Black Vault compilation, pp. 91-93

have also been used to protect.our atomic secrets from the Soviets, which history
has showed obviously was not the case). The records reviewed confirmed that no
such sophisticated and efficieht security system existed.
WHAT THE "ROSWELL INCIDENT" WAS
As previously discussed, what was originally reported to have been recovered
- was a balloon of some sort, usually described as a "weather balloon," although
the majority of ·the wreckage that was ultimately displayed by General Ramey
and Major Marcel in the famous photos (Atch 16) in Fort Worth was that of a
radar target normally suspended from balloons. This radar target, discussed in
more detail later, was certainly consistent with the description of July 9 newspa-
per article which discussed "tinfoil, paper, tape, and sticks.'' Additionally, the
description of the "flying disc" was consistent with a document routinely used
by most pro-UFO writers to indicate a conspiracy in progiess the telegram from
the Dallas FBI office of July 8, 1947. 'This document quoted in part states:". . . The
disc is hexagonal in shape and was suspended from a balloon by a cable, which
balloon was approximately twenty feet in diameter. . .. the object found resem-
bles a high altitude weather balloon with a radar reflector.... disc and balloon
being transported . . . ."
Similarly, while conducting the popular literature review, one of the documents
reviewed was a paper entitled "The Roswell Events" edited by Fred Whiting and
sponsored by the Fund for UFO Research (FUFOR). Although it was not the
original intention to comment on what commercial authors interpreted or claimed
that other persons supposedly said, this particular document was different
because it contained actual copies of apparently authentic sworn affidavits
received from a number of persons who claimed to have some knowledge of the
Roswell event. Although many of the persons who provided these affidavits to
the FUFOR researchers also expressed opinions that they thought there was
something extraterrestrial about this incident, a number of them actually
described materials that sounded suspiciously like wreckage fro~ balloons. These
included the following:
Jesse A. Marcel, MD (son of the late Major Jesse Marcel; 11 years old at the time
of the incident). Affidavit dated May 6, 1991. " .. . There were three categories of
debris: a thick, foil like metallic gray substance; a brittle, brownish-black plastic-
like material, like Bakelite; and there were fragments of what appeared to be 1-
beams. On the inner surface of the 1-beam, there appeared to be a type of writing.
This writing was a purple-violet hue, and it had an embossed appearance. The
figures were composed of curved, geometric shapes. It had no resemblance to
Russian, Japanese or any other foreign language. It resembled hieroglyphics, but
it had no animal-like characters. . . ."
Loretta Proctor (former neighbor of rancher W.W. Brazel). Affidavit dated May
5, 1991. " . .. Brazel came to my ranch and showed my husband and me a piece
of material he said came from a large pile of debris on the property he managed.
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