Unraveling the Enigma of Roswell: Alien Lore, Conspiracy Theories and Our Quest for Cosmic Truth

Prepare to journey back in time, as we peel back the layers of speculation that have grown around the Roswell incident. What really happened that summer of 1947? Did the Soviet Union trigger the crash? Or was it just a high-altitude balloon from the top-secret Project Mogul? The Navy seaman silenced by the man in black after the Maury Island Incident, the original "flying saucer" sighting by pilot Kenneth Arnold, every revelation adds another twist to the tale. 

Fast forward to the 70s and 80s, when the Nevada Test Site and Area 51 become the focus of truth seekers. We pore over the disturbing claims in books by Donald R Schmidt and Annie Jacobson, suggesting that Joseph Stalin and Joseph Mengele conspired to deploy deformed children to the Roswell crash site. As we chase the truth, we'll also discuss how our technological advancements could potentially help us answer the questions that have plagued mankind for centuries. Tune in as we search for our place in the cosmos, a quest that could help us create a better future for generations to come.

Hometown Ghost Stories
Hometown Ghost Stories dives into the history of haunted locations and investigates why...

Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:01

In this documentary, we'll look at the array of stories, conspiracies and supposed facts that have stemmed from one major event. We will backtrack to understand the history and lead up to the bombshell account that occurred just two years after World War II ended, before taking a look at the events that played out during the Age of Hysteria and, eventually, the fallout of conspiracy theories that have remained to this very day. Did we truly receive a visit from an extraterrestrial entity 75 years ago? Why has Roswell become the historical landmark for UFO phenomena and public intrigue, and what evidence is there to support the theory that aliens were indeed behind it? Join us as we attempt to shed more light on the story that gripped the world then and now the Roswell incident, here on this edition of Destination Declassified. It's fair to say that the history of this event, as well as the stories, beliefs and conspiracies that have come thereafter, have been covered many times by multiple newspapers, blogs and books. However, it is often refreshing to go back to the beginning, where it all started, in order to investigate the events leading up to the crash, as well as those who were directly involved and the immediate fallout, to try and separate the fact from the fiction. So where do we start? It all stems back to the summer of 1947, the dust had only just settled after the colossal defeat of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi regime, and people were looking forward to a fresh start, a prosperous future. However, talks were already underway with regards to a new war, the Cold War.

Speaker 1: 2:07

Many people stand by the claim that the crash was initiated by the Soviet Union. When they received the startling news from the US Army Air Forces about a flying disk that had been recovered from the desert of New Mexico, having connotations with more recent news reports, it was initially claimed to have been a balloon of sorts, perhaps a weather-based inflation, which was carrying radar technologies amongst its lightweight materials. Yet almost 50 years later, in 1994, it was apparently confirmed to the public that the balloon was part of a top-secret program known as Project Mogul, a carefully organized project by the US military to detect Soviet nuclear bomb tests. We'll discuss this in a little more detail later. So how did we go from a weather balloon to extraterrestrials? Let's go back. World War II has ended. People are rebuilding their lives, environment and their infrastructure little by little, but a new threat is looming On a grander scale.

Speaker 1: 3:20

The United States and that of the USSR have, through victory over the Nazi regime, developed into global superpowers, have become competitors on the international stage. Attitudes and politics from both sides could not have been more divided in terms of ideology, restructuring and the development of each nation's militarized arsenal and defence systems. This bureaucratic back and forth spiralled into 45 years of paranoia, nuclear threats and a major distrust of what was at one time an intercontinental partnership, a unified force in the fight against the Third Reich. As history tells us, the Soviet Union amassed over 22 million kilometres of land across various countries, which accumulated to more than seven times the size of India and two and one half times that of the United States. This ever-expanding shadow was cast over to the self-proclaimed land of opportunity and led to countless false flags concerning governmental exchanges, leaked reports of espionage, the race for space and militarized sabotage.

Speaker 1: 4:33

On June 21st 1947, it was claimed by Navy seaman Harold Dahl and fighter pilot Ferd Christmann that the former was witness to six unidentified flying objects near Maury Island in Washington State's Puget Sound. During a conservation mission gathering logs, dahl's attention was drawn upwards, where he observed six circular shaped structures hovering in the skies above and approximately half a mile from his boat. After a short period of confusion. One of the objects fell from the clouds, dropping 1,500 feet towards the ground below. Dahl watched and noted the metallic debris that broke up and flaked from the UFO with astonishment and horror. Unfortunately, some of the shards struck the boat as well as his son and that of the family dog, who sadly died shortly afterwards, thus spurring the Navy officer into action. Grabbing his camera, dahl took some photographs of the aerial oddities and later decided to show them to Christmann, who was a supervisor at the time and who was immediately dismissive of the claims made by his shaken subordinate. It wasn't until Christmann saw the scene at the events himself, after being persuaded by Dahl to follow him back to Puget Sound, that he retracted his comments and took an alternative view on the whole episode. This would later become known as the Maury Island Incident.

Speaker 1: 6:02

Perhaps the reason the story lives on and is discussed at length by military officials and conspiracy theorists alike was due to the strange turn of events that transpired the very next morning. Having just lost his dog and watched helplessly as his son was struck by metal fragments from an unidentified alien ship, dahl was then visited by an officer wearing an indistinguishable black suit. According to a book written in 1956 by American paranormal writer Gary Barker. The man proceeded to invite Dahl to a local diner to discuss what had occurred during the previous afternoon at Maury Island. It is claimed in the aptly named book they knew too much about flying saucers that the whole occurrence was recounted back to Dahl by the man in black even down to the smallest, most intricate detail. Stunned by this sinister remembrance, dahl could not comprehend what was happening and attempted to reason with the unnamed officer when he decided to get up and leave the diner whispering the following warning what I have said is proof to you that I know a great deal more about this experience of yours than you will want to believe. Dahl was instructed that he should never speak of the incident ever again to anyone, or else bad things would happen.

Speaker 1: 7:26

A mere two days after the strange encounter with the man in black, an amateur pilot named Kenneth Arnold would be drawn into the mystery after spotting what he claims to be the original description of a flying saucer. Many consider the Roswell incident to correlate with Arnold and Dahl's stories, which occurred on the 24th of June 1947, as the pilot was soaring over the cascade mountings of Washington State, a major mountain range of western North America that extends from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. According to the multiple reports documented over the years, the testimony by Arnold states that he caught sight of what appeared to be nine bow-shaped objects which were flying at an altitude of 10,000 feet above the ground and in aerial formation. Arnold described the entities as being like a saucer would if you skipped it over water, and of their movements as being uncontrollable and shaky. What was even more fascinating, yet troubling, was the speed at which the basin-like objects moved. According to the pilot, the cryptic crafts travelled at approximately 1,900 kilometers per hour, a feat that was considered impossible, especially during the 1940s.

Speaker 1: 8:53

The day that everyone will refer to when discussing the events at Roswell would be June 14th, when WWMac Brazel and his son Vernon were driving across their ranch around 80 miles northwest of Roswell itself. As the pair were taking care of business and touring the nearby grounds, they came across something that would forever be etched in history as one of the most groundbreaking and conspiracy-fuelled findings of all time. At first glance, it appeared metallic in nature, especially with the glistening of broken-up shards which were scattered around it. Upon closer inspection, brazel, who was immediately interested yet suspicious of the odd materials derived it as a large black area of bright wreckage made up of rubber strips, tin foil and rather tough paper and sticks. Looking around the site above and around him, brazel was unable to comprehend where the shattered oddity had come from, and so, with his apprehension and suspicion heightened, he got back into his car with his son and headed back home. However, despite trying to put it out of his mind, the strange occurrence and mysterious craft that crash-landed in the desert did not leave his thoughts, and so, on the 4th of July, he returned to the scene to check if the parts were still there. They were. The fact that nothing had changed, and observing the collection of tinfoil, metallic shards and other materials for a second time solidified his determination to report it to the authorities and investigate it further.

Speaker 1: 10:33

Three days later, equipped with an empty truck, the rancher headed back once more and gathered as much of the broken craft as he could, piling it into the vehicle before heading straight to the sheriff's office for a meeting with Sheriff George Wilcox. Despite having years of experience dealing with all sorts of people, events and strange activities, wilcox could not understand the reasons for the crash, nor could he decipher the purpose and mechanics of the materials that Brazel had emptied from his truck. After a brief discussion with the rancher, some generalized note-taking and an overview of the craft, sheriff Wilcox made a call to the Roswell Army Airfield RAAF 509th Composite Group, the flying component of the United States Air Force based in Roswell, and to his close friend, colonel William Hugh Blanchard, known as Butch to many. Colonel Blanchard, born in 1916, was a United States Air Force officer who attained the rank of four-star general and served as Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force from 1965 to 1966. Things were escalating quickly. After a conversation with the sheriff, the objects were escorted off to the base and to Blanchard who, like his friend, was frustratingly bewildered as to what it was and, more importantly, what it was being used for. The next port of call was General Roger W Rami, senior Commander of the Eighth Air Force in Fort Worth, texas, who was asked to review the wreckage and revert with the next steps.

Speaker 1: 12:17

During this period of escalation, blanchard dispatched an intelligence officer, major Jesse Marcell, to accompany Sheriff Wilcox and Mr Brazel back to the desert and to the area of discovery to carefully retrieve the remaining pieces of the craft. Once all of the outstanding pieces were collected and transported back to the base. Major Marcell surprisingly issued a statement to the press which was printed in the Roswell Daily Record with the headline RAAF Captures Flying Saucer on Ranch in Roswell. The story was immediately catapulted into public consciousness and discussion. As the story rang the tagline, the intelligence office of the 509th Bombardment Group at Roswell Army Airfield announced at noon today that the field has come into the possession of a flying saucer. To try and soften the sudden excitement and panic that was spreading across New Mexico and beyond, the military stated that there was a miscommunication in the facts and that the flying object was in fact a weather balloon which was noted to be carrying radar target technology. The press ran the story with the Roswell morning dispatch printing Army debunks Roswell flying disk as world simmers with excitement. Roger Lanias, retired curator of space history at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum in Washington DC, who has sat on several investigative panels, addressed the conflicting headlines by stating a flying saucer was easier to admit than Project. Mogul will touch more on that later.

Speaker 1: 14:05

With the rumor mill drying up and the frustration of contradictory reports and disclosures being presented by the government, military and newspapers alike, the so-called crash at Roswell began to fade from public discourse. With the constant threat from the Soviet Union and progression of the Cold War reaching fever pitch, the focus of a flying saucer wrapped in tinfoil became less and less important. However, many still question the narrative, and subsequent sightings of UFOs and aliens continue to rise. However, in 1980, the story would return to the spotlight with the release of a book titled the Roswell Incident, written by American authors Charles Burlitz and William Almor, whose purpose was to try and expose the misdirection and substitute story that they believe was being fed to the public. Their primary investigation and argument focused on the original debris, with both men reigniting the claim that it was in fact for an unidentified flying object of unknown origins.

Speaker 1: 15:08

The writers both had experience in dealing with mysterious subjects. Moore also co-authored the Philadelphia Experiment Project Invisibility with Burlitz in 1979, about an alleged naval experiment aboard a USS Aldridge in 1943. The book discussed the allegations of how the destroyer escort ship had mysteriously teleported from Philadelphia to Virginia and has thus become one of the most bizarre conspiracies in the last 100 years, even though official records contained within the naval history archives claim that no such event ever happened like Roswell. The general discussion and that of public interest remained, therefore keeping the story very much alive. For their follow-up book on the incident that occurred in New Mexico, moore and Burlitz believed the wreckage was flown out to right field later right Paterson Air Force Base near Dayton Ohio for a full analysis, and that the weather balloon theory was hastily substituted to fool the public.

Speaker 1: 16:12

No stranger to criticism, skepticism and lack of support from their literary peers after the release of their previous book, both men would suffer harsh comments from disbelievers and academics alike. The Roswell incident would be universally panned, but would also spark a new, fresh wave of conspiracy theories and discussion about what really happened to Roswell, as well as the long-term aftermath and potential government cover-up. Many will recall that on our destination declassified channel we previously discussed the possibility of a secret society known as the Majestic 12 or MJ12, and that in 1984 certain documents had emerged, which were said to be classified memos, concerning top-secret militarized operations and the birth of a new world order. Apparently, this small group of powerful individuals were assembled by then President Harry S Truman to orchestrate numerous operations, one of which was the Roswell incident. We have all heard the stories of a shadowy elite who get together to conspire, discuss and negotiate with entities not of this world. These documents sparked more concern and debate about the true story of Roswell, despite being rendered bogus by the FBI. Roger Launeus commented on such heightened paranoia, stating by that time people's imaginations had gotten the best of them.

Speaker 1: 17:41

And so, ever since the resurrection of the original flying saucer phenomenon in the 70s and 80s, the concept of UFOs and search for answers has never been so prominent, especially with the rise of the internet. Many truth seekers have explored the parameters of Area 51, the closed off underground facility located within the Nevada test site and approximately 80 miles outside of Las Vegas. Whistleblowers such as Bob Lazar, the self-proclaimed physicist who claims to have worked at the site after being scouted in the late 1980s to reverse engineer extraterrestrial technology, have spoken publicly at length on the concept of flying saucers and that of Roswell. But others have also claimed to have seen conclusive evidence of alien technologies and creatures in action which, in 1997, were apparently escorted from nearby areas of the desert to secret military bases. These were later apparently confirmed to be parachute test dummies. Up until recently, the whole subject of aliens, ufos and other supernatural occurrences have been brushed aside by the government. However, some people claim to have been threatened, with many scientists, witnesses or informants either going missing or turning up dead.

Speaker 1: 19:39

Let us rewind again. It is worth remembering that the events that occurred at Roswell coincided with the rise of USSR and US governments, which were now in a paranoid battle of wills, a conflict that became known as the Cold War. The race to send astronauts to the moon, the rebuilding of infrastructure, population, workforce and economies, as well as the stockpiling of nuclear weaponry, resulted in both nations constantly being on edge, with the US conducting tests in both the South Pacific and Nevada test sites. Project Mogul, as mentioned earlier, was a top secret operation whose primary mission was to detect Soviet nuclear bomb tests and was conducted out of Washington DC and the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. Throughout this confidential exercise, the US government launched high-altitude balloons into the ionosphere with the intention of locating, auditing and studying Soviet nuclear testing technologies. The methods and materials included carefully generated balloons which were equipped with microphones that had the ability to elevate to maximum heights and maneuver across Soviet territory in a stealth-like capacity, with the microphones detecting the recording sound waves which scientists would collate and decipher in real time. Some of these spy balloons measured 657 feet in length as they coasted over the USSR and consisted of various elements to keep them afloat and on track.

Speaker 1: 21:12

However, launias conceded that at least one of these balloons may have deviated from its course. Obviously, something happened to this one balloon. It came back to Earth and probably was spread across a wide area, and so the weather balloon theory was created and purported to the public. It goes without saying that, as the years have passed, and even at the time of the initial cover-up, many people were skeptical of the government's account, and so the questions kept on coming. In 1994, project Mogul would be exposed and explained by the United States Air Force, when they released a report to admit that the weather balloon story was in fact fake and that the wreckage was remnants of technological espionage.

Speaker 1: 21:58

As usual, the purpose of the cover story was in the interest of national security and as a means to prevent mass panic, as well as keeping their militarized operations covert. This tactic is not uncommon. In fact, it is widely believed that politicians, celebrities, mainstream media and collective governments are consistently misleading the public with false information, misdirection and propaganda as a method to distract and divide the wider population in order to assert social control and dominance. Belief, trust and support for world leaders and their political parties has depleted ever since the Roswell incident and has been subject of new interest for writers such as Donald R Schmidt. Being the former co-director of the J Allen Heineck Center for UFO Studies, schmidt has written several books on UFOs, extraterrestrial intelligences, area 51, and you guessed it the Roswell incident. An avid researcher into the UFO phenomenon and co-founder of the International UFO Museum and Research Center in Roswell, schmidt has spent more than 30 years investigating the anomaly and has commented on the cover story for the Mogul project.

Speaker 1: 23:16

Two hours west of Roswell, the first atomic bomb was detonated. You had ongoing atomic research at Los Alamos, you had all this testing of captured German V2 rockets at White Sands, and at Roswell you had the first atomic bomb squadron headquartered. They thought that they would have intentionally set up any type of publicity as a distraction. If anything, they needed less attention. What do you think of that?

Speaker 1: 23:51

There have been countless theories, investigations and reports on the Roswell incident over the past few decades. Some are relatively simple. Then there are those that are so baffling that one, after initial disregard, may subconsciously actually believe what they are reading. One of these proposals came in the form of a book written by the American investigative journalist Annie Jacobson, titled Area 51, an Uncensored History of America's Top Secret Military Base. Jacobson has authored many books on popular conspiracy theories, including Operation Paperclip, cia Assassins and the 9-11 terrorist attacks that occurred in New York City, as well as being a finalist in the 2006 Pulitzer Prize Shortlist, an avid reporter on all things mysterious, jacobson is best known for her 2011 book on Area 51, where she claims that the Roswell incident itself was a bizarre choreographed operation, which was given the green light by none other than Joseph Stalin to disrupt and inundate the radar systems of the United States with false flags.

Speaker 1: 24:58

In the book, jacobson claims to have been approached by an anonymous individual who worked as an engineer for the contractor EG&G at Area 51, who proceeded to portray another version of the events. The story goes that Stalin, in partnership with Nazi concentration camp doctor Joseph Mengele, recruited young children and teenagers from the Soviet states who were born with deformities and deployed them to the likes of Roswell in specially designed aircrafts. The disgusting plan was for the children to climb out and be mistaken for visitors from Mars. Panak would ensue and America's early warning radar system would be overwhelmed with sightings of other UFOs. Though this claim was met with much criticism and skepticism, some believe that it holds an element of possibility and truth.

Speaker 1: 25:48

Jesse Marsal Jr, who was the son of intelligence officer Jesse Marsal Sr mentioned earlier, discussed this theory in his own book, the Roswell Legacy. At the time of the original crash, marsal Jr was 11 years old when his father brought home some of the wreckage for his son to examine and play with before delivering it to his military base. According to young Jesse, I could see what looked like writing. At first I thought of Egyptian hieroglyphics, but there were no animal outlines or figures. They weren't mathematical figures either. They were more like geometric symbols squares, circles, triangles, pyramids and the like. Could these be the drawings of a young boy or girl, the doodlings of shapes and figures as a way to distract them from their terrifying mission over the skies of the United States? There is no credible evidence to support this theory, but, as we've come to learn, sometimes the most outlandish claims tend to be those that contain the most truth.

Speaker 1: 26:50

Viewers of this channel will be aware of the life and works of American nuclear physicist and professional ufologist Stanton T Freedman. His name is known throughout the UFO community and his legacy as a driving force within the sector is second to none. In 1978, freedman had a discussion with Major Jesse Marcell Sr about the Roswell Crash and the subsequent cover-up. The balloon theory was heavily disputed by the intelligence officer as he claimed that everyone involved in the retrieval of the wreckage was in agreement that the saucer was extraterrestrial in nature. Freedman took this theory on the road and discussed it many times over his monumentous career, having been the subject of numerous criticisms and attacks, both professionally and personally.

Speaker 1: 27:36

In the years that followed the meeting between both Freedman and Marcell, many researchers, investigative journalists and writers have attempted their own covert meetings with ex-meritory members and scientists. It turns out there are still people coming forward to reveal new secrets of Roswell, year 51 and other mysterious happenings which have occurred over the years, with doctors and physicists such as Dr Stephen Greer opening the door to revealing the truth. What becomes of the Roswell incident will ultimately be determined by those authorised individuals who are willing to step forward and propose their arguments. With this in mind, it seems likely that the Roswell enigma shows no signs of being fully solved, even though many have considered the weather balloon theory to be the final judgement and conclusive factor. Whether it be a standard atmospheric balloon or one that contained advanced spy technologies as part of Project Mogul is another debate, as many seem divided on this possibility. It would certainly give credence to the immediate confusion and rapid escalation of the chain of command in the days and weeks that followed.

Speaker 1: 28:56

Fifty years after the events took place, a new government investigation revealed that none of the original reports had sighted alien creatures and or body parts. Jesse Marcell denied this aspect of the story, and so the United States Air Force failed to discuss the issue and suggested that people had somehow merged the crash with the testing with anthropomorphic crash test dummies which were dropped from the sky to test their efficiencies and militarised usage. As the years have worn on, roswell itself has become a money making enterprise. Museums, shops, events and other marketing material have adopted and taken advantage of the mystery, along with Area 51, with thousands flocking to the desert every year in the search for clues and answers. In more recent times, almost 65 years after the crash, in the summer of 2021, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence published a preliminary assessment stating that the majority of UFO sightings remain unexplained In today's war-torn world.

Speaker 1: 30:01

Spy balloons are now back in the news. Between January 28th and February 4th 2023, it was reported and concluded that a Chinese-operated high-altitude balloon was identified and tracked over the North American airspace. According to reports, the balloons hovered over Alaska, certain regions of Western Canada and the bordering lines of multiple US states. Under orders of President Joe Biden, the United States Air Force eventually shot down the balloon, which by this time had made its way over the skies of South Carolina. The wreckage was recovered and sent for analysis at the Federal Bureau of Investigations Laboratories in Virginia. Both American and Canadian military commanders declared that the balloon, which for a time was thought to be extraterrestrial, was indeed used for covert surveillance and spy projects by the Chinese government. According to the analysis records, the balloon had multiple capabilities, including geolocating, electronic communications and high-tech surveillance. Though many have criticized the US Air Force for allowing the balloon to travel so far, the authorities have stated that they were tracking it for quite some time prior to shooting it down and that it originated from Hainan, an island province of China and the nation's southernmost point.

Speaker 1: 31:20

It would certainly seem that the use of such technologies has increased tensions between Western nations and the PRC, a relationship that is already on the brink of conflict, as subsequent balloons have since been spotted over Alaska, canada and even Latin America. Could we be witnessing history rewritten, with a communist nation sparking global paranoia by using advanced technologies under the guise of weather balloons and that of UFOs. I guess time will tell. If Roswell has taught us anything, it is that nothing is ever what it seems, and so we come to an end of this special episode of Destination Declassified.

Speaker 1: 32:03

We live in a world that is teetering on the edge with regards to a multitude of existential threats.

Speaker 1: 32:09

Global warming, nuclear war, ai technology and other issues have resulted in our planet becoming more and more suspicious, not to mention divided, terrified and broken on a majority of universal matters.

Speaker 1: 32:23

The Roswell incident is just one of many occurrences that have sparked decades of deception, miscommunication and intrigue. We are so concerned with finding out the truth that we often tend to forget what is right in front of us as well as what is really important in life. There is no doubt that the concept and discussion surrounding UFOs and that of extraterrestrial intelligence will not go away anytime soon. In fact, we are closer to the truth than ever before. We still have a shot at making this world work. By using our technological expertise and collective knowledge of this little planet and that of the cosmos, we can hopefully answer the burning questions that have plagued mankind for centuries, by setting aside our political, religious and social differences. We can strive to create a better future for our children and grandchildren. As we make strides in science, such as the ability to generate energy from the air around us and the extensive exploration of our neighbouring planets, the secret of Roswell may finally be revealed to us, but until that time, all we can do is stay safe and keep searching.