Martucci

After returning to Roswell, we realized that what was in the crate was classified. There were rumors that they had carried debris from a crash. Whether there were any bodies, I don't know. The crate had been specially made; it had no markings.

Another person of the crew (identified only as “Tim”), from interviews with Randle and Schmidt (1991). In all of his conversations with researchers, he has asked for his identity to be withheld, but he appears to have been fully verified by many. (the photo below is pixilated to conceal identity, but to somewhat convey this).

"The sergeant in charge of the range asked us if we had heard about the "flying disc" that had crashed out in the desert. Twice more before leaving the skeet range, we heard reports of a spaceship with bodies inside that had been found on a ranch in the area. ... We were positioned so the front bomb-bay was directly over the pit which was covered with a large tarp. But no atomic bomb was in the pit that afternoon. When the canvas was removed by the loading crew, all we could see was a very large wooden box. ( [The box] was made of wood ... and was unpainted and unmarked as though hastily constructed. Fitting snugly into the bomb-bay, its approximate size: 5 ft. high, 4 ft. wide and about 15 ft. long.) ... Once the load was secured in the bomb-bay, four military policemen went inside and took positions at each corner of the box. I think two of them were majors, and one a lieutenant. The fourth man was an NCO. ... One of the crew, a very outspoken individual, said on the way home, that we were now a "part of history." He went on to say, he knew it was the disc and remains of the flight crew because he had seen a man he recognized in the reception group. This man was a mortician by military specialty.”

At 6:00 PM. Joseph Montoya (then Lt. Governor, now a late Senator) returns to the base to catch the courier flight to land. He wants to get out of Roswell and forget what he has seen.

Pete Annaya, who maintains that the late U.S. Senator Joseph Montoya had a firsthand encounter with alien bodies in Hangar 84 on the Roswell base back in 1947. The witness' wife, Mary, corroborates his story, as does his son, who later worked for Montoya. (Thomas J. Carey, The Roswell Report)

According to the Anaya brothers, they received a telephone call from a shaken Montoya; he asked them to join him at the hangar as soon as possible and pick him up.

The brothers, who both worked on the base, drove over to hangar area but were kept at a distance from the building by armed guards. Montoya appeared through a small door in the front of the hangar and staggered over to the car and the waiting Anayas. Montoya shouted at them, "Let's get the hell out of here!"

The Anayas drove to their home. Montoya sat in the back seat; they said he looked ghostly pale, shook for the entire ride, and repeated over and over again, "They weren't human! They weren't human!"

The next day, the two Anaya brothers and their families were paid a visit at their homes by Sheriff Wilcox. According to Pete Anaya and his wife, Mary, who were interviewed again in September 2002 about this incident, Wilcox vowed to impose the ultimate sanction upon them if they talked about what they had seen:

"If you say anything, you will be killed. And your entire family will be killed, as well."

The Roswell Report - If You Say Anything, You Will be Killed!

There are other witness accounts of being threatened by Wilcox. An interesting note is that he did not again run for Sheriff.

According to family and friends, the Roswell events "destroyed him." Now we know why. When asked about all this just a few years ago, a former deputy of Wilcox's responded, "I don't want to get shot."

Sheriff Wilcox, from the July 9th Roswell Daily Record

Mac Brazel calls on Frank Joyce, this time with a new story (at this point he’s recanted the earlier story (while being detained), and claims to have found a weather balloon on June 14th (almost a month ago at this time), and simply just got around to turning it in, (The date of course, was to allow the story to work at all, since without changing the date, the military knew they did not have a leg to stand on as they had no such balloons in the area during the actual recovery date) significantly different from the one he told on Sunday. When Joyce points that out, Brazel responds that it "would go hard on him" if he didn't tell the new story.

You're not going to say anything about what I told you the other day, are you?" Brazel asked Joyce.

"Not if you don't want me to," Joyce responded.

"Good," Brazel said. "You know our lives will never be the same."

Top Secret Furniture

At 8:00 PM. the flight crew is back. Again, they were not debriefed, but are told that they have flown the general's furniture to Fort Worth. They are cautioned not to tell anyone, including their families, what they have done. As far as everyone is concerned, the flight has not taken place. According to the testimony of both “Tim” and Slusher (and a couple others that would simply be redundant here), the “general’s furniture” comment was really more of a running joke with the flights.

Upon his return, Marcel confronts Cavitt in the intelligence office. Marcel wants the reports filed in his absence, but Cavitt refuses. Marcel points out that he is the senior officer but is told the orders came from Washington. If he has a problem, to "take it up with them."

Major Jesse Marcel

The next morning, Marcel arrived at his office and confronted the officer who had accompanied him to Mack Brazel's ranch to first investigate the crash: the head of counter intelligence (CIC), Capt. Sheridan Cavitt.

"I want to see the report of what all happened here while I was in Fort Worth," Marcel demanded.

"What report?" Cavitt answered. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"I outrank you," the major reminded him.

"I take my orders from Washington," Cavitt said. "If you don't like it, you can take it up with them." On that note, the CIC officer put an abrupt end to the debate.

The Roswell Report - Nothing Made on This Earth

The Las Vegas Review-Journal, along with dozens of other newspapers, carries a United Press story. "Reports of flying saucers whizzing through the sky fell off sharply today as the army and the navy began a concentrated campaign to stop the rumors." The story also reports that AAF headquarters in Washington "delivered a blistering rebuke to officers at Roswell."

Thursday, July 10, 1947

As he reads the morning newspaper, Bill Brazel learns about his father's activities in Roswell. He realizes that no one will be at the ranch and makes plans to get down there (to the ranch) to help.

At the debris field and impact site men are working to get everything cleaned up. They want nothing left and no signs of their presence.

Military personnel return to Sheriff Wilcox's office and ask for the box of debris he has been storing for them. Wilcox surrenders it without protest.

Mac Brazel is being held in the guest house on the base. The officers there are still trying to convince him that he is not to say anything about what he has seen. They are also trying to keep him out of the way of reporters. He is given a physical by doctors at the base hospital. (From numerous interviews and testimony)

Mac Brazel

Sheriff Wilcox calls on Glenn Dennis's father, telling him that his son has gotten himself into trouble out at the base. The sheriff had been visited by a sergeant who wants to ensure Glenn's silence.

Dennis' life had been threatened at the base hospital, by an officer who demanded Dennis forget what he had witnessed there. Like broadcaster Frank Joyce, Dennis became incensed at his treatment by the officer and openly defied the order to remain silent. The next day, his father received a visit from Sheriff Wilcox and a deputy, who told the elder Dennis that his son "was in trouble at the base." Dennis had no doubt that the Army officer's threat of the previous day was part of the message delivered to his father by Wilcox.

Major W. D. Prichard from Alamogordo claims that a unit from his base in Roswell launched balloons around June 14. That, according to the article reported in the Roswell Daily Record, is undoubtedly what Brazel had found, and of course, this now matches with the new story given by Brazel after being held, and interrogated by the military.

Friday, July 11, 1947

The debriefings of all the participants are under way. Participants are taken into a room in small groups and told that the recovery is a highly classified event. No one is to talk about it to anyone. Everyone is to forget that it ever happened.

When he tries to contact his nurse friend, Glenn Dennis is informed that she has been transferred from the base and that no one knows where she has gone.

Members of the military warn those civilians around Roswell who know something of the events that they can never talk about what happened. In some cases, the witnesses are threatened with death should they speak to anyone.

Saturday, July 12, 1947

Bill Brazel and his wife, Shirley, arrive at the ranch, but no one is around. Brazel begins his work, first surveying the ranch to see what needs to be done. He sees no evidence of a continued military presence. The trucks, jeeps, soldiers, and cordon are gone.

This weekend no aircraft with gun cameras search for the flying disks. No aircraft on standby wait for orders to take off. In fact, all aircraft are ordered grounded to prevent further searching.

Tuesday, July 15, 1947

Mac Brazel returns from Roswell. He’s driving a brand new pickup truck. All he will say about his experience is that his interrogators kept asking him the same questions over and over again and that Bill is better off not knowing what happened. Besides, Mac has taken an oath that he will never reveal, in detail, what he saw. By now most of the world has forgotten that a flying saucer supposedly crashed in New Mexico. (Only later in life does he again tell what he really saw, and about how he was forced to go along with the coverup)

On Tuesday 15th July Mac Brazel was again intimidated by the Army but although he had lived in poverty it was noticeable that he now had a brand new truck, money to buy a new house at Tularosa and a cold store at Las Cruces.

Events happen slowly from here on out. The story has been successfully buried now, if not for the witnesses, at least for the rest of the world. Looking back, it is almost impossible to imagine that all of this would be about finding a bunch of tin foil, balsa wood, and neoprene, yet in post-WWII, good citizens trusted the military, indeed in a base town, where anything and everything depended on it, and revolved around it.

Late July 1947

A deeply upset Mac Brazel tells the Stricklands (his neighbors) what happened in Roswell. Through he complains bitterly about his treatment there, he honors his oath of secrecy and says nothing about what he found.

Marian Strickland was a neighbor of Mac Brazel. Marian Strickland was interviewed in 1990.

Mac made it plain he was not supposed to tell that there was any excitement about the material he found on the ranch. He was a man who had integrity. He definitely felt insulted, misused and disrespected. He was worse than annoyed. He was definitely under some stress, and felt that he had been kicked around.

He was threatened that if he opened his mouth, he might get thrown in the back side of the jail. He gave that impression, definitely.

The Roswell Incident

Bill Brazel (Mac’s son) finds one of the pieces of foil-like material his father had described. Brazel shows this bit of debris to Sally Strickland (later Tadolini after marriage).

(1) My name is Sally Strickland Tadolini

(2) My address is: XXXXXXXXXX

(3) I am employed as: XXXXXXXX ( )I am retired.

(4) In July 1947, I was nine years old and lived with my parents, Lyman and Marian Strickland, and my two brothers on our ranch in Lincoln County, New Mexico. The neighboring ranch was the Foster place, which was managed by William W. ("Mac") Brazel. His house was about 10 miles from ours.

(5) I remember my parents talking about Mac Brazel finding a lot of unusual debris in one of his pastures and that there was a great deal of excitement about it among the neighbors. I recall the adults at first thought it was some kind of newfangled weather balloon, then deciding, no, there was no way it could be anything like that. I also recall that, later, the neighbors talked about how badly Mac Brazel had been treated, and that when he came back to the ranch, he never wanted to talk about what he had found.

(6) A week or so after all the excitement, Mac's son Bill, who was quite a bit older and married [added later: I am not certain that he was married at that time], stopped by our house. He had someone with him, and while I am not absolutely certain, I think it was his brother Vernon, who was my age. We--my father, brothers, myself, and possibly my mother--sat at the kitchen table with them. Bill showed us a piece of the thing his father had found, and he asked us not to say anything about it.

(7) What Bill showed us was a piece of what I still think of as fabric. It was something like aluminum foil, something like satin, something like well-tanned leather in its toughness, yet it was not precisely like any one of these materials. While I do not recall this with certainty, I think the fabric measured about four by eight or ten inches. Its edges, which were smooth, were not exactly parallel, and its shape was roughly trapezoidal. It was about the thickness of very fine kidskin glove leather and a full metallic grayish silver, one side slightly darker than the other. I do not remember it having any design or embossing on it.

(8) Bill passed it around, and we all felt of it [sic]. I did a lot of sewing, so the feel made a great impression on me. It felt like no fabric I have touched before or since. It was very silky or satiny, with the same texture on both sides. Yet when I crumpled it in my hands, the feel was like that you notice when you crumple a leather glove in your hand. When it was released, it sprang back into its original shape, quickly flattening out with no wrinkles. I did this several times, as did the others. I remember some of the others stretching it between their hands and "popping" it, but I do not think anyone tried to cut or tear it.

Initialled 9/27/93

National Security Act

Also, late in July, the 26th to be exact, less than a month after the event, the National Security Act completely overhauled the entire defense department and created the Air Force, the CIA, and even the National Security Council. This act seemed to have been hastily conceived, even signed by Truman while aboard his plane, the Douglas VC-54C “Sacred Cow”. With this act, there is centralized intelligence, all being funneled into one agency, with a council of overseers. The connection to Roswell here is merely speculative, but it is suspicious that such a drastic overhaul would be put into effect without a LOT of pre-planning. Like the more recent establishment of the Department of Homeland Security, this appears to be more in response to a crisis, than a pre-planned reorganization. Indeed, compared to how long it took the DoHS to come into effect (which bureaucratically speaking, was pretty quickly), the 1947 overhaul is almost overnight.

August 1947

Mac Brazel and ranch hand Tommy Tyree spot a piece of wreckage floating in the water at the bottom of a sinkhole. Neither man bothers to climb down to retrieve it. (from interviews and statements) Not a particularly important happening, but worth mentioning.

September 1947

Lewis S. Rickett is assigned to assist Dr Lincoln La Paz from the University of New Mexico. La Paz's assignment is to determine, if possible, the speed and trajectory of the craft when it hit. According to Rickett, they discover a touchdown point five miles from the debris field where the sand has crystallized, apparently from the heat, and they find more of the foil-like material. La Paz, who apparently does not know that bodies were recovered, concludes that the object was an unoccupied probe from another planet.

CIC Master Sergeant Lewis “Bill” Rickett (NCOIC)

Two months later, in September 1947, Rickett was given another field assignment. He was ordered to assist Manhattan Project scientist Dr. Lincoln La Paz, from the University of New Mexico at Albuquerque. La Paz was a famous meteor expert, as well as a nuclear scientist, and had just arrived at the base in Roswell after being briefed in Washington, D.C. La Paz and Rickett's assignment was to determine the speed and trajectory of the object that impacted north of town.

According to Rickett, he and La Paz discovered a possible touchdown point about five miles northwest of the debris field. Not only did they recover identical material as that which Rickett had handled before, they were startled to find that the sand in the high-desert terrain had crystallized, apparently as a result of exposure to tremendous heat.

They spent a total of three weeks interviewing witnesses and making their calculations, which were contained in La Paz's official report. Rickett never had a chance to see the document, which was delivered directly to the Pentagon. The professor did confide to the plainclothes intelligence specialist that, based on all the physical evidence they'd collected and tested, the original object was an "unmanned interplanetary probe."

The Roswell Report - We Both Know What Really Happened Out There

Glenn Dennis learns that his nurse friend has been killed. A letter returned as undeliverable indicates the addressee is deceased. Nurses at the Roswell base tell him that she was killed in an aircraft accident while stationed in London, England. (this is from Dennis’ testimony, cited earlier)

November 1947

Arthur Exon, assigned at Wright Field, flies over the debris field and the impact site. The tracks of the trucks and jeeps are still visible, as is the gouge. Exon was a Lt. Colonel at Wright Field during incident. He was later stationed at the Pentagon. He retired as a Brig. General. Though he admits to not having first hand knowledge of the debris, he was familiar with it through personnel involved. His first hand account is primarily in the fly-over of the debris field and impact site, and reinforces the accounts given by others.

Brig. Gen. Arthur E. Exon

September 1948

Rickett, while in Albuquerque, meets with La Paz. La Paz remains convinced that an unoccupied probe from another planet crashed in New Mexico the year before. In his secret dealings with various government projects La Paz has found nothing to cause him to change his mind.

One year later, Rickett met once again with Dr. La Paz, this time in Albuquerque. La Paz remained convinced that the object which crashed near Corona, N.M., was from another planet. In all his confidential meetings with various government agencies, he said, he had learned nothing which contradicted that position.

October 1948

Rickett meets with John Wirth, another CIC agent. Rickett asks Wirth about the status of the material recovered at Roswell and is told that they had yet to figure it out. According to Wirth, they hadn't been able to cut it.

The very next month, while on assignment in Washington, D.C., Rickett met with fellow counterintelligence agent John Wirth. Rickett asked about the status of the materials recovered at Roswell the previous year. According to Wirth, the government's top researchers had yet to identify its metallurgic content and still "hadn't been able to cut it."

Summer 1950

From time to time in the two years following the crash, Bill Brazel has found "scraps" of the craft. His father confirms this, saying, "That looks like some of the contraption I found." Bill Brazel, in Corona, mentions his discoveries. The next day Captain Armstrong and three others from the Roswell base arrive and ask for the material. Armstrong reminds Brazel that his dad cooperated with them. It is the younger Brazel's patriotic duty to give it up. Brazel can't think of a good reason to deny it to them and surrenders it. (according to Bill Brazel’s testimony).

Skeptics point out that they can find no records for this Captain Armstrong at RAAF. Interestingly enough though, Brazel is not the only one to describe the red-haired captain, nor the only one to name him by name. Gerald Anderson, a young boy at the time, also independently mentions the captain by name, and the red hair. Many other witnesses (such as Glenn Dennis) have identified this red-headed captain, but did not recall the name. Whether a member of a covert group, or a casualty of the records fire, or even more simply, not attached to the base, numerous witnesses point out and name this man.

1952

Major Ellis Boldra, an engineer stationed at Roswell, discovers samples of the debris locked in a safe in the engineering office. In the course of his experiments, he tries to burn and melt it with an acetylene torch and to cut it with a large variety of tools. Although extremely thin, the metal resists his efforts. When crumpled, it quickly returns to its original shape.

Boldra subjected the sample to a number of tests. It was thin, incredibly strong, and dissipated heat in some manner. Boldra used an acetylene torch on the material, which didn't melt and barely got warm. It didn't glow when heated, and once the flame was removed, it could be handled in seconds. Boldra tried to cut it with a variety of tools and failed. No one remembers if he tried to drill through it. One of Boldra's friends said that it wasn't any type of metal that he could identify. (Randle & Schmidt, interviews with Boldra’s son and friends)

1969

As Americans walk on the moon, Melvin F. Brown tells his family that he has seen the wreckage of an extraterrestrial craft and the bodies of the crew. He assisted in the recovery; taking the bodies into Roswell.

Sgt. Melvin Brown

Melvin E. Brown, a sergeant with the 509th Atomic Bomb Squadron at Roswell Army Air Field in 1947, told family members that he had seen the bodies recovered at Roswell when he was given the task of guarding a number of them after they were placed in the rear of a military truck.

(Also, see earlier cited testimony for this witness, as well as answers for skeptics regarding this witness)

1972

Inez Wilcox tells her granddaughter Barbara Dugger of the involvement of the Chaves County sheriff in the events of 1947. She says her husband, Sheriff Wilcox, was informed that one of the beings survived the crash. Mrs. Wilcox says military personnel used death threats to keep the family from talking about the events. (from numerous interviews)

1978

Pappy Henderson confides in his close friend John Kromschroeder that he flew wreckage from a crashed saucer out of Roswell and to Dayton, Ohio. He shows Kromschroeder a fragment of the debris and tells his friend that he saw alien bodies.

Oliver "Pappy" Henderson

John’s affidavit:

(1) My name is John Kromschroeder, DDS.

(2) My address is:

(3) I am retired from the field of dentistry.

(4) I met Oliver W. "Pappy" Henderson in 1962 or 1963. I learned that we shared an interest in metallurgy. We participated in several joint business ventures.

(5) In 1977, which was the 30th anniversary of Roswell event, Henderson told me about the Roswell incident. He said he transported wreckage and alien bodies to Wright Field in Dayton, Ohio. He described the wreckage as "spacecraft garbage." He said "the passengers suffered their death." He described the beings as small.

(6) Approximately one year later, Henderson produced a piece of metal taken from the craft. I gave it a good thorough looking at and decided that it was an alloy that we are not familiar with. It was a gray lustrous metal resembling aluminum, but lighter in weight and much stiffer.

(7) I have not been paid or given anything of value to make this statement, which is the truth to the best of my recollection.

Signed: Dr. John G. Kromschroeder

Date: 1 May, 1991

Signature witnessed by:

John XXXXXXXXXXX

LCdr US Navy (Ret)

Stanton Friedman (UFO researcher, Nuclear Physicist) is at a television station in Baton Rouge, LA, when the station manager suggests that he contact Jesse Marcel. He found Marcel in Houma, LA, now retired from the service.

Stanton Friedman

"Out of the blue, he says, 'you know, the guy you ought to talk to is Jesse Marcel. He handled the wreckage of one of those saucers you're interested in when he was in the military,' " Friedman told ABC News.

Jesse Marcel is interviewed by a number of researchers, including Leonard H. Stringfield and Stanton Friedman. Marcel tells them that he is sure the wreckage is nothing from earth. Later, Marcel grants interviews to various news organizations, but those reports do not gain wide dissemination.

Leonard Stringfield

December 1979

Reporter Bob Pratt interviews and later publishes his interview with Jesse Marcel in which Marcel "admitted that he was the intelligence officer who had recovered the parts of a flying saucer."

January 1980

Charles Berlitz and William L. Moore publish "The Roswell Incident", the first attempt at a comprehensive analysis of the events at Roswell. In the course of his research, Moore located and interviewed more than seventy witnesses who had some knowledge of the event.

Syndicated television program "In Search Of" airs an episode about UFO coverups and interviews Marcel. In the course of that interview, Marcel again insists the material he saw had no earthly origin.

1980/1981

After reading a story about the events at Roswell in a tabloid newspaper, Pappy Henderson tells his wife, Sappho, that everything in the story was true. He knows from his own personal involvement. He is surprised that the story is being released and, moreover; that it is accurately reported. He says even the descriptions of the bodies are accurate. Sappho’s affidavit:

(1) My name is Sappho Henderson

(2) My address is: XXXXXXXX

(3) I am retired.

(4) My husband was Oliver Wendell Henderson, who was called "Pappy," because he was older than the other pilots in his squadron during World War II and had prematurely gray hair. We met during World War II, when he flew with the 446th Bomb Squadron; he flew B-24s and had 30 missions over Germany, for which he received two Distinguished Flying Crosses and the Air Medal with Four Oak Leaf Clusters.

(5) After the war, he returned home and was sent to Galveston Air Force Base, then transferred to Pueblo AFB, and then sent to Roswell (later Walker AFB), where he stayed for 13 years.

(6) While he was stationed at Roswell, he ran the "Green Hornet Airline," which involved flying C-54s and C-47s, carrying VIPs, scientists and materials from Roswell to the Pacific during the atom bomb tests. He had to have a Top Secret clearance for this responsibility. After separating from the service, he operated a construction business in Roswell. He died on March 25, 1986.

(7) In 1980 or 1981, he picked up a newspaper at a grocery store where we were living in San Diego. One article described the crash of a UFO outside Roswell, with the bodies of aliens discovered beside the craft. He pointed out the article to me and said, "I want you to read this article, because it's a true story. I'm the pilot who flew the wreckage of the UFO to Dayton, Ohio. I guess now that they're putting it in the paper, I can tell you about this. I wanted to tell you for years." Pappy never discussed his work because of his security clearance.

(8) He described the beings as small with large heads for their size. He said the material that their suits were made of was different than anything he had ever seen. He said they looked strange. I believe he mentioned that the bodies had been packed in dry ice to preserve them. He was not aware of the book [The Roswell Incident] that had been published about this event at the time he told me this.

(9) I have not been paid or given anything of value to make this statement, which is the truth to the best of my recollection.

Signed: Sappho Henderson

Date: July 9, 1991

Signature witnessed by: Steve Groode

Subscribed and sworn before me this 9th day of July, 1991

XXXXXXXXXXXXX, Notary Public

In and for the County of Los Angeles State of California

1991

Bill Rickett receives a phone call from his former commander, Sheridan Cavitt (the one who went with Marcel to the debris field, and later didn’t provide Marcel with the report).

One can well imagine Bill Rickett's surprise when, after more than 40 years of silence, he received an evening phone call in 1991 from his former commanding officer.

"Happy birthday, Bill," said the voice on the other end of the phone. "It's 'Cav,' your old boss."

After exchanging niceties, Cavitt queried, "Have you been talking to anyone about what happened back in 1947?" Rickett identified one specific investigator, whom Cavitt knew as well.

"What have you been telling him?" pried Cavitt. "We both know what really happened out there, don't we, Bill?"

"We sure do," Rickett responded.

After a short pause Cavitt snapped back, "Well, maybe someday. Goodbye, Bill."

Lewis "Bill" Rickett, who passed away in October 1993, never heard from Cavitt again.

Mid to Late 1990’s

The Air Force attempts to quell public interest in the story by doing what they have always done since Blue Book, come out with a very scientific-“looking” report, only to of course realize later how inept it is, and then come out with an even more inept “final word” on the subject.

This is similar to the strategy employed in the 1952 case involving the Washington UFOs and temperature inversions theory, only to come out later and claim how erroneous that was. (That case by the way, remains listed as “unexplained” in Blue Book’s files, despite the lengthy report commissioned to convince us all it was temperature inversions on the radar screens. It seems the military did not like calling so many of their own pilots mistaken, as they visually sighted and tracked these objects, which of course, shoots down the inversion theory.)

In the mid to late 1990's, the United States Air Force responded to a General Accounting Office inquiry regarding what has become known as the "Roswell Incident" with two reports explaining the Air Force's version of the events. The "Roswell Incident" refers to witness accounts of debris from an Unidentified Flying Object (UFO) and alien corpses from the alleged UFO crash near the town of Roswell, New Mexico. The second of the reports addresses the likelihood that the "alien corpses" seen in the New Mexico desert were actually anthropomorphic dummies from high-altitude parachute drops conducted with dummies from the Aero Medical Laboratory at Wright Air Development Center.

Roswell History

Conclusion

Both reports can also be read at the above link, for the Air Force version of the incident. They believe that seasoned officers from Sergeants to Generals are fooled by balsa wood, tin foil, and neoprene, and that the aliens people think they saw were really from tests done 5 years after the event, using human sized dummies in military flight suits.

Nearly half a century later, the US military still insist that all of this secrecy, that keeping Brazel in custody, the military cordon, the quick flights, etc. that all of this was to protect the military secrets of balsa wood, tin foil, and neoprene. Even the skeptics will admit that only the PURPOSE of Mogul was classified, and that it consisted of off the shelf technology. This was debris that could retain shape, could not be cut, was stronger than steel, yet light as a feather, etc.

One would also have to believe that numerous military officers, including those in Intelligence, from Sergeants to Generals, could somehow be unable to identify balloon wreckage when they saw it.

In order for a crashed flying saucer scenario to be true, one would have to believe that Marcel was the most incompetent officer in the history of the Army. He took no personal or security precautions while dealing with the most incredible material ever found on Earth. He sent Cavitt back to base unguarded, he drove away and left that entire field full of wreckage, and he stopped at his house on his way back to the base. You would also have to believe that Colonel Blanchard was a complete idiot to have issued that press release. Then we come to GENERAL Ramey who allowed a civilian photographer to handle and photograph extraterrestrial material. I do not pretend to know what the wreckage was on that farm back in '47 but judging by the actions of Marcel, Blanchard, Cavitt, and Ramey I think it is pretty safe to assume it was not from another world.

Perhaps the biggest mistake, was then the Air Force’s final word on the crash. In their effort to sweep it under the rug, they even went so far as to address the bodies. Obviously, they felt the claim of bodies warranted some kind of explanation. It would have been far wiser to simply ignore this aspect, and yet the majority of the last report on this, is spent trying to convince the public that crash dummies (man sized, and in military uniforms) from tests done FIVE YEARS AFTER the incident, were somehow being confused for 4’ tall aliens. Many consider it an insult to the average person's intelligence to suggest believing such an explanation.

If one would take the time to read the Air Force's report about the bodies with an open mind one might see the light of truth in there. Witnesses like Jim Ragsdale and Glenn Dennis changed their stories so many times it makes my head spin. It is entirely possible that they remembered an actual event but got the year wrong. It happens to me all the time.

There are reports from other people who were stationed at Roswell during that time that say that nothing unusual happened on base. Of course their testimony is summarily dismissed as disinformation and part of the cover up.

Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. This case revolves around the 30 year old memories of a man who was a known liar and could not be counted on to tell the truth. If you take Marcel out of the equation then you have no case whatsoever. When Friedman first contacted Marcel he could not remember the month or year that the incident took place and could not remember Cavitt's name. Why would anyone believe what he said about the debris?

Before you decide what to believe I encourage to decide who to believe. Berlitz, Moore, Friedman, Berliner, Randall and Schmitt have all been known to omit critical data, stretch the truth, make unfounded claims, and change facts like dates. If you are basing your beliefs about Roswell on what these people are telling you then perhaps you should take another look. I know I did and it opened my eyes.

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Categories: Fix | Government projects and installations | Conspiracy Theories | Aliens and UFOs

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