On July 8, 1947, the Roswell Daily Record carried the headline, “RAAF Captures Flying Saucer on Ranch in Roswell Region.” This information was later retracted. However, a well-known CIA Agent recently made news when he declared a UFO really did crash at Roswell. So, what really happened with the Roswell UFO?
Background on the Roswell UFO
In mid-1947, a foreman named William Ware Brazel discovered some strange debris while working at the J.B. Foster ranch. On July 4, he returned to gather up some of the materials with his family.
“Brazel related that on June 14 he and an 8-year old son, Vernon, were about 7 or 8 miles from the ranch house of the J. B. Foster ranch, which he operates, when they came upon a large area of bright wreckage made up of rubber strips, tinfoil, a rather tough paper and sticks.” ~ Harassed Rancher Who Located ‘Saucer’ Sorry He Told About It, Roswell Daily Record, July 9, 1947 (Afternoon)
Supposedly, Brazel first heard stories about “flying discs” the next day. Wondering if his wreckage belonged to such an aircraft, he proceeded to tell Sheriff Wilcox about it on July 6 or 7. Wilcox contacted Roswell Army Air Field and Major Jesse Marcel and a second man met with Brazel to examine the debris. On July 8, the Roswell Army Air field issued a rather remarkable press release. To this day, no copies of it exist and no one’s quite sure who wrote it. In fact, many scholars think it was never actually written down and was only provided as a vocal statement.
“The many rumors regarding the flying disc became a reality yesterday when the intelligence office of the 509th Bomb group of the Eighth Air Force, Roswell Army Air Field, was fortunate enough to gain possession of a disc through the cooperation of one of the local ranchers and the sheriff’s office of Chaves County. The flying object landed on a ranch near Roswell sometime last week. Not having phone facilities, the rancher stored the disc until such time as he was able to contact the sheriff’s office, who in turn notified Maj. Jesse A. Marcel of the 509th Bomb Group Intelligence Office. Action was immediately taken and the disc was picked up at the rancher’s home. It was inspected at the Roswell Army Air Field and subsequently loaned by Major Marcel to higher headquarters.” ~ Roswell Army Air Field Press Release, July 8, 1947
However, after further examination, Warrant Officer Irving Newton stated the Roswell UFO was nothing more than the wreckage of a weather balloon coupled with a radar reflector. The story was subsequently forgotten until 1978 when Major Marcel discussed the incident in an interview with Stanton T. Friedman. Interest in the case surged and suspicion of a government cover-up began to grow.
What’s New?
On June 23, Chase Brandon, a 35-year veteran of the CIA’s elite Clandestine Service unit, gave an interview on Coast to Coast AM. His remarks have added to the suspicions UFO enthusiasts hold toward the U.S. government. Here’s a taste:
“I absolutely know… that there was a craft from beyond this world that crashed at Roswell, that the military picked up remains of not just the wreckage but cadavers and all of that was made public for a short while…” ~ Chase Brandon, Coast to Coast (June 23, 2012)
“One hundred per cent guarantee, in my heart and soul I say – Roswell happened. There was a craft… absolutely cadavers.” ~ Chase Brandon, Coast to Coast (June 23, 2012)
Brandon went further, claiming he once visited the CIA’s Historical Intelligence Collection and located several boxes of information related to the Roswell UFO.
“I went into the side room and looked at all those boxes… I only had a chance to look at one – I pulled the one down that said ‘Roswell’ and I looked inside… there were materials, there were papers, there were other items…” ~ Chase Brandon, Coast to Coast (June 23, 2012)
Guerrilla Explorer’s Analysis
Chase Brandon was a real CIA agent and now works as a technical consultant for films and TV shows. His skills were utilized for The Bourne Identity and Mission Impossible. So, his background checks out. Still, we find his story about the Roswell UFO a bit fishy.
For the last few decades, hundreds of individuals have come forward, claiming to have seen evidence of a UFO or aliens at Roswell. However, none of them have produced a shred of physical evidence to that effect. So, the idea that a box of UFO-related information was stored at what essentially amounts to the CIA museum strikes us as a bit unlikely. And the idea that Brandon was able to access it so easily seems even more unlikely. And of course, this box has seemingly vanished over the years which only adds to our suspicions.
Also, Chase Brandon has financial stakes here. He is currently marketing his first novel. It’s a story about…you guessed it…the Roswell UFO. It’s called The Cryptos Conundrum and Brandon appears to be selling it as being based on real events. The first quote in his novel, one from Francis Bacon, alludes to this fact.
“Truth is so hard to tell, it sometimes needs fiction to make it plausible.” ~ Francis Bacon
All in all, this looks more like a marketing ploy than anything else. The Roswell UFO may or may not have have been a flying disc. But in our opinion, Brandon’s interview does little to sway the debate.