News of a UFO crash in Roswell, New Mexico sent shockwaves through the nation, but what was once a newspaper headline on July 8, 1947 now seems nothing more than an urban legend.
The Roswell event began with a military-owned flying saucer that was nothing more than a weather balloon, and a UFO expert, Pope Nick, told that the “180 narrative flip” was effective in “the killing history”.
Nick Pope, who led the UK government’s UFO project from 1991 to 1994, told in a telephone interview: “The US military put out a press release that we had recovered a flying disk which they said was was one of those mysterious discs that were spotted across the US weeks earlier.
“24 hours later, they completely flipped the narrative.”
If the Roswell debris weren’t of this world, this could be one of the best cover stories in American history, Pope suggested.
“I’m not saying this is intentional, but the best cover story is the one that makes you laugh and roll your eyes,” he said.
“When something becomes a joke, serious politicians, military officials, scientists and journalists don’t want to touch it, or if they do, they come from a perspective they don’t really believe.”
The “180 narrative flip,” as Pope calls it, refers to the 509th Bombardment Group’s intelligence office, which announced at noon that day that they were in possession of a flying saucer and then explained that it was later described by military officials as one such was designated radar tracking balloon.
“I’m still undecided,” Pope said when asked if he believed it was an alien plane that crashed at the ranch 75 years ago.
“As much as I believe in life out there, I’m not sure about visits.”
The wreck was first discovered by WW ‘Mac’ Brazel, who was taking his sheep to a nearby stream.
News of a UFO crash in Roswell, New Mexico sent shockwaves across the nation, but what was once a newspaper headline on July 8, 1947 now seems little more than an urban legend
The debris is described as metallic looking, light but strong material. Pictured is Jesse Marcel, a former military man, holding the debris
Brazel spotted the debris hanging over his land and called authorities, who came to the scene for a deeper analysis – what they determined to be a flying saucer.
The Roswell Daily Record quickly made the front page of the story with the headline: RAAF captures flying saucer at Roswell-area ranch.’
The story described the debris as a metallic-looking, light-weight but strong material.
But the excitement was gone in an instant and no one thought twice about it.
“The late ’40s were a more trusting era,” Pope said.
The “180 narrative flip,” as Pope calls it, refers to the 509th Bombardment Group’s intelligence office, which announced at noon that day that they were in possession of a flying saucer and then explained that it was later described by military officials as one such was designated radar tracking balloon
The wreck was discovered in July 1947 by a rancher living in Roswell, New Mexico
“This was an era when trust in government and the military was very high, and it was an era before the internet and social media.
“Since most people didn’t have phones, the morning paper was their window to the world. I believe it was treated as gospel.’
Pope also pointed out that all UFO books written in the 1950s-1960s contain no information about the Roswell event.
“The killing of history was so effective,” he said.
Pope went on to say that it would be fascinating if the 75-year-old case could be solved and if the result was that the debris came from a UFO.
This video file, obtained on April 28, 2020, shows a portion of an unclassified video recorded by Navy pilots and circulating for years showing interactions with “unidentified aerial phenomena.”
“I’m not going to pretend we have a smoking gun because we don’t have one,” he said.
Mystery surrounding the 1947 Roswell wreck
In July 1947, a rancher reported pieces of debris strewn across his land.
Authorities were called to the scene and, after examining the wreckage, determined that the parts came from a flying sauce.
The local newspaper’s front-page article reported that the Roswell Army field had recovered a flying saucer at a New Mexico ranch after metallic-looking, lightweight but strong material was scattered across the country.
“The intelligence office of the 509th Bombardment Group at Roswell Army Air Field announced at noon today that the field had obtained possession of a flying saucer,” reported the Roswell Daily Record on July 8, 1947.
But shortly after the “UFO” discovery made headlines, the War Department in Washington released a statement claiming the debris was the remains of a weather balloon.
“Conversely, the people at the Roswell military base were where only nuke squadrons were housed, and those people were the cream of the crop.”
“If ever there were people who were less likely to misidentify a weather balloon, it would be her.”
Playing devil’s advocate, Pope says the cover-up may have been a way to hide something like a top-secret weapon that had crashed.
Talking about UFOs and aliens isn’t taboo in the US, as the government released video footage last year showing military jets chasing what could be flying saucers.
Also recently, at a UFO public congressional hearing, three ex-troopers testified about their 2014 encounter with a UFO at a US military base in the Middle East.
They said they saw eight bright objects hovering and flying across the sky at incredible speeds around December 2014 from a desert outpost in Sinai on the Egyptian border.
The three cavalry scouts, trained in aircraft identification, believe the objects they saw were of non-human origin.
“It’s odd that for all the interest and hearings in Congress, you hardly ever hear senators or congressmen mention the ‘R’ word – Roswell,” Pope said.
“Maybe the stigma is still there and they can’t bring themselves to tell Roswell and ask what about Roswell
“The original ‘cover story’, if it was, may have been too effective and knocked people out of the media, public and government minds.”