The Roswell Report: Case Closed

standard procedure was to preposition military recovery cre\vs near the projected point of
payload impact. The cre\vs consisted ptimarily of Air Force members in unifonn and they
operated military vchides. I often directed these crews to '"standby" along the shoulder of
Highway 28 5, both not1h and south of Roswell until the balloon vvas in position. The
recovery crews received detailed instructions from tracking aircraft that led them to the
exact location of the payload. The recovery vehicles induded. depending on the mission, a
crane, weapons carriers, communications van, and occasionally tanker tmcks to refuel the
aircraft that \Vould sometimes land on nearby roads.
During the time of the year \Vhen balloon trajectories were to the west, I anempted to drop
the payloads in the Rio Grande Valley. I also aimed for another valley, the flat area north
of Truth or Consequences that includes the Plains of San Augustin. In addition, many
remote baUoon launch sites \Vere located throughout the Rio Grande \/alley \Vest of the
White Sands Pro\ling Grounds. Launch crews were also mostly military and used much of
the same equipment as the recovery cre\,,-s.
I had extensive involvement with Project 7218 that later became Project 7222. This
project studied the free-fall characteristics of anthropomorphic dunurues dropped from
balloons from altitudes up to 100.000 teet. The missions usually consisted of two
dummies anached to a suspension rack that I directed to be released at altitude. Depending
on the \Vind conditions and time of year. the dummies, on many occasions, landed in the
Roswell area. I recall some difficulties in the release mechanisms of the dummies that
resulted in some of them tree-falling to the ground while they \\ere still anachcd to the
rack. Someone \Vithout a good vantage point or not associated with the project might
mistake these dummies for "'aliens" due to their odd flesh tones and abstract human
features.
I also recall an accident involving a manned balloon flight. I remember this event clearly
because I am also a balloon pilot and had an accident approximately two years before. The
accident occurred on a t1ight that Capt Joe Kittenger was "checking ouf' two back up pilots
for his high altitude missions. The balloon was launched around midnight fl'om behind the
Balloon Branch at Holloman AFB. I remember that some of the steel ballast used by the
balloon caused a '"fireworks' display when it contacted some nearby power lines during the
launch. I ~vas operating the control center for this flight and I received notification from
the communications vehicle that was following the balloon that there had been an accident
north of Roswell. I later ]e<lmed that the gondola had rolled over during a practice touch
and go landing and one of the pilots had been struck in the head and injured. I recall
speaking to Capt Kittinger about the accident and I saw the injured pilot. Although his
injury was not serious, his head had considerable swelling and he looked very odd.
I also worked with Capt Kininger on Project Stargazer. I also had met several times the
civilian scientific advisor Dr. J. Allen Hynek. Dr Hynek was thoroughly familiar with the
balloon operations at Holloman and visited the Balloon Branch numerous times. This
project expctienced some difficulties and only one manned flight was conducted.
167