This article belongs to my category of the "general" discussions on the 1947 Roswell incident. See here for other articles related to this discussion theme. See here for all the articles. See here for the main page of my Roswell incident section.
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Author of the 1994 International Roswell Initiative article underneath, Kent Jeffrey, was at this time rather convinced that there is something of unusual nature in the 1947 Roswell incident. He does not support this view anymore and now considers the case closed as having being caused by remnants of balloons.
International Roswell Initiative
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Bringing the Roswell case to light could represent far more than the mere exposing of a government cover-up or the creation of a major news story. It could represent one of the greatest revelations in the history of humankind -- the knowledge that we, as intelligent life, are not alone. For this reason, if for no other, it should be pursued relentlessly until an absolute and definitive answer is obtained.
My interest in the Roswell case stems in part from the fact that my father, a retired colonel and former air force pilot (and WWII fighter ace), at one time knew and worked with General William Blanchard, the man who issued the press release announcing that a "crashed disk" (UFO) had been recovered. In 1947, at the time of the Roswell incident, Blanchard was a colonel and the Commander of the 509th Bomb Group at Roswell Army Air Field. In the early sixties when my father knew and worked with him, he was a three-star general stationed at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. In my father's opinion, General Blanchard was an extremely sharp individual who would never have made a fool of himself by issuing a press release announcing that the group under his command had recovered something as out of the ordinary as a crashed UFO without being absolutely certain he was correct. I have since had the opportunity to talk with others who knew and worked with General Blanchard and who share that same view. The fact that the military's official denial claimed that what Blanchard and his men misidentified as a crashed UFO was nothing other than a weather balloon strains credibility beyond limits.
Generally, in contrast to the political environment of many other countries, when the United States military puts out an official statement, we as Americans can feel assured we are being told the truth. While such confidence is not ill founded, there are exceptions. For example, because of the nature of his job, my father was once made aware of a "cover story" involving the crash of a top- secret aircraft in the early 1960s. Under the auspices of an intelligence agency, a press release was issued that was false. Cover stories exist.
Former military witnesses have stated unequivocally that Blanchard's "crashed disk" press release on July 8, 1947, was true, and that the subsequent announcement denying it was a cover story. This would mean that the U.S. government has been in possession of the wreckage of an extraterrestrial craft for the last forty-seven years. The right of the American people to know of the existence of such a craft and therefore of extraterrestrial intelligence would be a social or philosophical issue, not one of national security. Suppression of such knowledge, including restricting individuals from testifying about it, would be a form of censorship and therefore contrary to the principles upon which a free and open society is founded.
Researchers have located Roswell witnesses who, in fear of government reprisal, will not allow their testimony to be made public. In an effort to help get the Roswell matter into the open, a prestigious Washington, D.C., law firm has been retained to provide legal counsel to any witnesses (past or present) who have information on the Roswell event or on the subsequent disposition of the wreckage, and who might consider going public with their testimony. As part of this effort, legal research has been done and attorneys from the firm have traveled to New Mexico and interviewed witnesses there.
For legal and other reasons, government reprisal against Roswell witnesses who elected to go public would appear unlikely. For one thing, it would serve to validate their testimony and thereby make them instant heroes in the eyes of the public for having contributed to bringing down the most spectacular cover-up in history. This is probably the reason no action was ever taken against Lieutenant Colonel Jesse Marcel, the former intelligence officer of the 509th Bomb Group who went public with his account in 1978.
Furthermore, accusing any Roswell witnesses of wrongdoing for speaking out and bringing the truth to the American people on this subject would be the height of hypocrisy on the part of the government. By doing so it would be tacitly admitting guilt in having deceived its own people. While billions of tax dollars have been spent over the last few decades on lunar, planetary, and deep space exploration, the American people have been kept in ignorance about Roswell and the existence of extraterrestrial intelligence. Many would consider such blatant omission inexcusable. Perhaps this is why the cover-up continues.
As a result of a somewhat chance encounter in Europe a few months ago, I am now involved in another Roswell project, unrelated to the legal effort. It involves MUFON - CES (Mutual UFO Network - Central European Section), an invitation-only group consisting primarily of engineers, scientists, and university professors in the German-speaking countries of Western Europe. Knowing that I frequently travel to Europe because of my work, MUFON'S international director Walt Andrus gave me the phone number of a MUFON - CES member, Joachim Koch, who lives in Berlin and who is a practicing general surgeon there. I gave him a call and subsequently met him and another member of MUFON - CES, Hans-Jurgen Kyborg, in the lobby of the Palace Hotel in Berlin. For over three hours we discussed different aspects of the UFO phenomenon in Europe and in America. They had heard of the Roswell incident but said it wasn't widely known in Europe. They seemed interested in learning more about Roswell, so I left some material with them, including a couple of short papers I had written on the subject.
A few weeks after our meeting, I received a letter from Messrs. Koch and Kyborg. In it they told how those in Europe were very much aware of how the former communist governments in Eastern Europe had prevented their citizens from freely exchanging thoughts and ideas, sometimes by killing them, and how these governments continuously lied to the people. They had always thought that Western democratic governments did not act in such a way, but when they learned about the cover-ups concerning Roswell and the UFO phenomenon, they could now see how wrong they had been.
They expressed the belief that knowledge concerning man's place in the universe with respect to other intelligent life was not a matter of any nation's national security, but rather a fundamental right of all humankind. They proposed that we work together and asked me to write a "Roswell Declaration" to be used in an international effort to pressure the U.S. government into lifting the secrecy surrounding UFOs and Roswell.
Their proposal is to work with UFO organizations throughout the world in a drive to get signatures, especially from engineers and scientists, in support of the Roswell Declaration. On a yet-to-be-determined day later this year and under a well-orchestrated plan, the news media in different countries around the world would be notified and furnished with material about the Roswell incident in an effort to bring international attention to the case. They discussed the idea with Illobrand Von Ludwiger, a theoretical physicist and the director of MUFON - CES. The proposal was then presented at the annual MUFON - CES conference last October in Austria, where it was well received by the attending members.
In response to their request, I have written a five-page position paper, "Time for the Truth About Roswell," which includes a detailed summary of the Roswell event, an analysis of media and government treatment of it, and arguments for allowing the public to know the truth. The "Roswell Declaration" is taken directly from that position paper and contains an appeal to the Administration for an Executive Order to declassify any U.S. Government information on UFOs or extraterrestrial intelligence.
Polls have shown that over fifty percent of adult Americans believe in the reality of UFOs and extraterrestrial intelligence. Unfortunately, that interest has never been galvanized into a large-scale grassroots movement. This may now become a reality as a drive is currently underway to collect signatures for the "Roswell Declaration" from U.S. citizens. In addition to the Mutual UFO Network, both the J. Allen Hynek Center for UFO Studies and the Fund for UFO Research have, in a show of unity, agreed to participate in this effort.
On the same day as the international effort to bring media attention to the Roswell case, a copy of the "Roswell Declaration," along with a listing of the total number of signatories from each of the fifty states as well as from other countries, will be delivered to the offices of all members of Congress and to the White House. Also on that day, if finances permit, a copy of the "Roswell Declaration" will be placed in the first section of the national edition of a major U.S. newspaper.
Since this will be primarily a word-of-mouth, grassroots effort, your help in making copies of the declaration and distributing them to as many people as possible will be of great importance. The declaration and the position paper, "Time for the Truth About Roswell," will also be made available on computer bulletin boards throughout the world. Although it is felt that there is a high probability the U.S. Government is withholding information regarding the existence of extraterrestrial intelligence, the primary goal is to get the matter into the open, so that the truth can be conclusively determined, one way or the other. It is hoped, therefore, that all individuals, no matter what their opinion on the subject, will support this effort.
In the event Congressman Steven Schiff of New Mexico is successful in his admirable effort to initiate a Congressional inquiry into the Roswell incident, a large number of signed "Roswell Declarations" from U.S. citizens would undoubtedly have a positive effect on that effort. Whether or not such an inquiry takes place, it is important not to become complacent. There are no guarantees of success. An all-out effort should be made on all three fronts -- Legislative, Judicial, and Executive -- to put the greatest possible pressure on the government. We are engaged in a difficult endeavor, but one that is worthwhile, just, and possible to win. It concerns an issue about which most individuals would want to know and about which all people have a right to know.
