Official story of the Roswell incident

REPORT OF AIR FORCE RESEARCH REGARDING THE

"ROSWELL INCIDENT"

July 1994

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The "Roswe l l Inc ident " r e f e r s to an event tha t

suppos edly happened in July, 1947, whe r e in the Army Ai r

For c e s (AAF) a l l egedly r e cove r ed r ema ins of a c r a shed

" f lying di s c " ne a r Roswe l l , New Mexi co. In Februa ry,

1994, the Gene r a l Ac count ing Of f i c e (GAO), a c t ing on the

r eque s t of a New Mexi co Congr e s sman, ini t i a t ed an audi t

to a t t empt to loc a t e r e cords of such an inc ident and to

de t e rmine i f r e cords r ega rding i t we r e prope r ly handl ed.

Al though the GAO e f for t was to look a t a numbe r of

gove rnment agenc i e s , the appa r ent focus was on the Ai r

For c e . SAF/AAZ , a s the Cent r a l Point of Cont a c t for the

GAO in thi s ma t t e r , ini t i a t ed a sys t ema t i c s e a r ch of

cur r ent Ai r For c e of f i c e s a s we l l a s nume rous a r chive s

and r e cords c ent e r s tha t might he lp expl a in thi s ma t t e r .

Re s e a r ch r eve a l ed tha t the "Roswe l l Inc ident " was not

even cons ide r ed a UFO event unt i l the 1978-1980 t ime

f r ame . Pr ior to tha t , the inc ident was di smi s s ed be c aus e

the AAF or igina l ly ident i f i ed the debr i s r e cove r ed a s

be ing tha t of a we a the r ba l loon. Subs equent ly, va r ious

author s wrot e a number of books c l a iming tha t , not only

was debr i s f rom an a l i en spa c e c r a f t r e cove r ed, but a l so

the bodi e s of the c r a f t ' s a l i en oc cupant s . The s e c l a ims

cont inue to evolve today and the Ai r For c e i s now

rout ine ly a c cus ed of engaging in a " cove r -up" of thi s

suppos ed event .

The r e s e a r ch loc a t ed no r e cords a t exi s t ing Ai r For c e

of f i c e s tha t indi c a t ed any " cove r -up" by the USAF or any

indi c a t ion of such a r e cove ry. Cons equent ly, e f for t s

we r e int ens i f i ed by Ai r For c e r e s e a r che r s a t nume rous

loc a t ions whe r e r e cords for the pe r iod in que s t ion we r e

s tor ed. The r e cords r evi ewed did not r eve a l any inc r e a s e

in ope r a t ions , s e cur i ty, or any othe r a c t ivi ty in July,

1947, tha t indi c a t ed any such unusua l event may have

oc cur r ed. Re cords we r e loc a t ed and thoroughly explor ed

conc e rning a then-TOP SECRET ba l loon proj e c t , de s igned

to a t t empt to moni tor Sovi e t nuc l e a r t e s t s , known a s

Proj e c t Mogul . Addi t iona l ly, s eve r a l surviving proj e c t

pe r sonne l we r e loc a t ed and int e rvi ewed, a s was the only

surviving pe r son who r e cove r ed debr i s f rom the or igina l

Roswe l l s i t e in 1947, and the forme r of f i c e r who

ini t i a l ly ident i f i ed the wr e ckage a s a ba l loon.

Compa r i son of a l l informat~on deve loped or obt a ined

indi c a t ed tha t the ma t e r i a l r e cove r ed ne a r Roswe l l was

cons i s t ent wi th a ba l loon devi c e and mos t l ike ly f rom

one of the Mogul ba l loons tha t had not be en pr evious ly

r e cove r ed. Ai r For c e r e s e a r ch e f for t s did not di s c los e

any r e cords of the r e cove ry of any " a l i en" bodi e s or

ext r a t e r r e s t r i a l ma t e r i a l s .

INTRODUCTION

Ai r For c e involvement in the a l l eged UFO- r e l a t ed

inc ident popul a r ly known a s the "Roswe l l Inc ident " began

a s the r e sul t of a J anua ry 14, 1994, Wa shington Pos t

a r t i c l e (At ch 1) whi ch announc ed Congr e s sman St evenSchi f f ' s int ent to ini t i a t e a Gene r a l Ac count ing Of f i c e

(GAO) e f for t to r e solve thi s cont rove r s i a l ma t t e r .

Having pr evious ly be en involved in nume rous Fr e edom of

Informa t ion Ac t (FOIA) and Congr e s s iona l r eque s t s on

"unusua l a i r c r a f t , " to inc lude Unident i f i ed Flying

Obj e c t s (UFOs), The Di r e c tor , Se cur i ty and Spe c i a l

Progr am Ove r s ight , Of f i c e of the Se c r e t a ry of the Ai r

For c e , (SAF/AAZ) be l i eved the Ai r For c e would become

involved in any GAO e f for t involving thi s subj e c t .

Thus , in l a t e J anua ry, 1994, SAF/AAZ di r e c t ed i t s

r e s e a r ch/de c l a s s i f i c a t ion t e am, SAF/AAZD, to a t t empt to

loc a t e any of f i c i a l r e cords r e l a t ive to thi s ma t t e r .

The s e ini t i a l r e s e a r ch e f for t s focus ed on r e cords a t the

Ai r For c e Hi s tor i c a l Re s e a r ch Agency (AFHRA), Maxwell

AFB, AL, the Ai r For c e Sa f e ty Agency (AFSA) a t Ki r t l and

AFB, NM, and the Na t iona l Ar chive s and Re cords

Admini s t r a t ion (NARA).

On Februa ry 15, 1994, the GAO of f i c i a l ly not i f i ed

Se c r e t a ry of De f ens e Wi l l i am J . Pe r ry tha t , i t was

ini t i a t ing an audi t of the Depa r tment of De f ens e (DoD)

pol i c i e s and proc edur e s for a cqui r ing, c l a s s i fying,

r e t a ining, and di spos ing of of f i c i a l gove rnment

document s de a l ing wi th we a the r ba l loon, a i r c r a f t , and

s imi l a r c r a sh inc ident s (At ch 2) . Thi s not i f i c a t ion was

sub- s equent ly pa s s ed to the Depa r tment of De f ens e

Inspe c tor Gene r a l who in turn of f i c i a l ly not i f i ed the

Se c r e t a r i e s of the Se rvi c e s and othe r a f f e c t ed pa r t i e s

of the audi t in a Februa ry 23, 1994, memo (At ch 3) . Thi s

memorandum indi c a t ed tha t the "GAO i s anxious to r e spond

to Repr e s ent a t ive Schi f f ' s r eque s t and to di spe l any

conc e rns tha t the DoD i s be ing unr e spons ive . " The s e we r e

the f i r s t of f i c i a l US Gove rnment document s tha t

indi c a t ed tha t the purpos e of the GAO was to r evi ew

" c r a sh inc ident s involving we a the r ba l loons and unknown

a i r c r a f t , such a s UFOs and for e ign a i r c r a f t , and (2) the

f a c t s involving the r epor t ed c r a sh of an UFO in 1949

( s i c , 1947) a t Roswe l l , New Mexi co . • . ( and an) a l l eged

DoD cove r -up. "

An ent r anc e me e t ing of pot ent i a l ly conc e rned pa r t i e s was

he ld in the of f i c e s of the DoD Inspe c tor Gene r a l on

Februa ry 28, 1994. Dur ing thi s me e t ing i t was l e a rned

tha t , whi l e the audi t of f i c i a l ly would be r evi ewing the

r e cords of a numbe r of DoD ( and pos s ibly othe r Exe cut ive

Br anch ent i t i e s ) , the bulk of the e f for t would be

focus ed on Ai r For c e r e cords and sys t ems . The audi t was

of f i c i a l ly given the GAO code 701034, and ent i t l ed

"Re cords Management Proc edur e s De a l ing Wi th We a the r

Ba l loon, Unknown Ai r c r a f t , and Simi l a r Cr a sh Inc ident s . "

Al though thi s of f i c i a l t i t l e appe a r ed r a the r broad,

the r e was no mi sunde r s t anding tha t the r e a l purpos e was

to a t t empt to loc a t e r e cords and/or informa t ion on the

"Roswe l l Inc ident . " Thi s inc ident , expl a ined l a t e r in

mor e de t a i l , gene r a l ly de a l t wi th the c l a im tha t in July

of 1947, the US Army Ai r For c e s (USAAF) r e cove r ed a

f lying s auc e r and lor i t s a l i en oc cupant s whi ch

suppos edly c r a shed ne a r Roswe l l , New Mexi co. When the

USAAF ul t ima t e ly be c ame the Uni t ed St a t e s Ai r For c e

(USAF) in Sept embe r , 1947, the USAF inhe r i t ed equipment ,

pe r sonne l , r e cords , pol i c i e s , and proc edur e s f rom the

AAF. In thi s pa r t i cul a r c a s e , the Ai r For c e a l so

inhe r i t ed the a l l ega t ion tha t i t had " cove r ed up" the

"Roswe l l Inc ident " and ha s cont inued to do so for the

next 47 ye a r s .Wi thin the Ai r For c e , the Of f i c e of the Admini s t r a t ive

As s i s t ant to the Se c r e t a ry of the Ai r For c e (SAF/AA) i s

r e spons ibl e both for informa t ion manaqement proc edur e s

(SAF/AAI) and s e cur i ty pol i cy and ove r s iqht (SAF/AAZ).

Be c aus e of thi s orqani z a t ion, SAF/AA was the loqi c a l

ent i ty to a s s i s t the GAO in i t s audi t and SAF/AAZ was

of f i c i a l ly named a s the Cent r a l Point of Cont a c t for

thi s ende avor (At ch 4) . Subs equent ly, the then

Admini s t r a t ive As s i s t ant , Mr. Robe r t J . McCormick,

i s sued a t a skinq memorandum da t ed Ma r ch 1, 199~ (At ch

5) , to a numbe r of cur r ent Ai r St a f f and Se c r e t a r i a t

of f i c e s tha t miqht pos s ibly have r e cords r e l a t ed to such

an inc ident i f , inde ed, some thinq had a c tua l ly oc cur r ed.

Thi s s e a r ch for r e cords was purpos e ly l imi t ed to Ai r

For c e r e cords and sys t ems s inc e :

(a) The Ai r For c e had no author i ty to compe l othe r

aqenc i e s to r evi ew the i r r e cords ;

(b) The Ai r For c e would have no way to moni tor the

compl e t ene s s of the i r e f for t s i f they did; and

(c) the ove r a l l e f for t was the t a sk and r e spons ibi l i ty

of the GAO- -not the Ai r For c e .

Dur inq the in-br i e f inq proc e s s wi th GAO, i t wa s l e a rned

tha t thi s audi t wa s , inde ed, qene r a t ed a t the spe c i f i c

r eque s t of Conqr e s sman St even Schi f f of New Mexi co.

Ea r l i e r , Conqr e s sman Schi f f had wr i t t en to the

Depa r tment of De f ens e Leqi s l a t ive Li a i son Of f i c e for

informa t ion on the "Roswe l l Inc ident " and had be en

advi s ed tha t i t was pa r t of the forme r UFO "Proj e c t

Bluebook" tha t had pr evious ly be en turned ove r to NARA

by the Ai r For c e . Conqr e s sman Schi f f subs equent ly

l e a rned f rom NARA tha t , a l thouqh they did, inde ed, have

the "Bluebook" ma t e r i a l s , the "Roswe l l Inc ident " was not

pa r t of tha t r epor t . Conqr e s sman Schi f f , appa r ent ly

pe r c e ivinq tha t he had be en " s tonewa l l ed" by the DoD,

then qene r a t ed the r eque s t for the a for ement ioned aUdi t .

I t i s wi thin thi s cont ext tha t the fol lowinq r e s e a r ch

and a s s i s t anc e e f for t s we r e conduc t ed in suppor t of the

GAO. Thi s r epor t i s int ended to s t and a s the f ina l

of f i c i a l Ai r For c e r e spons e r eqa rdinq thi s ma t t e r .

THE "ROSWELL INCIDENT"- -WHAT WAS ORIGINALLY REPORTED

IN 1947

The mode rn pr eoc cupa t ion wi th wha t ul t ima t e ly came to be

c a l l ed Unident i f i ed Flyinq Obj e c t s (UFOs) a c tua l ly.beqan

in June , 1947. Al thouqh some pro-UFO r e s e a r che r s a rque

tha t s iqht inqs of UFOs qo ba ck to Bibl i c a l t ime s , mos t

r e s e a r che r s wil~ not di sput e tha t anythinq in UFO

hi s tory c an compa r e wi th the phenomenon tha t beqan in

1947. What wa s l a t e r cha r a c t e r i z ed a s " the UFO Wave of

1947" beqan wi th 16 a l l eqed s iqht inqs tha t oc cur r ed

be twe en May 17 and July 12, 1947, ( a1thouqh some

r e s e a r che r s c l a im the r e we r e a s many a s 800 s iqht inqs

dur inq tha t pe r iod) . Int e r e s t inqly, the "Roswe l l

Inc ident " wa s not cons ide r ed one of the s e 1947 event s

unt i l the 1978-1980 t ime f r ame . The r e i s no di sput e ,

howeve r , tha t some thinq happened ne a r Roswe l l in July,

1947, s inc e i t was r epor t ed in a numbe r of cont empor a ry

newspape r a r t i c l e s ; the mos t f amous of whi ch we r e the

July 8 and July 9 edi t ions of the Roswe l l Da i ly Re cord.The July 8 edi t ion r epor t ed "RAAF Captur e s Flying Sauc e r

On Ranch In Roswe l l Region, " whi l e the next day' s

edi t ion r epor t ed, "Ramey Empt i e s Roswe l l Sauc e r " and

"Ha r a s s ed Ranche r Who Loc a t ed 'Sauc e r ' Sor ry He Told

About I t . "

The f i r s t s tory r epor t ed tha t the Int e l l igenc e Of f i c e r

of the S09th Bomb Group, s t a t ioned a t Roswe l l AAF, Ma jor

J e s s e A. Ma r c e l , had r e cove r ed a " f lying di s c " f rom the

r ange l ands of an unident i f i ed r anche r in the vi c ini ty

of Roswe l l and tha t the di s c had be en " f lown to highe r

he adqua r t e r s . " Tha t same s tory a l so r epor t ed tha t a

Roswe l l coupl e c l a imed to have s e en a l a rge unident i f i ed

obj e c t f ly by the i r home on July 2, 1947.

The July 9 edi t ion of the pape r not ed tha t Br igadi e r

Gene r a l Roge r Ramey, Commander of the Eighth Ai r For c e

a t For th Wor th, Texa s , s t a t ed tha t upon examina t ion the

debr i s r e cove r ed by Ma r c e l was de t e rmined to be a

we a the r ba l loon. The wr e ckage was de s c r ibed a s a

" . •bundl e of t infoi l , broken wood be ams , and rubbe r

r emnant s of a ba l loon • • . . • • The addi t iona l s tory of the

"ha r a s s ed r anche r " ident i f i ed him a s W.W. Br a z e l of

Lincoln County, New Mexi co. He c l a imed tha t he and hi s

son, Vernon, found the ma t e r i a l on June 14, 1947, when

they "came upon a l a rge a r e a of br ight wr e ckage made up

of rubbe r s t r ips , t infoi l , a r a the r tough pape r , and

s t i cks . " He pi cked up some of the debr i s on July 4 and

. " . . the next day he f i r s t he a rd about the f lying di s c s

and wonde r ed i f wha t he had found might have be en the

r emnant s of one of the s e . " Br a z e l subs equent ly went to

Roswe l l on July 7 and cont a c t ed the She r i f f , who

appa r ent ly not i f i ed Ma jor Ma r c e l . Ma jor Ma r c e l and " a

man in pl a in c lothe s " then a c compani ed Br a z e l home to

pi ck up the r e s t of the pi e c e s . The a r t i c l e fur the r

r e l a t ed tha t Br a z e l thought tha t the ma t e r i a l :

" . .might have be en a s l a rge a s a t abl e top. The

ba l loon whi ch he ld i t up, i f tha t i s how i t worked,

mus t have be en about 12 f e e t long, he f e l t ,

me a sur ing the di s t anc e by the s i z e of the room in

whi ch he s a t . The rubbe r was smoky gr ay in color and

s c a t t e r ed ove r an a r e a about 200 ya rds in di ame t e r .

When the debr i s was ga the r ed up the t infoi l , pape r ,

t ape , and s t i cks made a bundl e about thr e e f e e t long

and 7 or 8 inche s thi ck, whi l e the rubbe r made a

bundl e about 18 or 20 inche s long and about 8 inche s

thi ck. In a l l , he e s t ima t ed, the ent i r e lot would

have we ighed maybe f ive pounds . The r e was no s ign of

any me t a l in the a r e a whi ch night have be en us ed for

an engine and no s ign of any prope l l e r s of any kind.

Al though a t l e a s t one pape r f in had be en glued onto

some of the t infoi l . The r e we r e no words to be found

anywhe r e on t~e ins t rument a l though the r e we r e

l e t t e r s on some of the pa r t s . Cons ide r abl e s cot ch

t ape and some t ape wi th f lowe r s pr int ed upon i t had

be en us ed in the cons t ruc t ion. No s t r ing or wi r e

we r e to be found but the r e we r e some eye l e t s in the

pape r to indi c a t e tha t some sor t of a t t a chment may

have be en us ed. Br a z e l s a id tha t he had pr evious ly

found two we a the r ba l loons on the r anch, but tha t

wha t he found thi s t ime did not in any way r e s embl e

e i the r of the s e . "

EVOLUTION OF THE EVENT FROM 1947 TO THE PRESENTGene r a l Ramey' s pr e s s conf e r enc e and r anche r Br a z e l ' s

s t a t ement e f f e c t ive ly ended thi s a s a UFO- r e l a t ed ma t t e r

unt i l 1978, a l though some UFO r e s e a r che r s a rgue tha t

the r e we r e s eve r a l obtus e r e f e r enc e s to i t in 1950' s e r a

l i t e r a tur e . Roswe l l , for exampl e , i s not r e f e r r ed to in

the of f i c i a l USAF inve s t iga t ion of UFOs r epor t ed in

Proj e c t Bluebook or i t s pr ede c e s sor s , Proj e c t Sign and

Proj e c t Grudge , whi ch r an f rom 1948-1969 (whi ch

Congr e s sman Schi f f subs equent ly l e a rned when he made hi s

or igina l inqui ry) .

In 1978, an a r t i c l e appe a r ed in a t abloid newspape r , the

Na t iona l Inqui r e r , whi ch r epor t ed the forme r

int e l l igenc e of f i c e r , Ma r c e l , c l a imed tha t he had

r e cove r ed UFO debr i s ne a r Roswe l l in 1947. Al so in 1978,

a UFO r e s e a r che r , St anton Fr i edman, me t wi th Ma r c e l and

began inve s t iga t ing the c l a ims tha t the ma t e r i a l Ma r c e l

handl ed wa s f rom a c r a shed UFO. Simi l a r ly, two author s ,

Wi l l i am L. Moore and Cha r l e s Be r l i t z , a l so engaged in

r e s e a r ch whi ch l ed them to publ i sh a book, The Roswe l l

Inc ident , in 1980. In thi s book they r epor t ed they

int e rvi ewed a numbe r of pe r sons who c l a imed to have be en

pr e s ent a t Roswe l l in 1947 and prof e s s ed to be e i the r

f i r s t or s e cond hand wi tne s s e s to s t r ange event s tha t

suppos edly oc cur r ed. Sinc e 1978-1980, othe r UFO

r e s e a r che r s , mos t not ably Dona ld Schmi t t and Kevin

Randl e , c l a im to have loc a t ed and int e rvi ewed even mor e

pe r sons wi th suppos ed knowl edge of unusua l happenings a t

Roswe l l . The s e inc luded both c ivi l i an and forme r

mi l i t a ry pe r sons .

Addi t iona l ly, the Robe r t St a ck-hos t ed t e l evi s ion show

"Unsolved Mys t e r i e s " devot ed a l a rge por t ion of one show

to a " r e - c r e a t ion" of the suppos ed Roswe l l event s .

Numerous othe r t e l evi s ion shows have done l ikewi s e ,

pa r t i cul a r ly dur ing the l a s t s eve r a l ye a r s and a

made - for -TV movi e on the subj e c t i s due to be r e l e a s ed

thi s summe r . The ove r a l l thrus t of the s e a r t i c l e s , boOks

and shows i s tha t the "Roswe l l Inc ident " wa s a c tua l ly

the c r a sh of a c r a f t f rom anothe r wor ld, the US

Gove rnment r e cove r ed i t , and ha s be en " cove r ing up" thi s

f a c t f rom the Ame r i c an publ i c s inc e 1947, us ing a

combina t ion of di s informa t ion, r idi cul e , and thr e a t s of

bodi ly ha rm, to do so. Gene r a l ly, the US Ai r For c e be a r s

the brunt of the s e a c cus a t ions .

From the r a the r benign de s c r ipt ion of the " event " and

the r e cove ry of some ma t e r i a l a s de s c r ibed in the

or igina l newspape r a c count s , the "Roswe l l Inc ident " ha s

s inc e grown to mythi c a l ( i f not mys t i c a l ) propor t ions in

the eye s and minds of some r e s e a r che r s , por t ions of the

medi a and a t l e a s t pa r t of the Ame r i c an publ i c . The r e

a r e a l so now s eve r a l ma jor va r i a t ions of the "Roswe l l

s tory. " For exampl e , i t wa s or igina l ly r epor t ed tha t

the r e wa s only r e cove ry of debr i s f rom one s i t e . Thi s

ha s s inc e grown f rom a minima l amount of debr i s

r e cove r ed f rom a sma l l a r e a to a i rpl ane loads of debr i s

f rom mUl t ipl e huge "debr i s f i e lds . " Likewi s e , the

r e l a t ive ly s impl e de s c r ipt ion of s t i cks , pape r , t ape and

t infoi l ha s s inc e grown to exot i c me t a l s wi th

hi e roglyphi c s and f ibe r opt i c - l ike ma t e r i a l s . Mos t

ve r s ions now c l a im tha t the r e we r e two c r a sh s i t e s whe r e

debr i s wa s r e cove r ed: and a t the s e cond s i t e , a l l eged

bodi e s of ext r a t e r r e s t r i a l a l i ens we r e suppos edly

r e t r i eved. The numbe r of the s e " a l i en bodi e s " r e cove r ed

a l so va r i ed. The s e c l a ims a r e fur the r compl i c a t ed by thef a c t tha t UFO r e s e a r che r s a r e not in agr e ement among

thems e lve s a s to exa c t ly whe r e the s e r e cove ry s i t e s we r e

loc a t ed or even the da t e s of the a l l eged c r a sh ( e s ) •

Cons i s t ent ly, howeve r , the AAF was a c cus ed of s e cur ing

the s e s i t e s , r e cove r ing a l l the ma t e r i a l the r e f rom,

ke eping loc a l s away, and r e turning the r e cove r ed

wr e ckage ( and bodi e s ) to Roswe l l unde r ext r eme ly t ight

s e cur i ty for fur the r proc e s s ing and l a t e r exploi t a t ion.

Once ba ck a t Roswe l l AAF, i t i s gene r a l ly a l l eged tha t

spe c i a l me a sur e s we r e t aken to not i fy highe r

he adqua r t e r s and a r r angement s made to have r e cove r ed

ma t e r i a l s shipped to othe r loc a t ions for ana lys i s . The s e

loc a t ions inc lude Ft . Wor th, Texa s , the home of the

Eighth Ai r For c e He adqua r t e r s ; pos s ibly Sandi a Ba s e (now

Ki r t l and AFB), New Mexi co; pos s ibly Andrews AAF,

Ma ryl and, and a lways to Wr ight Fi e ld, now known a s

Wr ight Pa t t e r son AFB, Ohio. The l a t t e r loc a t ion was the

home of "T-2" whi ch l a t e r be c ame known a s the Ai r

Te chni c a l Int e l l igenc e Cent e r (ATIC) and the Ai r

Ma t e r i e l Command (AMC), and would, in f a c t , be a logi c a l

loc a t ion to s tudy unknown ma t e r i a l s f rom wha t eve r

or igin. Mos t of the Roswe l l s tor i e s tha t cont a in the

r e cove ry of a l i en bodi e s a l so show them be ing shipped to

Wr ight Fi e ld. Once the ma t e r i a l and bodi e s we r e

di spe r s ed for fur the r ana lys i s and/or exploi t a t ion, the

gove rnment in gene r a l , and the Army Ai r For c e s in

pa r t i cul a r , then engaged in cove r ing up a l l informa t ion

r e l a t ing to the a l l eged c r a sh and r e cove ry, inc luding

the us e , of s e cur i ty oa ths to mi l i t a ry pe r sons and the

us e of coe r c ion ( inc luding a l l eged de a th thr e a t s ) to

othe r s . Thi s , a s theor i z ed by some UFO r e s e a r che r s , ha s

a l lowed the gove rnment to ke ep the f a c t tha t the r e i s

int e l l igent ext r a - t e r r e s t r i a l l i f e f rom the Ame r i c an

publ i c for 47 ye a r s . I t a l so suppos edly a l lowed the US

Gove rnment to exploi t r e cove r ed ext r a t e r r e s t r i a l

ma t e r i a l s by r eve r s e engine e r ing them, ul t ima t e ly

providing such things a s f ibe r opt i c and s t e a l th

t e chnoloqy. The "de a th thr e a t s , " oa ths , and othe r forms

of coe r c ion a l l eged to have be en me t ed out by the Army

Ai r For c e s pe r sonne l to ke ep peopl e f rom t a lking have

appa r ent ly not be en ve ry e f f e c t ive , a s s eve r a l hundr ed

peopl e a r e c l a imed to have come forwa rd (wi thout harm)

wi th some knOWledge of the "Roswe l l Inc ident " dur ing

int e rvi ews wi th non-gove rnment r e s e a r che r s and the

medi a .

Adding some me a sur e of c r edibi l i ty to the c l a ims tha t

have a r i s en s inc e 1978 i s the appa r ent depth of r e s e a r ch

of some of the author s and the ext ent of the i r e f for t s .

The i r c l a ims a r e l e s s ened somewha t , howeve r , by the f a c t

tha t a lmos t a l l the i r informa t ion came f rom ve rba l

r epor t s many ye a r s a f t e r the a l l eged inc ident .oc cur r ed.

Many of the pe r sons int e rvi ewed we r e , in f a c t , s t a t ioned

a t , or l ived ne a r Roswe l l dur ing the t ime in que s t ion,

and a numbe r of them c l a im mi l i t a ry s e rvi c e . Mos t ,

howeve r , r e l a t ed the i r s tor i e s in the i r olde r ye a r s ,

we l l a f t e r the f a c t . In othe r c a s e s , the informa t ion

provided i s s e cond or thi rdhand, having be en pa s s ed

through a f r i end or r e l a t ive a f t e r the pr inc ipa l had

di ed. What i s unique ly l a cking in the ent i r e explor a t ion

and exploi t a t ion of the "Roswe l l Inc ident " i s of f i c i a l

pos i t ive document a ry or phys i c a l evidenc e of any kind

tha t suppor t s the c l a ims of thos e who a l l ege tha t

some thinq unusua l happened. Conve r s e ly, the r e ha s neve rbe en any pr evious document a ry evidenc e produc ed by thos e

who would debunk the inc ident to show tha t some thing did

not happen; a l though logi c di c t a t e s tha t bur e auc r a c i e s

do not spend t ime document ing non- event s .

SEARCH STRATEGY AND METHODOLOGY

To insur e s enior Ai r For c e l e ade r ship tha t the r e we r e no

hidden or ove r looked f i l e s tha t might r e l a t e to the

"Roswe l l Inc ident ; " and to provide the GAO wi th the be s t

and mos t compl e t e informa t ion ava i l abl e , SAF/AAZ

cons t ruc t ed a s t r a t egy ba s ed on di r e c t t a sking f rom the

Of f i c e of the Se c r e t a ry, to e l i c i t informa t ion f rom

thos e func t iona l of f i c e s and organi z a t ions whe r e such

informa t ion might logi c a l ly be cont a ined. Thi s inc luded

di r e c t ing s e a r che s a t cur r ent of f i c e s whe r e spe c i a l or

unusua l proj e c t s might be c a r r i ed out , a s we l l a s

hi s tor i c a l organi z a t ions , a r chive s , and r e cords c ent e r s

ove r whi ch the Ai r For c e exe r t ed some degr e e of cont rol .

Re s e a r che r s did not , howeve r , go to the US Army to

r evi ew hi s tor i c a l r e cords in a r e a s such a s mi s s i l e

l aunche s f rom Whi t e Sands , or to the Depa r tment of

Ene rgy to de t e rmine i f i t s for e runne r , the Atomi c Ene rgy

Commi s s ion, had any r e cords of nuc l e a r - r e l a t ed inc ident s

tha t might have oc cur r ed a t or ne a r Roswe l l in 1947. To

do so would have enc roa ched on GAO's cha r t e r in thi s

ma t t e r . What Ai r For c e r e s e a r che r s did do, howeve r , was

to s e a r ch for r e cords s t i l l unde r Ai r For c e cont rol

pe r t a ining to the s e subj e c t a r e a s .

In orde r to de t e rmine pa r ame t e r s for the mos t produc t ive

s e a r ch of r e cords , a r evi ew was f i r s t conduc t ed of the

ma jor works r ega rding the "Roswe l l Inc ident " ava i l abl e

in the popul a r l i t e r a tur e . The s e works inc luded: The

Roswe l l Inc ident , (1980) by Wi l l i am Moore and Cha r l e s

Be r l i t z ; "Cr a shed Sauc e r s : Evidenc e in Se a r ch of Proof , "

(1985) by Moor e ; The UFO Cr a sh a t Roswe l l , ( I 99 1) by

Kevin Randl e and Dona ld Schmi t t ; The Truth About the UFO

Cr a sh a t Roswe l l , (1994) a l so by Randl e and Schmi t t ; The

Roswe l l Repor t : A Hi s tor i c a l Pe r spe c t ive , (1991) , George

M. Ebe rha r t , Edi tor ; "The Roswe l l Event s , " (1993)

compi l ed by Fr ed Whi t ing- Cr a sh a t Corona (1992) by

St anton T. Fr i edman and Don Be r l ine r , a s we l l a s

nume rous othe r a r t i c l e s wr i t t en by a combina t ion of the

above and othe r r e s e a r che r s . Col l e c t ive ly, the above

r epr e s ent the "pro" UFO wr i t e r s who a l l ege tha t the

gove rnment i s engaged in a conspi r a cy. The r e a r e no

spe c i f i c books wr i t t en ent i r e ly on the theme tha t

nothing happened a t Roswe l l . Howeve r , Cur t i s Pe ebl e s in

Wa t ch the Ski e s ! (1994) di s cus s ed the deve lopment of the

UFO s tory and growth of subs equent c l a ims a s a

phenomenon. The r e ha s a l so be en s e r ious r e s e a r ch a s we l l

a s a numbe r of de t a i l ed a r t i c l e s wr i t t en by so- c a l l ed

"debunke r s " of Roswe l l and othe r inc ident s , mos t not ably

Phi l ip J . Kl a s s who wr i t e s The Skept i c a l Inqui r e r

news l e t t e r , and Robe r t Todd, a pr iva t e r e s e a r che r . The

conc e rns and c l a ims of a l l the above author s and othe r s

we r e cons ide r ed in conduc t ing the USAF r e cords s e a r ch.

I t wa s a l so de c ided, pa r t i cul a r ly a f t e r a r evi ew of the

above popul a r l i t e r a tur e , tha t no spe c i f i c a t t empt would

be made to t ry to r e fut e , point by point , the nume rous

c l a ims made in the va r ious publ i c a t ions . Many of the s e

c l a ims appe a r to be he a r s ay, undocument ed, t aken out of

cont ext , s e l f - s e rving, or othe rwi s e dubious .

Addi t iona l ly, many of the above author s a r e not even inagr e ement ove r va r ious c l a ims . Most not abl e of the

confus ing and now eve r - changing c l a ims i s the

cont rove r sy ove r the da t e ( s ) of the a l l eged inc ident ,

the exa c t loc a t ion( s ) of the purpor t ed debr i s and the

ext ent of the wr e ckage . Such di s c r epanc i e s in c l a ims

made the s e a r ch much mor e di f f i cul t by gr e a t ly expanding

the volume of r e cords tha t had to be s e a r ched.

An exampl e of t rying to de a l wi th que s t ionabl e c l a ims i s

i l lus t r a t ed by the fol lowing exampl e : one of the popul a r

books ment ioned tha t was r evi ewed c l a imed tha t the

wr i t e r s had submi t t ed the names and s e r i a l numbe r s of

"ove r two doz en" pe r sonne l s t a t ioned a t Roswe l l in July,

1947, to the Ve t e r ans Admini s t r a t ion and the De f ens e

Depa r tment to conf i rm the i r mi l i t a ry s e rvi c e . They then

l i s t ed e l even of the s e pe r sons by name and a sked the

que s t ion "Why doe s ne i the r the De f ens e Depa r tment nor

the Ve t e r an' s Admini s t r a t ion have r e cords of any of

the s e men when we c an document tha t e a ch s e rved a t

Roswe l l Army Ai r Fi e ld. " Tha t c l a im sounded s e r ious so

SAF/AAZD was t a sked to che ck the s e e l even names in the

Pe r sonne l Re cords Cent e r in St . Loui s . Us ing only the

names ( s inc e the author s did not l i s t the s e r i a l

numbe r s ) the r e s e a r che r qui ckly found r e cords r e adi ly

ident i f i abl e wi th e ight of the s e pe r sons . The othe r

thr e e had such common names tha t the r e could have be en

mul t ipl e pos s ibi l i t i e s . Int e r e s t ingly, one of the l i s t ed

"mi s s ing" pe r sons had a c a sua l ty r epor t in hi s r e cords

r e f l e c t ing tha t he di ed in 195 1, whi l e the wr i t e r s

c l a imed to have int e rvi ewed him (or a pe r son of the

exa c t same name) in 1990.

Whi l e the hi s tor i c a l document s e a r ch was in progr e s s , i t

was de c ided to a t t empt to loc a t e and int e rvi ew s eve r a l

pe r sons ident i f i ed a s s t i l l l iving who could pos s ibly

answe r que s t ions gene r a t ed by the r e s e a r ch. Thi s had

neve r be en of f i c i a l ly done be for e , a l though mos t of the

pe r sons cont a c t ed r epor t ed tha t they had a l so be en

cont a c t ed in the pa s t by some of the l i s t ed author s or

othe r pr iva t e r e s e a r che r s . In orde r to count e r pos s ibl e

futur e a rgument s tha t the pe r sons int e rvi ewed we r e s t i l l

" cove r ing up" ma t e r i a l be c aus e of pr ior s e cur i ty oa ths ,

the int e rvi ewe e s we r e provided wi th author i z a t ion f rom

e i the r the Se c r e t a ry of the Ai r For c e or the Senior

Se cur i ty Of f i c i a l of the Ai r For c e tha t would of f i c i a l ly

a l low di s cus s ion of c l a s s i f i ed informa t ion, i f

appl i c abl e , or f r e e them f rom any pr ior r e s t r i c t ion in

di s cus s ing the ma t t e r , i f such exi s t ed. Aga in, the focus

was on int e rvi ewing pe r sons tha t could addr e s s spe c i f i c

i s sue s , r a i s ed by r e s e a r ch and no cons ide r a t ion was

given to t ry and loc a t e eve ry a l l eged wi tne s s c l a imed to

have be en cont a c t ed by the va r ious author s . For exampl e ,

one of the int e rvi ewe e s thought vi t a l to obt a in an

of f i c i a l s igned, · sworn s t a t ement f rom was She r idan

Cavi t t , Lt Col , USAF (Re t i r ed) who i s the l a s t l iving

member of the thr e e pe r sons unive r s a l ly a cknowl edged to

have r e cove r ed ma t e r i a l f rom the Fos t e r Ranch. Othe r s

we r e a l so int e rvi ewed a s informa t ion deve loped

(di s cus s ed in de t a i l l a t e r ) . Addi t iona l ly, in some c a s e s

survivor s of de c e a s ed pe r sons we r e a l so cont a c t ed in an

a t t empt to loc a t e va r ious r e cords thought to have be en

in the cus tody of the de c e a s ed.

Even though Ai r For c e r e s e a r ch or igina l ly s t a r t ed in

J anua ry, 1994, the f i r s t of f i c i a l Ai r For c e ·wide t a sking

was di r e c t ed by the Ma r ch 1, 1994, memorandum f romSAF/AA, (At ch 5) and was addr e s s ed to thos e cur r ent Ai r

St a f f e l ement s tha t would be the l ike ly r epos i tory for

any r e cords , pa r t i cul a r ly i f the r e was anything of an

ext r aordina ry na tur e involved. Thi s me ant tha t the

s e a r ch wa s not l imi t ed to unc l a s s i f i ed ma t e r i a l s , but

a l so would inc lude r e cords of the highe s t c l a s s i f i c a t ion

and compa r t rnent a t ion.

The spe c i f i c Ai r St a f f /Se c r e t a r i a t of f i c e s que r i ed

inc luded the fol lowing:

(a) SAF/AAI, Di r e c tor a t e of Informa t ion Management

(b) SAF/AQL, Di r e c tor a t e of El e c t roni c s and Spe c i a l

Progr ams

(c) AF/SE, Ai r For c e Sa f e ty

(d) AF/HO, Ai r For c e Hi s tor i an

(e) AF/ IN, Ai r For c e Int e l l igenc e ( inc luding Ai r For c e

Int e l l igenc e Agency- -AFIA, and the Na t iona l Ai r

Int e l l igenc e Cent e r , NAIC)

( f ) AF/XOW, Di r e c tor a t e of We a the r

(g) ( added l a t e r ) The Ai r For c e Of f i c e of Spe c i a l

Inve s t iga t ions (AFOSI)

In addi t ion to the above Ai r St a f f and Se c r e t a r i a t

of f i c e s , SAF/AAZ a l so r evi ewed appropr i a t e c l a s s i f i ed

r e cords for any t i e - in to thi s ma t t e r . Wi th r ega rds to

highly c l a s s i f i ed r e cords , i t should be not ed tha t any

progr ams tha t employ enhanc ed s e cur i ty me a sur e s or

cont rol s a r e known a s a Spe c i a l Ac c e s s Progr ams (SAPs ) .

The author i ty for such progr ams comes f rom Exe cut ive

Orde r 12356 and f lows f rom the Depa r tment of De f ens e to

the Se rvi c e s vi a DoD Di r e c t ive 5205.7. The s e progr ams

a r e impl ement ed in the Ai r For c e by Pol i cy Di r e c t ive

16-7, and Ai r For c e Ins t ruc t ion 16-701. The s e di r e c t ive s

cont a in de t a i l ed r equi r ement s for cont rol l ing and

r epor t ing, in a ve ry s t r i c t manne r , a l l SAPS. Thi s

inc lude s a r epor t f rom the Se c r e t a ry of the Ai r For c e to

the Se c r e t a ry of De f ens e ( and ul t ima t e ly to Congr e s s ) on

a l l SAPs submi t t ed for approva l , and a c e r t i f i c a t ion

tha t the r e a r e no "SAP- l iken progr ams be ing ope r a t ed.

The s e r epor t ing r equi r ement s a r e s t ipul a t ed in publ i c

l aw.

I t fol lowed then, tha t i f the Ai r For c e had r e cove r ed

some type of ext r a t e r r e s t r i a l spa c e c r a f t and/or bodi e s

and wa s exploi t ing thi s for s c i ent i f i c and t e chnology

purpos e s , then such a progr am would be ope r a t ed a s a

SAP. SAF/AAZ, the Cent r a l Of f i c e for a l l Ai r For c e SAPs,

ha s knowl edge of , and s e cur i ty ove r s ight ove r , a l l SAPs.

SAF/AAZ c a t egor i c a l ly s t a t ed tha t no such Spe c i a l Ac c e s s

Progr am{ s ) exi s t s tha t pe r t a in to ext r a t e r r e s t r i a l

spa c e c r a f t / a l i ens .

Likewi s e , the Se c r e t a ry of the Ai r For c e and the Chi e f

of St a f f , who he ad the Spe c i a l Progr am Ove r s ight

commi t t e e whi ch ove r s e e s a l l s ens i t ive progr ams in the

Ai r For c e , had no knowl edge of the exi s t enc e of any such

progr am involving, or r e l a t ing to the event s a t Roswe l l

or the a l l eged t e chnology tha t suppos edly r e sul t ed

the r e f rom. Be s ide s the obvious i r r egul a r i ty andi l l ega l i ty of ke eping such informa t ion f rom the mos t

s enior Ai r For c e , of f i c i a l s , i t would a l so be i l logi c a l ,

s inc e the s e of f i c i a l s a r e r e spons ibl e for obt a ining

funding for ope r a t ions , r e s e a r ch, deve lopment , and

s e cur i ty. Wi thout funding such a progr am, ope r a t ion, or

organi z a t ion could not exi s t . Even to ke ep such a f a c t

" cove r -up" in some sor t of pa s s ive " c a r e t ake r s t a tus "

would involve money. More impor t ant ly, i t would involve

peopl e and c r e a t e pape rwork.

The a for ement ioned Ma r ch 1, 1994, SAF/AA t a sking

gene r a t ed nega t ive r e spons e s (At ch 6-12) f rom a l l

r e c ipi ent s ; i . e . a l l of f i c e s r epor t ed tha t they had no

informa t ion tha t would expl a in the inc ident .

Cons equent ly, the s e nega t ive r e spons e s l ed to an

inc r e a s e in the a l r e ady on-going hi s tor i c a l r e s e a r ch a t

r e cords c ent e r s and a r chive s .

The ext ens ive a r chiva l and r e cords c ent e r s e a r ch was

sys t ema t i c a l ly c a r r i ed out a t by the SAF/AAZD

De c l a s s i f i c a t ion Revi ew Team. Thi s t e am i s compos ed

ent i r e ly of Ai r For c e Re s e rve pe r sonne l who have

ext ens ive t r a ining and expe r i enc e in l a rge s c a l e r evi ew

of r e cords . (Pr evious e f for t s inc lude the Southe a s t As i a

De c l a s s i f i c a t ion Revi ew, de c l a s s i f i c a t ion of POW/MIA

r e cords , and the r evi ew of the Gul f War Ai r Power Survey

r e cords ) . The t e am members a l l had the r equi s i t e

s e cur i ty c l e a r anc e s for c l a s s i f i ed informa t ion and had

the author i ty of the Se c r e t a ry of the Ai r For c e to

de c l a s s i fy any c l a s s i f i ed r e cord they found tha t might

be r e l a t ed to Roswe l l . SAF/AAZD conduc t ed r evi ews a t a

numbe r of loc a t ions , inc luding: the Na t iona l Ar chive s in

Wa shington, DC; the Na t iona l Pe r sonne l Re cords Cent e r ,

St . Loui s , MO; the Na t iona l Ar chive s , Sui t l and, MO, the

Na t iona l Re cords Cent e r , Sui t l and, MO: Nava l Re s e a r ch

Labor a tory, Wa shington, DC; Fede r a l Re cords Cent e r , Ft

Wor th, TX: the INSCOM Ar chive s , Ft . Meade, MO: Na t iona l

Ai r and Spa c e Museum, Wa shington, DC; Ai r For c e

Hi s tor i c a l Re s e a r ch Agency, Maxwell AFB, AL; Cent e r for

Ai r For c e Hi s tory, Bol l ing AFB, DC: Phi l l ips Labor a tory,

Hanscom AFB, MA, and Ki r t l and AFB, NM; Rome Labor a tory,

Gr i f f i s s AFB, NY: and the Libr a ry of Congr e s s ,

Wa shington, DC.

A l i s t ing of the spe c i f i c r e cord a r e a s s e a r ched i s

appended a s At ch 13. The a r e a s inc luded a l l thos e

subj e c t a r e a s logi c a l ly be l i eved to pos s ibly cont a in any

r e f e r enc e to a c t ivi t i e s a t Roswe l l AAF dur ing the pe r iod

of t ime in que s t ion. I t i s ant i c ipa t ed tha t de t r a c tor s

f rom thi s e f for t wi l l compl a in tha t " they did not s e a r ch

r e cord group x , box y, or r e e l z , e t c . : tha t ' s whe r e

the r e a l r e cords a r e ! " Such compl a int s a r e unavoidabl e

and the r e i s no pos s ibl e way tha t the mi l l ions of

r e cords unde r Ai r For c e cont rol could be s e a r ched page

by page . The t e am ende avor ed to make loqi c a1 s e a r che s in

thos e pl a c e s whe r e r e cords would l ike ly be found. They

we r e a s s i s t ed in thi s t a sk by a r chivi s t s , hi s tor i ans ,

and r e cords management spe c i a l i s t s , inc luding

expe r i enc ed pe r sons who have cont inua l ly worked in Army

and Ai r For c e r e cords sys t ems s inc e '1943. The t e am a l so

s e a r ched some r e cord a r e a s tha t we r e recommended by

s e r ious pr iva t e r e s e a r che r s such a s Robe r t Todd, who had

independent ly obt a ined a lmos t encyc lopedi c knowl edge of

the compl exi t i e s of Ai r For c e r e cords sys t ems ,

pa r t i cul a r ly a s r e l a t ed to thi s subj e c t a r e a .Not surpr i s ingly, the r e s e a r ch t e am found the usua l

numbe r of probl ems in many of the r e cords c ent e r s

(pa r t i cUl a r ly St . Loui s ) wi th mi s f i l ing, los t or

mi spl a c ed document s , mi sma rking of document s , or the

br e aking up of r e cord groups ove r the ye a r s and r e f i l ing

in di f f e r ent sys t ems . Thi s inc luded, for exampl e , a

sma l l amount of mi s s ing "de c ima l f i l e s " f rom the 509th

Bomb Group a t Roswe l l tha t cove r ed the ye a r s 1945-1949,

tha t we r e ma rked on the index a s "de s t royed. " The

r e s e a r che r s not ed tha t the r e was no pa t t e rn to any

anoma l i e s found and tha t mos t di s c r epanc i e s we r e minor

and cons i s t ent wi th wha t they had found in the pa s t on

s imi l a r proj e c t s .

WHAT THE ROSWELL INCIDENT WAS NOT

Be for e di s cus s ing spe c i f i c pos i t ive r e sul t s tha t the s e

e f for t s r eve a l ed, i t i s f i r s t appropr i a t e to di s cus s

thos e things , a s indi c a t ed by informa t ion ava i l abl e to

the Ai r For c e , tha t the "Roswe l l Inc ident " wa s not :

An Ai rpl ane Cr a sh

Of a l l the things tha t a r e document ed and t r a cked wi thin

the Ai r For c e , among the mos t de t a i l ed and s c rupulous

a r e a i rpl ane c r a she s . In f a c t , r e cords of a i r c r a she s go

ba ck to the f i r s t ye a r s of mi l i t a ry f l ight . Sa f e ty

r e cords and r epor t s a r e ava i l abl e for a l l c r a she s tha t

involved s e r ious damage , injury, de a th, or a combina t ion

of the s e f a c tor s . The s e r e cords a l so inc lude inc ident s

involving expe r iment a l or c l a s s i f i ed a i r c r a f t . USAF

r e cords showed tha t be twe en June 24, 1947, and July 28,

1947, the r e we r e f ive c r a she s in New Mexi co a lone ,

involving A-26C, P-5 IN, C-82A, P-80A and PQ-14B

a i r c r a f t ; howeve r , none of the s e we r e on the da t e ( s ) in

que s t ion nor in the a r e a ( s ) in que s t ion.

One of the addi t iona l a r e a s spe c i f i c a l ly s e t for th by

GAO in i t s e f for t s was to de a l wi th how the Ai r For c e

( and othe r s ) spe c i f i c a l ly document ed . " . .we a the r

ba l loon . . . and othe r c r a sh inc ident s . " In thi s a r e a , the

s e a r ch e f for t s r eve a l ed tha t the r e a r e no a i r s a f e ty

r e cords pe r t a ining to we a the r ba l loon c r a she s ( a l l

we a the r ba l loons " c r a sh" soone r or l a t e r ) ; howeve r ,

the r e a r e provi s ions for gene r a t ing r epor t s of " c r a she s "

a s ground s a f e ty inc ident s in the unl ike ly chanc e tha t a

ba l loon injur e s someone or c aus e s damage . Howeve r , such

r e cords a r e only ma int a ined for f ive ye a r s .

A Mi s s i l e Cr a sh

A c r a shed or e r r ant mi s s i l e , usua l ly de s c r ibed a s a

c aptur ed German V-2 or one of i t s va r i ant s , i s some t ime s

s e t for th a s a pbs s ibl e expl ana t ion for the debr i s

r e cove r ed ne a r Roswe l l . Sinc e much of thi s t e s t ing done

a t ne a rby Whi t e Sands wa s s e c r e t a t the t ime , i t would

be logi c a l to a s sume tha t the gove rnment would handl e

any mi s s i l e mi shap unde r t ight s e cur i ty, pa r t i cul a r ly i f

the mi shap oc cur r ed on pr iva t e l and. From the r e cords

r evi ewed by the Ai r For c e , howeve r , ' the r e wa s nothing

loc a t ed to sugge s t tha t thi s was the c a s e . Al though the

bulk of r ema ining t e s t ing r e cords a r e unde r the cont rol

of the US Army, the subj e c t ha s a l so be en ve ry we l l

document ed ove r the ye a r s wi thin Ai r For c e r e cords .

The r e would be no r e a son to ke ep such informa t ion

c l a s s i f i ed today. The USAF found no indi c a tor s or evenhint s tha t a mi s s i l e was involved in thi s ma t t e r .

A Nuc l e a r Ac c ident

One of the a r e a s , cons ide r ed was tha t wha t eve r happened

ne a r Roswe l l may have involved nuc l e a r we apons . Thi s was

a logi c a l a r e a of conc e rn s inc e the S09th Bomb Group was

the only mi l i t a ry uni t in the wor ld a t the t ime tha t had

a c c e s s to nuc l e a r we apons . Aga in, r evi ews of ava i l abl e

r e cords gave no indi c a t ion tha t thi s was the c a s e . A

number of r e cords s t i l l c l a s s i f i ed TOP SECRET and

SECRET-RESTRICTED DATA having to do wi th nuc l e a r we apons

we r e loc a t ed in the Fede r a l Re cords Cent e r in St . Loui s ,

MO . The s e r e cords , whi ch pe r t a ined to the S09th, had

nothing to do wi th any a c t ivi t i e s tha t could have be en

mi s int e rpr e t ed a s the "Roswe l l Inc ident . " Al so, any

r e cords of a nuc l e a r r e l a t ed inc ident would have be en

inhe r i t ed by the Depa r tment of Ene rgy (DOE), and, had

one oc cur r ed, i t i s l ike ly DOE would have publ i c ly

r epor t ed i t a s pa r t of i t s r e c ent de c l a s s i f i c a t ion and

publ i c r e l e a s e e f for t s . The r e we r e no anc i l l a ry r e cords

in Ai r For c e f i l e s to indi c a t e the pot ent i a l exi s t enc e

of such r e cords wi thin DOE channe l s , howeve r .

An Ext r a t e r r e s t r i a l Cr a f t

The Ai r For c e r e s e a r ch found absolut e ly no indi c a t ion

tha t wha t happened ne a r Roswe l l in 1947, involved any

type of ext r a t e r r e s t r i a l spa c e c r a f t . Thi s , of cour s e , i s

the c rux of thi s ent i r e ma t t e r . "Pro-UFO" pe r sons who

obt a in a copy of thi s r epor t , a t thi s point , mos t

probably begin the " cove r -up i s s t i l l on" c l a ims .

Neve r the l e s s , the r e s e a r ch indi c a t ed absolut e ly no

evidenc e of any kind tha t a spa c e ship c r a shed ne a r

Roswe l l or tha t any a l i en oc cupant s , we r e r e cove r ed

the r e f rom, in some s e c r e t mi l i t a ry ope r a t ion or

othe rwi s e . Thi s doe s not mean, howeve r , tha t the e a r ly

Ai r For c e was not conc e rned about UFOs. However, in· the

e a r ly days , "UFO" me ant Unident i f i ed Flying Obj e c t ,

whi ch l i t e r a l ly t r ans l a t ed a s some obj e c t in the a i r

tha t was not r e adi ly ident i f i abl e . I t did not mean, a s

the t e rm ha s evolved in today' s l anguage , to equa t e to

a l i en spa c e ships . Re cords f rom the pe r iod r evi ewed by

Ai r For c e r e s e a r che r s a s we l l a s thos e c i t ed by the

author s ment ioned be for e , do indi c a t e tha t the USAF was

s e r ious ly conc e rned about the inabi l i ty to adequa t e ly

ident i fy unknown f lying obj e c t s r epor t ed in Ame r i c an

a i r spa c e . Al l the r e cords , howeve r , indi c a t ed tha t the

focus of conc e rn was not on a l i ens , hos t i l e or

othe rwi s e , but on the Sovi e t Union. Many document s f rom

tha t pe r iod spe ak to the pos s ibi l i ty of deve lopment a l

s e c r e t Sovi e t a i r c r a f t ove r f lying US a i r spa c e . Thi s , of

cour s e , was of ma jor conc e rn to the f l edgl ing USAF,

whos e job i t was' to prot e c t the s e same ski e s .

The r e s e a r ch r eve a l ed only one of f i c i a l AAF document

tha t indi c a t ed tha t the r e was any a c t ivi ty of any type

tha t pe r t a ined to UFOs and Roswe l l in July, 1947. Thi s

was a sma l l s e c t ion of the July Hi s tor i c a l Repor t for

the S09th Bomb Group and Roswe l l AAP' tha t s t a t ed: "The

Of f i c e of Publ i c Informa t ion was qui t e busy dur ing the

month answe r ing inqui r i e s on the ' f lying di s c , ' whi ch

was r epor t ed to be in pos s e s s ion of the S09th Bomb

Group. The obj e c t turned out to be a r ada r t r a cking

ba l loon" ( inc luded wi th At ch I 1) . Addi t iona l ly, thi s

hi s tory showed tha t the S09th Commander, Colone lBl ancha rd, went on l e ave on July 8, 1947, whi ch would be

a somewha t unusua l maneuve r for a pe r son involved in the

suppos ed f i r s t eve r r e cove ry of ext r a t e r r e s t r i a l

ma t e r i a l s . (De t r a c tor s c l a im Bl ancha rd did thi s a s a

ploy to e lude the pr e s s and go to the s c ene to di r e c t

the r e cove ry ope r a t ions ) . The hi s tory and the morning

r epor t s a l so showed tha t the subs equent a c t ivi t i e s a t

Roswe l l dur ing the month we r e mos t ly mundane and not

indi c a t ive of any unusua l high l eve l a c t ivi ty,

expendi tur e of manpowe r , r e sour c e s or s e cur i ty.

Likewi s e , the r e s e a r che r s found no indi c a t ion of

he ight ened a c t ivi ty anywhe r e e l s e in the mi l i t a ry

hi e r a r chy in the July, 1947, me s s age t r a f f i c or orde r s

( to inc lude c l a s s i f i ed t r a f f i c ) . The r e we r e no

indi c a t ions and wa rnings , not i c e of a l e r t s , or a highe r

tempo of ope r a t iona l a c t ivi ty r epor t ed tha t would be

logi c a l ly gene r a t ed i f an a l i en c r a f t , whos e int ent ions

we r e unknown, ent e r ed US t e r r i tory. To be l i eve tha t such

ope r a t iona l and high- l eve l s e cur i ty a c t ivi ty could be

conduc t ed sol e ly by r e lying on uns e cur ed

t e l e communi c a t ions or pe r sona l cont a c t wi thout c r e a t ing

any r e cords of such a c t ivi ty c e r t a inly s t r e t che s the

imagina t ion of thos e who have s e rved in the mi l i t a ry who

know tha t pape rwork of some kind i s ne c e s s a ry to

a c compl i sh even eme rgency, highly c l a s s i f i ed, or

s ens i t ive t a sks .

An exampl e of a c t ivi ty some t ime s c i t ed by pro-UFO

wr i t e r s to i l lus t r a t e the point tha t some thing unusua l

was going on wa s the t r ave l of Lt . Gene r a l Na than

Twining, Commander of the Ai r Ma t e r i e l Command, to New

Mexi co in July, 1947. Ac tua l ly, r e cords we r e loc a t ed

indi c a t ing tha t Twining went to the Bomb Commanders'

Cour s e on July 8, a long wi th a numbe r of othe r gene r a l

of f i c e r s , and r eque s t ed orde r s to do so a month be for e ,

on June 5, 1947 (At ch 14) .

Simi l a r ly, i t ha s a l so be en a l l eged tha t Gene r a l Hoyt

Vandenbe rg, Deputy Chi e f of St a f f a t the t ime , had be en

involved di r e c t ing a c t ivi ty r ega rding event s a t Roswe l l .

Ac t ivi ty r epor t s CAtch 15) , loc a t ed in Gene r a l

Vandenbe rg' s pe r sona l pape r s s tor ed in the Libr a ry of

Congr e s s , did indi c a t e tha t on July 7, he wa s busy wi th

a " f lying di s c " inc ident ; howeve r thi s pa r t i cul a r

inc ident involved El l ington Fi e ld, Texa s and the Spokane

(Wa shington) Depot . Af t e r much di s cus s ion and

informa t ion ga the r ing on thi s inc ident , i t wa s l e a rned

to be a hoax. The r e i s no s imi l a r ment ion of hi s

pe r sona l int e r e s t or involvement in Roswe l l event s

exc ept in the newspape r s .

The above a r e but two sma l l exampl e s tha t indi c a t e tha t

i f some event ha~pened tha t wa s one of the "wa t e r shed

happenings " in human hi s tory, the US mi l i t a ry c e r t a inly

r e a c t ed in an unconc e rned and c ava l i e r manne r . In an

a c tua l c a s e , the mi l i t a ry would have had to orde r

thous ands of soldi e r s and a i rman, not only a t Roswe l l

but throughout the US, to a c t noncha l ant ly, pr e t end to

conduc t and r epor t bus ine s s a s usua l , and gene r a t e

absolut e ly no pape rwork of a suspi c ious na tur e , whi l e

s imul t aneous ly ant i c ipa t ing tha t twenty ye a r s or mor e

into the futur e peopl e would have ava i l abl e a

compr ehens ive Fr e edom of Informa t ion Ac t tha t would give

them gr e a t l e eway to r evi ew and explor e gove rnment

document s . The r e cords indi c a t e tha t none of thi shappened (or i f i t did; i t wa s cont rol l ed by a s e cur i ty

sys t em so e f f i c i ent and t ight tha t no one , US or

othe rwi s e , ha s be en abl e to dupl i c a t e i t s inc e . I f such

a sys t em had be en in e f f e c t a t the t ime , i t would have

a l so be en us ed to prot e c t our a tomi c s e c r e t s f rom the

Sovi e t s , whi ch hi s tory ha s showed obvious ly wa s not the

c a s e ) . The r e cords r evi ewed conf i rmed tha t no such

sophi s t i c a t ed and e f f i c i ent s e cur i ty sys t em exi s t ed.

WHAT THE "ROSWELL INCIDENT" WAS

As pr evious ly di s cus s ed, wha t was or igina l ly r epor t ed to

have be en r e cove r ed wa s a ba l loon of some sor t , usua l ly

de s c r ibed a s a "we a the r ba l loon, II a l though the ma jor i ty

of the wr e ckage tha t was ul t ima t e ly di spl ayed by Gene r a l

Ramey and Ma jor Ma r c e l in the f amous photos (At ch 16) in

Ft . Wor th, was tha t of a r ada r t a rge t norma l ly suspended

f rom ba l loons . Thi s r ada r t a rge t , di s cus s ed in mor e

de t a i l l a t e r , was c e r t a inly cons i s t ent wi th the

de s c r ipt ion of July 9 newspape r a r t i c l e whi ch di s cus s ed

" t infoi l , pape r , t ape , and s t i cks . " Addi t iona l ly, the

de s c r ipt ion of the " f lying di s c " wa s cons i s t ent wi th a

document rout ine ly us ed by mos t pro-UFO wr i t e r s to

indi c a t e a conspi r a cy in proqr e s s - - the t e l egr am f rom the

Da l l a s FBI of f i c e of July 8, 1947. Thi s document quot ed

in pa r t s t a t e s : . " . .The di s c i s hexagona l in shape and

was suspended f rom a ba l loon by a c abl e , whi ch ba l loon

wa s approxima t e ly twenty f e e t in di ame t e r. • • •the obj e c t

found r e s embl e s a high a l t i tude we a the r ba l loon wi th a

r ada r r e f l e c tor. • . .di s c and ba l loon be ing

t r anspor t ed • • . "

Simi l a r ly, whi l e conduc t ing the popul a r l i t e r a tur e

r evi ew, one of the document s r evi ewed was a pape r

ent i t l ed "The Roswe l l Event s " edi t ed by Fr ed Whi t ing,

and sponsor ed by the Fund for UFO Re s e a r ch (FUFOR).

Al though i t wa s not the or igina l int ent ion to comment on

wha t comme r c i a l author s int e rpr e t ed or c l a imed tha t

othe r pe r sons suppos edly s a id, thi s pa r t i cul a r document

was di f f e r ent be c aus e i t cont a ined a c tua l copi e s of

appa r ent ly authent i c sworn a f f idavi t s r e c e ived f rom a

numbe r of pe r sons who c l a imed to have some knowl edge of

the Roswe l l event . Al though many of the pe r sons who

provided the s e a f f idavi t s to the FUFOR r e s e a r che r s a l so

expr e s s ed opinions tha t they thought the r e wa s some thing

ext r a t e r r e s t r i a l about thi s inc ident , a numbe r of them

a c tua l ly de s c r ibed ma t e r i a l s tha t sounded suspi c ious ly

l ike wr e ckage f rom ba l loons . The s e inc luded the

fol lowing:

J e s s e A. Ma r c e l , NM ( son of the l a t e Ma jor J e s s e Ma r c e l :

11 ye a r s old a t the t ime of the inc ident ) . Af f idavi t

da t ed May 6, 1991. " . • . The r e we r e thr e e c a t egor i e s of

debr i s : a thi ck, · foi l l ike me t a l l i c gr ay subs t anc e : a

br i t t l e , browni sh-bl a ck pl a s t i c - l ike ma t e r i a l , l ike

Bake l i t e : and the r e we r e f r aqrnent s of wha t appe a r ed to

be I -be ams . On the inne r sur f a c e of the I -be am, the r e

appe a r ed to be a type of wr i t ing. Thi s wr i t ing wa s a

purpl e -viol e t hue , and i t had an embos s ed appe a r anc e .

The f igur e s we r e compos ed of curved, geome t r i c shape s .

I t had no r e s embl anc e to Rus s i an, J apane s e or any othe r

for e ign l anguage . I t r e s embl ed hi e roglyphi c s , but i t had

no anima l - l ike cha r a c t e r s . • • • • .

Lor e t t a Proc tor ( forme r ne ighbor of r anche r W.W.

Br a z e l ) . Af f idavi t da t ed May 5, 199 1 . .1I • •Br a z e l cameto my r anch and showed my husband and me a pi e c e of

ma t e r i a l he s a id came f rom a l a rge pi l e of debr i s on the

prope r ty he managed. The pi e c e he brought wa s brown in

color , s imi l a r to pl a s t i c . . • 'MaC' s a id the othe r

ma t e r i a l on the prope r ty looked l ike a luminum foi l . I t

was ve ry f l exibl e and wouldn' t c rush or bum. The r e was

a l so some thing he de s c r ibed a s t ape whi ch had pr int ing

on i t . The color of the pr int ing was a kind of

purpl e . . . II

Be s s i e Br a z e l Schr e ibe r (daught e r of W.W. Br a z e l ; 14

ye a r s old a t the t ime of the inc ident ) . Af f idavi t da t ed

Sept embe r 22, 1993 . ." . .The debr i s looked l ike pi e c e s of

a l a rge ba l loon whi ch had bur s t . The pi e c e s we r e sma l l ,

the l a rge s t I r emembe r me a sur ing about the s ame a s the

di ame t e r of a ba ske tba l l . Mos t of i t was a kind of

doubl e - s ided ma t e r i a l , foi l - l ike on one s ide and

rubbe r - l ike on the othe r . Both s ide s we r e gr ayi sh s i lve r

in color , the foi l mor e s i lve ry than the rubbe r . St i cks ,

l ike ki t e s t i cks , we r e a t t a ched to some of the pi e c e s

wi th a whi t i sh t ape . The t ape was about two or thr e e

inche s wide and had f lowe r l ike de s igns on i t . The

' f lowe r s ' we r e f a int , a va r i e ty of pa s t e l color s , and

r eminded me of J apane s e pa int ings in whi ch the f lowe r s

a r e not a l l conne c t ed. I do not r e c a l l any othe r type s

of ma t e r i a l or ma rkings , nor do I r emembe r s e e ing gouge s

in the ground or any othe r s igns tha t anything may have

hi t the ground ha rd. The foi l - rubbe r ma t e r i aY could not

be tom l ike ordina ry a luminum foi l c an be tern • • • "

Sa l ly St r i ckl and Tadol ini (ne ighbor of WW Br a z e l ; nine

ye a r s old in 1947) . Af f idavi t da t ed Sept embe r 27, 1993.

" . . What Bi l l showed us was a pi e c e of wha t I s t i l l

think a s f abr i c . I t wa s some thing l ike a luminum foi l ,

some thing l ike s a t in, some thing l ike we l lt anned l e a the r

in i t s toughne s s , ye t was not pr e c i s e ly l ike anyone of

thos e ma t e r i a l s. • . •I t was about the thi ckne s s of ve ry

f ine kidskin glove l e a the r and a dul l me t a l l i c gr ayi sh

s i lve r , one s ide s l ight ly da rke r than the othe r . I do

not r emembe r i t having any de s ign or embos s ing on i t• . . "

Robe r t R. Por t e r (B-29 f l ight Engine e r s t a t ioned a t

Roswe l l in 1947) . Af f idavi t da t ed June 7, 1991 .. On thi s

oc c a s ion, I wa s a member of the c r ew whi ch f l ew pa r t s of

wha t we we r e told wa s a f lying s auc e r to For t Wor th. The

peopl e on boa rd inc luded . . . and Maj J e s s e Ma r c e l . Capt .

Wi l l i am E. Ande r son s a id i t was f rom a f lying s auc e r .

Af t e r we a r r ived, the ma t e r i a l was t r ans f e r r ed to a

B-25. I wa s told they we r e going to Wr ight Fi e ld in

Dayton, Ohio. I was involved in loading the B-29 wi th

the ma t e r i a l , whi ch wa s wr apped in pa ckage s wi th

wr apping pape r . One of the pi e c e s was t r i angl e - shaped,

about 2 1/2 f e e t a c ros s the bot tom. The r e s t we r e in

sma l l pa ckage s , about the s i z e of a shoe box. The brown

pape r wa s he ld wi th t ape . The ma t e r i a l was ext r eme ly

l ightwe ight . When I pi cked i t up, i t was jus t l ike

pi cking up an empty pa ckage . We loaded the t r i angl e

shaped pa ckage and thr e e shoe box- s i z ed pa ckage s into

the pl ane . Al l of the pa ckage s could have f i t into the

t runk of a c a r. . . •When we came ba ck f rom lunch, they

told us they had t r ans f e r r ed the ma t e r i a l to a B-25.

They told us the ma t e r i a l was a we a the r ba l loon, but I 'm

c e r t a in i t wa sn' t a we a the r ba l loon . . • "

In addi t ion to thos e pe r sons above s t i l l l iving who

c l a im to have s e en or examined the or igina l ma t e r i a ltound on the Br a z e l Ranch, the r e i s one addi t iona l

pe r son who was unive r s a l ly a cknowl edged to have be en

involved in i t s r e cove ry, She r idan Cavi t t , Lt Col , USAF,

(Re t ) . Cavi t t i s c r edi t ed in a l l c l a ims of having

a c compani ed Ma jor Ma r c e l to the r anch to r e cove r the

debr i s , some t ime s a long wi th hi s Count e r Int e l l igenc e

Corps (CIC) subordina t e , Wi l l i am Ri cke t t , who, l ike

Ma r c e l , i s de c e a s ed. Al though the r e doe s not appe a r to

be much di sput e tha t Cavi t t was involved in the ma t e r i a l

r e cove ry, othe r c l a ims about him pr eva i l in the popul a r

l i t e r a tur e . He i s some t ime s por t r ayed a s a c los ed-mouth

(or some t ime s even s ini s t e r ) conspi r a tor who was one of

the e a r ly individua l s who kept the " s e c r e t of Roswe l l "

f rom ge t t ing out . Othe r things about him have be en

a l l eged, inc luding the c l a im tha t he wrot e a r epor t of

the inc ident a t the t ime tha t ha s neve r sur f a c ed.

Sinc e Lt Col Cavi t t , who had f i r s t -hand knowl edge , was

s t i l l a l ive , a de c i s ion was made to int e rvi ew him and

ge t a s igned sworn s t a t ement f rom him about hi s ve r s ion

of the event s . Pr ior to the int e rvi ew, the Se c r e t a ry of

the Ai r For c e provided him wi th a wr i t t en author i z a t ion

and wa ive r to di s cus s c l a s s i f i ed informa t ion wi th the

int e rvi ewe r and r e l e a s e him f rom any s e cur i ty oa th he

may have t aken. Subs equent ly, Cavi t t was int e rvi ewed on

May 24, 1994, a t hi s home. Cavi t t provided a s igned,

sworn s t a t ement (At ch 17 ) of hi s r e col l e c t ions in thi s

ma t t e r . He a l so cons ent ed to having the int e rvi ew

t ape - r e corded. A t r ans c r ipt of tha t r e cording i s a t At ch

18. In thi s int e rvi ew, Cavi t t r e l a t ed tha t he had be en

cont a c t ed on nume rous oc c a s ions by UFO r e s e a r che r s and

had wi l l ingly t a lked wi th many of them; howeve r , he f e l t

tha t he had of t ent ime s be en mi s r epr e s ent ed or had hi s

comments t aken out of cont ext so tha t the i r t rue me aning

was changed. He s t a t ed unequivoc a l ly, howeve r , tha t the

ma t e r i a l he r e cove r ed cons i s t ed of a r e f l e c t ive sor t of

ma t e r i a l l ike a luminum foi l , and some thin, bamboo- l ike

s t i cks . He thought a t the t ime , and cont inued to do so

today, tha t wha t he found was a we a the r ba l loon and ha s

told othe r pr iva t e r e s e a r che r s tha t . He a l so r emembe r ed

f inding a sma l l "bl a ck box" type of ins t rument , whi ch he

thought a t the t ime was probably a r adiosonde . Lt Col

Cavi t t a l so r evi ewed the f amous Ramey/Ma r c e l photogr aphs

(At ch 16) of the wr e ckage t aken to Ft . Wor th (of t en

c l a imed by LITO r e s e a r che r s to have be en swi t ched and

the r emnant s of a ba l loon subs t i tut ed for i t ) and he

ident i f i ed the ma t e r i a l s depi c t ed in thos e photos a s

cons i s t ent wi th the ma t e r i a l s tha t he r e cove r ed f rom the

r anch. Lt Col Cavi t t a l so s t a t ed tha t he had neve r t aken

any oa th or s igned any agr e ement not to t a lk about thi s

inc ident and had neve r be en thr e a t ened by anyone in the

gove rnment be c aus e of i t . He did not even know the

inc ident " was c l a imed to be anything unusua l unt i l he

was int e rvi ewed ~n the e a r ly 1980' s .

Simi l a r ly, I rving Newton, Ma jor , USAF, (Re t ) was loc a t ed

and int e rvi ewed. Newton was a we a the r of f i c e r a s s igned

to For t Wor th, who was on duty when the Roswe l l debr i s

was s ent the r e in July, 1947. He was told tha t he was to

r epor t to Gene r a l Ramey'S of f i c e to vi ew the ma t e r i a l .

In a s igned, sworn s t a t ement (At ch 30) Newton r e l a t ed

tha t . " . • 1 wa lked into the Gene r a l ' s of f i c e whe r e thi s

suppos ed f lying s auc e r was lying a l love r the f loor . As

soon a s I saw i t , I giggl ed and a sked i f tha t was the

f lying s auc e r . • . I told them tha t thi s was a ba l loon

and a RAWIN t a rge t . . . " Newton a l so s t a t ed tha t . " . •whi l eI was examining the debr i s , Ma jor Ma r c e l was pi cking up

pi e c e s of the t a rge t s t i cks and t rying to convinc e me

tha t some not a t ions on the s t i cks we r e a l i en wr i t ings .

the r e we r e f igur e s on the s t i cks , l avende r or pink in

color , appe a r ed to be we a the r f aded ma rkings , wi th no

rhyme or r e a son ( s i c ) . He did not convinc e me tha t the s e

we r e a l i en wr i t ings . " Newton conc luded hi s s t a t ement by

r e l a t ing tha t . " . .Dur ing the ensuing ye a r s I have be en

int e rvi ewed by many author s , I have be en quot ed and

mi squot ed. The f a c t s r ema in a s indi c a t ed above . I was

not inf luenc ed dur ing the or igina l int e rvi ew, nor today,

to provide anything but wha t I know to be t rue , tha t i s ,

the ma t e r i a l I saw in Gene r a l Ramey' s of f i c e was the

r ema ins of a ba l loon and a RAWlN t a rge t . "

Ba l loon Re s e a r ch

The or igina l t a sking f rom GAO not ed tha t the s e a r ch for

informa t ion inc luded "we a the r ba l loons . " Comments about

ba l loons and s a f e ty r epor t s have a l r e ady be en made,

howeve r the SAF/AAZ r e s e a r ch e f for t s a l so focus ed on

r evi ewing hi s tor i c a l r e cords involving ba l loons , s inc e ,

among othe r r e a sons , tha t was wha t was of f i c i a l ly

c l a imed by the AAF to have be en found and r e cove r ed in

1947.

As e a r ly a s Februa ry 28, 1994, the AAZD r e s e a r ch t e am

found r e f e r enc e s to ba l loon t e s t s t aking pl a c e a t

Al amogordo AAF (now Hol loman AFB) and Whi t e Sands dur ing

June and July 1947, t e s t ing " cons t ant l eve l ba l loons "

and a New York Unive r s i ty (NYU)/Watson Labs e f for t tha t

us ed " . . •me t eorologi c a l devi c e s. . . suspe c t ed for

de t e c t ing shock wave s gene r a t ed by Sovi e t nuc l e a r

explos ions " - - a pos s ibl e indi c a t ion of a cove r s tory

a s soc i a t ed wi th the NYU ba l loon proj e c t . Subs equent ly, a

1946 HQ AMC memorandum was sur f a c ed, de s c r ibing the

cons t ant a l t i tude ba l loon proj e c t and spe c i f i ed tha t the

s c i ent i f i c da t a be c l a s s i f i ed TOP SECRET Pr ior i ty lA.

I t s name wa s Proj e c t MOgul (At ch 19) .

Proj e c t Mogul was a then- s ens i t ive , c l a s s i f i ed proj e c t ,

whos e purpos e wa s to de t e rmine the s t a t e of Sovi e t

nuc l e a r we apons r e s e a r ch. Thi s was the e a r ly Cold War

pe r iod and the r e was s e r ious conc e rn wi thin the US

gove rnment about the Sovi e t s deve loping a we aponi z ed

a tomi c devi c e . Be c aus e the Sovi e t Union' s borde r s we r e

c los ed, the US Gove rnment sought to deve lop a long r ange

nuc l e a r explos ion de t e c t ion c apabi l i ty. Long r ange ,

ba l loon-borne , low f r equency a cous t i c de t e c t ion was

pos ed to Gene r a l Spa a t z in 1945 by Dr . Maur i c e Ewing of

Columbi a Unive r s i ty a s a pot ent i a l solut ion ( a tmosphe r i c

duc t ing of low f r equency pr e s sur e wave s had be en s tudi ed

a s e a r ly a s 1900) .

As pa r t of the r e s e a r ch into thi s ma t t e r , AAZD pe r sonne l

loc a t ed and obt a ined the or igina l s tudy pape r s and

r epor t s of the New York Unive r s i ty proj e c t . The i r -

e f for t s a l so r eve a l ed tha t some of the individua l s

involved in Proj e c t Mogul we r e s t i l l l iving. The s e

pe r sons inc luded the NYU cons t ant a l t i tude ba l loon

Di r e c tor of Re s e a r ch, Dr . Athe l s t an F. Spi lhaus ; the

Proj e c t Engine e r , Prof e s sor Cha r l e s B. Moor e ; and the

mi l i t a ry Proj e c t Of f i c e r , Colone l Albe r t C. Tr akowski •

Al l of the s e pe r sons we r e subs equent ly int e rvi ewed and

s igned sworn s t a t ement s about the i r a c t ivi t i e s . A copyof the s e s s t a t ement s a r e appended a t At ch 20-22.

Addi t iona l ly, t r ans c r ipt s of the int e rvi ew wi th Moore

and Tr akowski a r e a l so inc luded ( equipment ma l func t ioned

dur ing the int e rvi ew of Spi lhaus ) (At ch 23-24) . The s e

int e rvi ews conf inmed tha t Proj e c t Mogul was a

compa r tment ed, s ens i t ive e f for t . The NYU group was

r e spons ibl e for deve loping cons t ant l eve l ba l loons and

t e l eme t e r ing equipment tha t would r ema in a t spe c i f i ed

a l t i tude s (wi thin the a cous t i c duc t ) whi l e a group f rom

Columbi a was to deve lop a cous t i c s ensor s . Doc tor

Spi lhaus , Prof e s sor Moore, and c e r t a in othe r s of the

group we r e awa r e of the a c tua l purpos e of the proj e c t ,

but they did not know of the proj e c t ni ckname a t the

t ime . They handl ed c a sua l inqui r i e s and/or s c i ent i f i c

inqui r i e s /pape r s in t e rms of "unc l a s s i f i ed

me t eorologi c a l or ba l loon r e s e a r ch. " Newly hi r ed

employe e s we r e not made awa r e tha t the r e was anything

spe c i a l or c l a s s i f i ed about the i r work: they we r e told

only tha t the i r work de a l t wi th me t eorologi c a l

equipment .

An advanc e ground t e am, l ed by Albe r t P, Cr a ry, pr e c eded

the NYU group to Al amogordo AAF, New Mexi co, s e t t ing up

ground s ensor s and obt a ining f a c i l i t i e s for the NYU

group. Upon the i r a r r iva l , Prof e s sor Moore and hi s t e am

expe r iment ed wi th va r ious conf igur a t ions of neopr ene

ba l loons ; deve lopment of ba l loon " t r a ins " ( s e e

i l lus t r a t ion, At ch 25) : automa t i c ba l l a s t sys t ems - and

us e of Nava l sonobuoys ( a s the Wa t son Lab a cous t i c a l

s ensor s had not ye t a r r ived) . They a l so l aunched wha t

they c a l l ed " s e rvi c e f l ight s . " The s e " s e rvi c e f l ight s "

we r e not logged nor ful ly a c count ed for in the publ i shed

Te chni c a l Repor t s gene r a t ed a s a r e sul t of the cont r a c t

be twe en NYU and Wa t son Labs . Ac cording to Prof e s sor

Moor e , the " s e rvi c e f l ight s " we r e compos ed of ba l loons ,

r ada r r e f l e c tor s and payloads spe c i f i c a l ly de s igned to

t e s t a cous t i c s ensor s (both e a r ly sonobuoys and the

l a t e r Wa t son Labs devi c e s ) . The "payload equipment " was

expendabl e and some c a r r i ed no "REWARD" or "RETURN

TO . • . " t ags be c aus e the r e was to be no a s soc i a t ion

be twe en the s e f l ight s and the logged cons t ant a l t i tude

f l ight s whi ch we r e ful ly a cknowl edged. The NYU ba l loon

f l ight s we r e l i s t ed s equent i a l ly in the i r r epor t s ( i . e .

A,B, 1,5,6,7,8,10 • • . ) ye t gaps exi s t ed for Fl ight s 2-4

and Fl ight 9. The int e rvi ew wi th Prof e s sor Moore

indi c a t ed tha t the s e gaps we r e the unlogged " s e rvi c e

f l ight s . "

Prof e s sor Moore, the on- s c ene Proj e c t Engine e r , gave

de t a i l ed informa t ion conc e rning hi s t e am' s e f for t s . He

r e c a l l ed tha t r ada r t a rge t s we r e us ed for t r a cking

ba l loons be c aus e they did not have a l l the ne c e s s a ry

equipment when they f i r s t a r r ived in New Mexi co. Some of

the e a r ly, deve lopment a l r ada r t a rge t s we r e manuf a c tur ed

by a toy or nove l ty company. The s e t a rge t s we r e made up

of a luminum " foi l " or foi l -ba cked pape r , ba l s a wood

be ams tha t we r e coa t ed in an "Elme r ' s - type " glue to

enhanc e the i r dur abi l i ty, a c e t a t e and/or c loth

r e infor c ing t ape , s ingl e s t r and and br a ided nylon twine ,

br a s s eye l e t s and swive l s to form a mul t i - f a c ed

r e f l e c tor somewhat s imi l a r in cons t ruc t ion to a box ki t e

( s e e photogr aphs , At ch 26) . Some of the s e t a rge t s we r e

a l so a s s embl ed wi th purpl i sh-pink t ape wi th symbol s on

i t ( s e e dr awing by Moore wi th At ch 2 1) .

Ac cording to the log summary (At ch 27) of the NYU group,Fl ight A through Fl ight 7 (November 20, 1946- July 2,

1947) we r e made wi th neopr ene me t eorologi c a l ba l loons

( a s oppos ed to the l a t e r f l ight s made wi th polye thyl ene

ba l loons ) . Prof e s sor Moore s t a t ed tha t the neopr ene

ba l loons we r e sus c ept ibl e to degr ada t ion in the

sunl ight , turning f rom a mi lky whi t e to a da rk brown. He

de s c r ibed f inding r emains of ba l loon t r a ins wi th

r e f l e c tor s and payloads tha t had l anded in the de s e r t :

the ruptur ed and shr edded neopr ene would " a lmos t look

l ike da rk gr ay or bl a ck f l ake s or a she s a f t e r exposur e

to the sun for only a few days . The pl a s t i c i z e r s and

ant ioxidant s in the neopr ene would emi t a pe cul iar a c r id

odor and the ba l loon ma t e r i a l and r ada r t a rge t ma t e r i a l

would be s c a t t e r ed a f t e r r e turning to e a r th depending on

the sur f a c e winds . " Upon r evi ew of the loc a l newspape r

photogr aphs f rom Gene r a l Ramey' s pr e s s conf e r enc e in

1947 and de s c r ipt ions in popul a r books by individua l s

who suppos edly handl ed the debr i s r e cove r ed on the

r anch, Prof e s sor Moore opined tha t the ma t e r i a l was mos t

l i k e l y the shr edded r ema ins of a mul t i -neopr ene ba l loon

t r a in wi th mul t ipl e r ada r r e f l e c tor s . The ma t e r i a l and a

"bl a ck box, " de s c r ibed by Cavi t t , wa s , in Moor e ' s

s c i ent i f i c opinion, mos t probably f rom Fl ight 4, a

" s e rvi c e f l ight " tha t inc luded a cyl indr i c a l me t a l

sonobuoy and por t ions of a we a the r ins t rument hous ed in

a box, whi ch wa s unl i k e typi c a l we a the r r adiosonde s

whi ch we r e made of c a rdboa rd. Addi t iona l ly, a copy of a

prof e s s iona l journa l ma int a ined a t the t ime by A.P.

Cr a ry, provided to the Ai r For c e by hi s widow, showed

tha t Fl ight 4 was l aunched on June 4, 1947, but was not

r e cove r ed by the NYU group. I t i s ve ry probabl e tha t

thi s TOP SECRET proj e c t ba l loon t r a in (Fl ight 4) , made

up of unc l a s s i f i ed component s ; came to r e s t some mi l e s

nor thwe s t of Roswe l l , NM, be c ame shr edded in the sur f a c e

winds and was ul t ima t e ly found by the r anche r , Br a z e l ,

t en days l a t e r . Thi s pos s ibi l i ty was suppor t ed by the

obs e rva t ions of Lt Col Cavi t t (At ch 17-18) , the only

l iving eyewi tne s s to the a c tua l debr i s f i e ld and the

ma t e r i a l found. Lt Col Cavi t t de s c r ibed a sma l l a r e a of

debr i s whi ch appe a r ed, " to r e s embl e bamboo type squa r e

s t i cks one qua r t e r to one ha l f inch squa r e , tha t we r e

ve ry l ight , a s we l l a s some sor t of me t a l l i c r e f l e c t ing

ma t e r i a l tha t wa s a l so ve ry l ight . . . I r emembe r

r e cogni z ing thi s ma t e r i a l a s be ing cons i s t ent wi th a

we a the r ba l loon. " .

Conc e rning the ini t i a l announc ement , "RAAF c aptur e s

Flying Di s c , " r e s e a r ch f a i l ed to loc a t e any document ed

evidenc e a s to why tha t s t a t ement was made . Howeve r , on

July 10, 1947, fol lowing the Ramey pr e s s conf e r enc e , the

Al amogordo News publ i shed an a r t i c l e wi th photogr aphs

demons t r a t ing mUl t ipl e ba l loons and t a rge t s a t the same

locat ion a s the NYU group ope r a t ed f rom a t Al amogordo

AAF. Prof e s sor Moore expr e s s ed surpr i s e a t s e e ing thi s

s inc e hi s , was the only ba l loon t e s t group in the a r e a .

He s t a t ed, " I t appe a r s tha t the r e was some type of

umbr e l l a cove r s tory to prot e c t our work wi th Moqul "

Al though the Ai r For c e did not f ind document ed evidenc e

tha t Gen. Ramey wa s di r e c t ed to e spous e a we a the r

ba l loon in hi s pr e s s conf e r enc e , he · may have done so

be c aus e he wa s e i the r awa r e of Proj e c t Mogul and was

t rying to de f l e c t int e r e s t f rom i t , or he r e adi ly

pe r c e ived the ma t e r i a l to be a we a the r ba l loon ba s ed on

the ident i f i c a t ion f rom hi s we a the r of f i c e r , I rving

Newton. In e i the r c a s e , the ma t e r i a l s r e cove r ed by the

AAF in July, 1947, we r e not r e adi ly r e cogni z abl e a sanything spe c i a l (only the purpos e wa s , spe c i a l ) and the

r e cove r ed debr i s i t s e l f was unc l a s s i f i ed. Addi t iona l ly,

the pr e s s dropped i t s int e r e s t in the ma t t e r a s qui ckly

a s they had jumped on i t . Henc e , the r e would be no

pa r t i cul a r r e a son to fur the r document wha t qui ckly

be c ame a "non- event . "

The int e rvi ew wi th Colone l Tr akowski (At ch 23-24) a l so

proved va luabl e informa t ion. Tr akowski provided spe c i f i c

de t a i l s on Proj e c t Mogul and de s c r ibed how the s e cur i ty

for the progr am was s e t up, a s he was forme r ly the TOP

SECRET Cont rol Of f i c e r for the progr am. He fur the r

r e l a t ed tha t many of the or igina l r ada r t a rge t s tha t

we r e produc ed a round the end of Wor ld War I I we r e

f abr i c a t ed by toy or nove l ty compani e s us ing a

purpl i sh-pink t ape wi th f lowe r and he a r t symbol s on i t .

Tr akowski a l so r e count ed a conve r s a t ion tha t he had wi th

hi s f r i end, and supe r ior mi l i t a ry of f i c e r in hi s cha in

of command, Colone l Ma r c e l lus Duf fy, in July, 1947.

Duf fy, forme r ly had Tr akowski ' s pos i t ion on Mogul, but

had subs equent ly be en t r ans f e r r ed to Wr ight Fi e ld. He

s t a t ed: . " . •Colone l Duf fy c a l l ed me on the t e l ephone

f rom Wr ight Fi e ld and gave me a s tory about a f e l low

tha t had come in f rom New Mexi co, woke him up in the

middl e of the night or some such thing wi th a handful of

debr i s , and want ed him, Colone l Duf fy, to ident i fy i t .

' " He jus t s a id ' i t sur e looks l ike some of the s tuf f

you've be en l aunching a t Al amogordo and he de s c r ibed i t ,

and I s a id 'ye s , I think i t i s . ' Ce r t a inly Colone l Duf fy

knew enough about r ada r t a rge t s , r adiosonde s ,

ba l loon-borne we a the r devi c e s . He was int ima t e ly

f ami l i a r wi th a l l tha t appa r a tus . "

At t empt s we r e made to loc a t e Colone l Duf fy but i t was

a s c e r t a ined tha t he had di ed. I -Es widow expl a ined tha t ,

a l though he had ama s s ed a l a rge amount of pe r sona l

pape r s r e l a t ing to hi s Ai r For c e a c t ivi t i e s , she had

r e c ent ly di spos ed of the s e i t ems . Likewi s e , i t was

l e a rned tha t A.P. Cr a ry was a l so de c e a s ed 1 howeve r hi s

surviving spous e had a numbe r of hi s pape r s f rom hi s

ba l loon t e s t ing days , inc luding hi s prof e s s iona l journa l

f rom the pe r iod in que s t ion. She provided the Ai r For c e

r e s e a r che r s wi th thi s ma t e r i a l . I t i s di s cus s ed in mor e

de t a i l wi thin At ch 32. Ove r a l l , i t he lps f i l l in gaps of

the Mogul s tory.

Dur ing the pe r iod the Ai r For c e conduc t ed thi s r e s e a r ch,

i t was di s cove r ed tha t s eve r a l othe r s had a l so

di s cove r ed the pos s ibi l i ty tha t the "Roswe l l Inc ident "

may have be en gene r a t ed by the r e cove ry of a Proj e c t

Mogul ba l loon devi c e . The s e pe r sons inCluded Prof e s sor

Cha r l e s B. Moor e , Robe r t Todd, and coinc ident a l ly, Ka r l

Pf lock, a r e s e a r che r who i s ma r r i ed to a s t a f f e r who

works for Congr e s sman Schi f f . Some of the s e pe r sons

provided sugge s t ions a s to whe r e document a t ion might be

loc a t ed in va r ious a r chive s , hi s tor i e s and l ibr a r i e s . A

r evi ew of Fr e edom of Informa t ion Ac t (FOIA) r eque s t s

r eve a l ed tha t Robe r t Todd, pa r t i cul a r ly, had become

awa r e of Proj e c t Mogul s eve r a l ye a r s ago and had

doggedly obt a ined f rom the Ai r For c e , through the FOIA,

a l a rge amount of ma t e r i a l pe r t a ining to i t ; long be for e

the AAZD r e s e a r che r s independent ly s e i z ed on the same

pos s ibi l i ty.

Mos t int e r e s t ingly, a s thi s r epor t was be ing wr i t t en,

Pf lock publ i shed hi s own r epor t of thi s ma t t e r unde r the( \

auspi c e s of FUFOR, ent i t l ed "Roswe l l in Pe r spe c t ive "

(1994) . Pf lock conc luded f rom hi s r e s e a r ch tha t the

Br a z e l Ranch debr i s or igina l ly r epor t ed a s a " f lying

di s c " was probably debr i s f rom a Mogul ba l loon; howeve r ,

the r e was a s imul t aneous inc ident tha t oc cur r ed not f a r

away, tha t c aus ed an a l i en c r a f t to c r a sh and tha t the

AAF subs equent ly r e cove r ed thr e e a l i en bodi e s the r e f rom.

Ai r For c e r e s e a r ch did not loc a t e any informa t ion to

cor robor a t e tha t thi s inc r edibl e coinc idenc e oc cur r ed,

howeve r .

In orde r to provide a mor e de t a i l ed di s cus s ion of the

spe c i f i c s of Proj e c t MogUl and how i t appe a r ed to be

di r e c t ly r e spons ibl e for the "Roswe l l Inc ident , " a

SAF/AAZD r e s e a r che r pr epa r ed a mor e de t a i l ed di s cus s ion

on the ba l loon proj e c t whi ch i s appended to thi s r epor t

a s At ch 32.

Othe r Re s e a r ch

In the a t t empt to deve lop addi t iona l informa t ion tha t

could he lp expl a in thi s ma t t e r , a numbe r of othe r s t eps

we r e t aken. Fi r s t , a s s i s t anc e was r eque s t ed f rom va r ious

museums and othe r a r chive s (At ch 28) to obt a in

informa t ion and/or exampl e s of the a c tua l ba l loons and

r ada r t a rge t s us ed in conne c t ion wi th Proj e c t Mogul and

to cor r e l a t e them wi th the va r ious de s c r ipt ions of

wr e ckage and ma t e r i a l s r e cove r ed. The bluepr int s for the

"Pi lot Ba l loon Ta rge t ML307C/AP As s embly" (gene r i c a l ly,

the r ada r t a rge t a s s embly) we r e loc a t ed a t the Army

Signa l Corps Museum a t For t Monmouth and obt a ined. A

copy i s appended a s At ch 29. Thi s bluepr int provide s the

spe c i f i c a t ion for the foi l ma t e r i a l , t ape , wood,

eye l e t s , and s t r ing us ed and the a s s embly ins t ruc t ions

the r e to. An a c tua l devi c e was a l so obt a ined for s tudy

wi th the a s s i s t anc e of prof e s sor Moor e . (The exampl e

a c tua l ly procur ed was a 1953-manuf a c tur ed mode l "C" a s

compa r ed to the Model B whi ch was in us e in 1947.

Prof e s sor Moor e r e l a t ed the di f f e r enc e s we r e minor ) . An

examina t ion of thi s devi c e r eve a l ed i t to be s imply made

of a luminum- color ed foi l - l ike ma t e r i a l ove r a s t ronge r

pape r - l ike ma t e r i a l , a t t a ched to ba l s a wood s t i cks ,

a f f ixed wi th t ape , glue , and twine . When opened, the

devi c e appe a r s a s depi c t ed in At ch 31 ( cont empor a ry

photo) and At ch 25 (1947 photo, in a "ba l loon t r a in" ) .

When folded, the devi c e i s in a s e r i e s of t r i angl e s , the

l a rge s t be ing four f e e t by two f e e t t en inche s . The

sma l l e s t t r i angl e s e c t ion me a sur e s two f e e t by two f e e t

t en inche s . (Compare wi th de s c r ipt ions provided by Lt

Col Cavi t t and othe r s , a s we l l a s photos of wr e ckage ) •

Addi t iona l ly, the r e s e a r che r s obt a ined f rom the Ar chive s

of the Unive r s i ty of Texa s Ar l ington (UTA), a s e t of

or igina l ( i . e . f l r s t gene r a t ion) pr int s of the

photogr aphs t aken a t the t ime by the For t Wor th

St a r -Te l egr am, tha t depi c t ed Ramey and Ma r c e l wi th the

wr e ckage . A c los e r evi ew of the s e photos ( and a s e t of

f i r s t gene r a t ion nega t ive s a l so subs equent ly obt a ined

f rom UTA) r eve a l ed s eve r a l inf e s t ing obs e rva t ions .

Fi r s t , a l though in some of the l i t e r a tur e c i t ed above ,

Ma r c e l a l l egedly s t a t ed tha t he had hi s photo t aken wi th

the " r e a l " UFO wr e ckage and then i t was subs equent ly

r emoved and the we a the r ba l loon wr e ckage subs t i tut ed for

i t , a compa r i son shows tha t the same wr e ckage appe a r ed

in the photos of Ma r c e l and Ramey. The photos a l so

depi c t ed tha t thi s ma t e r i a l was lying on wha t appe a r ed7. AF/SE Memo, Ma r ch 14, 1994

8. SAF/AQL Memo, Ma r ch 22, 1994

9. AF/XOWP Memo, -March 9, 1994

10. SAF/AAI Memo, Ma r ch 10, 1994

11. AFHRA/CC Memo, Ma r ch 8, 1994

12. AFOSI/HO Memo, May 11, 1994

13. Li s t of Loc a t ions and Re cords Se a r ched

14. HQ AAF " I s suanc e of Orde r s , " June 5, 1947

15. Copy of Vandenbe rg' s Appointment Book and Di a ry,

July 7-9, 1947

16. July 9, 1947 Photos of Ba l loon Wr e ckage , Ft Wor th

St a r Te l egr am

17. Signed Sworn St a t ement of Cavi t t , May 24, 1994

18. Tr ans c r ipt of Cavi t t Int e rvi ew, May 24, 1994

19. Le t t e r , July 8, 1946, Proj e c t Mogul

20. Signed Sworn St a t ement of Spi lhaus , June 3, 1994

21. Signed Sworn St a t ement of Moor e , June 8, 1994

22. Signed Sworn St a t ement of Tr akowski , June 29, 1994

23. Tr ans c r ipt of Int e rvi ew wi th Moor e , June 8, 1994

24. Tr ans c r ipt of Int e rvi ew wi th Tr akowski , June 29,

1994

25. I l lus t r a t ion of Proj e c t Mogul "Ba l loon Tr a ins "

26. Two Photos of Proj e c t Mogul "Ba l loon Tr a ins ·

27. Log Summary, NYU Cons t ant Leve l Ba l loon Fl ight s

28. Li s t of Museums Cont a c t ed

29. Copy of Bluepr int for "pi lot Ba l loon Ta rge t ,

NM-307C/AP As s embly"

30. Signed Sworn St a t ement of Newton, July 21, 1994

31. Photos of NM-307C/AP Devi c e , Wi th Vint age Neopr ene

Ba l loon and Debr i s

32. Synops i s of Ba l loon Re s e a r ch Findings by lLT J ame s

McAndrew

33. "Mensur a t ion Working Pape r , " Wi th Dr awing and Photo