The article below was published in the newspaper The Daily Messenger, Canandaiqua, New York, USA, page 1, on July 9, 1947.
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FORT WORTH, (AP) -- An examination by the Army revealed last night that mysterious object found on a lonely New Mexico ranch was a harmless high-altitude weather balloon - not a ground flying disc.
Excitement was high in disc-conscious until Brig. Gen. Roger M. Ramey, commander of the Eighth Air Force headquarters here cleared up the mystery.
The bundle of tinfoil, broken wood beams and rubber remnants of a balloon were sent here yesterday by Army Air transport in the wake of reports that it was a flying disc.
The general said the objects were the crushed remains of a ray wind [sic Rawin] target used to determine the direction and the velocity of winds at high altitude.
Warrant Officer Irving Newton, forecaster at the Army Air Forces weather station here, said "we use them because they go much higher than the eye can see."
The weather balloon was found several days ago in a desolate section of New Mexico by a rancher, W. W. Brazill [sic, Brazel]. He said he didn't think much about it until he went into Corona, N. M., last Saturday and heard the flying discs reports.
He returned to his ranch, 85 miles northwest of Roswell, and recovered the wreckage of the balloon, which he had placed under some brush.
Brazill hurried back to Roswell, where he reported his find to the sheriff's office. The sheriff called the Roswell Air Field and Maj. Marcel, 509th bomb group intelligence officer, was assigned to the case.
WASHINGTON, (AP) -- A tongue-in-cheek explanation for the "flying saucers" reacherd President Truman today.
A west coast professional juggler telegraphed the chief executive that the "saucers" were some he used in his act "and they got out of hand."
