Roswell Incident - The UFO Crash of 1947Roswell, New Mexico is the scene for what is probably the most famous UFO Incident, involving the recovery of materials from a crashed UFO.
The event which is now referred to as the Roswell Incident, has since become the subject of intense speculation, rumour, questioning and research. The US military insists that the recovered material was a top-secret research balloon, however, many UFO theorists believe that the wreckage was from a crashed alien spacecraft and that the military covered up its recovery.
History of the Roswell Incident
On the 8th of July 1947, William "Mac" Brazel, foreman of the Foster Ranch, and Dee Proctor found the crash site on the Foster Ranch 75 miles north of Roswell, where they were presented with a field containing vast quantities of what appeared to be tin foil. Some of these foil-like pieces were easily crumpled by hand, and completely recovered their original shape, showing no signs of wrinkling when released (memory metal anyone?), while other pieces could not be deformed or damaged by any means, even when struck with a sledgehammer.
Because of the material's unusual properties, Brazel took pieces of the debris to the authorities in Roswell. Intrigued by the debris, Colonel Blanchard, commanding officer at Roswell Army Air Field, ordered two intelligence officers to investigate. Upon their report, Colonel Blanchard quietly ordered that the ranch area be cordoned off. Within the hour the place was swarming with Army officers, who promptly sealed off the area from all civilians. The place was swept with a fine comb to leave no trace of the wreckage.
Roswell Army Air Field (RAAF) issued a press release stating that personnel from the field's 509th Bomb Group had recovered a crashed "flying disc" from a ranch near Roswell, which sparked intense media interest. During the war, the 509th Bomb Group was tasked with developing and employing a combat delivery system for the Atomic bomb and conducted the attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, in August 1945. Coincidence?.
Later, on that same day, the Commanding General of the Eighth Air Force stated that a weather balloon had been recovered by RAAF personnel, rather than a "flying saucer." A subsequent press conference was called, featuring debris said to be from the crashed object that seemed to confirm the weather balloon description. Public interest faded, and the Roswell incident became a memory, with most people accepting the official story.
Roswell Incident Coverup
It wasn't until 1978 when ufologist Stanton Friedman interviewed Major Jesse Marcel, who was one of the two intelligence officers initially involved with the recovery of the debris, expressed his belief that the military had covered up the recovery of an alien spacecraft. In February 1980, The National Enquirer ran its interview with Marcel, gaining national and worldwide attention for the Roswell incident.
Additional witnesses and reports emerged over the following years. They added significant new details, including claims of a large military operation dedicated to recovering alien craft and aliens themselves, as many as 11 crash sites, and alleged witness intimidation. In 1989, former mortician Glenn Dennis put forth a detailed personal account, wherein he claimed that Roswell alien autopsies were carried out at the Roswell base. Out of the hundreds of witnesses that were interviewed by the various researchers, only a few were found to be true witnesses. The majority were repeating the claims of others.
Roswell UFO Crash and Alien Autopsy
The famous "Alien Autopsy" video is widely believed to show the autopsy of an alien being found in the wreckage of the crashed UFO recovered from Roswell. The video claims to show army medics dissecting an alien at the top-secret Area 51 base. The now infamous Roswell clip was first shown by Brit entrepreneur Ray Santilli who claimed he obtained it from a retired US military cameraman while seeking archive footage of Elvis Presley in the US.
Truth about the Roswell Incident
Sceptics all agree that something crashed near Roswell in 1947, but not an alien craft. Alternative explanations vary from weather balloons to top-secret aircraft and even espionage devices. It is currently believed by some that the wreckage was part of Project Mogul, a top-secret project testing giant, high-flying balloons to detect Soviet nuclear explosions.
Roswell Incident in Popular Culture
From the events surrounding the Roswell crashed UFO and alien autopsy, many television shows and filmmakers have taken inspiration from the stories. The widely recognisable "Grey" alien, or Roswell Greys, have become iconic since their introduction in shows such as the X-Files, Dark Skies which expanded upon the MJ-12 conspiracy, and Stargate SG-1, in which a race of benevolent Greys called Asgard visited ancient Earth. Roger Smith is a regular character on the animated comedy series American Dad! and is a Grey-like alien who is connected to both the Roswell UFO incident and Area 51 conspiracy theories.
