Produced by Tim Lindell, Robert Tonsing and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net The Cover A solarized image taken from a U.S. Air Force motion picture of experiments conducted for Project HIGH DIVE. This image, unsolarized, appears on page 34 (Figure 37). The Roswell Report CASE CLOSED Headquarters United States Air Force Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data McAndrew, James, 1963â The Roswell report: case closed/James McAndrew p. cm. Includes index. 1. Unidentified flying objectsâSightings and encountersâNew MexicoâRoswell. I. Title TL789.5.N6M33 1997 001.942â09789â43âdc21 97-11361 CIP For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Washington, D.C. 20402 For sale by the U.S. Government Printing Office Superintendent of Documents, Mail Stop: SSOP, Washington, DC 20402-9328 ISBN 0-16-049018-9 Foreword The âRoswell Incidentâ has assumed a central place in American folklore since the events of the 1940s in a remote area of New Mexico. Because the Air Force was a major player in those events, we have played a key role in executing the General Accounting Officeâs tasking to uncover all records regarding that incident. Our objective throughout this inquiry has been simple and consistent: to find all the facts and bring them to light. If documents were classified, declassify them; where they were dispersed, bring them into a single source for public review. In July 1994, we completed the first step in that effort and later published _The Roswell Report: Fact vs. Fiction in the New Mexico Desert_. This volume represents the necessary follow-on to that first publication and contains additional material and analysis. I think that with this publication we have reached our goal of a complete and open explanation of the events that occurred in the Southwest many years ago. Beyond that achievement, this inquiry has shed fascinating light into the Air Force of that era and revitalized our appreciation for the dedication and accomplishments of the men and women of that time. As we celebrate the Air Forceâs 50th Anniversary, it is appropriate to once again reflect on the sacrifices made by so many to make ours the finest air and space force in history. SHEILA E. WIDNALL Secretary of the Air Force Guide For Readers This publication contains the complete report as submitted to the Secretary of the Air Force. The exceptions are the statements found in Appendix B. Due to Privacy Act restrictions and by request, the addresses of the individuals making these statements have been deleted. This volume is divided into two sections, eight subsections, eleven sidebar discussions, and three appendices. Section One examines alleged events at two locations in rural New Mexico. Section Two examines the alleged activities at the Roswell Army Airfield Hospital. Appendix A is a table listing the launch and landing locations of test equipment for U.S. Air Force scientific research projects HIGH DIVE and EXCELSIOR. Appendix B is a collection of signed sworn statements based on in-person interviews conducted for this report by U.S. Air Force researchers. The exception is the statement of Lt. Col. William C. Kaufman, which was not sworn due to equipment failures at the time of interview. Appendix C contains transcripts of interviews of alleged witnesses presented by UFO theorists. The interviews of Gerald Anderson, Alice Knight, and Vern Maltais were excerpted in their entirety from unedited interviews used to prepare the video, _Recollections of Roswell, Part II_ (1993), and appear courtesy of the Fund for UFO Research. The interview of Mr. W. Glenn Dennis was provided by the interviewer, Karl T. Pflock. The transcript of the interview of Mr. James Ragsdale was provided by Kevin Randle, the coauthor of the _Truth About the UFO Crash at Roswell_ (Avon Books, 1994), in which direct quotes from this transcript appear. A selected bibliography of technical reports and how to obtain them are found on page 221. For additional information on this subject, see Headquarters United States Air Force, _The Roswell Report: Fact vs. Fiction in the New Mexico Desert_ (Washington D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1995). The Author Captain James McAndrew serves as an Intelligence Applications Officer assigned to the Secretary of the Air Force Declassification and Review Team, The Pentagon, Washington, D.C.. Captain McAndrew was the coauthor, with Col. Richard L. Weaver, of _The Roswell Report: Fact vs. Fiction in the New Mexico Desert_ (1995), the first Air Force work on the alleged âRoswell Incident.â He participated in the declassification of the _Gulf War Air Power Survey_ (1993) and has served special tours of duty with the Drug Enforcement Administration and High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Task Force. He holds a BS degree with honors, from Metropolitan State College, Denver, Colo. and is a native of Washington, D.C. Contents _Page_ =Foreword= iii =Guide for Readers= v =Introduction= 1 SECTION ONE =Flying Saucer Crashes and Alien Bodies= 5 1.1 The âCrash Sites,â Scenarios, and Research Methods 11 1.2 High Altitude Balloon Dummy Drops 23 1.3 High Altitude Balloon Operations 37 1.4 Comparison of Witnesses Accounts to U.S. Air Force Activities 55 SECTION TWO =Reports of Bodies at Roswell Army Air Field Hospital= 75 2.1 The âMissingâ Nurse and the Pediatrician 81 2.2 Aircraft Accidents 93 2.3 High Altitude Research Projects 101 2.4 Comparison of the Hospital Account to the Balloon Mishap 109 =Conclusion= 123 Notes Section One 127 Section Two 139 APPENDIX A =Anthropomorphic Dummy Launch and Landing Locations= 155 APPENDIX B =Witness Statements= Charles E. Clouthier 160 Charles A. Coltman, Jr., Col., USAF, MC (Ret) 162 Dan D. Fulgham, Col., USAF (Ret) 164 Bernard D. Gildenberg, GS-14 (Ret) 166 Ole Jorgeson, MSgt., USAF (Ret) 169 William C. Kaufman, Lt. Col., USAF (Ret) 171 Joseph W. Kittinger, Jr., Col., USAF (Ret) 174 Roland H. Lutz, CMSgt., USAF (Ret) 178 Raymond A. Madson, Lt. Col. USAF (Ret) 180 Frank B. Nordstrom, M.D. 182 APPENDIX C =Interviews= Gerald Anderson 187 Glenn Dennis 197 Alice Knight 213 Vern Maltais 214 James Ragsdale 215 =Selected Bibliography of Technical Reports= 221 =Index= 225 Tables SECTION ONE 1.1 Comparison of Testimony to Actual Air Force Equipment and Procedures Used to Launch and Recover Anthropomorphic Dummies 69 SECTION TWO 2.1 Persons Described and Periods of Service at Roswell AAF/Walker AFB 91 2.2 Fatal Air Force Aircraft Accidents by Year in the Vicinity of Walker AFB-1947â1960 93 2.3 Analysis of Air Force Aircraft Accidents by Year in the Vicinity of Walker AFB-1947â1960 94 Figures SECTION ONE 1. _The Roswell Report: Fact vs. Fiction In The New Mexico Desert._ 2. The International UFO Museum and Research Center, Roswell, N.M. 3. Drawing of Project MOGUL Balloon Train. 4. Maj. Jesse Marcel With âFlying Discâ Debris. 5. ML-307B/AP Radar Target on Ground. 6. ML-307B/AP Radar Target in Flight. 7. âHarassed Rancher Who Located âSaucerâ Sorry He Told About It,â _Roswell Daily Record_, July 9, 1947. 8. Announcement from November 4, 1992 _Socorro_ (N.M.) _Defensor Chieftain_. 9. B.D. âDukeâ Gildenberg. 10. Charles B. Moore. 11. Map of New Mexico Depicting âCrash Sitesâ and âDebris Field.â 12. Missile Recovery Scene. 13. Drone Recovery Scene. 14. âSierra Samâ Type Anthropomorphic Dummy. 15. National Transportation Highway Safety Administration Advertisement Featuring âVince and Larry.â 16. âDummy Joeâ with J.J. Higgins and Guy Ball, McCook Field, Ohio, 1920. 17. Rope and Sandbag Parachute Drop Dummy on Ground. 18. Rope and Sandbag Parachute Drop Dummy Descending at Wright Field, Ohio. 19. Ted Smith Model Anthropomorphic Dummy in Ejection Seat. 20. Anthropomorphic Dummy âOscar Eightballâ at Muroc AAF, Calif. 21. âSierra Samâ Anthropomorphic Dummy in Ejection Seat. 22. Alderson Laboratories Anthropomorphic Dummies Hanging in Laboratory. 23. Project HIGH DIVE Dummy Launch. 24. Map of New Mexico Depicting Dummy Landing Locations. 25. Capt. Joseph W. Kittinger, Jr.âs Record Parachute Jump. 26. Article In December 1960 National Geographic Featuring Project EXCELSIOR. 27. Magazine Covers Depicting U.S. Air Force Aero-Medical Experiments. 28. M-342 Five-Ton Wrecker. 29. Project HIGH DIVE Gondola and âSierra Samâ Type Anthropomorphic Dummy. 30. 1st Lts. Raymond A. Madson and Eugene M. Schwartz with âSierra Samâ Type Anthropomorphic Dummy. 31. M-35 Two-Ton Cargo Truck. 32. M-37 Â¾-Ton Cargo Truck. 33. Lt. Col. John P. Stapp Preparing for Rocket Sled Test. 34. Cover of September 12, 1955 _Time_ Magazine Depicting Lt. Col. John P. Stapp. 35. Anthropomorphic Dummy with Missing Fingers. 36â38. Anthropomorphic Dummy Falling from Balloon Gondola. 39. Memo from Project HIGH DIVE Files. 40. Hanging Anthropomorphic Dummies and Hospital Gurney. 41. Anthropomorphic Dummy in Insulation Bag. 42â43. High Altitude Balloon Dummy Drops Report Covers. 44. Inflation of High Altitude Balloon for Project VIKING. 45. Lobby Card from _On The Threshold of Space_. 46. Promotional Photo From _On The Threshold of Space_. 47. Promotional Photo From _On The Threshold of Space_. 48. Relative Sizes of High Altitude Balloon, Airliner, and Hot Air Balloon. 49. Target Balloon Launch Near Holloman AFB, N.M. 50. DISCOVERER Nosecone Rigged for High Altitude Balloon Flight. 51. DISCOVERER Capsule Aboard the _USS Haiti Victory_. 52. VIKING Spaceprobe at Martin Marietta Corp., Denver, Colo. 53. Balloon Launch Of VOYAGER-MARS Space Probe. 54. VIKING Space Probe at Roswell Industrial Airport, Roswell, N.M. 55. VIKING Space Probe Awaiting Recovery at White Sands Missile Range. 56. Drawing of Alleged UFO. 57. âVeeâ Balloon at Holloman AFB, N.M. 58. Current Members of the Holloman AFB Balloon Branch. 59. B.D. Gildenberg, Capt. Joseph W. Kittinger, Jr., and Lt. Col. David G. Simons (MC). 60. Ranch Family with Panel from Project STARGAZER. 61. Balloon Recovery Personnel and âThe Hermit.â 62. Mule Borrowed for Balloon Payload Recovery. 63. Bulldozer Used for Balloon Payload Recovery. 64. M-43 Ambulance. 65â66. Unusual Balloon Payloads. 67. U.S. Army Communications Payload. 68. Scientific Balloon Payload Flown for The Johns Hopkins University. 69. Balloon Payload Flown from Holloman AFB, N.M. 70. Project HIGH DIVE Anthropomorphic Dummy Launch. 71. Vehicles Present at High Altitude Balloon Launch and Recovery Sites. 72. Alderson Laboratories Anthropomorphic Dummies. 73. Anthropomorphic Dummies Attached to Rack. 74. Anthropomorphic Dummy with âBandagedâ Head. 75. Anthropomorphic Dummy with Torn Uniform. 76. Promotional Photo From _On The Threshold of Space_. 77. L-20 Observation Aircraft. 78. C-47 Transport Aircraft. 79. Balloon Crew Preparing Balloon for Launch. 80. Anthropomorphic Dummy Launch Scene. 81. Typical High Altitude Balloon Launch Scene. 82. Map of New Mexico. SECTION TWO 1. The International UFO Museum and Research Center. 2. Capt. Eileen M. Fanton. 3. âFlying Saucer Swindlers,â _True_ Magazine, August 1956. 4. âThe Flying Saucers and the Mysterious Little Green Men,â _True_ Magazine, September 1952. 5. Col. Lee F. Ferrell and U.S. Senator Dennis Chavez. 6. Lt. Col. Lucille C. Slattery. 7. KC-97 Aircraft. 8. 4036th USAF Hospital, Walker AFB, N.M., 1956. 9. Ballard Funeral Home, Roswell, N.M. 10. Maj. David G. Simons (MC), Otto C. Winzen, and Capt. Joseph W. Kittinger, Jr. 11. Capt. Joseph W. Kittinger, Jr. in MAN HIGH Capsule. 12. Lt. Col. David G. Simons. 13. Bernard D. âDukeâ Gildenberg and 1st Lt. Clifton McClure. 14. Capt. Joseph W. Kittinger, Jr. and the EXCELSIOR High Altitude Balloon Gondola. 15. Capt. Joseph W. Kittinger, Jr. and William C. White with STARGAZER Gondola. 16. Capt. Grover Schock and Otto C. Winzen. 17. Capt. Dan D. Fulgham and Capt. William C. Kaufman. 18. Thirty-foot Polyethylene Training Balloon. 19. Maj. Joseph W. Kittinger, Jr. in Vietnam. 20. A2C Ole Jorgeson and M-43 Ambulance Converted to a Communications Vehicle. 21. Stenciled Letters Described as âHieroglyphics.â 22. A2C Ole Jorgeson in Rear of M-43 Ambulance. 23. Polyethylene Balloon on Ground After High Altitude Flight. 24. Hospital Dispensary, Building 317, Walker AFB, N.M., 1954. 25. Main Gate at Walker AFB, N.M., 1954. 26. Capt. Joseph W. Kittinger, Jr. and Dr. J. Allen Hynek. 27. Clinical Record Cover Sheet of Capt. Dan D. Fulgham. 28. Capt. Dan D. Fulgham at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. 29. Maj. Dan D. Fulgham, James Lovell, Hilary Ray, and Alan Bean. 30. Maj. Dan D. Fulgham at Ubon AB, Thailand. 31. Memorial Plaque at Holloman AFB, N.M. 32. Nenninger Balloon Launch Facility at Holloman AFB, N.M. 33. Capt. Joseph W. Kittinger, Jr. Following EXCELSIOR I. Introduction In July 1994, the Office of the Secretary of the Air Force concluded an exhaustive search for records in response to a General Accounting Office (GAO) inquiry of an event popularly known as the âRoswell Incident.â The focus of the GAO probe, initiated at the request of New Mexico Congressman Steven Schiff, was to determine if the U.S. Air Force, or any other U.S. government agency, possessed information on the alleged crash and recovery of an extraterrestrial vehicle and its alien occupants near Roswell, N.M. in July 1947. Reports of flying saucers and alien bodies allegedly sighted in the Roswell area in 1947, have been the subject of intense domestic and international media attention. This attention has resulted in countless newspaper and magazine articles, books, a television series, a full-length motion picture, and even a film purported to be a U.S. government âalien autopsy.â The July 1994 Air Force report concluded that the predecessor to the U.S. Air Force, the U.S. Army Air Forces, did indeed recover material near Roswell in July 1947. This 1,000-page report methodically explains that what was recovered by the Army Air Forces was not the remnants of an extraterrestrial spacecraft and its alien crew, but debris from an Army Air Forces balloon-borne research project code named MOGUL.[1] Records located describing research carried out under the MOGUL project, most of which were never classified (and publicly available) were collected, provided to GAO, and published in one volume for ease of access for the general public.[*] [*] MOGUL records which ultimately lead to the identification of the origin of the 1947 claims of âflying saucerâ debris, described balloon research that was never classified. Other MOGUL records, describing military applications of balloon-borne acoustical sensors, were declassified, along with millions of pages of other unrelated executive branch documents by Executive Order 11652, issued on March 6, 1972 by President Richard M. Nixon. Although MOGUL components clearly accounted for the claims of âflying saucerâ debris recovered in 1947, lingering questions remained concerning anecdotal accounts that included descriptions of âalienâ bodies. The issue of âbodiesâ was not discussed extensively in the 1994 report because there were not any bodies connected with events that occurred in 1947. The extensive Secretary of the Air Force-directed search of Army Air Forces and U.S. Air Force records from 1947 did not yield information that even suggested the 1947 âRoswellâ events were anything other than the retrieval of the MOGUL equipment.[2] [Illustration: Fig. 1. _The Roswell Report: Fact vs. Fiction in the New Mexico Desert_ contains, in its entirety, the report submitted to the Secretary of the Air Force in July 1994. It is available for sale from the U.S. Government Printing Office, Superintendent of Documents, Washington, D.C., 20402-9328. Stock No. 008-070-00697-9, ISBN 0-16-048023-X.] Subsequent to the 1994 report, Air Force researchers discovered information that provided a rational explanation for the alleged observations of alien bodies associated with the âRoswell Incident.â Pursuant to the discovery, research efforts compared documented Air Force activities to the incredible claims of âflying saucers,â âaliensâ and seemingly unusual Air Force involvement. This in-depth examination revealed that these accounts, in most instances, were of actual Air Force activities but were seriously flawed in several major areas, most notably: the Air Force operations that inspired reports of âbodiesâ (in addition to being earthly in origin) did not occur in 1947. It appears that UFO proponents have failed to establish the accurate dates for these âalienâ observations (in some instances by more than a decade) and then erroneously linked them to the actual Project MOGUL debris recovery. This report discusses the results of this further research and identifies the likely sources of the claims of âalienâ bodies. Contrary to allegations that the Air Force has engaged in a cover-up and possesses dark secrets involving the Roswell claims, some of the accounts appear to be descriptions of unclassified and widely publicized Air Force scientific achievements. Other descriptions of bodies appear to be descriptions of actual incidents in which Air Force members were killed or injured in the line of duty. The conclusions of the additional research are: â¢ Air Force activities which occurred over a period of many years have been consolidated and are now represented to have occurred in two or three days in July 1947. â¢ âAliensâ observed in the New Mexico desert were probably anthropomorphic test dummies that were carried aloft by U.S. Air Force high altitude balloons for scientific research. â¢ The âunusualâ military activities in the New Mexico desert were high altitude research balloon launch and recovery operations. The reports of military units that always seemed to arrive shortly after the crash of a flying saucer to retrieve the saucer and âcrew,â were actually accurate descriptions of Air Force personnel engaged in anthropomorphic dummy recovery operations. â¢ Claims of bodies at the Roswell Army Air Field hospital were most likely a combination of two separate incidents: 1) a 1956 KC-97 aircraft accident in which 11 Air Force members lost their lives; and, 2) a 1959 manned balloon mishap in which two Air Force pilots were injured. This report is based on thoroughly documented research supported by official records, technical reports, film footage, photographs, and interviews with individuals who were involved in these events. [Illustration: Fig. 2. Roswell, N.M. (pop. 37,000), boasts competing âmuseumsâ focusing on the Roswell Incident, including this one, The International UFO Museum and Research Center.] SECTION ONE Flying Saucer Crashes and Alien Bodies The most puzzling and intriguing element of the complex series of events now known as the Roswell Incident, are the alleged sightings of alien bodies. The bodies turned what, for many years, was just another flying saucer story, into what many UFO proponents claim is the best case for extraterrestrial visitation of Earth. The importance of bodies and the assumptions made as to their origin is illustrated in a passage from a popular Roswell book: _Crashed saucers are one thing, and could well turn out to be futuristic American or even foreign aircraft or missiles. But alien bodies are another matter entirely, and hardly subject to misinterpretation._[3] The 1994 Air Force report determined that project MOGUL was responsible for the 1947 events. MOGUL was an experimental attempt to acoustically detect suspected Soviet nuclear weapon explosions and ballistic missile launches.[4] MOGUL utilized acoustical sensors, radar reflecting targets and other devices attached to a train of weather balloons over 600 feet long. Claims that the U.S. Army Air Forces recovered a âflying discâ in 1947, were based primarily on the lack of identification of the radar targets, an element of weather equipment used on the long MOGUL balloon train. The oddly constructed radar targets were found by a New Mexico rancher during the height of the first U.S. flying saucer wave in 1947.[5] The rancher brought the remnants of the balloons and radar targets to the local sheriff after he allegedly learned of the broadcasted reports of flying discs. However, following some initial confusion at Roswell Army Air Field, the âflying discâ was soon identified by Army Air Forces officials as a standard radar target.[6] From 1947 until the late 1970s, the Roswell Incident was essentially a non-story. The reports that existed contain only descriptions of mundane materials that originated from the Project MOGUL balloon trainââtinfoil, paper, tape, rubber, and sticks.â[7] The first claim of âbodiesâ appeared in the late 1970s, with additional claims made during the 1980s and 1990s. These claims were usually based on anecdotal accounts of second- and third-hand witnesses collected by UFO proponents as much as 40 years after the alleged incident. The same anecdotal accounts that referred to bodies also described massive field operations conducted by the U.S. military to recover crash debris from a supposed extraterrestrial spaceship. [Illustration: Fig. 3. An illustration of a Project MOGUL balloon train similar to one found on a ranch 75 miles northwest of Roswell, N.M. in June 1947, which contains all of the âstrangeâ materials described as part of a âflying disc.â Initial confusion at Roswell AAF and delayed identification of this equipment was the first in a series of unrelated events now known as the âRoswell Incident.â] A technique used by some UFO authors to collect anecdotal corroboration for their theories was to solicit cooperating witnesses through newspaper announcements. For example, one such solicitation appeared in the _Socorro_ (N.M.) _Defensor Chieftain_ on November 4, 1992, on behalf of Don Berliner and Stanton T. Friedman, the authors of the book _Crash at Corona_. This request solicited persons to provide information about the supposed crashes of alien spacecraft in the Socorro area.[8][*] [*] Socorro, N.M. is situated at the northwest boundary of White Sands Missile Range, the largest military test range in the United States. Since the 1940s, White Sands and the surrounding areas of New Mexico have been the site of a high volume of military test and evaluation activity, including the launch and recovery of anthropomorphic dummies carried aloft by high altitude balloons. [Illustration: Fig. 4. (_Right_) Maj. Jesse Marcel, an intelligence officer from Roswell Army Air Field, with the debris found 75 miles northwest of Roswell in June 1947. When compared to a standard radar target used by project MOGUL, it is clear that they are the same object. (_Courtesy, Special Collections Division, the University of Texas at Arlington Libraries, Arlington, Tex._)] [Illustration: Fig. 5 & 6. (_Below, left and right_) Constructed of aluminized paper glued and taped to a balsa wood frame, several ML-307B/AP radar targets were used on the MOGUL balloon train to make it visible to radar. (_U.S. Air Force photos_)] [Illustration: Fig. 7. This account from the July 9, 1947 _Roswell Daily Record_, described the materials âtinfoil, paper, rubber, tape, and sticksâ found on the ranch 75 miles northwest of Roswell, in June 1947. _Harassed Rancher who Located âSaucerâ Sorry He Told About It_ W. W. Brazel, 48, Lincoln county rancher living 30 miles south east of Corona, today told his story of finding what the army at first described as a flying disk, but the publicity which attended his find caused him to add that if he ever found anything else short of a bomb he sure wasnât going to say anything about it. Brazel was brought here late yesterday by W. E. Whitmore, of radio station KGFL, had his picture taken and gave an interview to the Record and Jason Kellahin, sent here from the Albuquerque bureau of the Associated Press to cover the story. The picture he posed for was sent out over AP telephoto wire sending machine specially set up in the Record office by R. D. Adair, AP wire chief sent here from Albuquerque for the sole purpose of getting out his picture and that of sheriff George Wilcox, to whom Brazel originally gave the information of his find. Brazel related that on June 14 he and an 8-year old son, Vernon were about 7 or 8 miles from the ranch house of the J. B. Foster ranch, which he operates, when they came upon a large area of bright wreckage made up on rubber strips, tinfoil, a rather tough paper and sticks. At the time Brazel was in a hurry to get his round made and he did not pay much attention to it. But he did remark about what he had seen and on July 4 he, his wife, Vernon and a daughter Betty, age 14, went back to the spot and gathered up quite a bit of the debris. The next day he first heard about the flying disks, and he wondered if what he had found might be the remnants of one of these. Monday he came to town to sell some wool and while here he went to see sheriff George Wilcox and âwhispered kinda confidential likeâ that he might have found a flying disk. Wilcox got in touch with the Roswell Army Air Field and Maj. Jesse A. Marcel and a man in plain clothes accompanied him home, where they picked up the rest of the pieces of the âdiskâ and went to his home to try to reconstruct it. According to Brazel they simply could not reconstruct it at all. They tried to make a kite, out of it, but could not do that and could not find any way to put it back together so that it would fit. Then Major Marcel brought it to Roswell and that was the last he heard of it until the story broke that he had found a flying disk. Brazel said that he did not see it fall from the sky and did not see it before it was torn up, so he did not know the size or shape it might have been, but he thought it might have been about as large as a table top. The balloon which held it up, if that was how it worked, must have been about 12 feet long, he felt, measuring the distance by the size of the room in which he sat. The rubber was smoky gray in color and scattered over an area about 200 yards in diameter. When the debris was gathered up the tinfoil, paper, tape, and sticks made a bundle about three feet long and 7 or 8 inches thick, while the rubber made a bundle about 18 or 20 inches long and about 8 inches thick. In all, he estimated, the entire lot would have weighed maybe five pounds. There was no sign of any metal in the area which might have been used for an engine and no sign of any propellers of any kind, although at least one paper fin had been glued onto some of the tinfoil. There were no words to be found anywhere on the instrument, although there were letters on some of the parts. Considerable scotch tape and some tape with flowers printed upon it had been used in the construction. No strings or wire were to be found but there were some eyelets in the paper to indicate that some sort of attachment may have been used. Brazel said that he had previously found two weather observation balloons on the ranch, but that what he found this time did not in any way resemble either of these. âI am sure what I found was not any weather observation balloon.â he said. âBut if I find anything else, besides a bomb they are going to have a hard time getting me to say anything about it.â] In response to the newspaper announcement, two scientists central to the actual explanation of the âRoswellâ events, Professor Charles B. Moore, a former U.S. Army Air Forces contract engineer, and Bernard D. Gildenberg, retired Holloman AFB Balloon Branch Physical Science Administrator and Meteorologist, came forward with pertinent information.[9] According to Moore and Gildenberg, when they met with the authors their explanations that some of the Air Force projects they participated in were most likely responsible for the incident, they were summarily dismissed. The authors even went so far as to suggest that these distinguished scientists were participants in a multifaceted government cover-up to conceal the truth about the Roswell Incident. [Illustration: Fig. 8. Announcement from the November 4, 1992 _Socorro_ (N.M.) _Defensor Chieftain_ soliciting witnesses of flying saucer crashes in New Mexico. When former Air Force scientists responded to advise the authors that Air Force projects were most probably responsible for the UFO accounts, they were summarily dismissed by the authors who placed the announcement, and then were accused of participating in a cover-up. _Authors seek UFO witnesses_ Co-authors of a major book on the 1947 crash of at least one alien spacecraft in the New Mexico desert will be at the Golden Manor Motel in Socorro on Monday, Nov. 16 to seek out additional witnesses to these events. Nuclear physicist Stanton T. Friedman and aviation/science writer Don Berliner, whose âCrash at Coronaâ is now in its second printing, want to meet with people having knowledge of the 1947 crashes. Their book, being published in August by Paragon House of New York, is being prepared for a made-for-TV movie. It is the story of the discovery, retrieval, shipping and cover-up of what the authors call the most important scientific discovery of the past thousand years. It is based on dozens of interviews with first- and second-hand civilian and ex-military witnesses to various parts of what is referred to as a very complex series of events. In order to strengthen their case for government knowledge of what they call âthe truth behind almost 50 years of UFO sightings,â the authors are seeking out additional, reliable witnesses. It remains their policy to honor requests to keep the names of witnesses private. For more information, contact Don Berliner, 1202 S. Washington St., Alexandria. VA., 22314 (703-548-0405); or Stanton T. Friedman, 79 Pembroke Crescent, Fredericton, New Brunswick E3B 2V1, Canada (506 457-0232). Witnesses are invited to call either author collect or to make arrangements to meet them at any of their stops in New Mexico, which include the cities of Santa Fe, Albuquerque, Las Cruces, Alamogordo and Roswell.] [Illustration: Fig. 9. (_Left_) B.D. âDukeâ Gildenberg served as the civilian meteorologist, engineer, and physical science administrator for the Holloman AFB Balloon Branch from 1951â1981. Gildenberg actively participated in thousands of high altitude balloon operations, including the flights that dropped anthropomorphic dummies at off-range locations throughout New Mexico. Gildenberg, the âfatherâ of Air Force scientific ballooning, was instrumental in identifying the many actual Air Force activities now known as the âRoswell Incident.â] [Illustration: Fig. 10. (_Right_) Charles B. Moore, Professor Emeritus of Atmospheric Physics at the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, was the project engineer for New York University under contract to the U.S. Army Air Forces to develop high altitude balloon technology for Project MOGUL. Moore launched the balloon train on June 4, 1947, that when combined with other events, are now known as the âRoswell Incident.â] Since many of the Roswell accounts and allegations were collected by irregular methods and are not specifically documented, the series of events as alleged by UFO theorists has become very complex and requires clarification. Therefore, the following section will briefly examine some of the more confusing elements of the Roswell stories, specifically, the multiple crash sites and complex scenarios, in order to facilitate an objective analysis of actual events. 1.1 The âCrash Sites,â Scenarios, and Research Methods The âCrash Sitesâ From 1947 until the late 1970s, the Roswell Incident was confined to one alleged crash site. This site, located on the Foster Ranch approximately 75 miles northwest of the city of Roswell, was the actual landing site of a Project MOGUL balloon train in June 1947.[10] The MOGUL landing site is referred to in popular Roswell literature as the âdebris field.â In the 1970s, the 1980s and throughout the 1990s, additional witnesses came forward with claims and descriptions of two other alleged crash sites. One of these sites was supposedly north of Roswell, the other site was alleged to have been approximately 175 miles northwest of Roswell in an area of New Mexico known as the San Agustin Plains.[11] What distinguished the two new crash sites from the original debris field were accounts of alien bodies. [Illustration: Fig. 11. Map of New Mexico depicting the âcrash sitesâ and âdebris field.â ] The Scenarios [Sidenote: â_It must be emphasized that the claims of bodies only became part of the Roswell Incident after 1978, when they were erroneously linked to the July 1947 retrieval of Project MOGUL components._â] UFO enthusiasts have attempted to explain the obvious contradiction of multiple impact sites involving only one alien craft through the introduction of complicated scenarios. These scenarios have become increasingly convoluted since the proponents of each crash site must make allowances to have âtheirâ flying saucer at the correct time and placeâthe actual MOGUL balloon train landing site in early July, 1947âin order to âfitâ with the rest of the story. The actual Project MOGUL landing site, 75 miles northwest of Roswell, lends credibility, and more importantly establishes a _time frame_, for the other accounts that include reports of bodies. Flying saucer enthusiasts use the documented presence of U.S. Army Air Forces personnel at the MOGUL site in July 1947, who were there to retrieve the MOGUL balloon train, to provide the nucleus of unrelated and much later accounts that include reports of âbodies.â It must be emphasized that the claims of âbodiesâ only became part of the Roswell Incident after 1978, when they were erroneously linked to the July 1947 retrieval of Project MOGUL components. In general, âRoswell Incidentâ scenarios claim that a disabled alien craft momentarily touched down at the site 75 miles northwest of Roswell, leaving behind parts of the spaceship (material that has been subsequently identified as components of a MOGUL balloon train) to create the original âdebris field.â The scenarios further contend that the damaged craft again became airborne and flew to its final crash site, at either the location north of Roswell or 175 miles northwest of Roswell on the San Agustin Plains. Regardless of the dispute over the location, an element common to most scenarios was that, once recovered, the bodies were supposedly transported to the hospital at Roswell Army Air Field for autopsy. Also common to these theories is that the bodies were later shipped from Roswell AAF to another facility, usually Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio (or a host of other facilitiesâthis is another area of further disagreement among UFO theorists) for further evaluation and ultimate deep-freeze storage. Research Methods In an attempt to untangle this collection of complicated assertions and determine if there was any validity to the reports of bodies, Air Force researchers faced the task of sorting through and examining anecdotal testimony of hundreds of witnesses. However, a large number of the accounts were eliminated by applying previously established facts to the testimonies. The July 1994 report to the Secretary of the Air Force clearly presented and documented these facts: _a._ The U.S. Army Air Forces did not recover an extraterrestrial vehicle and alien crew. This conclusion was based on extensive research that included a thorough review of both classified and unclassified materials at record depositories, archives, libraries and research facilities throughout the nation. Of the millions of pages of material reviewed, there was no mention of any activities that even tangentially suggested such an event. Additionally, former and retired Air Force members and civilian contract scientists were located and released from any possible nondisclosure agreements they may have entered into regarding past classified activities. This release allowed them to freely discuss with Air Force researchers, or any other persons, information related to this issue. These releases were issued at the express written direction of the Secretary of the Air Force. Interviews with these persons yielded no information supporting extraterrestrial claims or any other unusual activities. _b._ The reports of bodies were not associated with Project MOGUL. The MOGUL balloon train did not, was not designed to, nor could it carry passengers. Neither did it carry hazardous materials that would have caused injury, death, or mutilation to persons who may have come in contact with any of its components. _c._ Actual events, if any, that inspired reports of bodies did not occur in 1947. Based on extensive examinations of U.S. Army Air Forces activities in 1947, no evidence was found to support allegations that the Army Air Forces was involved in any uncommon operations other than the retrieval of the MOGUL balloon train in the Roswell area in July 1947. Examination of research and development projects, aircraft crashes, errant missiles and possible nuclear accidents yielded no information to support a 1947 claim. In light of these documented facts, the hundreds of anecdotal accounts were reduced to a few. Eliminated were accounts that were likely descriptions of materials known to be part of the Project MOGUL balloon train and accounts describing transportation of these materials. From the remaining testimony, Air Force researchers developed the following set of working hypotheses to assist in identifying the actual events, if any, matching those described by the witnesses. _a._ Due to the number and great detail provided in some of the accounts, it was likely that some event(s) actually did occur. _b._ Due to the many similarities of the two crash site descriptions and the considerable distance between them, it was likely that more than one event with similar characteristics was the basis for these accounts. _c._ Since the account of bodies at the Roswell Army Air Field hospital did not contain elements similar to reports of the two crash sites, it was likely that this account was unrelated to the crash site accounts. (The hospital account will be addressed separately in Section Two of this report.) The remaining testimony was examined with regard both to the facts and to working hypotheses to determine if there were common threads or links connecting any of the accounts. If similarities were found, the next step was to determine if they were related to an actual event. Finally, if there were actual event(s), were they part of U.S. Air Force or U.S. Government activities? Common Threads Careful examination of the testimony revealed that primary witnesses of the two âcrashed saucerâ locations contained descriptions common to both. These areas of commonality contained both general and detailed characteristics. However, before continuing, the accounts were carefully examined to determine if the testimony related by individual witnesses were of their own experiences and not a recitation of information given by other persons. While many aspects of the remaining accounts were judged to be similar, other aspects were found to be significantly different. The accounts on which the analysis is based were determined, in all likelihood, to have been independently obtained or observed by the witnesses. =General Similarities.= The testimony presented for both crash sites generally followed the same sequence of events. The witnesses were in a rural and isolated area of New Mexico. In the course of their travels in this area, they came upon a crashed aerial vehicle. The witnesses then proceeded to the area of the crash to investigate and at some distance they observed strange looking âbeingsâ that appeared to be crewmembers of the vehicle. Soon thereafter, a convoy of military vehicles and soldiers arrived at the site. Military personnel allegedly instructed the civilians to leave the area and forget what they had seen. As the witnesses left the area, the military personnel commenced with a recovery operation of the crashed aerial vehicle and âcrew.â =Detailed Similarities.= Along with general similarities in the testimonies, there also existed a substantial amount of similar detailed descriptions of the âaliens,â and the military vehicles and procedures allegedly used to recover them. The first obvious similarity was the descriptions of the aliens. Mr. Gerald Anderson, an alleged witness of events at the site 175 miles northwest of Roswell, recalled, âI thought they were plastic dolls.â[12] Mr. James Ragsdale, an alleged witness of the site north of Roswell, stated, âThey were using dummies in those damned things.â[13] Another alleged witness to a âcrashâ north of Roswell, Frank J. Kaufman, recalled that there was âtalkâ that perhaps an âexperimental plane with dummies in itâ was the source of the claims.[14] Additional similarities were also noted. Mr. Vern Maltais, a secondhand witness of the site 175 miles northwest of Roswell, described the hands of the âaliensâ as, âThey had four fingers.â[15] Anderson characterized the hands as, âThey didnât have a little finger.â[16] He also described the heads of the aliens as âcompletely baldâ[17] while Maltais described them as âhairless.â[18] The uniforms of the aliens were independently described by Anderson as âone-piece suits ... a shiny silverish-gray colorâ[19] and by Maltais as âone-piece and gray in color.â[20] The date of this event was also not precisely known. Maltais recalled that it may have occurred âaround 1950â[21] and another secondhand witness, Alice Knight stated, âI donât recall the date.â[22] Witnesses of different sites also used the terms âwreckerâ[23] and âsix-by-sixâ[24] when they described the military vehicles present at the different recovery sites. One witness described seeing a âmedium sized Jeep/truckâ[25] and another witness described seeing a âweapons carrierâ[26] (a weapons carrier is a mid-sized Jeep-type truck). The Research Profile When the general and specific similarities were combined, a profile emerged describing the event or activity that might have been observed. The profile, which contains elements common to at least two, and in some cases, all of the accounts, established a set of criteria used to determine what the witnesses may have observed. The profile is as follows: _a._ An activity that, if viewed from a distance, would appear unusual. _b._ An activity of which the exact date is not known. _c._ An activity that took place in two rural areas of New Mexico. _d._ An activity that involved a type of aerial vehicle with dolls or dummies that had four fingers, were bald, and wore one-piece gray suits. _e._ An activity that required recovery by numerous military personnel and an assortment of vehicles that included a wrecker, a six-by-six, and a weapons carrier. Based on this profile, research was begun to identify events or activities with these characteristics. Due to the location of the sites, attention was focused on Roswell AAF (renamed Walker AFB in 1948), White Sands Missile Range and Holloman AFB, N.M. The aerial vehicles assigned or under development at these facilities were aircraft, missiles, remotely-piloted drones, and high altitude balloons. The operational characteristics and areas where these vehicles flew were researched to determine if they played a role in the events described by the witnesses. =Missiles and Drones.= Missiles and drones were determined not to have been responsible for the accounts.[*] The areas where the alleged crashes took place were, in all likelihood, too far from the White Sands Missile Range. Missiles were equipped with a self-destruct mechanism that was activated if it strayed off-course or out of the White Sands Missile Range. There was never a program that required a dummy or doll to be placed inside a missile or a drone. However, missiles were launched from White Sands carrying monkeys and other small animals aloft for scientific research.[27] These projects were well documented, and none of these missiles landed near either of the two crash sites. [*] From September 1961 until March 1965 12 Atlas F intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) were deployed by the 579^{th} Strategic Missile Squadron in areas surrounding Walker AFB, N.M. These missiles were determined not to have been involved in the Roswell Incident. =Aircraft.= Aircraft seemed just as unlikely as missiles to have been responsible for the extraterrestrial claims as outlined in the profile. Although additional research revealed the significant role dummies played in the test and evaluation of aircraft emergency escape systems, these dummies were used on board aircraft and on the high-speed test track at Holloman AFB. However, aircraft test flights demanded strict adherence to established flight profiles over the instrumented portions of the White Sands Missile Range, many miles from the alleged crash sites. Dummies used on the high-speed track remained in the immediate vicinity of the track facilities at Holloman AFB. This geographical impossibility ruled out dummies that were ejected from aircraft and those used on the high-speed track as a cause of alleged alien sightings. (Aircraft accidents will be discussed extensively in Section Two of this report.) [Illustration: Figs. 12 & 13. Missiles (_left_) and drones (_right_) under development at Holloman AFB, N.M. were determined not to have been involved in the âRoswell Incident.â (_U.S. Air Force photos_)] =High Altitude Research Balloons.= The only vehicles not yet evaluated as a possible source of the accounts were high altitude research balloons. Previous reviews of early research balloon flight records revealed that trajectories of high altitude balloons were, at times, unpredictable and did not usually remain over Holloman AFB or White Sands Missile Range.[28] Many of the scientific payloads required recovery so the data collected during flight could be returned to the laboratory for analysis. These characteristics seemed to fit at least some of the research profile. Atmospheric sampling apparatus or weather instruments, the typical payload of many high altitude balloons, could hardly have been mistaken for space aliens. A careful examination of the instruments carried aloft by the high altitude balloons revealed that one unique project used a device that very likely could be mistaken for an alienâan anthropomorphic dummy. An anthropomorphic dummy is a human substitute equipped with a variety of instrumentation to measure effects of environments and situations deemed too hazardous for a human. These abstractly human dummies were first used in New Mexico in May 1950, and have been used on a continuous basis since that time.[29] In the 1950s, anthropomorphic dummies were not widely exposed outside of scientific research circles and easily could have been mistaken for something they were not. Today, anthropomorphic dummies, better known as crash test dummies, are easily identifiable and are even the âstarsâ of their own automotive safety advertising campaign. During the 1950s when the U.S. Air Force dropped the odd-looking test devices from high altitude balloons in its program to study high altitude human free-fall characteristics, public awareness and stardom were decades away. It seems likely that someone who unexpectedly observed these dummies at a distance would believe they had seen something unusual. In retrospect, when interviewed over 40 years later, they could accurately report that they had seen something _very unusual_. With the introduction of anthropomorphic dummies as a possible explanation for the reports of bodies, another element of the research profile appeared to be satisfied. Specific information that described the locations, methods, and procedures used to employ the dummies was required before any definitive conclusions could be drawn. To gather this detailed information, research efforts were concentrated on high altitude balloon operations and the specific projects that utilized balloon-borne anthropomorphic dummies. [Illustration: Fig. 14. (_Left_) Example of an anthropomorphic dummy carried aloft by U.S. Air Force high altitude balloons. These dummies landed at numerous locations throughout New Mexico during the 1950s. (_U.S. Air Force photo_)] [Illustration: Fig. 15. (_Right_) Newspaper advertisement depicting anthropomorphic dummies âVince and Larryâ âstarsâ of the successful advertising campaign by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to encourage use of safety belts. (_Courtesy of NHTSA_) âIâLL JUST BRACE MYSELF WITH THE STEERING WHEELâ Who are you trying to fool? Thereâs no way a steering wheel can stop you from slamming into a dashboard. Only a safety belt can. Stop making excuses and start buckling your safety belt. YOU COULD LEARN A LOT FROM A DUMMY. BUCKLE YOUR SAFETY BELT. A Public Service Message US Department of Transportation ] Test Dummies Used by the U.S. Air Force Since the beginning of manned flight, designers have sought a substitute for the human body to test hazardous new equipment. Early devices used by the predecessors of the U.S. Air Force were simply constructed parachute drop test dummies with little similarity to the human form. Following World War II, aircraft emergency escape systems became increasingly sophisticated and engineers required a dummy with more humanlike characteristics. Parachute Drop Dummies During World War I research and development of the first U.S. military parachute was underway at McCook Field, Ohio. To test the parachute, engineers experimented with several types of dummies, settling on a model constructed of three-inch hemp rope and sandbags with the approximate proportions of a medium-sized man.[30] The new invention was soon known by the nickname âDummy Joe.â Dummy Joe is said to have made more than five thousand âjumpsâ between 1918 and 1924.[31] By 1924, parachutes were required on military aircraft with their serviceability tested by dummies dropped from aircraft.[32] For this routine testing, several types of dummies were used. The most common type is shown in figures 17 and 18. Parachutes were individually drop-tested from aircraft until the early stages of World War II, when, due both to increased reliability and large numbers of parachutes in service, this routine practice was discontinued. Nonetheless, test dummies were still used frequently by the Parachute Branch of Air Materiel Command (AMC) at Wright Field, Ohio, to test new parachute designs. [Illustration: Fig. 16. ââDummy Joe,â the hero of five thousand jumpsâ is shown here with engineers J.J. Higgins (_left_) and Guy Ball at McCook Field, Ohio in 1920. (_U.S. Air Force photo_)] [Illustration: Fig. 17. (_Left_) Early rope and sandbag dummy used to test parachutes. (_U.S. Air Force photo_)] [Illustration: Fig. 18. (_Right_) Parachute drop dummies in use at Wright Field, Ohio. The historic Flight Test hangars, Hangars 1 and 9, can be seen in the background. (_U.S. Air Force photo_)] Anthropomorphic Dummies The ejection seat had been developed and used successfully by the German Luftwaffe during the latter stages of World War II. The utility of this invention was realized when the U.S. Army Air Forces obtained an ejection seat in 1944.[33] To properly test the ejection seat, the Army Air Forces required a dummy that had the same center of gravity and weight distribution as a human, characteristics that parachute drop dummies did not possess. In 1944, the USAAF Air Materiel Command contracted with the Ted Smith Company of Upper Darby, Pa. to design and manufacture the first dummy intended to accurately represent a human.[34] The dummy had the same basic shape as a human, but with only abstract human
{'title': 'The Roswell Report: Case Closed by James McAndrew', 'source': 'Project Gutenberg', 'lang': 'en'}