now legendary Roswell

WHAT THE Incident were planted.

But was there more to
RANCHER SAW
Brazel’s role in the affair than
has previously been attributed
to him i.e. that he found some
strange metal, reported it to
the sheriff, the media, and the
army, the latter detaining him
for a week before he was
“They’re not monkeys, and finally released, having now
they’re not human” changed his original story of
by finding ‘only’ strange metallic-
David Calvert like debris to that of a weather
balloon, and went home
William Ware Brazel, or ‘Mack’, refusing to talk about it again.
as he was affectionately Certainly, ranchers in
known, was a no nonsense 48- those parts were familiar with
year-old foreman for the J. B. weather balloons and had no
Foster sheep ranch, 30 miles trouble identifying them. That
southeast of the small cattle Brazel suddenly changed his
town of Corona, New Mexico, story after being detained by
when he discovered strange the military is somewhat
debris in a pasture with ‘out of telling. It further strains
this world’ properties. What he credulity when hand-picked
discovered set in motion a officers of the 509th Bomb
chain of events that led to the group, the top US military unit
US Government, for the first at the time, admitted that they
and only time in its history, to too had been initially mistaken
state that UFOs not only over the nature and
existed, but that they had one provenance of the debris, and
in their possession. Thus, in that what they had in their
July of 1947, the seeds of the possession was indeed a
weather balloon. balloon cover story went into
effect.
The final interview was
conducted by El Paso radio
station after the AAF had held
Skyhook Brazel for a few days whilst the
Balloon
ranch was being cleared and
‘sanitised’ of the debris. Again,
It was on the 8 th July the prepared weather balloon
1947 that Mack Brazel gave cover story was undoubtedly
the only interview that is repeated.
directly attributed to him. It Researchers and
took place in the offices of the ufologists alike have been
Roswell Daily Record and was bothered ever since regarding
given whilst he was still in the Brazel who, among all other
‘custody’ of the Army Air Force Roswell participants, was
(AAF). It appeared in the singled out and effectively
following day’s edition of that arrested for an extended
paper. He was to give three period of time. And what did
other known direct interviews he mean when he made the
concerning the incident. cryptic remark to a radio
The first had taken place station announcer that the so-
two days earlier, July 6 th and called ‘little green men’ were
was conducted over the phone not green. What else had he
to KGFL announcer Frank Joyce seen which caused him to
from the Chavez County make such a remark?
Sheriff’s Office. Further, two articles
The second was in the appeared in print on July 9th
home of the radio station’s 1947. The first in the Roswell
owner, Walt Whitmore, on Daily Record, under the title
Monday, July 7 , just before he
th
Gen. Ramey Empties Roswell
was taken into custody by the Saucer, the second in the
military the next day and the Albuquerque Journal in the
Harassed Rancher … article.
Both now retracted the
previous day’s proclamation
that a ‘flying saucer’ had been
found and asserted the
military line that it was the
remnants of a weather balloon
with attached radar reflector.
In the latter, however,
Brazel’s final comments went
apparently unnoticed. The
article concluded that on at
least two occasions Brazel had
found weather balloons on his
land. What he found on that
fateful day, however, did not
resemble any of those previous
finds.
Mack died in 1963, aged
64 and took what he knew to
the grave with him. Even close
family members were not
made privy to what he knew.
What we know of him comes
from his surviving family
members. He was a throwback
to the ‘old-time cowboys’ a no-
nonsense sort of guy whose
word and handshake were his
bond. He was also a man of
few words.
His son, Bill Brazel Jr.,
nevertheless, was able to put
together a basic scenario of
what happened to his father
and obtained from him the fact
that he was upset at being ‘put
in jail’ for what he thought was
a ‘good deed’. Although
embittered and outraged by
his treatment at the hands of
the military he remained silent
as to what he really knew, lest
his family should suffer the
consequences of his saying too
much. We have the
testimonies of other parties
involved in the incident who
claimed they were threatened
by military and Government
officials to keep quiet about
what they knew or pay the
ultimate price.
Whether Mak’s youngest
son, who was seven years old
at the time, knew something
the others did not we will
never know as in 1960 he
disappeared under mysterious
circumstance and has never
been seen since.
The little Mack did tell
his family consisted mainly of
his finding the ‘stuff’ which he
said had come from an
explosion not a crash -
because it was all in pieces, strips, the colour of dull
and the surrounding aluminium or lead foil which
vegetation was singed. The were impervious to being cut,
curious metal was different bent, burned or scratched.
from anything he had ever Some of them appeared to
seen as it could not be burned, have a very slight curvature
cut, scratched, or whittled with suggesting they had come
his knife. He also recalled from the rounded surface of a
seeing strange writing on larger structure, their
some of the debris that looked conditions suggesting they had
like ‘figures’ to him. However, been blasted from it.
Lorrene Ferguson and Floyd
Proctor, neighbours of Mack, [2]: Small hand-sized pieces
recalled his description of the of an unknown quantity of very
pieces to them as being more thin and light ‘metal’
like ‘wiggles’, similar to the possessing the dual qualities of
figures found on Chinese or being both solid and fluidic.
Japanese firecracker wrappers. When wadded up in the hand
According to Bill Jr., the and then placed on a level
army had told Mack that they surface it would revert to its
had established the debris had original, seamless state
certainly not come from without showing a mark on it.
anything made by them. This, too, could not be cut,
Descriptions of what scratched or burned. When
each witness saw and handled, held in the hand it seemed
regarding the debris, have weightless.
appeared in numerous books
and articles and can be [3]: A large amount of small,
concisely described as: to hand-sized, thin, brown,
parchment-like material which
[1]: Hand-sized pieces of was also impervious to cuts,
very thin, very light, though scratches or burns.
extremely strong metal-like
[4]: An undisclosed amount
of very light, thin, brownish ‘I- [8]: A 2-3 inch square, palm-
beams’, reminiscent of balsa sized, black box, seamless and
wood. Though they could not small, which could not be
be broken, these three eighths opened.
of an inch square
(approximation) and up to 2-3 [9]: A smooth and seamless,
ft long ‘beams’ could be flexed 3-4 inch diameter by 4-6
slightly. They had ‘writing’ or inches long, dull aluminium
strange, purple pastel symbols ‘collar’, comprising a ‘flange’,
along their inner edge, also described as a ‘pipe
imitating hieroglyphic or sleeve’ or ‘strut‘.
geometric formats.
At the behest of his
[5]: An unknown amount of friends, Brazel stuffed some of
pencil-sized or smaller ‘beam the above items into a
shards’, light, and brownish in cardboard box and headed off
colour, and devoid of any to Roswell, little suspecting
‘writing‘. As with the larger ‘I- what was about to befall him
beams’ they were slightly at the hands of the military.
flexible and impervious to The nature of the material he
being burned, scratched, carried was sufficiently exotic
whittled, or broken. enough to warrant the
despatch of two of the army’s
[6]: Small pieces of a very senior intelligence officers to
strong and black, Bakelite-type investigate.
substance (quantity unknown). By all accounts Brazel
was a patriotic, law-abiding
[7]: An undisclosed quantity civilian. Why then did the
of very thin, and very light military feel compelled to put
thread-like ‘wires’ which also him through an ordeal
could not be broken or ordinarily reserved for
permanently distorted. suspected espionage agents
and ‘enemies of the state’? If not wholly forthcoming with
all Mack Brazel found was Moore in his interview.
‘funny metal’ then surely it
would not have taken the
military all that time to explain
it away or necessitate his
incarceration for a week - if
Frank Joyce
that was all he found.
It wasn’t until May 1982 According to Joyce he

that investigator William phoned the Chavez County

Moore, following a lead from a Sheriff’s Office during his

friend, located and interviewed Sunday afternoon radio show

Frank Joyce. to see if there were any worthy

Joyce had been a 24 news items he could report on

year-old announcer for Roswell air. Sheriff George Wilcox put

radio station KGFL in 1947, and Mack Brazel on the phone.

a stringer for the United Press Joyce then interviewed

wire service. He got into him off-air. Following his

trouble with the Air Force for conversation Joyce suggested

placing their press release of to Sheriff Wilcox that they

having ‘captured’ a flying should call the Roswell Air

saucer, on the UP ‘wire’, via Base for assistance, thus

Western Union, thereby, launching the military’s

turning what was meant to be involvement in the affair.

a localised story into a national During his conversation

and international with Moore, Joyce never once

phenomenon. mentioned what it was that

In 1982, Joyce was still a Brazel had found during his

media personality, and was first telephone conversation

clearly wary of speaking of his with him, but was emphatic

involvement in the Roswell that there was no mention of

affair lest it should jeopardise ‘balloon’ or ‘balsa parts’. He

his career. He was, therefore, did remark, however, on

Brazel’s terrified state of mind heard later about the Air Force
at the time, but did not having bodies of little men
elucidate further on why the from space … was totally
rancher felt that way. consistent with what I heard at
Then Brazel suddenly the time.”
turned up at the radio station a On March 31st 1989,
few days later with a different Joyce was interviewed again,
story to the one he had told this time by Donald Schmitt
Joyce in their telephone and Kevin Randle. He refused
conversation Joyce confronted for the interview to be taped.
him over his new story, He reiterated the same story
whereupon Brazel told him. he had told Moore, but added a
“Look son, you keep this to few minor details. Apparently,
yourself. They told me to come as Brazel was leaving he
in here and tell you this story turned back to Joyce and said,
or it would go awfully hard on “You know how they talk about
me an you.” little green men? Well, they
When Moore asked Joyce weren’t green.”
if Brazel ever mentioned Schmitt and Randle
bodies to him on the phone, he interviewed Joyce on five other
replied, cryptically, “I can’t go occasions, between 1990 and
into that. I don’t want to say.” 1992. His story did not change
When Moore squeezed significantly. Nevertheless,
him for more information, when Joyce got to the part
Joyce relied that he had said all where he claimed to have
he was going to, and that he confronted Brazel about the
had made up his mind a long discrepancy he said, “The story
time ago that he would only go is different, especially the part
so far with that part of the about the ‘little green men’”,
story … “whatever that thing to which Brazel apparently
was,” he concluded, “the replied this time, ‘Only they
rancher saw it all, and it didn’t weren’t green.’
originate on this planet. What I Joyce’s story was clearly
evolving with the passage of scattered around his ranch and
time. Was he feeling more the effect it was having on his
secure with the passing of the sheep went something like
years? Had the fears he had this:
harboured if he revealed too
much now ebbed? Or was he Brazel [angrily]: “Whose
simply embellishing his story? gonna clean all that stuff up?
The latter is unlikely, as there That’s what I wanna know. I
was no apparent motive or need someone out there to
gain to do so. clean it up.”
If Joyce’s story is true
then Brazel also came across Joyce: “What stuff? What
bodies sometime during his are you talking about?”
discovery of the debris field
and reported this fact to Joyce. Brazel: [sombrely]: “Don’t
This is possibly closer to the know. Don’t know what it is.
truth than the speculation that Maybe it’s from one of them
Brazel was shown the non- flying saucer things.”
terrestrial bodies by the
military in order to maintain Joyce: “Oh, really? Then
his silence and complete you should call the Army Air
cooperation on national Base. They are responsible for
security grounds. We can everything that flies in the air.
safely assume that the former They should be able to help
scenario is true as it was borne you or tell you what it is.”
out by Joyce in a 1998
interview with Randle and [At this juncture Brazel
Schmitt in which Joyce was apparently really started losing
more forthcoming. his composure].
His initial telephone
conversation with the Brazel: “Oh God. Oh my God.
distraught rancher, who was What am I gonna do? It’s
complaining about the stuff horrible, horrible, just
horrible.”
Brazel: [shouting] “God
Joyce: “What is? What’s dammit! They’re not monkeys,
horrible? What are you talking and they’re not human!”
about?
[Brazel then slammed the
Brazel: “The stench. Just phone down on him].
awful.” Joyce then told Schmitt and
Randle that when Brazel came
Joyce: “Stench? From what? into the radio station sometime
What are you talking about? later to retract his statements
in favour of the balloon cover-
Brazel: “They’re dead.” story, he was accompanied by
the military and was under a
Joyce: “What? Whose dead?” great deal of stress.
Joyce challenged him
Brazel: “Little people.” about the ‘little green men’
comment he made in their
[Joyce was sceptical but original telephone
decided to play the role of conversation, to which he
Devil’s Advocate with Brazel]. replied that they weren’t
green. Then he left with his
Joyce: “What the …? Where escort.
are they? Where did you find But this was not the last
them?” that Joyce was to see of Brazel.
One or two days later Joyce’s
Brazel: “Somewhere else.” boss, and owner of KGFL, Mr.
Whitmore, turned up to see
Joyce: “Well, you know, the him and took him for a ride.
military is always firing rockets They were accompanied by an
and experimenting with ‘odd looking fellow in a
monkeys and things. So, uniform’ that Joyce didn’t
maybe … “ recognise. They drove north
out of Roswell into Lincoln southeast of the debris field in
County, stopping at a one- 1995 to show her where Brazel
room shack just off the road. had found ‘something else’
His boss then told him to Why, one has to ask
go into the shack, which he oneself, was he compelled to
did, alone. Shortly after, Brazel risk the life of his mother in
entered. “You’re not going to order to do so? What other
say any more about what I told information did he share with
you the other day, are you?” his mother?
he asked Joyce. Joyce assured
him he would not. William Moore (1985),
“You know, our lives will claimed that via a
never be the same again.” governmental ‘confidential
Brazel said. With that, he left. informant’ he was told a year
So, too, Joyce and his earlier that several badly
companions. From that day on mangled bodies had been
Joyce never saw Brazel again, recovered in a state of decay
nor the strange uniformed southeast of the debris field,
passenger who accompanied and it was suspected they had
both him and his boss. ejected from the craft shortly
In order for single- before it exploded.
witness claims to be deemed The controversial MJ-12
credible, they require the documents appear to contain
corroborative testimonies of and confirm this account of the
others. Over the intervening Roswell incident.
years such testimonies have
Hope Bakla (1998) and a
been given.
friend were having lunch in a
Corona restaurant one day
Dee Proctor, who claims he
when and elderly man came in
was with Brazel on the day he
and sat next to them. He
found the debris, took his
engaged them in conversation,
seriously ill mother, Loretta, to
later telling them his name
a remote site 2.5 miles east-
was Jack Wright, and told them them, had very long, thin
he was returning from an fingers, and that the image
Albuquerque hospital where he was indelibly imprinted on his
had just been told he would brain to that very day.
not require open-heart surgery That a man, given a new
for a heart condition. He spoke lease on life, would make up
of Roswell and asked of they such an unbelievable story
were going out to the crash seems unlikely.
site. They appeared ignorant of
the now famous incident. He Meyers Wahnee related a
filled them in on the details, story about the Roswell
stating that his father had incident, and his involvement
been a ranch foreman for the in it to his family during the
Proctors at the time of the last year of his life in
incident and he sometimes December 1981. He had been
helped him out (he was in his a pilot and Air Crew
early teens then). Commander of the 714th Bomb
One day, he said, Brazel Squadron, 448th Bomb group in
had come over to the ranch in 1947.
a state of excitement, and He said there were three
wanted someone to return with separate sites and that bodies
him to the Foster ranch to see were found and flown first to
something. He and a few other Texas, and that many of the
kids decided to follow Brazel men involved showed fear. He
back to the ranch. The first also mentioned ‘decomposing
indication that something was body parts’ found among the
wrong came when they saw a Foster ranch debris field.
number of hawks and buzzards In what amounts to a
circling something in the ‘death-bed confession’, he told
distance. Eventually they came them, “It really happened.”
across a small body on the If we accept these
ground, then another. The testimonies then it means that
‘little people’, as he described it affects what we know of the
Roswell incident, inasmuch as and sceptics.
Maj. Jesse Marcel and CIC Capt.
Sheridan Cavitt, who
accompanied Brazel back to REFERENCES.
the Foster ranch on the 6 and th

7th of July to investigate, must

UFO Magazine (2000):
have known about the bodies.
Sept/Oct. issue, pp. 56-63;
Brazel had to have told them
Nov/Dec issue, pp. 28-33; 66-9.
about them, as he wanted the
Quest Publications
mess cleaned up.
International Ltd.
Whether Marcell actually
saw the bodies is a matter of
The Mammoth Encyclopedia
conjecture. On July 8th, the
of Extraterrestrial
time when the bodies would
Encounters (2002): Constable
have been taken to Roswell, he
and Robinson Ltd.
had been despatched to Fort
Worth, returning on the 9th.
Wood, Dr. Robert M, and
Interestingly Cavitt refused
Wood, Ryan S (1998): The
Marcel access to his report
Majestic Documents. Wood
upon his arrival back in
and Wood Enterprises.
Roswell.
Because of we now know
there are a lot more questions
that require answers.
Investigations are still on going
to find them.
Given the amount of
evidence isn’t it about time we
laid to rest, once and for all,
the weather balloon
hypothesis, so favoured by the
hard-nosed, bloody minded,
and uninformed obstructionists