Roswell Incident
The Roswell incident, a pivotal event in UFO lore, revolves around the crash and recovery of a U.S. Army Air Forces high-altitude balloon in 1947 near Roswell, New Mexico. The initial military announcement described the debris as a "flying disc," fueling widespread intrigue and speculation about extraterrestrial origins. Shortly afterward, the military retracted this statement, identifying the wreckage as part of a weather balloon. This contradiction sowed the seeds for a plethora of conspiracy theories.
In 1994, it was finally disclosed that the balloon was part of the secretive Project Mogul, an operation aimed at detecting Soviet nuclear tests. Despite this revelation, conspiracy theories persisted. During the 1947 "flying saucer" craze, rancher W.W. ("Mac") Brazel found unusual debris near Roswell, including tinfoil, rubber strips, and sticks. Brazel brought this material to the Roswell sheriff, leading to a press release from the Roswell Army Air Field (RAAF) about the recovery of a "flying disc." The Roswell Daily Record's headline on July 8, 1947, proclaimed this astonishing news, but the story quickly shifted as the military identified the debris as a weather balloon carrying a radar target.
The incident faded from public consciousness until 1980 when Charles Berlitz and William L. Moore's book The Roswell Incident revived interest by labeling the weather balloon explanation a "cover story." They suggested that the original debris was secretly flown to Wright Field, Ohio, and replaced with weather balloon material. Despite widespread dispute, the book spurred further conspiracy theories and hoaxes, including the emergence of the bogus Majestic 12 documents in 1984 and a fraudulent alien autopsy film in 1995.
These hoaxes only intensified the fascination with Roswell, turning the incident into a cornerstone of UFO culture. The city's economy benefited from this notoriety, with the establishment of the International UFO Museum and Research Center in 1992 and the initiation of an annual UFO festival in 1996.
Ironically, the U.S. government's 1994 admission corrected the record: the debris was indeed from a spy balloon part of Project Mogul. A subsequent 1997 Air Force report, "The Roswell Report: Case Closed," suggested that tales of alien bodies might have stemmed from memories of crash test dummies, injured parachutists, and bodies from a plane crash in the 1950s. Despite these clarifications, many UFO enthusiasts remain convinced of a government cover-up.
For more details, you can visit International UFO Museum and Research Center.
