Roswell UFO Incident

One of the most enduring and globally debated UFO events in history

Name	Roswell Incident
Occurred on	July 7, 1947
Seen by	Numerous witnesses, both civilian and military
Investigated by	Multiple individuals and entities, including the Counter-Intelligence Corps

In July 1947, rancher William “Mac” Brazel’s life turned upside down when he allegedly found what to him looked like debris from a flying saucer on his ranch. Days later, this discovery would have sparked one of the most controversial UFO sightings in history, the Roswell Incident.

UFO events and flying saucers were already considered mainstream during this period. However, these were either immediately dismissed as hoaxes or a few believers would delve further to unravel their mysteries. Unlike the others, the Roswell Incident immediately gained notoriety, mainly due to the contradictory accounts of the entities involved.

What Is the Roswell Incident About?

The Roswell Incident is now known as one of, if not America’s, most enduring UFO mysteries. Since its initial public announcement, people have remained divided about what to believe.

What started the incident was when William “Mac” Brazel found unusual wreckage in July 1947. He described it as consisting of multiple pieces of paper covered with a foil-like substance, pieced together with small sticks, and what appeared to be gray rubber.

Thinking nothing of it, Brazel ignored the mess until news about UFOs reached his attention, and he immediately connected what he had discovered to a possible UFO crash. A day after, he reported the incident to the sheriff, who, in turn, contacted the Roswell Army Air Field (RAAF).

The military’s involvement, as well as the public’s awareness, began on July 7, 1947. Army Air Force Intelligence agent Major Jesse A. Marcel, alongside Counter-Intelligence Corps (CIC) agents Lieutenant Colonel Sheridan W. Cavitt and Sergeant Lewis S. Rickett, investigated the reports. They traveled to the ranch to check for any evidence of the alleged crash, only to collect what Cavitt described as reflective material and bamboo sticks.

This story was immediately picked up by the Roswell Daily Record on July 8 and released under the headline, “RAAF Captures Flying Saucer On Ranch in Roswell Region.” However, this was instantly debunked or denied by the military, not even 24 hours later, announcing that the saucer was only a weather balloon carrying a radar target.

Timeline of the Initial Incident’s Events

Here’s a more concise version of the events that unfolded during the Roswell UFO Incident:

• July 4, 1947: Something crashed in Roswell, New Mexico. Two debris were discovered the next morning: 75 miles from Roswell and 36 miles toward the North.
• July 5: William Brazel discovered the strange debris.
• July 6: William reported the wreckage to the sheriff.
• July 7: The Army Air Force Intelligence and Counter-Intelligence Corps. investigated it.
• July 8: The Roswell Daily Record published the first official Roswell Incident story.
• July 8: The military released a photo of General Ramey, Colonel Thomas DuBose, and Major Jesse A. Marcel in an office with a genuine weather balloon.
• July 9: The Army Corps changed the story, denying any UFO discovery.
• Until July 15: William Brazel was held incommunicado in military custody, when he informed the newspaper, “I am sure what I found was not any weather balloon.”

After the contradicting statements, the story fell out of the public’s interest until the late 1970s when it resurfaced with the following developments:

The Weather Balloon Cover Story

In 1978, nuclear physicist-turned-ufologist Stanton T. Friedman was tipped off about an alleged cover-up story. The person who provided the information was none other than Major Jesse Marcel, the base intelligence officer assigned to recover evidence from the ranch.

Marcel claimed that the weather balloon explanation was a cover-up and that the released photo was staged. The balloon allegedly replaced the real debris collected, and everyone involved was clear that the initial objects were extraterrestrial materials.

He stated, “There was all kinds of stuff… with some sort of hieroglyphics on them that nobody could decipher… They were pink and purple… the pieces of metal that we brought back were so thin, just like tinfoil… You can’t make a dent on it.”

The Aztec UFO Incident

Another similar event occurred a year after the Roswell Incident. Although separate, many have drawn connections between the Aztec UFO incident and the previous event, given that they coincidentally happened in the same state. This alleged UFO crash involving a 100-foot saucer occurred in March 1948 on Aztec, New Mexico, with the government supposedly visiting the site and sweeping whatever they found to red-tape secrecy.⁶

Majestic 12

This was allegedly the name of a secret US government committee formed to investigate extraterrestrial phenomena.

Its connection to the Roswell Incident can be traced to December 1984, when a package arrived in the mail of Jaime Shandera, a television writer-producer. It contained eight pages of what appeared to be briefing papers which detailed the recovery of two crashed spaceships. One of which was the Roswell Incident, where authorities supposedly recovered four humanoids.

Amid the Iran-Contra affair in May 1987, dramatic proof regarding the Roswell incident was released, allegedly by a whistleblower. The individual released a copy of a 1952 memo stamped “TOP SECRET: MAJIC EYES ONLY.” This allegedly briefed the president about the following:

• The flying saucer crash at Roswell
• The military recovered four decomposed alien bodies
• The weather balloon cover story
• The Operation Majestic 12

Alien Autopsy

Following the disorder that accompanied the resurfacing of the Roswell Incident, a 17-minute, black-and-white film was released by Vidmark Entertainment in 1995, allegedly filmed in July 1947 at Fort Worth AAF. It showed a 5’2” body with six fingers on each hand and foot, with no body hair, a removable filmy material on its eyes, and no visible genitalia.

Many professionals were asked to share their opinions about the video:

• Kodak officials concluded that the film was made in 1927, 1947, or 1967, primarily based on the items found in the video.
• Dr. Cyril Wecht, a forensic pathologist with over 40,000 autopsies, believed it was a genuine autopsy.
• Hollywood’s best effects experts claimed that nobody would have been able to create something similar to the body’s skin, moisture, and tissue flexibility, definitely not in the year it was allegedly filmed.

Timeline of Events Following the Initial Incident

Here’s a more concise timeline of what happened following the resurfacing of the Roswell UFO Incident to the public:

• 1948: Another alleged UFO crash occurred in Aztec, New Mexico.
• 1978: The weather balloon story was claimed to be a cover-up.
• 1984: Briefing papers detailing what happened in the military base were sent to Jaime Shandera, a television writer-producer.
• 1987: A 1952 memo about the incident and Majestic 12 was revealed.
• 1995: A 17-minute video of an alien autopsy was released.

Investigations and Relevant Materials 

To provide the public with clarity about the Roswell Incident, Charles Berlitz and William L. Moore published their book, The Roswell Incident, in 1980. They wrote it to support the claim that the weather balloon story was a cover-up, stating that the original debris was flown to Wright Field, and the materials in the photo were a substitute.

This book received polarized reactions that ultimately pushed the US government to launch its retrospective investigation and publish two reports.

Project MOGUL

The US Air Force released its first investigative statement in 1994. It claimed that the UFO recovered in Roswell belonged to a balloon for then-classified Project Mogul.

This happened because the Roswell Incident supposedly coincided with the testing at Alamogordo Army Air Field, where several balloons were also reported to have gone missing.

Project Engineer Charles B. Moore confirmed that descriptions and photos were consistent with the balloons’ materials.

The Roswell Report: Case Closed

The US Air Force released their second report during the event’s 50th anniversary. The Roswell Report: Case Closed stated that the “alien bodies” civilians saw were actually:

• A severely injured airman parachutist
• Crash test dummies
• Charred bodies from an airplane crash

On June 25, 1997, a newspaper article was published to clarify and summarize the content of The Roswell Report.

Injured Parachutist

The US Air Force claimed that one serviceman crashed 10 miles northwest of Roswell in a test balloon. He suffered an injury that caused his head to swell, and this allegedly resembled the bulbous cranium of aliens.

Test Dummies

Dummy parachutes were reportedly routinely dropped to test parachutes, only to be lost in the deserts. Sometimes, they became disfigured in ways that fit the characteristics of aliens.

Charred Bodies

Captain James McAndrew wrote in the report a detailed account of the KC-97G military plane crash near Roswell, killing 11 fliers, and their bodies were allegedly what civilians saw and were mistaken for aliens.

The Day After Roswell

In the same year as The Roswell Report’s release, a retired Pentagon insider published a memoir that detailed his firsthand experience during the Roswell Incident.

Colonel Philip J. Corso published The Day After Roswell, in which he claimed to be part of the crew that inspected a convoy in July 1947. He detailed in the book that he opened a small crate in a building at Fort Riley and found a dead alien inside, submerged in blue liquid. Col. Philip described what he saw as:

• A four-foot human-shaped figure with bizarre-looking four-fingered hands
• It had thin legs and feet
• It had an oversized glowy lightbulb-shaped head
• It had pale gray skin, a tiny nose, and oversized, almond-shaped eyes

Lieutenant Haut’s Sworn Affidavit

In 2002, the base public affairs officer, First Lieutenant Walter Haut, stated his experiences in an affidavit. He mentioned that Colonel Blanchard, a US Air Force Officer, took him to B-29 hangar at Building 84, where he saw the following:

• Bodies that were the size of a 10-year-old under a canvas tarpaulin
• A type of craft with its crew from outer space

Colonel DuBose’s Sworn Affidavit

A few years after Lt. Haut’s affidavit, retired brigadier general Thomas DuBose also signed one insisting that the weather balloon story was a cover-up. He mentioned that the officers involved were instructed to provide that specific story to the public and the news.

Other Witnesses’ Accounts of the Roswell UFO Incident

The Roswell Incident gained widespread recognition and interest for a reason. Aside from the officials’ inconsistent statements, numerous witnesses also came forward to share what they knew and observed during the incident.

James Bond Johnson

James Johnson was the army photographer who took the photos of Ramey, DuBose, and Marcel with the weather balloon.

He released a statement that disclosed how the officials who investigated the recovered debris didn’t know what they had. James reiterated that the weather balloon story was, indeed, a cover-up, and that there were also bodies retrieved from the site.

Frank J. Kaufman

Frank Kaufman was the CIC agent who assisted Major Jesse Marcel during the investigation. He revealed information about the craft recovered, describing it to be 25 to 30 feet long with five alien bodies that were about five feet tall; four of these were outside, while one was inside.

Dr. Brian Todd O’Leary, Ph.D.

Dr. Brian O’Leary was a scientist and astronaut who claimed that for nearly 50 years, the US government has kept UFO and alien information from the public.

He stated that the CIA, NSA, NSC, and other agencies had orchestrated this secrecy. Dr. O’Leary also included the Roswell Incident in his statement, supporting the claims about the weather balloon cover-up.

Loretta Proctor

Loretta was allegedly William Brazel’s neighbor who, alongside her husband, saw the piece of material the rancher discovered. She described it as something that couldn’t be burned or cut, and was extremely lightweight.

Frank Joyce

Frank was an announcer for Roswell’s KGFL Radio, who talked with Brazel after he discovered the debris. The announcer later revealed that he received a call from someone claiming to be a Pentagon officer, who threatened him not to release any statement about what had happened.

Barbara Dugger

Barbara was the granddaughter of George Wilcox, the sheriff William Brazel contacted. She shared that her grandmother told her about the military threatening her and George, should they tell anyone about the incident.

Lydia Sleppy

Lydia was KOAT Radio’s secretary, who received a call from John McBoyle, a reporter who mentioned the flying saucer crashing in Roswell. She claimed that in the middle of typing the story, the radio’s teletype printed the following: “This is the FBI. You will immediately cease transmitting.”

Glenn Dennis

Glenn, a mortician working for Ballard Funeral Home, received a call from the base inquiring about small caskets and body preservation methods. He shared that when he arrived at the base, he saw objects shaped like “half-canoes.” Glenn also claimed to have encountered a nurse, who told him that she autopsied three aliens.

It should be noted that the nurse in question allegedly disappeared after this incident.

The Roswell UFO Incident’s Significance in Ufology

The whole incident, unsurprisingly, became a significant part of the state’s economy. In 1992, the International UFO Museum & Research Center opened in Roswell and has received a considerable number of visitors.

The Roswell Incident became etched in the state’s tourism industry. Many city features in Roswell are UFO-themed, including grocery stores, fast food restaurants, and even streetlights. Since 1995, the state has also held an annual UFO festival.

Aside from its contribution to tourism, one of the primary reasons why the incident remains significant to this day is that it’s one of the most enduring events in UFO history.

Statements by US Presidents

The Roswell Incident fueled numerous conspiracy theories about government cover-ups and extraterrestrial life. In fact, to this day, US presidents still get asked about the Roswell Incident.

Bill Clinton

In a 2014 interview, Bill Clinton answered the question about Roswell, revealing that he’s had people look into Area 51 records, particularly Roswell-related papers. No aliens were found.

Barack Obama

In his 2015 interview with GQ Magazine, Obama was asked whether he had looked at top-secret classified documents.

The then-president answered that what he found was disappointing. He also shared that people constantly asked him about the Roswell Incident, but it turned out that these allegedly top-secret events weren’t as exciting as anyone had expected.

FAQ

Was there a UFO Crash in Roswell?

Yes, there had been an alleged UFO crash in Roswell on July 4, 1947, where two separate debris were discovered the next morning.⁴

Is there evidence of a cover-up in the Roswell UFO Incident?

There had been no physical evidence aside from witness and official statements by military officers who were involved in the event.

Why is the Roswell UFO Incident still important today?

The Roswell Incident is considered ground zero of the UFO phenomenon.⁵ Although the event occurred decades ago, its mysteries still speak to the public’s fascination.