TV series, movies, comic books, and a horde of other media creations have all made the alien a household recognized image. The typical biog head with wrap around eyes and a frail body is the traditional alien appearance and of course let’s not forget it’s flying saucer. Some would say the media skyrocketed the alien phenomena others would say the alien phenomena skyrocketed the media sensation and in truth both statements are right on the money. Of all the media events to capture the world’s attention in regards to aliens and UFOs few have managed to accomplish the level of excitement and accusation that Roswell did back in the summer of 1947.
Our story actually begins on Tuesday the 1st of July. Radars tracked an object flying across the state of New Mexico at amazing speeds and with maneuverability not yet capable of the airplanes of that age. The object zigzagged across the state and officials were baffled as to what this object could really be. On the 2nd the object was sighted over Roswell. Thursday came around and government officials were in full investigation of the situation. On Friday the object seemed to disappear. Radars failed to relocate the mysterious flying device.
On July 5th Grady L. “Barney” Barnett discovered wreckage while participating in an archeological dig with some other people. The owner of the ranch the debris was found on was William “Mac” Brazel. He discovered that the debris covered an area of 3/4 mile and was so densely scattered his sheep refused to use the area to graze. On the 6th of July he went to the sheriff in hopes of figuring the mystery out. The sheriff in turn alerted the military to the situation and from there the story goes into so many directions one would need mapquest just to get out of the parking lot of this intellectual highway of twists and turns.
The military sent Maj. Jess A. Marcel in to investigate the strange findings at Roswell. Originally he reported a flying disc had been recovered. He also collected a few pieces of the debris. After returning home he showed the strange debris that seemed unlike anything he had seen in his work on aircraft and the such, to his family. Later that same evening he was ordered to bring the collected evidence to Fort Worth Texas, and the Corswell air force base. News quickly spread that the US military had recovered an aircraft not of this earth and that it was a flying saucer like the ones seen in sci-fi stories. This caused an uproar that would echo long after the majority of the people involved passed away, and an echo we still hear today. From there the story became the military not only captured a UFO, but it’s crew as well. This was even more of a media sensation and would not be calmed easily regardless of government and military actions.
Shortly after deputy chief of army air forces LT. Gen. Hoyt s. Vandenberg moved in to take over the news coverage of the event. This was highly suspicious and was quickly taken notice of by UFO enthusiasts who had came into Roswell to track UFOs and alien activity. On the 8th air force commander Brig. Gen. Roger Ramey told news media that Marcel and others were mistaken and that a flying disc was not the source of their recovery at Roswell, but a weather balloon was the actual item being recovered. He even allowed news broadcasters to enter the storage area and photograph the debris. Several of the people who had seen what exactly was recovered stated that the debris in the building the media were allowed to enter did not in any way resemble what they had seen on the ranch in Roswell. Statements were made that the US military were now involved in a mass cover up. This even got heavier when in 1978 Marcel made public statements that he was forced to withdraw his original description of the flying apparatus at the discretion of the US air force.
But looking at this side of the story we see a government cover up involving little men and flying disc but if we look at it from another angle we will learn a cover up was in process but not to protect the country from a UFO scare but to protect it from the U.S.S.R. At the time of the mysterious events in Roswell it was thought the U.S.S.R was preparing to test a nuclear warhead. The US having been considered a nemesis to the U.S.S.R for some time feared what the repercussions of such testing could do. It would be difficult, however to detect the explosion by standard means so a device was created to provide that detection. Project Mogul was the name of the highly secretive project and it would detect the test by way of sound. From a distance a series of balloon fitted heavily with audio detection devices would be able to hear the explosion from an area to high to be detected. Military personal failed to accomplish this as a section of Mogul went down just outside of Roswell New Mexico and was recovered but not without incident. This lead officials to speculate that Marcel in a foolish attempt to cover up the secret military spy device, made the comments about flying discs. This also lead some to say the US military had been justified in replacing original debris with shreds of weather balloons which were similar to what was really picked up at the scene. The stories of little grey men were never correlated by military personal and in all truth seemed to be a product of the media’s infatuation with amazing stories.
Years later the government would release the paperwork that detailed project Mogul and all of it’s involvements with the Roswell UFO scare. Sadly of all the books regarding the subject in Roswell the least selling of them was this report. It seemed people were not convinced by the report or any evidence presented that implicated anything but a UFO had been recovered at Roswell.
Shortly after the report was made public a video surfaced that would rock science and UFO investigators to the very core of their existence. The “Alien Autopsy” video was a very odd video in many ways. It served to create a very sharp double edged sword. So much of the video looked to be authentic evidence of alien contact but at the same time it also looked to be a very good work of trickery using special effects and props. The video was made popular by the Fox cable network that made a habit of airing the film several times a month and each time ratings would pour in from both believers and non believers. The video had a very lifelike and according to various witness reports accurate body of an alien typical to the description of what researchers have dubbed the “grey”. The alien was battered and looked fairly familiar to what a human who had been in a car crash or similar wreck may have looked. The people who were conducting the autopsy wore mask to hide their origins and in some cases they spoke like a mortician would. One of the problems supporting the accusation that the video is a hoax is that several of the acting surgeons in the film do not wear gloves. This would be most dangerous as any form of germs, bacteria and other unknown alien diseases could have been contracted. Also in the video the cuts made seem to pour an excessive amount of blood while others pour very little. This seemed a contradiction.
While some parts of the video did point at hoaxing as the culprit others pointed entirely away. I had seen a special on the subject some time back and was taken back when several of Hollywood’s leading effects artist made statements that at that age of film effects the alien autopsy could not have been fabricated as effects would not allow for that much of a lifelike circumstance. The artist went on to explain things like the eyes being removed and the texture of the body itself. It moved as a body would have moved. In a sense it was possibly the greatest effect work of the time or a true video depicting the autopsy of a crash victim not of our earth. The video was a mainstay on Fox until more and more government officials began to speak out about it, making claims that it promoted distrust in the government as well as scientific illiteracy among the country. Fox then retaliated in usual media fashion by airing a special that debunked the alien autopsy film and told how it was faked. This angered a great deal of UFO fanatic and brought smiles to the faces of science once again. Despite Foxes program no proof regarding the video has ever been found to declare it officially a hoax or officially authentic. It remains a stable in the field.
What happened exactly at Roswell? I wish I knew. In reality we still have no clue, even after decades of research and witness accounts. Government documents have done nothing to verify anything completely and UF researchers have accomplished the same feat. Roswell remains a haven for those curious enough to look to the sky hoping to glimpse a UFO or make contact. Shops sell alien related t-shirts and mugs and the book store still carries is mounting volumes of UFO related material, and yes the government report on Project Mogul still collects dust on the shelf while books against it fly off like the UFOs written within their pages do. It always seems the age old statement on evidence is true, especially in regards to the happenings at Roswell. For those who believe no evidence is needed, and for those who do not, none will suffice. Happy Hunting.
