The Roswell Incident of 1947: What's it all about

By Michelle Shocklee

I'm a New Mexico girl, born and raised. My daddy was born in Roswell in 1921, so the small town in the eastern part of the state is quite familiar to me. But ever since the events of a hot summer night in 1947, the town hasn't been the same.

Brig. Gen. Ramey & Col. Dubose identify debris
found near Roswell, NM in July 1947

Sometime between mid-June and early July 1947, rancher W.W. “Mac” Brazel found wreckage on his property in Lincoln County, New Mexico, approximately 75 miles north of Roswell. Stories of "flying saucers" and "flying discs" had already appeared in the national press that summer, leading Brazel to believe the wreckage could be something of that nature. He brought some of the material--rubber strips, tinfoil, and thick paper--to Sheriff George Wilcox of Roswell, who in turn brought it to the attention of Colonel William Blanchard, the commanding officer of the Roswell Army Air Field. Several officers from the air field arrived at the ranch on July 7 to gather more debris. 

What happens next is a mixture of facts and legend, with a healthy dose of conspiracy theory thrown in for good measure, which continues to this day. 

On July 8, the RAAF released a statement, writing that, “The many rumors regarding the flying disc became a reality yesterday when the intelligence office of the 509th Bomb Group of the Eighth Air Force, Roswell Army Air Field, was fortunate enough to gain possession of a disc through the cooperation of one of the local ranchers and the sheriff's office of Chaves County.” This statement was published in the local newspaper. 

Apparently, that wasn't a good idea. The RAAF changed their story the next day. The mysterious object found on the ranch was simply a harmless, high-altitude weather balloon, they claimed. Nothing to see here, people. 

Picture of Jesse Marcel, the head intelligence officer on the case. "Not a flying disc."

With government officials declaring the mystery wasn't all that mysterious, the story quickly faded. It wasn't until the 1970s and 80s, when UFO researchers began writing books with speculations of a cover-up, did interest in the Roswell Incident begin.  All sorts of claims were made, including those of alien bodies being recovered and hidden at an Air Force base. 

It wasn't until 1994, forty-seven years after the debris was found, that the truth (I assume) came out.

In July of that year, the U.S. Air Force released a report in which they conceded that the “weather balloon” story had been bogus. According to the 1994 explanation, the wreckage came from a spy device created for an until-then classified project called Project Mogul. The device—a connected string of high-altitude balloons equipped with microphones—was designed to float furtively over the USSR, detecting sound waves at a stealth distance. These balloons would ostensibly monitor the Soviet government’s attempts at testing their own atomic bomb. Because Project Mogul was a covert operation, the new report claimed, a false explanation of the crash was necessary to prevent giving away details of their spy work.

Merchandise at Roswell store; photo on Google

Aliens and UFOs have become big business in Roswell. You can't 'swing a cat' without hitting an alien or spaceship. People come from around the world to do their own investigating and to see the sights. Whichever story you believe--the government cover-up of an alien crash site or the government's admission to secret spying--Roswell is still an interesting little town to visit. 

Your turn: have you been to Roswell? What'cha think about all this UFO stuff?

Welcome to Roswell; photo on Google

Michelle Shocklee is the author of several historical novels, including her September 2020 release, Under the Tulip Tree. Her work has been included in numerous Chicken Soup for the Soul books, magazines, and blogs. Married to her college sweetheart and the mother of two grown sons, she makes her home in Tennessee, not far from the historical sites she writes about. Visit her online at michelleshocklee.com.

UNDER THE TULIP TREE

Releasing 9.8.20; PREORDER available now!

Sixteen-year-old Lorena Leland’s dreams of a rich and fulfilling life as a writer are dashed when the stock market crashes in 1929. Seven years into the Great Depression, Rena’s banker father has retreated into the bottle, her sister is married to a lazy charlatan and gambler, and Rena is an unemployed newspaper reporter. Eager for any writing job, Rena accepts a position interviewing former slaves for the Federal Writers’ Project. There, she meets Frankie Washington, a 101-year-old woman whose honest yet tragic past captivates Rena.

As Frankie recounts her life as a slave, Rena is horrified to learn of all the older woman has endured—especially because Rena’s ancestors owned slaves. While Frankie’s story challenges Rena’s preconceptions about slavery, it also connects the two women whose lives are otherwise separated by age, race, and circumstances. But will this bond of respect, admiration, and friendship be broken by a revelation neither woman sees coming?

https://www.amazon.com/Michelle-Shocklee/e/B01MYD4TRE/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1486004955&sr=8-1

All the.News That's Fit to Print--and Then Some

 

One of my favorite research tools is old newspapers.  I used to make myself sick going through microfiche at the library, but thanks to the Internet many 18th and 19th century newspapers are now available on line.

Reading some of these newspapers is like reading the National Enquirer.   

During the 1800s there were no shortages of ghosts, UFOS, monsters or things that go bump in the night.  Weird animals?  You name it.  Giant reptiles, huge birds and an eighteen horn cow made headlines and that wasn't all;  A Texas man outgrew his coffin and another man was hypnotized by the telegraph.  

Sightings frightened residents and created “adject fear” in livestock 

 

 

You’ve heard of Roswell and the alien that supposedly crashed there, but did you know that something similar happened in Aurora, TX in 1887? According to “Hidden Headlines of Texas” compiled by Chad Lewis “something out of this world” crashed and demolished a windmill in Aurora. “Mr. T.J. Weems, a U.S. Army Signal Service Officer and an authority on astronomy, gives his opinion that the pilot was a native of Mars.

 Buzzing lights, airships, immense meteors and strange moving lights were witnessed by firemen, undertakers, miners and a twelve year old who “didn’t believe in ghosts, whose parents never scared him with spook stories, and who is one of the best behaved scholars in fourth grade.”

Ghosts were reported even by those proclaiming not to believe in them

Houses, mines, theaters and even certain roads were haunted.  According to an article in a Tombstone Epitaph dated 1907, a Texas mining man purchased a haunted mine and soon realized his mistake when “spirits” chased away his workers.

Wild men ran rampant through the old west, though none of the real wild men reported in newspapers were quite as handsome as the “wild man” hero in one of my books (Yep, inspiration abounds in those old newspapers). Posses were formed to chase down various wild men but apparently few were ever caught. 

One wild man in Galveston created “consternation” among its citizens by “lapping up milk like a dog” and “eating fried chicken raw.”  Not everyone was disturbed by his behavior.  The Galveston Daily News defended the wild man in an editorial: “Well, do not be heard on the poor, frenzied creature; he is probably some eminent Republican who ran away to keep from being nominated for the vice presidency.”

“Lunacy” and “sudden insanity” seemed to plague 19^th century citizens  

Jokes, religious excitement, storms and disgrace were among the reasons given for a sudden crazed or deranged state.  You’ve heard of postal workers running berserk, right?  It turns out that telegraph operators sometimes went postal, too.  One such telegrapher in El Paso, Texas proclaimed he was God and threatened to “demolish” a co-worker.   Another crazed telegraph operator ran amuck and terrorized an entire county.  It’s not clear if he was ever captured.

Things got so bad according to a preface in Wisconsin Death Trap by Michael Lesy that “Many historians have become convinced there was a major crisis in American life during the 1890s.”

Bizarre behavior blamed on

 Industrial Revolution 

Electricity, telephone and automobile came right on the heel of the train and telegraph.  Not only did these inventions change the way people lived but how they thought.  Electricity was even blamed for the suffragette movement that swept the country.   

It kind of makes you wonder what they’ll say about those of us living in the electronic revolution, doesn’t it?  Personally, I haven’t seen any Martians, but I was once hypnotized by my iPhone.  

So what do you think? Are things better or worse now then they were back then?  

Or about the same?

"Exquisitely Intriguing"-Starred review from Publishers Weekly

She's a Pinkerton detective; he's got more aliases than can be found on Boot Hill.  Neither has a clue about love . . . . 

Order book from favorite bookstore or click here  To order online

Enter to win a Kindle Fire  http://bit.ly/13REeTc

If you don't have a Facebook page: http://litfusegroup.com/gunpowder-tea-brownley