The Truth Is Out There
In 1947, paranoia caused by tensions with the Soviet Union permeated the US, but it wasn’t the only thing putting America in a frenzy. People were starting to question more and more whether humanity was alone in the universe—made only more intriguing when an unidentified object crashed into the desert near Roswell, New Mexico.
Everyone Loved UFOs
On June 24, 1947, a pilot named Kenneth Arnold reported nine unidentified flying objects gliding by Mount Rainier. His first descriptions compared them to “saucers” or “discs,” kicking off what became the “flying disc craze,” where the number of UFO reports surged throughout the country. This set the stage for a bizarre event.
JMK, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
A Different Meaning
Although flying saucers have since become almost exclusively associated with extra-terrestrials, it’s important to note that this wasn’t always the case. At the time of the Roswell incident, the people who saw these objects suspected them to be never-before-seen US aircraft.
A Strange Discovery
Near the end of June, WW "Mac" Brazel found something bizarre in the desert near his ranch near Roswell, New Mexico. He and his son had been driving by but stopped as he noticed what looked to be a large crash site, strewn with both mundane and unfamiliar materials. He didn’t think it was too big of a deal until someone informed him.
Viacom, The Roswell Incident (1994)
He Was Influenced
Living out on his ranch, Brazel owned neither a phone nor a radio, so he hadn’t heard anything of the “flying disc craze”. Instead, when he found the crash site, he packed up as much of the wreckage as possible and took it home. It wasn’t until he met with his uncle, who suggested it could be a flying disc, that he thought he should tell someone.
Viacom, The Roswell Incident (1994)
Authorities Got Involved
Over the previous Fourth of July weekend, reports of UFO sightings had poured in, causing speculations of Soviet activity. Brazel thought the best course of action would be to inform the authorities, so driving to Roswell, he told Sheriff George Wilcox everything. Without taking it lightly, Wilcox took it a step further.
Viacom, The Roswell Incident (1994)
The Army Sent Representatives
Believing the incident to be above his pay grade, Sheriff Wilcox turned to those in charge of the Roswell Army Air Field. In response, the RAAF dispatched Captain Sheridan Cavitt and Major Jesse Marcel to the scene. After taking everything Brazel had recovered, Cavitt and Marcel returned to the base, going public soon after.
US Govt (Roswell Army Air Field staff), Wikimedia Commons
It Was Officially Stated
Rather than keep the whole incident a secret, the RAAF alerted the public to the alleged UFO crash. In a press release, public information officer Walter Haut detailed their recovery of the wreckage from Brazel’s property, and directly referred to the object as a “flying disc”. However, Haut wasn’t the only one who used this kind of term.
Viacom, The Roswell Incident (1994)
Corroborating Reports
From Brazel’s ranch, officials brought the wreckage to Texas’ Fort Worth Army Air Field for examination. According to an RAAF flight engineer named Robert Porter who helped load the mysterious cargo, he was told they were handling a “flying saucer”. Brazel went further and described the materials.
Viacom, The Roswell Incident (1994)
The Object’s Components
After Brazel discovered the crash, he detailed some of the more ordinary materials, including rubber strips, tin foil, and tape, but also mentioned a strangely metallic fabric. When Porter later handled said material, he described it as lightweight and small enough to fit in a car trunk.
Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Wikimedia Commons
Their Explanation
The public’s frenzy over the crash was initially short-lived, fizzling out following a press conference held by General Roger Ramey. During this conference, along with weather officer Irving Newton, Ramey told the media that the crash had been nothing more than a weather balloon. Someone was still skeptical.
J. Bond Johnson, Wikimedia Commons
He Didn’t Buy It
Brazel was skeptical despite the government seemingly ending any speculation on the Roswell crash. After returning to the site to recover any debris that had been left behind, his doubt became more concrete. He would later tell reporters that he was certain it wasn’t a weather balloon. As it turns out, he was right not to believe them.
Viacom, The Roswell Incident (1994)
They All Lied
Four US officials gave examples of how weather balloons had operated in the previous year to prove that the crash was nothing unusual. These demonstrations showed the alleged construction of said weather balloons and how they matched the recovered object. However, the truth came out decades later that the government had fabricated each of these accounts.
Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Wikimedia Commons
Everyone Forgot
Following the “weather balloon” explanation, most people eventually forgot about the whole incident. For about 30 years, the general public and media stopped talking about the wreckage, although some theories did start to spring up. It didn’t help that several hoaxes became exposed around the same time.
Viacom, The Roswell Incident (1994)
The Twin Falls Hoax
Only three days after the RAAF made their Roswell statement, the citizens of Twin Falls, Idaho also found a crashed flying saucer. The FBI almost immediately confirmed it to be fake and created by local teenagers. These kinds of events helped throw the validity of the Roswell crash into question for many.
The Aztec Saucer Hoax
In 1949, Frank Scully published an article in Variety magazine detailing another allegedly crashed flying saucer in Aztec, New Mexico, nearly a year after Roswell. While many clung to this as proof of the Roswell crash, specifically accounts of alien bodies discovered, two con men confessed to creating the whole story.
David Mathias, Wikimedia Commons
He Passed
For a long time, despite the public’s dwindling investment in the Roswell crash, Brazel and his family remained firm in their belief in a government cover-up. Sadly, Brazel passed in 1963, and although he wasn’t around to see it, interest in the Roswell event was eventually rekindled.
Viacom, The Roswell Incident (1994)
Pop Culture Drew Alien-Seekers In
Fast-forwarding to the 1970s and 1980s, the subject of aliens and UFOs reentered the public consciousness. Movies like Star Wars and Alien got people hooked on these science-fiction ideas, leading people to take another look at the strange 1947 incident. This interest was only strengthened when a key witness spoke up.
He Brought It Back
In 1978, Stanton Friedman—a ufologist—arranged an interview with Major Jesse Marcel, who had been among the first personnel to see the crash site and materials firsthand. This caused an explosion of interest and conspiracy theories as he set the record straight concerning the Air Force’s “weather balloon” statement.
Viacom, The Roswell Incident (1994)
He Called Them Out
Although he couldn’t be certain of the whole truth, Marcel revealed to Friedman the reality of the original press statement. Marking the first time a US official connected to the incident publicly confirmed a theory, Marcel stated that the “weather balloon” explanation was a cover-up. Following this, others asked him to speak on the matter many more times.
A Bizarre Material
In another interview with the tabloid newspaper National Enquirer in 1979, Marcel again mentioned the metallic material from the wreckage. According to him, its composition was bizarre, as it could be easily crumpled but would immediately revert to its original state. Someone close to him also backed his story.
Viacom, The Roswell Incident (1994)
His Son Supported His Story
Marcel wasn’t the only one in his family being interviewed as many also reached out to his son, Jesse Marcel Jr, for details. According to Marcel Jr, his father had shown him some of the remains of the crash, including something with “purple-hued hieroglyphics on it". Bolstering theories of a cover-up, the Marcels’ story supported an earlier account.
Viacom, The Roswell Incident (1994)
Radio Interference
As soon as Marcel admitted to the cover-up, other details started fitting into place. In 1947, a former radio teletype operator named Lydia Sleppy said she received an order to stop all communications concerning the crash just as she was typing out a report about it. Beyond this, other factors in the US political landscape affected people’s skepticism.
Viacom, The Roswell Incident (1994)
Mistrust Was Growing
Experiencing everything the 60s and 70s had to offer, many US citizens began to see the idea of a government cover-up as much more believable. Conspiracy theories had already started circling regarding JFK’s demise, and America had just gotten through the Watergate Scandal. Naturally, theories about hidden UFOs flourished.
Walter Sisco, Wikimedia Commons
The Roswell Incident
Published in 1980, The Roswell Incident offered what was widely viewed as the most plausible version of the cover-up among conspiracy theorists. Its writers, Bill Moore and Charles Berlitz, posited that the saucer was an alien ship, whose crew was thrown from the wreckage before also being recovered by the Air Force.
Unknown Author, Wikimedia Commons
Majestic 12
In the early 1980s, several ufologists anonymously received evidence of an alien cover-up linked to an organization called Majestic 12. However, author Bill Moore later revealed he had spread these fake documents in exchange for “legitimate” evidence promised by supposed Air Force Intelligence Officers. Of course, not all theories were intentionally false.
Viacom, The Roswell Incident (1994)
Hangar 18
Previously, in 1974, science-fiction writer Robert Spencer Carr developed the theory of Hangar 18. Similar to Area 51, Carr claimed that Ohio was home to this secret facility that housed recovered alien artifacts or bodies, such as from the Roswell crash or even the debunked Aztec crash. Concepts like this only grew more popular as the years went on.
Viacom, The Roswell Incident (1994)
More Evidence Of Bodies
One of the most prominent names in discussions of an alleged Roswell conspiracy is Glenn Dennis, a mortician who recounted his suspected connections to the incident. In 1989, Dennis explained that after the crash, he received calls from the RAAF base asking about body preservation and small caskets. However, parts of his story didn’t add up.
He Was A Liar
During his 1989 interview, Glenn Dennis also said that he spoke to a local nurse following the crash, who allegedly was in the room when one of the aliens was autopsied. As others investigated this claim, Dennis gave two possible names of the nurse, both of which he later confessed to lying about. Shortly after, someone else tried to promote the same concept.
Viacom, The Roswell Incident (1994)
Alien Autopsy: Fact Or Fiction?
Another major milestone for Roswell theorists came in 1995, with the pseudo-documentary Alien Autopsy: (Fact or Fiction?). Producer Ray Santilli developed the film, which included footage of the alleged event he claimed to have bought from a retired Air Force cameraman. Soon, though, believers in this film found themselves disappointed.
Viacom, The Roswell Incident (1994)
It Was Fake
Most details of Ray Santilli’s claim didn’t make sense, like that he couldn’t have bought the footage, since the cameraman he named as his buyer had passed in 1967—and had never been in the Air Force. Also, Santilli later confessed to faking the whole thing in 2006. With failures like this, many theorists turned to the highest authority they could.
Kiviat/Greene Productions Inc., Alien Autopsy: (Fact or Fiction?) (1995)
The President’s Opinion
Naturally, as people have questioned the government about the Roswell crash since it happened, several presidents have given their two cents. Generally, as in the cases of Presidents Clinton and Obama, they have spoken transparently about the lack of alien evidence behind the curtain and referred to it as “a little disappointing”.
The U.S. National Archives, Picryl
They Finally Spoke up
Finally, after decades of speculation, the public received official answers. In 1994, the US Air Force published a report detailing the truth of the Roswell crash, being pressured to do so by the Government Accountability Office. More than this, they revealed that many conspiracy theorists were right, just not in the way they expected.
AgnosticPreachersKid, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
The Stories Were False
In their report, the Air Force finally admitted to having fabricated their explanation of the Roswell crash. However, instead of anything to do with aliens, the initial weather balloon story served as a cover-up for a much more terrestrial secret.
United States Army Air Forces, Wikimedia Commons
A Top Secret Project
Back in 1947, the Air Force used the “weather balloon” story to hide the true nature of what they revealed was Project Mogul. In reality, the Roswell debris had been from an experimental surveillance balloon they were committed to keeping secret. During this project, a simple malfunction was the cause of the whole incident.
United States Air Force, Wikimedia Commons
They Lost Contact
According to the report, a month before the Roswell crash’s discovery, Project Mogul had released a train of their surveillance balloons. The problem came when they lost connection to several of the balloons near Brazel’s ranch, after which, one crashed into the desert.
United States Air Force, Wikimedia Commons
Nobody Knew About It
Although the Air Force was trying to deflect attention from Project Mogul, the public frenzy likely would have lessened with a bit more communication. As it happened, the RAAF officials who initially reported the crash as a flying saucer seemed not privy to the truth. As for the various theories on “alien bodies,” the US officials had answers for those too.
DaveThomasNMSR, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
There Were No Bodies
Since no bodies were actually reported in the Roswell crash, the USAF report asserted that those who saw any bodies taken away were misremembering. It suggested that these mixed-up memories may have come from witnessing dummies being recovered from Air Force tests. Finally, all of these explanations started to make sense.
Marti Bug Catcher, Shutterstock
It Worked Too Well
Through the report, most of the biggest mysteries regarding the Roswell crash found their solutions. Stories of strange metallic fabrics or objects with purple markings appeared to match the materials that comprised the Project Mogul balloons. Plus, the fact that there was a cover-up matched reports of shady activity at the time. Still, this didn’t please everyone.
Viacom, The Roswell Incident (1994)
Everyone Disagreed
Although the USAF report seemed to have all the answers, ufologists widely disregarded it. In fact, general surveys at the time found that most of the country was skeptical. Of course, no matter who was right, some benefited regardless.
The Town Benefitted
To this day, Roswell, New Mexico is a hot spot for those who still believe in the conspiracy—or just love the concept. The town’s reported 90,000 annual tourists can experience a wealth of restaurants, museums, and other attractions themed around aliens and UFOs.
