Report of Air Force Research Regarding the Roswell Incident

The July 8 edition reported "RAAF Captures Flying Saucer
On Ranch In Roswell Region," while the next day's
edition reported, "Ramey Empties Roswell saucer" and
"Harassed Rancher Who Located 'Saucer' Sorry He Told
About It."
The first story reported that the Intelligence Officer
of the 509th Bomb Group, stationed at Roswell AAF, Major
Jesse A. Marcel, had recovered a "flying disc" from the
range lands of an unidentified rancher in the vicinity
of Roswell and that the disc had been "flown to higher
headquarters." That same story also reported that a
Roswell couple claimed to have seen a large unidentified
object fly by their home on July 2, 1947.
The July 9 edition of the paper noted that Brigadier
General Roger Ramey, Commander of the Eighth Air Force
at Forth Worth, Texas, stated that upon examination the
debris recovered by Marcel was determined to be a
weather balloon. The wreckage was described as a
11 •• bundle of tinfoil, broken wood beams, and rubber
remnants of a balloon ••..•• The additional story of the
"harassed rancher" identified him as W.W. Brazel of
Lincoln County, New Mexico. He claimed that he and his
son, Vernon, found the material on June 14, 1947, when
they "came upon a large area of bright wreckage made up
of rubber strips, tinfoil, a rather tough paper, and
sticks." He picked up some of the debris on July 4 and
• 11 •• the next day he first heard about the flying discs
and wondered if what he had found might have been the
remnants of one of these. 11 Brazel subsequently went to
Roswell on July 7 and contacted the Sheriff, who
apparently notified Major Marcel. Major Marcel and •a
man in plain clothes" then accompanied Brazel home to
pick up the rest of the pieces. The article further
related that Brazel thought that the material:
11 •• might have been as large as a table top. The
balloon which held it up, if that is how it worked,
must have been about 12 feet long, he felt,
measuring the distance by the size of the room in
which he sat. The rubber was smoky gray in color and
scattered over an area about 200 yards in diameter.
When the debris was gathered up the tinfoil, paper,
tape, and sticks made a bundle about three feet long
and 7 or 8 inches thick, while the rubber made a
bundle about 18 or 20 inches long and about 8 inches
thick. In all, he estimated, the entire lot would
have weighed maybe five pounds. There was no sign of
any metal in the area which night have been used for
an engine and no sign of any propellers of any kind.
Although at least one paper fin had been glued onto
some of the tinfoil. There were no words to be found
anywhere on t~e instrument although there were
letters on some of the parts. Considerable scotch
tape and some tape with flowers printed upon it had
been used in the construction. No string or wire
were to be found but there were some eyelets in the
paper to indicate that some sort of attachment may
have been used. Brazel said that he had previously
found two weather balloons on the ranch, but that
what he found this time did not in any way resemble
either of these."
EVOLUTION OF THE EVENT FROM 1947 TO THE PRESENT