rosswe1

accompanied Major Marcel to the ranch to recover the ~ebris, sometimes along
with his Counter Intelligence Corps (CIC) subordinate, Lewis Rickett, who, like
Marcel, is deceased. Although there does not appear to be much dispute that
Cavitt was involved in the material recovery, other cl~_about him prevail in
the popular literature. He is sometimes portrayed as a closed-mouth (or some-
times even sinister) conspirator who was one of the early individuals who kept
the "secret of Roswell" from getting out. Other things about him have been
alleged, including the claim that he wrote a report of the incident at the time that
has never surfaced.
Since Lt Col Cavitt, who had firsthand knowledge, was still alive, a decision was
made to interview him and get a signed sworn statement from him about his
version of the events. Prior to the interview, the Secretary of the Air Force
provided him with a written authorization and waiver to discuss classified
information with the interviewer and release him from any security oath he may
have taken. Subsequently, Cavitt was interviewed on May 24, 1994, at his home.
Cavitt provided a signed, sworn statement (Atch 17) of his recollections in this
matter. He also consented to having the interview tape-recorded. A transcript of
that recording is at Atch 18. In this interview, Cavitt related that he had been
contacted on numerous occasions by UFO researchers and had willingly talked
with many of them; however, he felt that he had oftentimes been misrepresented
or had his comments taken out of context so that their true meaning was changed.
He stated unequivocally, however, that the material he recovered consisted of a
reflective sort of material like aluminum foil, and some thin, bamboo-like sticks.
He thought at the time, and continued to do so today, that what he found was
a weather balloon and has told other private researchers that. He also remem-
bered finding a small "black box" type of instrument, which he thought at the
time was probably a radiosonde. Lt Col Cavitt also reviewed the famous
Ramey /Marcel photographs (Atch 16) of the wreckage taken to Fort Worth (often
claimed by UFO researchers to have been switched and the remnants of a balloon
substituted for it), and he identified the materials depicted in those photos as
consistent with the materials that he recovered from the ranch. Lt Col Cavitt also
stated that he had never taken any oath or signed any agreement not to talk
about this incident and had never been threatened by anyone in the government
because of it. He did not even know the "incident" was claimed to be anything
unusual until he was interviewed in the early 1980's.
Similarly, Irving Newton, Major, USAF (Ret), was located and interviewed.
Newton was a weather officer assigned to Fort Worth, who was on duty when
the Roswell debris was sent there in July, 1947. He was told that he was to report
to General Ramey's office to view the material. In a signed, sworn statement
(Atch 30) Newton related that" ... I walked into the General's office where this
supposed flying saucer was lying all over the floor. As soon as I saw it, I giggled
and asked if that was the flying saucer .... I told them that this was a balloon
and a RAWIN target. ... "Newton also stated that" ... while I was examining
the debris, Major Marcel was picking up pieces of the target sticks and trying to
convince me that some notations on the sticks were alien writings. There were
24
r
I
~