For the next thirty years, the Roswell incident became a nonevent, forgotten by everyone except the residents. In 1978, while in Baton Rouge, UFO researcher Stanton Friedman heard a story that Maj. Jesse Marcel, retired from the air force and living nearby, had once handled the wreckage of a UFO. Friedman interviewed Marcel, reexamined the stories about Roswell, found other witnesses, and concluded that there had been a cover-up of “cosmic Watergate” proportions. His research became the basis of the 1980 book
In 1988, the Center for UFO Studies (CUFOS) in Chicago sponsored a team to find the crash site, recover any remaining debris, and interview surviving witnesses. Three years later the key members of that team, Kevin Randle and Don Schmitt, published their conclusions in the book
ROSWELL: MORE WITNESSES
By the 1990s, many of the main alleged witnesses to the Roswell events were dead. But some were not, and others, such as the children of the deceased, claimed to possess relevant information gotten from their parents. A brief synopsis of the accounts from some of the more noteworthies follows, with the proviso that judging the credibility of these claims is sometimes difficult but, alas, part of the package.
Lewis Rickett, a Counter Intelligence Corps NCO based in Roswell, was not only at the crash scene with Cavitt and Marcel, but claimed to have escorted Dr. Lincoln La Paz on a tour of the crash site and surrounding area. La Paz was a world-renowned meteor expert from the New Mexico Institute of Meteoritics. Rickett’s description of the debris was consistent with that of other witnesses. According to him, La Paz was “to find out what the speed and trajectory of the thing was.” La Paz flew over the area and found a spot where the sand had been turned glasslike, which he believed was caused by a landing and takeoff. He also apparently spoke to a number of the local witnesses and decided that there had been several objects.20
On or around July 9, 1947, according to future Brigadier General Arthur Exon, then stationed at Wright Field in Ohio, various aircraft from Roswell arrived. Although Exon did not see any bodies, he did hear rumors about them. Nor did he participate in analyzing the metal that arrived, but he later claimed to talk with friends who did the work and who indicated to him that the material was “extraordinary.” Exon soon flew over the Roswell sites and saw obvious gouges in the terrain and tire tracks over two distinctive sites.21
Bill Brazel was the son of Mac Brazel. Although his father died before the Roswell resurgence, Bill offered his own account of events. In 1947, he was living in Albuquerque, but returned to run the ranch when his father was taken into custody. According to Bill (and other witnesses), this lasted for about a week, during which time Mac was seen on the streets of Roswell with a military escort. Afterwards, Mac repudiated his initial story.
Bill Brazel offered a description of the crash wreckage that corresponded with Marcel’s account. He claimed to have found various types of debris, including something similar to balsa wood, except that it would not whittle or break. Another type of debris looked like heavy-gauge fishing line—this, too, could not break. The last type of material was similar to tinfoil or lead foil, except that the foil would unfold and straighten out after being crumpled up.
Bill also claimed that sometime after the crash, he discussed the foil with some friends in a Corona bar. Then, in his words, “lo and behold, here comes the military out to the ranch, a day or two later.” They told him they had learned of his possession of “some bits and pieces” of debris, and wanted him to relinquish them. They reminded him that his father had turned over everything that he had found. The younger Brazel gave up the pieces. The men told him that they “would rather you didn’t talk very much about it.”22
