Chapter 1 of 6 · 27979 words · ~140 min read

PART I

. THE UNSTABILIZED DUMMY DROPS

_RAYMOND A. MADSON, 1ST LT., USAF_

_AERO MEDICAL LABORATORY_

OCTOBER 1957

WRIGHT AIR DEVELOPMENT CENTER

WADC TECHNICAL REPORT 57-477 (II)

HIGH ALTITUDE BALLOON DUMMY DROPS II: THE STABILIZED DUMMY DROPS

_RAYMOND A. MADSON, 1ST/LT, USAF_

_LIFE SUPPORT SYSTEMS LABORATORY AEROSPACE MEDICAL LABORATORY_

AUGUST 1961

AERONAUTICAL SYSTEMS DIVISION AIR FORCE SYSTEMS COMMAND UNITED STATES AIR FORCE WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, OHIO ]

1.3 High Altitude Balloon Operations

Research has shown that many high altitude balloons launched from Holloman AFB, N.M., were recovered in locations, and under circumstances, that strongly resemble those described by UFO proponents as the recovery of a “flying saucer” and “alien” crew. When these descriptions were carefully examined, it was clear that they bore more than just a resemblance to Air Force activities. It appears that some were actually distorted references to Air Force personnel and equipment engaged in scientific study through the use of high altitude balloons.

Since 1947, U.S. Air Force research organizations at Holloman AFB, N.M., have launched and recovered approximately 2,500 high altitude balloons. The Air Force organization that conducted most of these

## activities, the Holloman Balloon Branch, launched a wide range of

sophisticated, and from most perspectives, odd looking equipment into the stratosphere above New Mexico. In fact, the =_very first_= high altitude data gathering balloon flight launched from Alamogordo Army Airfield (now Holloman AFB), N.M., on June 4, 1947, was found by the rancher and was the first of many unrelated events now collectively known as the “Roswell Incident.”

[Illustration: Fig. 44. Inflation of a U.S. Air Force 626 ft. long, 34.6 million cu. ft. research balloon on August 13, 1972. This balloon was launched from Roswell Industrial Air Center (formerly Roswell AAF), Roswell, N.M., to test components of the NASA VIKING space probe. (_photo by Ole Jorgeson_) ]

On the Threshold of Space

In 1956, Twentieth Century Fox released _On the Threshold of Space_, a full-length motion picture based on Air Force aero medical projects conducted at Holloman AFB, N.M. Starring Guy Madison, John Hodiak, and Dean Jagger, this drama chronicled the high altitude balloon experiments of projects HIGH DIVE/EXCELSIOR and the high-speed track studies conducted by Col. John P. Stapp. Filmed on location at Holloman AFB, Air Force personnel, high altitude balloons, aircraft, vehicles, and other equipment, including the actual anthropomorphic dummies responsible for sightings of aliens, were used in the making of this film.

In an ironic twist, in 1990 the television program _Unsolved Mysteries_, featured a segment on the Roswell Incident. The program, hosted by actor Robert Stack, depicted a dramatized version of the claims of “aliens,” space ships and mysterious government recovery crews. Interestingly, a review of newspapers from 1956 announcing the Hollywood premiere of _On the Threshold of Space_, listed Stack among the persons scheduled to attend this star-studded event.[70]

[Illustration: Fig. 45. Lobby card of the 1956 Twentieth Century Fox release, _On the Threshold of Space_ starring Guy Madison (_seated_) and Martin Milner (_right_).]

[Illustration: Fig. 46. Publicity photograph from _On the Threshold of Space_ with (_from left_) Cameron Mitchell, Guy Madison and Dean Jagger. Scenes from the movie clearly depict the actual anthropomorphic dummies described nearly 40 years later as extraterrestrial “aliens.”]

[Illustration: Fig. 47. Col. J. P. Stapp’s historic 1954 rocket sled test was re-created for _On the Threshold of Space_ (_see figure 33, page 31_).]

High Altitude Polyethylene Research Balloons

In 1946, as a result of research conducted for project MOGUL, Charles B. Moore, a New York University graduate student working under contract for the U.S. Army Air Forces, made a significant technological discovery: the use of polyethylene for high altitude balloon construction.[71] Polyethylene is a lightweight plastic that can withstand stresses of a high altitude environment that differed drastically from, and greatly exceeded, the capabilities of standard rubber weather balloons used previously. Moore’s discovery was a breakthrough in technology. For the first time, scientists were able to make detailed, sustained studies of the upper atmosphere. Polyethylene balloons, first produced in 1947 for Project MOGUL, are still widely used today for a host of scientific applications.

High altitude polyethylene balloons and standard rubber weather balloons differ greatly in size, construction, and utility. The difference between these two types of balloons historically has been the subject of misunderstandings in that the term “weather balloon” is often used to describe both types of balloons.

High altitude polyethylene balloons are used to transport scientific payloads of several pounds to several tons to altitudes of nearly 200,000 feet. Polyethylene balloons do not increase in size and burst with increases in volume as they rise, as do standard rubber weather balloons. They are launched with excess capacity to accommodate the increase in volume. This characteristic of polyethylene balloons makes them substantially more stable than rubber weather balloons and capable of sustained constant level flight, a requirement for most scientific applications.

[Illustration: Fig. 48. Relative sizes of a modern high altitude polyethylene research balloon, an airliner, and a hot-air balloon. Inaccurate characterizations of the giant high altitude research balloons as “weather balloons” (which are typically 15 feet in diameter) has historically been the source of confusion. (_courtesy of Mike Smith, Raven Industries_)

Raven Industries 40 million cubic foot balloon. 450 ft in diameter at 130,000 feet

Hot-air balloon. 50 ft in diameter

DC-9 airliner 104 ft long]

The initial polyethylene balloons had diameters of only seven feet and carried payloads of five pounds or less.[72] As balloon technology advanced, payload capacities and sizes of balloons increased. Modern polyethylene balloons, some as long as several football fields when on the ground, expand at altitude to volumes large enough to contain many jet airliners. Polyethylene balloons flown by the U.S. Air Force have reached altitudes of 170,000 feet and lifted payloads of 15,000 pounds.[73]

During the late 1940’s and 1950’s, a characteristic associated with the large, newly invented, polyethylene balloons, was that they were often misidentified as flying saucers.[74] During this period, polyethylene balloons launched from Holloman AFB, generated flying saucer reports on nearly every flight.[75] There were so many reports that police, broadcast radio, and newspaper accounts of these sightings were used by Holloman technicians to supplement early balloon tracking techniques.[76] Balloons launched at Holloman AFB generated an especially high number of reports due to the excellent visibility in the New Mexico region. Also, the balloons, flown at altitudes of approximately 100,000 feet, were illuminated before the earth during the periods just after sunset and just before sunrise. In this instance, receiving sunlight before the earth, the plastic balloons appeared as large bright objects against a dark sky. Also, with the refractive and translucent qualities of polyethylene, the balloons appeared to change color, size, and shape.

The large balloons generated UFO reports based on their radar tracks.[77] This was due to large metallic payloads that weighed up to several tons and echoed radar returns not usually associated with balloons. In later years, balloons were equipped with altitude and position reporting transponders and strobe lights that greatly diminished the numbers of both visual and radar UFO sightings.

One classic misidentification of a Holloman balloon that was mistaken for a UFO, was launched on October 27, 1953.[78] According to the following account published in a widely distributed 1958 history of Air Force balloon operations, _Contributions of Balloon Operations to Research and Development at the Air Force Missile Development Center Holloman Air Force Base, N. Mex. 1947–1958_, a suspected Holloman balloon was tracked both visually and by radar over London, England on November 3, 1953.

“English accounts of the incident contained such statements as ‘tremendous speed,’ ‘practically motionless,’ ‘circular or spherical and white in color,’ ‘emitting or reflecting a fierce light.’ Altitude was reported as 61,000 feet—and as no research balloon had recently been sent up from Britain, there was ample room for local saucer enthusiasts to claim the ‘unidentified flying object’ as proof of their theories. A much likelier explanation, however, is that this was really the balloon launched from Holloman on 27 October.”[79]

High Altitude Balloon Payloads

Over the years, payloads transported by high altitude polyethylene balloons ranged from simple radio transmitters to anthropomorphic dummies to sophisticated satellite components and NASA interplanetary space probes. Many of these payloads, some of which weighed many tons, were not what someone would typically envision as being associated with a balloon. Examples of payloads flown in New Mexico by Air Force high altitude balloons can be found on pages 52 and 53 at the end of this section.

Research projects of the late 1940’s and 1950’s conducted at Holloman AFB which began with the Project MOGUL flights in June 1947, covered a wide spectrum of scientific research. One important experiment in space biology measured the effects of exposure to cosmic ray

## particles on living tissues.[80] Other projects gathered meteorological

data and collected air samples to determine the composition of the atmosphere.[81] The first high altitude photographic reconnaissance project, a forerunner to today’s reconnaissance satellites, Project 119L, also used high altitude balloons launched at Holloman AFB.[82]

As early as May 1948, polyethylene balloons coated or laminated with aluminum were flown from Holloman AFB and the surrounding area.[83] Beginning in August 1955, large numbers of these balloons were flown as targets in the development of radar guided air to air missiles.[84] Various accounts of the “Roswell Incident” often described thin, metal-like materials that when wadded into a ball, returned to their original shape. These accounts are consistent with the properties of polyethylene balloons laminated with aluminum. These balloons were typically launched from points west of the White Sands Proving Ground, floated over the range as targets, and descended in the areas northeast of White Sands Proving Ground where the “strange” materials were allegedly found.

In 1958 the first manned stratospheric balloon flights were made from Holloman AFB (see page 102). In 1960, balloon tests of components of the first U. S. reconnaissance satellite were also flown at Holloman AFB. In the 1960’s, 70’s, and 80’s high altitude balloons were used in support of Air Force, and other U.S. Government and university sponsored research projects. Instrument testing of atmospheric entry vehicles for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) space probes is one prominent example.

[Illustration: Fig. 49. Holloman Balloon Branch personnel prepare a polyethylene balloon laminated with aluminum to serve as a target for radar guided missiles over White Sands Proving Ground, N.M. (_U.S. Air Force photo_)]

High Altitude Balloons and America’s First Satellite

An illustration of the important contributions of the Holloman AFB Balloon Branch, and the necessity for a rapid recovery of a high altitude balloon payload, were evaluations of components of the first U.S. satellite-based reconnaissance system, code named CORONA.

The Soviet Union had already beaten the U.S. into space with the launch and orbit of SPUTNIK I on October 4, 1957. The next achievement in the quest for space superiority were the physical recovery of a payload that had been in orbit.[85] The DISCOVERER satellite, the sensor used in the CORONA program, was to be propelled into orbit and then eject a capsule containing an American flag to enable the U.S. to claim this honor.[86]

The DISCOVERER program had been plagued by failure with 10 unsuccessful missions in 1959 and 1960. With the eyes of the nation watching, and the Soviets testing a similar system, more failures could not be tolerated. To test the faulty components of the DISCOVERER, U.S. Air Force high altitude balloons at Holloman AFB were determined to be the most expedient method of conducting the evaluations.

In April 1960, DISCOVERER XI, on the launch pad at Vandenberg AFB, Calif., was put into a hold pending results of the balloon tests.[87] The first test at Holloman AFB on April 5th was unsatisfactory due to a parachute failure.[88] On April 8th, with pressure mounting, the Balloon Branch launched another balloon with the DISCOVERER capsule. This test, in which the capsule was dropped over White Sands Missile Range and recovered immediately, was a total success.[89] The results were relayed by telephone from the Balloon Control Center at Holloman AFB to the launch pad at Vandenberg AFB where the countdown resumed.[90] Despite the successful balloon drop, DISCOVERER XI and DISCOVERER XII were failures.[91] Therefore, balloon testing continued throughout the summer of 1960.

Finally, on August 11, 1960, DISCOVERER XIII successfully ejected a capsule and, amid much fanfare, the first recovery of a manmade object that had orbited the earth was accomplished.[92] This first successful mission of an American satellite, made possible in part by Holloman AFB high altitude balloons, enabled the U.S. to beat the Soviets and claim the honor of the first space recovery by only nine days.[93]

[Illustration: Fig. 50. (_Left_). A Holloman Balloon Branch launch crew prepares a nosecone of the DISCOVERER satellite for a high altitude balloon flight at Holloman AFB, N.M. in April 1960. (_U.S. Air Force photo_) ]

[Illustration: Fig. 51. (_Right_). A U.S. Navy helicopter aboard the _USS Haiti Victory_ is shown here with the capsule from the DISCOVERER XIII satellite. It was recovered from the Pacific Ocean 330 miles northwest of Hawaii on August 11, 1960. (_U.S. Air Force photo_) ]

The SURVEYOR (Moon), VOYAGER-MARS (Mars), VIKING (Mars), PIONEER (Venus), and GALILEO (Jupiter) spacecraft were tested by Air Force high altitude balloons before they were launched into space.

=VIKING and VOYAGER-MARS Space Probes.= Examples of unusual payloads, not likely to be associated with balloons, were qualification trials of NASA’s VOYAGER-MARS and VIKING space probes. Both of these spacecraft looked remarkably similar to the classic dome-shaped “flying saucer.”

In 1966–67 and 1972, eight of the UFO lookalikes were launched by the Balloon Branch from the former Roswell Army Air Field (now Roswell Industrial Air Center), N.M.[94] The spacecraft were transported by Air Force balloons to altitudes above 100,000 feet and released for a period of self-propelled, supersonic, free-flight prior to landing on the White Sands Missile Range.[95] While the origins of the “Roswell” scenarios cannot be specifically traced to these vehicles, their flying saucer-like appearance, and the fact that they were launched exclusively from the original “Roswell Incident” location, leaves an impression that perhaps these odd balloon payloads may have played some role in the unclear and distorted stories of at least some of the “Roswell” witnesses.

[Illustration: Fig. 52. A NASA VIKING space probe is rolled out of its assembly building at Martin Marietta Corporation in Denver, Colo. (_NASA_)]

[Illustration: Fig. 53. (_Above Left_) The aeroshell of a NASA VOYAGER-MARS space probe just prior to launch at Walker AFB, N.M. (formerly Roswell AAF). (_U.S. Air Force photo_)]

[Illustration: Fig. 54. (_Above Right_) This NASA VIKING flying saucer-like space probe was test flown by U. S. Air Force high altitude balloons in 1972 at the former Roswell Army Air Field. (_NASA_)]

[Illustration: Fig. 55. (_Right_) Following a supersonic test flight in 1972, a VIKING space probe awaits recovery at White Sands Missile Range, N.M. (_NASA_)]

=Tethered Balloons.= The Holloman Balloon Branch, in addition to high altitude research activities, also conducted low altitude tethered balloon flights. It appears that descriptions of these balloons may have become part of the “Roswell Incident.”

Most standard shaped tethered balloons are readily identified when near the ground or when the tether is visible. Other experimental tethered balloons are not so easily identified. During the 1960s, Balloon Branch personnel flew experimentally shaped tethered balloons from deep canyons of central New Mexico. To a distant observer, from a vantage point above the canyon rim, where the tether and ground anchors are not visible, an experimental tethered balloon might lead some persons to speculate as to the oddly shaped balloon’s origin and purpose. One design of a low altitude tethered balloon may have inspired at least one account of an “alien” craft. In _The Truth About the UFO Crash at Roswell_, the authors published a drawing of a crashed alien spaceship allegedly based on a drawing given to them by an anonymous witness.[96] When this drawing is compared to a photograph of an experimental tethered balloon flown at Holloman AFB in March 1965, the similarities are undeniable.[97] The tethered balloon and the NASA space probes are just two examples of the uncommon technologies that were flown in New Mexico by the Holloman Balloon Branch.

[Illustration: Fig. 56. (_Left_) A drawing from a popular UFO book, _The Truth About the UFO Crash at Roswell_, depicts an alien spacecraft allegedly drawn by an anonymous witness. (_The Truth About the UFO Crash at Roswell_)]

[Illustration: Fig. 57. (_Right_) A tethered “Vee” balloon shown here at Holloman AFB, N.M. in March 1965. This experimental balloon, is strikingly similar to the “alien” craft. (_U.S. Air Force photo_)]

Today, the Air Force maintains a reduced but still highly capable high altitude balloon program at Holloman AFB. The Space and Missile Command, Test and Evaluation Unit (SMC/TE, OL-AC) represents the sole Department of Defense high altitude research balloon capability. The ability of a U.S. Air Force high altitude balloon to lift a scientific payload to more than 100,000 feet, above 99 per cent of the earth’s atmosphere, for days at a time, presents a profoundly useful scientific tool at a fraction of the cost of a space research platform. Recent tests that utilized Holloman balloons included atmospheric sampling and gravity measurement experiments, high altitude astronomic studies, weapons systems evaluations, and gamma ray detection experiments. While most tests continue to be launched from the permanent balloon launch facility at Holloman AFB, U.S. Air Force balloon crews have recently launched balloons from numerous field locations in the U.S. (including two sites in Roswell), as well as Alaska, Panama, and Antarctica.

[Illustration: Fig. 58. Present members of the Holloman Balloon Branch in front of the Balloon Operations Center, Building 850, at Holloman AFB, N.M., (_from left_) TSgt. Roger J. Welch, Mr. Joseph Fumerola, Mr. Alvin W. Hodges, Mr. Joseph Longshore, MSgt. Ray A. Pitts, Sr., Amn. John Witkop, and Mr. Harvey L. Harris. (_U.S. Air Force photo_)]

Balloon and Payload Recoveries

UFO theorists support their claims of an extraordinary occurrence in the New Mexico desert by describing mysterious U.S. military personnel, operating a variety of vehicles and aircraft that always seem to arrive shortly after the crash of a “flying saucer.” When carefully scrutinized, the descriptions of the mystery crews, their equipment, methods, and the areas where the recoveries allegedly occurred—in targeted high altitude balloon recovery areas—indicates that Holloman Balloon Branch activities were most likely responsible for the claims.

To successfully recover high altitude balloons, balloon recovery technicians regularly ventured far from Holloman AFB. In most instances the balloons and their scientific payloads were recovered from predetermined recovery areas. These regularly targeted areas, located in Arizona, West Texas, and New Mexico, included the area surrounding Roswell.[98] From 1947 to the present, the Roswell area has been the site of hundreds of balloon and payload recoveries (including those that carried anthropomorphic dummies).[99]

The regularly targeted areas were the result of the evolution of high altitude balloon control techniques developed at Holloman AFB. These techniques were based on meteorological, geographical, and operational conditions that exist in New Mexico. These factors, combined with ample amounts of skill and experience of balloon controllers at Holloman AFB, determined the impact points of Holloman high altitude balloons.

Many of the procedures used to position Air Force balloons are described in _General Philosophy and Techniques of Balloon Control_, and _Meteorological Aspects of Constant-Level Balloon Operations in the Southwestern United States_, both by Bernard D. Gildenberg (see statement in Appendix B).[100] Gildenberg served as the Holloman Balloon Branch Meteorologist, Engineer, and Physical Science Administrator from 1951 until 1981. During this period, Gildenberg, a recognized world expert in upper atmospheric wind patterns, pioneered methods to launch, control, track, and recover high altitude balloons. Many of these methods are still used today by the U.S. Air Force and by research organizations throughout the world.

Interaction with Civilians

[Illustration: Fig. 59. Bernard D. “Duke” Gildenberg (_center_) Balloon Branch Meteorologist, is shown here in May 1957 in front of the MAN HIGH I gondola. With Gildenberg are MAN HIGH I pilot Capt. Joseph W. Kittinger, Jr. (_left_), and MAN HIGH project scientist/pilot, Lt. Col. David G. Simons (MC). When Gildenberg attempted to inform UFO theorists that high altitude balloon projects were likely responsible for some of the UFO claims, his explanations were rejected, _see also_ pages 8 & 9. (_U.S. Air Force photo_)]

In several accounts, unsubstantiated allegations have been made that military personnel who retrieved equipment from rural areas of New Mexico intimidated and threatened civilians. Contrary to these charges, Balloon Branch personnel enjoyed good relations with the local community and often solicited their assistance in the area of a balloon or payload landing. In the flat, featureless desert areas of southeastern New Mexico near Roswell, the parachutes, payloads, the balloons themselves, and circling chase aircraft often drew crowds of curious onlookers from the local community. In fact, so many civilians were often present at balloon or payload landing sites, the scene was described by longtime civilian Balloon Branch recovery supervisor, Robert Blankenship, as being like the “circus coming to town.”[101]

Allegations that civilians were threatened or told to “forget what they saw” are profoundly inaccurate. Threats, intimidation, or other types of misconduct by Balloon Branch personnel would have served no purpose since without the cooperation of local persons, many recoveries would not have been possible.[102]

[Illustration: Fig. 60. (_Right_) This ranch family assisted in the recovery of a Project STARGAZER high altitude balloon payload and is shown here with a panel from the unmanned gondola. (_U.S. Air Force photo_)]

Most balloon recoveries were coordinated in advance with local law enforcement agencies.[103] If a balloon or payload landed on private property and the owner could not be located, Balloon Branch operating instructions dictated that the local sheriff or police must be contacted.[104] In situations where local persons arrived at balloon landing sites before the recovery crews, they were simply asked to “step back” to allow recovery personnel to secure the balloon equipment.[105] If these persons inquired as to the purpose of a balloon flight, they were informed by technicians that it was a U.S. Air Force scientific study and were given a telephone number at Holloman AFB if they required additional information. At Holloman AFB, individuals qualified to answer detailed questions responded to these inquiries. There was never a reason to mislead or threaten individuals who observed balloon operations. Relations with local citizens were good, and Balloon Branch personnel and equipment were a common sight to residents in areas with high incidences of balloon operations.

In a few instances, situations arose when persons not familiar with the procedures and equipment used by the Balloon Branch misunderstood their

## activities. Such misunderstandings occurred several times during the

1970s and 1980s when recovery crews not only attracted the attention of local citizens while coordinating balloon recoveries, but also drew the attention of federal law enforcement agencies.[106]

Checks with the local sheriff revealed that the trucks and circling aircraft in the desert near Roswell were part of a balloon recovery mission, and not a drug smuggling operation. Apparently, balloon recoveries appeared to be something suspicious even to federal agents.

[Illustration: Fig. 61. A typical Holloman Balloon Branch recovery crew is shown here with a man known as “The hermit” who assisted them in a balloon recovery northwest of Silver City, N.M. in the 1960s. (_photo collection of Robert Blankenship_)]

[Illustration: Fig. 62. A mule (named Ida) was borrowed from a local rancher when a balloon payload landed in difficult terrain 20 miles north of Wickenburg, Ariz. in October 1966. (_U.S. Air Force photo_)]

[Illustration: Fig. 63. On occasion, Air Force balloon recovery crews rented or borrowed equipment from local residents. This bulldozer was rented for one recovery in the Sacramento mountains west of Roswell. (_photo collection of Robert Blankenship_)]

[Illustration: Fig. 64. Balloon Branch vehicle at roadside café. This M-43 ¾-ton field ambulance, converted by the Holloman Balloon Branch into a communications vehicle, was a common sight in the areas surrounding Roswell during the 1950s and early 1960s. (_photo collection of Ole Jorgeson_)]

[Illustration: Figs. 65 & 66. Examples of unusual payloads flown by Air Force high altitude balloons at Holloman AFB, N.M. (_U.S. Air Force photos_)]

[Illustration: Fig. 67. (_Left_) This U.S. Army communications payload was flown at Holloman AFB, N.M. on September 30, 1976. (_U.S. Army photo_)]

[Illustration: Fig. 68. (_Right_) Payload launched by an Air Force high altitude balloon from Holloman AFB, N. M. on March 20, 1965. This payload was a scientific experiment for The Johns Hopkins University Astrophysics Laboratory. (_U.S. Air Force photo_)]

[Illustration: Fig. 69. High altitude balloon payload launched from Holloman AFB on September 14, 1976. (_U.S. Air Force photo_)]

1.4 Comparison of Witnesses Accounts to U.S. Air Force Activities

Were they aliens or dummies? This question can be answered by comparing witness testimony and the Air Force projects of the 1950s, HIGH DIVE and EXCELSIOR. Both of these projects employed anthropomorphic dummies flown by high altitude balloons and appeared to satisfy the requirements of the previously established research profile:

_a._ An activity that if viewed from a distance would appear unusual.

_b._ An activity for which the exact date was not likely to have been known because many dummies were dropped over a six-year period (1953–1959).

_c._ An activity that took place in many areas of rural New Mexico.

_d._ An activity that involved a type of aerial vehicle with 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.

The testimony used in the following comparison, an undocumented mixture of firsthand and secondhand re-countings, are the actual statements, not the interpretations of UFO proponents, that are presented to “prove” the Earth was visited by extraterrestrial beings and the U.S. Air Force has covered up this fact since 1947. This comparison is augmented by references to photographs whenever possible to illustrate the undeniable similarities between the descriptions provided by the witnesses and the equipment and methods employed by the Air Force projects.

[Illustration: Fig. 70. Project HIGH DIVE anthropomorphic dummy launch. (_U.S. Air Force photo_)]

“Crash” Site 1 (Allegedly North of Roswell)

This summarized account is the basis for the alleged “flying saucer” crash site north of Roswell.[*] The exact location is not known since the witness, Mr. James Ragsdale, in two separate sworn statements, has described two different sites, many miles apart.[107] This account was excerpted from an interview with Mr. Ragsdale by author Donald Schmitt. A transcript of the complete interview is included in Appendix C.

[*] In _The Truth About the UFO Crash at Roswell_ (Avon Books, 1994, p. 131), the authors provided a corroborating account for this testimony from a 96-year-old man who was in ill health, whose interview was not tape recorded, and has since died. According to the book, the man’s “wife and daughter said that he was easily confused” and “memories of his life were jumbled and reordered.”

The Account James Ragsdale

“_They was using dummies in those damned things_”[108]

Testimony attributed to Ragsdale, who is deceased, states that he and a friend were camping one evening and saw something fall from the sky. The next morning, when they went to investigate, they saw a crash site:

“One part [of the craft] was kind of buried in the ground and one part of it was sticking our [out] of the ground.” “I’m sure that [there] was bodies ... either bodies or dummies.” “The federal government could have been doing something they didn’t want anyone to know what this was. They was using dummies in those damned things ... they could use remote control ... but it was either dummies or bodies or something laying there. They looked like bodies. They were not very long ... [not] over four or five foot long at the most.” “We didn’t see their faces or nothing like that ... we had just gotten to the site and the Army ... and all [was] coming and we got into a damned jeep and took off.”

This testimony then describes an assortment of military vehicles used to recover the “bodies”: “It was two or three six-by-six Army trucks a wrecker and everything. Leading the pack was a '47 Ford car with guys in it.... It was six or eight big trucks besides the pickup, weapons carriers and stuff like that.” Ragsdale also said that before he left the area he observed the military personnel “gathering stuff up” and “they cleaned everything all up.”

Assessment

In his testimony, Ragsdale made numerous references to equipment, vehicles, and procedures consistent with documented anthropomorphic dummy recoveries for projects HIGH DIVE and EXCELSIOR. The repeated use of the term “dummy” and the witness’ own admission that “they was using dummies in those damned things” and “I’m sure that was bodies ... either bodies or dummies” leaves little doubt that what he described was an anthropomorphic dummy recovery.

Based on testimony attributed to this witness, the confusion could have resulted from the fact that he observed these activities from a distance. If the witness was even a short distance from the odd looking anthropomorphic dummies, it would be logical for him to believe, when interviewed 35 to 40 years after the event, that he “thought they were dummies or bodies or something.” Also, for some of the high altitude drops, the dummies did not separate from the suspension rack and “rode the rack” to the ground without deployment of a parachute.[109] If the parachutes of the dummies or parachutes of the rack assembly did not deploy (a common occurrence during the early dummy drops), then they free-fell from up to 98,000 feet.[110] As a result of these malfunctions, the arms and legs of the dummies were often separated from the body on impact.[111] This may account for the witness’ description of bodies [not] “over four or five foot” tall.

Another portion of his testimony suggesting that the witness observed an Air Force high altitude balloon and dummy recovery was the statement: “The federal government could have been doing something because they didn’t want anyone to know what this was ... they was using dummies in those damned things ... they could use remote control.” Balloon controllers used remote control to relay commands to the balloon control package to valve gas and drop ballast.[112] The dummies themselves were also dropped from the suspension rack by remote control.[113]

[Illustration: Fig. 71. Numerous vehicles and various types of equipment, were often present at high altitude balloon and anthropomorphic dummy launch and recovery locations. (photo collection of Ole Jorgeson) ]

The witness also described a Balloon Branch procedure that required the area of a balloon or payload landing to be restored to its original condition. It was evident in the statements “They cleaned everything all up” and “They began gathering the stuff up.” Thoroughly cleaning a balloon or dummy landing site and removing any debris deposited there was a standard procedure to maintain good community relations and avoid legal claims that could arise over property damages or livestock losses.[114] Cattle were known to ingest scraps of polyethylene balloon material that sometimes littered entire fields following a balloon failure or flight termination.[115]

The military vehicles described were also consistent with recovery and communications vehicles used during the 1950s to retrieve anthropomorphic dummies and suspension racks.[116] The witness stated he saw a “wrecker,” a “six-by-six,” a “weapons carrier,” a “'47 Ford car,” and a “pickup.” The “wrecker” was most likely a M-342 5-ton wrecker that was assigned to the Balloon Branch for launch and recovery operations.[117] Other vehicles described were also the type used to launch and recover anthropomorphic dummies. The “six-by-six” is a likely reference to a M-35 2½-ton cargo truck; “weapons carriers” were the common name of a Dodge M-37 ¾-ton utility truck. References to “the pickup” and a “'47 Ford car,” were likely descriptions of other civilian and military vehicles often present at high altitude balloon launch and recovery locations.

“Crash” Site 2 (Allegedly 175 miles Northwest of Roswell)

This purported flying saucer “crash” site is allegedly 175 miles northwest of Roswell in an area of New Mexico known as the San Agustin Plains.[118] The contention that a flying saucer crashed at this location and was recovered by the U.S. military is supported by three principal testimonies, two secondhand and one firsthand.

The Secondhand Accounts

These accounts were related by Mr. Vern Maltais and Ms. Alice Knight, who were acquainted with the alleged original eyewitness, Mr. Grady L. Barnett, who is deceased. Unless otherwise noted, the following statements appeared on footage used to prepare a video, _Recollections of Roswell Part II_, by The Fund for UFO Research (see Appendix C).

Alice Knight

“_I don’t recall the date_”[119]

“I don’t remember whether it was before my husband and I were married or after, I don’t recall the date. But he [the eyewitness] saw a UFO fall ... and he got nearly to the site ... but they got nearly up to the UFO but it was close enough that you could see some creatures. He said they didn’t look like human beings out there. And along came government cars and trucks. I guess it was government. You know it was a long time ago ... and they told him to go on back and forget that they ever saw anything, and that’s all I recall.”

Assessment

This brief testimony suggests that the witness did not know the date of this event. It also appears that the “creatures” were seen from a distance, as evidenced by the statement, “They got nearly up to the UFO but it was close enough that you could see some creatures.” The testimony also seems consistent with a description of anthropomorphic dummies as the witness stated they “didn’t look like human beings.”

Vern Maltais

“_Their heads were hairless ... no eyebrows, no eyelashes, no hair_”[120]

This secondhand witness alleged that the eyewitness told him he observed “beings” from a “flying saucer that had burst open” that were “about three and a half to four feet tall, very slim ... their heads were hairless, with no eyebrows, no eyelashes, no hair” with “sort of a pear-shaped head.” He also related that “the beings were ... not exactly like human beings ... similar but not exactly.” He described that the hands of the beings “were not covered” ... and [they] only had “four fingers.” He also related that the clothing of the beings was “one-piece and gray in color”.[121] The witness concluded that “As they [the witnesses] were just starting to look things over really closely, the military moved in and gave them a briefing to not say anything about it.”

[Illustration: Fig. 72. “Their heads were hairless ... no eyebrows, no eyelashes, no hair,” a likely description of Alderson Laboratories type anthropomorphic dummy. These Alderson dummies, of the same type used for Projects HIGH DIVE/EXCELSIOR, were used to test NASA’s APOLLO spacecraft three-man couch at Holloman AFB, N.M. in 1965. (_U.S. Air Force photo_)]

Assessment

This description of events also indicates that the eyewitness apparently did not closely examine the scene and was “just starting to look things over” when the military arrived. As with the previous testimony, from a distance the dummies were likely to look, as described by the witness, “not exactly like humans ... similar but not exactly.” The description of the flying saucer that had “burst open” is a likely description of the dummy suspension rack that was open on the sides (see figures 74, 75, 76). The detailed descriptions of the “beings” as “about three and a half to four feet tall, very slim in stature ... their heads were hairless, with no eyebrows, no eyelashes, no hair,” with “hands that were not covered” and “had only four fingers,” is a likely description of an Alderson Research Laboratories model anthropomorphic dummy. The head of the Alderson dummy was “bald” and the area of the eyebrows protruded but had no “hair” (see figure 72). Also, a distinguishing feature of the Alderson dummy, unlike the Sierra dummy, was that it had individual fingers not covered by gloves that were often damaged during the tests resulting in the loss of fingers (see figures 35, 73, 75).

Due to the secondhand nature of these accounts, even UFO theorists were not convinced that this “incident” actually occurred. Corroborating testimony of a firsthand witness was necessary to verify these claims. The firsthand testimony is examined next.

The Firsthand Account

This testimony became part of the Roswell Incident in 1990 following an episode of the television program _Unsolved Mysteries_.[122] Following a dramatized re-creation on the program, persons with information concerning this event were encouraged to call a special toll free telephone number.

From the outset, some UFO theorists were skeptical of this testimony due to the amount of detail provided from the witness who was only five years old in 1947. In fact, UFO organizations sponsored a conference in February 1992 to evaluate the testimony for authenticity.[123] The witness was asked to take a polygraph examination, which he passed.[124] Many UFO enthusiasts remained skeptical of the claims and denounced this testimony as “no more than a fabrication.”[125]

Unless otherwise noted, two sources of testimony attributed to the witness have been used in this examination; interviews used to prepare the video _Recollections of Roswell Part II_ by the Fund for UFO Research (see Appendix C) and _Crash at Corona_ by Don Berliner and Stanton Friedman (passages from this book were used only when exact quotations of the witness were indicated).

Gerald Anderson

“_I thought they were plastic dolls ... I didn’t think they were real_”[126]

Anderson related that as a five-year-old boy on an outing with his family in west central New Mexico, they stumbled upon the crash of some type of aerial vehicle.[127] When he first saw the craft he thought it was a “blimp.”[128] According to Anderson he “didn’t really get very close,”[129] but thought he saw four bandaged crewmembers and at first he “thought they were plastic dolls.”[130] He also described attempts by persons in his party to communicate with one of the “crewmembers.”[131] Soon after, other civilians arrived (some wearing pith helmets) followed by military personnel in an assortment of vehicles and aircraft commanded by a “redheaded captain.”[132] The military personnel, after “screaming and hollering” at the civilians “this is a military secret,” started a recovery operation of the alien craft and crew.[133] Anderson also recalled that the military personnel threatened some of the civilians with imprisonment or death before escorting them out of the area.[134]

Assessment

Anderson’s choice of the terms “blimp” to describe the crashed vehicle, and “dolls” to describe the “crew,” strongly suggests that a balloon with an anthropomorphic dummy payload was the foundation for this testimony. He also provided an abundance of supporting details that accurately described vehicles, aircraft, equipment, and procedures used by the Holloman AFB Balloon Branch to launch and recover anthropomorphic dummies.

An aspect of this testimony that is not accurate is the alleged threats and intimidation of civilians by military personnel. The use of such heavy-handedness was not a tactic used by the Air Force. A careful review of official records and interviews with numerous persons who actively participated in and were responsible for the conduct of Air Force members on high altitude balloon recovery operations revealed that these allegations are untrue.[135] Additionally, the witness alleges that the military personnel were “screaming and hollering” “this is a military secret.”[136] This statement might lead uninitiated persons to believe that the witness observed something highly classified and that by telling everyone present that it was a “military secret” would somehow help it to remain so. However, logic dictates that if something was classified “screaming and hollering” it was “secret,” would compromise it and not serve to protect its classification. This application of logic, combined with the fact that the launch and recovery of anthropomorphic dummies was unclassified, widely publicized, and often observed by local civilians, indicates that the witness’ recollections are in error. There was never a reason to disrespect, “scream,” “holler,” or forbid any person from talking about the launch or recovery of anthropomorphic dummies.

=The “Crewmembers.”= The statement “I thought they were plastic dolls” seems an odd choice of words to describe an extraterrestrial being and is a likely reference to an anthropomorphic dummy whose skin was made of plastic.[137] This description is similar to that of the sole witness of the other crash site, north of Roswell, who described the “aliens” as “dummies.”[138] Other references provided by this witness further indicate that anthropomorphic dummies were the basis for these descriptions. The heads of the “crewmembers” were described as “completely bald” with “no visible ears ... just a rise ... and then a hole.”[139] This is an accurate description of Alderson Research Laboratories model dummies that did not have “hair” and had either plastic “ears” molded to the head or a circular opening where a “demountable ear” or additional instrumentation was attached (see figure 22).[140] The statement “they didn’t have a little finger,”[141] a detail very similar to one provided by another witness, also appears to be a description of dummies manufactured by Alderson Laboratories that were often damaged during the balloon tests resulting in the loss of fingers.

[Illustration: Fig. 73. “Some kind of container, a metal box,” was described as laying on the ground near the alleged aliens. This appears to be a reference to boxes containing electrical components of the remote controlled systems positioned on the top of the dummy suspension rack. (_U.S. Air Force photo_)]

[Illustration: Fig. 74. “They looked like they had some sort of bandages on ’em ... over his ... arm ... around his midsection and

## partially over his shoulder”—witness description of tape and nylon

webbing used to prevent arms and legs from flailing, and parachute harness that had chest and shoulder straps. Tape was also used to secure the removable back plate of the head (_also see figs. 29, 30, 73, 75_). (_U.S. Air Force photo_)]

The assertion that “they were all wearing one-piece suits ... a shiny silverish-gray color,” “trimmed in ... maroon-like cording”[142] is a likely reference to a standard issue, gray, Air Force flightsuit used to outfit the dummies and red duct-type tape used in the tests that prevented air from filling the flightsuit (see fig. 30).[143] The recollection that “crewmembers” had “bandages”[144] on their bodies were likely references to tape and nylon webbing used to prevent flailing of a dummy’s arms and legs during tests.[145] A reference to a bandage “around his [the crewmember’s] midsection and partially over his shoulder”[146] is a likely reference to the standard B-4 or B-5 parachute with chest and shoulder straps worn by the dummies.[147]

[Illustration: Fig. 75. “Its uniform was torn in a couple spots ... their uniforms were in pretty sad shape”—witnesses description of secondhand flightsuits that were used repeatedly on tests; tears and other damage were common. In this photo, 1st Lt. Raymond A. Madson “rigs” a dummy to its suspension rack for project HIGH DIVE at Holloman AFB, N.M. (_U.S. Air Force photo_)]

[Illustration: Fig. 76. A witness described at least one person at a “crash” site wearing a pith helmet. In the 1950s, the pith helmet was part of the Air Force uniform and was often worn on balloon launches and recoveries. In this publicity photo from _On the Threshold of Space_, Air Force members at Holloman AFB who were extras in the film can be seen wearing pith helmets. (_also see figure 49_)]

=The “Craft.”= In what appears to be a clear reference to a balloon, was that when he saw the crashed vehicle he “thought it was a blimp.”[148] Additional descriptions of cables that “went from one kind of a package of components to another kind of package” and a “metal box” were likely references to the balloon control package that was positioned on top of the dummy suspension rack.[149] A further reference to a balloon payload is the statement that on a hot New Mexico day the crashed vehicle was “ice cold, it felt like it just came out of the freezer.”[150] This accurately describes a physical condition known as “cold soaking” common to high altitude payloads that had recently been exposed to sub-zero temperatures of the upper atmosphere.

[Illustration: Fig. 77. “An observation aircraft ... a high-winged aircraft”—a witness’s probable reference to a U.S. Air Force L-20 aircraft used extensively by Holloman AFB crews to track and recover anthropomorphic dummies. (_U.S. Air Force photo_)]

[Illustration: Fig. 78. Described as present at a flying saucer “crash” site was a C-47 aircraft. This is a probable reference to a U.S. Air Force C-47 transport aircraft used to move equipment to launch sites distant from Holloman AFB. These aircraft were also used for aerial tracking of high altitude balloon flights including those that flew anthropomorphic dummies. (_U.S. Air Force photo_)]

=Military Aircraft.= The witness also described two aircraft of the same type used for anthropomorphic dummy recoveries as having been involved in the activity he witnessed. One aircraft was described as a “C-47” and another as an “observation aircraft ... a high-winged aircraft.”[151] These were a C-47 and a L-20 aircraft used extensively by the Balloon Branch during the mid 1950s for tracking and recovering anthropomorphic dummy balloon flights.[152] This testimony also described aircraft that were typically overhead during a recovery and an established procedure of landing on a rural road or in a field to reach isolated balloon launch or recovery locations.[153]

=Military Vehicles.= Numerous military vehicles, several of which were described by other witnesses as having been at the other crash site north of Roswell, were also described. Witnesses at the two different sites described a “wrecker” and a “six-by-six,” both of the type used for anthropomorphic dummy recoveries.[154] The account also described two vehicles unique to the Balloon Branch that were used for the majority of high altitude balloon recoveries during the mid- to late-1950s.

The witness described a “jeep-like truck that had a bunch of radios in it”.... There was a guy sittin’ in there wearin’ earphones and he was talking on the radio.“[155] This is a likely description of a Dodge M-37 ¾-ton utility truck, known as a weapons carrier, that had been specially modified to carry radio equipment for balloon recovery operations. The Holloman AFB Balloon Branch modified these vehicles in 1953, ruling out the possibility that the witness observed them in 1947, when such vehicles were not available to organizations performing balloon operations.[156] The other vehicle described and used by the Balloon Branch were “military ambulances.”[157] During the mid-1950s, the Balloon Branch modified three M-43 ¾-ton ambulances for use as balloon recovery and communications vehicles.[158] These vehicles were used for anthropomorphic dummy launch and recovery missions to relay messages to circling recovery aircraft and the balloon operations center at Holloman AFB.[159] The witness also described “a trailer with a motor on it, like a generator.”[160] This@ is a likely description of a 1½-ton cargo trailer with an MB-19 15 Kilowatt diesel generator. These generators were used primarily on balloon launch sites during the 1950s and 1960s (see fig. 71).

[Illustration: Fig. 79. “Stretching stuff out on the ground, dragging stuff out of trucks”—a likely witness reference to high altitude balloon inflation procedure that required the balloon to be stretched out on a protective ground cloth prior to inflation. (_U.S. Air Force photo_)]

=Balloon Branch Procedures.= Descriptions of military personnel “stretching stuff out on the ground, dragging stuff out of trucks”[161] is a likely description of a balloon launch procedure that required the fragile polyethylene balloon and its protective ground cloth to be removed from a launch vehicle and laid out on the ground prior to inflation. Another procedure described by the witness was an apparent reference to a balloon recovery practice of recording the names of civilians who observed high altitude balloon recoveries.[162] The witness stated that military personnel “took everybody’s name and everything,”[163] which was a procedure to ensure payment of a $25 dollar reward to persons who assisted in the recovery. This procedure was also necessary to settle future claims of property damage caused by the balloon, payload, or recovery vehicles.[164]

[Illustration: Fig. 80. Witnesses described a “tanker,” “military ambulances,” a “6 × 6,” and a “wrecker”—probable references to (_from left_) a helium tank trailer, a M-43 ambulance (converted to a communications vehicle), a M-35 cargo truck (partially obscured), and a M-342 wrecker. These vehicles were used for off-range launch and recovery operations of anthropomorphic dummies for Project HIGH DIVE/EXCELSIOR. Shown here is a May 29, 1957 dummy launch near Hatch, N.M. (_also see figs. 23, 28, 64, 71, 81_). (_U.S. Air Force photo_)]

[Illustration: Fig. 81. Scene typical of a mid- to late 1950s off-range high altitude balloon launch. (_U.S. Air Force photo_)]

Summary

When the claims offered by UFO theorists to prove that an extraterrestrial spaceship and crew crashed and were recovered by the U.S. Air Force are compared to documented Air Force activities, it is reasonable to conclude, with a high degree of certainty, that the two “crashes” were actually descriptions of a launch or recovery of a high altitude balloon and anthropomorphic dummies. This conclusion was based on the remarkable similarities and independent corroboration between the witnesses who described _both_ of the “crash sites.” Statements such as “they was using dummies in those damned things” and a characterization of the crashed vehicle as, “I thought it was a blimp” are two of the many similarities. The extensive detailed descriptions provided by the witnesses, too numerous to be coincidental, were of the equipment, vehicles, procedures, and personnel of the Air Force research organizations who conducted the scientific experiments HIGH DIVE and EXCELSIOR.

Though it is clear anthropomorphic dummies were responsible for these accounts, the specific locations of the events described was difficult, if not impossible, to determine since the witnesses were not specific. A witness to the “crash site” north of Roswell, Mr. James Ragsdale, was not certain of the actual location as evidenced by a change in his sworn testimony that moved the site many miles from its original location.[165]

However, since Ragsdale reportedly lived or worked in the Roswell, Artesia, and Carlsbad, N.M. areas during the period when the dummies were used, it is likely he described one or more of the nine documented dummy recoveries in areas near there.

Reports of the other crash site, allegedly 175 miles northwest of Roswell on the San Agustin Plains, is likely based on descriptions of more than one launch and recovery of anthropomorphic dummies. Since one witness, Gerald Anderson, described procedures consistent with the launch _and_ recovery of high altitude balloons, it is likely that he witnessed both of these activities, with at least one that included an anthropomorphic dummy payload.

The two secondhand witnesses to this “crash,” Vern Maltais and Alice Knight, could have related descriptions from any of the dummy launch or landing sites. However, Maltais and Knight repeatedly described the impact location of the flying saucer as on the San Agustin Plains. One possible explanation is that the witnesses, in the 30 or more years since they were told the story by the original eyewitness, Mr. Barney Barnett, a soil conservation engineer who reportedly traveled extensively throughout New Mexico, may have confused San Agustin Plains with San Agustin Pass or San Agustin Peak, an area in the San Agustin Mountains of New Mexico. These areas are just outside the boundary of the White Sands Missile Range and the adjacent Jornada Test Range. Numerous anthropomorphic dummy balloon flights terminated and were recovered in this area. Furthermore, if the civilians witnessed dummy landings on either the White Sands Missile Range or the Jornada Test Range, both test areas and restricted U.S. Government reservations, then this explains why they may have been told to leave the landing site. In the popular Roswell scenarios, witnesses were allegedly instructed by military personnel to leave the area because they witnessed something of a highly classified nature. This would be unlikely since the witnesses described projects that utilized anthropomorphic dummies which were unclassified. It is likely, however, that if the witnesses ventured onto one of these ranges they were instructed to leave, not because of classified activities, but for their own safety.

These conclusions are supported by official files, technical reports, extensive photographic documentation, and the recollections of numerous former and retired Air Force members and civilian employees who conducted Projects HIGH DIVE and EXCELSIOR. The descriptions examined here, provided by UFO theorists themselves, were so remarkably—and redundantly—similar to these Air Force projects that the only reasonable conclusion can be that the witnesses described these

## activities. These many similarities are summarized in Table 1.1.

The next section will examine the accounts of “aliens” at the hospital at Roswell Army Air Field. As previously stated, due to the lack of general or detailed similarities with testimony of the two rural “crash sites,” the hospital account was determined not to be associated with these reports.

[Illustration: Fig. 82.]

Table 1.1

Comparison of Testimony to Actual Air Force Equipment, Vehicles, and Procedures Used to Launch and Recover Anthropomorphic Dummies

Notes:

“Crash Site” 1—Site North of Roswell

“Crash Site” 2—Site 175 miles Northwest of Roswell

Shaded areas indicates corroboration between witnesses.

Boxed shaded areas indicates corroboration between witnesses at different “crash” sites.

---------------------------------------------------------------------- Air Force Witness Description Equipment/Procedure “Crash Site” ---------------------------------------------------------------------- =The “Aliens”= +--------------------------+ 1. “They was using dummies in |Reference to | Site 1 those damned things.”[166] |anthropomorphic dummies | _Ragsdale_ |(figs. 11, 14, 21–22, 29, | |30–33, 35, 40, 72–75, 45).| +--------------------------+

+--------------------------+ 3. “an experimental plane with |Reference to | Site 1 dummies in it”[168] |anthropomorphic dummies. | _Kaufman_ +--------------------------+

+--------------------------+ 4. “I’m sure that was bodies |Reference to | Site 1 ... either bodies or |anthropomorphic dummies. | dummies.”[169] +--------------------------+ _Ragsdale_

+--------------------------+ 5. “it was either dummies or |Reference to | Site 1 bodies or something laying |anthropomorphic dummies. | there.”[170] +--------------------------+ _Ragsdale_

+--------------------------+ 6. “his eyes was open, staring |Reference to | Site 2 blankly”[171] |anthropomorphic dummy. | _Anderson_ +--------------------------+

+--------------------------+ 7. “not exactly like human |Reference to | Site 2 beings ... similar, but not |anthropomorphic dummies. | exactly.”[172] +--------------------------+ _Maltais_

+--------------------------+ 8. “didn’t look like human |Reference to | Site 2 beings”[173] |anthropomorphic dummies. | _Knight_ +--------------------------+

9. “they didn’t have a little Reference to Alderson Site 2 finger”[174] Laboratories dummy that _Anderson_ were reused many times and were often damaged but remained in service. (figs. 35, 73, 75).

10. “they had four Corroboration of Site 2 fingers”[175] description #9. See above. _Maltais_

14. “Their skin coloration ... Probable description of a Site 2 [was] a bluish tinted milky “Sierra Sam” dummy with white”[179] pale white “skin” (fig. 21). _Anderson_

15. “their heads were Anthropomorphic dummies Site 2 hairless ... no eyebrows, did not have “hair” (figs. no eyelashes, no hair”[180] 21, 22, 36–38, 40). _Maltais_

16. “no hair ... completely Corroboration of Site 2 bald”[181] description #15. See above. _Anderson_

17. “no visible ears ... just Dummies had ears that were Site 2 a rise there and then a molded to their heads with hole”[182] openings for placement of _Anderson_ instruments (fig. 22).

18. “The hands were not Reference to Alderson dummy Site 2 covered”[183] which did not have gloves on _Maltais_ hands (figs. 35, 73–75).

19. “they were all wearing one Reference to gray flight Site 2 piece suits ... a shiny suits worn by the dummies silverish gray color”[184] for some of the tests (figs. _Anderson_ 14, 29, 30).

20. “Their clothing seemed to Corroboration of description Site 2 be one piece and gray in #19. See above. color.”[185] _Maltais_

21. “It’s uniform was torn in Dummy uniforms were often Site 2 a couple spots ... their secondhand, rips and other uniforms were in pretty sad defects were common but shape.”[186] they remained in service _Anderson_ (fig. 75).

22. “Around the collar it [the Reference to red duct tape Site 2 suit] was trimmed in ... used to prevent air from maroon-like cording”[187] filling the dummy’s _Anderson_ flightsuit (figs. 29, 30).

23. “They looked like they Reference to tape and nylon Site 2 had some sort of bandages webbing used to prevent on ’em ... over his [the arms and legs of dummy crewmember’s] arm.”[188] from flailing. Tape was also _Anderson_ used to secure the removable back plate of head (figs. 29, 30, 35, 72–75).

24. [bandages] “around his Reference to parachute Site 2 midsection and partially over harness that had chest and his shoulder”[189] shoulder straps. _Anderson_

=The “Craft”=

25. “It [the crewmember] felt Description of a high Site 2 dead when I touched it, it was altitude balloon payload that very cold.”[190] was cold soaked at sub zero _Anderson_ temperatures of the upper atmosphere.

26. “it was a dirigible, a Reference to a partially Site 2 that had crashed”[191] inflated or deflated high blimp altitude balloon (figs. 23, _Anderson_ 70).

27. “a flying saucer that had Reference to the dummy Site 2 burst open”[192] suspension rack that did not _Maltais_ have sides (figs. 35, 73–75).

28. “clusters of thread-like Numerous cables and wires Site 2 material in the form of a were used in the dummy cable”[193] instrumentation kits and _Anderson_ balloon control package.

29. “others of those [cables] Both balloon control package Site 2 went from one kind of package and dummy instrumentation of components to another kind kits were connected by cables of package”[194] (fig. 73). _Anderson_

30. “some kind of container, Reference to balloon control Site 2 a metal box”[195] package or dummy _Anderson_ instrumentation kit (fig. 73).

31. “it was ice cold, it felt Condition of a balloon Site 2 like it just came out of a payload after it has been freezer”[196] “cold soaked” in the upper _Anderson_ atmosphere at temperatures far below zero.

=Vehicles=

38. “there was military Reference to a converted Site 2 ambulances”[203] M-43 ambulances used as _Anderson_ balloon recovery communications vehicles (figs. 64, 71, 80).

39. “the pick-up”[204] Pick-up trucks were often Site 2 _Anderson_ used to recover anthropomorphic dummies (figs. 71, 79).

40. “tankers, like, maybe had Reference to M-49 fuel Site 2 fuel or water in ’em”[205] trucks used to refuel _Anderson_ aircraft or helium trailer used to inflate balloon (figs. 23, 70, 80, 81).

43. “there was a jeep that was Reference to 1-ton trailer Site 2 pulling a trailer with a motor and MB-19 15 Kilowatt on it, like a generator.”[208] diesel generator that were _Anderson_ used at balloon launch and recovery locations (fig. 71).

=Aircraft=

44. “observation aircraft ... Reference to an L-20 Site 2 high winged aircraft”[209] aircraft, primary “chase” _Anderson_ aircraft used for balloon recovery in the mid 1950s (fig. 77).

45. “C-47 sittin’ there” [on C-47 aircraft were often Site 2 the road][210] used on dummy launch and _Anderson_ recovery operations (fig. 78).

=Procedures=

46. “The federal government Reference to balloon borne Site 1 could have been doing anthropomorphic dummies something because they didn’t that were dropped by remote want anyone to know what this control by balloon was ... they was using dummies controllers at Holloman AFB in those damned things ... they could use remote control”[211] _Ragsdale_

47. “they took everybody’s Procedure used by Balloon Site 2 name and everything”[212] Branch to ensure payment _Anderson_ of $25 reward and to settle claims of property damage.

48. “they cleaned everything all Balloon Branch personnel Site 1 up ... I mean they cleaned were required to remove as everything”[213] much debris as possible from _Ragsdale_ balloon and payload landing areas to avoid complaints and legal actions.

+--------------------------+ 49. “they had the road |Procedure used for | Site 2 barricaded off”[214] |aircraft operations. | _Anderson_ +--------------------------+

51. “airplanes sitting there Established procedure to Site 2 they had landed on the refuel an aircraft, launch highway”[216] a balloon from an isolated _Anderson_ location or recover a small payload near a rural road.

52. “there was airplanes in Reference to balloon Site 2 the sky” [over the crash “chase” aircraft used to site].[217] direct ground recovery crews _Anderson_ to balloon impact site.

53. “stretching out cables of Reference to balloon Site 2 some kind ... they were inflation procedure that stretching stuff out on the required the balloon and ground, dragging stuff out of ground cloth to be removed trucks”[218] from a vehicle and laid on _Anderson_ the ground (fig. 79). */

SECTION TWO

Reports of Bodies at the Roswell AAF Hospital

This section examines the remaining portion of the Roswell Incident claims--the reports of “bodies” at the Roswell AAF hospital. Examinations of the various “crashed saucer” scenarios revealed references to the Roswell AAF hospital appeared in virtually all of them. Most of these were based on the account of one individual, W. Glenn Dennis. His undocumented and uncorroborated recollections, reportedly first related in 1989, over 42 years after the alleged Roswell Incident, are based on activities he allegedly encountered as a mortician providing contract services to the Roswell AAF hospital. Dennis’ recollections have, in turn, been interpreted by UFO theorists as evidence that the U.S. Army Air Forces recovered “alien” bodies and autopsied them at the Roswell AAF hospital in July 1947.

Dennis has been described as the “star witness” and his claims as the most credible of the Roswell Incident.[1] This, even though his most sensational assertions were not based on his own experiences but on information allegedly related to him by unidentified mystery witnesses.

[Illustration: Fig. 1. The International UFO Museum and Research Center in Roswell, N.M. ]

The mystery witnesses were allegedly an Army Air Forces nurse and a pediatrician both assigned to the Roswell AAF hospital in 1947.[2] To casual observers, this account, which contains references to actual U.S. Army Air Forces and U.S. Air Force personnel and activities, appears to have a ring of authenticity. However, when examined closely by Air Force researchers, the dates of events, the events themselves, and the people described as having participated in them, were found to be grossly inaccurate and totally unrelated to activities of July 1947.

The Account

The following is a summary of information provided by W. Glenn Dennis, who claimed he was a 22-year-old mortician at the Ballard Funeral Home in Roswell in July 1947, when he alleged these events occurred.[*]

[*] Excerpts of interviews contained in this summary were taken from audio or video recordings made by persons referenced in the appropriate endnote. The sole exception is the interview conducted by Stanton T. Friedman on August 5, 1989. Quotations from this interview were taken from a transcript which is reportedly an accurate representation of the interview. Friedman has not honored repeated requests for an audio recording.

On July 7, 1947, Dennis alleged he received a series of phone calls at the Ballard Funeral Home, where he worked, from the Mortuary Affairs officer at Roswell Army Air Field. He recalled that the mortuary officer inquired as to the availability of child sized caskets and procedures for preserving bodies that had been “laying out in the elements.”[3] Later that day he received an emergency ambulance call (the civilian mortuary for which he worked also provided an ambulance service) to respond to the site of a minor traffic accident in Roswell.[4] The accident victim was an “airman” stationed at Roswell AAF, and Dennis transported the airman to the hospital at the base.[5]

As Dennis walked into the hospital he noticed three military box-type ambulances, one or more of which contained what appeared to be “wreckage.”[6] He described the wreckage as being inscribed with odd markings or symbols and bluish-purplish in color.[7] He recalled that some of this wreckage was resting against the inside wall of the rear compartment of the ambulance and two pieces of it “looked kind of like the bottom of a canoe.”[8] He described other wreckage on the floor of the ambulance as being “all sharp” and as best he could tell “was like broken glass.”[9] He also recalled observing Military Policemen (MPs) standing at the back of two of these ambulances.[10]

When he went inside the hospital, he encountered a military nurse who was assigned there and with whom he was previously acquainted.[11] The nurse, who looked upset, was covering her mouth with a cloth and told him that “you’re going to get in a lot of trouble” and that he should “just get out of here.”[12] Dennis also stated that he encountered a military doctor who was assigned to the hospital, a pediatrician, with whom he was “pretty good friends” but did not speak with at that time.[13]

Having seen the wreckage in the rear of the ambulance and believing there had been an accident, he asked another officer in the hospital if there had been a plane crash. The officer, whom Dennis had never seen before, asked him: “Who in the hell are you?” When he responded he was “from the funeral home,” the officer summoned two MPs to escort him from the hospital.[14]

However, before Dennis and the two MPs had left the hospital, he heard someone say, “We’re not through with that SOB, bring him back here.”[15] When Dennis turned around, he observed a redheaded captain (in one version of these events Dennis is quoted as describing this person as a “big redheaded colonel”[16]) who said, “You did not see anything. There was no crash here. You don’t go into town making any rumors that you saw anything or that there was any crash ... you could get in a lot of trouble.”[17]

Angry about being called an SOB, Dennis informed the redheaded officer that he was a civilian, not under his authority, and that he, the redheaded officer, “can’t do a damn thing to me.”[18] The redheaded officer was alleged to have threatened Dennis by responding “Oh yes we can”.... “Somebody will be picking your bones out of the sand”.... “We can do anything to you ... that we want to.”[19] A black sergeant, whom Dennis recalled had accompanied the redheaded officer, allegedly stated he would “make real good dog food.”[20] Following this exchange, Dennis claimed he was “picked up ... arm and arm” and escorted back to his place of business by two MPs.[21]

The following day, July 8, 1947, Dennis attempted to telephone the nurse he had seen in the hall at the hospital to find out “what was going on.”[22] He stated that he was unable to reach the nurse but did reach another nurse, a “Captain Wilson,” who explained to him that the nurse he was trying to contact was not on duty, but “Wilson” would give her a message to call him.[23] The nurse called Dennis later that same day at the funeral home where he worked and agreed to meet with him at the officers’ club at Roswell AAF that afternoon.[24]

When the two met, the nurse appeared disturbed and ill.[25] Dennis asked her to explain what was going on when they met in the hospital the day before. The nurse explained that, in the course of her normal duties, she entered an examining room to get some supplies and encountered two doctors whom she did not recognize that “supposedly were doing a preliminary autopsy” on “three,” “very mangled,” “black,” “little bodies.”[26] The doctors requested the nurse remain in the room because they needed her assistance.[27] She allegedly explained that there was a terrible odor in the room that made both her and the doctors ill.[28] Due to this terrible odor and inadequate ventilation, the nurse allegedly told Dennis that the autopsies were moved to another facility on the base and then “everything” was taken to “Wright Field” (now Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio).[29]

The nurse described the little bodies in detail and even provided a diagram.[30] She described “little bodies” three to four feet in length that had large, “flexible,” heads, and concave eyes and noses.[31]

After this meeting Dennis claimed he never saw the nurse again, and he was told she had been shipped out the same afternoon (July 8, 1947) or the next day (July 9, 1947).[32] However, some time later Dennis received a letter from the nurse that indicated she was in London, England.[33] Dennis stated that he tried to respond to the nurse, but his letter was returned stamped “return to sender” and “deceased.”[34] After receiving this letter, he inquired at the base about the nurse and was told by “Captain Wilson” that she didn’t know where the nurse was, but there was a rumor that she and several other nurses had been killed in a plane crash while on a training mission.[35]

Some years later, Dennis stated that he visited the unidentified military pediatrician he had seen at the hospital.[36] The pediatrician had since left the military and set up practice in Farmington, N.M.[37] Dennis said he and the pediatrician discussed the incident of years past but was stopped short when the pediatrician told him that he was consulted regarding this incident, but that “it was completely out of [his] field of medicine,” then ended the discussion.[38]

Based on this account, UFO theorists have presented the following assertions:

=a.= Dennis, the “missing” nurse, and the unidentified pediatrician inadvertently stumbled onto the highly classified autopsies of alien bodies at Roswell AAF hospital in July 1947.

=b.= The two mysterious doctors at the hospital were sent to Roswell AAF from a higher headquarters to conduct the autopsies after which the bodies were transported to what is now Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio.

=c.= The bluish-purplish wreckage that looked like the bottom of a canoe in the rear of the ambulance, were “escape pods” from a flying saucer flown by the aliens that crashed in the Roswell area.

=d.= Dennis was forcibly removed from the hospital and threatened with death by the redheaded officer because he had witnessed some of these activities.

=e.= The nurse was kidnapped, possibly murdered, and all records that she ever existed were systematically destroyed by government agents, also because she witnessed these activities.

As in other accounts examined in this report, the episodes described here became part of the Roswell Incident only because the witness claimed they occurred at a very specific time, July 7–9, 1947. These dates coincide with an actual event: the retrieval of experimental Project MOGUL research equipment that was erroneously reported as a flying disc (see Section One).[39] If the events described here occurred at any other time—years, months, weeks, or even days before or after July 7–9, 1947—they might be considered unusual to an uninformed person, but certainly not part of the Roswell Incident.

Air Force research revealed that the witness made serious errors in his recollections of events. When his account was compared with official records of the actual events he is believed to have described, extensive inaccuracies were indicated including a likely error in the date by as much as 12 years.

2.1

The “Missing” Nurse and the Pediatrician

To illustrate the errors in this account and to identify actual events, the following section will examine the accounts of the missing nurse and the unidentified pediatrician. Both of these persons were allegedly present at the Roswell AAF hospital when the events described by the witness occurred.

The “Missing” Nurse

Dennis recalled that the nurse was quickly and suspiciously shipped out either the same day or the day after he met with her in the Roswell AAF Officers’ Club. If this allegation was true, it certainly seemed unusual—and verifiable. Therefore, the morning reports, the certified daily personnel accounting records required to be kept by all Army Air Forces units at that time, were obtained and reviewed. These reports did not indicate that a nurse or any other person was reassigned on the days alleged, July 8 or July 9, 1947.[40] The morning reports of the 427th Army Air Forces Base Unit (AAFBU) Squadron “M,” the unit that all the medical personnel at Roswell AAF were assigned in July 1947, did not indicate a sudden or overseas transfer of a nurse or any other person. Records indicated that one nurse was reassigned on July 23, 1947, over two weeks after the purported events described by Dennis.[41] That nurse was transferred by normal personnel rotation procedures to Ft. Worth AAF (now Carswell AFB), Texas, where she remained on active duty until March 1949.[42] In fact, the Squadron “M” morning reports revealed the strength of the Army Nurse Corps (ANC) at Roswell AAF for July 1947 was only five nurses. Of these five nurses none were transferred overseas or killed in a plane crash—the “rumored” fate of the missing nurse.[43]

This review of the hospital morning reports also indicated that the name of the missing nurse provided by the witness was inaccurate. The witness stated in several interviews that he believed the nurse’s name was Naomi Maria Selff.[44] A comprehensive search of morning reports and rosters from the Roswell AAF Station Hospital indicated that no person by this name, or a similar name, had ever served there. This finding was supported by a search of personnel records at the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) in St. Louis, Mo., a part of the National Archives and Record Administration. NPRC is the depository for all U.S. military personnel records. The search at NPRC also did not find a record that a person named Naomi Maria Selff had ever served in any branch of the U.S. Armed Forces.

These findings were consistent with previous efforts of several pro-UFO researchers who have also attempted to locate this nurse or members of her family. They, likewise, were also unable to confirm her existence.[45] While some UFO theorists continue to allege that this absence of records regarding a nurse by this name is part of a conspiracy to withhold information, the most likely reason for the lack of records is that this name is inaccurate.[*]

[*] Interestingly, an article published in the Fall 1995 edition of _Omni_ magazine, a publication that in the past has published sensational “Roswell” claims, also independently accounted for all five of the nurses and expressed a decidedly skeptical opinion of the account of the “missing nurse.”

Even though the name of the nurse is incorrect, it appears that a nurse assigned to the Roswell AAF Station Hospital in 1947 may have been the basis for the claims. Eileen Mae Fanton was the only nurse of the five assigned to Roswell AAF in July 1947, whose personal circumstances and physical attributes not only resembled those of the missing nurse, but appeared to be nearly an exact match.

The “Missing Nurse?”

[Illustration: Fig. 2. Eileen M. Fanton (_U.S. Air Force photo_)]

1st Lt. Eileen M. Fanton was assigned to the Roswell Army Air Field Station Hospital from December 26, 1946 until September 4, 1947.[46] Fanton, who is deceased, was retired from the U.S. Air Force at the rank of Captain on April 30, 1955, for a physical disability.[47]

In this account, the missing nurse is described as single, “real cute, like a small Audrey Hepburn, with short black hair, dark eyes and olive skin.”[48] Lieutenant Fanton was single in 1947, 5′1″ tall, weighed 100 pounds, had black hair, dark eyes, and was of Italian descent.[49] Dennis also stated that the nurse was of the Catholic faith, and had been “strictly raised” according to Catholic beliefs.[50] Fanton’s personnel record listed her as Roman Catholic, a graduate of St. Catherine’s Academy in Springfield, Ky. and as having received her nursing certification from St. Mary Elizabeth’s Hospital in Louisville, Ky.[51]

The witness also recalled that the “missing nurse” was a lieutenant, was a general nurse at the hospital, and had sent him correspondence at a later date which stated she was in London, England with a New York, N.Y. APO number (military overseas mailing address) as the return address.[52] Records revealed that Fanton was a First Lieutenant (promoted from Second Lieutenant to First Lieutenant in June 1947), and she was classified as a “nurse, general duty.”[53] Records also indicated that of the five nurses assigned to the Roswell AAF Station Hospital in July 1947, she was the only one that later served a tour of duty in England. Furthermore, she was assigned to the 7510th USAF Hospital, APO 240, New York, N.Y., where she served from June 1952 until April 1955.[54] The 7510th USAF Hospital was located approximately 45 miles north of London at Wimpole Park, Cambridge, England.

An additional similarity between Fanton and the “missing nurse” is that her personnel record indicated that she quickly departed Roswell AAF and it is probable that the hospital staff would not have provided information concerning her departure. Fanton’s unannounced departure from Roswell AAF, on September 4, 1947 was to be admitted to Brooke General Hospital, Ft. Sam Houston, Texas, for a medical condition.[55] This condition was first diagnosed in January 1946 and ultimately led to her medical retirement in 1955.[56] Therefore, if someone other than a family member contacted the Station Hospital at Roswell AAF and inquired about Fanton, as Dennis stated he did, the staff was simply protecting her privacy as a patient. The staff was not participating in a sinister “cover-up” of information as alleged by UFO theorists.

The Pediatrician

In at least two interviews, the witness stated that a pediatrician stationed at the hospital was involved in the events he described.[57] When asked by an interviewer how he knew the pediatrician was involved, Dennis was quoted as replying, “I know he was involved because I saw him there.”[58] Dennis is also quoted as saying that he and the pediatrician were “pretty good friends,” and after the pediatrician left the military he [the pediatrician] set up a practice in Farmington, N.M. “I used to go fishing all the time up north and I visited him several times up there and he was involved,” Dennis said. “I don’t remember his name, I think he is still practicing in Farmington.”[59]

A review of personnel files and interviews with former members of the Roswell AAF/Walker AFB hospital staff, revealed that only one physician ever relocated to Farmington, N.M. following his military service. The former Capt. Frank B. Nordstrom served at Walker AFB from June 1951 until June 1953.[60] Records also revealed that Nordstrom was indeed a pediatrician and while at Walker AFB, served as the Chief of Pediatric Services.[61] When Nordstrom, a resident of the small town of Aztec, N.M., was interviewed for this report, he stated that he did not recall ever meeting Dennis and could not recall any events that supported any of his claims (see signed sworn statement in Appendix B).[62]

Farmington (population 8,000 in 1954) is located in the primarily rural Four Corners region of New Mexico approximately 300 miles northwest of Roswell. According to Nordstrom, Farmington did not have a pediatrician before his arrival in 1954. From 1954 until approximately 1970, Nordstrom believes he was the only pediatrician in the area. His recollections were confirmed by a local Farmington pharmacist, Charles E. Clouthier.[63] Clouthier also served at the Walker AFB hospital, from 1955 to 1957, and following his military service returned to Farmington, his hometown, where he had lived since 1934. Clouthier has been employed by and co-owned a business, Farmington Drug, since 1957. He is familiar with most, if not all, of the doctors who practice in Farmington and the Four Corners region of New Mexico. Clouthier’s confirmation that Nordstrom was the first pediatrician to practice in the Farmington area, was based on both his frequent professional contacts with local physicians and his experiences as a longtime Farmington resident.[64]

Although Nordstrom believed that he was the pediatrician described, he was at a loss to explain how Dennis gained information concerning his military and civilian employment history. In a signed sworn statement, Nordstrom stated that he did not recall ever meeting Dennis and had certainly never been visited by Dennis as he has claimed. One possible source of the information is that from approximately 1958 until approximately 1961 Dennis operated a drugstore in Aztec, N.M., a small town near Farmington where Nordstrom resides (interestingly Aztec is the location of the original “crashed flying saucer” story, see below). However, Nordstrom also did not recall any contact with Dennis in his capacity as a drugstore operator.

Behind the Roswell Incident?

[Illustration: Fig. 3. Story by J.P. Cahn, that appeared in the August 1956, _True_ magazine.]

The “Roswell Incident” story is hardly original. In 1948, a work of fiction reportedly appeared in the _Aztec_ (N.M.) _Independent Review_ describing the crash of a flying saucer with “little men” near Aztec, N.M. In 1950, Frank Scully, a columnist for the theatrical publication _Variety_, published a book, _Behind the Flying Saucers_, which proclaimed the story to be true.[65] Based on the Aztec story, _Behind the Flying Saucers_ bears many similarities to the Roswell Incident, most notably, descriptions of covert “flying saucer” and “little men” recoveries interspersed with doses of unsubstantiated accusations directed at the U.S. Air Force.[66]

In his book, Scully claimed he had information from two scientists, Silas M. Newton and a mysterious “Dr. Gee,” who he claimed investigated the crash for the government.[67] In reality, Newton and Gee were con-men who convinced Scully of the story’s authenticity.[68]

Intrigued by the sensational claims made in _Behind the Flying Saucers_, a reporter for the _San Francisco Chronicle_, J. P. Cahn, decided to look into the matter. What resulted from Cahn’s research were articles in the September 1952 and August 1956 edition of _True_ magazine which determined that the story was as “phony as a headwaiters bow and smile.”[69]

Cahn, with the assistance of a magician, devised a plan to “sting” the two con-men.[70] To execute the sting, he used sleight of hand switching an “indestructible” metal disk, claimed to be from a flying saucer, with a slug of his own manufacture. After the switch, Cahn submitted the disk to a laboratory for analysis revealing that they were of earthly origin, in particular, a grade of aluminum used to manufacture pots and pans![71]

Even with the exposure of this obvious fraud, the Aztec story is still revered by UFO theorists. Elements of this story occasionally reemerge and are thought to be the catalyst for other crashed flying saucer stories, including the Roswell Incident.

[Illustration: Fig. 4. September 1952 _True_ magazine story that exposed the Aztec, N.M. hoax.]

Descriptions of Other Air Force Members

Since official records proved that none of the nurses at Roswell AAF in July 1947 were missing, and the nurse and pediatrician described in this account had been identified, major discrepancies between Dennis’ recollections and official records were apparent. In an effort to provide for the fullest possible accounting of these claims, even though key aspects had already been proven false, Air Force researchers sought additional information to determine if there was validity to _any_ portion of the account. Since the witness has never provided documentation to support his claims, the only source of additional information was the numerous interviews he had previously provided to private researchers and the media. His many statements, which have appeared in newspapers, videos, magazines, movies, books, lectures, journals and television programs, were reviewed for information that might further explain his testimony.

Examination of this large body of publicly available information immediately provided clues that the witness may have recalled incidents from a period other than July 1947. The first clue was that he repeatedly, in all of the interviews, referred to the injured military person he allegedly transported to the Roswell AAF hospital as an airman. The rank of airman was not in existence in 1947. It was implemented on April 1, 1952.[72] Prior to that date an airman in the Air Force was referred to by the U.S. Army equivalent, a private. Another possible indication that he recalled events from a different time was the description of an alleged “black sergeant” that accompanied the redheaded officer at the hospital. The pairing of a white officer with a black NCO seemed unlikely since in 1947 the U.S. Army Air Forces was racially segregated, as were all branches of the armed forces. The U.S. Air Force did not begin racial integration until the May 11, 1949 issuance of Air Force Letter 35-3 that formally ended segregation.[73] Though it was not impossible in 1947 for a black NCO to accompany and seem to be working with a white officer, it would be unlikely. These two discrepancies did not provide a firm time frame of actual events, if any occurred at all.

To approximate a time frame for actual events, the specific details of the information provided were examined. This examination was to determine if any military members were identified by name or by a combination of any other distinguishing characteristics such as rank, position, age, or physical attributes. If the testimony identified a military member as having been present for an event, then their personnel record could be used to affix an approximate date. Affixing a date of an event by referencing personnel records was possible since each military member’s personnel file contains a physical description and chronological listing of duty stations, units of assignment, and work assignments for his/her entire military career.

This detailed examination revealed several likely references to specific individuals, which through their personnel files, were documented as having been assigned to the hospital at Roswell AAF or Walker AFB (Roswell AAF was renamed Walker AFB in January 1948).

=The “Big Redheaded Colonel.”= An indication that Dennis might have mistaken the date of actual events was that he was quoted in at least one book as having said that the officer who threatened him in the hospital was a big redheaded colonel.[74] Research revealed that only one tall colonel with red hair was known to have been assigned to the Walker AFB hospital. Colonel Lee F. Ferrell was the hospital commander from October 1954 until June 1960.[75] Ferrell was 6′1″ tall and had red hair.[76]

[Illustration: Fig. 5. Col. Lee F. Ferrell (_left_), was commander of the Walker AFB hospital from 1954–1960. In this photo Ferrell escorts U.S. Senator Dennis Chavez (N.M.) on a tour of the new Walker AFB hospital in June 1960, which was named in honor of the senator. (_U.S. Air Force photo_) ]

“=Captain ‘Slatts’ Wilson.=” In at least two interviews Dennis repeatedly made reference to a nurse named “Captain Wilson.”[77] He recalled that “Captain Wilson”, who he believed was the head nurse, was another nurse stationed at the Roswell AAF hospital in July 1947.[78] Dennis claims he spoke to “Captain Wilson” several times in reference to the alleged missing nurse.[79]

He claims that on the day after he met with the missing nurse at the Roswell AAF Officers’ Club, he attempted to contact her by telephone at the hospital but was told that she wasn’t on duty.[80] Instead, he spoke with “Captain Wilson.” “I called the station I knew she [the missing nurse] always worked at,” Dennis said, “She was a general nurse.... I was informed that she wasn’t working that day. [Dennis then telephoned] An old girl by the name of Wilson, Captain Wilson, and I asked her ‘what happened’? She said, ‘Glenn, I don’t know what happened, she’s not on duty.’ She said she’d try to get word to her [the missing nurse] that you [Dennis] want to talk to her.”[81] Later in the same interview Dennis further described Wilson. “We called her ‘Slatts’ Wilson who was a big tall nurse about six foot two or three—big tall skinny gal—and we called her ‘Slatts’—everybody called her ‘Slatts.’ She’s the one who told me she heard there was a plane crash and the nurses went down on a training mission.”[82]

The testimony appeared to clearly identify by name, rank, position, physical attributes and by a distinctive nickname, “Slatts,” another nurse present at the hospital in July 1947. But a review of the morning reports of the Roswell AAF hospital for July 1947 did not contain the name of a nurse, or anyone else, named Wilson.[83] The only female captain assigned to the Roswell AAF Hospital in July 1947 was the Chief Nurse Capt. Joyce Goddard.[84] Goddard, who was 5′6″ tall, was transferred from Roswell AAF to Korea on August 21, 1947.[85]

Therefore, according to Dennis’ recollection of events, this review of the morning reports indicated that there were two missing nurses, not one—“Lieutenant Naomi Selff” and “Captain ‘Slatts’ Wilson.” Further scrutiny of personnel records of individuals assigned to the Roswell AAF/Walker AFB hospital indicated that Dennis’ recollections of events were apparently inaccurate.

Examination of the August 1947 morning reports did not list a nurse named Wilson, but they _did_ list a nurse named Slattery.[86] Captain Lucille C. Slattery, who retired as a Lieutenant Colonel and is now deceased, was reassigned from Ft. George Wright, Wash. to Roswell AAF on August 7, 1947.[87]

[Illustration: Fig. 6. Lt. Col. Lucille C. Slattery, the only Air Force nurse ever known as “Slatts,” served as a captain at the Roswell AAF/Walker AFB hospital from August 1947 to September 1950. Records indicate that Slattery did not arrive at Roswell AAF until one month _after_ the “Roswell Incident,” in direct contradiction to statements made by the sole witness to this account. (_U.S. Air Force photo_)]

Slattery replaced Goddard as the Chief Nurse and was the only female captain assigned to the Roswell AAF hospital. Interviews of persons with longtime professional and personal associations with Slattery, revealed that she was known by the unusual nickname of Slatts.[88] Additionally, former associates of Slattery interviewed for this report, recalled that she was the only Air Force nurse that had ever been known as Slatts.[89] Persons interviewed were Air Force nurses who retired in the 1960s, each with more than 20 years of service, including retired Air Force Col. Ethel Kovatch-Scott, who served as Chief Nurse of the Air Force from 1963 to 1965.

Upon review of Slattery’s personnel file it was learned that she was only 5′3″ tall and therefore was most likely not the 6′2″ or 6′3″ “tall skinny” nurse described.[90] This discrepancy in physical description and the fact that she did not arrive at Roswell AAF until nearly one month _after_ Dennis claims he spoke to her, led to the conclusion that perhaps he confused Slattery with some other tall thin nurse, possibly named Wilson, who was stationed at the Roswell AAF or Walker AFB hospital at some other time.

Consequently, a comprehensive review of the morning reports and rosters of the Roswell AAF/Walker AFB hospital revealed that only one nurse named Wilson had ever served there and she did not arrive until February 1956.[91][*] Capt. Idabelle Miller, who became Maj. Idabelle Wilson in 1958 due to marriage and a promotion, was assigned to the Walker AFB hospital from February 1956 until May 1960.[92]

[*] Records were also searched for names similar to Wilson. Three nurses stationed at Roswell AAF/Walker AFB were identified: Martha Wasem, Carol Williams, and Chalma Walker. None of these nurses physical descriptions or personal/professional circumstances were similar to the descriptions of “Captain Wilson” described by the witness.

Upon review of Maj. Wilson’s personnel file, it was learned that she was 5′9″ tall and thin. Also, she served as the Head Nurse of the surgical ward at the Walker AFB hospital.[93] Therefore, Wilson’s physical attributes, tall and thin, and position as Head Nurse matched Dennis’ recollections of “Captain Wilson.” When contacted by Air Force researchers, Wilson stated she had no recollection of Dennis, of ever having conversations with him, any of the events he described, or of a nurse that was missing.[94] She also made it abundantly clear that as an Air Force officer and medical professional she would not spread a rumor of a plane crash, as Dennis alleged “Captain Wilson” did in conversations with him.[95]

Results of Missing Nurse and Pediatrician Research

Examination of the missing nurse and the pediatrician stories, and other facts established by research, provide a foundation for further analysis to determine what actual event(s), if any, were responsible for these claims. Based on information developed, it appears this witness may be mistaken in some of his statements, especially regarding the time frame of these events.

The following facts have been established:

=a.= The only physician who ever relocated to Farmington, N.M., following his military service at Roswell AAF/Walker AFB was the former Chief of Pediatric Services at the Walker AFB hospital, the former Capt. Frank B. Nordstrom. Further, he did not arrive at Walker AFB until June 1951, four years _after_ the purported Roswell Incident, has no recollection of Dennis, the statements Dennis attributes to him, or of any actual events that explain his account.

=b.= The only nurse ever assigned to the Roswell AAF hospital (subsequently renamed Walker AFB) named Wilson, was Idabelle Wilson. She served at the Walker AFB hospital from 1956 until 1960 and had no recollection of ever meeting or speaking with Dennis or any of the activities he described.

=c.= Captain Lucille C. Slattery, the only Air Force nurse ever known by the distinctive nickname “Slatts,” _was_ stationed at the Roswell AAF hospital. However, she did not arrive until August 7, 1947. This was one month _after_ the Roswell Incident, making it improbable that Dennis spoke with her in early July 1947.

=d.= There is no record that a nurse named Naomi Maria Selff, was ever assigned to Roswell AAF, Walker AFB, or was ever a member of the U.S. military.

=e.= All nurses assigned to the Roswell AAF hospital in July 1947, have been accounted for, thereby eliminating any possibility that there was ever a missing nurse.

Since actual Air Force members who served at Roswell AAF/Walker AFB hospital were described in this account, the next step was to determine if actual events that occurred at the hospital were possibly the source of this story. As stated earlier in this report, a thorough examination of both classified and unclassified records from 1947 revealed no Army Air Forces or U.S. Air Force activities that explained the alleged events. Therefore records were reviewed from other time periods, based on personnel records of individuals believed to have been identified. These persons and the periods when they were assigned to Roswell AAF/Walker AFB are listed in Table 2.1.

Table 2.1 Persons Described and Periods of Service at Roswell AAF/Walker AFB

---------------------------------------------------------------------- Witness Actual Individual Period of Service at Description Described Roswell AAF/Walker AFB ----------------------------------------------------------------------

the “missing” nurse 1st Lt. Eileen M. Fanton Dec. 1946-Sept. 1947

“Capt. ‘Slatts’ Wilson” Capt. Lucille C. Slattery Aug. 1947-Sept. 1950 (composite of two and individuals) Maj. Idabelle M. Wilson Feb. 1956-May 1960

“the pediatrician” Capt. Frank B. Nordstrom June 1951-June 1953

“big redheaded colonel” Col. Lee F. Ferrell Oct. 1954-June 1960

The Research Profile

With the establishment of a possible time frame, research efforts paralleled the previous examination in Section One of this report that determined high altitude balloons with anthropomorphic dummy payloads were responsible for the reports of aliens at the two rural New Mexico “crashed saucer” locations. A further review of Air Force activities was then made to determine if any were significantly similar to the information provided. Based on the time period established by personnel records and statements contained in the witness’ own account, the following profile of possible events was established:

An event involving the Walker AFB hospital that took place between 1947 and 1960;

=a.= that may have resulted in “very mangled,” “black,” “little bodies,” that had a strong “odor” being placed in “body bags”;

=b.= that may have resulted in two persons not normally assigned to the hospital, believed to be doctors, that were “supposedly doing preliminary autopsies” on the “little bodies”;

=c.= that may have involved a body with a head that was much larger than normal which was transported to Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio;

=d.= that may have involved a redheaded captain or a big redheaded colonel;

=e.= that may have resulted in an ambulance parked in the rear of the hospital containing wreckage with inscriptions, that were bluish-purplish which looked kind of like the bottom of a canoe; and,

=f.= that may have required a heightened state of security.

2.2

Aircraft Accidents

The examination of events that involved the Walker AFB hospital that may explain reports of bodies was begun by reviewing the most prominent possible source, which were aircraft accident(s).[*] A review of aircraft accidents from 1947 to 1960 revealed eight fatal accidents that involved Walker AFB.

[*] Other possible explanations such as automobile accidents, house fires, etc., were also examined. However, none of these were determined to be responsible for this account of bodies.

Table 2.2 Fatal Aircraft Accidents by Year in the Vicinity of Walker AFB 1947–1960 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Year Aircraft Location of Accident Number of Type (distance from Walker AFB, N.M.) Fatalities ----------------------------------------------------------------------

=1947= None

=1948= 8/12/48 B-29 4 miles South 13

=1949= 5/16/49 C-47 6 miles Northeast 6 12/15/49 B-29 2 miles Northwest 7

=1950= 6/1/50 KB-29 12 miles East/Southeast 3

=1951= None

=1952= None

=1953= None

=1954= None

=1955= 6/16/55 T-33 On runway 2 10/3/55 B-47 34 miles West 2

=1956= 6/26/56 KC-97 8.8 miles South 11

=1957= None

=1958= None

=1959= None

=1960= 2/3/60 KC-135 On runway and ramp 13

The following three basic criteria were used to narrow research efforts to specific accidents for more detailed examinations: were the victims burned, resulting in possible descriptions of “black” “little bodies”?; were the victims transported to the Walker AFB hospital?; and, were the victims autopsied? To facilitate this examination, researchers reviewed official accident reports, organizational and base histories, individual personnel records of victims, and contemporary newspaper accounts of the accidents. Interviews of persons who participated in the aftermath of these accidents were also conducted. As a result, only one accident met the three criteria, the June 1956 KC-97 accident.

Table 2.3 Analysis of Air Force Aircraft Accidents by Year in the Vicinity of Walker AFB 1947–1960 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date of Aircraft Fatalities Accident Type ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Burned? Taken to WAFB Autopsied? Hospital?

8/12/48 B-29 Yes[96] No[97] No[98]

5/16/49 C-47 Yes[99] No[100] No[101]

12/15/49 B-29 No[102] Yes[103] Yes[104]

6/1/50 KB-29 No[105] No[106] No[107]

6/16/55 T-33 Yes[108] No[109] Yes[110]

10/3/55 B-47 Yes[111] No[112] No[113]

6/26/56 KC-97 Yes[114] Yes[115] Yes[116]

2/3/60 KC-135 Yes[117] No[118] No[119]

Upon detailed review of records of the 1956 accident and interviews with persons who participated in the recovery and identification of the victims, extensive similarities to the description the witness provided were apparent.

Fatal KC-97 Aircraft Mishap

In 1956, Walker AFB, N.M. was the home of Strategic Air Command’s 6th and 509th Bombardment Wings.[120] Additionally, Walker was home of the 509th Aerial Refueling Squadron (509th ARS) equipped with the KC-97G aircraft.

[Illustration: Fig. 7. A KC-97 similar to this of the 509th Aerial Refueling Squadron crashed 8.8 miles south of Walker AFB on June 26, 1956 with the loss of 11 lives. Descriptions of the aftermath of this tragedy are believed to be the basis for some of the reports of “bodies” at the Walker AFB hospital. (_U.S. Air Force photo_)]

The accident occurred on June 26, 1956, 8.8 statute miles south of Walker AFB.[121] A KC-97G aircraft with 11 crewmen on board, while on a refueling training mission, experienced a propeller failure four and one half minutes after takeoff.[122] As a result of the propeller failure, a propeller blade was believed to have punctured the deck fuel tank of the fully loaded tanker causing an intense cabin fire.[123] The aircraft was quickly engulfed in flames, spun out of control, and was completely destroyed. All 11 Air Force members were killed instantly by the fire and impact explosion.[124] Due to the isolated rural impact location on property owned by the state of New Mexico, there was minimal collateral damage and no fatalities or injuries to persons on the ground.[125]

The remains of the crewmen were recovered from the crash site and transported by members of the 4036th USAF Hospital (numerical designation of the hospital at Walker AFB) to the hospital facility at Walker AFB for identification.[126]

On the day following the crash, an identification specialist from Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio arrived at the hospital to assist in identifying the remains.[127] Part way through the identification process, conducted by both the identification specialist and Air Force members assigned to the Walker AFB hospital, the identification

## activities were moved to a refrigerated compartment at the Walker AFB

commissary.[128] This was due to an overpowering odor emitted by the burned and fuel-soaked bodies and the lack of proper storage facilities at the small base hospital.[129] Also on the day following the crash, June 27, 1956, autopsies of three of the victims were accomplished by a local Roswell pathologist.[130] These examinations were performed at a local funeral home.[131] Upon completion of the identification procedures and the postmortem examinations, the remains were shipped to the next of kin for burial.

[Illustration: Fig. 8. Main entrance of the 4036th USAF hospital at Walker AFB, 1956. Initial identification procedures of the 11 aircrewmen killed in the June 26, 1956 KC-97 accident were conducted here before being transferred to another facility on the base with refrigeration capability. (_U.S. Air Force photo_)]

Comparison of the Account to the KC-97 Mishap

This series of actual events contains extensive similarities to the account provided by Dennis. The numerous and extensive similarities indicate that some elements of this actual event were most probably included in Dennis’ account. This aircraft accident provides an explanation for the following elements of the research profile—the very mangled, black, little bodies in body bags, the odor, the two strange doctors, and the report of a redheaded colonel.

Aircraft Crashes and UFOs

Since the first flying saucer story in June 1947, persons have attempted to exploit actual military aircraft accidents to support UFO theories and propagate the flying saucer phenomenon.

One of the first exploitation attempts involved a fatal August 1, 1947 Army Air Forces B-25 accident near Kelso, Wash. Descriptions of this accident, which UFO theorists contend was caused because the aircraft carried parts of a flying saucer, were included in a poorly executed hoax. Nonetheless, it received a considerable amount of attention.

Another incidence was photographs of an “alien,” supposedly from a 1948 crash of a flying saucer in Mexico. However, when the photographs were examined by Air Force officials, they noticed a pair of government issue, aviator style, sunglasses lying underneath the “alien” body.

Perhaps the most famous attempt to exploit an actual aircraft accident involved the fatal January 1948 crash of a Kentucky Air National Guard F-51 fighter near Franklin, Ky. Theorists contend the fighter was shot down by a UFO. However, it was determined that this aircraft most probably crashed while observing a newly invented high altitude research balloon thought to be a UFO. The large balloon, which matched eyewitnesses’ descriptions at the time, was released the previous day, and its ground track placed it precisely in the area where the unidentified object was sighted the next day. Regardless, shameless attempts to exploit this event continued as recently as 1995, when the tabloid TV program, _Sightings_, aired and published (_Sightings_, Simon & Schuster, 1996, 170–176) a distorted interpretation of this tragedy.

=The “Black” “Little Bodies.”= Review of the autopsy protocols of the victims of this accident revealed extensive similarities to the descriptions of the bodies allegedly described by the missing nurse. Dennis related in various interviews that the missing nurse described, “... three; very mangled; black; little bodies in body bags.”[132] Records of this mishap confirmed that the victims suffered “injuries, extreme, multiple.”[133] According to persons who assisted in the identification of the remains from this crash, and in compliance with Air Force directives in effect at that time, human remains pouches, commonly called body bags, were used to recover and transport victims’ bodies.[134]

Statements made by Dennis described bodies that were “three-and-a-half to four feet tall,” and “black” in color.[135] The autopsy protocols of two victims described extensive third degree burns and loss of the lower extremities.[136] Dennis also described a head of one of the bodies that was not rigid but “flexible” and tissues of a body in “strings” that looked as if they were “pulled” by predatory animals after the crash.[137] An autopsy protocol of a victim described “multiple fractures of all bones of the skull” and “partially cooked strands of bowel ... over the abdomen and in the chest.”[138] Additional similarities between the autopsy protocols and Dennis’ statements were a detached hand and descriptions of the fingers and arms of the crash victims.[139]

The autopsy protocol of one victim also described remains with a “face completely missing.”[140] This description corresponds with Dennis’ recollections of a body with eyes and nose that were concave. Also, the drawing of the head of one of the “little bodies” Dennis claims is representative of a drawing given to him by the missing nurse is a reasonably accurate representation of a human body with its face completely missing.[141]

Another similarity to Dennis’ account is that of the 11 victims of this accident, only three were autopsied—the same number of bodies that were allegedly autopsied in the missing nurse’s account.[142] Finally, records revealed that due to limited facilities at the Walker AFB hospital, the autopsies were performed at the Ballard Funeral Home in Roswell.[143] This is the same funeral home where Dennis claimed to be employed in 1947 until 1962.[144][*]

[*] It is unclear when Dennis worked at this funeral home since city and phone directories listed him as co-owning a different funeral home in Roswell, as vice-president of another funeral home in Roswell, and as having been employed as a drug store supervisor and oil field worker during the periods when he claims he worked at the Ballard Funeral Home.

=The Odor.= Transportation of remains to a small base hospital was unusual since the hospital did not have the necessary facilities—a preparation room, refrigeration equipment or a morgue, to accommodate multiple deceased persons. Records of other crashes involving Walker AFB showed that the remains of crash victims were transported either to another facility on Walker AFB or directly to a local funeral home.[145]

[Illustration: Fig. 9. Three of the 11 Air Force members killed in the June 26, 1956 KC-97 accident were autopsied at the Ballard Funeral Home in Roswell. The actual descriptions of the remains (only three were autopsied), closely corresponds with Dennis’ descriptions regarding the “little bodies.” Additionally, this is the same funeral home where Dennis claimed to be employed from 1947 until 1962.]

In fact, the Air Force manual that prescribed the policies, standards and procedures relating to the care and disposition of deceased Air Force personnel in effect in 1956, Air Force Manual 143-1, _Mortuary Affairs_, did not direct that remains be brought to a hospital. It encouraged the local commander to “improvise facilities” and make use of “garages, warehouses, large tents, or other facilities for processing groups of remains.”[146] Nonetheless, records of the June 1956 crash and interviews with the persons who processed the remains indicated that the victims were brought from the crash site to the Walker AFB hospital.[147] During the identification procedures, the odor became too strong and the bodies and the identification activities were moved to a refrigerated compartment at the base commissary.[148]

Interviewed for this report were the registrar of the hospital, 1st Lt. Jack Whenry (now a retired Major) and a medical administration specialist assigned to the registrar, SSgt. John Walter (now a retired Master Sergeant), both of whom assisted in the processing and identification of the deceased aircrewmen. Whenry and Walter both recalled the strong odor, that some persons became ill during the procedures (as did the alleged missing nurse), and the unusual transfer of the remains to the Walker AFB commissary (the nurse also allegedly described the transfer of remains to another building on the base). However, neither recalled that a nurse was missing or any of the other

## activities as described by Dennis.[149]

=The “Big Redheaded Colonel.”= The big redheaded colonel is a likely reference to the hospital commander, Col. Lee F. Ferrell, who was 6′1″ tall and had red hair. Ferrell served at the Walker AFB hospital from 1954 until 1960.[150] It would not be unusual for the hospital commander to be present at the hospital following a major aircraft accident.

=The Two Mysterious “Doctors.”= The two doctors not assigned to the Walker AFB hospital who were allegedly observed at the hospital performing preliminary autopsies have been identified as an Air Force civilian identification specialist and a local Roswell pathologist.

=_Identification Specialist._= In an aircraft mishap involving multiple fatalities, identification of victims can go beyond the capabilities of a small Air Force hospital such as the one at Walker AFB. Beginning in July 1951, the Air Force Memorial Affairs Branch, now called Air Force Mortuary Services, employed full-time civilian morticians and funeral directors, known as identification specialists, to assist Air Force installations in the identification of deceased persons.[151] When requested by the local commander, the identification specialists, on a 24-hour standby basis, responded from Wright-Patterson AFB to the location of an incident.[152] Records confirm that Walker AFB only requested an identification specialist on two occasions, in October 1955 and to identity the victims of the June 1956 crash.[153] For this accident the identification specialist arrived at Walker AFB on June 27, 1956 and made positive identifications of the 11 crewmen on June 28, 1956.[154]

When contacted for this report, the retired identification specialist who responded to this accident, Mr. George Schwaderer, did not have any recollections of Dennis, the nurse, the pediatrician, or any of the other unusual activities as alleged.[155] Schwaderer did recall that on identifications of group remains such as this, it was typical to wear standard hospital surgical gowns and masks and that he was often mistaken for a pathologist.[156]

Due to restrictions on the release of information concerning the identification process, uninformed individuals who may, by chance, have witnessed some portions of the identification, were often the source of a considerable amount of speculation. The identification procedures employed by the identification specialists were not classified, but AFM-143-1, _Mortuary Affairs_, directed that “no information will be divulged concerning identification or shipment of any remains until a final determination of identity has been resolved for all remains.”[157]

For this accident, identification took approximately two days and any releases of information were restricted to individuals with an official requirement. These restrictions extended, not only to the general public, but also to Air Force members.

A possible reference to the identification specialist is found in one of Dennis’ recitations of the account. Dennis, a mortician who might possess limited knowledge of Air Force mortuary procedures, stated that he was told the “doctors” might be pathologists from “Walter Reed Army Hospital.”[158] Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington D.C. is a likely location that an unknown pathologist performing an autopsy on military personnel might have been based. Co-located at Walter Reed is the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP) and beginning in 1955, AFIP sent pathologists into the field to examine aircraft accidents. A review of records at AFIP and interviews with persons involved with the identification procedures at Walker AFB do not indicate AFIP sent any personnel to assist in this accident.[159]

=_Pathology Consultant._= In June 1956, the Walker AFB hospital did not have a pathologist on staff.[160] All autopsies and examinations of pathological specimens were conducted by a civilian consultant from Roswell.[161] The autopsy protocols of the deceased crewmen from the June 1956 crash indicated that Dr. Alfred S. Blauw of Roswell performed the three autopsies.[162] Obviously, neither the pathologist nor the identification specialist were normally assigned to the Walker AFB hospital and would not be expected to be present at the hospital, especially to an observer with limited knowledge of these activities.

Continuing Research

The focus of research was now shifted to other activities that might explain the remaining portions of the profile. The unexplained portions were:

=a.= the presence of a redheaded captain;

=b.= the wreckage in the rear of the ambulance outside the Walker AFB hospital;

=c.= the heightened state of security at the Walker AFB hospital; and,

=d.= the shipment of a body with a large head to Wright-Patterson AFB.

Based on previous research, this effort began by examining records of the other Air Force aerial vehicle known to have operated extensively in the Roswell area since the late 1940s—high altitude research balloons.

2.3

High Altitude Research Projects

By 1960, hundreds of high altitude research balloons, some that carried anthropomorphic dummies, descended and were recovered in areas surrounding Walker AFB and Roswell. But based on the descriptions of the bodies and the involvement of a hospital and medical personnel, it did not seem likely that high altitude research balloons with scientific instruments or anthropomorphic dummies could possibly account for this testimony. Therefore, the focal point of the research shifted to manned high altitude balloon flights conducted by the Air Force during the mid to late 1950s and early 1960s.

Manned Balloon Flights

Two manned balloon projects, MAN HIGH and EXCELSIOR, were conducted within the time period targeted for research: MAN HIGH from 1957 to 1958[163] and the manned portion of EXCELSIOR in 1959 and 1960. The only other manned high altitude balloon project in Air Force history, STARGAZER, did not fly until 1962.

It was discovered that only six manned flights were made for MAN HIGH and EXCELSIOR. These flights were determined unlikely as the source of the testimony since there were no injuries or deaths, all six flights had been the subject of intense media coverage, and none were flown in the vicinity of Roswell. Despite the apparent dead end these flights presented to explain this account, records were obtained and persons involved in MAN HIGH and EXCELSIOR were contacted and interviewed. These records and interviews confirmed that there were, in fact, only six USAF manned high altitude balloon flights, none with characteristics similar to the testimony. However, detailed examinations of the records revealed that, in addition to the six high altitude balloon flights, there were also numerous low altitude balloon flights made to train and qualify the high altitude balloon pilots.[164] Records of the training flights indicated that some of these were conducted at Holloman AFB, N.M., and several mishaps occurred resulting in injuries to the pilots.[165]

[Illustration: Fig. 10. Maj. David G. Simons (MC) (_left_), balloon designer Otto C. Winzen (_center_) and Capt. Joseph W. Kittinger, Jr., examine a scale model of a low altitude balloon gondola used to train pilots for high altitude missions. (_photo courtesy of Mike Smith, Raven Industries_)]

Further research revealed that one accident had taken place just northwest of Roswell.[166] The accident occurred on May 21, 1959, 10 miles northwest of Walker AFB, on a pilot training mission for the upcoming Project EXCELSIOR and STARGAZER flights scheduled to begin that fall. Analysis of the accident revealed actual events that closely resembled the remaining portions of the established profile.

U.S. Air Force Manned High Altitude Balloon Projects

In addition to unmanned high altitude balloon research flights, from 1957 to 1962 the U.S. Air Force conducted a series of seven manned high altitude flights. These forward-looking projects investigated the upper reaches of the earth’s atmosphere and laid the foundation for manned spaceflight. Most flights were conducted before rocket booster technology was available to propel a spacecraft into earth’s orbit. In this interim period, to “bridge the gap” while awaiting developments in rocket technology, high altitude balloons were the only vehicles capable of reaching the altitudes required. All three of the USAF manned high altitude balloon projects, MAN HIGH, EXCELSIOR, and STARGAZER utilized Holloman AFB balloons to transport men to the very edge of space, above approximately 99 per cent of the earth’s atmosphere, a region known as “near space.”

=Project MAN HIGH.= In 1955, a combined effort by the U.S. Air Force Aeromedical Field Laboratory, Winzen Research International, and the Holloman Balloon Branch resulted in the first Air Force manned balloon program. Project MAN HIGH, officially known as the Biodynamics of Space Flight, directed by Lt. Col. David Simons (MC), was the first of the three widely publicized manned high altitude balloon programs. The objective of Project MAN HIGH was to measure the physiological and psychological capabilities of a human in a space equivalent environment. Many developments of this successful project were later incorporated into the first phase of the U.S. Air Force Man in Space Program nicknamed MAN IN SPACE SOONEST (MISS). Technology developed for MISS was transferred to NASA in 1959 and became part of Project MERCURY, the initial series of U.S. space missions.[167]

[Illustration: Fig. 11. (_Left_) Test pilot Capt. Joseph W. Kittinger, Jr. just before launch of MAN HIGH I at New Brighton, Minn. on June 2, 1957. Kittinger flew in all three USAF high altitude balloon projects and has accumulated more high altitude balloon flying hours than anyone else in the world. (_U.S. Air Force photo_)]

[Illustration: Fig. 12. (_Center_) Lt. Col. David G. Simons (MC), a physician and pilot of the MAN HIGH II high altitude balloon mission, is shown here boarding the recovery helicopter near Frederick, S.D. following the successful flight on August 19, 1957. This flight lasted 33 hours and 10 minutes attaining a peak altitude of 101,500 feet. (_U.S. Air Force photo_)]

[Illustration: Fig. 13. (_Right_) Holloman AFB Balloon Branch Meteorologist and Engineer, Bernard D. Gildenberg, instructs high altitude balloon pilot 1st Lt. Clifton McClure, pilot of MAN HIGH III, in the operation of a low altitude training balloon on May 12, 1959 at Holloman AFB, N.M. (_U.S. Air Force photo_)]

[Illustration: Fig. 14. Project officer and pilot, Capt. Joseph W. Kittinger, Jr., standing beside the EXCELSIOR gondola at Holloman AFB, N.M. On his third and final high altitude parachute jump, from 102,800 feet, he established world records for highest parachute jump and length of free-fall which still stand today. (_U.S. Air Force photo_)]

=Project EXCELSIOR.= In 1959 and 1960 the U.S. Air Force Aero Medical Laboratory collaborated with the Holloman Balloon Branch for Project EXCELSIOR, the second Air Force manned high altitude balloon program. EXCELSIOR was the dramatic climax of the high altitude free-fall studies that began as Project HIGH DIVE in 1953 using anthropomorphic dummies. As the test director for Project Excelsior, Capt. Joseph W. Kittinger, Jr. made three parachute jumps from balloons, EXCELSIOR I, II, and III, from 76,000, 75,000, and a still standing record altitude of 102,800 feet. EXCELSIOR’S scientific objective was to develop a parachute system and techniques required to return a pilot or astronaut to earth following an emergency high altitude escape.

=Project STARGAZER.= Project STARGAZER was the third Air Force manned high altitude balloon program. Capt. Joseph W. Kittinger. Jr., the veteran high altitude balloon pilot of MAN HIGH and EXCELSIOR, was both the pilot and project engineer. On December 13, 1962, Kittinger and U.S. Navy civilian astronomer William C. White rose to 86,000 feet to make astronomical observations with a gyro-stabilized telescope. A joint U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy, Smithsonian Institution, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology program, STARGAZER made only one of a scheduled four flights due to budget shortfalls and equipment difficulties.

[Illustration: Fig. 15. Project STARGAZER pilot and project engineer, Capt. Joseph W. Kittinger, Jr. (_left_), after landing near Lordsburg, N.M. on December 13, 1962 with U.S. Navy civilian astronomer William C. White. Kittinger and White ascended to 86,000 feet to make astronomical observations in the seventh, and final, U.S. Air Force manned high altitude balloon flight. (_U.S. Air Force photo_)]

Table 2.4 U.S. Air Force Manned High Altitude Balloon Flights ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date Project/Flight Altitude (feet) Pilot ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 6/2/57 MAN HIGH I 96,200 Capt. Joseph W. Kittinger, Jr.

8/19/57 MAN HIGH II 101,500 Lt. Col. David G. Simons (MC)

10/8/58 MAN HIGH III 99,700 1st Lt. Clifton McClure

11/16/59 EXCELSIOR I 76,400 Capt. Joseph W. Kittinger, Jr.

12/11/59 EXCELSIOR II 74,700 Capt. Joseph W. Kittinger. Jr.

8/16/60 EXCELSIOR III 102,800 Capt. Joseph W. Kittinger, Jr.

12/13/62 STARGAZER 86,000 Capt. Joseph W. Kittinger, Jr.

With the completion of Project STARGAZER and the success of NASA’s Project MERCURY space flights, future investigations were accomplished by space vehicles. This signaled the end of an era of manned high altitude balloon flight; however, these projects had indeed “bridged the gap,” and manned space flight was now safely possible.

Low Altitude Balloon Training Missions

=Background.= In April 1958, Col. John P. Stapp, commander of the U.S. Air Force Aero Medical Laboratory at Wright-Patterson AFB, appointed a new project officer for Project EXCELSIOR, Capt. Joseph W. Kittinger, Jr. EXCELSIOR was part of an ongoing program to examine high altitude aircraft escape procedures and equipment.[168] Kittinger was an experienced fighter test pilot who was the pilot of the first Air Force manned high altitude balloon project, MAN HIGH I, in June 1957.[169] In addition to being the EXCELSIOR project officer, Kittinger was the pilot and project engineer of STARGAZER which also utilized high altitude balloons.

By 1959, Kittinger was an integral part of both EXCELSIOR and STARGAZER and one of only three individuals in the Air Force with high altitude balloon pilot experience. Due to the hazardous nature of these important projects, Stapp was concerned that an injury to Kittinger might result in the cancellation of one or both of them. Therefore, Stapp determined there was a need for backup pilots. Selected as backup pilots were Captains Dan D. Fulgham and William C. Kaufman. Both men were rated aircraft pilots, parachutists, and research and development officers assigned to the Aero Medical Laboratory at Wright-Patterson AFB.

During the third week of May 1959, a series of low altitude manned balloon flights were flown to train Fulgham and Kaufman.[170] These flights were launched by the Holloman AFB Balloon Branch. To satisfy safety requirements, the flights were closely monitored by medical personnel at all times. A helicopter with medical personnel followed the flights during daylight hours, a C-131 aircraft followed during hours of darkness, and at all times medical personnel followed in an ambulance.[171] Balloon recovery and communications technicians also followed the missions on the ground in a communications vehicle and a balloon recovery vehicle.[172] The safety requirements were a result of several recent balloon mishaps that resulted in serious injuries to the pilots.

To meet the training schedule, Kittinger, Kaufman and Fulgham were assigned temporary duty (TDY) from the Aero Medical Laboratory at Wright-Patterson AFB to the Balloon Branch at Holloman AFB, N.M.

[Illustration: Fig. 16. In 1958 while training for the upcoming U.S. Air Force Aero Medical Laboratory high altitude MAN HIGH III balloon flight, balloon designer Otto C. Winzen (_right_) and space physiologist Capt. Grover Schock (_left_), were seriously injured in a balloon accident near Ashland, Wisc. Additionally, two training flights at Holloman AFB also resulted in injuries to pilots. These injuries prompted Air Force officials to require close medical supervision during future training flights. (_photo courtesy of Mike Smith, Raven Industries_)]

The three pilots, Kittinger, Kaufman and Fulgham, flew training missions together. Kaufman and Fulgham alternately flew the balloon while Kittinger instructed. The missions were flown at night to take advantage of light winds and avoid the effects of diurnal heating on the helium (the lifting gas that filled the balloon). Used for these missions were 30-foot diameter polyethylene balloons and an aluminum gondola especially designed for low altitude training.

The first training mission scheduled for May 19, 1959 was canceled due to equipment problems.[173] Problems overcome, the next day at 1:30 a.m. the mission launched from White Sands Proving Ground.[174] The objective of this flight was to practice gas valving and ballasting techniques necessary for balloon control and to practice landings. After a five-hour flight, the balloon landed without incident just after sunrise northwest of El Paso, Texas.[175]

The second training flight, launched at 2:41 a.m. on May 21, 1959, from behind the Balloon Branch building, Bldg. 850 at Holloman AFB.[176] Near the end of another successful training mission with the same objectives as the previous flight, a mishap occurred resulting in injuries to two of the pilots, Fulgham and Kittinger.[177]

[Illustration: Fig. 17. In May 1959, Capt. Dan D. Fulgham (_left_) and Capt. William C. Kaufman, pilots and Aero Medical Research officers from Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio were assigned temporary duty to Holloman AFB, N.M. to train as high altitude balloon pilots. Fulgham and Kaufman were trained by Capt. Joseph W. Kittinger, Jr. (_photo collection of Dan D. Fulgham_)]

=The Mishap.= Just after sunrise on May 21, 1959, following a successful low level training flight east of Holloman AFB over the Sacramento Mountains, Kittinger, the instructor pilot, determined the balloon should be landed in a small field approximately 10 miles northwest of Roswell.[178] This was necessary because of approaching bad weather and the field was the last suitable landing site before overflying the city of Roswell.[179] When the balloon touched down, a higher than normal forward velocity for landing caused the gondola to overturn.[180] The three pilots, Kittinger, Fulgham, and Kaufman, were spilled from the gondola pinning Fulgham’s head between the edge of the gondola and the ground.[181] The impact shattered his helmet and he sustained a head injury.[182] When the three pilots climbed out from under the gondola, Fulgham noticed that his “head seemed to be protruding outward from underneath [his] helmet.”[183] Kittinger also received an injury, a minor facial laceration. The crew of the nearby chase helicopter and personnel in the ground tracking vehicles rushed to the scene.[184] For medical treatment, the pilots were transported by the helicopter to nearby Walker AFB.[185]

When the helicopter landed at Walker AFB, it was met by armed security personnel who sought to verify the purpose of the unannounced arrival.[186] The security personnel escorted the balloon pilots to the hospital.[187] The balloon recovery and communications crew, after retrieving the gondola and balloon, drove to Walker AFB to check on the injured crew and to inform the Balloon Branch at Holloman AFB of the accident.[188]

At the Walker AFB hospital, Fulgham and Kittinger received treatment for their injuries and neither required admission. Meanwhile, the Walker AFB security officials continued to escort the unannounced visitors while verifying their identities.[189] The pilot’s identities and purpose for their visit were confirmed via phone by Colonel Stapp, Aero Medical Laboratory commander at Wright-Patterson AFB (the pilots and Project EXCELSIOR were assigned to this organization).[190]

Kittinger, the EXCELSIOR project officer, wanted to leave the hospital as quickly as possible after he and Fulgham received medical attention.[191] The quick departure was to avoid unwanted scrutiny by Walker AFB flying safety officials.[192] When released by the flight surgeon, the three pilots boarded the chase helicopter and returned to Holloman AFB approximately 100 miles to the west.

[Illustration: Fig. 18. The balloon training missions flown from Holloman AFB, N.M. in May 1959, were made in an open gondola suspended beneath a 30-foot diameter polyethylene balloon. This photo was taken on May 21, 1959 by Balloon Branch communications technician, A2C Ole Jorgeson just prior to the mishap which resulted in injuries to two of the pilots. (_photo collection of Ole Jorgeson_)]

2.4

Comparison of the Hospital Account to the Balloon Mishap

The balloon mishap near Roswell on May 21, 1959 provides the probable explanation for some of the remaining elements of the incident profile—the redheaded captain, the unusual security at the hospital, the wreckage in the rear of an ambulance, and one portion of the accounts of “aliens” at the Roswell AAF hospital.

The “Redheaded Captain”

It is highly probable that the descriptions of a redheaded captain are those of Capt. Joseph W. Kittinger, Jr., now a retired Colonel. Kittinger, who has red hair, was present at the Walker AFB hospital the entire time the events involving the balloon mishap took place. This is the second Roswell account that describes a captain with red hair. As related in Section One of this report (see page 77 and Appendix C, page 194), a redheaded captain was also allegedly present at the “crashed saucer” site on the San Agustin Plains.[193] That account was consistent with Kittinger’s responsibilities as the EXCELSIOR and STARGAZER pilot and project officer. As project officer of two research programs that utilized high altitude balloons and as a chase pilot on many other high altitude balloon missions, Kittinger often accompanied balloon launch and recovery crews. He was present both on the ground and in the air at balloon launch and recovery locations throughout New Mexico and the Southwest United States to launch and retrieve anthropomorphic dummies used for Project EXCELSIOR and unmanned test gondolas used for Project STARGAZER.[194]

Following the accident, when the balloon pilots were transported to the Walker AFB hospital for medical treatment, Kittinger wanted to leave as soon as possible.[195] He recalled in a recent interview that his desire to quickly leave Walker AFB was to avoid the initiation of a formal accident investigation. He believed that an accident investigation might bring unwanted scrutiny to Project EXCELSIOR and delay or even cancel the controversial project.[196] The controversy surrounding Project EXCELSIOR was due principally to the hazardous nature of the high altitude escape research. Some senior research and development officials within the Air Force were reluctant to support a project that required a human subject to parachute from a balloon gondola at over 100,000 feet. An accident investigation at this juncture would most likely delay the human high altitude free-fall tests scheduled for the fall of 1959 and may have resulted in cancellation of the project.[197]

While at the hospital, Kittinger consulted by phone with his commander, Colonel Stapp.[198] Stapp agreed with Kittinger’s assessment that a quick departure from the Walker AFB hospital, after receiving appropriate medical attention, was in the best interest of the project.[199]

The statements attributed to the redheaded captain, “You did not see anything. There was no crash here. You don’t go into town making any rumors that you saw anything or that there was any crash,”[200] were consistent with Kittinger’s desire to avoid an accident investigation. However, when interviewed for this report, neither Kittinger nor any of the other persons documented as having been present in the hospital that day recalled encountering Dennis.[201]

What may have led an uninformed person, such as Dennis, to believe they were witnessing, or were told of, an unusual or classified event, was that when the injured balloon pilots arrived at the Walker AFB hospital, even though Project EXCELSIOR was unclassified, Kittinger sought to limit disclosure of negative information and publicity.[202]

By 1959, having been the subject of intense media scrutiny following his June 1957 MAN HIGH I high altitude balloon flight, Kittinger was aware of both the positive and negative aspects of publicity. In his 1961 book, _The Long, Lonely Leap_, Kittinger described this self-imposed secrecy regarding Project EXCELSIOR, “The secrecy imposed upon EXCELSIOR was of our own choosing. We believed ... that any unnecessary conversation about our activities ... would simply be premature.”[203] When interviewed for this report, Kittinger further explained of Project EXCELSIOR and the visit to the hospital at Walker AFB: “We didn’t want publicity ... about anything we were doing. So it would have appeared to someone not conversant with the project that we were ‘hush-hush,’ that we were secretive ... it might look like we were trying to cover up a classified mission.”[204]

The allegations that the redheaded captain, an apparent reference to Kittinger, threatened anyone while he was at the Walker AFB hospital are untrue. When interviewed for this report and in signed statements obtained from Kittinger, the two other balloon pilots, the doctor who treated them, the medic aboard the helicopter, and the Balloon Branch communications technician who were present at the hospital that day (see Appendix B), none of them recalled that Kittinger was involved in an altercation or made threatening remarks to anyone.[205] Involvement in an altercation with a civilian would have highlighted the presence of the balloon crew and possibly brought the type of negative publicity Kittinger sought to avoid. This would not only have violated Kittinger’s policy of maintaining a low profile in regard to EXCELSIOR, but would be completely out of character for the seasoned test pilot.

Throughout his career, Kittinger was renowned for his ability to maintain his composure in difficult, often life threatening, situations. He faced these situations as a test pilot, as a combat pilot and squadron commander in Southeast Asia, and as a Prisoner of War while subjected to severe torture at the hands of the North Vietnamese. In _The Pre-Astronauts_, which chronicles many of Kittinger’s accomplishments in the field of aeronautics, including Project EXCELSIOR and STARGAZER, the author offered the following description of him:

_Kittinger was not Buck Rogers, nor was he a daredevil or thrill-seeker. He was a modern day test pilot: intense, focused, usually quiet, and always polite with firm religious convictions and a powerful sense of loyalty. If he was often stubborn, uncompromising, and demanding he also dealt fairly and respectfully with those who came into contact with him. He was a straight arrow and a straight shooter._[206]

[Illustration: Fig. 19. Maj. Joseph W. Kittinger, Jr. in 1963 as a member of the 1st Air Commando Wing, Ben Hoa, Republic of Vietnam. (_U.S. Air Force photo_)]

Colonel Joseph W. Kittinger, Jr., USAF (Ret)

Colonel Joseph W. Kittinger, Jr.’s career in the U.S. Air Force and in aviation has spanned the spectrum of experiences: test pilot, balloon pilot, test parachutist, combat fighter pilot, MiG killer, combat squadron commander, and prisoner of war. He has demonstrated, during a nearly 30-year military career and beyond, that he is among the very best in the U.S. Air Force and the field of aeronautics.

Kittinger began his career in 1949 as a U.S. Air Force aviation cadet. After earning his wings at Las Vegas AFB, Nev. in March 1950, he was assigned to fighter squadrons in Germany and then as a test pilot for NATO. In 1953, Kittinger received an assignment as a test pilot to Holloman AFB, N.M. While at Holloman, he began a many year collaboration with the legendary Air Force scientist and physician, Col. John P. Stapp. In association with Stapp on numerous aero medical projects, Kittinger became the first pilot to fly zero-gravity experiments, now commonly used for astronaut training. For project MAN HIGH on June 2, 1957, Kittinger piloted a high altitude balloon to 96,000 feet to examine the physiological and psychological effects on man in a space equivalent environment. This flight marked the origins of the manned U.S. space program with the experience gained from MAN HIGH being incorporated in NASA’s Project MERCURY.

After MAN HIGH, and again in association with Stapp, Kittinger directed Project EXCELSIOR, a study of human free-fall characteristics following aircraft escape at extremely high altitudes. After extensive testing with anthropomorphic dummies, Kittinger made three parachute jumps from high altitude balloons: 76,400 feet on November 16, 1959; 74,700 feet on December 11, 1959; and 102,800 feet on August 16, 1960. For these courageous scientific achievements Kittinger was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Harmon Trophy by President Eisenhower, the still-standing world records for highest parachute jump and length of a free-fall—and the distinction of being the only living person to exceed the speed of sound without an aircraft or spacecraft!

With the completion of EXCELSIOR, Kittinger became the pilot, project officer, and project engineer for STARGAZER, an astronomical observation experiment. This was the third and final Air Force manned high altitude balloon project, Kittinger had flown in all three.

In 1963, he was assigned to the Air Commandos (now Special Operations) and flew two combat tours in Southeast Asia in B-26 and A-26 aircraft. After a tour in Germany as a liaison officer with the U.S. Army Special Forces, Kittinger returned to Southeast Asia in 1971, flying F-4 aircraft and commanding the famous 555th “Triple Nickel” Tactical Fighter Squadron at Udorn AB, Thailand. On March 1, 1972 Kittinger engaged and destroyed a MiG-21 over North Vietnam and is credited with an aerial victory. On May 11, 1972, after 483 combat missions and more than 1,000 combat flying hours, Kittinger was shot down over Hanoi and spent 11 months as a POW in the infamous “Hanoi Hilton.” When placed with other POWs following solitary confinement and severe torture, Kittinger was moved repeatedly by his North Vietnamese captors due to his effectiveness in motivating other prisoners to maintain strong resistance postures.

Kittinger retired from the Air Force in 1978 and became involved in both sport aircraft flying and gas ballooning. He operated Rosie O’Grady’s Flying Circus in his hometown of Orlando, Fla., performing skywriting, banner towing, and hot air and helium balloon demonstrations at nearby Walt Disney World. He also captured the coveted Gordon Bennett Gas Balloon Championship an unprecedented four times (three consecutive), entitling him to retire the trophy.

In September 1984, Kittinger made history again, when, in the tradition of Lindbergh, he became the first person to make a solo crossing of the Atlantic Ocean by balloon.

Kittinger’s military decorations include the Silver Star with one oak leaf cluster, Legion of Merit with one oak leaf cluster, Distinguished Flying Cross with five oak leaf clusters, Bronze Star Medal with “V” device and two oak leaf clusters, Air Medal with 23 oak leaf clusters, Purple Heart with one oak leaf cluster, POW medal, and the Republic of Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm.

Kittinger’s indomitable spirit, personal courage and dedication to duty are legendary. His ability to achieve seemingly unattainable objectives while earning the respect and absolute loyalty of those who served with him defines this rare breed of warrior-leader.

In October 1995, he received yet another honor and was named a recipient of the prestigious “Elder Statesman of Aviation” award by the National Aeronautics Association. This honor is bestowed upon an individual who over a period of years, has made “significant contributions to aeronautics” and for “reflecting credit upon himself and America.” Without a doubt, there are few that exemplify these virtues more than this truly distinctive American, Joseph W. Kittinger, Jr.

The “Wreckage” in the Rear of the Ambulance

The various types of wreckage described in the rear of an ambulance at the Walker AFB hospital also appear to be related to the 1959 balloon accident. Some of this wreckage allegedly had odd inscriptions, touted by UFO theorists as “alien” hieroglyphics.

A requirement of balloon pilot training missions were that they be closely monitored by balloon recovery and medical personnel.[207] Ground crews from Holloman AFB followed the balloon flight from its launch site there to its landing site 10 miles northwest of Roswell.[208] Two of the vehicles that followed the balloon were Dodge M-43 ¾-ton field ambulances and a third was an M-37 ¾-ton utility vehicle or “weapons carrier.”[209] One ambulance was assigned to this mission for its standard use—a medical response vehicle. The other ambulance had been converted by the Holloman AFB Balloon Branch and served as a communications vehicle on balloon recovery missions.[210] The additional communications equipment, mounted in the rear compartment of the ambulance, drastically altered what someone expected to see in an ambulance of this type.

Dennis related that he was walking fast when he observed what he thought was wreckage in the rear of an ambulance.[211] This quick glance apparently resulted in descriptions of two pieces of wreckage leaning against the interior of the rear compartment of the ambulance that “was kind of like the bottom of a canoe ... like stainless steel ... with kind of a bluish-purplish tinge to it.”[212] UFO theorists have suggested that these objects were alien spaceship “escape pods” recovered by the Army Air Forces. However, this appears to be a remarkably accurate description of two steel panels painted Air Force blue on a converted ambulance used by the Balloon Branch for this mission.

[Illustration: Fig. 20. Balloon Branch Communications Technician, A2C Ole Jorgeson, now a retired Master Sergeant, in the rear compartment of an M-43 ambulance. Ambulances of this type were converted by the Balloon Branch to communications vehicles in the late 1950s. It appears the witness described the two panels painted Air Force blue (_lower right and left of ambulance_) as “bluish-purplish” “wreckage” that looked “kinda like the bottom of a canoe” and the stenciled writing above them as “hieroglyphics”—See figs. 21 and 22 on next page. (_photo collection of Ole Jorgeson_)]

[Illustration: Fig. 21. (_Above_) Enlargement of stenciled writing from photograph below. This lettering was apparently later described as “hieroglyphics.”]

[Illustration: Fig. 22. (_Below_) Steel panels painted Air Force blue (_lower right and left_) described as “bluish-purplish” “wreckage” that looked “kinda like the bottom of a canoe.” (_U.S. Air Force photo_)]

The “inscription or something,”[213] the so called “hieroglyphics,” were a probable reference to the lettering painted on the equipment support rack above the panels. The lettering on the rack would be visible, but probably not readable, to an observer that quickly walked past the ambulance. Other wreckage “all over the floor” that was “like broken glass,”[214] was a probable reference to the clear plastic 30-foot polyethylene balloon that was recovered following the balloon training mission and placed in the back of the converted ambulance or the weapons carrier for later disposal.

Dennis also recalled that he parked the vehicle he was driving near three field ambulances and then walked up the ramp into the hospital.[215] The description of ambulances near a “ramp” is consistent with the recollections of the Balloon Branch Communication Technician who drove the converted ambulance to the Walker AFB hospital following the balloon accident. While waiting for the injured pilots, A2C Ole Jorgeson, now a retired Master Sergeant, recalled in a recent interview that he parked the converted ambulance near a ramp at the hospital.[216] A review of Walker AFB hospital records revealed that there was only one ramp. The ramp was attached to the hospital dispensary, Walker AFB Bldg. 317.[217] The other ambulances described by the witness were either the other ambulance from Holloman AFB that provided medical support of the balloon flight or the two “standby” ambulances, that in May 1959, were routinely positioned adjacent to the ramp behind the dispensary at Walker AFB.[218]

[Illustration: Fig. 23. “It was all sharp ... like broken glass,” a witness’ description of debris in the rear of an ambulance at Walker AFB. The debris described was most probably the remnants of the polyethylene balloon, similar to the one in this photo, recovered by Balloon Branch personnel following the mishap in May 1959. (_U.S. Air Force photo_) ]

Additional Security at the Walker AFB Hospital

The witness described what appeared to be a heightened state of security at the hospital when he allegedly took the injured airman there for treatment. UFO theorists contend the heightened security at the hospital was because alien remains were being autopsied. However, it appears that the witness described the security measures taken by Walker AFB personnel due to the unusual circumstances of the arrival of the balloon crew.

In 1959, Walker AFB was a part of the 47th Air Division of Strategic Air Command (SAC). It was home of the 6th Bombardment Wing (6th BW), equipped with the nuclear capable B-52 Stratofortress bomber (the 509th BW was reassigned to Pease AFB, NH on July 1, 1958).[219] The mission of the 6th BW, to strike the enemy with nuclear weapons anywhere in the world at a moment’s notice, demanded a heightened state of security at all times. One of the methods instituted during this period to maintain the high standards of security and effectiveness of SAC units, was unannounced “surprise” visits of Headquarters SAC inspection teams. A favored method of transportation for these surprise visits was a helicopter. When a SAC inspection team landed at a base, often the first evaluation they made was of the security response to their unannounced arrival. Failure of security personnel to properly challenge unidentified visitors, regardless of their method of arrival, was considered a serious breach of security.

When transported to Walker AFB for medical treatment, unexpected and at an early hour, the balloon crew, not surprisingly, was met by armed security personnel.[220] The security personnel escorted them to the hospital and remained with them until their identities and purpose of their visit were verified. Kaufman, one of the balloon pilots, recalled that their presence at Walker AFB was initially met with skepticism.

“The [helicopter] pilot called the tower and said ... having come from an experimental base, it was nothing unusual for him to have a balloon accident. ‘We’ve got an injured pilot on board. There’s been a balloon accident and we would like the flight surgeon and an ambulance to meet us at the tower.’ The tower established the fact that yes, we were an Air Force chopper and that we seemed to have somebody injured and what had we been doing? We had been shooting touch and go landings in a balloon?... We got clearance to land ... right in front of the tower, and we were met by an ambulance and several MPs with machine guns.”[221]

[Illustration: Fig. 24. Walker AFB Building 317, hospital dispensary with attached ramp, as it appeared in June 1954. It is in this building that UFO theorists allege that “alien autopsies” were accomplished in July 1947. However, this was the same building that Capt. Fulgham received treatment following the balloon accident on May 21, 1959. Persons apparently observed him and later related the unusual circumstances surrounding the balloon mishap as part of the “Roswell Incident.” (_U.S. Air Force photo_)]

[Illustration: Fig. 25. Main gate at Walker AFB, N.M., formerly Roswell AAF, as it appeared in 1954. During the 1950s, the highly secure base was the home of the nuclear capable 509th and 6th Bombardment Wings of Strategic Air Command. (_U.S. Air Force photo_)]

According to the medical technician who arrived on the helicopter with the pilots, he had difficulty persuading a flight surgeon to attend to the injured pilots. SSgt. Roland H. “Hap” Lutz, now a retired Chief Master Sergeant, recalled when he first contacted the Walker AFB hospital explaining that he had three persons injured in a “gondola accident,” the flight surgeon told him to “Go home and sleep it off.”[222] Fulgham, the injured pilot, recalled that when they got to the hospital, “there was this controversy going on in the hospital about who in the hell we were ... we weren’t supposed to be there and nobody knew anything about Air Force officers flying balloons ... we could have been ... [trying] to penetrate the security.”[223] Walker AFB security officials were satisfied of the pilots’ identities when they spoke to Colonel Stapp, commander of the Aero Medical Laboratory at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio.

[Illustration: Fig. 26. Capt. Joseph W. Kittinger, Jr. (_right_), is shown here in 1962 with Dr. J. Allen Hynek while preparing for the project STARGAZER high altitude balloon flight. (_U.S. Air Force photo_)]

The “Red-headed Captain” and Dr. J. Allen Hynek

Captain Kittinger, the STARGAZER high altitude balloon pilot and project engineer, had extensive professional contact with Dr. J. Allen Hynek, an astronomer and STARGAZER project scientist. Additionally, Hynek was also one of the scientific consultants in the Air Force study of UFOs, Project BLUEBOOK. Hynek is best known, however, for his apparent endorsement of extraterrestrial theories concerning UFOs after concluding his associations with the Air Force.

When asked about his recollections of Hynek, Kittinger stated that when they were associated, from 1958 to 1963, they discussed UFOs at length.[224] At that time, Hynek was steadfast in his opinion that most, if not all, UFO sightings could be resolved by applying known scientific analysis.[225] Kittinger said he was “flabbergasted” when, years later, Hynek appeared to reverse his opinion and endorse extraterrestrial explanations.[226] Hynek’s reversal in philosophies led to numerous commercial endeavors, most notably as a technical advisor for the science-fiction film _Close Encounters of the Third Kind_.

Also, based on his experience with project STARGAZER, Hynek was familiar with balloon operations at Holloman AFB, visiting the Holloman Balloon Branch several times.[227] Interestingly, there is no record that Hynek, who died in 1986, ever endorsed what is now presented as the “best evidence” of UFOs, the so-called Roswell Incident, which was actually a conglomeration of numerous events, some with origins in Holloman AFB launched balloons.

The Alien at the Hospital

In at least one account of the Roswell Incident, a witness claimed he observed a “creature” walk under its own power into the hospital.[228] While the specifics of this particular sighting cannot be verified, the injury that caused Fulgham’s head to swell, resembling the classic science-fiction alien head, makes this account (and some others) that at first appeared to be the work of over-active imaginations, seem possible.

[Illustration: Fig. 27. Clinical Record Cover Sheet from medical records of Capt. Dan D. Fulgham describing injuries he received in the balloon accident on May 21, 1959.

CLINICAL RECORD COVER SHEET 8511

1. ADMISSION NOTES 1045 hrs A or N: No

2. WARD 1

3. TYPE OF CASE IRJ

4. LAST NAME—FIRST NAME—MIDDLE INITIAL FULGHAM Dan D

5. SEX M

6. Religion P

7. PREV. ADM. NO

8. REGISTER NO. 16059

9. SERVICE NO. 44734A

10. GRADE Capt

11. RATING OR DESIG. Sr Pilot

12. DEPARTMENT Air Force

13. ORGANIZATION AND BRANCH OF SERVICE ARDC Wright Patterson(a)

14. FLYING STATUS Yes

15. NAME AND ADDRESS OF EMERGENCY ADDRESSEE Joyce Fulgham (W) 5540 Gross Drive Dayton Ohio

16. AGE 31

17. RACE Cau

18. LENGTH OF SERVICE 12 yrs

19. DATE OF ADMISSION 12 May 59

20. SOURCE OF ADMISSION From duty

21. ADMITTING OFFICER L. E. Eason Capt USAF MC

22. CONTINUATION OF ITEMS 12 AND 20. (a) AFB, Ohio

23. DIAGNOSES 8715 Hematoma, traumatic, n.e.c. forehead LD: Pending AF Form 348

AI: Approximately 0600 hours, 21 May 1959, North of Roswell, New Mexico, patient states he was taking part in a military project involving balloon testing. When he and two others landed in the balloon the “gondola” upset, and hit him in the head causing injury.

24. OPERATIONS AND SPECIAL THERAPEUTIC PROCEDURES None

25. SELECTED ADMINISTRATIVE DATA None

26. PHYSICAL PROFILE

27. DATE DURATION THIS FACILITY

ALL 3 IN HOSPITAL OR INFIRMARY 3

28. NATURE OF DISPOSITION Duty

29. DATE OF DISPOSITION 24 May 59

30. SIGNATURE OF ATTENDING PHYSICIAN LESLIE E EASON CAPT USAF HC

31. SIGNATURE OF REGISTRAR OR RECORDS OFFICER ROLAND E DOZOIS CWD W-3 USAF

32. NAME AND LOCATION OF MEDICAL TREATMENT FACILITY 6580TH USAF HOSPITAL HOLLOMAN AFB NM

33. REGISTER NUMBER 16059 ]

When the balloon gondola struck Fulgham’s head, he received, according to his clinical record from May 21, 1959, an “Extensive hematoma forehead and ant [anterior] scalp.”[229] A hematoma is a localized blood-filled swelling, that in this instance was on the forehead. The hematoma resulted in immediate facial swelling, two black eyes and later caused his skin to turn yellow.[230]

The rapid onset of the swelling caused both of Fulgham’s eyes to close. As it progressed, according to Kittinger who accompanied Fulgham at the hospital, “His whole face had swollen up and his nose barely protruded.”[231] This appearance lead Kittinger to characterize Fulgham’s appearance at the time as “just a big blob” and “grotesque.”[232]

When interviewed, Fulgham remembered that even though he didn’t feel bad, “I didn’t know how bad I looked.” There was no attempt to hide or limit Fulgham’s exposure to persons in the hospital that day. In fact, when he arrived at the hospital Fulgham recalled that he stopped outside the building to smoke a cigarette. Kaufman also recalled that the injured pilots, Fulgham and Kittinger, waited for treatment on a bench in the hallway of the hospital. Kaufman added that a number of military wives were present in the hospital that day for prenatal care, and there was no effort to keep Fulgham from their view.[233]

[Illustration: Fig 28. Capt. Dan D. Fulgham at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio several days after the balloon accident with a “traumatic hematoma” on his forehead. This photo shows Fulgham after blood had been aspirated from under his scalp and a substantial amount of swelling had dissipated. Concerns that Fulgham’s odd appearance might startle uninformed persons was why he was returned to Wright-Patterson AFB aboard a specially arranged flight from Holloman AFB, N.M. (_photo collection of Dan D. Fulgham_)]

=“Bodies” with Large Heads and Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio=

UFO theorists contend that the U.S. Army Air Forces secretly shipped the alien bodies with large heads to Wright-Patterson AFB for further processing and deep-freeze storage. However, it is likely that, in this account, this is a reference to Fulgham’s return to Wright-Patterson AFB following the balloon mishap.

Although Fulgham did not require hospitalization at Walker AFB, upon his return to Holloman AFB he was admitted to the base hospital for observation. Three days later on May 24, 1959, the balloon pilots were flown from Holloman to Wright-Patterson AFB on a specially arranged flight aboard a C-131 hospital aircraft.[234]

The return to Wright-Patterson AFB was directed by Stapp and coordinated by Kittinger.[235] The preliminary arrangements for this flight were made by Kittinger while at the Walker AFB hospital.[236] Kittinger recalled that conversations with Stapp regarding their return to Wright-Patterson AFB were made by phone in busy areas of the hospital and these conversations could have been overheard by nearly anyone present.[237]

Upon their arrival at Wright-Patterson, Fulgham, who Kittinger did not want to transport on a commercial flight due to his odd appearance, still could not open his eyes and had to be led down the steps of the aircraft. Kittinger recalled that Fulgham’s wife was waiting at the bottom of the aircraft steps when they arrived.

“They dropped the ramp and I looked down at the bottom and there was Dan Fulgham’s wife,” Kittinger said. “Dan couldn’t see ... so I grabbed him by the arm ... Dan’s wife sees me leading this blob down the staircase ... and she looks right at me and says, ‘Where’s my husband?’ I said, ‘Ma’am, this is your husband’. I presented her this blob that I was leading down the ramp. And she let out this scream you could hear a mile away. He was such a horrendous looking thing that she had no idea that the thing I was leading down that ramp was her husband.”[238]

[Illustration: Fig. 29. As a physiologist for the space program, Fulgham (_third from left_) discusses Project GEMINI emergency escape systems at the U.S. Navy Aerospace Recovery facility at El Centro, Calif. on January 28, 1965. Shown with Fulgham (_from left_) are NASA astronaut Jim Lovell, NASA project engineer Hilary Ray, and NASA astronaut Alan Bean. (_U.S. Navy photo_)]

[Illustration: Fig. 30. A veteran of 100 combat missions during the Korean conflict, Fulgham flew 133 combat missions in F-4 aircraft (shown here) in 1966–67 as a member of the 555th “Triple Nickel” Tactical Fighter Squadron at Ubon Air Base, Thailand. (_photo collection of Dan D. Fulgham_)]

Fulgham recalled that upon his return to work at the Aero Medical Laboratory he received reactions of “immediate compassionate sympathy” from persons he encountered, including his secretary, who cried when she saw him.[239] Within several weeks, Fulgham returned to flying status with no permanent effects. Fulgham went on to complete a distinguished career in the Air Force and retired as a colonel in 1978. Fulgham’s assignments included combat tours in fighter aircraft in both Korea and Vietnam, as well as an assignment as an experimental parachutist and physiologist for the space program.

Summary

In this section, documented research revealed that the reports of “bodies” at the Roswell AAF hospital were grossly inaccurate and most probably had origins in actual Air Force mishaps. Examinations of official records of the alleged primary witnesses revealed that the “missing nurse” was never missing, and the pediatrician did not arrive at the Walker AFB hospital until 1951—four years _after_ the alleged incident. The many fundamental errors in the story, combined with the substantial similarities to the actual mishaps, show that the most credible account associated with the “Roswell Incident” is certainly not extraterrestrial and is unrelated to any events that occurred in July 1947.

Conclusion

When critically examined, the claims that the U.S. Army Air Forces recovered a flying saucer and alien crew in 1947, were found to be a compilation of many verifiable events. For the most part, the descriptions collected by UFO theorists were of actual operations and tests carried out by the U.S. Air Force in the 1950s. Despite the usual unsavory accusations by UFO proponents of cover-up, conspiracy, intimidation, etc., documented research revealed that many of the

## activities were actually historic scientific achievements of which the

Air Force is very proud. However, other descriptions are believed to be distorted references to Air Force members who were killed or injured in the line of duty. The incomplete and inaccurate intermingling of these actual events were grounded in just enough fact to weave a sensational story, but cannot withstand close scrutiny when compared to official records.

To analyze reports of alien bodies that at first appeared to be so offbeat as to not be remotely based in fact, it was necessary to evaluate a wide range of books, interviews, videos, etc., that a less objective review might have rejected out of hand. Only through an inclusive evaluation of these sources were Air Force researchers able to understand the interconnectivity of the widely separated events believed responsible for this “incident.” And, in opposition to critics who believe Air Force research involving this subject is anything but objective, this research relied almost exclusively on the descriptions _=provided by the UFO proponents themselves=_. When collected and examined, the actual statements of the witnesses—not the extraterrestrial interpretations of UFO proponents—indicated that something was very wrong. When these descriptions were compared to documented Air Force activities, they were much too similar to be a coincidence. Soon, it became apparent that the witnesses or the UFO proponents who liberally interpreted their statements were either 1) confused, or 2) attempting to perpetrate a hoax, believing that no serious efforts would ever be taken to verify their stories.

In preparing this report, attempts were made not to only explain _what_ conclusions were reached, but _how_ they were reached. This undertaking was to try to de-mystify the research process by outlining the simple and logical research techniques that identified the underlying actual events. In regard to statements of witnesses that were clearly descriptions of Air Force activities, such as those that described anthropomorphic dummies, these could be generously viewed as situational misunderstandings or even honest mistakes. Other descriptions, particularly those believed to be thinly veiled references to deceased or injured Air Force members, are difficult to view as naive misunderstandings. Any attempt to misrepresent or capitalize on tragic incidents in which Air Force members died or were injured in service to their country significantly alters what would otherwise be viewed as simple misinterpretations or honest mistakes.

[Illustration: Fig. 31. Plaque placed at Holloman AFB honoring three Balloon Branch members killed during a high altitude balloon recovery when their L-20 balloon chase plane crashed in the rugged Gila Mountains near Stafford, Ariz. (_U.S. Air Force photo_)

IN MEMORIAM

WIRED P. CHAMPLAIN, 1ST LT. U.S.A.F. RONALD J. NIELSEN, AIRMAN 1/C

U.S.A.F.

ROBERT W. MITCHELL

WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES IN THE RECOVERY OF INSTRUMENTS FROM THE STRATOSPHERE 25 AUGUST 1955]

[Illustration: Fig. 32. (_Left_) The balloon launch facility at Holloman AFB, N.M. was named in honor of Maj. Richard L. Nenninger who died of injuries received in an aircraft crash during a balloon recovery mission on April 7, 1970 in the Sacramento Mountains near Ruidoso, N.M. (_U.S. Air Force photo_)]

[Illustration: Fig. 33. (_Right_) A semiconscious Capt. Joseph W. Kittinger, Jr., following the EXCELSIOR I parachute jump from 76,000 feet. With his parachute wrapped around his neck and body and hopelessly out of control, his life was saved by an ingeniously designed reserve parachute system that opened just moments before contacting the desert floor; White Sands Proving Ground, November 16, 1959. (_U.S. Air Force photo_)]

Finally, after reviewing this report, some persons may legitimately ask why the Air Force expended time and effort to respond to mythical, if not comedic, allegations of recoveries of “flying saucers” and “space aliens.” The answer to those persons is:

• Initially the Air Force was required to respond to an official request from the General Accounting Office.

• High altitude balloon research, aircraft escape systems, and other technologies that were misrepresented as part of the Roswell Incident, accounted for significant contributions to the knowledge of the atmosphere, to the quest for space flight, and to the defense of this nation. The U.S. Air Force is exceedingly proud of these accomplishments. Distorted and incomplete descriptions of these activities do not pay tribute to these important exploits or to the individuals who, often at great personal risk, boldly carried them out.

• A sobering reality of the mission of the U.S. Air Force, as evidenced by the aircraft mishaps described in this report, is that defending this nation is a dangerous profession. On a daily basis, members of the U.S. Air Force perform hazardous missions in many locations throughout the world. Unfortunately, these missions sometimes result in injuries or deaths. It is the right—and indeed the duty—of the Air Force to challenge those who attempt to exploit these human tragedies wherever, and whenever, they are discovered.

• The misrepresentations of Air Force activities as an extraterrestrial “incident” is misleading to the public and is simply an affront to the truth.

This comprehensive further examination of the so-called “Roswell Incident” found no evidence whatsoever of flying saucers, space aliens, or sinister government cover-ups. But, even if unintentionally, it did serve to highlight a series of events that embody the proud history of the finest air force in the world—the U.S. Air Force. The actual events examined here, rich in human and scientific triumph, tempered by the stark realities of the dangers of the Air Force mission, are but one small portion of that history. The many Air Force activities cobbled together in the ever changing collage that has become the “Roswell Incident,” when examined in the clear light of historical research, revealed a remarkable chapter of the Air Force story. In the final analysis, this examination simply illustrates once again, that fact is indeed stranger, and often much more fascinating, than fiction.

Notes - Section One

[1] 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), 20–22.

[2] ibid.

[3] Don Berliner and Stanton T. Friedman, _Crash at Corona_ (New York: Paragon House, 1992), 14.

[4] 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), 20–22.

[5] Ted Bloecher, _Report of the UFO Wave of 1947_ (Washington D.C.: author, 1967), I-13-14.

[6] Combined History, 509th Bomb Group and Roswell Army Airfield, 1 July-31 July 1947, 39, Air Force Historical Research Agency, Maxwell AFB, AL.

[7] _Roswell Daily Record_, July 9, 1947, 1.

[8] _Socorro_ (N.M.) _Defensor Chieftain_, November 4, 1992.

[9] Don Berliner, _A Rebuttal of the Air Force Project Mogul Explanation for the 1947 Roswell, New Mexico, UFO Crash_ (Mount Ranier, Md.: The Fund for UFO Research, 1995), 2.

[10] 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), Attachment 32, _Synopsis of Balloon Research Findings_, by 1st Lt. James McAndrew, 9.

[11] Don Berliner and Stanton T. Friedman, _Crash at Corona_ (New York: Paragon House, 1992), 14.

[12] Video, _Recollections of Roswell, Part II_, Gerald Anderson interview (Washington, D.C.: Fund for UFO Research, 1993) (hereafter _Recollections of Roswell, Part II_).

[13] James Ragsdale, transcript of interview with Donald R. Schmitt, January 26, 1994.

[14] Frank J. Kaufman, interview with Kevin Randle and Donald Schmitt, January 27, 1990.

[15] _Recollections of Roswell, Part II_, Maltais interview.

[16] ibid., Anderson interview.

[17] ibid.

[18] ibid., Maltais interview.

[19] _Recollections of Roswell, Part II_, Anderson interview.

[20] Charles Berlitz and William L. Moore, _The Roswell Incident_ (New York: Berkley, 1980), 61.

[21] ibid.

[22] _Recollections of Roswell, Part II_, Alice Knight interview.

[23] Ragsdale and _Recollections of Roswell, Part II_, Anderson interview.

[24] ibid.

[25] _Recollections of Roswell, Part II_, Anderson interview.

[26] Ragsdale.

[27] James M. Grimwood, _Project Mercury: A Chronology_, Report No. SP4001 (Wash. D.C.: NASA, 1963) 2–3, and Lloyd Mallan, _Men, Rockets and Space Rats_, (New York: Julian Messier Inc., 1955) 84–98.

[28] Research Division, College of Engineering, New York University, _Technical Report No. 93.02, Constant Level Balloons_, Section 3, _Summary of Flights_, July 15, 1949.

[29] Capt. Vincent Mazza and Capt. Richard V. Wheeler, _High Altitude Bailouts_, MCREXD-695-66M (Wright-Patterson AFB, OH: USAF Air Materiel Command, September 18, 1950), 10–11.

[30] A. M. Jacobs, “The Flier’s SOS,” _St. Nicholas Magazine_, Vol. LII, No. 10 (August 1925), 1034–1039.

[31] ibid.

[32] Memo, Major H.H. Arnold, Chief Field Service Section, to Commanding Officer, San Antonio Air Depot, subj: Drop Testing of Parachutes, November 2, 1929. National Air and Space Museum Archives, Paul E. Garber Facility, Silver Hill, Md., file no. 452.031, Parachutes-(Dummies) 1927–1929.

[33] J. Allen Neal, _History: Development of Methods for Escape from High Speed Aircraft, Vol. 1_, (Wright-Patterson AFB, OH: Air Research and Development Command, 1958), U.S. Air Force Museum Archives, Wright-Patterson AFB, OH.

[34] Memo, Ted Smith, to W.A. Daler, subj: Bid for Purchase Request No. 301200, September 17, 1954, National Archives and Records Administration, Accession No. 342-67E-2954, box 5/15, file 28.

[35] H.T.E. Hertzberg, _Anthropology of Anthropomorphic Dummies_, Air Force Medical Research Laboratory, AMRL-TR-69-61, February 1970, 3.

[36] Maj. John P. Stapp, _Human Tolerance to Linear Deceleration,