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Title: The Roswell Report: Case Closed

Author: James McAndrew

Release date: November 7, 2020 [eBook #63659]
Most recently updated: October 18, 2024

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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ROSWELL
REPORT: CASE CLOSED ***

The Cover
A solarized image taken from a U.S. Air Force motion picture of
experiments conducted for Project High Dive. This image, unsolarized,
appears on page 34 (Figure 37).

The Roswell Report

Headquarters United States Air Force

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
McAndrew, James, 1963—
The Roswell report: case closed / James McAndrew
p. cm.
Includes index.
1. Unidentified flying objects—Sightings and encounters—New
Mexico—Roswell. I. Title
TL789.5.N6M33 1997
001.942’09789’43—dc21 97-11361
CIP

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing
Office
Washington, D.C. 20402

For sale by the U.S. Government Printing Office
Superintendent of Documents, Mail Stop: SSOP, Washington, DC 20402-
9328
ISBN 0-16-049018-9

Foreword
The “Roswell Incident” has assumed a central place in American
folklore since the events of the 1940s in a remote area of New Mexico.
Because the Air Force was a major player in those events, we have played a
key role in executing the General Accounting Office’s tasking to uncover all
records regarding that incident.
Our objective throughout this inquiry has been simple and
consistent: to find all the facts and bring them to light. If documents were
classified, declassify them; where they were dispersed, bring them into a
single source for public review.
In July 1994, we completed the first step in that effort and later
published The Roswell Report: Fact vs. Fiction in the New Mexico Desert.
This volume represents the necessary follow-on to that first publication and
contains additional material and analysis. I think that with this publication
we have reached our goal of a complete and open explanation of the events
that occurred in the Southwest many years ago.
Beyond that achievement, this inquiry has shed fascinating light into
the Air Force of that era and revitalized our appreciation for the dedication
and accomplishments of the men and women of that time. As we celebrate
the Air Force’s 50th Anniversary, it is appropriate to once again reflect on
the sacrifices made by so many to make ours the finest air and space force
in history.

SHEILA E. WIDNALL
Secretary of the Air Force

Guide For Readers
This publication contains the complete report as submitted to the
Secretary of the Air Force. The exceptions are the statements found in
Appendix B. Due to Privacy Act restrictions and by request, the addresses
of the individuals making these statements have been deleted.
This volume is divided into two sections, eight subsections, eleven
sidebar discussions, and three appendices. Section One examines alleged
events at two locations in rural New Mexico. Section Two examines the
alleged activities at the Roswell Army Airfield Hospital.
Appendix A is a table listing the launch and landing locations of test
equipment for U.S. Air Force scientific research projects High Dive and
Excelsior. Appendix B is a collection of signed sworn statements based on
in-person interviews conducted for this report by U.S. Air Force
researchers. The exception is the statement of Lt. Col. William C. Kaufman,
which was not sworn due to equipment failures at the time of interview.
Appendix C contains transcripts of interviews of alleged witnesses
presented by UFO theorists. The interviews of Gerald Anderson, Alice
Knight, and Vern Maltais were excerpted in their entirety from unedited
interviews used to prepare the video, Recollections of Roswell, Part II
(1993), and appear courtesy of the Fund for UFO Research. The interview
of Mr. W. Glenn Dennis was provided by the interviewer, Karl T. Pflock.
The transcript of the interview of Mr. James Ragsdale was provided by
Kevin Randle, the coauthor of the Truth About the UFO Crash at Roswell
(Avon Books, 1994), in which direct quotes from this transcript appear.
A selected bibliography of technical reports and how to obtain them
are found on page 221. For additional information on this subject, see
Headquarters United States Air Force, The Roswell Report: Fact vs. Fiction
in the New Mexico Desert (Washington D.C.: U.S. Government Printing
Office, 1995).

The Author

CAPTAIN JAMES MCANDREW serves as an Intelligence
Applications Officer assigned to the Secretary of the Air Force
Declassification and Review Team, The Pentagon, Washington, D.C..
Captain McAndrew was the coauthor, with Col. Richard L. Weaver, of The
Roswell Report: Fact vs. Fiction in the New Mexico Desert (1995), the first
Air Force work on the alleged “Roswell Incident.” He participated in the
declassification of the Gulf War Air Power Survey (1993) and has served
special tours of duty with the Drug Enforcement Administration and High
Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Task Force. He holds a BS degree
with honors, from Metropolitan State College, Denver, Colo. and is a native
of Washington, D.C.

Contents
Page

Foreword iii
Guide for Readers v
Introduction 1

SECTION ONE

Flying Saucer Crashes
and Alien Bodies 5
1.1 The “Crash Sites,” Scenarios, and Research Methods 11
1.2 High Altitude Balloon Dummy Drops 23
1.3 High Altitude Balloon Operations 37
1.4 Comparison of Witnesses Accounts to U.S. Air Force Activities 55

SECTION TWO

Reports of Bodies at Roswell
Army Air Field Hospital 75
2.1 The “Missing” Nurse and the Pediatrician 81
2.2 Aircraft Accidents 93
2.3 High Altitude Research Projects 101
2.4 Comparison of the Hospital Account to the Balloon Mishap 109

Conclusion 123

Notes
Section One 127
Section Two 139

APPENDIX A

Anthropomorphic Dummy Launch
and Landing Locations 155

APPENDIX B

Witness Statements
Charles E. Clouthier 160
Charles A. Coltman, Jr., Col., USAF, MC (Ret) 162
Dan D. Fulgham, Col., USAF (Ret) 164
Bernard D. Gildenberg, GS-14 (Ret) 166
Ole Jorgeson, MSgt., USAF (Ret) 169
William C. Kaufman, Lt. Col., USAF (Ret) 171
Joseph W. Kittinger, Jr., Col., USAF (Ret) 174
Roland H. Lutz, CMSgt., USAF (Ret) 178
Raymond A. Madson, Lt. Col. USAF (Ret) 180
Frank B. Nordstrom, M.D. 182

APPENDIX C

Interviews
Gerald Anderson 187
Glenn Dennis 197
Alice Knight 213
Vern Maltais 214
James Ragsdale 215

Selected Bibliography of
Technical Reports 221

Index 225

Tables
SECTION ONE
1.1 Comparison of Testimony to Actual Air Force Equipment and
Procedures Used to Launch and Recover Anthropomorphic
Dummies 69
SECTION TWO
2.1 Persons Described and Periods of Service at Roswell
AAF/Walker AFB 91
2.2 Fatal Air Force Aircraft Accidents by Year in the Vicinity of
Walker AFB—1947–1960 93
2.3 Analysis of Air Force Aircraft Accidents by Year in the Vicinity
of Walker AFB—1947–1960 94
2.4 U.S. Air Force Manned High Altitude Balloon Flights 104

Figures
SECTION ONE
1. The Roswell Report: Fact vs. Fiction In The New Mexico Desert.
2. The International UFO Museum and Research Center, Roswell,
N.M.
3. Drawing of Project Mogul Balloon Train.
4. Maj. Jesse Marcel With “Flying Disc” Debris.
5. ML-307B/AP Radar Target on Ground.
6. ML-307B/AP Radar Target in Flight.
7. “Harassed Rancher Who Located ‘Saucer’ Sorry He Told About
It,” Roswell Daily Record, July 9, 1947.
8. Announcement from November 4, 1992 Socorro (N.M.)
Defensor Chieftain.
9. B.D. “Duke” Gildenberg.
10. Charles B. Moore.
11. Map of New Mexico Depicting “Crash Sites” and “Debris
Field.”
12. Missile Recovery Scene.

13. Drone Recovery Scene.
14. “Sierra Sam” Type Anthropomorphic Dummy.
15. National Transportation Highway Safety Administration
Advertisement Featuring “Vince and Larry.”
16. “Dummy Joe” with J.J. Higgins and Guy Ball, McCook Field,
Ohio, 1920.
17. Rope and Sandbag Parachute Drop Dummy on Ground.
18. Rope and Sandbag Parachute Drop Dummy Descending at
Wright Field, Ohio.
19. Ted Smith Model Anthropomorphic Dummy in Ejection Seat.
20. Anthropomorphic Dummy “Oscar Eightball” at Muroc AAF,
Calif.
21. “Sierra Sam” Anthropomorphic Dummy in Ejection Seat.
22. Alderson Laboratories Anthropomorphic Dummies Hanging in
Laboratory.
23. Project High Dive Dummy Launch.
24. Map of New Mexico Depicting Dummy Landing Locations.
25. Capt. Joseph W. Kittinger, Jr.’s Record Parachute Jump.
26. Article In December 1960 National Geographic Featuring
Project Excelsior.
27. Magazine Covers Depicting U.S. Air Force Aero-Medical
Experiments.
28. M-342 Five-Ton Wrecker.
29. Project High Dive Gondola and “Sierra Sam” Type
Anthropomorphic Dummy.
30. 1st Lts. Raymond A. Madson and Eugene M. Schwartz with
“Sierra Sam” Type Anthropomorphic Dummy.
31. M-35 Two-Ton Cargo Truck.
32. M-37 ¾-Ton Cargo Truck.
33. Lt. Col. John P. Stapp Preparing for Rocket Sled Test.
34. Cover of September 12, 1955 Time Magazine Depicting Lt. Col.
John P. Stapp.
35. Anthropomorphic Dummy with Missing Fingers.

36–38. Anthropomorphic Dummy Falling from Balloon Gondola.
39. Memo from Project High Dive Files.
40. Hanging Anthropomorphic Dummies and Hospital Gurney.
41. Anthropomorphic Dummy in Insulation Bag.
42–43. High Altitude Balloon Dummy Drops Report Covers.
44. Inflation of High Altitude Balloon for Project Viking.
45. Lobby Card from On The Threshold of Space.
46. Promotional Photo From On The Threshold of Space.
47. Promotional Photo From On The Threshold of Space.
48. Relative Sizes of High Altitude Balloon, Airliner, and Hot Air
Balloon.
49. Target Balloon Launch Near Holloman AFB, N.M.
50. Discoverer Nosecone Rigged for High Altitude Balloon Flight.
51. Discoverer Capsule Aboard the USS Haiti Victory.
52. Viking Spaceprobe at Martin Marietta Corp., Denver, Colo.
53. Balloon Launch Of Voyager-Mars Space Probe.
54. Viking Space Probe at Roswell Industrial Airport, Roswell, N.M.
55. Viking Space Probe Awaiting Recovery at White Sands Missile
Range.
56. Drawing of Alleged UFO.
57. “Vee” Balloon at Holloman AFB, N.M.
58. Current Members of the Holloman AFB Balloon Branch.
59. B.D. Gildenberg, Capt. Joseph W. Kittinger, Jr., and Lt. Col.
David G. Simons (MC).
60. Ranch Family with Panel from Project Stargazer.
61. Balloon Recovery Personnel and “The Hermit.”
62. Mule Borrowed for Balloon Payload Recovery.
63. Bulldozer Used for Balloon Payload Recovery.
64. M-43 Ambulance.
65–66. Unusual Balloon Payloads.
67. U.S. Army Communications Payload.

68. Scientific Balloon Payload Flown for The Johns Hopkins
University.
69. Balloon Payload Flown from Holloman AFB, N.M.
70. Project High Dive Anthropomorphic Dummy Launch.
71. Vehicles Present at High Altitude Balloon Launch and Recovery
Sites.
72. Alderson Laboratories Anthropomorphic Dummies.
73. Anthropomorphic Dummies Attached to Rack.
74. Anthropomorphic Dummy with “Bandaged” Head.
75. Anthropomorphic Dummy with Torn Uniform.
76. Promotional Photo From On The Threshold of Space.
77. L-20 Observation Aircraft.
78. C-47 Transport Aircraft.
79. Balloon Crew Preparing Balloon for Launch.
80. Anthropomorphic Dummy Launch Scene.
81. Typical High Altitude Balloon Launch Scene.
82. Map of New Mexico.

SECTION TWO
1. The International UFO Museum and Research Center.
2. Capt. Eileen M. Fanton.
3. “Flying Saucer Swindlers,” True Magazine, August 1956.
4. “The Flying Saucers and the Mysterious Little Green Men,”
True Magazine, September 1952.
5. Col. Lee F. Ferrell and U.S. Senator Dennis Chavez.
6. Lt. Col. Lucille C. Slattery.
7. KC-97 Aircraft.
8. 4036th USAF Hospital, Walker AFB, N.M., 1956.
9. Ballard Funeral Home, Roswell, N.M.
10. Maj. David G. Simons (MC), Otto C. Winzen, and Capt. Joseph
W. Kittinger, Jr.
11. Capt. Joseph W. Kittinger, Jr. in Man High Capsule.

12. Lt. Col. David G. Simons.
13. Bernard D. “Duke” Gildenberg and 1st Lt. Clifton McClure.
14. Capt. Joseph W. Kittinger, Jr. and the Excelsior High altitude
Balloon Gondola.
15. Capt. Joseph W. Kittinger, Jr. and William C. White with
Stargazer Gondola.
16. Capt. Grover Schock and Otto C. Winzen.
17. Capt. Dan D. Fulgham and Capt. William C. Kaufman.
18. Thirty-foot Polyethylene Training Balloon.
19. Maj. Joseph W. Kittinger, Jr. in Vietnam.
20. A2C Ole Jorgeson and M-43 Ambulance Converted to a
Communications Vehicle.
21. Stenciled Letters Described as “Hieroglyphics.”
22. A2C Ole Jorgeson in Rear of M-43 Ambulance.
23. Polyethylene Balloon on Ground After High Altitude Flight.
24. Hospital Dispensary, Building 317, Walker AFB, N.M., 1954.
25. Main Gate at Walker AFB, N.M., 1954.
26. Capt. Joseph W. Kittinger, Jr. and Dr. J. Allen Hynek.
27. Clinical Record Cover Sheet of Capt. Dan D. Fulgham.
28. Capt. Dan D. Fulgham at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio.
29. Maj. Dan D. Fulgham, James Lovell, Hilary Ray, and Alan
Bean.
30. Maj. Dan D. Fulgham at Ubon AB, Thailand.
31. Memorial Plaque at Holloman AFB, N.M.
32. Nenninger Balloon Launch Facility at Holloman AFB, N.M.
33. Capt. Joseph W. Kittinger, Jr. Following Excelsior I.

Introduction
In July 1994, the Office of the Secretary of the Air Force concluded
an exhaustive search for records in response to a General Accounting Office
(GAO) inquiry of an event popularly known as the “Roswell Incident.” The
focus of the GAO probe, initiated at the request of New Mexico
Congressman Steven Schiff, was to determine if the U.S. Air Force, or any
other U.S. government agency, possessed information on the alleged crash
and recovery of an extraterrestrial vehicle and its alien occupants near
Roswell, N.M. in July 1947.
Reports of flying saucers and alien bodies allegedly sighted in the
Roswell area in 1947, have been the subject of intense domestic and
international media attention. This attention has resulted in countless
newspaper and magazine articles, books, a television series, a full-length
motion picture, and even a film purported to be a U.S. government “alien
autopsy.”
The July 1994 Air Force report concluded that the predecessor to the
U.S. Air Force, the U.S. Army Air Forces, did indeed recover material near
Roswell in July 1947. This 1,000-page report methodically explains that
what was recovered by the Army Air Forces was not the remnants of an
extraterrestrial spacecraft and its alien crew, but debris from an Army Air
Forces balloon-borne research project code named Mogul.[1] Records
located describing research carried out under the Mogul project, most of
which were never classified (and publicly available) were collected,
provided to GAO, and published in one volume for ease of access for the
general public.*
* Mogul records which ultimately lead to the identification of the origin of the 1947 claims
of “flying saucer” debris, described balloon research that was never classified. Other Mogul
records, describing military applications of balloon-borne acoustical sensors, were declassified,
along with millions of pages of other unrelated executive branch documents by Executive Order
11652, issued on March 6, 1972 by President Richard M. Nixon.

Although Mogul components clearly accounted for the claims of
“flying saucer” debris recovered in 1947, lingering questions remained
concerning anecdotal accounts that included descriptions of “alien” bodies.
The issue of “bodies” was not discussed extensively in the 1994 report
because there were not any bodies connected with events that occurred in
1947. The extensive Secretary of the Air Force-directed search of Army Air
Forces and U.S. Air Force records from 1947 did not yield information that
even suggested the 1947 “Roswell” events were anything other than the
retrieval of the Mogul equipment.[2]

Fig. 1. The Roswell
Report: Fact vs. Fiction
in the New Mexico
Desert contains, in its
entirety, the report
submitted to the
Secretary of the Air
Force in July 1994. It is
available for sale from
the U.S. Government
Printing Office,
Superintendent of
Documents,
Washington, D.C.,
20402-9328. Stock No.
008-070-00697-9,
ISBN 0-16-048023-X.

Subsequent to the 1994 report, Air Force researchers discovered
information that provided a rational explanation for the alleged observations
of alien bodies associated with the “Roswell Incident.” Pursuant to the
discovery, research efforts compared documented Air Force activities to the
incredible claims of “flying saucers,” “aliens” and seemingly unusual Air
Force involvement. This in-depth examination revealed that these accounts,
in most instances, were of actual Air Force activities but were seriously
flawed in several major areas, most notably: the Air Force operations that

inspired reports of “bodies” (in addition to being earthly in origin) did not
occur in 1947. It appears that UFO proponents have failed to establish the
accurate dates for these “alien” observations (in some instances by more
than a decade) and then erroneously linked them to the actual Project
Mogul debris recovery.
This report discusses the results of this further research and
identifies the likely sources of the claims of “alien” bodies. Contrary to
allegations that the Air Force has engaged in a cover-up and possesses dark
secrets involving the Roswell claims, some of the accounts appear to be
descriptions of unclassified and widely publicized Air Force scientific
achievements. Other descriptions of bodies appear to be descriptions of
actual incidents in which Air Force members were killed or injured in the
line of duty.
The conclusions of the additional research are:
• Air Force activities which occurred over a period of many years
have been consolidated and are now represented to have occurred in
two or three days in July 1947.
• “Aliens” observed in the New Mexico desert were probably
anthropomorphic test dummies that were carried aloft by U.S. Air
Force high altitude balloons for scientific research.
• The “unusual” military activities in the New Mexico desert were
high altitude research balloon launch and recovery operations. The
reports of military units that always seemed to arrive shortly after
the crash of a flying saucer to retrieve the saucer and “crew,” were
actually accurate descriptions of Air Force personnel engaged in
anthropomorphic dummy recovery operations.
• Claims of bodies at the Roswell Army Air Field hospital were most
likely a combination of two separate incidents:
1) a 1956 KC-97 aircraft accident in which 11 Air Force
members lost their lives; and,
2) a 1959 manned balloon mishap in which two Air Force
pilots were injured.

This report is based on thoroughly documented research supported
by official records, technical reports, film footage, photographs, and
interviews with individuals who were involved in these events.

Fig. 2. Roswell, N.M.
(pop. 37,000), boasts
competing “museums”
focusing on the Roswell
Incident, including this
one, The International
UFO Museum and
Research Center.

SECTION ONE

Flying Saucer Crashes
and Alien Bodies
The most puzzling and intriguing element of the complex series of
events now known as the Roswell Incident, are the alleged sightings of
alien bodies. The bodies turned what, for many years, was just another
flying saucer story, into what many UFO proponents claim is the best case
for extraterrestrial visitation of Earth. The importance of bodies and the
assumptions made as to their origin is illustrated in a passage from a
popular Roswell book:
Crashed saucers are one thing, and could well turn out to be
futuristic American or even foreign aircraft or missiles. But alien bodies are
another matter entirely, and hardly subject to misinterpretation.[3]
The 1994 Air Force report determined that project Mogul was
responsible for the 1947 events. Mogul was an experimental attempt to
acoustically detect suspected Soviet nuclear weapon explosions and
ballistic missile launches.[4] Mogul utilized acoustical sensors, radar
reflecting targets and other devices attached to a train of weather balloons
over 600 feet long. Claims that the U.S. Army Air Forces recovered a
“flying disc” in 1947, were based primarily on the lack of identification of
the radar targets, an element of weather equipment used on the long Mogul
balloon train. The oddly constructed radar targets were found by a New
Mexico rancher during the height of the first U.S. flying saucer wave in
1947.[5] The rancher brought the remnants of the balloons and radar targets
to the local sheriff after he allegedly learned of the broadcasted reports of
flying discs. However, following some initial confusion at Roswell Army
Air Field, the “flying disc” was soon identified by Army Air Forces officials
as a standard radar target.[6]

From 1947 until the late 1970s, the Roswell Incident was essentially
a non-story. The reports that existed contain only descriptions of mundane
materials that originated from the Project Mogul balloon train—“tinfoil,
paper, tape, rubber, and sticks.”[7] The first claim of “bodies” appeared in
the late 1970s, with additional claims made during the 1980s and 1990s.
These claims were usually based on anecdotal accounts of second- and
third-hand witnesses collected by UFO proponents as much as 40 years
after the alleged incident. The same anecdotal accounts that referred to
bodies also described massive field operations conducted by the U.S.
military to recover crash debris from a supposed extraterrestrial spaceship.

Fig. 3. An illustration of
a Project Mogul
balloon train similar to
one found on a ranch 75
miles northwest of
Roswell, N.M. in June
1947, which contains
all of the “strange”
materials described as
part of a “flying disc.”
Initial confusion at
Roswell AAF and
delayed identification
of this equipment was
the first in a series of
unrelated events now
known as the “Roswell
Incident.”

TRAIN FOR
CLUSTER FLIGHT
NO. 2
To Be Flown at Bethlehem,
Pennsylvania

A technique used by some UFO authors to collect anecdotal
corroboration for their theories was to solicit cooperating witnesses through
newspaper announcements. For example, one such solicitation appeared in
the Socorro (N.M.) Defensor Chieftain on November 4, 1992, on behalf of
Don Berliner and Stanton T. Friedman, the authors of the book Crash at
Corona. This request solicited persons to provide information about the
supposed crashes of alien spacecraft in the Socorro area.[8]*

* Socorro, N.M. is situated at the northwest boundary of White Sands Missile Range, the
largest military test range in the United States. Since the 1940s, White Sands and the surrounding
areas of New Mexico have been the site of a high volume of military test and evaluation activity,
including the launch and recovery of anthropomorphic dummies carried aloft by high altitude
balloons.

Fig. 4. (left) Maj. Jesse
Marcel, an intelligence
officer from Roswell
Army Air Field, with
the debris found 75
miles northwest of
Roswell in June 1947.
When compared to a
standard radar target
used by project Mogul,
it is clear that they are
the same object.
(Courtesy, Special
Collections Division,
the University of Texas
at Arlington Libraries,
Arlington, Tex.)

Fig. 5 & 6. (Below, left
and right) Constructed
of aluminized paper
glued and taped to a
balsa wood frame,
several ML-307B/AP
radar targets were used
on the Mogul balloon
train to make it visible
to radar. (U.S. Air Force
photos)

Go to transcription of text

In response to the newspaper announcement, two scientists central
to the actual explanation of the “Roswell” events, Professor Charles B.
Moore, a former U.S. Army Air Forces contract engineer, and Bernard D.

Gildenberg, retired Holloman AFB Balloon Branch Fig. 7. This account
Physical Science Administrator and Meteorologist, from the July 9, 1947
Roswell Daily Record,
came forward with pertinent information.[9] According described the materials
to Moore and Gildenberg, when they met with the “tinfoil, paper, rubber,
tape, and sticks” found
authors their explanations that some of the Air Force on the ranch 75 miles
projects they participated in were most likely northwest of Roswell,
responsible for the incident, they were summarily in June 1947.
dismissed. The authors even went so far as to suggest
that these distinguished scientists were participants in a multifaceted
government cover-up to conceal the truth about the Roswell Incident.

Fig. 8. Announcement
from the November 4,
1992 Socorro (N.M.)
Defensor Chieftain
soliciting witnesses of
flying saucer crashes in
New Mexico. When
former Air Force
scientists responded to
advise the authors that
Air Force projects were
most probably
responsible for the UFO
accounts, they were
summarily dismissed by
the authors who placed
the announcement, and
then were accused of
participating in a cover-
Go to transcription of text up.

Fig. 9. (Left) B.D.
“Duke” Gildenberg
served as the civilian
meteorologist, engineer,
and physical science
administrator for the
Holloman AFB Balloon
Branch from 1951–
1981. Gildenberg
actively participated in
thousands of high
altitude balloon
operations, including
the flights that dropped
anthropomorphic
dummies at off-range
locations throughout
New Mexico.
Since many of the Roswell accounts and Gildenberg, the “father”
allegations were collected by irregular methods and are of Air Force scientific
not specifically documented, the series of events as ballooning, was
instrumental in
alleged by UFO theorists has become very complex and identifying the many
requires clarification. Therefore, the following section actual Air Force
will briefly examine some of the more confusing activities now known as
the “Roswell Incident.”
elements of the Roswell stories, specifically, the
multiple crash sites and complex scenarios, in order to Fig. 10. (Right) Charles
facilitate an objective analysis of actual events. B. Moore, Professor
Emeritus of
Atmospheric Physics at
the New Mexico
Institute of Mining and
Technology, was the
project engineer for
New York University
under contract to the
U.S. Army Air Forces
to develop high altitude
balloon technology for
Project Mogul. Moore
launched the balloon
train on June 4, 1947,
that when combined
with other events, are
now known as the
“Roswell Incident.”

1.1
The “Crash Sites,” Scenarios,
and Research Methods

The “Crash Sites”
From 1947 until the late 1970s, the Roswell Incident was confined
to one alleged crash site. This site, located on the Foster Ranch
approximately 75 miles northwest of the city of Roswell, was the actual
landing site of a Project Mogul balloon train in June 1947.[10] The Mogul
landing site is referred to in popular Roswell literature as the “debris field.”
In the 1970s, the 1980s and throughout the 1990s, additional
witnesses came forward with claims and descriptions of two other alleged
crash sites. One of these sites was supposedly north of Roswell, the other
site was alleged to have been approximately 175 miles northwest of
Roswell in an area of New Mexico known as the San Agustin Plains.[11]
What distinguished the two new crash sites from the original debris field
were accounts of alien bodies.

Fig. 11. Map of New
Mexico depicting the
“crash sites” and
“debris field.”

The Scenarios
UFO enthusiasts have attempted to explain the obvious
contradiction of multiple impact sites involving only one alien craft through
the introduction of complicated scenarios. These scenarios have become
increasingly convoluted since the proponents of each crash site must make
allowances to have “their” flying saucer at the correct time and place—the
actual Mogul balloon train landing site in early July, 1947—in order to “fit”
with the rest of the story. The actual Project Mogul landing site, 75 miles
northwest of Roswell, lends credibility, and more importantly establishes a
time frame, for the other accounts that include reports of bodies. Flying
saucer enthusiasts use the documented presence of U.S. Army Air Forces
personnel at the Mogul site in July 1947, who were there to retrieve the
Mogul balloon train, to provide the nucleus of unrelated and much later
accounts that include reports of “bodies.” It must be emphasized that the
claims of “bodies” only became part of the Roswell Incident after 1978,
when they were erroneously linked to the July 1947 retrieval of Project
Mogul components.

In general, “Roswell Incident” scenarios claim “It must be
that a disabled alien craft momentarily touched down at
the site 75 miles northwest of Roswell, leaving behind
emphasized
parts of the spaceship (material that has been that the claims
subsequently identified as components of a Mogul of bodies only
balloon train) to create the original “debris field.” The became part of
scenarios further contend that the damaged craft again the Roswell
became airborne and flew to its final crash site, at either
Incident after
the location north of Roswell or 175 miles northwest of
Roswell on the San Agustin Plains. 1978, when
they were
Regardless of the dispute over the location, an
element common to most scenarios was that, once
erroneously
recovered, the bodies were supposedly transported to linked to the
the hospital at Roswell Army Air Field for autopsy. Also July 1947
common to these theories is that the bodies were later retrieval of
shipped from Roswell AAF to another facility, usually Project Mogul
Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio (or a host of other facilities components.”
—this is another area of further disagreement among
UFO theorists) for further evaluation and ultimate deep-freeze storage.
Research Methods
In an attempt to untangle this collection of complicated assertions
and determine if there was any validity to the reports of bodies, Air Force
researchers faced the task of sorting through and examining anecdotal
testimony of hundreds of witnesses. However, a large number of the
accounts were eliminated by applying previously established facts to the
testimonies. The July 1994 report to the Secretary of the Air Force clearly
presented and documented these facts:
a. The U.S. Army Air Forces did not recover an extraterrestrial
vehicle and alien crew. This conclusion was based on extensive
research that included a thorough review of both classified and
unclassified materials at record depositories, archives, libraries and
research facilities throughout the nation. Of the millions of pages of
material reviewed, there was no mention of any activities that even
tangentially suggested such an event. Additionally, former and
retired Air Force members and civilian contract scientists were

located and released from any possible nondisclosure agreements
they may have entered into regarding past classified activities. This
release allowed them to freely discuss with Air Force researchers, or
any other persons, information related to this issue. These releases
were issued at the express written direction of the Secretary of the
Air Force. Interviews with these persons yielded no information
supporting extraterrestrial claims or any other unusual activities.
b. The reports of bodies were not associated with Project Mogul.
The Mogul balloon train did not, was not designed to, nor could it
carry passengers. Neither did it carry hazardous materials that would
have caused injury, death, or mutilation to persons who may have
come in contact with any of its components.
c. Actual events, if any, that inspired reports of bodies did not occur
in 1947. Based on extensive examinations of U.S. Army Air Forces
activities in 1947, no evidence was found to support allegations that
the Army Air Forces was involved in any uncommon operations
other than the retrieval of the Mogul balloon train in the Roswell
area in July 1947. Examination of research and development
projects, aircraft crashes, errant missiles and possible nuclear
accidents yielded no information to support a 1947 claim.
In light of these documented facts, the hundreds of anecdotal
accounts were reduced to a few. Eliminated were accounts that were likely
descriptions of materials known to be part of the Project Mogul balloon
train and accounts describing transportation of these materials.
From the remaining testimony, Air Force researchers developed the
following set of working hypotheses to assist in identifying the actual
events, if any, matching those described by the witnesses.
a. Due to the number and great detail provided in some of the
accounts, it was likely that some event(s) actually did occur.
b. Due to the many similarities of the two crash site descriptions and
the considerable distance between them, it was likely that more than
one event with similar characteristics was the basis for these
accounts.

c. Since the account of bodies at the Roswell Army Air Field
hospital did not contain elements similar to reports of the two crash
sites, it was likely that this account was unrelated to the crash site
accounts. (The hospital account will be addressed separately in
Section Two of this report.)
The remaining testimony was examined with regard both to the facts
and to working hypotheses to determine if there were common threads or
links connecting any of the accounts. If similarities were found, the next
step was to determine if they were related to an actual event. Finally, if
there were actual event(s), were they part of U.S. Air Force or U.S.
Government activities?
Common Threads
Careful examination of the testimony revealed that primary
witnesses of the two “crashed saucer” locations contained descriptions
common to both. These areas of commonality contained both general and
detailed characteristics. However, before continuing, the accounts were
carefully examined to determine if the testimony related by individual
witnesses were of their own experiences and not a recitation of information
given by other persons. While many aspects of the remaining accounts were
judged to be similar, other aspects were found to be significantly different.
The accounts on which the analysis is based were determined, in all
likelihood, to have been independently obtained or observed by the
witnesses.
General Similarities. The testimony presented for both crash sites
generally followed the same sequence of events. The witnesses were in a
rural and isolated area of New Mexico. In the course of their travels in this
area, they came upon a crashed aerial vehicle. The witnesses then
proceeded to the area of the crash to investigate and at some distance they
observed strange looking “beings” that appeared to be crewmembers of the
vehicle. Soon thereafter, a convoy of military vehicles and soldiers arrived
at the site. Military personnel allegedly instructed the civilians to leave the
area and forget what they had seen. As the witnesses left the area, the
military personnel commenced with a recovery operation of the crashed
aerial vehicle and “crew.”

Detailed Similarities. Along with general similarities in the
testimonies, there also existed a substantial amount of similar detailed
descriptions of the “aliens,” and the military vehicles and procedures
allegedly used to recover them.
The first obvious similarity was the descriptions of the aliens. Mr.
Gerald Anderson, an alleged witness of events at the site 175 miles
northwest of Roswell, recalled, “I thought they were plastic dolls.”[12] Mr.
James Ragsdale, an alleged witness of the site north of Roswell, stated,
“They were using dummies in those damned things.”[13] Another alleged
witness to a “crash” north of Roswell, Frank J. Kaufman, recalled that there
was “talk” that perhaps an “experimental plane with dummies in it” was the
source of the claims.[14]
Additional similarities were also noted. Mr. Vern Maltais, a
secondhand witness of the site 175 miles northwest of Roswell, described
the hands of the “aliens” as, “They had four fingers.”[15] Anderson
characterized the hands as, “They didn’t have a little finger.”[16] He also
described the heads of the aliens as “completely bald”[17] while Maltais
described them as “hairless.”[18] The uniforms of the aliens were
independently described by Anderson as “one-piece suits ... a shiny
silverish-gray color”[19] and by Maltais as “one-piece and gray in color.”[20]
The date of this event was also not precisely known. Maltais recalled that it
may have occurred “around 1950”[21] and another secondhand witness,
Alice Knight stated, “I don’t recall the date.”[22]
Witnesses of different sites also used the terms “wrecker”[23] and
“six-by-six”[24] when they described the military vehicles present at the
different recovery sites. One witness described seeing a “medium sized
Jeep/truck”[25] and another witness described seeing a “weapons carrier”[26]
(a weapons carrier is a mid-sized Jeep-type truck).
The Research Profile
When the general and specific similarities were combined, a profile
emerged describing the event or activity that might have been observed.
The profile, which contains elements common to at least two, and in some

cases, all of the accounts, established a set of criteria used to determine
what the witnesses may have observed. The profile is as follows:
a. An activity that, if viewed from a distance, would appear unusual.
b. An activity of which the exact date is not known.
c. An activity that took place in two rural areas of New Mexico.
d. An activity that involved a type of aerial vehicle with dolls or
dummies that had four fingers, were bald, and wore one-piece gray
suits.
e. An activity that required recovery by numerous military personnel
and an assortment of vehicles that included a wrecker, a six-by-six,
and a weapons carrier.
Based on this profile, research was begun to identify events or
activities with these characteristics. Due to the location of the sites,
attention was focused on Roswell AAF (renamed Walker AFB in 1948),
White Sands Missile Range and Holloman AFB, N.M. The aerial vehicles
assigned or under development at these facilities were aircraft, missiles,
remotely-piloted drones, and high altitude balloons. The operational
characteristics and areas where these vehicles flew were researched to
determine if they played a role in the events described by the witnesses.
Missiles and Drones. Missiles and drones were determined not to
have been responsible for the accounts.* The areas where the alleged
crashes took place were, in all likelihood, too far from the White Sands
Missile Range. Missiles were equipped with a self-destruct mechanism that
was activated if it strayed off-course or out of the White Sands Missile
Range. There was never a program that required a dummy or doll to be
placed inside a missile or a drone. However, missiles were launched from
White Sands carrying monkeys and other small animals aloft for scientific
research.[27] These projects were well documented, and none of these
missiles landed near either of the two crash sites.
* From September 1961 until March 1965 12 Atlas F intercontinental ballistic missiles
(ICBMs) were deployed by the 579th Strategic Missile Squadron in areas surrounding Walker
AFB, N.M. These missiles were determined not to have been involved in the Roswell Incident.

Aircraft. Aircraft seemed just as unlikely as missiles to have been
responsible for the extraterrestrial claims as outlined in the profile.
Although additional research revealed the significant role dummies played
in the test and evaluation of aircraft emergency escape systems, these
dummies were used on board aircraft and on the high-speed test track at
Holloman AFB. However, aircraft test flights demanded strict adherence to
established flight profiles over the instrumented portions of the White Sands
Missile Range, many miles from the alleged crash sites. Dummies used on
the high-speed track remained in the immediate vicinity of the track
facilities at Holloman AFB. This geographical impossibility ruled out
dummies that were ejected from aircraft and those used on the high-speed
track as a cause of alleged alien sightings. (Aircraft accidents will be
discussed extensively in Section Two of this report.)
Figs. 12 & 13. Missiles
(left) and drones (right)
under development at
Holloman AFB, N.M.
were determined not to
have been involved in
the “Roswell Incident.”
(U.S. Air Force photos)

High Altitude Research Balloons. The only vehicles not yet
evaluated as a possible source of the accounts were high altitude research
balloons. Previous reviews of early research balloon flight records revealed
that trajectories of high altitude balloons were, at times, unpredictable and

did not usually remain over Holloman AFB or White Sands Missile Range.
[28]
Many of the scientific payloads required recovery so the data collected
during flight could be returned to the laboratory for analysis.
These characteristics seemed to fit at least some of the research
profile. Atmospheric sampling apparatus or weather instruments, the typical
payload of many high altitude balloons, could hardly have been mistaken
for space aliens. A careful examination of the instruments carried aloft by
the high altitude balloons revealed that one unique project used a device
that very likely could be mistaken for an alien—an anthropomorphic
dummy.
An anthropomorphic dummy is a human substitute equipped with a
variety of instrumentation to measure effects of environments and situations
deemed too hazardous for a human. These abstractly human dummies were
first used in New Mexico in May 1950, and have been used on a continuous
basis since that time.[29]
In the 1950s, anthropomorphic dummies were not widely exposed
outside of scientific research circles and easily could have been mistaken
for something they were not. Today, anthropomorphic dummies, better
known as crash test dummies, are easily identifiable and are even the
“stars” of their own automotive safety advertising campaign. During the
1950s when the U.S. Air Force dropped the odd-looking test devices from
high altitude balloons in its program to study high altitude human free-fall
characteristics, public awareness and stardom were decades away. It seems
likely that someone who unexpectedly observed these dummies at a
distance would believe they had seen something unusual. In retrospect,
when interviewed over 40 years later, they could accurately report that they
had seen something very unusual.
With the introduction of anthropomorphic dummies as a possible
explanation for the reports of bodies, another element of the research profile
appeared to be satisfied. Specific information that described the locations,
methods, and procedures used to employ the dummies was required before
any definitive conclusions could be drawn. To gather this detailed
information, research efforts were concentrated on high altitude balloon
operations and the specific projects that utilized balloon-borne
anthropomorphic dummies.

Fig. 14. (Left) Example
of an anthropomorphic
dummy carried aloft by
U.S. Air Force high
altitude balloons. These
dummies landed at
numerous locations
throughout New
Mexico during the
1950s. (U.S. Air Force
photo)

Fig. 15. (Right)
Newspaper
advertisement depicting
anthropomorphic
dummies “Vince and
Larry” “stars” of the
successful advertising
campaign by the
National Highway
Traffic Safety
Administration to
encourage use of safety
belts. (Courtesy of
NHTSA)

Go to transcription of text

Test Dummies Used by the U.S. Air Force
Since the beginning of manned flight, designers have sought a
substitute for the human body to test hazardous new equipment. Early
devices used by the predecessors of the U.S. Air Force were simply
constructed parachute drop test dummies with little similarity to the
human form. Following World War II, aircraft emergency escape
systems became increasingly sophisticated and engineers required a
dummy with more humanlike characteristics.
Parachute Drop Dummies

During World War I research and development of the first U.S.
military parachute was underway at McCook Field, Ohio. To test the
parachute, engineers experimented with several types of dummies,
settling on a model constructed of three-inch hemp rope and sandbags
with the approximate proportions of a medium-sized man.[30] The new
invention was soon known by the nickname “Dummy Joe.” Dummy
Joe is said to have made more than five thousand “jumps” between
1918 and 1924.[31]
By 1924, parachutes were required on military aircraft with
their serviceability tested by dummies dropped from aircraft.[32] For
this routine testing, several types of dummies were used. The most
common type is shown in figures 17 and 18. Parachutes were
individually drop-tested from aircraft until the early stages of World
War II, when, due both to increased reliability and large numbers of
parachutes in service, this routine practice was discontinued.
Nonetheless, test dummies were still used frequently by the Parachute
Branch of Air Materiel Command (AMC) at Wright Field, Ohio, to test
new parachute designs.

Fig. 16. “‘Dummy
Joe,’ the hero of five
thousand jumps” is
shown here with
engineers J.J. Higgins
(left) and Guy Ball at
McCook Field, Ohio
in 1920. (U.S. Air
Force photo)

Fig. 17. (Left) Early
rope and sandbag
dummy used to test
parachutes. (U.S. Air
Force photo)

Fig. 18. (Right)
Parachute drop
dummies in use at
Wright Field, Ohio.
The historic Flight
Test hangars, Hangars
1 and 9, can be seen in
the background. (U.S.
Air Force photo)

Anthropomorphic Dummies
The ejection seat had been developed and used successfully by
the German Luftwaffe during the latter stages of World War II. The
utility of this invention was realized when the U.S. Army Air Forces
obtained an ejection seat in 1944.[33] To properly test the ejection seat,
the Army Air Forces required a dummy that had the same center of
gravity and weight distribution as a human, characteristics that
parachute drop dummies did not possess. In 1944, the USAAF Air
Materiel Command contracted with the Ted Smith Company of Upper
Darby, Pa. to design and manufacture the first dummy intended to
accurately represent a human.[34] The dummy had the same basic
shape as a human, but with only abstract human features, and “skin”
made of canvas.

Figs. 19 & 20. (Left &
Right) These early
anthropomorphic
dummies,
manufactured by the
Ted Smith Co., of
Upper Darby, Pa.,
were used by the
Army Air Forces
beginning in 1944.
They were replaced
by a more realistic
dummy in 1949.

(Right) “Oscar
Eightball,” the name
given to this early
model
anthropomorphic
dummy by Col. John
P. Stapp, is shown
following a run of the
high-speed track at
Muroc AAF (now
Edwards AFB), Calif.,
in 1947. (U.S. Air
Force photos)

In 1949, the U.S. Air Force Aero Medical Laboratory submitted
a proposal for an improved model of the anthropomorphic dummy.[35]
This request was originated by the renowned Air Force scientist and
physician John P. Stapp, now a retired Colonel, who conducted a series
of landmark experiments at Muroc (now Edwards) AFB, Calif., to
measure the effects of acceleration and deceleration during high-speed
aircraft ejections.[36] Stapp required a dummy that had the same center
of gravity and articulation as a human, but, unlike the Ted Smith
dummy, was more human in appearance. A more accurate external
appearance was required to provide for the proper fit of helmets,
oxygen masks, and other equipment used during the tests. Stapp
requested the Anthropology Branch of the Aero Medical Laboratory at
Wright Field to review anthropological, orthopedic, and engineering
literature to prepare specifications for the new dummy.[37] Plaster casts
of the torso, legs, and arms of an Air Force pilot were also taken to

assure accuracy.[38] The result was a proposed dummy that stood 72
inches tall, weighed 200 pounds, had provisions for mounting
instrumentation, and could withstand up to 100 times the force of
gravity or 100Gs.
In 1949, a contract was awarded to Sierra Engineering
Company of Sierra Madre, Calif., and deliveries began in 1950.[39]
This dummy quickly became known as “Sierra Sam.”
In 1952, a contract for anthropomorphic dummies was awarded
to Alderson Research Laboratories, Inc., of New York City.[40]
Dummies constructed by both companies possessed the same basic
characteristics: a skeleton of aluminum or steel, latex or plastic skin, a
cast aluminum skull, and an instrument cavity in the torso and head for
the mounting of strain gauges, accelerometers, transducers, and rate
gyros.[41] Models used by the Air Force were primarily parachute drop
and ejection seat versions with center of gravity tolerances within one
quarter inch.
Over the next several years the two companies improved and
redesigned internal structures and instrumentation, but the basic
external appearance of the dummies remained relatively constant from
the mid 1950s to the late 1960s. Dummies of these types were most
likely the “aliens” associated with the “Roswell Incident.”

Figs. 21 & 22.
Examples of a “Sierra
Sam” (left) and
Alderson Laboratories
anthropomorphic
dummies (right) of the
type dropped from
balloons at off-range
locations throughout
New Mexico during
the 1950s. (U.S. Air
Force photos)

1.2
High Altitude Balloon
Dummy Drops
From 1953 to 1959, anthropomorphic dummies were used by the
U.S. Air Force Aero Medical Laboratory as part of the high altitude aircraft
escape projects High Dive and Excelsior.[42] The object of these studies
was to devise a method to return a pilot or astronaut to earth by parachute,
if forced to escape at extreme altitudes.[43]

Anthropomorphic dummies were transported to Fig. 23. Project High
altitudes up to 98,000 feet by high altitude balloons. Dive anthropomorphic
dummy launch, White
The dummies were then released for a period of free- Sands Proving Ground,
fall while body movements and escape equipment N.M., June 11, 1957.
performance were recorded by a variety of instruments. (U.S. Air Force photo)
Forty-three high altitude balloon flights carrying 67 anthropomorphic

dummies were launched and recovered throughout New Mexico between
June 1954 and February 1959.[44] Due to prevailing wind conditions,
operational factors and ruggedness of the terrain, the majority of dummies
impacted outside the confines of military reservations in eastern New
Mexico, near Roswell, and in areas surrounding the Tularosa Valley in
south central New Mexico.[45] Additionally, 30 dummies were dropped by
aircraft over White Sands Proving Ground, N.M. in 1953. In 1959, 150
dummies were dropped by aircraft over Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio
(possibly accounting for alleged alien “sightings” at that location).[46]

Anthropomorphic Dummy Launch
and Landing Locations

Source: Test records of U.S. Air Force aeromedical project no. 7218,
task 71719 (High Dive) and project no. 7222, task 71748 (Excelsior).

A number of these launch and recovery locations were in the areas
where the “crashed saucer” and “space aliens” were allegedly observed.
Following the series of dummy tests, a human subject, test pilot
Capt. Joseph W. Kittinger, Jr., now a retired Colonel, made three parachute
jumps from high altitude balloons. Since free-fall tests from these

unprecedented altitudes were extremely hazardous, they could not be
accomplished by a human until a rigorous testing program using
anthropomorphic dummies was completed.

Fig. 25. “Lord, take
care of me now,” were
Capt. Joseph W.
Kittinger, Jr.’s words as
he exited the Excelsior
III balloon gondola at
102,800 feet on August
16, 1960, over White
Sands Proving Ground,
N.M. Kittinger’s
courageous scientific
achievement remains, to
this day, the highest
parachute jump ever
accomplished. (U.S. Air
Force photo)

A Cover-Up?
Countering claims of a cover-up, Air Force projects that used
anthropomorphic dummies and human subjects were unclassified and

widely publicized in numerous newspaper and magazine stories,
books, and television reports. These included a book written by test
pilot Kittinger, The Long, Lonely Leap, another book, Man High, by
Man High Project Scientist, Lt. Col. David G. Simons (MC), a feature
article in National Geographic, and cover stories in Life, Collier’s,
Popular Mechanics, and Time.[47] A characterization of Kittinger’s
record parachute jump even appeared in the adolescent magazine,
MAD.[48] The intense public interest in High Dive, Excelsior and other
aero medical projects conducted at Holloman AFB also resulted in a
1956 Twentieth Century Fox full-length motion picture, On the
Threshold of Space (see page 38).
Fig. 26. This photo of
Capt. Joseph W.
Kittinger, Jr. taken by a
remotely operated
camera on the
Excelsior III gondola,
was featured in the
December 1960
National Geographic.

Go to transcription of text

Fig. 27. Contemporary
magazines that featured
experiments at
Holloman AFB, N.M.
Clockwise from top left,
Time, September 12,
1955; Life, August 29,
1960; Popular
Mechanics Magazine,
(center) January 1951;
Collier’s, June 25,
1954; and Life,
September 2, 1957.

Dummy Drop Procedures
For the majority of the tests, dummies were flown to altitudes
between 30,000 and 98,000 feet attached to a specially designed rack
suspended below a high altitude balloon.[49] On several flights the dummies
were mounted in the door of an experimental high altitude balloon gondola.
[50]
Upon reaching the desired altitude, the dummies were released and free-
fell for several minutes before deployment of the main parachute.

The dummies used for the balloon drops were Fig. 28. (Left)
outfitted with standard equipment of an Air Force Witnesses at both flying
saucer “crash” sites
aircrew member. This equipment consisted of a one- stated that a “wrecker”
piece flightsuit, olive drab, gray (witnesses had was used in the
described seeing aliens in gray one-piece suits) or recovery of the “alien”
craft. This was a likely
fuchsia in color, boots, and a parachute pack.[51] The reference to the M-342
dummies were also fitted with an instrumentation kit five-ton wrecker, used
to launch and recover
that contained accelerometers, pressure transducers, an anthropomorphic
oscillograph, and a camera to record movements of the dummies.
dummy during free-fall.[52] Fig. 29. (Right) Three
tests utilized
anthropomorphic
dummies mounted in
the door of an
experimental Project
High Dive gondola.
This launch took place
on October 8, 1957, in
front of curious
onlookers at the public
picnic area of White
Sands National
Monument, N.M. (U.S.
Air Force photo)

Fig. 30. A “Sierra Sam”
with High Dive Project
Officers 1st Lts. Eugene
M. Schwartz (left) and
Raymond A. Madson
(right). This dummy is
outfitted in a “sage
green” colored
flightsuit (a shade of
gray) with red tape
sealing its neck, wrists,
and ankles. (U.S. Air
Force)

Recoveries of the test dummies were accomplished by personnel
from the Holloman AFB Balloon Branch.[53] Typically, eight to twelve
civilian and military recovery personnel arrived at the site of an
anthropomorphic dummy landing as soon as possible following impact. The
recovery crews operated a variety of aircraft and vehicles. These included a
wrecker, a six-by-six, a weapons carrier, and L-20 observation and C-47
transport aircraft—the exact vehicles and aircraft described by the witnesses
as having been present at the crashed saucer locations.[54] On one occasion,
just southwest of Roswell, a High Dive project officer, 1st Lt. Raymond A.
Madson, even conducted a search for dummies on horseback[55] (see
statement in Appendix B).

Fig. 31. An M-35 2½-
ton cargo truck,
commonly referred to
as a “six-by-six,” were
used by the Holloman
Balloon Branch to
launch and recover
anthropomorphic
dummies and
suspension racks at
numerous locations
throughout New
Mexico. (U.S. Air Force
photo)

Fig. 32. M-37 ¾-ton
utility trucks, known as
“weapons carriers,”
were used for high
altitude balloon
recoveries by the
Holloman Balloon
Branch during the
1950s. Here, recovery
technicians use an M-37
to retrieve an Aero
Medical gondola from a
location on Holloman
AFB, N.M. (U.S. Air
Force photo)

To expedite the recoveries, crews were prepositioned with their
vehicles along a paved highway in the area where impact was expected.[56]
On a typical flight the dummies were separated from the balloon by radio
command and descended by parachute.[57] Prompt recovery of the dummies
and their suspension racks, which usually did not land in the same location
resulting in extensive ground and air searches, was essential for researchers
to evaluate information collected by the instrumentation and cameras. To
assist the recovery personnel, a variety of methods were used to enhance the
visibility of the dummies: smoke grenades, pigment powder, and brightly
colored parachute canopies.[58] Also, recovery notices promising a $25
reward were taped to an exposed portion of a dummy.[59] Local newspapers
and radio stations were contacted when equipment was lost.[60]

The Bravest Man
America was introduced to Col. John Paul Stapp on December
10, 1954, when he became known as both the “the bravest” and “the
fastest” man on earth. Stapp earned these titles following a rocket sled
test that accelerated him to 632 miles per hour. He reached this speed
in just five seconds—faster than a .45 caliber bullet—and was
decelerated to a stop in 1.4 seconds, subjecting his body to more than
42 times the force of gravity! While this was America’s introduction to

Col. Stapp, the 1954 rocket sled test that examined aircraft restraint
devices and human responses to accelerative/decelerative forces and
windblast, was just one of many achievements of this legendary Air
Force physician.
Born in Bahia, Brazil to American missionary parents, Stapp
sold pots and pans door to door during the Depression while he earned
both undergraduate and graduate degrees in zoology and chemistry at
Baylor University. He went on to earn a doctorate in biophysics from
the University of Texas, and a doctorate in medicine from the
University of Minnesota.

Fig. 33. The first
“space doctor,” Lt.
Col. John P. Stapp
(now a retired
Colonel) being
strapped into the
rocket sled Sonic
Wind No 1, on
December 10, 1954, at
Holloman AFB, N.M.
Courageously, Stapp
was his own volunteer
subject on 29 rocket
sled tests and earned
two awards of the
Legion of Merit and
the Cheney Award for
valor and self-
sacrifice. (U.S. Air
Force photo)

In 1944 Stapp entered the U.S. Army Air Forces and became a
flight surgeon. From 1946 to 1963, due to his unique qualifications in
biophysics and medicine, he conducted a series of
acceleration/deceleration experiments on the high-speed track at
Muroc (now Edwards AFB), Calif.,[61] and later at Holloman AFB,
N.M. Developments from these and other studies resulted in
innovations which have saved many lives. These included improved
safety belt restraint systems and design specifications for aircraft and
automobiles, aircraft ejection and emergency escape systems,

refinement of automobile airbag systems, and development of the
modern anthropomorphic test dummy.
As commander of the U.S. Air Force Aeromedical Field
Laboratory at Holloman AFB, N.M. and later the Aero Medical
Laboratory at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, Stapp won support for the
Air Force manned high altitude balloons projects—Man High and
Excelsior. As a testament to his thorough safety preparations, these
and other extremely hazardous projects administered by Stapp, did not
result in a single debilitating injury to a test subject. These projects
helped pave the way for future flights of both high altitude aircraft
such as the X-15, and of spacecraft for the Mercury, Gemini, and
Apollo programs. In fact, Stapp’s expertise was called upon to assist
in the selection of the initial cadre of astronauts, the “Mercury Seven.”
He retired from the Air Force in 1970, but not before amassing
a collection of awards and honors. These included two awards of the
Legion of Merit for rocket sled experiments, the Cheney Award for
1954, and membership in the National Aviation Hall of Fame.
In association with the Society of Automotive Engineers, Stapp
continues to participate in annual conferences in which industry
experts assemble to discuss vehicle safety issues. The conferences,
now in their 40th year bear his name: the Stapp Car Crash
Conferences.
In 1991, in recognition of a lifetime of unselfish dedication to
scientific research, Stapp was awarded the National Medal of
Technology, bestowed upon him at the White House by President
George Bush.
He is married to the former Lillian Lanese, a former soloist
with the Ballet Theater of New York, and resides in Alamogordo, N.M.
At 87 years old he continues to maintain a dizzying pace of travel and
lectures.
It is not an exaggeration that virtually every person who has
safely operated, or ridden in, an automobile, aircraft, or spacecraft, has
benefited from the genius of Col. John Paul Stapp, and owes this brave
scientist, physician, and visionary, a great deal of thanks.

Fig. 34. September 12,
1955 edition of Time
featuring Col. John P.
Stapp and his rocket
sled experiments at
Holloman AFB, N.M.

Despite these efforts, the dummies were not always recovered
immediately; one was not found for nearly three years and several were not
recovered at all.[62] When they were found, the dummies and
instrumentation were often damaged from impact.[63] Damage to the
dummies included loss of heads, arms, legs and fingers.[64] This detail,
dummies with missing fingers, appears to satisfy another element of the
research profile—aliens with only four fingers.

Fig. 35. Rough
treatment and parachute
failures during balloon
drops often caused
damage to the hands of
the dummies. This
detail, “beings” with
“four fingers,” was
related by two
witnesses as a
distinguishing feature
of the Roswell aliens.
(U.S. Air Force photo)

Figs. 36–38. Actual
photographs of an
Alderson Laboratories
type anthropomorphic
dummy falling away
from its suspension rack
at high altitude over
New Mexico. Fig. 37
(center) appears on the
cover of this
publication. (U.S. Air
Force photos)

Fig. 39. Memo taken
from Project High Dive
files explaining the loss
of a dummy near
Roswell, N.M. in
Go to transcription of text November 1955.

What may have contributed to a misunderstanding if the dummies
were viewed by persons unfamiliar with their intended use, were the
methods used by Holloman AFB personnel to transport them. The dummies
were sometimes transported to and from off-range locations in wooden
shipping containers, similar to caskets, to prevent damage to fragile
instruments mounted in and on the dummy.[65] Also, canvas military
stretchers and hospital gurneys were used (a procedure recommended by a
dummy manufacturer) to move the dummies in the laboratory or retrieve
dummies in the field after a test.[66] The first 10 dummy drops also utilized
black or silver insulation bags, similar to “body bags” in which the
dummies were placed for flight to guard against equipment failure at low
ambient temperatures of the upper atmosphere.[67]

Fig. 40. Air Force
personnel used
stretchers and gurneys
to pick up 200-pound
dummies in the field
and to move them in the
laboratory. (U.S. Air
Force photo)

Fig. 41. For the first 10
balloon flights,
dummies were placed in
insulation bags to
protect temperature-
sensitive equipment.
These bags may have
been described by at
least one witness as
“body bags” used to
recover alien victims
from the crash of a
flying saucer. (U.S. Air
Force photo)

On one occasion northwest of Roswell, a local woman unfamiliar
with the test activities arrived at a dummy landing site prior to the arrival of
the recovery personnel.[68] The woman saw what appeared to be a human
embedded head first in a snowbank and became hysterical. The woman
screamed, “He’s dead!, he’s dead!”[69]
It now appeared that anthropomorphic dummies dropped by high
altitude balloons satisfied the requirements of the research profile.
However, the review of high altitude balloon operations revealed what
appeared to be explanations for some other sightings of odd objects in the
deserts and skies of New Mexico.

Figs. 42 & 43. These
reports detailed the
methods and procedures
used for the dummy
tests. They may be
obtained from the
National Technical
Information Service
Go to transcription of text (NTIS), Springfield, Va.

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.”

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]
Fig. 45. Lobby card of
the 1956 Twentieth
Century Fox release,
On the Threshold of
Space starring Guy
Madison (seated) and
Martin Milner (right).

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.”

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.

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

DC-9 airliner 104 ft
long

Hot-air balloon. 50 ft in
diameter

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
[77]
tracks. 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.

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.

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)

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)

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]

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.

Fig. 52. A NASA
Viking space probe is
rolled out of its
assembly building at
Martin Marietta
Corporation in Denver,
Colo. (NASA)

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)

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)

Fig. 55. (Left)
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.

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)

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.

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
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]

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)

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]
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.

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)

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.

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)

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)

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)

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)

Figs. 65 & 66.
Examples of unusual
payloads flown by Air
Force high altitude
balloons at Holloman
AFB, N.M. (U.S. Air
Force photos)

Fig. 67. (Left) This U.S.
Army communications
payload was flown at
Holloman AFB, N.M.
on September 30, 1976.
(U.S. Army photo)

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)

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.

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]

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.”

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.

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)

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]

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)

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.
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]

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)

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 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).

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]

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)

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.

Fig. 82.
Source: Test records of U.S. Air Force aeromedical project no. 7218,
task 71719 (High Dive) and project no. 7222, task 71748 (Excelsior).

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 “Crash
Witness Description
Equipment/Procedure Site”
The “Aliens”

1. “They was using Reference to anthropomorphic Site 1
dummies in those damned dummies (figs. 11, 14, 21–22, 29,
things.”[166] Ragsdale 30–33, 35, 40, 72–75, 45).
2. “I thought they were Reference to anthropomorphic Site 2
plastic dolls”[167] dummies that had plastic skin.
Anderson
3. “an experimental plane Reference to anthropomorphic Site 1
with dummies in it”[168] dummies.
Kaufman
4. “I’m sure that was Reference to anthropomorphic Site 1
bodies ... either bodies or dummies.
dummies.”[169] Ragsdale
5. “it was either dummies Reference to anthropomorphic Site 1
or bodies or something dummies.
laying there.”[170]
Ragsdale
6. “his eyes was open, Reference to anthropomorphic Site 2
staring blankly”[171] dummies.
Anderson
7. “not exactly like human Reference to anthropomorphic Site 2
beings ... similar, but not dummies.
exactly.”[172] Maltais
8. “didn’t look like human Reference to anthropomorphic Site 2
beings”[173] Knight dummies.
9. “they didn’t have a Reference to Alderson Site 2
[174] Anderson Laboratories dummy that were
little finger”
reused many times and were often
damaged but remained in service.
(figs. 35, 73, 74).
10. “they had four Corroboration of description #9. Site 2
[175] Maltais See above.
fingers”

11. [the beings were] Likely description of Site 2
“three and a half to four anthropomorphic dummy
feet tall”[176] Maltais missing legs after fall from
altitude.
12. [the beings were] Corroboration of description #11. Site 2
“four foot tall, four and a See above.
half feet tall.”[177]
Anderson
13. “they weren’t over Corroboration of description #11. Site 1
four or five foot long at See above.
the most.”[178] Ragsdale
14. “Their skin Probable description of a “Sierra Site 2
coloration... [was] a Sam” dummy with pale white
bluish tinted milky “skin” (fig. 21).
[179] Anderson
white”
15. “their heads were Anthropomorphic dummies did Site 2
hairless ... no eyebrows, not have “hair” (figs. 21, 22, 36–
no eyelashes, no hair”[180] 38, 40).
Maltais
16. “no hair ... completely Corroboration of description #15. Site 2
bald”[181] Anderson See above.
17. “no visible ears ... just Dummies had ears that were Site 2
a rise there and then a molded to their heads with
[182] Anderson openings for placement of
hole”
instruments (fig. 22).
18. “The hands were not Reference to Alderson dummy Site 2
[183] Maltais which did not have gloves on
covered”
hands (figs. 35, 73–75).
19. “they were all wearing Reference to gray flight suits Site 2
one piece suits ... a shiny worn by the dummies for some of
silverish gray color”[184] the tests (figs. 14, 29, 30).
Anderson

20. “Their clothing Corroboration of description #19. Site 2
seemed to be one piece See above.
and gray in color.”[185]
Maltais
21. “It’s uniform was torn Dummy uniforms were often Site 2
in a couple spots ... their secondhand, rips and other
uniforms were in pretty defects were common but they
sad shape.”[186] Anderson remained in service (fig. 75).
22. “Around the collar it Reference to red duct tape used to Site 2
[the suit] was trimmed in prevent air from filling the
... maroon-like dummy’s flightsuit (figs. 29, 30).
[187] Anderson
cording”
23. “They looked like Reference to tape and nylon Site 2
they had some sort of webbing used to prevent arms and
bandages on ’em ... over legs of dummy from flailing.
his [the crewmember’s] Tape was also used to secure the
arm.”[188] Anderson removable back plate of head
(figs. 29, 30, 35, 72–75).
24. [bandages] “around Reference to parachute harness Site 2
his midsection and that had chest and shoulder straps.
partially over his
shoulder”[189] Anderson
The “Craft”
25. “It [the crewmember] Description of a high altitude Site 2
felt dead when I touched balloon payload that was cold
it, it was very cold.”[190] soaked at sub zero temperatures
Anderson of the upper atmosphere.
26. “it was a dirigible, a Reference to a partially inflated Site 2
blimp that had or deflated high altitude balloon
[191] Anderson (figs. 23, 70).
crashed”
27. “a flying saucer that Reference to the dummy Site 2
had burst open”[192] suspension rack that did not have

Maltais sides (figs. 35, 73–75).
28. “clusters of thread- Numerous cables and wires were Site 2
like material in the form used in the dummy
[193] Anderson instrumentation kits and balloon
of a cable”
control package.
29. “others of those Both balloon control package and Site 2
[cables] went from one dummy instrumentation kits were
kind of package of connected by cables (fig. 73).
components to another
kind of package”[194]
Anderson
30. “some kind of Reference to balloon control Site 2
container, a metal package or dummy
[195] Anderson instrumentation kit (fig. 73).
box”
31. “it was ice cold, it felt Condition of a balloon payload Site 2
like it just came out of a after it has been “cold soaked” in
freezer”[196] Anderson the upper atmosphere at
temperatures far below zero.
Vehicles
32. a “jeep-like truck that Reference to a modified M-37 ¾- Site 2
had a bunch of radios in it ton utility truck commonly
and two big antennas.... referred to as a weapons carrier,
There was a guy sittin’ in unique to the Balloon Branch.
there wearin’ earphones One of the primary vehicles used
and he was talking on the by recovery crews. Balloons
radio.”[197] Anderson were tracked by direction finding
gear and required a radio
operator to wear headphones (fig.
32).
33. “weapons Corroboration of description #32. Site 1
carriers”[198] Ragsdale See above.

34. “six by six Army Reference to M-35 2½-ton cargo Site 1
trucks”[199] Ragsdale truck used to transport dummies
and suspension racks for launch
and recoveries (fig. 31).
35. “six by [six] ... Corroboration of description #34. Site 2
military truck with canvas See above.
... wagon type ... thing
over it”[200] Anderson
36. “wreckers [with] reference to M-246 wrecker used Site 2
cranes on ’em”[201] to launch and recover
Anderson anthropomorphic dummy
payloads (figs. 23, 28, 70).
37. “a wrecker”[202] Corroboration of description #36. Site 1
Ragsdale See above.
38. “there was military Reference to a converted M-43 Site 2
ambulances”[203] ambulances used as balloon
Anderson recovery communications
vehicles (figs. 64, 71, 80).
39. “the pick-up”[204] Pick-up trucks were often used to Site 2
Anderson recover anthropomorphic
dummies (figs. 71, 79).
40. “tankers, like, maybe reference to M-49 fuel trucks Site 2
had fuel or water in used to refuel aircraft or helium
’em”[205] Anderson trailer used to inflate balloon
(figs. 23, 70, 80, 81).
41. “a military car”[206] A variety of military and civilian Site 2
Anderson cars were often used for balloon
recoveries and launches (fig. 71).
42. “’47 Ford car”[207] Corroboration of description #41. Site 1
Ragsdale See above.

43. “there was a jeep that Reference to 1-ton trailer and Site 2
was pulling a trailer with MB-19 15 Kilowatt diesel
a motor on it, like a generator that were used at
generator.”[208] Anderson balloon launch and recovery
locations (fig. 71).
Aircraft
44. “observation aircraft Reference to an L-20 aircraft, Site 2
... high winged primary “chase” aircraft used for
aircraft”[209] Anderson balloon recovery in the mid 1950s
(fig. 77).
45. “C-47 sittin’ there” C-47 aircraft were often used on Site 2
[210] dummy launch and recovery
[on the road]
Anderson operations (fig. 78).
Procedures
46. “The federal Reference to balloon borne Site 1
government could have anthropomorphic dummies that
been doing something were dropped by remote control
because they didn’t want by balloon controllers at
anyone to know what this Holloman AFB
was ... they was using
dummies in those damned
things ... they could use
remote control”[211]
Ragsdale
47. “they took Procedure used by Balloon Site 2
everybody’s name and Branch to ensure payment of $25
[212] Anderson reward and to settle claims of
everything”
property damage.
48. “they cleaned Balloon Branch personnel were Site 1
everything all up ... I required to remove as much
mean they cleaned debris as possible from balloon
everything”[213] Ragsdale and payload landing areas to

avoid complaints and legal
actions.
49. “they had the road Procedure used for aircraft Site 2
barricaded off”[214] operations.
Anderson
50. “they had the road Corroboration of description #49. Site 1
sealed off”[215] Ragsdale See above.
51. “airplanes sitting there Established procedure to refuel an Site 2
they had landed on the aircraft, launch a balloon from an
highway”[216] Anderson isolated location or recover a
small payload near a rural road.
52. “there was airplanes Reference to balloon “chase” Site 2
in the sky” [over the crash aircraft used to direct ground
site].[217] Anderson recovery crews to balloon impact
site.
53. “stretching out cables Reference to balloon inflation Site 2
of some kind ... they were procedure that required the
stretching stuff out on the balloon and ground cloth to be
ground, dragging stuff out removed from a vehicle and laid
of trucks”[218] Anderson on 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.

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?”
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]
Fig. 2.
In this account, the missing Eileen M.
nurse is described as single, “real Fanton
(U.S. Air
cute, like a small Audrey Hepburn, Force
with short black hair, dark eyes and photo)
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?
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]

Fig. 3. Story by J.P.
Cahn, that appeared in
the August 1956, True
magazine.
Go to transcription of text

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.

Fig. 4. September 1952
True magazine story
that exposed the Aztec,
N.M. hoax.
Go to transcription of text

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]

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]

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

Period of Service at
Witness Actual Individual
Roswell AAF/Walker
Description Described
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. June 1951-June 1953
Nordstrom
“big redheaded Col. Lee F. Ferrell Oct. 1954-June 1960
colonel”
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
Aircraft Location of Accident Number of
Year
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?
[96]
8/12/48 B-29 Yes 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.

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.

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]

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]

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]

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)

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)

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,

y ,
1959 at Holloman
AFB, N.M. (U.S. Air
Force photo)

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.

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
Altitu
Project/Fli
Date de Pilot
ght
(feet)
6/2/57 Man High I 96,20 Capt. Joseph W. Kittinger,
0 Jr.
8/19/57 Man High II 101,5 Lt. Col. David G. Simons
00 (MC)
10/8/58 Man High 99,70 1st Lt. Clifton McClure
III 0
11/16/59 Excelsior I 76,40 Capt. Joseph W. Kittinger,
0 Jr.

12/11/59 Excelsior II 74,70 Capt. Joseph W. Kittinger.
0 Jr.
8/16/60 Excelsior III 102,8 Capt. Joseph W. Kittinger,
00 Jr.
12/13/62 Stargazer 86,00 Capt. Joseph W. Kittinger,
0 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.

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]

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.

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]

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.

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)

Fig. 21. (Above)
Enlargement of
stenciled writing from
photograph below. This
lettering was apparently
later described as
“hieroglyphics.”

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]

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]

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)

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.

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.

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.
Go to transcription of text

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]

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]

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)

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.

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

WILFRED 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

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)

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, Part I.
Preliminary Survey of the Aft Facing Seated Position, Air Force
Technical Report 5915, (Wright Patterson AFB, OH: Wright Air
Development Center, 1949) and Maj. John P. Stapp, Part II. The Aft
Facing Position and the Development of a Crash Harness, Air Force
Technical Report 5915 (Wright Patterson AFB, OH: Wright Air
Development Center, 1951).
37. H.T.E. Hertzberg, Anthropology of Anthropomorphic Dummies, Air
Force Medical Research Laboratory, AMRL-TR-69-61, February 1970,
3.
38. ibid.
39. ltr., H.L. Daulton, Vice President and Secretary-Treasurer, Sierra
Engineering Company, to W.A. Daler, Headquarters Air Materiel
Command, subject: Proposal, Purchase Request No. 301200, September
16, 1954, National Archives and Records Administration, Accession No.
342-67E-2954, box 5/15, file 28.

40. Joseph Smreka, Senior Design Engineer, First Technology Safety
Systems, “Dummies—Past and Present,” 2 (unpublished manuscript).
41. Sierra Engineering Co., “Sierra Sam,” 1955, National Archives and
Records Administration, Accession No. 342-67E-2954, box 5/15, file 28.
42. 1st Lt. Raymond A. Madson, High Altitude Balloon Dummy Drops,
Part I. The Unstabilized Dummy Drops, WADC Technical Report 57-
477, (Wright Patterson AFB, OH: Wright Air Development Center, Oct
1957) (hereafter High Altitude Balloon Dummy Drops Part I), 27, and
1st Lt. Raymond A. Madson, High Altitude Balloon Dummy Drops, II.
The Stabilized Dummy Drops, WADC Technical Report 57-477 (II)
(Wright Patterson AFB, OH: Aeronautical Systems Division, Air Force
Systems Command, August 1961) (hereafter High Altitude Balloon
Dummy Drops Part II), 18.
43. High Altitude Balloon Dummy Drops Part I, 1.
44. High Altitude Balloon Dummy Drops Part I, and High altitude
Balloon Dummy Drops Part II, and Holloman Air Development Center,
Weekly Test Status Reports, Project MX-1450B (Manned Balloon),
National Archives and Records Administration, National Personnel
Records Center, St. Louis, MO, Accession No. 342-62A-A-641, box
115/248, folder; R-695-61D, “High Altitude Escape Studies, Gen B-1,
Manned Balloon Flights.”
45. ibid.
46. High Altitude Balloon Dummy Drops Part I, 1, and High altitude
Balloon Dummy Drops Part II, 18.
47. Capt. Joseph W. Kittinger, Jr., The Long, Lonely Leap, (New York:
E.P. Dutton & Co., Inc., 1961), and Lt. Col. David G. Simons, Man
High, (New York: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1960), and Capt. Joseph
W. Kittinger, Jr., “The Long, Lonely Leap,” National Geographic 118,
no. 6 (December 1960): 854-873, “Fantastic Catch in the Sky, Record
Leap towards Earth,” Life 49, no. 9 (August 29, 1960): 20–25, Popular
Mechanics Magazine, January 1951: 118, Collier’s, June 25, 1954, Time,
September 12, 1955, “The Fastest Man on Earth”.
48. Don Reilly, “MAD Salutes an Unsung Hero,” MAD, no. 61, (March
1961), 46.

49. High Altitude Balloon Dummy Drops Part I, and High altitude
Balloon Dummy Drops Part II.
50. High Altitude Balloon Dummy Drops Part II, 11–12.
51. Signed, sworn statement of Raymond A. Madson, Lt. Col., USAF
(Ret) and High Altitude Balloon Dummy Drops, Part I, 16.
52. High Altitude Balloon Dummy Drops, Part I, 5.
53. High Altitude Balloon Dummy Drops, Part I, 17.
54. ibid., and Memorandum, subj: Balloon Tracking and Recovery
Equipment, n.d., National Archives and Records Administration,
Accession No. 342-67B-2133, box 65/249, file 2, “Biophysics Branch-
Escape Section, High Altitude Escape Studies, 7218-71719,” and Robert
Blankenship, retired Balloon Branch Recovery Supervisor, telephone
interview with 1st Lt. James McAndrew, July 14, 1995.
55. Signed, sworn statement of Raymond A. Madson, Lt. Col., USAF
(Ret).
56. Blankenship, and Balloon Tracking and Recovery Equipment, n.d.,
and Bernard D. Gildenberg, Meteorological Aspects of Constant-Level
Balloon Operations in the Southwestern United States (hereafter
Meteorological Aspects of Constant-Level Balloon Operations in the
Southwestern United States), AFCRL-66-706 (L.G. Hanscom Field,
Bedford, MA: Air Force Cambridge Research Laboratories, October
1966), 27.
57. Historical Branch, Office of Information Services, Air Force Missile
Development Center, Contributions of Balloon Operations to Research
and Development at the Air Force Missile Development Center
Holloman AFB, N. Mex. 1947–1958 (Holloman AFB, NM: Air Research
and Development Command, 1958) (hereafter Contributions of Balloon
Operations to Research and Development at the Air Force Missile
Development Center, 1947–1958), 90.
58. High Altitude Balloon Dummy Drops, Part I, 16.
59. ibid., 17.
60. High Altitude Balloon Dummy Drops, Part I, 17.

61. Maj. John P. Stapp, Human Tolerance to Linear Deceleration, Part I.
Preliminary Survey of the Aft Facing Seated Position, Air Force
Technical Report 5915, (Wright Patterson AFB, OH: Wright Air
Development Center, 1949) and Maj. John P. Stapp, Part II. The Aft
Facing Position and the Development of a Crash Harness, Air Force
Technical Report 5915 (Wright Patterson AFB, OH: Wright Air
Development Center, 1951).
62. High Altitude Balloon Dummy Drops, Part II, 6.
63. Signed, sworn statement of Joseph W. Kittinger, Jr., Col., USAF
(Ret).
64. ibid.
65. Alderson Research Laboratories, Inc., “Instructions for Operation
and Maintenance, Model F-95 Anthropomorphic Test Dummies,” May 3,
1956, 1, and Glenn Richards, retired Balloon Branch Instrumentation
Specialist, telephone interview with Capt. James McAndrew, September
5, 1995.
66. Alderson Research Laboratories, Inc., “Instructions for Operation
and Maintenance, Model F-95 Anthropomorphic Test Dummies,” May 3,
1956, 1, and Ronald G. Hansen, Lt. Col. USAR, (Ret), Balloon
Recovery Helicopter Pilot, telephone interview with 1st Lt. James
McAndrew, May 1, 1995.
67. High Altitude Balloon Dummy Drops, Part I, 7–8.
68. Blankenship.
69. ibid.
70. The Beverly Hills Citizen, March 12, 1956, 7.
71. Research Division, College of Engineering, New York University,
Special Report No. 1, Constant Level Balloon, May 1947, 20–22.
72. Research Division, College of Engineering, New York University,
Technical Report No. 93.03, Constant Level Balloons, Operations,
March 1, 1951, 105.
73. U.S. Air Force Phillips Laboratory, “Phillips Laboratory Space
Experiments Directorate, Balloon, Rocket, and Satellite Capabilities,”

n.d., 33.
74. Bernard D. Gildenberg, Balloon Branch Meteorologist and Engineer,
interviewed by 1st Lt. James McAndrew, May 28, 1995, and
Contributions of Balloon Operations 1947–1958, 73.
75. ibid.
76. ibid.
77. Contributions of Balloon Operations 1947–1958, 73.
78. “Flight Summary, Non-Extensible Balloon Operations, 6580th Test
Squadron (Special), June 1950 to October 1954,” 22–24.
79. Contributions of Balloon Operations 1947–1958, 73–74.
80. Lt. Col. David G. Simons (MC), Stratosphere Balloon Techniques
for Exposing Living Specimens to Primary Cosmic Ray Particles,
Holloman Air Development Center TR 54-16, November 1954, 10–11.
81. “Flight Summary Non-Extensible Balloon Operations 6580th Test
Squadron (Special), June 1950 to October 1954,” 1–31, and
Contributions of Balloon Operations 1947–1958, 24.
82. “Flight Summary Non-Extensible Balloon Operations 6580th Test
Squadron (Special), June 1950 to October 1954,” 4.
83. Research Division, College of Engineering, New York University,
Technical Report No. 93.02, Constant Level Balloons, Section 3,
Summary of Flights, July 15, 1949, 32, in 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), Appendix
12.
84. Holloman Air Development Center, “Test Report on Radar Target
Balloons”, October 31, 1955, Air Force Historical Research Agency,
Maxwell, AFB, AL, Reel # 31811, Frame 1139, and Contributions of
Balloon Operations 1947–1958, 40–45.
85. Kevin C. Ruffner, ed., Corona: America’s First Satellite Program
(Washington, D.C.: Center for the Study of Intelligence, Central
Intelligence Agency, 1995), 22.

86. ibid., 21–22.
87. Air Force Missile Development Center, “Chronology of Events,”
Sept. 1, 1957-Aug 10, 1962, Air Force Historical Research Agency,
Maxwell, AFB, AL, Reel # 31731, Frame 561, and Flight Records of
Bernard D. Gildenberg, Meteorologist, Holloman AFB Balloon Branch,
October 12, 1956-March 14, 1961.
88. Flight Summary, Discoverer Balloon Flights, March 31, 1960-April
22, 1960, Air Force Historical Research Agency, Maxwell, AFB, AL,
Reel# 31811, frame 569.
89. ibid.
90. ibid.
91. Kevin C. Ruffner, ed., Corona: America’s First Satellite Program
(Washington, D.C.: Center for the Study of Intelligence, Central
Intelligence Agency, 1995), 21–22.
92. ibid.
93. ibid.
94. Martin Marietta Corporation, “Viking ’75, Balloon Launched
Decelerator Test Program Post Flight Report, BLDT Vehicle AV-3,” TR
3720293, 1972, IV-I and Edward J. Kirschner, Aerospace Balloons;
From Montgolfiere to Space (Blue Ridge Summit, Pa.: Aero Publishers,
1985), 64–66.
95. Martin Marietta Corporation, “Viking ’75, Balloon Launched
Decelerator Test Program Post Flight Report, BLDT Vehicle AV-3,” TR
3720293, 1972, IV-I.
96. Kevin D. Randle and Donald R. Schmitt, The Truth About the UFO
Crash at Roswell (New York: Avon Books, 1994), photograph section.
97. Air Force Cambridge Research Laboratories, “Report on Research,
for the Period July 1965-June 1967”, AFCRL TR-68-0039, November
1967, 150–151.
98. Gildenberg.

99. Database of high altitude balloon operations on file at SAF/AAZD
compiled from the following sources: Research Division, College of
Engineering, New York University, Technical Report No. 93.02,
Constant Level Balloons, Section 3, Summary of Flights, July 15, 1949;
“Flight Summary Non-Extensible Balloon Operations 6580th Test
Squadron (Special), June 1950 to October 1954,” National Archives and
Records Administration, National Personnel Records Center, St. Louis,
Mo., Accession No. 342-62A-181, box 14/18; Flight Records of Bernard
D. Gildenberg, Meteorologist, Holloman AFB Balloon Branch, October
12, 1956-March 14, 1961; “Summary of Balloon Flights Launched from
Holloman AFB, N.M., 1962 thru 1987”, Space and Missile Command,
Test and Evaluation Unit (SMC/TE, OL-AC) files, Holloman AFB, N.M.
Additional flight data on file (microfilm), U.S. Air Force Phillips
Laboratory, Geophysics Directorate, Hanscom AFB, Mass.
100. Bernard D. Gildenberg, Meteorological Aspects of Constant-Level
Balloon Operations in the Southwestern United States, AFCRL-66-706
(L.G. Hanscom Field, Bedford, MA: Air Force Cambridge Research
Laboratories, October 1966), and Bernard D. Gildenberg, General
Philosophy and Techniques of Balloon Control, in Lewis A. Grass, ed.,
Proceedings, Sixth AFCRL Scientific Balloon Symposium, AFCRL-70-
0543, (L.G. Hanscom Field, Bedford, Mass.: Air Force Cambridge
Research Laboratories, October 1970).
101. Blankenship.
102. ibid.
103. ibid.
104. ibid.
105. ibid.
106. Joseph Longshore, Balloon Branch Supervisor, telephone interview
with Capt. James McAndrew, August 16, 1995.
107. Signed sworn statement of James Ragsdale in Ragsdale Productions
Inc., The Jim Ragsdale Story: A Closer Look at the Roswell Incident
(Hall Poorbough Press, Inc., 1996), 10–11, and signed sworn statement
of James Ragsdale in Karl T. Pflock, Roswell in Perspective
(Washington, D.C.: Fund for UFO Research, 1994), 167.

108. James Ragsdale, interview with Donald R. Schmitt, January 26,
1993.
109. High Altitude Balloon Dummy Drops, Part II, 17.
110. High Altitude Balloon Dummy Drops Part I, 27–30 and High
Altitude Balloon Dummy Drops, Part II, 6, 10–12, 17.
111. Joseph W. Kittinger, Jr., Col., USAF (Ret), interview with 1st Lt.
James McAndrew, June 23, 1995.
112. Contributions of Balloon Operations to Research and Development
at the Air Force Missile Development Center, 1947–1958, 90, and
Meteorological Aspects of Constant-Level Balloon Operations in the
Southwestern United States, 1.
113. High Altitude Balloon Dummy Drops Part I, 24.
114. Blankenship and Kittinger.
115. ibid.
116. Memorandum, subj: Balloon Tracking and Recovery Equipment,
n.d., National Archives and Records Administration, National Personnel
Records Center, St. Louis, Mo., Accession No. 342-67B-2133, box
65/249, file 2, “Biophysics Branch-Escape Section, High Altitude
Escape Studies, 7218-71719.”
117. ibid., and Blankenship.
118. Charles Berlitz and William L. Moore, The Roswell Incident (New
York: Berkley, 1980), 64, and Don Berliner and Stanton Friedman,
Crash at Corona (New York: Paragon House, 1992), 88.
119. Recollections of Roswell, Part II, Knight interview.
120. Recollections of Roswell, Part II, Maltais interview.
121. Charles Berlitz and William L. Moore, The Roswell Incident (New
York: Berkley, 1980), 64, and Don Berliner and Stanton Friedman,
Crash at Corona (New York: Paragon House, 1992), 88.
122. Berliner and Friedman, 89.
123. Mark Rodeghier and Fred Whiting, The Plains of San Agustin
Controversy, July, 1947: Gerald Anderson, Barney Barnett, and the

Archaeologists, Introduction (Chicago, IL, Washington, D.C.: J. Allen
Hynek Center for UFO Studies and The Fund for UFO Research, June
1992), 2.
124. ibid.
125. Kevin D. Randle, Donald R. Schmitt, and Thomas J. Carey, Gerald
Anderson and the Plains of San Agustin, in The Plains of San Agustin
Controversy, July, 1947: Gerald Anderson, Barney Barnett, and the
Archaeologists (Chicago, IL, Washington, D.C.: J. Allen Hynek Center
for UFO Studies, and The Fund for UFO Research, June 1992), 19.
126. Recollections of Roswell, Part II, Anderson interview.
127. Berliner and Friedman, 90.
128. ibid., 91.
129. Gerald F. Anderson, interview with Kevin D. Randle, February 4,
1990, in The Plains of San Agustin Controversy, July, 1947: Gerald
Anderson, Barney Barnett, and the Archaeologists (Chicago, IL,
Washington, D.C.: J. Allen Hynek Center for UFO Studies and The Fund
for UFO Research, June 1992), 59.
130. Recollections of Roswell, Part II, Anderson interview.
131. ibid.
132. ibid.
133. ibid.
134. ibid.
135. Blankenship and Kittinger.
136. Recollections of Roswell, Part II, Anderson interview.
137. “Sierra Sam: Scientific Whipping Boy,” Machine Design,
December 22, 1960 and “Dummy Takes a Beating for Science’s Sake,”
Aviation Week, January 12, 1953.
138. Ragsdale.
139. Recollections of Roswell, Part II, Anderson interview.

140. Alderson Research Laboratories Inc., “Modular Series
Anthropomorphic Test Dummies,” Alderson Research Laboratories Inc.,
June 1955), 5.
141. Recollections of Roswell, Part II, Anderson interview.
142. ibid.
143. Signed, sworn statement of Raymond A. Madson, Lt. Col., USAF
(Ret).
144. Recollections of Roswell, Part II, Anderson interview.
145. High Altitude Balloon Dummy Drops, Part I, 22.
146. Recollections of Roswell, Part II, Anderson interview.
147. High Altitude Balloon Dummy Drops, Part I, 9, and High Altitude
Balloon Dummy Drops, Part II, 8.
148. Berliner and Friedman, 91.
149. ibid., 92–94.
150. Recollections of Roswell, Part II, Anderson interview.
151. ibid.
152. Memorandum, subject: Balloon Tracking and Recovery Equipment,
n.d., National Archives and Records Administration, National Personnel
Records Center, St. Louis, Mo., Accession No. 342-67B-2133, box
65/249, file 2, “Biophysics Branch-Escape Section, High Altitude
Escape Studies, 7218-71719,” and High Altitude Balloon Dummy Drops,
Part I, 17, and “Weekly Test Status Report on Project 7218, Manned
Balloon Flights, (MX-1450B)”, for Week Ending 28 February 1955,
National Archives and Records Administration, National Personnel
Records Center, St. Louis, Mo., Accession No. 342-66A-181, Box 14/18.
153. Kittinger and Historical Branch, Office of Information Services, Air
Research and Development Command, History of Flight Support
Holloman Air Development Center 1946–1957 (Holloman AFB, N.M.:
Holloman Air Development Center, 1957), 101.
154. Blankenship.
155. Berliner and Friedman, 106.

156. Bernard D. Gildenberg, Techniques Developed for Heavy Load
Non-Extensible Balloon Flights, Report No. HADC-TN-54-3 (Holloman
AFB, NM: Holloman Air Development Center, March 1954), 7.
157. Recollections of Roswell, Part II, Anderson interview.
158. Blankenship and Ole Jorgeson, MSgt., USAF, (Ret), Balloon
Branch Communications Supervisor, interview with 1st Lt. James
McAndrew, May 28, 1995.
159. ibid.
160. Berliner and Friedman, 107.
161. ibid.
162. Blankenship.
163. Berliner and Friedman, 106.
164. Blankenship.
165. Signed sworn statement of James Ragsdale in, Ragsdale
Productions Inc., The Jim Ragsdale Story: A Closer Look at the Roswell
Incident (Hall Poorbough Press, Inc., 1996), 10–11, and signed sworn
statement of James Ragsdale in Karl T. Pflock, Roswell in Perspective
(Washington, D.C.: Fund for UFO Research, 1994), 167.
166. Ragsdale.
167. Frank J. Kaufman, interview with Kevin Randle and Donald
Schmitt, January 27, 1990.
168. Recollections of Roswell, Part II, Anderson interview.
169. Ragsdale.
170. ibid.
171. Berliner and Friedman, 92.
172. Recollections of Roswell, Part II, Maltais interview.
173. ibid., Knight interview.
174. ibid., Anderson interview.
175. ibid., Maltais interview.

176. ibid.
177. ibid., Anderson interview.
178. Ragsdale.
179. Recollections of Roswell, Part II, Anderson interview.
180. ibid., Maltais interview.
181. ibid., Anderson interview.
182. ibid.
183. ibid., Maltais interview.
184. ibid., Anderson interview.
185. Charles Berlitz and William L. Moore, The Roswell Incident (New
York: Berkley, 1980), 61.
186. Berliner and Friedman, 92.
187. Recollections of Roswell, Part II, Anderson interview.
188. Berliner and Friedman, 91.
189. ibid.
190. ibid., 92.
191. ibid., 91.
192. Recollections of Roswell, Part II, Maltais interview.
193. Berliner and Friedman, 93.
194. ibid., 93–94.
195. ibid., 92.
196. Recollections of Roswell, Part II, Anderson interview.
197. Berliner and Friedman, 106.
198. Ragsdale.
199. ibid.
200. Recollections of Roswell, Part II, Anderson interview.

201. ibid.
202. Ragsdale.
203. Recollections of Roswell, Part II, Anderson interview.
204. ibid.
205. ibid.
206. Berliner and Friedman, 106.
207. Ragsdale.
208. Berliner and Friedman, 107.
209. Recollections of Roswell, Part II, Anderson interview.
210. ibid.
211. Ragsdale.
212. Recollections of Roswell, Part II, Anderson interview.
213. Ragsdale.
214. Recollections of Roswell, Part II, Anderson interview.
215. Ragsdale.
216. Recollections of Roswell, Part II, Anderson interview.
217. ibid.
218. Berliner and Friedman, 107.

Notes - Section Two
1. Karl T. Pflock, “Star Witness: The Mortician of Roswell Breaks His
Code of Silence,” Omni, Fall 1995, 103.
2. Don Berliner and Stanton T. Friedman, Crash at Corona (New York:
Paragon House, 1992), 117, 120, and W. Glenn Dennis, interview with
Karl T. Pflock, November 2, 1992, 18–19.
3. Video, Recollections of Roswell, Part II, W. Glenn Dennis interview
(Washington, D.C.: Fund for UFO Research, 1993) (hereafter
Recollections of Roswell, Part II).
4. Recollections of Roswell, Part II, W. Glenn Dennis interview.
5. ibid.
6. ibid.
7. ibid.
8. ibid., and W. Glenn Dennis, interview with Karl T. Pflock, November
2, 1992, and Karl T. Pflock, “Star Witness: The Mortician of Roswell
Breaks His Code of Silence,” Omni, Fall 1995, 103.
9. Karl T. Pflock, “Star Witness: The Mortician of Roswell Breaks His
Code of Silence,” Omni, Fall 1995, 103.
10. Recollections of Roswell, Part II, W. Glenn Dennis interview.
11. ibid.
12. ibid.
13. Don Berliner and Stanton T. Friedman, Crash at Corona (New York:
Paragon House, 1992), 120, and W. Glenn Dennis, interview with Karl
T. Pflock, November 2, 1992.
14. Karl T. Pflock, “Star Witness: The Mortician of Roswell Breaks His
Code of Silence,” Omni, Fall 1995, 103.
15. Recollections of Roswell, Part II, W. Glenn Dennis interview.

16. Don Berliner and Stanton T. Friedman, Crash at Corona (New York:
Paragon House, 1992), 117.
17. Recollections of Roswell, Part II, W. Glenn Dennis interview.
18. ibid.
19. ibid.
20. ibid.
21. W. Glenn Dennis, interview with Stanton T. Friedman, August 5,
1989.
22. Recollections of Roswell, Part II, W. Glenn Dennis interview.
23. W. Glenn Dennis, interview with Karl T. Pflock, November 2, 1992.
24. Recollections of Roswell, Part II, W. Glenn Dennis interview.
25. W. Glenn Dennis, interview with Karl T. Pflock, November 2, 1992.
26. Recollections of Roswell, Part II, W. Glenn Dennis interview.
27. ibid.
28. ibid.
29. Don Berliner and Stanton T. Friedman, Crash at Corona (New York:
Paragon House, 1992), 119, and Karl T. Pflock, “Star Witness: The
Mortician of Roswell Breaks His Code of Silence,” Omni, Fall 1995,
105.
30. Recollections of Roswell, Part II, W. Glenn Dennis interview.
31. ibid.
32. W. Glenn Dennis, interview with Karl T. Pflock, November 2, 1992.
33. ibid.
34. Karl T. Pflock, “Star Witness: The Mortician of Roswell Breaks His
Code of Silence,” Omni, Fall 1995, 105, and W. Glenn Dennis, interview
with Karl T. Pflock, November 2, 1992.
35. Karl T. Pflock, “Star Witness: The Mortician of Roswell Breaks His
Code of Silence,” Omni, Fall 1995, 105.

36. W. Glenn Dennis, interview with Stanton T. Friedman, August 5,
1989.
37. ibid.
38. Don Berliner and Stanton T. Friedman, Crash at Corona (New York:
Paragon House, 1992), 119.
39. 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”.
40. 427th AAFBU Sq “M” Morning Reports, July 8–9, 1947, National
Archives and Records Administration, National Personnel Records
Center, St. Louis, Mo.
41. Personnel record of 1st Lt. Angele A. (LaRue) Thessing, National
Archives and Records Administration, National Personnel Records
Center, St. Louis, Mo.
42. ibid.
43. Personnel records of Capt. Joyce Goddard, 1st Lt. Rosemary J.
Brown, 1st Lt. Eileen M. Fanton, 1st Lt. Angele A. LaRue, 1st Lt.
Claudia Uebele, National Archives and Records Administration,
National Personnel Records Center, St. Louis, Mo.
44. Karl T. Pflock, “Star Witness: The Mortician of Roswell Breaks His
Code of Silence,” Omni, Fall 1995, 132, and W. Glenn Dennis, interview
with Stanton T. Friedman, August 5, 1989.
45. Paul McCarthy, “The Case of the Vanishing Nurses,” Omni, Fall
1995, 107–114.
46. WD AGO FORM 66, “Officer’s Qualification Record,” Personnel
Record of Capt. Eileen M. Fanton, National Archives and Records
Administration, National Personnel Records Center, St. Louis, Mo.
47. DD Form 214, “Armed Forces of the United States Report of
Transfer or Discharge”, April 30, 1958, Personnel file of Capt. Eileen M.
Fanton, National Archives and Records Administration, National
Personnel Records Center, St. Louis, Mo.

48. Karl T. Pflock, “Star Witness: The Mortician of Roswell Breaks His
Code of Silence,” Omni, Fall 1995, 132.
49. WD AGO FORM 66, “Officer’s Qualification Record,” and WD
AGO FORM 66-3, “AAF Medical Dep’t Officer’s Qualification
Record,” Personnel Record of Capt. Eileen M. Fanton, National
Archives and Records Administration, National Personnel Records
Center, St. Louis, Mo.
50. W. Glenn Dennis, interview with Karl T. Pflock, November 2, 1992.
51. WD AGO FORM 66-3, “AAF Medical Dep’t Officer’s Qualification
Record,” Personnel Record of Capt. Eileen M. Fanton, National
Archives and Records Administration, National Personnel Records
Center, St. Louis, Mo.
52. Karl T. Pflock, “Star Witness: The Mortician of Roswell Breaks His
Code of Silence,” Omni, Fall 1995, 104 and W. Glenn Dennis, interview
with Karl T. Pflock, November 2, 1992, 11, 15.
53. WD AGO FORM 66, “Officer’s Qualification Record,” Personnel
Record of Capt. Eileen M. Fanton, National Archives and Records
Administration, National Personnel Records Center, St. Louis, Mo.
54. ibid.
55. WD MD FORM 55A, “Clinical Record Brief,” September 5, 1947,
and WD AGO FORM 8-38, “Special Examination or Additional Data,”
September 11, 1947, Personnel Record of Capt. Eileen M. Fanton,
National Archives and Records Administration, National Personnel
Records Center, St. Louis, Mo.
56. ibid, and Physical Examination Board Proceedings, Capt. Eileen M.
Fanton, August 24, 1955, Personnel Record of Capt. Eileen M. Fanton,
National Archives and Records Administration, National Personnel
Records Center, St. Louis, Mo.
57. W. Glenn Dennis, interview with Stanton T. Friedman, August 5,
1989, and W. Glenn Dennis, interview with Karl T. Pflock, November 2,
1992.
58. W. Glenn Dennis, interview with Stanton T. Friedman, August 5,
1989.

59. ibid.
60. Roster of Officers, 6th Bomb Wing, Walker AFB, N.M., December
30, 1952, “History of the 6th Bomb Wing, December 1952,” Air Force
Historical Research Center, Maxwell AFB, AL.
61. ibid.
62. Dr. Frank B. Nordstrom, interview with Capt. James McAndrew,
April 25, 1996, and Dr. Frank B. Nordstrom, Signed Sworn Statement,
April 25, 1996.
63. Charles E. Clouthier, Signed Sworn Statement, April 26, 1996.
64. ibid.
65. J.P. Cahn, “Flying Saucers and the Mysterious Little Green Men,”
True 31, No. 184, (September 1952), 19.
66. ibid., 103.
67. ibid., 19.
68. J.P. Cahn, “Flying Saucer Swindlers,” True 36, No. 231, (August
1956), 36.
69. ibid., 36.
70. J.P. Cahn, “Flying Saucers and the Mysterious Little Green Men,”
True 31, No. 184, (September 1952), 110.
71. ibid.
72. “4 Rank Titles Change,” Air Force Times, March 29, 1952, 1, 22.
73. Alan L. Gropman, The Air Force Integrates, 1945–1964
(Washington, D.C.: Office of Air Force History, 1985), 243.
74. Don Berliner and Stanton T. Friedman, Crash at Corona (New York:
Paragon House, 1992), 117.
75. WD AGO FORM 66, “Officer’s Qualification Record,” and AF
FORM 11, “Officer Military Record,” Personnel Record of Col. Lee F.
Ferrell, National Archives and Records Administration, National
Personnel Records Center, St. Louis, Mo.
76. ibid.

77. Karl T. Pflock, “Star Witness: The Mortician of Roswell Breaks His
Code of Silence,” Omni, Fall 1995, 105, and W. Glenn Dennis, interview
with Karl T. Pflock, November 2, 1992.
78. Karl T. Pflock, “Star Witness: The Mortician of Roswell Breaks His
Code of Silence,” Omni, Fall 1995, 105.
79. Karl T. Pflock, “Star Witness: The Mortician of Roswell Breaks His
Code of Silence,” Omni, Fall 1995, 105, and W. Glenn Dennis, interview
with Karl T. Pflock, November 2, 1992.
80. W. Glenn Dennis, interview with Karl T. Pflock, November 2, 1992.
81. ibid.
82. ibid.
83. 427th AAFBU Sq. “M” Morning Reports, July 1–31, 1947, National
Archives and Records Administration, National Personnel Records
Center, St. Louis, Mo.
84. WD AGO FORM 1, “Morning Report,” 427th AAFBU Sq. “M,”
April 1, 1947 through October 1, 1947, and WD AGO FORM 66,
“Officer’s Qualification Record,” Personnel Record of Capt. Joyce
Goddard, National Archives and Records Administration, National
Personnel Records Center, St. Louis, Mo.
85. WD AGO FORM 66, “Officer’s Qualification Record,” Personnel
Record of Capt. Joyce Goddard, National Archives and Records
Administration, National Personnel Records Center, St. Louis, Mo.
86. WD AGO FORM 1, “Morning Report,” 427th AAFBU, Sq. “M,”
August 7, 1947, National Archives and Records Administration, National
Personnel Records Center, St. Louis, Mo.
87. ibid., and WD AGO FORM 66, “Officer’s Qualification Record,”
Personnel Record of Capt. Lucille C. Slattery, National Archives and
Records Administration, National Personnel Records Center, St. Louis,
Mo.
88. Ethel Kovatch-Scott, Col., USAF (Ret), telephone interview with
Capt. James McAndrew, May 5, 1995 and July 3, 1996, and Mary
Hoadley, Lt. Col., USAF (Ret), telephone interview with 1st Lt. James

McAndrew, May 5, 1995, and Mary L. Wiggins, Maj., USAF (Ret),
telephone interview with 1st Lt. James McAndrew, May 5, 1995.
89. ibid.
90. WD AGO FORM 66, “Officer’s Qualification Record,” Personnel
Record of Capt. Lucille C. Slattery, National Archives and Records
Administration, National Personnel Records Center, St. Louis, Mo.
91. WD AGO FORM 1, “Morning Report,” 427th AAFBU, Sq. “M,”
509th Station Medical Group, 509th Medical Group, 509th Medical
Squadron, January 1947 through February 1952, National Archives and
Records Administration, National Personnel Records Center, St. Louis,
Mo. and Rosters of Officers, 509th Bomb Wing- February 1952 through
July 1958, 6th Bomb Wing- February 1952 through March 1967, and AF
FORM 11, “Officer Military Record,” Personnel Record of Maj. Idabelle
M. Wilson, National Archives and Records Administration, National
Personnel Records Center, St. Louis, Mo.
92. AF FORM 11, “Officer Military Record,” Personnel Record of Maj.
Idabelle M. Wilson, National Archives and Records Administration,
National Personnel Records Center, St. Louis, Mo.
93. ibid.
94. Idabelle M. Wilson, Maj., USAF, (Ret), telephone interview with 1st
Lt. James McAndrew, April 28, 1995.
95. ibid.
96. Memo: Jack A. Comstock, Maj. (MC), Surgeon, 509th Station
Medical Group, to Major Robert W. Schick, Investigating Officer,
Headquarters, USAF, subj: Investigation of B-29 Crash, 18 August 1948,
Aircraft Accident No. 48-8-12, Aircraft #44-86383, Air Force Historical
Research Agency, Maxwell AFB, AL. and WD AGO Form 8-33,
“Clinical Record Brief,” 12 August 1948, Personnel records of Air Force
members, service numbers AF 18041408 and AF 16191866, National
Archives and Records Administration, National Personnel Records
Center, St. Louis, Mo.
97. ibid.
98. ibid.

99. WD AGO Form 8-33, “Clinical Record Brief,” 16 May 1949,
Personnel records of Air Force members, service numbers AO 827137
and AF 42050093, National Archives and Records Administration,
National Personnel Records Center, St. Louis, Mo.
100. WD AGO Form 5-4, “Individual Crash Fire Report,” 20 May 1949,
Aircraft Accident No. 49-5-16, Aircraft #43-48401, Air Force Historical
Research Agency, Maxwell AFB, AL.
101. WD AGO Form 8-33, “Clinical Record Brief,” 16 May 1949,
Personnel records of Air Force members, service numbers AO 827137
and AF 42050093, National Archives and Records Administration,
National Personnel Records Center, St. Louis, Mo.
102. WD AGO Form 5-4, “Individual Crash Fire Report,” 19 December
1949, Aircraft Accident No. 49-12-15-2, Air Force Historical Research
Agency, Maxwell AFB, AL.
103. WD AGO Form 8-33, “Clinical Record Brief,” 19 December 1949,
and “Autopsy Report,” Personnel records of Air Force members, service
numbers 17343A, AF 11101085, and 15239923, National Archives and
Records Administration, National Personnel Records Center, St. Louis,
Mo.
104. ibid.
105. WD AGO Form 8-33, “Clinical Record Brief,” 1 June 1950,
Personnel records of Air Force members, service numbers AO 685565
and AF 32668639, National Archives and Records Administration,
National Personnel Records Center, St. Louis, Mo.
106. ibid.
107. ibid.
108. Standard form 503, “Autopsy Protocol,” June 16, 1955 of Air Force
members, service numbers AO 3006516 and AO 3004607, Aircraft
Accident No. 55-6-16-6, Air Force Historical Research Agency, Maxwell
AFB, AL.
109. DD Form 481-3, “Clinical Record Cover Sheet,” June 16, 1955,
Personnel Records of Air Force members, service numbers AO 3006516

and AO 3004607, National Archives and Records Administration,
National Personnel Records Center, St. Louis, Mo.
110. Standard form 503, “Autopsy Protocol,” June 16, 1955, of Air
Force members, service numbers AO 3006516 and AO 3004607, Aircraft
Accident No. 55-6-16-6, Air Force Historical Research Agency, Maxwell
AFB, AL.
111. Air Force Form 14b, “Medical Report of an Individual Involved in
AF Aircraft Accident,” 3 October 1955, Aircraft Accident No. 55-10-3-6,
Air Force Historical Research Agency, Maxwell AFB, AL.
112. Official Trip Report Walker AFB, N.M. October 4, thru October 7,
1955, George Schwaderer, Identification Specialist to MCTSG, October
12, 1955, Accession No. 342-65A-6025, Box 25/28, folder Trip Rpts.,
Search & Ident: Mar 56 to Dec 56. Trip #198 to 234, National Archives
and Records Administration, National Personnel Records Center, St.
Louis, Mo., and AF Form 715, “Preparation Room History,” 4 October
1955, Personnel Record of Air Force member, service number
1521B/2009467, National Archives and Records Administration,
National Personnel Records Center, St. Louis, Mo.
113. Air Force Form 14b, “Medical Report of an Individual Involved in
AF Aircraft Accident,” 3 October 1955, Aircraft Accident No. 55-10-3-6,
Air Force Historical Research Agency, Maxwell AFB, AL.
114. Standard form 503, “Autopsy Protocol,” June 27, 1956, Personnel
Record of Air Force members, service numbers AO 2223861 and AF
37578524, National Archives and Records Administration, National
Personnel Records Center, St. Louis, Mo.
115. Official Trip Report Walker AFB, N.M. 27 June through 30 June
1956, George Schwaderer, Identification Specialist to Thomas W. Toy,
Chief Memorial Affairs Branch, Air Force Services Division, Accession
No. 342-65A-6025, Box 25/28, folder Trip Rpts., Search & Ident: Mar
56 to Dec 56. Trip #198 to 234, National Archives and Records
Administration, National Personnel Records Center, St. Louis, Mo.
116. Standard form 503, “Autopsy Protocol,” June 27, 1956, Personnel
Record of Air Force members, service numbers AO 2223861 and AF
37578524, National Archives and Records Administration, National

Personnel Records Center, St. Louis, Mo., and Air Force Form 14b,
“Medical Report of an Individual Involved in AF Aircraft Accident,”
June 26, 1956, Headquarters Air Force Safety Agency, Kirtland AFB,
N.M.
117. AF Form 697, “Identification Findings and Conclusions,” 3 Feb
1960, Personnel Records of Air Force members, service numbers AO
794152 and 1046844, National Archives and Records Administration,
National Personnel Records Center, St. Louis, Mo.
118. ibid.
119. ibid.
120. Charles A. Ravenstein, Air Force Combat Wings; Lineage and
Honors Histories, 1947–1977 (Washington D.C.: U.S. Government
Printing Office, 1984), 16, 275–276.
121. Air Force Form 14, “Report of Air Force Aircraft Accident,” June
26, 1956, Headquarters Air Force Safety Agency, Kirtland AFB, N.M.
122. ibid.
123. ibid.
124. ibid.
125. ibid.
126. Official Trip Report Walker AFB, N.M. 27 June through 30 June
1956, George Schwaderer, Identification Specialist to Thomas W. Toy,
Chief Memorial Affairs Branch, Air Force Services Division, Accession
No. 342-65A-6025, Box 25/28, folder Trip Rpts., Search & Ident: Mar
56 to Dec 56. Trip #198 to 234, National Archives and Records
Administration, National Personnel Records Center, St. Louis, Mo.
127. ibid.
128. Jack L. Whenry, Maj., USAF, (Ret), telephone interview with 1st
Lt. James McAndrew, January 26, 1995, and John C. Walter, MSgt.,
USAF (Ret), telephone interview with Capt. James McAndrew, June 29,
1995 and July 12, 1996.
129. ibid.

130. Official Trip Report Walker AFB, N.M. 27 June through 30 June
1956, George Schwaderer, Identification Specialist to Thomas W. Toy,
Chief Memorial Affairs Branch, Air Force Services Division, Accession
No. 342-65A-6025, Box 25/28, folder Trip Rpts., Search & Ident: Mar
56 to Dec 56. Trip #198 to 234, National Archives and Records
Administration, National Personnel Records Center, St. Louis, Mo.
131. ibid.
132. Recollections of Roswell, Part II, W. Glenn Dennis interview, and
Karl T. Pflock, “Star Witness: The Mortician of Roswell Breaks His
Code of Silence,” Omni, Fall 1995, 104.
133. DD Form 481-3, “Clinical Record Cover Sheet,” June 26, 1956,
Personnel Record of AF 37578524, National Archives and Records
Administration, National Personnel Records Center, St. Louis, Mo.
134. Whenry, Walters, and Air Force Manual 143-1, 1 November 1953,
“Mortuary Affairs,” 28, Record Group 341, Entry 36, Box 13, Microfilm
Reel 167, National Archives and Record Administration, College Park,
Md.
135. Recollections of Roswell, Part II, W. Glenn Dennis interview.
136. Standard form 503, “Autopsy Protocol,” June 27, 1956, Personnel
Record of Air Force members, service numbers AO 2223861 and AF
37578524, National Archives and Records Administration, National
Personnel Records Center, St. Louis, Mo.
137. Recollections of Roswell, Part II, W. Glenn Dennis interview.
138. Standard form 503, “Autopsy Protocol,” June 27, 1956, Personnel
Record of Air Force member, service number AF 37578524, National
Archives and Records Administration, National Personnel Records
Center, St. Louis, Mo.
139. ibid.
140. ibid.
141. Recollections of Roswell, Part II, W. Glenn Dennis interview.
142. Standard form 503, “Autopsy Protocol,” June 27, 1956, Personnel
Record of Air Force members, service numbers AO 2223861 and AF

37578524, National Archives and Records Administration, National
Personnel Records Center, St. Louis, Mo., and Air Force Form 14b,
“Medical Report of an Individual Involved in AF Aircraft Accident,”
June 26, 1956, Headquarters Air Force Safety Agency, Kirtland AFB,
N.M.
143. DD Form 481-3, “Clinical Record Cover Sheet,” June 26, 1956,
Personnel Record of Air Force members, service numbers AO 2223861
and AF 37578524, National Archives and Records Administration,
National Personnel Records Center, St. Louis, Mo.
144. Karl T. Pflock, “Star Witness: The Mortician of Roswell Breaks His
Code of Silence,” Omni, Fall 1995, 108.
145. Official Trip Report Walker AFB, N.M. October 4, thru October 7,
1955, George Schwaderer, Identification Specialist to MCTSG, October
12, 1955, Accession No. 342-65A-6025, Box 25/28, folder Trip Rpts.,
Search & Ident: Mar 56 to Dec 56. Trip #198 to 234, National Archives
and Records Administration, National Personnel Records Center, St.
Louis, Mo., and AF Form 697, “Identification Findings and
Conclusions,” 3 Feb 1960, Personnel Records of Air Force members,
service numbers AO 794152 and 1046844, National Archives and
Records Administration, National Personnel Records Center, St. Louis,
Mo.
146. Air Force Manual 143-1, 1 November 1953, “Mortuary Affairs,”
28–29, Accession No. 341, Entry 36, Box 13, Microfilm Reel 167,
National Archives and Record Administration, College Park, Md.
147. Official Trip Report—Walker AFB, N.M. 27 June through 30 June
1956, George J. Schwaderer, Identification Specialist, to Thomas W. Toy,
Chief Memorial Affairs Branch, July 5, 1956, Accession No. 342-65A-
6025, Box 25/28, folder Trip Rpts., Search & Ident: Mar 56 to Dec 56.
Trip #198 to 234, National Archives and Records Administration,
National Personnel Records Center, St. Louis, Mo., and Jack L. Whenry,
Maj., USAF, (Ret), telephone interview with 1st Lt. James McAndrew,
January 26, 1995, and John C. Walter, MSgt., USAF (Ret), telephone
interview with Capt. James McAndrew, June 29, 1995 and July 12,
1996.

148. Walter and Whenry.
149. ibid.
150. WD AGO FORM 66, “Officer’s Qualification Record,” and AF
FORM 11, “Officer Military Record,” Personnel Record of Col. Lee F.
Ferrell, National Archives and Records Administration, National
Personnel Records Center, St. Louis, Mo.
151. “Air Force Care of Deceased Personnel (1951–1959), Volume 1:
Text”, Historical Study No. 236, Call No. K 201-326, Air Force
Historical Research Agency, Maxwell AFB, AL.
152. Air Force Manual 143-1, 1 November 1953, “Mortuary Affairs,”
27, Accession No. 341, Entry 36, Box 13, Microfilm Reel 167, National
Archives and Record Administration, College Park, Md.
153. Official Trip Report Walker AFB, N.M. 27 June through 30 June
1956, George Schwaderer, Identification Specialist to Thomas W. Toy,
Chief Memorial Affairs Branch, Air Force Services Division, July 5,
1956 and Official Trip Report Walker AFB, N.M. October 4, thru
October 7, 1955, George Schwaderer, Identification Specialist to
MCTSG, October 12, 1955, Accession No. 342-65A-6025, Box 25/28,
folder Trip Rpts., Search & Ident: Mar 56 to Dec 56. Trip #198 to 234,
National Archives and Records Administration, National Personnel
Records Center, St. Louis, Mo.
154. Official Trip Report Walker AFB, N.M. 27 June through 30 June
1956, George Schwaderer, Identification Specialist to Thomas W. Toy,
Chief Memorial Affairs Branch, Air Force Services Division, July 5,
1956, Accession No. 342-65A-6025, Box 25/28, folder Trip Rpts.,
Search & Ident: Mar 56 to Dec 56. Trip #198 to 234, National Archives
and Records Administration, National Personnel Records Center, St.
Louis, Mo.
155. George J. Schwaderer, telephone interview with Capt. James
McAndrew, June 28, 1996.
156. ibid.
157. Air Force Manual 143-1, 1 November 1953, “Mortuary Affairs,”
27, Accession No. 341, Entry 36, Box 13, Microfilm Reel 167, National

Archives and Record Administration, College Park, Md.
158. Karl T. Pflock, “Star Witness: The Mortician of Roswell Breaks His
Code of Silence,” Omni, Fall 1995, 104.
159. Memo, Charles J. Stahl, M.D., Armed Forces Medical Examiner, to
Capt. James McAndrew, SAF/AAZD, subj: Request for Information on
Aircraft Crash Fatalities, October 13, 1995.
160. Unit history, 4036 USAF Hospital, Walker AFB, N.M., June 1956,
6, Air Force Historical Research Agency, Maxwell AFB, AL.
161. ibid.
162. Standard form 503, “Autopsy Protocol,” June 27, 1956, Personnel
Record of of Air Force members, service numbers AO 2223861 and AF
37578524, National Archives and Records Administration, National
Personnel Records Center, St. Louis, Mo.
163. Air Force Missile Development Center, Man-High I, MDC-TR-59-
24, 1959, and Lt. Col. David G. Simons, Man High II, Air Force Missile
Development Center, Holloman AFB, N.M., AFMDC-TR-59-28, June
1959, 1, and Air Force Missile Development Center, Man High III,
MDC-TR-60-16, 1961.
164. Historical Branch, Office of Information Services, Air Force
Missile Development Center, Air Research and Development Command,
Holloman AFB, N.M., Contributions of Balloon Operations to Research
and Development at the Air Force Missile Development Center
Holloman Air Force Base, N. Mex. 1947–1958 (hereafter Contributions
of Balloon Operations 1947–1958), 11.
165. ibid., and Air Force Missile Development Center FORM 597,
Schedule Request- Project 7222/4.2- “Manned Gondola Flight,” May 19,
20, 22, 1959, Accession No. 342-65B-3185, Box 4/22, National Archives
and Records Administration, National Personnel Records Center, St.
Louis, Mo.
166. DD FORM 481-3, “Clinical Record Cover Sheet,” May 21, 1959,
Personnel Record of Capt. Dan D. Fulgham, National Archives and
Records Administration, National Personnel Records Center, St. Louis,
Mo., and Air Force Missile Development Center FORM 597, Schedule

Request- Project 7222/4.2- “Manned Gondola Flight,” May 20, 1959,
Accession No. 342-65B-3185, Box 4/22, National Archives and Records
Administration, National Personnel Records Center, St. Louis, Mo.
167. DD Form 613, R&D Progress Card, Project 7164, “Physiology of
Flight,” Task 71840, “Life Supporting Systems for Advanced Vehicles,”
February 24, 1959, 30–31, National Archives and Record Administration
Accession No. 342-75-095, Box 93/100, folder 1, and Technical “R&D”
Record Book, Aeromedical Laboratory, Physiology Branch, “Life
Support System for Orbital Flight,” Project 7164, Task 71840, 13–16,
National Archives and Record Administration, National Personnel
Records Center, St. Louis, Mo. Accession No. 342-75-095, Box 93/100,
folder 2.
168. Air Force Form 77, “USAF Officer Effectiveness Report, 1 Feb 58
to 31 Jan 59, Personnel Record of Capt. Joseph W. Kittinger, Jr.,
National Archives and Records Administration, National Personnel
Records Center, St. Louis, Mo., and Capt. Joseph W. Kittinger, Jr., The
Long, Lonely Leap, (New York: E.P. Dutton & Co., Inc., 1961) 131.
169. Air Force Missile Development Center, Man-High I, MDC-TR-59-
24, 1959.
170. Schedule Request- Project 7222/4.2- “Manned Gondola Flight,”
May 19, 20, 22, 1959, Accession No. 342-65B-3185, Box 4/22, National
Archives and Records Administration, National Personnel Records
Center, St. Louis, Mo.
171. ibid.
172. Ole Jorgeson, MSgt., USAF, (Ret), interview with 1st Lt. James
McAndrew, May 28, 1995.
173. Air Force Missile Development Center FORM 597, Schedule
Request- Project 7222/4.2- “Manned Gondola Flight,” May 19, 1959,
Accession No. 342-65B-3185, Box 4/22, National Archives and Records
Administration, National Personnel Records Center, St. Louis, Mo.
174. Air Force Missile Development Center FORM 597, Schedule
Request- Project 7222/4.2- “Manned Gondola Flight,” May 20, 1959,
Accession No. 342-65B-3185, Box 4/22.

175. ibid.
176. ibid.
177. ibid., and Joseph W. Kittinger, Jr., Col., USAF (Ret), interview with
1st Lt. James McAndrew, June 23, 1995.
178. Kittinger.
179. ibid.
180. ibid.
181. Dan D. Fulgham, Col., USAF, (Ret), interview with 1st Lt. James
McAndrew, May 26, 1995.
182. ibid. and Standard Form 539, “Abbreviated Clinical Record,” May
21, 1959, Personnel Record of Col. Dan D. Fulgham, National Archives
and Records Administration, National Personnel Records Center, St.
Louis, Mo.
183. ibid.
184. Jorgeson and Roland H. Lutz, CMSgt., USAF (Ret), interview with
1st Lt. James McAndrew, May 31, 1995.
185. ibid.
186. Fulgham and William C. Kaufman, Lt. Col., USAF, (Ret), interview
with 1st Lt. James McAndrew, May 24, 1995.
187. ibid.
188. Jorgeson.
189. Kaufman.
190. Signed, sworn statement of Dan D. Fulgham, Col., USAF, (Ret),
May 25, 1995.
191. Kittinger.
192. ibid.
193. Video, Recollections of Roswell, Part II, Gerald Anderson
interview, (Washington, D.C.: Fund for UFO Research, 1993).

194. Kittinger and Air Force Form 77, “USAF Officer Effectiveness
Report,” 1 Feb 58 to 31 Jan 59, Personnel Record of Col. Joseph W.
Kittinger, Jr., National Archives and Records Administration, National
Personnel Records Center, St. Louis, Mo.
195. Kittinger.
196. ibid., and Kaufman.
197. Kittinger.
198. ibid.
199. ibid.
200. Recollections of Roswell, Part II, W. Glenn Dennis interview.
201. Signed, sworn statements of Charles A. Coltman, Col. (MC),
USAF, (Ret), Dan D. Fulgham, Col., USAF, (Ret), Joseph W. Kittinger,
Jr., Col., USAF, (Ret), Roland H. Lutz, CMSgt., USAF, (Ret), Ole
Jorgeson, MSgt., USAF, (Ret), and statement of William C. Kaufman,
Lt. Col., USAF, (Ret).
202. Kittinger.
203. Capt. Joseph W. Kittinger, Jr., The Long, Lonely Leap, (New York:
E.P. Dutton & Co., Inc., 1961) 130.
204. Kittinger.
205. Signed, sworn statements of Charles A. Coltman, Col. (MC),
USAF, (Ret), Dan D. Fulgham, Col., USAF, (Ret), Joseph W. Kittinger,
Jr., Col., USAF, (Ret), Roland H. Lutz, CMSgt., USAF, (Ret), Ole
Jorgeson, MSgt., USAF, (Ret), and statement of William C. Kaufman,
Lt. Col., USAF, (Ret).
206. Craig D. Ryan, The Pre-Astronauts, (Annapolis: Naval Institute
Press, 1995), 200.
207. Air Force Missile Development Center FORM 597, Schedule
Request- Project 7222/4.2- “Manned Gondola Flight,” May 19, 1959,
Accession No. 342-65B-3185, Box 4/22, National Archives and Records
Administration, National Personnel Records Center, St. Louis, Mo., and

Memo: Maj. Lawrence M. Bogard, Chief, Balloon Branch, to MDWXB,
subj: Project 7222, 8 May 1959.
208. ibid., and Jorgeson.
209. Jorgeson.
210. ibid.
211. Recollections of Roswell, Part II, W. Glenn Dennis interview.
212. ibid.
213. ibid.
214. Karl T. Pflock, “Star Witness: The Mortician of Roswell Breaks His
Code of Silence,” Omni, Fall 1995, 103.
215. Recollections of Roswell, Part II, W. Glenn Dennis interview.
216. Jorgeson.
217. Unit History, 47th Air Division, June 1954, photo section, Air Force
Historical Research Agency, Maxwell AFB, AL.
218. Unit History, 6th Bomb Wing, June 1959, Annex “N,” “Base
Support Plan, Medical,” June 1, 1959.
219. Charles A. Ravenstein, Air Force Combat Wings; Lineage and
Honors Histories, 1947–1977 (Washington D.C.: U.S. Government
Printing Office, 1984), 16.
220. Kaufman.
221. ibid.
222. Roland H. Lutz, CMSgt., USAF, (Ret), interview with 1st Lt. James
McAndrew, May 31, 1995.
223. Fulgham.
224. Kittinger.
225. ibid.
226. ibid.

227. ibid., and ltr., Dr. J. Allen Hynek, Director, Dearborn Observatory,
Northwestern University, to Maj. Hector Quintanilla, Chief Aerial
Phenomena Branch, December 6, 1965, National Air Intelligence Center
historical files, Wright-Patterson AFB, OH.
228. Kevin D. Randle and Donald R. Schmitt, The Truth About the UFO
Crash at Roswell (New York: Avon Books, 1994), 22.
229. Standard Form 539, “Abbreviated Clinical Record,” May 21, 1959,
Personnel Record of Col. Dan D. Fulgham, National Archives and
Records Administration, National Personnel Records Center, St. Louis,
Mo.
230. Fulgham.
231. Kittinger.
232. ibid.
233. Kaufman.
234. DD Form 640, “Nursing Notes,” May 24, 1959, and DD Form 728,
“Doctor’s Orders,” May 22, 1959, Personnel Record of Col. Dan D.
Fulgham, National Archives and Records Administration, National
Personnel Records Center, St. Louis, Mo.
235. Kittinger, Kaufman, and DD Form 728 “Doctor’s Orders,” May 22,
1959, Personnel Record of Col. Dan D. Fulgham, National Archives and
Records Administration, National Personnel Records Center, St. Louis,
Mo.
236. ibid.
237. Kittinger.
238. ibid.
239. Fulgham.

Appendix A
Anthropomorphic Dummy Launch
and Landing Locations

Source: Test records of U.S. Air Force aeromedical project no. 7218,
task 71719 (High Dive) and project no. 7222, task 71748 (Excelsior).

High Altitude Balloon Dummy Drops
Number Date Launch Site Landing Site
1 6/23/54 Holloman AFB, N.M. Holloman AFB, N.M.
2 6/28/54 Holloman AFB, N.M. Dunkin, N.M.
3 6/30/54 Holloman AFB, N.M. 10 miles Southwest of Holloman
AFB, N.M.
4 12/1/54 Holloman AFB, N.M. Holloman AFB, N.M.
5 12/2/54 Holloman AFB, N.M. 12 miles South of Artesia, N.M.
6 12/6/54 Holloman AFB, N.M. Near Twin Buttes, N.M.
7 12/9/54 Holloman AFB, N.M. 3 miles West of Twin Buttes,
N.M.
8 2/23/55 Holloman AFB, N.M. 28 miles East of Roswell, N.M.
9 3/1/55 Holloman AFB, N.M. 25 miles South of Caprock,
N.M.
10 3/3/55 Holloman AFB, N.M. 25 miles East/Northeast of
Roswell, N.M.
11 6/15/55 Holloman AFB, N.M. 5 miles Northwest of Dunkin,
N.M.
12 6/23/55 Holloman AFB, N.M. 35 miles Southwest of Holloman
AFB, N.M.
13 6/29/55 Holloman AFB, N.M. 25 miles West of Three Rivers,
N.M.
14 7/7/55 Holloman AFB, N.M. 13 miles West of Tularosa Peak,
N.M.
15 7/15/55 Holloman AFB, N.M. 15 miles Northeast of Hatch,
N.M.
16 11/17/55 Holloman AFB, N.M. 8 miles Northwest of Roswell,
N.M.
17 11/21/55 Holloman AFB, N.M. Holloman AFB, N.M.
18 1/25/56 Holloman AFB, N.M. Holloman AFB, N.M.
19 2/8/56 Holloman AFB, N.M. 20 miles South of Roswell, N.M.
20 2/21/56 Holloman AFB, N.M. 20 miles East of Dunkin, N.M.

21 2/21/56 Holloman AFB, N.M. Holloman AFB, N.M.
22 5/18/56 Holloman AFB, N.M. Data Not Available
23 5/22/56 Holloman AFB, N.M. Data Not Available
24 8/21/56 Holloman AFB, N.M. Holloman AFB, N.M.
25 5/16/57 Truth or Consequences, White Sands Proving Ground,
N.M. N.M.
26 5/29/57 Hatch, N.M. 25 miles Northwest of Las
Cruces, N.M.
27 6/4/57 Holloman AFB, N.M. 11 miles North of Las Cruces,
N.M.
28 6/6/57 Holloman AFB, N.M. 17 miles South of Holloman
AFB, N.M.
29 6/7/57 Holloman AFB, N.M. Holloman AFB, N.M.
30 6/11/57 Hatch, N.M. West of San Agustin Pass, N.M.
31 6/13/57 Holloman AFB, N.M. Holloman AFB, N.M.
32 9/27/57 White Sands Natl Orogrande, N.M.
Monument Picnic Area
33 10/8/57 White Sands Proving 10 miles East of Picacho, N.M.
Ground
34 1/29/58 Data Not Available 20 miles South of Alamogordo,
N.M.
35 1/9/59 Holloman AFB, N.M. White Sands Proving Ground,
N.M.
36 1/14/59 Las Palomas, N.M. 30 miles East/Southeast of
Roswell, N.M.
37 1/30/59 Nutt, N.M. White Sands Proving Ground,
N.M.
38 2/4/59 Holloman AFB, N.M. 1 mile North of Bent, N.M.
39 2/6/59 Lake Valley, N.M. Data Not Available
40 2/10/59 Caballo Dam, N.M. White Sands Proving Ground,
N.M.
41 2/11/59 Hatch, N.M. Data Not Available
42 2/14/59 Data Not Available 30 miles West of Holloman
AFB, N.M.

43 2/16/59 Ft. Craig, N.M. Mescalero Apache Reservation
(N.M.)

Appendix B
STATEMENT OF WITNESS
Date: 26 April 1996 Place: Farmington, NM

I Charles E. Clouthier, hereby state that James McAndrew, was identified as
a Captain, USAFR on this date at my place of employment do hereby,
voluntarily and of my own free will, make the following statement. This
was done without having been subjected to any coercion, unlawful
influence or unlawful inducement.
I was on active duty in the US Air Force and stationed at Walker AFB,
Roswell, NM, from February 1955 until October 1956. During that time I
was a pharmacist assigned to the base hospital. Following my tour of duty
with the Air Force, I returned to my hometown, Farmington, NM, where I
became an employee and eventually a co-owner of Farmington Drug.
With the exception of the two years in the US Air Force, I have been a
resident of Farmington, NM since 1934. It is my recollection that Dr Frank
B. Nordstrom was the first pediatrician to practice in the Farmington area
and he remained the only pediatrician in Farmington until approximately
1970. I base these recollections on extensive professional and personal
contacts with physicians in the Farmington area and as a father of two
children who were patients of Dr Nordstrom’s.
Also based on nearly 40 years of contact with physicians in the Farmington
area, I believe that Dr Nordstrom is the only physician who served a tour of
duty at Walker AFB. During the 1960s, I became aware that Dr Nordstrom
had also served at the Walker AFB hospital. At various times in the ensuing
years. Dr Nordstrom and I reminisced about our service at Walker AFB.
During these conversations Dr Nordstrom never mentioned any activities
during his tour of duty I considered unusual or that might explain reports of
bodies or aliens. During the time I was stationed at Walker AFB, I did not

witness, nor did I hear rumors, of anything that involved flying saucers,
aliens, or anything else of an extraterrestrial nature.
I am not part of a conspiracy to withhold information from either the US
government or the American public. There is no classified information that I
am withholding related to this inquiry, and I have not been threatened by
US government persons concerning not talking about this matter.

SIGNED: Subscribed and sworn before a
person authorized to administer
Charles E. Clouthier oaths
this 26th day of April 1996 at
WITNESS: Farmington, NM

James McAndrew, Capt, USAFR

STATEMENT OF WITNESS
Place: Date: 25 May 95

I, Charles A. Coltman, Jr., Col, USAF, MC (Ret), hereby state that James
McAndrew was identified as a Lieutenant, USAFR, on this date at my place

of employment and do hereby, voluntarily and of my own free will, make
the following statement. This was done without having been subjected to
any coercion, unlawful influence or unlawful inducement.
I entered the U.S. Air Force in 1957 as a flight surgeon and was assigned to
Walker AFB, NM, in 1958. Following a residency at Ohio State University
from 1959 to 1963, I was assigned to Wilford Hall USAF Medical Center,
Lackland AFB, TX, where I eventually became the Chairman of the
Department of Medicine. I retired from the Air Force in 1977. I am
presently a Professor at The University of Texas Health Science Center at
San Antonio, and Chief Executive Officer of the Cancer Therapy and
Research Foundation of South Texas.
I remember a balloon crash that happened north of Roswell, NM, in May,
1959. I received a phone call from the NCOIC of the Flight Surgeon’s
office, who informed me of the crash. The NCOIC, Earl Wormwood, came
to my quarters and we drove, in an old blue Air Force “crackerbox”
ambulance, to the crash site. I remember the gondola laying on its side and
the deflated balloon on the ground. The crew members were sitting next to
the gondola. I examined the pilots and determined they were not seriously
injured. They told me they were practicing touch-and-go’s and a gust of
wind had dumped them on the ground, and the gondola had struck one of
the pilots in the head. Also present were Air Force technicians in trucks who
tracked the balloon. The injured pilots were transported to the Flight
Surgeon’s office at the hospital at Walker AFB.
The injury sustained by the crew member was a head abrasion/contusion
and a hemotoma. The hemotoma caused the patient’s head to swell,
however, it was not serious enough for him to be admitted. I remember
receiving a call from Col (Dr.) John Stapp. He was in charge of the balloon
project and was quite famous. Dr Stapp inquired about the injuries to the
pilots and he wanted them returned to Holloman AFB as quickly as
possible.
The hospital was an old World War II cantonment-type building with long
corridors and a capacity of fifty beds. I do not recall a nurse assisting me in
the treatment of the patient, although a nurse may have been on duty and
observed the patient. I was the only doctor in the hospital that morning.
There were no visiting doctors from other bases or facilities. I do not

remember any altercations or arguments that day. During my time at
Walker, I do not recall that any autopsies were performed at the hospital,
since we did not have a pathologist on staff. I do not recall any remains
brought to the hospital in body bags, or wreckage transported in the back of
an ambulance. There may have been remains brought to the hospital in
body bags after a KC-97 crash, but that was before I arrived at Walker. Dr
Ed Bradley was involved in the recovery of the remains.
At no time was there ever any involvement of the Walker hospital with
UFO’s or “space aliens” I know this to be true because the hospital was
very small and had a small staff. If any activity, other than normal hospital
functions, had occurred, I would have known about it.
I am not part of any conspiracy to withhold or provide misleading
information to the United States Government or the American public. There
is no classified information that I am withholding related to this inquiry and
I have never been threatened by U.S. Government persons concerning
refraining from talking about this matter.

SIGNED: Sworn to and subscribed before
me,
Charles A. Coltman, Jr., M.D. an individual authorized to
administer
WITNESS(s): oaths, this 25th day of May, 1995,
at

James McAndrew, 1st Lt, USAFR

STATEMENT OF WITNESS
Place: Date: 25 May 95

I, Dan D. Fulgham, Col, USAF (Ret), hereby state that James McAndrew
was identified as a Lieutenant, USAFR on this date at my place of
employment and do hereby, voluntarily and of my own free will, make the
following statement. This was done without having been subjected to any
coercion, unlawful influence or unlawful inducement.
I entered the U.S. Air Force in 1952 as an aviation cadet. I flew F-84s on
100 combat missions during the Korean war. After a tour as a flight
instructor I was assigned to the Aero Medical Laboratory at Wright
Patterson. I participated in both the Air Force Man in Space program and
Project Mercury. I also participated in the X-15 and X-20 programs and
worked as a bioastronautics officer with NASA on Gemini. During my Air
Force career, I earned both a Master’s and Doctorate degree from Purdue
University. I flew a combat tour in Southeast Asia in F-4s as a member of
the 555th Tactical Fighter Squadron and flew 133 combat missions. I retired
from the Air Force in 1978 as the Commander of the Human Resources
Laboratory at Brooks AFB, TX. I am presently the Director Of Biosciences
for a research organization in San Antonio, TX.

In 1959 I volunteered for training to become a back up pilot for Capt Joe
Kittenger in his high altitude balloon projects. I flew two missions for
training purposes with Capt Kittenger and Capt Bill Kaufman from
Holloman AFB, NM in May, 1959. On the second flight we were practicing
touch and go landings north of Roswell, NM when we “crashed” on one of
the landings. The gondola flipped over and my head was pinned to the
ground by the lip of the gondola. We managed to lift the gondola off of my
head and looked it over for damage. Capt Kittenger was bleeding from a cut
on his face and I noticed that my head seemed to be protruding outward
from underneath my helmet. Realizing I was injured, I sat down and feared
I might go into shock. I was not in pain but my entire head was throbbing
and began to swell.
I then remember boarding the “chase” helicopter that was following us and
flying a short distance to Walker AFB for medical treatment. I recall
walking into the hospital and also stopping on the front step to smoke a
cigarette. I remember security personnel escorting and questioning us to
determine who we were. Security was very tight at Strategic Air Command
bases such as Walker. On occasion surprise inspection teams from SAC
headquarters arrived in helicopters just as we did. In addition, a story of
three Air Force officers crashing in a balloon was somewhat far fetched.
The security people were convinced of our identities when they spoke with
Col John P. Stapp, the Aero Medical Laboratory Commander.
While I was at Walker my head had swelled considerably and both eyes
were turning black. Later the skin on my face turned yellow. I remember
being seen by one doctor and I do not believe any other doctors participated
in my treatment. I do not recall any nurses attending to me. I also do not
recall that a black NCO was present nor do I recall any civilian men in the
hospital. I do not recall that Capt Kittenger was involved in an altercation of
any kind while we were there. After I was treated and released we all flew
back to Holloman on the helicopter.
At Holloman I was admitted to the hospital and had blood aspirated from
under my scalp. I remember my forehead drooping down, I had to use my
fingers to open my eyelids, and I had to sleep sitting up. Several days later I
returned to Wright Patterson with Capt Kittenger and Capt Kaufman. My
wife met the airplane and when she saw me, she burst into tears due to the
swelling of my head, the two black eyes, and the yellow color of my skin.

When I returned to my office at Wright Patterson, my secretary also began
to cry when she saw me. After some weeks my head returned to normal size
and I was returned to flying status.
During my Air Force career I was involved in many different scientific
research projects including the space program. I can state with certainty that
none of them, including the incident described here, had anything to do
with UFOs or “space aliens”.
I am not part of any conspiracy to withhold or provide misleading
information to the United States Government or the American public. There
is no classified information that I am withholding related to this inquiry and
I have never been threatened by U.S. Government persons concerning
refraining from talking about this matter.

SIGNED: Subscribed and sworn before me,
an
Dan D. Fulgham, Col, USAF (Ret) individual authorized to administer
oaths this 25th day of May 1995
WITNESS(s): at

James McAndrew, 1st Lt, USAFR

STATEMENT OF WITNESS
Place: Date: 28 May 95

I, Bernard D. Gildenberg, GS-14, (Ret), hereby state that James McAndrew
was identified as a Lieutenant, USAFR on this date at my home and do
hereby, voluntarily and of my own free will, make the following statement.
This was done without having been subjected to any coercion, unlawful
influence or unlawful inducement.
I became involved in high altitude balloon development while an
undergraduate student at New York University (NYU). Following
graduation I was hired by the Air Force at Holloman AFB and worked
continuously as both a meteorologist and aerospace engineer at the Balloon
Branch from 1951 until my retirement in 1981. My job responsibilities were
to forecast the weather and fly by remote control, high altitude balloons for
many different scientific projects. During this time. I became internationally
recognized as an authority on high altitude balloon trajectory forecasting. I
have published numerous technical reports and articles.
The first project in which I was involved, while still an undergraduate
student at NYU, was the acoustical detection of nuclear explosions. The
name of the project, Mogul, was classified and I didn’t know this name
until several years ago. Based on my experience with this project I am
certain project Mogul was responsible for some portions of what has
become to be known as the “Roswell Incident”.
Following project Mogul I was involved in perfecting high altitude balloon
technology and made many test flights with large polyethylene balloons
from Holloman AFB. I worked extensively on atmospheric sampling
projects and biological flights in which the balloons lifted small animals to
altitude for cosmic ray experiments. I also worked on the Moby Dick
Project that collected meteorological data and the classified Gopher (119L)
reconnaissance project.
I was relied upon to forecast the weather, conduct climatological studies,
predict balloon trajectories, and to hit with precision, ground targets both on
and off the White Sands Missile Range. Balloon trajectories in New Mexico
below the tropopause, are predominantly towards the east-northeast, when

launched from Holloman AFB with the exception of July and August when
balloons remained over the Holloman area. At high altitude, above the
tropopause, trajectories are generally westerly during the summer and
easterly during the spring, fall, and winter. As a result these winds, the
Holloman balloon branch recovered many, probably hundreds, of balloons
and scientific payloads from the Roswell, NM area over the years.
During the time of the year when trajectories were to the east I attempted to
drop the equipment near accessible non mountainous areas and paved roads.
The main target area was the first large north-south road on the other side of
the Sacramento Mountains from Holloman AFB, Highway 285. This road
goes north and south through Roswell. The standard procedure was to
preposition military recovery crews near the projected point of payload
impact. The crews consisted primarily of Air Force members in uniform and
they operated military vehicles. I often directed these crews to “standby”
along the shoulder of Highway 285, both north and south of Roswell until
the balloon was in position. The recovery crews received detailed
instructions from the tracking aircraft that led them to the exact location of
the payload. The recovery vehicle included, depending on the mission, a
crane, weapons carriers, communications van, and occasionally tanker
trucks to refuel the aircraft that would sometimes land on nearby roads.
During the time of the year when balloon trajectories were to the west, I
attempted to drop the payloads in the Rio Grande Valley. I also aimed for
another valley, the flat area north of Truth or Consequences that includes
the Plains of San Augustin. In addition, many remote balloon launch sites
were located throughout the Rio Grande Valley west of the White Sands
Proving Grounds. Launch crews were also mostly military and used much
of the same equipment as the recovery crews.
I had extensive involvement with Project 7218 that later became Project
7222. This project studied the free-fall characteristics of anthropomorphic
dummies dropped from balloons from altitudes up to 100,000 feet. The
missions usually consisted of two dummies attached to a suspension rack
that I directed to be released at altitude. Depending on the wind conditions
and time of year, the dummies, on many occasions, landed in the Roswell
area. I recall some difficulties in the release mechanisms of the dummies
that resulted in some of them free-falling to the ground while they were still
attached to the rack. Someone without a good vantage point or not

associated with the project might mistake these dummies for “aliens” due to
their odd flesh tones and abstract human features.
I also recall an accident involving a manned balloon flight. I remember this
event clearly because I am also a balloon pilot and had an accident
approximately two years before. The accident occurred on a flight that Capt
Joe Kittenger was “checking out” two back up pilots for his high altitude
missions. The balloon was launched around midnight from behind the
Balloon Branch at Holloman AFB. I remember that some of the steel ballast
used by the balloon caused a “fireworks” display when it contacted some
nearby power lines during the launch. I was operating the control center for
this flight and I received notification from the communications vehicle that
was following the balloon that there had been an accident north of Roswell.
I later learned that the gondola had rolled over during a practice touch and
go landing and one of the pilots had been struck in the head and injured. I
recall speaking to Capt Kittinger about the accident and I saw the injured
pilot. Although his injury was not serious, his head had considerable
swelling and he looked very odd.
I also worked with Capt Kittinger on Project Stargazer. I also had met
several times the civilian scientific advisor Dr. J. Allen Hynek. Dr Hynek
was thoroughly familiar with the balloon operations at Holloman and
visited the Balloon Branch numerous times. This project experienced some
difficulties and only one manned flight was conducted.
Another project I was involved with was the Air Force investigations of
UFOs. Project Bluebook. Since I was a meteorologist and amateur
astronomer I evaluated, starting in 1951, local sightings of UFOs. New
Mexico had alot of sightings because of the good visibility and the many
experimental projects of the White Sands Proving Grounds. During my time
on Project Bluebook there wasn’t any sightings that we could not explain.
Nevertheless popular literature still refers to some of these sightings as
unexplained.
Another project with which I was involved, was the NASA Voyager and
Viking Projects. These space vehicles were tested by launching them from
our balloons at extremely high altitude to simulate the atmosphere of Venus
and Mars. To utilize the instrumentation on the White Sands Missile Range
I elected to launch the balloons and attached space vehicles from the

Roswell Industrial Air Center, formerly the Roswell Army Airfield. The
Holloman Balloon Branch made approximately eight launches of these two
vehicles from Roswell. In appearance the Viking and Voyager probes could
be mistaken for a flying saucer. They were both unclassified highly
publicized projects and I do not recall getting any UFO reports for these
flights. I believe one of these probes is on display at White Sands Missile
Range and its known as the “flying saucer”.
I am not part of any conspiracy to withhold or provide misleading
information to the United States Government or the American public. There
is no classified information that I am withholding related to this inquiry and
I have never been threatened by U.S. Government persons concerning
refraining from talking about this matter.

SIGNED: Subscribed and sworn before me,
an
Bernard D. Gildenberg, GS-14 individual authorized to administer
(Ret) oaths this 28th day of May 1995
at
WITNESS(s):
James McAndrew, 1st Lt, USAFR

STATEMENT OF WITNESS
Place: Date: 28 May 95

I, Ole Jorgeson, MSgt. USAF, (Ret), hereby state that James McAndrew
was identified as a Lieutenant, USAFR on this date at my home and do
hereby, voluntarily and of my own free will, make the following statement.
This was done without having been subjected to any coercion, unlawful
influence or unlawful inducement.
I enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 1957 and became a Ground
Communications and Electronic Repairman. I remained in this career field
throughout my career. I completed three tours at the Balloon Branch at
Holloman AFB, NM. I retired from the Air Force in 1977 as the NCOIC of
the Communication and Instrumentation Section of the Balloon Branch at
Holloman AFB.
I recall an overnight balloon training mission that was conducted in May,
1959. Capt Joe Kittinger was training back up pilots for one of his
upcoming projects. I was an airman assigned to coordinate communications
and to assist in the recovery of the balloon upon completion of the mission.
I followed the balloon in an old Korean War vintage “crackerbox”
ambulance that had been converted into a communications van. Another
airman and I followed the balloon throughout the night on an easterly
trajectory over the Sacramento Mountains to an area north of Roswell. Also
following the balloon were recovery technicians in a weapons carrier. We
stayed in contact with the balloon crew by radio and also observed flares
the crew would light at various intervals so we could visually track them.
Just after sunrise I recall the balloon landing north of Roswell and Capt
Kittinger offered me some coffee and told me he was going to make one
more touch and go landing to complete the mission. I remember that I took
some photographs of the balloon and waited for the last landing. Several
minutes later I remember hearing a “bang”, this was the squib that fired to
release the gondola from the balloon. We immediately went to where the
gondola landed and saw the gondola laying on its side and saw two of the
pilots standing and one lying down. Lying on the ground was a shattered
helmet that was worn by one of the pilots. Capt Kittinger told me they were
attempting to land to avoid some power lines and a row of trees.
Soon after I arrived at the crash site, a helicopter that was also following the
flight landed and transported the three aircrew members to Walker AFB for
medical attention. I recall I assisted the recovery technicians load the
balloon and the gondola on the weapons carrier and then drove 15 to 20

minutes to the hospital at Walker AFB. When I arrived at Walker, we parked
the converted ambulance near the hospital and either the other airman with
me or the recovery technicians called the balloon control center to notify
them of the accident. I recall waiting near the hospital for a short period of
time and then returning to Holloman AFB. During the time I was waiting at
the hospital I did not observe any arguments or altercations. I did not
observe Capt Kittinger speaking disrespectfully to anyone. I also do not
recall any male civilians or any vehicles that belonged to a mortuary.
I participated in many, probably more than 100, balloon recoveries. I often
recovered payloads and balloons from the area surrounding Roswell, NM. It
was routine to be directed by the balloon control center to an area near
Roswell to wait to recover a balloon. We would wait along the side of the
road, at small airports, or at the armory in Roswell. It would not be
uncommon for our recovery vehicles to be seen waiting to recover balloons
throughout New Mexico, Arizona, and West Texas. When we recovered the
balloons and payloads sometimes civilians would be in the area and make
inquires. We would tell them what we were doing and provide them with a
telephone number at Holloman AFB if they wanted to report any damages.
We were required to clean up the area and remove all debris before we left.
In addition to the recoveries, I recall making balloon launches from sites up
and down the Rio Grande Valley. I remember that some of these launches
were made from an area west of Soccoro, NM.
Another project I participated in was the testing of the Viking space probe
in 1972. These four launches were all made from the Roswell Industrial Air
Center, the former Roswell Army Airfield. Approximately twenty Air Force
personnel were on temporary duty to Roswell throughout the summer of
1972 to support this project. NASA personnel prepared the spacecraft for
launch from the old hangers of the former Air Force base. This project was
not classified and was covered by the news media.
I am not part of any conspiracy to withhold or provide misleading
information to the United States Government or the American public. There
is no classified information that I am withholding related to this inquiry and
I have never been threatened by U.S. Government persons concerning
refraining from talking about this matter.

SIGNED: Subscribed and sworn before me,
an
Ole Jorgesen, MSgt, USAF, (Ret) individual authorized to administer
oaths this 28th day of May 1995
WITNESS(s): at

James McAndrew, 1st Lt, USAFR

STATEMENT OF WITNESS
Place: 28 October 1996

I, William C. Kaufman, Lt. Col., USAF (Ret), hereby voluntarily and of my
own free will, make the following statement. This was done without
coercion, unlawful influence or unlawful inducement.
I was drafted into the Army of the United States in 1943, transferred to the
Army Air Forces, and was commissioned as a pilot in 1944. From 1950
until 1967, with a break for training for a combat tour in Korea and for
educational assignments to AFIT, I was assigned to the Aero Medical
Laboratory at Wright Patterson AFB, OH. During that time I was a
physiological training officer and worked in the development of early
pressure suits. I tested many high altitude pilots and also the first group of
astronauts. Later during my Air Force career, in 1961, I earned a Ph.D. in
Physiology and Biophysics. I was assigned to the Aero Medical Laboratory

for three tours and retired in 1968 as the Chief of the Biodynamics Branch
of the Aero Medical Field Laboratory at Holloman AFB, NM.
During my third assignment at Wright Patterson, I volunteered, along with
Capt Dan Fulgham, to be a backup pilot for Capt Joe Kittinger for his high
altitude balloon project, Project Excelsior. Capt Kittinger instructed Capt
Fulgham and me in ballooning in May 1959. At the end of an overnight
training flight, on the morning of May 21, 1959, northwest of Roswell, NM,
we (Kittinger, Fulgham and I) had an accident with the balloon. We were
practicing touch and go landings when a severe gust of wind overturned the
gondola, dumping all of us to the ground with the gondola on top of us. The
accident occurred in a small pasture where a pony was grazing next to a
small cottage. For safety, we were followed during hours of darkness by a
C-131 aircraft and during the day by a H-21 helicopter. We were followed
the entire time by technicians in a truck for communications and for the
recovery of the balloon and gondola. Seeing the accident, the crews of the
helicopter and the recovery trucks came to our assistance, much to the
dismay of the farmer who owned the pony, which had run away when the
truck broke down the fence to reach the crash site. I recall that a member of
the helicopter crew attempted to calm the farmer.
Capt Fulgham sustained an injury to the forehead when the lip of the
gondola struck him. Capt Fulgham thought he had fractured his skull but
the experimental helmet he was wearing apparently protected him. Capt
Kittinger was bleeding from a cut on the face. I was beneath Fulgham and
Kittinger and unhurt. Fulgham was loaded into the helicopter and we were
taken to the nearest hospital, at Walker AFB, in Roswell. I recall the
helicopter pilot called the air traffic control tower at Walker and informed
them we were inbound with an injured pilot from a balloon accident. This
was quite unusual and I believe the tower personnel might have thought we
were a surprise Strategic Air Command inspection team that at the direction
of the SAC Commander, Gen. Curtis E. LeMay, sometimes made
unannounced visits by helicopter. We landed in front of the tower and were
met by an ambulance along with a detail of military police with machine
guns. The military police escorted us to the hospital for treatment and to
verify our story of the balloon crash.
While Capt Fulgham and Capt Kittinger were being treated I was asked to
explain to the Walker AFB Base Commander what had happened. After

Capt Kittinger was treated he called Col Stapp from a phone adjacent to the
waiting room were numerous military wives were waiting for pre-natal
care. Capt Kittinger, as the project officer, was concerned what effect this
accident might have on the future of his program. As we waited for
Fulgham, Kittinger paced up and down the hall concerned about Fulgham
and getting out of the hospital before Walker AFB officials might
complicate matters. I do not recall any male civilians in the hospital, nor do
I recall Capt Kittinger being involved in an altercation of any kind. Capt
Kittinger did not shout or use obscene language, he was simply interested in
getting medical attention for Fulgham and leaving as soon as possible. I do
recall that one or two nurses were present. I do not recall a black NCO
accompanying Kittinger while we were in the hospital.
When the medical personnel were finished treating Fulgham, all three of us
returned to Holloman AFB by helicopter about noon the same day. The
following day I took my FAA exam and was awarded a balloon pilot
license. Three days later, on Sunday, Kittinger, Fulgham and I returned to
Wright Patterson via a special C-131 flight. Fulgham looked very odd with
two black eyes and protruding forehead; his head was so swollen he could
not wear his uniform hat for some time. I later worked with Capt Kittinger
on the Stargazer project and and occasionally flew aircraft with him.
During my entire time at the Aero Medical Laboratory I neither saw nor
heard anything that would lead me to believe that the Air Force was keeping
“aliens” at Wright Patterson. I knew there was a project on UFOs called
Bluebook, at the base, but to my knowledge the Aero Medical Laboratory
was not involved. Many scientific accomplishments came out of the various
laboratories at Wright Patterson but I am unaware of any that might have
involved aliens or UFOs.
I am not part of any conspiracy to withhold or provide misleading
information to the United States Government or the American public. There
is no classified information that I am withholding related to this inquiry and
I have never been threatened by U.S. Government persons concerning
refraining from talking about this matter.
This is as I recollect those events.

SIGNED:

William C. Kaufman, LtCol. USAFC (Ret)

WITNESS(s):

STATEMENT OF WITNESS
Place: Date: 24 June 95

I, Joseph W. Kittinger. Jr., Col. USAF (Ret), hereby state that James
McAndrew was identified as a Lieutenant, USAFR on this date at my home
and do hereby, voluntarily and of my own free will, make the following
statement. This was done without having been subjected to any coercion,
unlawful influence or unlawful inducement.
I entered the U.S. Air Force in 1949 as an Aviation Cadet. From 1950 to
1953 I flew fighters in Europe before being assigned to the Fighter Test
Section at Holloman AFB, NM in July, 1953. During my tour as a test pilot
I conducted the first zero gravity tests and was the balloon pilot of the first
Project Man High high altitude research mission. In 1958 I was assigned to
the Escape Section of the Aero Medical laboratory at Wright Patterson
AFB, OH. During this tour I was the Project Officer of Project Excelsior
and made three high altitude parachute jumps, the highest from 102,800
feet, which today remains a world record. For these jumps I was awarded
the Hannon Trophy for 1960 by President Eisenhower. Following Excelsior,
I was the Project Officer of Stargazer, a project that made astronomical
observations from a high altitude balloon. I flew two combat tours in

Southeast Asia with the Air Commandos. I later flew a tour in F-4s and was
the Squadron Commander of the 555 Tactical Fighter Squadron. I
accumulated over 1,000 combat flying hours and I am credited with one
aerial victory. I spent ten months as a POW in Hanoi. Upon my return I
attended Air War College, flew F-4s and retired from the Air Force in 1978.
In 1984 I became the first person to make a solo crossing of the Atlantic by
balloon.
In 1958 I was made the Project Officer of Excelsior by Col John Paul
Stapp, the Aero Medical Laboratory Commander. I supervised and was
actively involved in the dropping and recovery of anthropomorphic
dummies from high altitude balloons at Holloman AFB, NM for this
project. We also dropped dummies, from aircraft only, at Wright-Patterson
AFB, OH. The object of the Holloman tests were to study the free fall
characteristics of dummies dropped from balloons at altitudes of 50,000 to
100,000 feet. Based on this data we designed a parachute that stabilized the
dummies and I later used this parachute on my three high altitude jumps.
The balloons carrying the dummies were launched from various locations in
New Mexico and often impacted off of the White Sands Proving Ground
depending on the wind conditions. The dummies were outfitted with
clothing and equipment of an Air Force pilot. The facial features of the
dummies were not as pronounced as a human. The ears and noses did not
protrude. I do not recall any dummies with ears or noses. Some of the
dummies were not complete; they sometimes did not have arms or legs. To
someone not associated with the project or who viewed the dummies from a
distance, they could appear to be human or with some imagination a space
“alien.” In fact, I recall one incident at Wright-Patterson where one of our
dummies landed near the backyard of Gen. Rawlings, Commander of the
Air Research and Development Command. Gen. Rawling’s wife was
entertaining officer’s wives that afternoon when one of our dummy’s
parachute failed to deploy and impacted the ground in full view of the
ladies at Gen. Rawling’s home. I acted quickly to retrieve the dummy and
went to the impact site and recovered it by throwing it in the back of a
pickup truck and quickly driving away. Later that day I received a call from
Col Stapp who informed me that some of the women at the party believed
that the dummy was a human and they were appalled to see the careless

nature in which the obviously dead or injured “parachutist” was hauled
away.
At Holloman AFB recoveries of the dummies were handled by the Balloon
Branch but members of my project team, including myself, often assisted.
The standard procedure was to track the dummy both from the ground and
air to attempt to recover the dummies in a timely manner. On the ground we
used an assortment of Air Force vehicles to track and recover not only the
dummies but also other scientific balloon payloads. We used trucks,
communications vans, converted field ambulances, cranes, and trailers. In
the air we used helicopters, C-47s transports, and L-19 and L-20 light
observation aircraft. On occasion civilians would observe our recovery
operations. We often attracted a crowd due to the odd appearance of the
balloon payloads and dummies and also the aircraft that circled overhead or
landed on nearby roads. We also used many of the same procedures and
equipment to launch from off range locations. During the recoveries
weapons were not carried because there was no classified information or
equipment. I do not recall any altercations of any kind. At no time did I or
any of the personnel makes threats against civilians. We always attempted
to maintain good relations with the local civilians and explained the purpose
of the project to them if they asked. We were directed to remove as much of
the material dropped by the balloon as possible. Sometimes this was
difficult because the balloon and pay load would break apart and cover a
large area. We collected the debris in these cases by “fanning out” across a
field until we had collected even very small portions of the payload and
balloon. We were particularly careful to recover the large plastic balloons
because cattle would ingest the material and the ranchers would file claims
against the government. Additionally, there were reward notices that offered
twenty five dollars for the return of the equipment attached to each of the
balloons. I wrote a book, The Long, Lonely Leap (E. P. Dutton & Co.,
1961), that completely describes Project Excelsior and my participation.
Also as a part of the high altitude balloon projects, I trained balloon pilots
in May 1959 at the request of Col Stapp. Col Stapp was concerned that I
might be injured as a result of the hazardous nature of the projects and he
wanted backup pilots to be trained. The backup pilots, Capt Dan Fulgham
and Capt Bill Kaufman were volunteers from the Aero Medical Laboratory
and they were sent to Holloman from Wright-Patterson for training on a

temporary duty basis. On our second training flight, Fulgham, Kaufman and
I, flew an overnight mission that was launched at Holloman and ended with
a crash northwest of Roswell, NM. We were followed on this mission by an
aircraft at night, a helicopter during the day, and a ground crew in trucks at
all times.
I recall that just after sunrise the weather had deteriorated and I directed
Fulgham to land the balloon in a small field. This was the last suitable field
before we would overfly the City of Roswell. I remember approaching the
field just over the trees and I recall our forward velocity was about 10–12
knots, a little fast for landing. When we touched down Fulgham cut the
balloon away and due to the forward velocity the gondola flipped over
spilling all three of us on the ground. While lying on the ground I realized
that Fulgham was injured and Kaufman and I raised the gondola. Fulgham
had been struck in the head by the edge of the gondola and I could see the
blood rapidly accumulating under his scalp in the forehead area. We treated
him for shock and soon the recovery vehicles and the chase helicopter
arrived. I decided to transport Fulgham by helicopter to the hospital at
nearby Walker AFB.
When we arrived at Walker I remember that security was tight, as it was at
all Strategic Air Command bases, and we were closely scrutinized by
security personnel due to the unusual circumstances and early hour of our
arrival. I had two concerns once we arrived at the hospital, first to get
treatment for Fulgham and second to leave as soon as possible. After I was
assured that Fulgham’s injuries were not serious I wanted to quickly leave
the base before the Walker AFB Flying Safety Officer arrived to fill out an
accident report. I didn’t want a report filed because an accident
investigation would bring unwanted scrutiny to the project. Even though the
project was unclassified I did not want any publicity or premature releases
of information.
Although Fulgham’s injuries were not serious, his head had swollen
considerably—both eyes were black and his face had swollen so much you
could barely see his nose. I believe that if someone saw him while we were
at Walker they would have been startled. When his treatment was
completed we all three returned to Holloman on the helicopter. At
Holloman, Fulgham was admitted to the hospital and I made preparations
for him to return to his duty station at Wright-Patterson AFB. Due to his

grotesque appearance, I did not want Fulgham to fly on a commercial
airline. I made arrangements for all of us to fly to Wright-Patterson on a C-
131 a few days later. When we arrived at Wright-Patterson, I assisted
Fulgham down the steps of the aircraft because his eyes were swollen shut
and he could not see. His wife was waiting at the bottom of the steps of the
aircraft and she asked me where her husband was. I replied “this is your
husband” and she screamed and began to cry.
While I was at the Walker AFB hospital, I do not recall any contact with a
male civilian. I certainly did not call anyone an “SOB” or speak to anyone
in a disrespectful manner. I did not make any threats or instruct anyone else
to make threats. I recall nurses in the hospital but I am not certain if they
participated in the treatment of Capt Fulgham. I was not accompanied by a
black NCO at the hospital, but there may have been a black NCO on the
balloon recovery team. I recall no body bags in the hospital and I am sure
there were no “aliens” at the hospital, just Dan Fulgham with a very odd
looking head injury.
I was also involved in the joint Air Force, Navy, and Massachusetts Institute
of Technology astronomical observation project, Project Stargazer. The
object of this project was to make observations via a stabilized telescope
mounted atop of a gondola suspended from a high altitude balloon. I was
the USAF project officer and Dr J. Allen Hynek was the scientific advisor. I
worked very closely with Dr Hynek over a period of five years from 1958
to 1963. Dr Hynek would typically spend a half day working on Stargazer
and then the rest of the day participating as one of the consultants on the
UFO study, Project Bluebook, that was also conducted at Wright-Patterson
AFB. Dr Hynek, as the scientific advisor to Stargazer, was very familiar
with the techniques and capabilities of the Air Force high altitude balloon
program. Dr Hynek once approached me and we discussed at length, the
possibility that Air Force high altitude balloons were responsible for many
UFO sightings. We ended the conversation in agreement that the balloons
probably accounted for many of the UFO sightings. In other conversations
Dr Hynek always gave me the impression that there were very few UFO
sightings that could not be explained by good scientific investigation. At no
time did Dr Hynek mention or discuss the alleged “Roswell Incident”. I was
therefore “flabbergasted” when Dr Hynek appeared to believe that some of
these sightings were of an extraterrestrial origin.

I am not part of any conspiracy to withhold or provide misleading
information to the United States Government or the American public. There
is no classified information that I am withholding related to this inquiry and
I have never been threatened by U.S. Government persons concerning
refraining from talking about this matter.

SIGNED: Sworn to and subscribed before
me,
Joseph W. Kittinger, Jr., Col, an individual authorized to
USAF (Ret) administer
oaths, on this 24 day of June 1995
WITNESS(s): at

James McAndrew, 1st Lt, USAFR

STATEMENT OF WITNESS
Place: Date: 31 May 95

I, Roland H. Lutz, CMSgt, USAF, (Ret), hereby state that James McAndrew
was identified as a Lieutenant, USAFR on this date at my home and do
hereby, voluntarily and of my own free will, make the following statement.

This was done without having been subjected to any coercion, unlawful
influence or unlawful inducement.
I enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1947 and transferred to the U.S. Air Force in
1958. In June, 1958 I was assigned to the flight surgeon’s office at
Holloman AFB, NM as an Aero Medical Technician. I served several tours
in Southeast Asia and retired from the Air Force in 1974 as an Aero Medical
Superintendent.
On May 20–21, 1959 I was assigned to provide medical coverage for a
balloon training mission that took off from Holloman AFB and ended with a
crash near Roswell, NM. Capt Joe Kittinger was training two other pilots,
Capt Fulgham and Capt Kaufman. I followed the balloon in an ambulance
during the night and at daybreak I followed the balloon in an H-21
helicopter. Just after daybreak I saw the balloon crash and the three pilots
were dumped form the gondola. I immediately informed the helicopter pilot
and we landed in a field on which cattle were grazing. I recall the rancher
was upset because the helicopter was frightening his cattle and some cattle
had gotten out of the field.
I assesed the injuries to the pilots and recommended they be taken
immediately to the closest hospital which was at Walker AFB, apprximately
5 to 10 minutes away by helicopter. Capt Fulgham’s head was swelling due
to a hemotoma he received when the gondola struck him. Capt Kittinger
was cut on the face and was bleeding. Capt Kaufman was uninjured. At
Walker I remember a telephone conversation with a flight surgeon who told
me to “go home and sleep it off”. He apparently did not believe my story of
three Air Force pilots that were victims of a balloon crash. However, I was
able to convince him and he treated Capt Fulgham and Capt Kittinger.
While at the hospital Capt Fulgham’s head had swelled enormously and his
eyes were beginning to turn black.
I do not recall that anything unusual occurred at the hospital at Walker. I
remember the three pilots sitting on a bench in the hallway waiting to be
treated. I do not remember that Capt Kittinger was involved in an
altercation with anyone while at the hospital, if he had, I would have known
about it. Capt Kittinger was concerned with getting medical treatment for
his injured crew member, Capt Fulgham, and returning to Holloman. I also
do not recall a black NCO accompanying Capt Kittinger while we were at

the hospital. I do not remember a nurse assisting in the treatment of Capt
Fulgham or Capt Kittinger. I also do not remember a male civilian or any
personnel or vehicles from a mortuary, and I do not recall any remains in
body bags in the hospital.
I was present the entire time when the events described here took place. I
am certain that this event had nothing to do with “space aliens” or any other
irregular activity that would require a cover up. It was a balloon crash and
nothing else.
I am not part of any conspiracy to withhold or provide misleading
information to the United States Government or the American public. There
is no classified information that I am withholding related to this inquiry and
I have never been threatened by U.S. Government persons concerning
refraining from talking about this matter.

SIGNED: Subscribed and sworn before me,
an
Roland H. Lutz, CMSgt, USAF, individual authorized to administer
(Ret) oaths this 31st day of May 1995
at
WITNESS(s):
James McAndrew, 1st Lt, USAFR
Harry C. Aderholt, Brig. Gen.,
USAF (Ret)

STATEMENT OF WITNESS
Place: Date: 20 June 95

I, Raymond A. Madson, Lt Col, USAF (Ret), hereby state that James
McAndrew was identified as a Lieutenant, USAFR on this date at my place
of employment and do hereby, voluntarily and of my own free will, make
the following statement. This was done without having been subjected to
any coercion, unlawful influence or unlawful inducement.
I was born, raised, and presently reside in New Mexico. I graduated from
New Mexico A&M College in 1954. I entered the Air Force in 1955 and
was assigned a short time later to the Aero Medical Laboratory at Wright
Patterson AFB, OH. At the Aero Medical Laboratory I was assigned to the
Escape Section as a project officer and test parachutist. During this time I
also had extensive participation in various aspects of the space program and
worked on the highly classified U-2 project. I served a tour of duty in
Alaska and at the School of Aerospace Medicine at Brooks AFB, TX,
before being reassigned to the Aero Medical Laboratory at Wright
Patterson. I retired in from the Air Force in 1979 and I am currently and
Environmental Specialist for the State of New Mexico.

The first project that I was assigned at Wright Patterson was Project 7218,
later changed to Project 7222. This project was first known by the name
High Dive and then was known as Excelsior. The object of this project was
to study the free fall characteristics of anthropomorphic dummies from
balloons at altitudes of 50,000 to 100,000 feet. Following satisfactory
dummy drops, Capt Joe Kittinger made a series of high altitude parachute
jumps that culminated with a jump from 102,800 feet.
I assumed the duties of Project Officer for the dummy drops in the spring of
1956. I made numerous trips to Holloman AFB, NM, the site of the drops,
from 1956 until the end of the project in 1959 (dummies were also dropped
for this project at Wright Patterson AFB by personnel from the Parachute
Branch). I wrote two technical reports that described the project in
considerable detail. The type of anthropomorphic dummy used primarily
was manufactured by Alderson Laboratories but we also used Sierra
Manufacturing type dummies. Both of these dummies are shown in the
technical reports. The Alderson dummy had facial features that were not
life-like and ears that were not well defined. The dummies were outfitted
with flight suits of various colors, fuchsia, olive drab, and sage green (a
shade of gray). We chose the Alderson dummy because it was relatively
inexpensive as compared to the Sierra dummy.
We encountered considerable difficulty dropping the dummies from the
balloons. I designed the rack that suspended the dummies, two at a time,
from the balloon. On numerous occasions the dummies were fouled during
the release sequence and the dummy rode a “streamer” all the way to the
ground. Other times malfunctions occurred that caused the two dummies
and the entire rack assembly to descend to the ground as one package. Both
of these instances are described in the technical reports.
I participated in at least two dummy recoveries. The meteorologist from the
Balloon Branch, Duke Gildenberg, would determine the best place to
launch the balloons depending on the prevailing weather conditions. Duke
also predicted, with considerable accuracy, where the dummies would
impact. I specifically recall a dummy I recovered near the Jornada test
range, between Leasburg and Organ, NM. During this recovery I drove a
weapons carrier and I was only able to locate one of the dummies. I never
found out what happened to the other one. The next recovery I remember
was on a ranch just southwest of Roswell. We were given directions to the

area by the balloon branch personnel who had been contacted by a rancher.
The equipment had reward notices taped to them to aid in recovery. We
went to the Smith ranch. I remember the name because I went to New
Mexico A&M with the rancher. I knew him as Smitty. We searched that day
from horseback and could not find the dummies. The following day we
resumed our search from horseback and again could not find the dummies. I
also recall that Smitty asked us for some of the parachute material so he
could make a shirt. We dropped many dummies from the balloons and I
know many were not immediately recovered, but most were.
I served for twenty five years in the Air Force and most of those years were
in the aero medical field. I participated in the space program and the highly
classified early stages of U-2 program. Never during this time were “aliens”
or “flying saucers” a part of any project. There were, however, countless
achievements by the Air Force in aerospace medicine that were the result of
dedicated scientific research. It seems likely to me that someone could have
mistaken our anthropomorphic dummies for something that they were not.
I am not part of any conspiracy to withhold or provide misleading
information to the United States Government or the American public. There
is no classified information that I am withholding related to this inquiry and
I have never been threatened by U.S. Government persons concerning
refraining from talking about this matter.

SIGNED: Sworn to and subscribed before
me,
Raymond A. Madson, Lt Col, an individual authorized to
USAF (Ret) administer
oaths, on this 20 day of June 1995
WITNESS(s): at

James McAndrew, 1st Lt, USAFR

STATEMENT OF WITNESS
Place: Aztec, NM Date: 25 April 1996

I Frank B. Nordstrom, M. D., hereby state that James McAndrew, was
identified as a Captain, USAFR on this date at my home and do hereby,
voluntarily and of my own free will, make the following statement. This
was done without having been subjected to any coercion, unlawful
influence or unlawful inducement.
I was on active duty in the US Air Force and stationed at Walker AFB,
Roswell, NM from July 1951 until June 1953. During that time I was a
pediatrician assigned to the base hospital. Following my tour of duty with
the Air Force I attended the University of Colorado as a resident in
pediatrics. In July 1954 I relocated to Farmington, NM and began a private
pediatric practice. I retired from private practice in 1987 and became the
Medical Director of the San Juan Regional Medical Center, which is also
located in Farmington, NM. In 1989 I retired from that position and
presently reside in Aztec, NM.
I have been shown two transcripts of interviews where an individual named
Glenn Dennis described conversations and visits he claims he had with a
pediatrician in the late 1940s or early 1950s in Farmington, NM. According
to these interviews, Mr Dennis also claims that this pediatrician had
previously served at the hospital at Walker AFB/Roswell AAF. Since I am

the only physician in Farmington, NM who previously served at the Walker
AFB/Roswell AAF hospital, I believe I am the person he is referring to in
these interviews. I am confident of this because I know I was the first
pediatrician to practice in Farmington, which when I arrived in 1954, was a
small community of approximately 8,000 people. I remained the sole
pediatrician there for approximately 20 years and I know most, if not all, of
the physicians in the area.
Even though I believe I am the person Mr Dennis referred to in the
interviews, I do not remember him. I can state with reasonable certainty that
I cannot recall any conversations with him, and he, to my knowledge, never
visited me in Farmington, NM, in Colorado, or anyplace else. I have been
told, however, that a person named Glenn Dennis operated a drugstore in
the late 1950s-early 1960s, just outside Farmington, in Aztec, NM. But I do
not recall any contact with him there either.
While I was stationed at Walker AFB, I do not recall any incidents that may
explain the information Mr Dennis provided in the interviews. To my
knowledge there was only one fatal aircraft accident during my tour of duty
and that accident involved a Walker AFB based aircraft in the United
Kingdom. I was not involved in any aspect of that accident. I also do not
recall any other incidents such as automobile accidents or house fires that
may be the source of this information. Nor do I recall a nurse named Lt
Naiomi Selff or a nurse named Capt “Slats” Wilson. While at Walker AFB I
did not witness or hear rumors of anything that involved flying saucers,
aliens, or anything else of an extraterrestrial nature.
I am not part of a conspiracy to withhold information from either the US
government or the American public, there is no classified information that I
am withholding related to this inquiry and I have not been threatened by US
government persons concerning not talking about this matter.

SIGNED: Subscribed and sworn before, a
person authorized to administer
Frank B. Nordstrom, M.D. oaths
this
WITNESS: 25th day of April 1996 at Aztec,
NM

James McAndrew, Capt, USAFR

Appendix C
Transcript of Interview with
Gerald Anderson*
Alleged firsthand witness to
“Crash Site” Two
(allegedly 175 miles northwest of Roswell)

* Excerpted from raw footage used to prepare the video, Recollections of Roswell Part II,
(Washington, D.C.: Fund for UFO Research, 1993).

A: We drove down to the Plains of San Agustin which is west of
Socorro, New Mexico in the Magdalena, Datil, area. We were down there
looking for banded and moss agate, which according to my uncle Ted and
my cousin Victor was prevalent in the area. My brother being an amateur
rock hound had wanted to get some of this. That was a way of showing us
around the area. They had relatives down in Magdalena that they wanted to
introduce us to.
So we had gone down there and we got down in the Horse Springs
area and had driven off onto the plains down an old rutted road for, oh, a
mile or so and it seemed like a long ways. We parked the car, got out of the
car and walked down a hillside.
There’s a semi-forest, I guess you could say. It had pinon trees and
scrub oak and stuff like that on it and we walked—well, not scrub oak, but
cedar—and walked down the hillside into an arroyo, a dry wash, and then
walked south down a dry wash toward where the agates were supposed to
be at.
As we came around a bend in the arroyo that had pinon and cedar
trees growing, we were able to see farther ahead down the arroyo and on the
next ridge line there was a large silver disc shaped object was embedded in

this side of the ridge line ... there was debris and wreckage strewn about the
area mainly this thing was intact. I would estimate its size from an adult
perspective to something like 35 feet in diameter. I’ve heard other people
who were there say they thought it was like 50 feet. But as an adult, I would
say about 35 feet in diameter, quite large. When we got up to it there were
four bodies there ... not human, there was two of them that were obviously
dead, one of them was obviously very badly injured, and one of them
apparently suffered no ill effects ... or it didn’t appear to be injured and was
ambulatory, was mobile. It was just setting there next to the one...
Q: Were they right next to the vehicle?
A: Right next to it. Right under the edge of it. And this craft had
apparently come in from the east and bounced off one ridge line, plowing
through this arroyo area and then crashed into the ridge line and embedded
itself. They were sitting back under the edge, it was kind of tilted up like
this and they were sitting back under the edge here. And I’m assuming that
this one creature that was all right had laid this material on the ground but it
looked like unrolled tinfoil that these other three creatures were laying on.
Like it was trying—like you do a person in shock, you know, a put him on a
blanket, that kind of thing. And apparently it had some boxes there around it
and had apparently been trying to give first aid or help these other creatures
when we first got there.
As we approached, the creature drew back like this, like it was in
fear, like we were going to hurt it. And it wasn’t very long, you know, we
were trying to communicate with it, the adults were. It seemed to calm
down and just sat there and kind of looked back and forth, watching them,
apparently trying to figure out what was going on...
Q: What did it look like, a little bit more.
A: These creatures, all of them, were, oh, about four foot tall, four
and a half feet tall. They had very large heads that were shaped larger on the
top and they kind of tapered down, not to a real sharp point but just tapered
down where they were thin. And they had very large, very large, oval
shaped or almond shaped, I guess you could say, black eyes. The head...
They were so shiny, they had almost a bluish tint to them when the light
reflected off of them. Their skin coloration, the best way that I could
describe that is it was kind of a bluish tinted milky-white. It looked like

someone in shock. And the ones that were laying on the ground were really
—really looked more that way, more blue in the light, you know...
Q: How about ears, nose, mouth?
A: No, there were no visible ears on the creatures except like—if
you was just to cover your ear like this to where there was just a rise there
and then a hole without, you know, your ear lobe and the rest of the area...
Q: How about nose?
A: It was—the nose was very, very small, almost imperceptible. It’s
like two holes, straight in; and the lips were just a straight line. It was like a
cut and you couldn’t see, just the lips like we have, it was just a slit. And...
Q: What hair color? Sound?
A: Pardon?
Q: What hair color?
A: There was no hair. They were completely bald.
Q: And no sounds?
A: I never heard a sound one, not out of any of the creatures
including the one that was...
Q: Did you see fingers?
A: Yes, they had fingers like this. They didn’t have a little finger.
They just had the thumb and three extra digits except the center digit was
longer and the other two were about the same size. They were very long and
slender and looked very delicate and I made the statement before and I’ll
make it again, I think he would have made an excellent violinist because of
the structure of their hands.
They were wearing one piece suits. All of them were dressed exactly
the same. It was sort of a real shiny silverish gray color.
Q: No zippers, buttons?
A: No, I saw no zippers, no buttons.
Q: Insignias?

A: No, no insignias. The only thing that was different, you know,
and they all had this, but the only that was different from the silvery gray
thing, the suit, was that down like a seam line, like there was a seam on his
shoulder and around the collar it was trimmed in what appeared to be
maroon, like cording.
Then the suits were continuous with their footwear. We could see
right this area down, it seemed to be less pliable then it was up here, like
this was a stiffer area, like they were boots or shoes or something. But they
were all dressed exactly the same.
Q: Okay. So you and your family are talking back and forth,
wondering what was going on, what did your family say? I mean...
A: Well...
Q: ...did they say anything?
A: Yes, my brother, one of his first remarks I heard him say him say,
“That’s a god damn spaceship.” You know there were bodies up there and,
you know, I was told not to go up there, which I didn’t. And...
Q: How old was your brother at the time?
A: He was in his early twenties, I think, 20, 21, something like that.
Q: He was a lot older than you were?
A: Oh, yes, considerably.
When we got up there I kind of meandered off to one side. This
thing was cocked up and I was standing here, the bodies were here, and
everybody else was kind of down here except my cousin Victor was over
here playing and looking in this gaping hole on the side of this disk. And it
was shaped just like a discus except for a round dome was up on top and
there was this big gaping gash in there. We could see inside and it looked
like a double hull.
Q: How big—explain it? The gash.
A: The dome?
Q: No, the gash.

A: Well, it covered the greater majority from the center of the craft
out. It was just like a gaping hole in there. I mean I’m thinking, you know,
it’s like about 32, 35 feet in diameter so we’re talking about 17 feet maybe.
Most of that one side was ripped open like that. You could see inside and
you could see another double hull, like—in there. And there were just rows
of components that was on there.
And there were lights that flashed on and off. Some of them were
steady and some were flashing. There was a lot of debris and stuff hanging
out of the hole. There was evidence that there apparently had been fire. It
looked like it had been burned along the edge there. The gash...
Q: Now this wasn’t a gash that could have been caused by the thing
coming in for the ground? It wasn’t at the leading edge of the vehicle?
A: No, no. This was in the side like—it almost appeared it was
elliptical. It almost appeared as if something the same shape as the disk we
were looking at had hit that same—you know, like it hit the disk and left an
imprint that pretty closely approximated the outside diameter of the disk
itself. And it appeared to be caved in looking, kind of like it hit them like
this and it just crumpled and caved in and ripped it open.
Q: Okay, so you’re there, you take all this in, everybody is
mystified. What were the circumstances outside? Hot, cold?
A: Very, very hot. Incredible to me, being the first time in New
Mexico and coming from back east. I had dry heaves. It was like the inside
of an oven. It was unbelievable to me. You know, the odd part about this
was that the closer you got to it, the cooler it was. And standing under it in
the shade there next to these creatures’ bodies, it was like refrigerated air
conditioning. And...
Q: Did you feel air coming out of this thing?
A: No, it was just like it was (inaudible).
And I remember reaching up and putting my hand on the side of it
but I think I was afraid I was going to hit my head because there was
enough room for me as small child, you know, I was approximately the
same size as these creatures, to walk up under there and stand there but I
kind of did like that, put my hand up against this thing.

Q: What did it feel like?
A: It was ice cold. It felt like it just came out of a freezer.
Q: Was it smooth? Was it rough?
A: It was very smooth. It had a very smooth texture to it. It was
obviously made out of metal. It was very solid and it was very cold, ice
cold.
And there was a smell in the area. It smelled volatile, acrid, like
acetone. And that seemed to be coming out of that gash, that smell. But the
closer you got to this thing, the cooler it was so, you know, I kind of
remained there.
And I guess that while they were over here, my father and my uncle
Ted and my brother. Uncle Ted was trying to talk to this thing in Spanish
and of course it didn’t understand a word he said. And dad tried to talk to it
and then they tried, you know, sign language and that didn’t work.
And I don’t know, for some reason, I just—I reached down and
touched it, this one that was laying next to me. When I touched it I realized
and I jumped back. It scared me. It startled me because I suddenly realized
that these weren’t dolls. I thought they were plastic dolls. And I—you
know, it was still in my mind that these were dolls until I touched it and
then I realized, you know, this was a dead thing.
I’d seen dead relatives before and unfortunately made a mistake one
time in touching a relative that was in a casket and I just knew this was a
dead thing and it scared me, and I ran around behind my father and my
uncle and this thing was sitting there on the ground and it kept looking back
and forth. And it just had its hands like this in its lap, and just kept looking
back and forth between the three of them and—like it was trying to
understand.
And all of a sudden it just turned and looked right straight at me
between my uncle Ted and myself. And this is when—it was just like an
explosion of things in my head, things... I started, you know, feeling, just
terrible depression and loneliness and fear and just, you know, awful, awful
feelings that just suddenly burst in to my mind there. I don’t know if that
meant that it was communicating with me and I was the only one there that
it could communicate with because I was a kid. I don’t know.

I turned and ran and I ran across the arroyo and up on the area that it
had bounced off of during the crash. I was just standing there looking down
at this scene, you know, at my family, and off in the distance I could see
cattle grazing. I could see a windmill and could see dust trails out on the
plains out there.
And, oh, I was there for a while and then I came back down. I guess
we were there—Victor was, when I got back down there Victor was up in
the craft and Ted yelled at him to get out of there and Glen went over and
grabbed him by the belt and jerked him around...
Q: That’s your brother?
A: Yes.
And jerked him off, says, “Get out because this thing may explode
and kill us all,” you know, and then of course he went prowling around in
there.
I was kind of standing off to one side looking. That’s why I knew
that there was—I can look off these rocks that I was standing on and look
right into this thing. That’s why I knew, you know, about the lights and the
components and stuff.
And then I heard other people talking. I turned and there was a
group of people coming up the arroyo from out on the plains from the
south. They had come up there and of course they walked up and was
talking.
Q: How many?
A: There was an older man and five younger students.
Q: Boys, girls?
A: Three boys and two girls. And they were all, you know,
introducing, talking to my father and my uncle and my brother...
Q: What did the older one look like?
A: He was a very tall man, a very big man. He was wearing a pith
helmet when he first came up, one of those kind of explorer helmets. And
he was bald and I know that because he had taken it off and he had, you
know, wiped it with a handkerchief and put it back on. He was a balding

man. And he had a round face. He was very ruddy complected. A big man,
and he apparently was a doctor because they kept calling him doctor and it
was my understanding that it was an archeological group that was out there
on some kind of summer thing. And they talked and he apparently was able
to speak several foreign languages and he tried to talk to this creature
several times in different languages, again to no avail.
Q: How did they happen to be there? Had he seen the thing...
A: Well, they claim that they saw—they said they saw this thing
come down the night before in flight, you know, and they thought it was a
meteorite and they had talked about well, early in the morning, you know,
we’ll go over and see this, where this meteor came down, because that’s
what they thought it was.
And when the sun came up the next morning, you know, and they
got about their business, got up and somebody looked over and said, you
know, they saw this shiny metal and stuff across the plains there and they
realized it wasn’t a meteorite, it may have been an airplane that had crashed
so they all decided to go over there and see if there was anybody left alive,
you know, that was hurt that needed help.
Q: They had driven over?
A: No, they walked over apparently, the way I understand it. And
it’s quite a ways across that plain so it had to take a very long time to do
this or they may have had a vehicle, I don’t know. That’s an assumption, I
think, on my part, where they walked.
Q: Okay. So they’re around...
A: But they came across...
Q: ...with the family...
A: ...the plains. I don’t know why I said that. I’m not sure if they
drove or not. I didn’t hear any cars.
Q: And then somebody else shows up?
A: Yes, they were down just, oh, 15 maybe 20 minutes tops, you
know. And they were picking up things, some of the students. And this Dr.
Buskirk, that they called him, this one girl went up and said, “Look, doctor,

wouldn’t this make a beautiful ring?” And she was holding what looked like
a red rod, a red tube that was some kind of silvery-red.
And he kind of snapped at her, you know, “Put that down because
you don’t know what that thing is. That thing could hurt you. Don’t pick
this stuff up.”
And she kind of said, “Well, yes, okay, doctor.” And then he went
back to what he was doing and she walked away and put it in her pocket.
And a lot of them were doing this, sort of picking up things and
feeling things. I was picking up things and feeling things. It was all kinds of
material and metal, stuff like that. I heard it, well, we all heard it, the sound
of a motor coming, like a truck. And I went back up the incline area to the
ridge line and I could see out there, there was a truck coming up. It was an
old pick-up truck. It was sort of a beige color, a tan colored van with an
antenna on it. And it stopped and this guy got out and he’s wearing brown
clothes. He’s got boots on and he’s wearing a straw hat, just like the kind
that Harry Truman always wore, and he had wire rimmed glasses. He was a
big man and he looked exactly like Harry Truman to me. You know, I’d
seen him in the Movietone News...
Q: He was president then.
A: Yes, I was well aware who Harry Truman was. Everybody was.
He was kind of a hero, you know, and he just kind of looked like him
except bigger, bigger. You know, I don’t think he—and he didn’t look as old
either. His hair was kind of light gray.
And he walked over there and they got to talking, you know, with
everybody and he told them that he worked out on the plains out there and
that he made maps and that he had seen the wreckage from out there on the
plains and he saw the people and he thought it was a plane wreck and, you
know, that something was going on and he came over to see.
And he hadn’t been there but just a very, very few minutes when we
heard all kinds of motors and engines straining and stuff. And here comes a
military car with a big white star on the side of it followed by a six-by
which is a military truck with a kind of canvas wagon, kind of a canvas
thing over it and it’s full of soldiers. They’ve got guns. And right behind
them is what we call a four-by which is like a medium sized jeep/truck

situation and it had two big high whip antennas, all kinds of radio gear in
the back and a guy back there with ear phones and stuff on and he’s, you
know, working these radios. And they all pulled up and stopped.
Q: Which direction did they come from, do you know?
A: They came from the north, from the Horse Springs area, right...
Q: So they could have come off the highway there...
A: Oh, yes. I’m sure that’s exactly how they got there. They come
off the highway, the same way we did. Well, in the meantime, when they
stopped, this black soldier, this sergeant, the reason I know he was a
sergeant, my brother told me he was, and he got out of this car and then a
guy got out on the other side and he was a, Glen said he was a captain, he
told me later he was a captain and this guy had orange and red hair. So all
the soldiers and them came running over there pointing guns at people,
telling them, “Get away, get away, get away,” you know? And when this
creature saw these people, the military, he went nuts. He went into an
absolute panic, worse than what he did when he saw us.
Q: Did he move around or just his eyes or...
A: He just, he just...
Q: Oh, okay.
A: ...went crazy. And it was like...
Q: Like he was scared?
A: Yes, like he was looking for a place to run and hide.
Q: But he never got up?
A: He never got up. He never left the beings that were next to him.
And this red headed officer, this guy was a real butt hole. He made
all the threats. He threatened to have people shot.
Q: Everybody?
A: He went, “Get away, get away,” you know, “We’ll shoot. Get
away from there. This is a military secret.” You know, just screaming and
hollering. He told my uncle and my father that if they didn’t want to spend
the rest of their life in prison they would never say anything about what

they saw there, if they ever wanted to see us kids again, they’d take the kids
away. They’d never see the kids, you know, meaning me and Victor. That
we’d better keep our mouths shut because if we did not, this is what was
going to happen. They were threatening people and pushing people...
Q: The students as well and Dr. Buskirk?
A: Oh, yes. They were hustling everybody. And one of the soldiers
pushed my uncle. He had a rifle like this and he shoved him back like that.
Well, that was something you didn’t do to my uncle Ted. Ted had a violent
temper. And he grabbed the rifle and reached over top and smacked this guy
and dropped him right there. And Ted would go out and fight, heck, this
guy’s a cowboy. He’ll hit you in a minute.
And of course when he did that there was bolts opened and I guess
cocking, they were cocking their rifles. They were pointing guns at people
and everybody Buskirk and Glen and dad grabbed him, you know, pulled
him back and got him away. “No, don’t, Ted, they’re going to shoot. Don’t
do that.” You know, trying to stop this. And I think we came very close to
having someone shot.
Then they really started threatening, you know, and they...
Q: Did the redhead do all the talking, pretty much?
A: Pretty much. Except once in a while the sergeant would, you
know, chime in and make statements like that to other people in response to
the redhead. But mainly it was the redhead...
Q: Was there a name tag?
A: Yes, sir, there was. His name was Armstrong. And I’m not sure if
I know that from having read it or know that from remembering it and now
being able to read it in my memory, or if someone said that to me. But his
name was Armstrong, it was right here on his uniform.
Q: But he chased you guys away pretty quick?
A: Yes, yes, he did.
And they herded us up like cattle and we were just up the arroyo,
back in the direction we came from, over the protest of this Dr. Buskirk

who said, “No, no, we’ve got to go the other way. We came from over
there.”
“I don’t care where you came from, get your ass up the arroyo.”
And they ran us up the arroyo and...
Q: So you get to your car again?
A: Oh, right.
Now they took us up the arroyo and just over the hill we came
down, they broke us off and moved us up the hill.
Now this whole time, no one has ever frisked us down, no one has
ever checked our pockets to see if we picked up any of this material and this
girl, Agnes, still had that stuff in her pocket and some of the other students
had stuff. To my knowledge, up to that point, they had not been searched.
Whether they did so afterward, I don’t know. They never searched us, ever.
They ran us back up the hill and when we got to where the car was parked,
where dad had parked the car up there, there’s a jeep with a guy sitting in
the back and there is a mounted machine gun in the back of this jeep and all
of these soldiers.
The jeep pulls out, we’re told to get in the car, we follow the jeep,
and the soldiers go with us all the way back out to the highway. When we
get back out to the highway, they set us right there. They wouldn’t let us out
of the car. They wouldn’t let us move forward. I don’t know whether they
were making a decision or what.
When we got out to the highway, this place was absolutely full of
military personnel, military equipment. There was airplanes sitting out there
that they had landed on the highway.
Q: Did you see any airplanes when you were back at the site?
A: Yes, there was airplanes in the sky but nobody thought much
about. You know, I didn’t think anything about it. I was used to airplanes
being in the sky, having been raised in Indianapolis, Indiana, the home of
the Norden bombsight, you know, the sky was always full of military
aircraft at night.

And when we get back on to the highway, there’s observation
aircraft, you know, high winged aircraft, and there’s one, of what I know
now to be a C-47 setting there. And how we didn’t hear that land is beyond
me and how he landed—well, of course, I guess you could land it if you’re
a good pilot out there as there were no poles or anything.
And it was—they had torn the fence down on the north side of the
highway and all this equipment was setting back up there. The plane was up
there and they were taking stuff out of the plane. There was military
ambulances and there were trucks with—like wreckers, cranes on them.
And there was tankers, like maybe had fuel or water in them. There was just
—everywhere you looked there was military.
Q: A major recovery operation?
A: Yes, it looked like an invasion force. It really did.
And they were all wearing these light khaki uniforms. They didn’t
look like, you know, olive drabs. They were light khaki and they all had the
same patch over their—that kind of blue funny patch with the circles on it,
was on his shoulder.
And a lot...
Q: Do you have a clue as to where they came from? Did your
brother or your uncle?
A: No. I don’t know where they came from. No, I don’t think
anybody ever ascertained that.
There were a lot of MP patches and some of them were wearing
nightsticks off of these webbed utility belts. They had night sticks and they
had .45’s in holsters, you know, the automatics, full holsters. And these
were the people that were giving most of the orders.
They had the road barricaded off out there and we sat there for a
very long time and, you know, we were getting thirsty and everything and
we asked if we could go back to Horse Springs to get some water.
“Oh, no, no. You can’t through there.”
And right after that, they said, “Now you just turn around and you
head out of here now and you go to Socorro,” and this is the redhead again,

“Keep your mouths shut. Just keep going and don’t look back.”
Well, as we drove away, you know, dad, “The hell with it, we’ll go
to Magdalena. We’ll get water in Magdalena.” You know, because that’s
where John Trujillo lived, a relative of Ted’s.
And so as we drove away, I was looking out the back window and I
could see Dr. Buskirk and these kids and that guy, the guy in the pick-up
was standing there and this Dr. Buskirk was doing just like this in this
redheaded officer’s face and he kept pointing back behind him and I guess
that meant, you know, we’ve got to go back that way and he was fed up
with this guy or something and he was shaking his finger in his face when
they were yelling at each other and that’s pretty much the last I saw of the
whole situation. I don’t know what happened after that because we just kept
going.
(END)

Transcript of Interview with
W. Glenn Dennis*
(Alleged firsthand witness to
events at the Roswell AAF hospital)

* W. Glenn Dennis, interview with Karl T. Pflock, November 2, 1992.

Q: You started getting calls from the base mortuary officer is that
right, some time in the afternoon on some day in July [1947].
A: Right after noon, yeah.
Q: Do you recall, was that before the story appeared in the [Roswell
Daily] Record?
A: I don’t know. I’m sure it was. I can’t honestly say, but I don’t
think the paper came out until the next day, I don’t think. I’m just assuming
that.
Q: I understand. When things like that happen to me way after the
fact I try to remember, and I wasn’t sure if you had any recollection or not.

It was the base mortuary officer who called you, not any of the MDs out
there.
A: No.
Q: He was just, the mortuary officer was just the guy...
A: We used to have a standing joke. What did you do that was so
bad they made you the mortuary officer.
Q: Exactly.
A: He wasn’t a doctor or anything, but he was an officer and he was
probably some old boy they was trying to figure out something to do with.
We used to all have them come in, even the officer himself, say,
“God, I didn’t know I screwed up that bad.”
Q: Was this a guy you’d worked with before? Somebody you knew
real well?
A: No. Those guys come and go.
Q: I realize that. You don’t remember what his name was or
anything like that?
A: No. I’m like Bob [Shirkey]. I think if I would see it or heard it or
something I might. Those guys, they were in and out. The mortuary officer,
usually they would appoint some sergeant or somebody. The only time the
doctors were involved is when you’d have an embalming inspection or
dress inspection where the doctors came in and examined the body to make
sure everything was right. You had another inspection to make sure their
dog tags, make sure all the medals and everything...
They always had two crews of inspectors. The doctors were only
involved in the cause of death or the autopsies or identification process,
dental charts and all that. After they did their work, then a doctor would
always come in and make sure the body was embalmed because [they]
know more about it than the other people. But they were involved before.
You know.
Q: The reason they contacted you was because Burt Ballard’s
funeral home up here had a contract with the base, right?

A: Yeah.
Q: You worked for Burt for a lot of years, didn’t you?
A: Yeah, a long time.
Q: When did you first go to work for him?
A: I went to work for him, I was hanging around the funeral home
when I was like a freshman in high school. I’d want to make some extra
money. “I’ll give you 50 cents to wash the hearse.” I knew his daughter real
well. We were all in school together. That’s where I really got involved in
the funeral home. I just kind of worked my way in it.
Q: He basically taught you the trade and all that.
A: Oh, yeah. My folks weren’t in the funeral business.
Q: The reason I was curious about it was because when I went
back... I’m one of these guys that goes to Washington and then gets fed up
and leaves and swears I’m never going to go back, and then I go back
anyway. But the last time I went back and did that, I shared a townhouse
with a guy for awhile who was a mortician from Michigan. But he had to go
through all this formal training and all this rigmarole...
A: No. That started in (inaudible). Maybe you don’t want to hear
this, but I was in the 9th grade, and this teacher was going around and
wanted us to write a composition on what we wanted to be when we
graduated from school. What were our future plans. I was kind of a wise
guy, I guess I must have been, but I said undertaker, and I don’t even know
why. All the girls squealed, so I got a little attention. Then she said okay, if
that’s what you want to do then you’ve got a week, you bring me your
composition. I want to know why you want to be an undertaker.
So I went to the funeral home. They didn’t have any books in those
days or anything, but that’s where I went. That’s why I got involved in it,
started.
Q: How long were you in that business before you... I know you ran
the Wortley Hotel up in Lincoln [N.M.].
A: Oh, that was after I retired.
Q: Oh, I see, you retired from the mortuary business...