News from Dennis www.truthseekeratroswell.com.

for Dennis' 10/1/07 editorial.

for Dennis' 8/1/07 editorial.

The Foster Ranch and the BLM
01-01-10

I was recently reviewing some of my old files and came upon some research I had done back in 1999, in reference to the then Foster ranch, where "Mack" Brazel had claimed to have found debris from an unknown craft in July 1947. Historical UFO researcher Wendy Connors and I had conducted several interviews with the local BLM office here in Roswell back in 1999, obtaining information and documents pertaining to the BLM’s more recent involvement at the ranch.

I was surprised when recently, (10 years later), I read an article penned by Anthony Bragalia, entitled, "Roswell Crash Revelations from the Foster Ranch", in which I got the impression that he believed there was some conspiracy or cover-up by the BLM about the ranch. (I need to be clear here, in that I am not a big supporter of the way our government and military handled, and still handles information pertaining to the 1947 Roswell Incident.) However based on the research I did 10 years ago, I have no reason to believe the BLM is hiding or covering up anything about the ranch. In this case, I feel we may have an infrequent admission by a government agency that something did in fact happen on the Foster ranch in 1947.

In Bragalia’s article he mentions that ranch foreman "Mack" Brazel was sometimes referred to as "Mac". That’s a true statement and many articles referred to him as "Mac", however when I found Mack and Maggie’s burial site the spelling on their tombstone was definitely "Mack".

I have the distinct impression that the article written about the Foster ranch by Bragalia is another of his attempts to take good research and put his own "spin" on it, as in this case, assuming that because of the restrictions put on the site by the BLM office, they are covering something up. The one paragraph in the BLM report he’s referring to that I uncovered in 1999 consisted of several visits to the local BLM office, interviews with numerous employees involved in writing the report, and acquisition of actual documents from them.

When I first contacted the local BLM office in late 1998, I did not tell them who had made me aware of a document they had referring to the crash site. I had been told that an Environmental Impact Study had been recently done on the ranch that I might be interested in. That document was a United States Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, Environmental Assessment (EA) NM-066-99-003 on allotment #63020, concerning grazing.

I obtained a copy of the 12-page document, which was dated December 1, 1998. After reading through it, I found two paragraphs referring to the 1947 UFO crash contained in the report. Under Section III, Affected Environment, B., Affected Resources, the following paragraph on page 4 is copied from the actual document.

To imply that this paragraph got my attention would be an understatement, particularly since the document was signed off by 11 employees of the Roswell BLM office, including the cover letter, signed by the Acting Assistant Field Office Manager. I immediately contacted the BLM office to inquire about how the information was obtained and who wrote it. I was told that the gentleman who wrote it, did it as a joke to see if anyone would catch it, and it should have been removed before the document was made public. I was assured that it would not be included in the final copy. I of course requested a copy of the final report to verify if in fact that paragraph had been removed.

We also had the opportunity a day or two later to meet in person with the guy that had written that paragraph, and all the employees at BLM that we talked to were very cooperative with information, again insisting that it was a joke and that it would not be included in the final report. I was fairly emphatic in my response to them that some of us do not consider the study of Ufology a joke, and would anticipate getting a copy of the final document to review.

The second paragraph also containing a statement about the crash site is located on page 6 in the same Section III, B., Resources, as item 9., Recreation, shown here again copied from the actual document.

This is the paragraph that Anthony Bragalia referred to in his article, in which he assumes the BLM is involved with some conspiracy or cover-up. This paragraph remained in the final report dated August 9, 1999 which I received by certified mail from the U.S. Department of the Interior, postmarked August 10, 1999.

Having visited with several employees of the local BLM office on numerous occasions in regard to this document and other inquiries I’ve had, I do not feel that anyone associated with the BLM is involved with anything abnormal or any conspiracy about the crash site. Rather because I know of the interest at least one employee has in Ufology in general, and having listened to several other employees I believe the BLM is preserving this portion of land, unlike many of the historical buildings that no longer exist dealing with the Roswell Incident, such as Sheriff Wilcox’s office, (now court rooms), the base infirmary, (now a vacant lot) and others.

During our visits to the BLM office we were always given answers to all of our questions, given maps of the crash site area, and other information useful in our research. Additionally, a few years ago the Sci-Fi channel in conjunction with the U. of New Mexico Archeological Department conducted a dig at the site. Would the BLM have allowed that if they were trying to cover up something?

We were told that the crash site is excluded from Right-of-way and mineral leasing and withdrawn from mining claim location and designated NSO, (No Surface Occupancy), for oil and gas leasing as a means of preserving the site.

The reason 40 acres of this land is Federal land is because it was never changed to state or private land, which is common on many ranches in New Mexico. It has nothing to do with a UFO crash site allegedly being on the ranch, other then a way to preserve it, with the Environmental Assessment document. The Federal land was also shown on the maps we were given.

I am appreciative of the fact that a Federal agency (Bureau of Land Management), is acknowledging in a public document that something may have happened on the Foster ranch by stating, "One of the alleged UFO crash sites of 1947 is located on this allotment", leaving the door open for more research.

I believe the BLM’s statement about the "alleged site" being an extraordinary notation as stated by Bragalia also, but for very different reasons than he implies. Wendy Connors and I did a lot of legwork in our research with the BLM, which many in the field of Ufology do not do, while they claim to have all the answers. Unlike most of my research, this is one project that I believe may be to our advantage in the long run, warranting further investigation.

Dennis G. Balthaser

Website: www.truthseekeratroswell.com

Email: truthseeker@dfn.com

Piracy: A Silent Plague on Ufology 

11-01-09

To quote a Chinese Proverb: “When someone shares something of value with you and you benefit from it, you have a moral obligation to share it with others”, which is what I’ll try to do in this article.

I have been working closely with my Webmaster, researcher Frank Warren, www.theufochronicles.com and Aztec researchers Scott and Suzanne Ramsey for the past 12 years, on various UFO cases, highly respecting them for their honesty and thorough investigations. We have dealt with debunkers, skeptics and critics of all sorts, and have even welcomed their comments, if and when, the information they presented was factually worthy of review. 

There is another, quieter element in Ufology, aside from debunkers, skeptics, and critics. They are the hucksters who use other researcher’s work without doing their own; those who take from other’s research, or articles, and publish the work as their own (plagiarism). Then there are still other scoundrels who market or sell researchers’ works, such as DVDs of lectures, books, or documentaries, without permission or financial arrangements made with the researchers (piracy). I have recently found that I am myself, a victim of piracy, and this is what I feel a moral obligation to share with my readers.

Until a few days ago, one could go to UFOGuy.com, an online UFO store, with the claim, “Discount Paranormal DVDs Direct from Producer/Distributor,” and purchase an impressive compendium DVD set “Aliens Among Us: Stunning Secrets About UFOs and Extraterrestrials”.  Included in the set was my own DVD from my lecture series, “The Roswell Incident, Then and Now”.  Let me be clear: I had no agreements regarding the distribution and sale of my copyrighted material, nor had the owner of the site UFOGuy.com, Wm.“Bill” Knell contacted me for permission to include my lecture in his compilation.

Bill Knell represents himself as a noted Ufologist, with an impressive list of credentials such as founding a UFO investigative organization in Long Island, NY; had his own cable TV show; claimed to be an advisor to the X-Files television program; and published a UFO newsletter.  Knell’s also been a guest on Coast-to-Coast, Paracast, and several other Internet venues, and has several published articles.  It was one of these articles that first brought Knell to the attention of investigator Frank Warren, when in November of 2008; he’d published an article by mainstream journalist, Angelina Joiner, on his TheUFO Chronicles web site.  She notified Frank a few days later, that it appeared Knell was plagiarizing her article, copy-and-paste-style, in his own published article.

Frank’s ensuing investigation into Knell uncovered a decades-long history of questionable activity, in which his plagiarism paled in comparison to his other disreputable deeds. In compiling the names of potential victims of Knell’s DVD piracy (over a hundred in question), Frank noticed that one of the DVDs was a bootleg of the The Aztec Incident, owned by friend Scott (Ramsey) & Co.  Frank then notified Scott of Knell’s activity and they joined forces to inform other victims. 

Being frustrated with the authorities not doing anything with the many complaints that had been filed, Frank Warren and Scott Ramsey alerted many researchers to what Knell was doing, and in fact, distributed a list of 80 names taken from Knell’s website who were potential victims of Knell’s tactics. Scott had discussed this with me, so when I saw my name on the list of victims, I checked Knell’s website, finding my copyrighted lecture grouped in a 2-DVD set with 6 other researcher’s presentations. I notified them, requesting that they file complaint forms with the IC3, a division of the FBI. None of them had been aware, nor had they authorized Knell to compile, distribute or sell their work.

My next move was to complain directly to Knell via email on Oct. 20, 2009, with a copy to his website host Bravenet.com. Not receiving a response from Knell within 24 hours as required by Bravenet in order to begin an investigation into my claim, I emailed a second complaint to Knell on Oct. 21. Knell responded with the same lame sob-story excuses he had sent to others in the past: times were tough, sales were not that great, terrible illness, etc.

Knell did remove the 2-DVD set from his site, which according to Frank and Scott, has been his method of operation in the past. When someone complains to him about his operation, he removes the DVDs in question, then later, when he believes the pressure is off, he re-posts the DVDs back on his site for sale. Of more importance to me in his response was his statement that, “most” of the DVDs he has sold were his own; a seemingly tacit admission of questionable activities.

We have been contacting the researchers that are verified victims of Knell’s activities (approaching at least 30 at this point), who were not aware of what he was doing, nor had they given him permission to compile, distribute or sell their products.

A few of the law enforcement agencies that have been notified about Knell’s operations, and Bravenet’s unresponsiveness in curtailing his activities, are the Lebanon, Indiana Police Department, where Knell resides, the Rowan County Sheriff Department in North Carolina, FTC, USDA, VISA, State Attorney Generals of Arizona and Indiana, Western Union, Royal Canadian Mounties, and others. 

We are encouraging those victims affected to file Complaint Referral Forms with IC3, at http://www.ic3.gov/  I have written to Amazon.com informing them that some of the DVDs being sold on their website by Knell are not authorized to be sold. Those DVDs are still on Amazon’s website under a search for Bill Knell, with approx. 50 DVD titles.

We have been in contact with many websites that post articles by researchers on the subject of Ufology, requesting that any articles written by Knell should be removed, as another means of removing him from circulation. Frank had done this in the past with many removing Knell’s articles after being informed of his questionable ways. This will be expanded in the future to more websites, radio hosts, and researchers in our attempt to support what Frank and Scott have made many of us aware of, by joining together and not allowing these types to get away with their activities.

All the researchers I have been affiliated with over the years are in the same situation; doing the best they can do with very little income for their devotion to the subject of Ufology. We don’t need scam artists that are ripping off innocent researchers, or taking advantage of innocent people that have been buying his poor quality, unauthorized DVDs.

Bravenet’s responses to my complaints were unacceptable, as they had been to other researchers that complained to them, while continuing to host Knell’s website after numerous complaints had been filed. Finally, after several emails to Bravenet informing them that complaint forms had been submitted to IC3, they informed me on Oct 26, 2009, that Knell’s website has been suspended until their legal department reviews the complaints. I have requested a copy of their findings and assurance that his website is permanently shut down.

This will not end the problem with Knell doing what he has been doing for several years, since he has had other websites shut down for the same reasons in the past. He’s also had other non-UFO related web sites that many on the Internet have complained have misled them or cost them.

To listen to an interview on “The Paracast with Gene Steinberg and David Biedny”, where Knell lied about his accomplishments, and hung up on the show hosts, as well as a response by Frank Warren go to:

http://www.theparacast.com/podcast/december-28-2008-bill-knell-frank-warren/

Anyone believing or wondering if they might have been, or are a victim of Knell’s piracy, can contact me at truthseeker@dfn.com or Frank Warren at frank-warren@pacbell.net or Scott Ramsey at Scottr@ExpressWireServices.com  It’s imperative that all victims file a Complaint Referral Form with IC3. This will only take a few minutes, and the results will be a permanent end to his operations, and possible prosecution.

Dennis G. Balthaser

Website: www.truthseekeratroswell.com

Email:      truthseeker@dfn.com

Searching for the Truth

(Always Telling the Truth Means Never Having to Remember Anything)

Dennis G. Balthaser Website: www.truthseekeratroswell.com Email: truthseeker@dfn.com

Aztec, New Mexico Crash and Symposium

(05-01-08) - Much has been written about the Roswell Incident of July, 1947 over the past 60 years, and while some researchers have written it off as a crashed balloon with crash test dummies, some of us continue to look for other explanations of what really happened, not believing the four excuses given by the military during those 60 years. New witnesses and information continues to be found about the Incident and that appears to be worth investigating, to determine what actually happened.

 
The Foster Ranch, Corona, New Mexico

The annual celebration of the Roswell Incident each July since 1995 has attracted many visitors to this southeast New Mexico town generating revenue for the city of Roswell, and exposing the incident to the world with the media coverage it has received. Many however, view the annual Roswell event as a carnival rather than as a serious study of what happened here 60 years ago, even though some well known researchers are usually present each year to share their research. When the city of Roswell took over the annual event last year, the attendance figures once again increased compared to the previous few years when the UFO Museum was in charge of the Festival. It was the city’s desire to make the annual celebration a family event. The UFO Museum and city were not been able to work together, thus 2 separate events were held during last years Festival, and it appears that it will be the same again this year for the upcoming July 2008 Roswell Festival.

On the opposite end of the state near Farmington, New Mexico in the four-corners region of the state, another crash supposedly happened only 10 months after the Roswell Incident in March 1948, known as the Aztec Crash. The Aztec crash has also been riddled with skepticism and beliefs of it being a hoax, however in recent years much more information has come forward primarily through the research of Scott and Suzanne Ramsey, requiring a much closer look at that event. Other than the fact that both crashes occurred in New Mexico within 10 months of each other, there are many differences in the two events.

Scott and Suzanne Ramsey
 

The Roswell craft was discovered in many small pieces scattered over the Foster Ranch, and was estimated to be about 30-40 feet in diameter, while the Aztec craft appeared to make a forced crash east of Aztec in Hart Canyon with slight damage, and measured about 99 feet in diameter. Roswell’s craft supposedly had 3-5 bodies, while Aztec’s had 13. Both crafts are believed to have been recovered by the military with Roswell using the 509^th bomb wing from the Roswell Army Airfield, and the Aztec crash being recovered by a military unit from Colorado. 

Aztec Crash Site

Columnist Frank Scully wrote about the Aztec crash in his book “Behind the Flying Saucers” published around 1950. In 1986 William Steinman and Wendell Stevens published “The UFO Crash at Aztec”. Similar to the descriptions of the “metal” in the Roswell craft, the Aztec craft “metal” could also not be burned, cut or damaged when attempted. Neither craft showed any signs of rivets, bolts, screws or signs of welding. After 60 years no physical traces have been discovered at the Roswell crash site yet, while the Aztec site has a road leading to the site that wasn’t shown on older maps, and a small concrete slab exists that could have possibly been used as a support for a crane outrigger. It has been established that the concrete slab is not a well cap and no other reason for its existence at the crash site exists.

Although I had read both of the books mentioned, I too didn’t put much confidence in the account of the Aztec crash for several years, until the Friends of the Aztec Public Library decided to conduct an annual symposium starting in 1997 to celebrate the 1948 crash, and to help generate interest in obtaining a new library for Aztec. (That goal was accomplished a few years ago with the dedication of a new state-of-the art library in Aztec.) There are not enough words to be said about the many volunteers who have diligently worked at accomplishing this over the years, for the benefit of the library and the city of Aztec, not to mention the UFO enthusiasts who attend each year. A few of the volunteers that have been actively involved all these years include, Scott and Suzanne Ramsey, Katee McClure, Donna Chadwick, Randy and Suzanne Barnes, to mention only a few.

Stanton Friedman and Dennis Balthaser

I was involved with the Roswell Festival as a speaker on several occasions during the past 11 years, but consider myself extremely fortunate to have been involved with Aztec’s symposium every year for the past 11 years as a speaker or Master of Ceremonies. The annual Aztec symposium had a few speakers during the early years that were less than credible, and they have decided to be more cautious about who is invited to speak at the annual event, thus providing a symposium for those interested in serious UFO research, without any of the carnival or “woo-woo”atmosphere. 

Aztec Symposium Audience

The recently held Aztec Symposium in March 2008 was a good example of the type researchers Aztec is attracting, and the increased crowd attendance verified the importance and interest of those attending. As emcee this year I had the honor of introducing; Stanton Friedman, Mike Forston, Duane Tudahl, Ron Storch, Timothy Good, Ted Phillips, Scott and Suzanne Ramsey, and Dr. Jesse Marcel, Jr. 

One problem that the Aztec symposium is encountering is the fact that a facility is needed to accommodate the ever-increasing crowds. The annual symposium has been held in various locations within the city of Aztec and again this past March a sold-out crowd was present. Not a bad problem to have.

Be on the lookout for a new book by Scott Ramsey shortly that will be the most comprehensive account of the Aztec crash to date. Doing research on the Aztec crash, Scott has traveled to 31 states, interviewed over 73 first and second-hand witnesses, and archived over 3476 Atomic Energy Commission, United States Air Force, F.B.I. and C.I.A. documents. He has also uncovered three secret radar bases, with possible connections to the Aztec crash.

The Aztec crash like the Roswell crash back in the late 1940’s are both cases that will require further research to finally determine the truth, since we obviously have not been given that truth for over 60 years.

Dennis G. Balthaser

Website: www.truthseekeratroswell.com

Email:     truthskr@roswell.net

All photo credits: Dennis Balthaser

William “Billy the Kid” Bonney, Pat Garrett, Jesse Wayne Brazel, William “Mack” Brazel 

Roswell Witness Related to the Old Wild West
03-01-08

One never knows what information will show up, or where the information will come from when doing UFO research. Sometimes it comes from the witnesses themselves, or in some cases a spouse, a child or other person somehow related or acquainted with the witness. Finding a “side-story” not related to a UFO case can also be interesting when it’s found. Over the years I’ve enjoyed looking into other interests fellow researchers have when not doing UFO research. The in-depth interview Wendy Connors and I did several years ago with Walter Haut revealed his childhood in Chicago; involvement in WWII with the 509^th bomb wing and other non-UFO related accomplishments. Those little tidbits of information give a better overview of the person in my opinion, sometimes not otherwise known.

Such is the account I stumbled on recently while doing a radio interview, when I was asked if I could verify some information I had never heard of before.

Everyone who is familiar with the 1947 Roswell Incident of course recognizes the name “Mack” Brazel, the ranch foreman on the Foster ranch near Corona in 1947, who found the debris scattered across his pasture. By all accounts “Mack” appears to have been a gentle man, away from his family a lot while in charge of the ranch, and trying to earn a living in the 1940s. After the Roswell Incident, his interrogation by the military, and unwanted notoriety, he apparently tried to remain that gentle person, still a characteristic of ranchers in the southwest United States today.

Apparently such was not the case with “Mack’s” uncle “Wayne” Brazel, back in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, when the “wild west” was still controlled by the six-shooter. As with the 1947 Roswell Incident, the story I will share about Jesse “Wayne” Brazel, “Mack’s” uncle, also contains controversy, but I can’t pass up sharing it.

During the late 1800’s two names emerged which are forever remembered in the annuals of the old west---Billy the Kid and Sheriff Pat Garrett.

The legend of William H. Bonney, (better known as Billy the Kid), became well known over the years as being a vicious and ruthless killer in the New Mexico Territory during the 1800’s. Many of his escapades have been exaggerated over the years in books and films, but there is no doubt that he was a wanted man. After finally being captured, the “kid” shot his way out of the second floor Lincoln County jail on April 28, 1881, in Lincoln, New Mexico (about 47 miles west of Roswell), killing Sheriff Pat Garrett’s deputies Bob Ollinger and James Bell, and successfully escaped.

Although Pat Garrett is best known for killing Billy the Kid, many think he was one of the most contradictory men in the history of the American West. Depending on what can be researched about Garrett, he is also accused of being a woman chaser, drinker, gambler and a man slow at paying his debts. His marriages were also controversial affairs. About the time of the Lincoln County War, Garrett became Sheriff, with strong support from cattle baron John Chisum. As Sheriff, his primary responsibility was to track down Billy the Kid, which he subsequently did, locking him up in the Lincoln County jail, only to have the Kid shoot two of Garrett’s deputies while escaping. Garrett tracked down Billy the Kid again, this time at Fort Sumner, (about 80 miles north of Roswell). The Kid was hiding at the house of land baron Pete Maxwell, and around midnight on July 14, 1881, Sheriff Pat Garrett was sitting beside a bed talking to Maxwell when the Kid stepped through the doorway. He saw Garrett sitting there, but didn’t recognize him in the darkness. Instead, he drew his revolver and hoarsely whispered, “Quien es?” (Who is it?). Garrett fired and shot Billy the Kid dead, putting an end to his young outlaw life.

Enter “Wayne” Brazel, the uncle of “Mack” Brazel….

As the years passed by Garrett’s troubles increased because of his gambling, drinking, and loss of allies. James P. Miller, who had a reputation as a murderer was interested in buying Garrett’s Bear Canyon Ranch in southern New Mexico. During the negotiations Garrett informed Miller that a “goat man” named “Wayne” Brazel (right) leased a portion of the ranch and would have to be evicted. When confronted Brazel refused to leave unless he was paid $3.50 a head for his 1200 goats. Miller agreed, and offered Garrett $3000.00 for the ranch. Then Brazel raised the price and Miller told Garrett the deal was off since he didn’t have that kind of money.

The next day, February 29, 1908, Garrett and Carl Anderson, a relative of Miller’s, set out for Las Cruces in a buggy and caught up with Brazel, who was on horseback. Garrett and Brazel began arguing about the goats and Garrett said, “it didn’t make any difference whether Brazel moved off of the property or not, he (Garrett) would get him off the ranch somehow.”

From here on there are two accounts of what took place next. One says Garrett climbed out of the buggy and stepped to the rear of it to relieve himself, carrying his folding shotgun in his right hand, and turning his back on Brazel ---who shot him twice in the back of the head. The other account says that while the two were arguing, Garrett reached under the buggy seat to retrieve his shotgun and Brazel shot him. So a little over a quarter century after Pat Garrett shot Billy the Kid, he met his own demise from a handgun. 

Fourteen months later on April 19, 1909, Brazel’s case went before a twelve-man jury that took 15 minutes to reach a verdict of “self defense.”

There are other accounts of who shot Pat Garrett, for other reasons and where, but I couldn’t pass up the fact that Roswell witness “Mack” Brazel’s uncle “Wayne” is included, hoping the reader will enjoy this return to the “old wild west” near Roswell in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, when law and order were much different than today.

Billy the Kid is buried at Ft Sumner New Mexico where he met his end, amongst much controversy whether the grave actually contains the remains of the Kid or not.  Pat Garrett was buried in Las Cruces, at the Odd Fellows cemetery, on March 5, 1908. In the 1950’s due to poor maintenance of the cemetery, Garrett’s son had his father’s remains reinterred at the Masonic Cemetery across the street.

As for “Wayne” Brazel, he married and obtained a small ranch west of Lordsburg, New Mexico a few years after killing Garrett. When his wife died in 1913, he sold the property and disappeared from public record. It is unknown where he moved to after selling the property, and his exact date of death is unknown, but believed to have been around 1915.

Dennis G. Balthaser

Website: www.truthseekeratroswell.com

Email:     truthskr@roswell.net

Courtesy Frank Warren

O’Hare Airport Sighting, (UFO, Hoax or Security Threat)
2/1/07

I rarely investigate UFO sightings, primarily because I decided years ago to concentrate my research on other areas of Ufology, rather than sightings, abductions, etc. I do however maintain an interest in some of the better-documented sighting cases such as the Phoenix lights several years ago and the Mexico City mass sightings of the 90’s, and follow reports of sightings, abductions, crop circles and other Ufological events with interest from a distance. Occasionally a sighting will attract my attention and I try to keep as informed as possible, usually until it either “slips through the cracks” and is forgotten, is proven to be a hoax, or interest diminishes and nothing more is reported. Many times those in authority with the ability to reveal the factual information simply write it off as something mundane and explainable. The better researchers however usually don’t accept those conclusions, keeping pressure on to determine the truth when possible.

Such is this case with the recent sighting at 4:30pm (Central Time) on November 7, 2006 over United Airlines Gate C 17 at Chicago’s O’Hare airport, and it is my hope that pressure will remain on those in authority until the truth of this event emerges.

On that date, United Airlines and Federal authorities were notified that approximately a dozen witnesses were observing a small round, metallic appearing, disc-shaped object, hovering above Gate C 17. The object was first spotted by an employee on the Gate ramp, pushing back Flight 446, which was departing Chicago for Charlotte, North Carolina. The employee reported to his supervisors that the object was almost directly over his location at Gate C 17, below the cloud cover at about 1,900 feet and appeared to be round and spinning. Other United Airlines employees, (as well as pilots) witnessed the object, which was apparently visible for approximately two minutes, before suddenly accelerating straight up at a very high speed, shooting through the overcast sky at about 1,900 feet at the time. It appeared to leave a hole in the cloud as it sped upward.

So what we have in this sighting is what was reported to be a solid object hovering about 1,900 feet above the second busiest airport in the country, witnessed by respectable ground crew employees and pilots, and a sudden erratic movement of the object as it ascended straight up at a high speed leaving a hole in the cloud and reported to authorities. As I would expect the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration), said it must have been a weird weather phenomenon. (At least it wasn’t a weather balloon with crash test dummies this time according to the FAA). Initially United Airlines denied any knowledge of the event as reported to them by their own employees, later admitting they had interviewed the witnesses and requested reports, but had no authority to investigate the incident themselves.

It’s now been three months since the sighting occurred and was reported, and we still have not been given an explanation by anyone in our government. That is not surprising to me, however my concern lies much deeper than the initial “blow-off remarks” by the FAA that it was a weather phenomenon. The United States is under a terrorist threat and daily the news media reminds us of the status of those threats, and we have had a sighting of “something” hovering over an airline gate at the second busiest airport in the country and no one in authority in the government is willing to come forward and explain what the employees of United Airlines actually witnessed. Luckily for us, the incident is still raising questions as it should, and Peter Davenport of the National UFO Reporting Center www.nuforc.org has been in the forefront to keep the investigation open, reporting information as it becomes available, as are several other Internet websites and discussion groups. I’m not saying that what was seen was some terrorist plot, but I am saying if in fact we have to live under that threat as we do daily, someone in the United States government owes an explanation to the general public as to what it was. It would be ridiculous to believe that such an event would not show up in the Intelligence Agencies daily reports, if nothing more than as a concern about National Security.

As to the skeptics or debunkers, I say believe what you want, but as long as I have to live under a terrorist threat I want to know what it was that sat over Gate C 17 at Chicago’s O’Hare airport and then made a hole in the cloud when it sped upward out of sight, with multiple reliable witnesses observing it. Skeptics always insist that witnesses are not credible or reliable. Such is not the case with this incident. Some have reported that United Airlines instructed these witnesses initially to not talk about it, so who is reliable in this case? Undoubtedly, United Airlines was probably totally unprepared for this incident, but restricting freedom of speech of their employees is not comforting when terrorist activities or airport security are in question.

Speaking of the witnesses, these are people that have worked in the aviation industry for years, and are familiar with aircraft and weather conditions in most cases. To see a metallic object hover over the gate a mere 1,900 feet above them, and then disappear through a cloud leaving a hole was not what they would normally have seen at Gate C 17, while performing their duties.

Another concern I have is why it took so long for any information to surface about the sighting, when the Chicago Tribune newspaper finally broke the story in early January 2007, almost 2 months after it had been posted on the National UFO Reporting Center’s web site? And how did the news media handle the story? As an example, Anderson Cooper of CNN made light of it as has been done in past years when a UFO story finally makes it to the mainstream media, and the media’s agenda is directed to a pre-determined conclusion, as with many TV documentaries on the subject of Ufology.

There have been several instances where photographs of the alleged craft have shown up on the internet, all so far having been generally agreed on to have been hoaxes. This too is a common practice with the computer equipment that is readily available today to alter photographs. Hopefully of the several witnesses that saw this incident, one perhaps will come forward with information that can be verified as being accurate, providing a photo was actually taken.

Another consideration in addition to my thoughts above about terrorists is safety. Would an unidentified craft (metallic object) hovering at 1,900 feet not be a safety concern for the hundreds of flights in and out of O’Hare daily? There are several obvious reasons why someone in authority should be held accountable for explaining to the public and especially to the witnesses what it was that they saw on November 7, 2007 at O’Hare airport in Chicago.

I will continue to monitor this incident and hope that enough pressure can be generated through good research and investigation, or Freedom of Information requests, so that a factual, truthful explanation will be forthcoming. We should not let this one fall between the cracks as many have in the past.

Dennis G. Balthaser
Website: www.truthseekeratroswell.com
Email: truthskr@roswell.net

12-01-06
Verification, Confirmation and Facts

One of the most important factors in doing UFO research to me is being able to confirm or verify the many accounts given by individuals supposedly involved in the 1947 Roswell Incident. So-called “first-hand witnesses” have continually come forward with claims that they were here, or saw this or that, or were told something, when in fact after carefully scrutinizing their information, they were not involved as they publicly had stated. Several examples come to mind. Unfortunately many of them have passed on, and we may never know the entire truth. It is possible however to check records and documents in an attempt to verify the information made public. I will herein give you some examples of a few of those individuals that continue to make this research difficult.

Jim Ragsdale became popular in the mid 1990’s with the promotion of a booklet and video of his account of the Roswell Incident promoted by the International UFO Museum and Research Center and published by Ragsdale Publications. Ragsdale died on July 1, 1995, and his accounts of what he witnessed remains clouded by several factors, most importantly being the fact that within the few years that he was interviewed (1993-1995), he gave two different accounts on signed affidavits about what he had witnessed. The location of his experience varied as well as what he saw. Consequently having two different affidavits created questions about his story, and the validity of his tale(s) may never be known. As with other so-called witnesses, Ragsdale’s story for some has become part of the 1947 Roswell Incident, and is another account that may or may not have been factual, as stated. Unless a substantial amount of information can be obtained about Ragsdale’s experience, I will leave it as not being valid in helping to resolve the Roswell Incident.

James Bond Johnson was the photographer for the Fort Worth Star Telegram newspaper who took the pictures in General Ramey’s office in July 1947 of the General, Col. DuBose and Major Marcel. There is, and has never been any dispute about the fact that he did take those pictures, which today are preserved in the University of Texas, Arlington Library. I had the good fortune of meeting Johnson and did an extensive interview with him about his involvement in 2001, as David Rudiak and Kevin Randle had previously done with him. Johnson for some unknown reason decided to elaborate on his involvement indicating he had given the paper to General Ramey that the General is holding in the photographs he took. Later Johnson indicated that perhaps he had not given the General that teletype, stating, “Obviously I was in error in that speculation”. He also indicated that he rummaged through the General’s office prior to General Ramey coming in to pose with the “debris”, opening the packages brought in by Major Marcel and arranging the material for his photo shoot. (As a researcher and having been in the military, I have a problem with that comment). When I first talked to Johnson he admitted that he knew very little about the Roswell Incident, but it appeared that as time went on he believed he was more involved, later having to backtrack some of his earlier statements. I remain convinced that James Bond Johnson did take the photographs in General Ramey’s office, but very little of his other involvement. I was honored when Johnson’s son Jerry informed me that my interview with his Dad was distributed at Johnson’s funeral for those attending the Memorial Service in March 2006.

Glenn Dennis, the mortician at Ballard Funeral home in 1947 has been interviewed hundreds of times and is still alive. I talked with Glenn daily during my 2-½ years as a volunteer at the UFO Museum between 1996 and 1998. His account has varied very little over the years, and Glenn is a witness that I wish would set the record straight while he still can. He has talked about the nurse at the base hospital that took notes during an examination of a recovered body and that she was transferred to Europe within days of the Incident, dieing in a plane crash. No record of that plane crash has ever been revealed. He gave several researchers a wrong name of the nurse, which after years of investigation produced no results, and finally admitted that he had given the researchers the wrong name to protect her. The “red-headed Captain” that supposedly threatened him while at the base infirmary has never been located. The drawing of an alien face and hands given to Glenn by the nurse at the officer’s club has been lost and cannot be found according to Glenn. These statements are of utmost importance in helping to resolve some of the mysteries surrounding the Roswell Incident, so I’m hopeful that he will provide the truth while he still can, or at least leave it for us in the future. I really want to believe Glenn, but validation is needed and only he can provide that.

Frank Kaufman died February 24, 2001, after coming to Roswell in 1942 in the military. Surprisingly, Frank (who was born in New York City) stayed in Roswell after his military time serving on the Roswell Chamber of Commerce for 14 years. After the Roswell Incident research began “heating up”, Frank also started heating up with many tales about his involvement, practically all which have been discredited since. I had breakfast with Frank on several occasions and it was his form of entertainment I suppose, to share one of his experiences with me and then stop when I questioned him, with a response like, “you’re the researcher---figure it out.” I remember one occasion when he and I and a few other researchers were filming a documentary at the Corn ranch site, (which he helped make famous), and I asked him to point to the exact location of the crash site and he crossed his arms and pointed in both directions. Frank provided researchers with a lot of documents, but never let us make copies and as we learned later, most were manipulated by him to make them appear official. Stanton Friedman was dubious of Frank’s comments for years before many of us other researchers were. At a meeting in Frank’s home in 1999, with Linda Moulton Howe, Don Schmitt, Stanton Friedman and myself after discovering that he had cancer, Frank finally admitted to Stanton that he had not gone to the crash site with Col. Blanchard or Major Marcel as he had proclaimed on many occasions in the past. Frank Kaufman was a master at deceiving some of us researchers and I’m sure enjoyed being such, but for now Frank is no longer a key figure in determining the truth about Roswell.

Lt. Colonel (not Colonel) Corso, in his widely read book “The Day After Roswell”, co-authored with Bill Birnes, made some extreme statements about his involvement in the Roswell Incident, as well as about his military career. After reading the book my immediate response was, where are the references in the back of the book to all these claims---there were none? I met Corso several times before he passed away July 16, 1998 at the age of 83, and found him interesting and cordial, but not willing to factually support his many claims. In a sworn statement to lawyer Peter Gersten, Corso claimed to have been a member of the NSC (National Security Council). There are no records that he ever belonged to or even attended any of their meetings. When Gersten asked Corso if he wanted to change that part of his sworn statement, he said no. As to his claim about helping industry develop the integrated circuit, it’s well known that Jack Kilby of Texas Instruments developed them in 1958, receiving the Nobel Prize for Physics in 2000 for that, BEFORE Corso joined General Trudeau at Army FTD in 1960.  Corso claimed to have seen a body at Ft Riley enroute to Wright field in Dayton Ohio by truck, when all reports I’ve read over the years indicate the bodies were flown to Wright Field. Corso did have a distinguished military career and the book was an interesting read, but lacks any verification or support for the claims Corso made about his involvement with the Roswell Incident. 

Fortunately there have been many and still are a few extremely respectable witnesses that were involved with the 1947 Roswell Incident such as Judd Roberts, Walter Haut, Major Jesse Marcel and his son Jesse Marcel Jr., rancher “Mack” Brazel and his son Bill Brazel, Loretta Proctor, Sheriff Wilcox and both of his daughters Phyllis and Elizabeth, and others whose accounts of their involvement can be verified.  Time is however not on our side and the search for the truth continues. Information other than the truth must be discarded. 

Dennis G. Balthaser

Website: www.truthseekeratroswell.com

Email:   truthskr@roswell.net 

09-01-06 

Is the Roswell UFO Museum & Annual UFO Festival becoming a thing of the past?

International UFO Museum and Research Center co-founders

As one who remains dedicated to researching the Roswell Incident, it concerns me that the International UFO Museum and Research Center and the annual Roswell UFO Festival seem to have deteriorated to an embarrassment for the city of Roswell and those of us that remain interested in obtaining the truth.  

In 1996 I moved to Roswell, was actively involved as a volunteer at the museum (1996-98), and helped promote the museum and the festival. Several local individuals with the purpose of having the whole community involved for the benefit of Roswell for tourism and financial benefits first organized the annual July festival in 1995. 

Visitor numbers for the annual event grew each year as more community involvement was added and “peaked” with the 50^th anniversary in 1997. This past July the number of visitors to Roswell for the annual event was pathetically low, and no one with the UFO committee involved in organizing this year’s festival, headed up by Museum Director, Julie Shuster, has come forward with any numbers of how few attended. The loss of revenue to the museum and the city of Roswell this year appears to be staggering, and many believe it can be directly attributed to the UFO committee, and the manner in which it was presented.  If the Museum and the Festival are to prosper and benefit Roswell, changes are needed. Too much hard work has been devoted over the years in promoting Roswell, the Museum, and Festival to let it continue on its present course. 

The museum was established by co-founders Glenn Dennis, Walter Haut, and Max Littell in 1991, and none of them had any idea that it would grow as it did the first 10 years, drawing some 200,000 visitors to Roswell each year. The founders were also emphatic that the museum should always remain free to the public. Under the current Museum Director and Board of Directors, that is changing. Currently the museum has a “suggested adult admission donation fee of $2.00”, ($1.00 for 18 and under), and if in the future the Museum decides to charge an admission fee, it will be a direct violation of the co-founders desire for the museum to remain free to the public. 

The music concerts scheduled for this year’s festival were moved from a city park to the fairgrounds due to the city not approving a “beer permit” for Ms Shuster.  Greed at the museum has caused the city to loose tens of thousands of dollars in annual festival revenue by country music star Merle Haggard withdrawing his annual concert from the festival. A few years ago when Haggard brought in Willie Nelson, 6000 people attended the concert---this years’ three concerts drew 200, 300 and 1000 each, according to the Roswell Daily Record even with beer sales. Research, new displays, community involvement and management seem to be a thing of the past for the Roswell Museum and the Festival under the current Director and Board of the UFO Museum.

Guy Malone has brought in well-known speakers each July on the subject of UFOs for his symposium in conjunction with the annual event. This year Ms Shuster announced on the Roswell 2006 UFO Festival website, “Any events not included in this schedule are not sanctioned by the Roswell 2006 Festival”. For the Festival to be a community project, her sanctioning events are not needed or desired.  Church on the Move planned an all day event for people to enjoy, which included honoring our veterans and a fireworks display in the evening---Ms Shuster tried to stop that, as reported in the Roswell Daily Record, and again because there was no organization for the Festival or community involvement that were under her leadership, problems arose.

Several of the out-of-town visitors attending this year’s festival in July, planned their vacations around coming to Roswell and many indicated to me that they were bored and visited the Historical Museum of Southeast New Mexico because there wasn’t anything to do with the UFO Festival. I occasionally lecture at other UFO symposiums around the country and those always have a full slate of speakers, most being all day long for 3 or 4 days. Aztec, NM and the Rachel, Nevada symposiums, where I spoke this year had a minimum of nine speakers for their conferences. As they do every year, Roswell again had Don Schmitt, Tom Carey and Derrell Sims as their headline speakers. In a comment in the Roswell Daily Record newspaper, Carey stated that, “ he and Schmitt are the only “active” researchers about the Roswell Incident.” Stanton Friedman is the original civilian Roswell researcher, (dating back to 1978). He was invited last year but was not asked to do a lecture. David Rudiak, Don Burleson, myself and several others are very actively researching the Roswell Incident, but not according to Tom Carey. 

I have received several contentious letters (two by Certified U.S. mail), from Museum Director Julie Shuster, in the past two years. The board of directors at the museum, is obviously not aware of such tactics by their director, and unlike other organizations with a board of directors, the UFO Museum Director apparently controls the board, rather than the board controlling the Director.  All of my research is copyrighted with the Library of Congress in Washington, DC, and I have the documentation to support all lectures I’ve written, videotaped, and presented. The Museum purchased my lecture videos from me and sold them willingly in their gift shop at a 100 percent markup from1998 until 2 years ago, and are now telling me I can no longer sell my own copyrighted lecture tapes anywhere. It is not only unethical but also unreasonable to try and claim “my copyrighted work” 8 years later. 

Ms Shuster and gift shop manager Sandy James showed up at a local lecture I did in Feb 2006, which I concluded was to try to intimidate me during my lecture, which failed on their part. 

New Mexico MUFON (Mutual UFO Network) is not allowed to have their meetings at the UFO Museum because Board President, Jack Swickard, stated that he considers MUFON “competition” for the Museum. Nothing could be further from the truth and shows the mentality and lack of Ufology knowledge of the current leadership at the Museum. 

The Mission Statement of the UFO Museum, Article 1-Purpose of Corporation states,

“ The International UFO Museum and Research Center at Roswell, New Mexico was organized to inform the public about what has come to be known as “The Roswell Incident.” The final sentence of Article 1, states, “The International UFO Museum’s constituents are committed to gathering and disbursing to all interested parties, the most qualified and accurate up-to-date information available.”  

In one of the letters I received from Ms Shuster, I was told, “ I could not make any statements about any conversations I ever had with Museum co-founder Walter Haut.”

Censorship and suppression of one’s research as has been my own experience with the museum director, is not part of their Mission Statement. 

If that Mission Statement is in fact the purpose of the Museum, perhaps changes are needed not only with the Director and certain board members but also with the need to work with the community for the benefit of all of Roswell, and finally to make the “Roswell Incident” a household name again worldwide as it was in the 90’s. Many of us that live here and have been involved, or are still involved with the Roswell Incident research are concerned and desire that changes be made for the benefit of Roswell and the entire UFO community. This concern is evidenced by several letters to the editor of the Roswell Daily Record newspaper since the Festival in July from individuals airing their concerns about the museum and the festivals demise in recent years.

As a serious, respected UFO Investigator, Lecturer and Journalist, I continue to believe that the UFO Museum in Roswell is a vitally needed facility for the public, as the original co-founders intended it. Unfortunately, it no longer has the respect of the serious UFO community, and as observed by comments of visitors this year, even the general public has seen a decline in the Museum and the annual Festival.  

Revenue generated from the Roswell Incident, for Roswell and southeast New Mexico is of major importance and must not be allowed to continue in the downward spiral it’s currently on. Many that come to Roswell are curious and could care less about UFOs, but in the past they came, and businesses in Roswell and surrounding areas benefited from that. We should have learned from those in the past that the annual festival must be a community effort, not an attempt by individuals with their own agenda, who try to sanction their own interests and hurt the whole community in doing so. 

As for the UFO Museum, it needs to comply with its own Mission Statement; be a research center as advertised, presenting all sides of the Roswell Incident; and finally, organize a board of directors that is in charge and allowed to voice opinions that may not be in agreement with the Director. 

Dennis G. Balthaser
Website: www.truthseekeratroswell.com
Email:   truthskr@roswell.net
Copyright © 2006, Dennis G. Balthaser
Photo Credits: Photo of Max Littell used by permission; Photos of Glenn Dennis and Walter Haut by Dennis Balthaser 

Security is Alive and Well at Area 51

By Dennis Balthaser
7-1-06
 

I know for a fact that the security at Area 51 is alive and well, since I just returned from there, and experienced it first-hand.

In my many years of doing this research, I have always tried to present information that was verifiable and confirmable, when possible. That hasn’t always been an easy task, considering the amount of disinformation being spread around, particularly with a lot of that information being presented on the Internet.

When doing lectures or writing editorials about a particular subject, I find it helps one’s credibility if you have first-hand knowledge of the subject. It’s kind of like the 2000+ web sites on the Internet about the Roswell Incident. When you do some checking, most of those people that have Roswell Incident web sites have never been to Roswell or interviewed a witness related to it, but claim to be authorities on the subject. From now on when someone asks, “have you ever been to Area 51?”---I can say, “Yes I have---at least to the entrances to the base”.

I have been researching Area 51 for several years, working closely with Chuck Clark, who I consider the predominant person with knowledge about Area 51.

Last year, Ike Bishop, who arranges the annual Rachel Nevada UFO Conference, (next to Area 51), contacted me about possibly being a speaker at this years conference, and knowing it would be a financial loss, due to the distance, time and expenses, I gladly agreed to be part of the conference, for the simple fact that I would have an opportunity to see first hand what all the “hype” was about related to the secret base in Nevada. I was not in the least disappointed. The conference lasted 3 days in May 2006, and I’ll never regret the cost due to the first hand knowledge I obtained about the security, at least at the entrances to the base.

For years I have read and heard reports about the intense security involved at Area 51, but to actually be there and see it working doesn’t compare with what I’ve read or heard. It’s real and it’s serious.

Stop and think for a minute that the base has been in existence since 1955 when the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) opened it to test the U-2 spy plane in secrecy. Many of the aircraft we have in our military arsenal since then that were developed in secrecy, have been test flown there (and several we don’t yet know about). During those 51 years that the base has been in existence, security to my knowledge has not been seriously breached, and remains off limits to anyone not authorized to enter.

So why is it that we can prevent anyone from going past security at Area 51, but cannot control our own United States borders? Perhaps our borders need a few signs like are present at Area 51, that state in no uncertain terms “The Use of Deadly Force is Authorized” , and apparently mean it. Signs also list the penalties for violating the warnings, of either six-months imprisonment and a $1000.00 fine, or one-year imprisonment and a $5000.00 fine based on two separate Federal Internal Security Act Regulations. The guards (Cammo dudes as their sometimes known) are also a positive deterrent, and make their presence obviously known to anyone approaching the entrances to the base, which to me indicated that these people are serious about enforcing security.

The main entrance to Area 51 is down a 13 mile well maintained dirt and gravel road that has no signs present on Nevada 375 (the Extraterrestrial Highway) between Ash Springs and Rachel, to indicate anything is there. Driving down the road toward the base entrance, I expected to see the guards in a gray pickup or white Jeep come up over a hill to let me know we were approaching the entrance.

Much to my surprise, when I drove around a corner and saw the warning signs, I also saw a gray pickup truck with two occupants parked on a hill just up from the signs, watching me approach with binoculars fixed on me. They were waiting for me as I assume a sensor had warned them someone was approaching. The guardhouse is about a quarter mile beyond the signs (out of view from the dirt road), so they have time to get in their vehicle, park on the hill and be your welcoming committee. The main entrance where the warning signs are located has no gate of any kind, so if you go beyond the signs you are on restricted land, and the consequences are obvious. On the hills surrounding this entrance solar powered cameras and listening devices are evident. There is no fence ---only orange colored plastic boundary markers located every several yards to indicate where the boundary is.

Having seen pictures of this scenario many times in the past, it was quite an experience for me to actually be standing there by the signs and boundary markers, and realizing that this is all too real. You can’t help but wonder what all transpires on or under the base that we don’t know about, to require such high security?

After my second lecture on our last day in Rachel, Chuck Clark asked me if I wanted to drive out to the back gate entrance to the base. Knowing very little about the back gate entrance, I jumped at the opportunity to go. The back gate is a little closer to Rachel than the main gate and appears to have higher security visible than the main gate. Apparently most deliveries to the base enter through the back gate.

Once again after driving on a well-maintained, un-marked dirt road, you see the all to familiar warning signs. At this entrance however you are also greeted by two swing-down gates with stop signs attached, a guardhouse that has all the windows darkened so you can’t see in, and a surveillance camera and other equipment.

This entrance has a ranch type barbed wire fence showing the boundary line in each direction from the gates. While at this entrance I walked along the fence line in order to get a better view of the Russian Radar equipment set up in the distance. The guard(s) in the guard house were keeping tabs on my activities along the fence with the camera that is mounted about 25 feet atop a metal tower, and whenever I moved along the boundary, the camera followed me.

After being at the entrance for several minutes, we soon noticed something in the distance on the road inside the gates, coming towards us, and it turned out to be another security guard, in a white Jeep. He stopped about a quarter mile from us and observed us with binoculars, as had been done at the main entrance two days ago.

Since we were apparently not a threat to him, he shortly thereafter drove up to the guardhouse, getting out of the vehicle while trying to stay out of view of our cameras. When he departed he seemed upset that he had left the passenger door open on the Jeep, and rather than come around the vehicle to close it where we would have a good photo opportunity of him, he backed the Jeep up, hit the brakes and tried to close the door. Unfortunately for him, it didn’t work, so he leaned over the seat out of our view and pulled the door shut before taking off toward the base.

We departed the back entrance, returning to Rachel, satisfied that whatever takes place at Area 51 is well protected by warning signs that are extremely serious in their warnings, surveillance equipment that works well, and guards that have what appears to be a boring job unless someone like us shows up.

I appreciate the hospitality of Chuck Clark, and know that my lectures and editorials about Area 51 will be different in the future having “been there ---and done that”.

* All photographs Copyright © Balthaser, 2006
www.truthseekeratroswell.com
truthskr@roswell.net

Searching for the Truth
(Always Telling the Truth Means Never Having to Remember Anything) 

 “Is Anyone Accountable for Records?”
03-01-06 

One of the most troublesome things I have encountered during my many years of doing UFO research, is the lack of accountability by those supposedly in control of documents and information pertaining to this subject. Of course it’s by no means limited to just Ufology research, but also to many other areas, within our military and government establishments. Trying to obtain documents from those groups for validation of information is practically impossible, and it appears to me that no one wants to take responsibility for that. My question has always been---who has given those individuals the authority to withhold information and not be accountable for it? Responses like “the records were destroyed”, or “were transferred to another agency”, are too frequently used when requesting information. 

In this editorial I will give some examples of such instances, where I have personally tried to obtain information, as well as that of other individuals who have also been denied information through various attempts. 

One of the most common responses to document requests is “blacking out” certain information on documents. That no longer looks good on television when researchers like Stanton Friedman hold up the documents, so in some cases “whiteout” is now used. 

Military Records are kept at the National Personnel Records Center in St Louis, Missouri. Many times when a Freedom of Information Act Request (FOIA) is submitted (as required), pertaining to an individual assigned to Roswell Army Airfield in 1947, the response returned has a rubber stamp note stating, “ No record located. If on file on July 12, 1973, it may have been destroyed in a fire on that date”. May have been destroyed? Was it destroyed or not? In my experience, an appeal rarely produces any additional information. The military personnel I usually request information on were assigned to the 509^th Bomb Wing in Roswell, (the only Atomic bomb group in the world at the time), and their records may have been destroyed in a fire. Convenient, unfortunate, or an untruth!!! 

One request for information that I worked on, starting in July 1999, with a FOIA request involved the United States Air Force report, “The Roswell Report: Fact versus Fiction in the New Mexico Desert”. In that report a Colonel Richard L. Weaver stated that, “the photographs taken in General Ramey’s office were sent to a national-level organization for interpretation and analysis”. That “unnamed organization” reported back that,  “the photos were of insufficient quality to analyze”. My first request was submitted to the Department of the Air Force at the Pentagon, requesting copies of the correspondence between the Air Force and the national-level organization that analyzed the photographs, along with copies of the report returned to the Air Force. After several delay letters from the Air Force, in November 1999 I was informed that all records regarding this subject were returned to the Air Force Historical Research agency at Maxwell AFB, Alabama. 

When I contacted Maxwell AFB, I was told they have no such documents within their archives, nor did they have any inter-office documents regarding the “Roswell Report”, and I was invited to file an appeal. What I did receive from Maxwell Air Force Base was an 81-page list of information available on microfilm about Roswell Army Airfield dealing with everything the base was associated with except information about the Roswell Incident. I didn’t feel that information about the base “Supply and Food Service, Motor Vehicles, when aircraft arrived at the base, or maintenance of aircraft” were pertinent to my FOIA request. Basically this meant there were no documents in the Air Force archives to substantiate the remarks made by Colonel Weaver in the Air Force Report about the Roswell Incident. 

By March 2000, I had received so many delay responses while the Air Force searched their records, that I finally told the Lieutenant in charge of my request that he would probably be promoted to Major or Lt. Colonel by the time my requests were fulfilled, if ever fulfilled. 

Since the Air Force report was an official document, I asked if Colonel Weaver had ever been contacted to determine where he obtained the information he was referring to in the report about the photographs being analyzed by a national-level organization. The response from the Air Force about that request stated, “we are not obligated to do so under FOIA”, since anything that is not tangible or a documentary record does not qualify as a “record”. 

I did obtain one page of a 4-page “Fax” from the University of Texas at Arlington, Special Collections, addressed to Captain McAndrew indicating he was receiving 3 pages of “something”. Since the University of Texas at Arlington is the repository for those photographs, the date of the fax was 07-18-96, and it was addressed to Captain McAndrew, I’m assuming the pages dealt with the next excuse the Air Force presented in 1997 entitled “The Roswell Incident: Case Closed”. Additionally in this response from Maxwell AFB, I was advised that “the custody of these records was currently being transferred from Maxwell AFB to the National Archives either in Maryland or Washington DC. 

I indicated my disappointment to the lieutenant in charge of my FOIA request at Maxwell AFB in October 2000, and had to write again in February 2001 since I did not receive a response to my October letter. When he responded I noticed he had been promoted to Captain (on his way to Major as I mentioned earlier). Again I was advised that I could submit an appeal and my final correspondence to Maxwell AFB occurred on March 7, 2001. 

Researcher David Rudiak has suggested that I resume my research on this, however since the documents have been transferred to a National Archive, it would mean starting over.

As a final example, the late New Mexico Congressman Steven Schiff made a valiant attempt to obtain information about the Roswell Incident in the 1990’s, when he requested a full investigation of the Incident. Congressman Schiff released the 20-page, General Accounting Office (GAO) Report in a press release on July 28, 1995. In the press release Congressman Schiff indicated that, “important documents which may have shed more light on what happened at Roswell, are missing.”

The Chief Archivist for the National Personnel Records Center provided the GAO with documentation indicating that (1) RAAF records such as finance and accounting, supplies, buildings and grounds, and other general administrative matters from March 1945 through December 1949 and (2) RAAF outgoing messages from October 1946 through December 1949 were destroyed. The document disposition form did not properly indicate the authority under which the disposal action was taken. Other records including outgoing RAAF messages for 1950 were also destroyed. Schiff understood that these outgoing messages were permanent records, which should never have been destroyed. Since the records had been destroyed over 40 years ago, further inquiry about there destruction was impractical according to Schiff.

An FBI Teletype document revealed by the report referred to a “radar-tracking device” – a reference to a weather balloon, which the Air Force themselves later discredited. 

58 years after the Roswell Incident occurred, we continue to lose first-hand witnesses, and the more research that is done on the Incident, the more we realize that accountability for records and documentation has been and continues to be a major problem. When will someone in our government come forward and take the responsibility we expect from our representatives and leaders?

Dennis G. Balthaser

Web site: www.truthseekeratroswell.com

Email: truthskr@roswell.net

Searching for the Truth
(Always Telling the Truth Means Never Having to Remember Anything)

“A Tribute to Walter Haut”

01-02-06

During my affiliation with the International UFO Museum and Research Center here in Roswell, from 1996 until 1998, as a full time volunteer and as the UFO Investigator, I had the opportunity to meet many of the well-known researchers in this field of Ufology. Since then I have developed close personal relationships with a few of those, and continue to do my research in conjunction with our desire to find the truth. That of course is not the case with a larger number of “researchers” I have met.

The same is true for witnesses of the 1947 Roswell Incident that I have met over the years. Several of the many witnesses I have met and/or interviewed, have elaborated on their testimonies, while some have presented hoaxes, and still others have not provided any validation for their claims. Fortunately for those of us that continue to look for answers to the Roswell Incident, there are some witnesses that stand out, (at least to me), as being extremely credible. Walter Haut was one of those individuals that I’ve always had the utmost respect for, and who I will be miss since he passed away on December 15, 2005. As one who knew Walter fairly well, and had the opportunity to visit with daily for two and a half years, I felt a tribute to him was in order at this time.  

In 1947, then Lt. Walter Haut, was a key figure in the Roswell Incident due to being the person that wrote the now famous newspaper article of July 8, 1947, “RAAF Captures Flying Saucer on Ranch in Roswell Region”. 

It was quite an honor for me to meet Walter in person when I began my affiliation with the UFO Museum in 1996. After all, nothing can be written about the Roswell Incident without including Walter in the events that took place some 58 ½ years ago. It was even more rewarding for me to be able to visit with him daily during my two and a half years with the museum. During that time, Walter was at the museum almost every day, and would enjoy meeting the visitors that came by, always with a smile, a little kidding and explaining his involvement in the incident, as the public relations officer that wrote the newspaper article. Walter was always a gentleman, never looking for notoriety, enjoying life in his retirement years. If he wasn’t occupied with visitors, I would walk into his office and we’d discuss a variety of topics, which always amazed me, because he had such an interesting life, and freely talked about it. 

Walter was born in Chicago in 1922, and one of my favorite stories he shared with me several times was that when he was young, he worked for a drug store in the Chicago area and made deliveries to local customers that ordered merchandise from the drug store. One of those customers was the “Capone family”. Walter remembered how most customers he made deliveries to would tip him 10 or 15 cents, while the Capone’s would tip $1.00, $5.00, even $10.00. He indicated that the Capone family was very generous, and always smiled when he shared that story with me. 

I’m sure very few researchers, and particularly the general public knew much about Walter’s military career, other than his involvement with the Roswell Incident as a young Lieutenant, who was the public relations officer for the Roswell Army Air Field in 1947.

During WWII, Walter (above) flew some 35 missions over Japan as a bombardier in B-29’s. He received numerous medals for his service, but one of the experiences I enjoyed hearing from him the most, was his description of how those missions were accomplished. He indicated that being a bombardier was a great job, because the missions were sometimes 18-20 hours flying time from their home base to the target, and back home. He said he would sleep on the way to the target and being located up front in the B-29, the pilot or co-pilot would kick him when they got close to the target to wake him up. He would then take over flying and when the target was in his bombsites, he would release the weapons. His job completed he would sleep again on the ride back to their home base.

Several times we talked about the 509^th bomb wing’s involvement in the dropping of the atomic bombs on Japan to end the Second World War.  

Walter also shared his involvement during the testing of an atomic bomb in the Pacific Ocean, during Operation Crossroads in 1946. Walter was in an airplane that flew through the mushroom cloud the bomb created when tested in the ocean and he actually dropped the instruments in it. We would “kid” each other about him “glowing” afterwards, which he of course didn’t, but he did say it was a little “bumpy” flying that close to it.

Walter would often mention Colonel “Butch” Blanchard (above) with much admiration and respect. Blanchard was in charge of the 509^th bomb wing here in Roswell in 1947, when Walter was the public relations officer for the base. Blanchard was also the base commander. They had an exceptional relationship according to Walter, and Walter talked about that relationship many times. I remember sharing a similar relationship I had with a Warrant Officer Philpot when I was in the service, so I could relate to his feelings and the respect he had for Blanchard. They were apparently quite a team, and Walter would talk about how “the old man” would call him into his office, where Blanchard (a Colonel), would ask him, (a Lieutenant), for his thoughts about something that Blanchard was thinking about. 

Walter was very active in many civic organizations in Roswell after he got out of the military and he and his wife decided to stay in Roswell. He often talked about how they enjoyed living in Roswell, even though the first time he was assigned here, he wondered where Roswell New Mexico was. 

My life as a person and as a researcher of the Roswell Incident has been extremely enriched because I had the opportunity to meet and get to know a man named Walter Haut. I will always treasure those times where he and I sat down and just visited with each other. He had a fascinating life in his childhood, being involved with WWII, the Roswell Incident, original founder of the UFO museum and the many civic accomplishments he achieved.

I will miss you Walter.

Dennis G. Balthaser

Web site: www.truthseekeratroswell.com

Email: truthskr@roswell.net

Copyright © 2005, Dennis G. Balthaser

Searching For the Truth
(Always Telling the Truth, Means Never Having to Remember Anything)

 At What Level in our Government is the Truth Known?

11-01-05 

In previous editorials I have addressed my concern about whom in our government (and possibly in the military), has the authority to withhold information about UFOs. Information is being withheld not only from the public, (who in most cases, pay the salaries of these individuals through taxes), but also to our leaders, some of which are in the highest positions of our government. Most presidents since Harry Truman have shown an interest in getting the information public, only to be stone walled and not given the information.  

I am convinced that the presidents are briefed on the existence of UFOs but not much more and it’s my conviction that the reason is simple. The President of the United States cannot be trusted with such information, primarily because they are temporary employees (elected for 8 years maximum). If that’s the case, then who in our government has the authority to withhold that information, and who has given them that authority? 

Withholding or denying information to those in high government positions is not something new either, nor to those private citizens that are high profile individuals. But for almost 60 years the lid has been kept on the truth, and apparently only those individuals that “need to know”, know! 

One example that has always intrigued me is the Senator Barry Goldwater incident back in the 1960’s. Goldwater was a United States Senator representing the state of Arizona, was a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, had been a colonel in the United States Air Force, (eventually achieved the rank of Brigadier General), and was the Republican candidate for President of the United States, losing to Lyndon Johnson in the 1964 Presidential election. As a young adult in 1964, I always thought that Barry Goldwater was ahead of his time, in some of his political views and particularly his interest in the subject of UFOs, but as we quickly found out, his curiosity with UFOs would not be allowed to be pursued. 

Senator Goldwater’s interest in UFOs, prompted him to seek access to the “blue room” at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio, which was denied, when he made the request to General Curtis LeMay, who was the head of the Strategic Air Command in the 1960’s. Goldwater thought that was where they kept the UFO records. General LeMay told Goldwater, “ You can’t go in there and I can’t go in there”, but the General never informed Goldwater what was in there or why access was denied, and neither affirmed or denied that UFO records or materials were in the room. Senator Goldwater apparently had a top-secret clearance, which obviously wasn’t a high enough clearance to access the room. Rumors have continued about a blue or green room at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base ever since, but no one has of yet revealed what if anything the room contains. 

In a 1994 interview on the CNN television show hosted by Larry King, Goldwater stated, “I think at Wright-Patterson, if you could get into certain places, you’d find out what the Air Force and the government does know about UFOs. Reportedly, a spaceship landed. It was all hushed up. I called Curtis LeMay and I said, ‘General, I know we have a room at Wright-Patterson where you put all this secret stuff. Could I go in there?’ I’ve never heard General LeMay get mad, but he got madder than hell at me, cussed me out, and said, ‘Don’t ever ask me that question again!’” 

Senator Goldwater never asked about the room at Wright-Patterson again, and took his curiosity and discussion with General LeMay to the grave with him. Goldwater died May 29, 1998. Others high up in the government have unfortunately gone the same route as Goldwater did many years ago, being denied information although you would think that they were in a position to be told. Some of those included, President’s Carter, Ford, Reagan and most recently Clinton.  

In an entry in President Clinton’s diary posted January 6, 2005, he stated, “I was on the inside of the government, so I know there is more out there than meets the eye”. He also said, “I never did get a clear answer about Area 51 from the ones with the security clearances”. Clinton had an interest in the 1947 Roswell Incident, even bought a book on the subject, and asked Webster Hubbell to investigate the matter, which Hubbell was unable to do. Later Clinton said, “Sometimes you shouldn’t ask questions why, you just have to accept reality”. As a researcher and a tax-paying citizen of the United States, I find that response unacceptable. 

Based on these denials for information, I have to wonder who is in control, who put them in that position, and who, (if anyone) do they answer to? It confirms my belief that the United States has been operating under a “cover-up” policy for many years, not only dealing with the subject of UFOs, but also in many other areas. 58 years after the Roswell Incident, it’s going to be hard, if not impossible, for anyone in our government to admit that the American people have been lied to by their government for all these years. That’s the reason I say, “Young people in our country don’t understand cover-up---because they’ve grown up with it, and apparently are accepting it”.  

Although Senator Goldwater never got access to the room at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base he requested to visit, nor the answer’s he wanted to the UFO phenomenon, he did communicate with several individuals on both these topics. Several letters written by Goldwater, in the 1960’s, 70’s and 80’s, in response to inquiries made to him have surfaced. In general his responses included such statements as, “I have long ago given up acquiring access to the so-called Blue Room at Wright-Patterson, as I have had one long  string of denials from chief after chief, so I have given up”. He also stated, “I don’t know of anyone who has access to the “blue Room,” nor am I aware of it’s contents, and I am not aware of anything having been relocated.” 

In another letter response, Goldwater said, “I have no idea who controls the flow of ‘need-to-know’ because, frankly, I was told in such an emphatic way that it was none of my business that I’ve never tried to make it my business.” He also said, “I’m one of those people who believe that with some two billion planets scattered around our universe, there has to be a couple of more that can support life on it.” 

In a letter to a gentleman in California March 28, 1975, Goldwater wrote in part, “I have, however heard that there is a plan under way to release some, if not all, of this material in the near future. I’m just as anxious to see this material as you are, and I hope we will not have to wait too much longer.”  

Senator Goldwater, 30 years after you wrote that--- we’re still waiting!!!  

Based on other correspondence and comments from Goldwater, he apparently had a serious interest in the 1947 Roswell Incident, and also stated that Colonel Butch Blanchard and him were close friends. (Blanchard of course was the base commander and head of the 509^th Bomb Wing, when they were stationed at Roswell Army Air Field in 1947). 

These few responses from Goldwater indicate the interest he had in the subject of UFOs, the real possibility that something extremely important was housed at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, and instead of ignoring the letters he received, he took the time to answer them, which sounds to me like he was sharing his disappointment in not being able to find the truth. 

All of us that do this research share his disappointment in our government leaders, and the frustration we encounter in trying to find the truth. 

Dennis G. Balthaser 
Web Site: www.truthseekeratroswell.com
Email:      truthskr@roswell.net

Searching for the Truth
(Always Telling the Truth Means Never Having to Remember Anything)

Searching for the Truth

(Always Telling the Truth, Means Never Having to Remember Anything)

 

Off Limits, Even To Their Own Military Personnel
09-01-05 

Through my years of doing research about the 1947 Roswell Incident, I have had the opportunity to meet and interview many witnesses. A few of those came forward on their own, due to being involved themselves, while many others were located through someone else that either knew the witness, or had heard of their involvement in one way or another. A new witness to a researcher like me is like a child waking up on Christmas morning and finding what they had hoped for under the tree. I keep hoping that the next witness that comes forward just might be the one that has the information all researchers are looking for to resolve the Roswell Incident. We know such individuals are still out there, whether they are retired military or civilians that were here in Roswell in 1947. 

All witnesses’ accounts add to the volumes of information we have already assembled on the Roswell Incident. Once a new witness is located and interviewed, the next step is validating the new information to see if in fact it is factual or not, and that sometimes is hard to accomplish. Many times it proves unverifiable, but being able to obtain any new information adds to our case and sometimes can verify other similar accounts.  

Another problem is a lack of information due to not being able to remember all the details of an event that happened 58 years ago, or the names of the witnesses, etc., and each year that passes, that becomes more of a problem. Such was the case recently when I was contacted by a person that told me, “she had an interesting story about someone that was stationed here in 1947”. 

With my web site being seen by hundreds of thousands of people all over the world, as indicated by the number of visitors the site receives, I’m always interested in knowing where individuals that contact me are from and how they found out about my research. Many indicate they have done a web search on the Roswell Incident and my site came up, and it’s truly amazing where some of the visitor’s to my site are from, and just how world-wide the internet is. In this case however, the person that contacted me lives right here in Roswell, and had read a recent editorial (“Threats to Roswell Witnesses – Why”), I had written for the local newspaper about witnesses being threatened, that were involved in the 1947 Incident. I received many comments after that editorial was posted, both locally in the newspaper and on the 16 other web sites that post my editorials every other month. The only new information I received about threats to individuals however was from the person that called me locally, after reading the editorial. 

She was excited when she called me and said I have an experience that you might be interested in hearing. She started by telling me, “that she was about 10 or 11 years old when the event happened in 1947” and gave me her address here in Roswell where she lived at the time with her parents. There was a small apartment behind their house that was being rented by a military couple, assigned to the Roswell Army Air Field. The informant thought the couple was probably in their late 20’s or early 30’s, with young children.  

The serviceman’s wife had become very ill and was admitted to the base hospital for treatment. In order to visit his wife while she was hospitalized and take care of the children, the airman had taken military leave. She could not remember the exact date but knew for sure that it was the same time as the Roswell Incident, which would have been around July 4, 1947. Her mother and her would sometimes watch the children of the airman if they needed to go somewhere.  

Such was the case on one particular day when the airman dressed in his military uniform planned on going to the hospital to see his wife, who by now had become ill to the point of being critical. He had planned on staying at the hospital with his wife for a length of time, but much to the surprise of the woman who called me and her mother, who were caring for his children back then, he returned home shortly after leaving the house, extremely upset and mad.   

He stated that when he got to the hospital, he was met by armed military personnel with rifles and was told he could not go in the hospital to see his seriously ill wife at that time. He was not given any reason other than the hospital was off limits to everyone, regardless of their situation. 

Over the years of research into the Roswell Incident, the use of armed military personnel to keep people out has been mentioned at the base hospital, Hangar 84, Sheriff Wilcox’s office and other locations in Roswell and on the military base.  

After listening to this woman’s account of the airman’s experience at the hospital, I was anxious to obtain more information from her. Unfortunately due to the time span since it happened (58 years), she was not able to remember the couple’s name.  I was hopeful that if she remembered his name, I could possibly locate him  (if still alive) and get a first hand account of his experience. Another alternative would have been the children’s names---to ask them if the incident had ever been mentioned within any family discussions. 

This account by someone who “was there” at the time will be added to the long list of other accounts we have on file. Unfortunately we won’t be able to follow up on this one, because no additional information is available, but in my research it will remain as an accurate account of something unusual that really happened during the Roswell Incident of 1947. This again shows how very critical and important it is for anyone having knowledge of anything that took place at the Roswell Army Airfield or anywhere else to come forward with whatever information they might have. 

Time is our worst enemy in resolving the Roswell Incident. In this case, the woman voluntarily coming forward with information has been extremely important in adding additional information to what we already have documented.  This again appears to be proof of the extreme measures taken by the military to keep anyone not directly related to the incident from having any knowledge about what was actually happening. It also validates my desire to find the truth and I continue to ask, if it was a weather balloon, Mogul balloon or crash test dummies that happened in July 1947 near Roswell New Mexico---why were both military and civilian personnel threatened? 

It’s extremely gratifying to me as a researcher, when sharing my research and thoughts in an editorial, at a lecture or in an interview, prompts someone to contact me about information they have, and have not previously shared.  

Dennis G. Balthaser
Web site: www.truthseekeratroswell.com
Email:     truthskr@roswell.net

Searching for the Truth

(Always Telling the Truth, Means Never Having to Remember Anything) 

Threats to Roswell Witnesses---WHY?
02-23-05 

I’ve always been curious why some military, and particularly some civilian witnesses to the 1947 Roswell Incident were threatened about talking about their experiences. After all, if it was just a weather balloon, or a Mogul balloon, or anthropomorphic crash test dummies that were involved in the Roswell Incident, why would it be necessary to threaten individuals about discussing it? Discussions about threats from witnesses goes back to the 1970’s when the research on Roswell began. I’m continuing to get statements today from children of individuals that were at the Roswell Army Airfield in 1947 as civilian employees, about threats their parents received, and how they handled those threats. As a researcher of the Roswell Incident, the threats are one of the things that have kept me interested in the Incident, and have convinced me there was more to the Roswell Incident than what we’ve been told. 

I have found that the threats varied from individual to individual too, with some of them being direct and to the point, while others were less personal, but still threats. It appears that the more you knew the more intense were the threats.  

Some of threats that we know about include: 

Maj. Jesse Marcel, the 509^th Bomb Wing Intelligence Officer, who after returning from General Ramey’s office told his wife and son, Jesse Jr., “They were not to speak about what they had seen, when he stopped at the house on the way back to the base from the debris field a few nights earlier.” 

Sheriff George Wilcox’s granddaughter in an interview done in 1991 stated that, “When the incident happened, the military police came to the jailhouse and told her grandparents (George and his wife Inez), that if they ever talked about it, not only would they be killed, but the entire family would be killed.” Sheriff Wilcox never ran for Sheriff again, although his wife did and was defeated. 

After Frank Joyce of the KGFL radio station in Roswell, send Public Information Officer Walter Hauts’ press release to the United Press bureau, he received a call from a gentleman that identified himself as an officer at the Pentagon. Joyce stated that, “This man said some very bad things about what would happen to me…he was really pretty nasty.” KGFL radio was notified that if they ever broadcast an interview that they had done with “Mack” Brazel, their FCC (Federal Communication Commission) license would be in jeopardy. 

Ranch foreman, “Mack” Brazel, who discovered the debris on the Foster ranch where he was the foreman, was taken into custody at the Roswell Army Airfield base for several days after coming to the Sheriff’s office with pieces of the debris. According to Mack Brazel’s son Bill Jr., “the military had asked his Dad to take an oath never to talk about it, and he went to his grave never telling anyone anything after being interrogated.” Changing his story at the radio station after being interrogated and being able to open a meat locker in Alamogordo, New Mexico a short time later on a ranch foreman’s salary in 1947, also raises speculation as to what all was involved in his interrogation along with the threats. 

Frankie Rowe has been interviewed and written about in books about her Dad, Dan Dwyer’s involvement as a city of Roswell Firefighter in 1947. Miss Rowe recalled that military personnel came by their house and she was told, “If she talked about this again, they could be taken out in the desert, and no one would ever find them again.” 

Joseph Montoya was the Lt. Governor of New Mexico in 1947 and apparently viewed both the crashed craft debris and bodies in the hangar at the base. When Ruben Anaya asked Montoya about the events he had just experienced at the hangar, he was told to forget it. “It’s too dangerous”, Montoya said. “The FBI will do away with you.” 

Some of the military personnel involved that were sworn to secrecy according to interviews they have done over the years included “Pappy” Henderson, one of the top pilots with the 509^th Bomb Wing; Edwin Easley, provost marshal for the 509^th; Sheridan Cavitt and Bill Ricket, Counter Intelligence Officers. 

Probably one of the most publicized threats made against a civilian were those made to Glenn Dennis, the mortician at Ballard Funeral Home. Glenn told Stanton Friedman in an interview in 1989 that, “Upon arriving at the base medical facility with an injured airman, he was met inside the infirmary by an MP (Military Policeman), who wanted to know who Glenn was, where he was from and what business he had there?” Glenn then met a nurse he knew, who asked him, “how did you get in here” and she told him, “My God, you’re going to get killed.”  Shortly after that a big red-headed Captain asked the MPs what Glenn was doing there and ordered them to remove him from the building which they did, following him back to the funeral home. Glenn told researchers, Schmitt and Randle that when the Captain threatened him; he replied to the Captain “he could go to hell because he was a civilian”. The Captain responded by saying, ”Don’t kid yourself young man, somebody will be picking your bones out of the sand.” 

Most of the above accounts of being threatened most likely are accurate accounts, as the witnesses making the statements had no reason to embellish their experience. As for the military and certain civilians, there is no doubt that many were sworn to secrecy at the time of the incident, and many kept that oath until they went to the grave. In a few cases, because individuals have not been found to substantiate the experiences as told by the witnesses, we must continue to search for information on those individuals. The threats however speak for themselves, that something of extreme importance took place in Roswell in 1947 that apparently had nothing to do with balloons or crash test dummies. 

Recently I’ve been fortunate enough to receive information about other civilian personnel that were at Roswell Army Airfield in 1947, and I have questioned the siblings of those individuals, about the threats they received and how they handled them.   

One such case involved a woman who worked at the base in 1947, as the only civilian in the communication department, in conjunction with Mountain States Bell Telephone Company.  I located her son in Albuquerque, New Mexico in December 2004, and asked him if she had told the family anything before passing away in 1997, here in Roswell. His reply was, “As a matter of fact no---I don’t know what pressure they used, but they told her not to talk about it to anyone---and she DID NOT, until the day she died.” I responded, “so she was told not to talk about it”, and he said, “She was definitely.” She told us, “she couldn’t tell us about anything---she was instructed not to.”  

Another situation involved a man who was the city manager of Roswell from 1946-1964, a WW II veteran with a high security clearance, who retired from the National Guard as a Major General. His son still lives here in Roswell and recently told me, “His Dad and then base commander Col. Blanchard were friends.” He had told the son’s mother and grandmother, “he had seen something he could not talk about” and as in other cases did not, until his death in 1982. 

There were many more threats that I don’t have room to list here, but this list that I’ve shared with you provides a wide diversity of the type threats both military and civilians received, due to their involvement in the 1947 Roswell Incident, and my question remains --- Why? 

Dennis G. Balthaser

Your Representatives Views on UFOs
10-08-04 

As we approach the 2004 elections, I would like to remind everyone of the importance of voting, and encourage everyone to do so. I don’t endorse any politicians publicly, but there are issues on the table this election that will have long lasting effects on us, so the importance of voting cannot be over emphasized. As each of you will probably do, I will also study the records of certain representatives running for election and look at their view points on various topics, which brings me to the purpose of this editorial. 

Accountability by our representatives at any level in government should be a paramount concern to us when we go to the polls to vote. It raises the question whether they are really representing us, or not. 

Within the past few years, (since 2001), Dan Willis, one of the military witnesses affiliated with the Disclosure Project has set up an online fax at www.DisclosureProject.org/fax allowing thousands of other individual citizens to communicate with our national representatives on the subject of UFOs, Extraterrestrials and the proposal to deploy a missile defense system.  The responses received were varied, with the most common response being, “we will keep your views in mind should legislation about UFOs happen in the future.” That basically says, debating the reality of UFOs is not a pressing issue with Congress or many other elected and appointed officials. The reality of UFOs has already been well established for many years through credible witnesses, radar, physical traces, etc. Our representatives continue to avoid the subject, or worse, are unwilling to disclose what is known on the subject by not taking the necessary steps of leadership required, to openly discuss and inform the public on what our government knows.  

Very recently, the current New Mexico Governor, Bill Richardson, called for a definitive investigation of the Roswell Incident, saying, “the mystery surrounding this crash has never been adequately explained—not by independent investigators, and not by the U.S. government.” 

A few others, (Congressman Kucinich and former New Mexico State Representative, Andy Kissner), to mention two, have also attempted to obtain disclosure out of Washington, DC on the subject of UFOs and other events that appear to be cover-ups. One of the most publicized attempts was made by New Mexico Representative Steven Schiff in 1994, who accused the Pentagon and General Accounting Office, (GAO) of giving him “the run-around” when he tried to locate missing government documents pertaining to the 1947 Roswell UFO crash. Finally, many serious UFO researchers have pressured their representatives also, in most cases to no avail. 

Nearly all Presidents since Truman have publicly stated that they want to reveal what the government knows about UFOs, and in every case that has never become a reality. We know there are illegal operations taking place within our government on this topic from misappropriation of money, concealment of recovered craft and possibly occupants, to technology derived from them, which could have a profound impact on the energy crisis, health care and many other challenges we face, not to mention the military benefits that probably are being derived from such a cover-up. 

Of the 73 response letters Mr. Willis has posted from various individuals, NONE addressed taking responsible leadership in addressing this issue with action. Eight showed some interest in trying to further understand the need for disclosure, while half of the responses indicated that without current legislation, nothing is addressed other than keeping it in mind. Because of the lack of knowledge or interest by our representatives, several quoted out-dated official government denial statements as the final word on the UFO and ET situation, while others simply “passed the buck” by indicating they were not responsible or on the committee of jurisdiction, and apparently have no desire to pursue it. 

Perhaps all of us that are interested in revealing the truth about UFOs would be wise to contact our representatives and obtain their views on this subject, and others, before we go to the polls to vote. There is strength in numbers when politicians are involved, and they, as our elected officials have a responsibility to us, which they have not shown for many years on this subject. 

Mr. Willis has given me permission to quote some of the responses he received in this editorial, so for informational purposes, I will share some of the statements made by our representatives on the subject of UFOs. 

U.S. House of Representatives Responses: 

Sherrod Brown-OH

“Thank you for expressing your support for congressional hearings on Unidentified Flying Objects and extraterrestrial events. While it is important to pay close attention to these issues, I am not on the committee of jurisdiction.” 

Johnny Isakson-GA

“There are no technologies in existence that have come from an extraterrestrial origin.” 

Steve Largent-OK

“As you know, the possibility of this phenomena has been long-debated. To further your reading on the matter, I have enclosed a Congressional Service Research Report entitled ‘The UFO Enigma’.” 

Ed Pastor-AZ

“Thank you for your recent email expressing strong support for an open dialogue on potential interface between humans and life forms from beyond our own solar system.” 

Mark Udall-CO

“I will keep your comments in mind should topics related to the extraterrestrial come before the House for debate.” 

J. D. Hayworth-AZ

“Thank you for sharing your views with me on UFOs. I always appreciate knowing about the concerns and opinions of my constituents, and will certainly take your views under advisement should this issue ever be deliberated by the House of Representatives.” 

David Dreier-CA

“Thank you for contacting me regarding the possibility of extraterrestrial activity in the United States. I support full and open disclosure by all government agencies of any information regarding Unidentified Flying Objects. As you may know, both the United States Air Force and the General Accounting Office (GAO) have conducted reviews of available government information on UFOs. I have enclosed a copy of the GAO’s report on the alleged crash of a UFO in Roswell, New Mexico in 1947. Although I support efforts to ensure that citizens have full access to relevant information on these issues, I am unaware of any legislation currently before the Congress regarding this matter.” 

Alan B Mollohan-WV

“Currently there are no hearings scheduled regarding allegations of suppressed knowledge by the U.S. government of UFOs or UFO technologies. Please be assured that I will keep your thoughts in mind should hearings be held or relevant legislation be considered regarding UFOs or UFO technologies during the 107^th Congress.” 

James Sensenbrenner-WI

“Thank you for your recent communication regarding Unidentified Flying Objects (UFO) and related government projects. The subject of UFOs is often overlooked, but it seems that many people have encountered similar sightings. It is evident that this is an issue that affects American citizens and deserves careful consideration.” 

David Price-NC

“Thank you for contacting me regarding congressional activity related to the existence of extraterrestrial civilizations. I am unaware of any current legislation or current House committee activity related to the existence of extraterrestrial civilizations. Although I am not a member of any House committees with jurisdiction over such matters, I will keep your concerns in mind if the House should consider legislation in this area.” 

Sam Johnson-TX

“Thank you for contacting me with your concerns regarding the theorized UFO/Extraterrestrial presence on and around Earth. I have taken the liberty of forwarding a copy of your letter to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science to obtain additional information. I will be sure to forward the information on to you as soon as I receive it.” 

U.S. Senate Responses: 

James Inhofe-OK

“However, in the recent absence of recent UFO activity, the absence of any scientific gain from the past study of UFOs, and the absence of hostility from any previously reported UFOs, it would be irresponsible to spend taxpayer money on hearings and legislation related to such a phenomena.” 

Mike Crapo-ID

“Having researched the issues you raised, I found no record of legislation regarding the existence of extraterrestrial presence.” 

Mitch McConnell-KY

“The House of Representatives conducted two Congressional inquires regarding UFOs and extraterrestrial events in the late 1960s. Since that time however, I am unaware of any further investigation by Congress of these matters.” 

Ben Nighthorse Campbell-CO

“As you know, people have long wondered are we alone in this universe? There have been numerous accounts of “contacts” or “sightings” of UFOs and extraterrestrial beings. While I certainly do not discredit these reports, I have not heard of any concrete evidence that would suggest there are other beings out there. Please know that I will keep your thoughts on this matter in mind, but I doubt that Congressional hearings dealing with extraterrestrial beings will be held in the Senate.” 

Wayne Allard-CO

“As one of the few scientists in the United States Senate, I believe in the scientific method and am open to any credible information and proof of extraterrestrial contact, and to date there has been none. That being said, we luckily live in a democracy where our government can be open with the majority of the information that it has. Little proof of extraterrestrial visitation was revealed in the two previous Congressional hearings on UFOs in the 1960s. However if there comes a time when corroborative proof of extraterrestrials is shown, then maybe Congress should revisit the issue.” 

Jeff Bingaman-NM

“At this time I am not aware of any legislation or hearings to explore the issues you raised in your letter. However, should such issues be brought before the Senate, I will certainly keep your views in mind.” 

Responses from Others: 

NASA

“No government agency is currently responsible for investigating UFOs because there is no factual evidence that alien life exists on other planets or that UFOs are related to aliens.” 

Secretary of Defense

“UFOs and extraterrestrial life forms alleged to be present on Earth are matters no longer being investigated by the Defense Department. From 1948-1969, the Air Force did conduct investigations under several program names, the last of which was Project Blue Book. The decision to discontinue UFO investigations was based on a number of factors, including reports and studies by the University of Colorado and the National Academy of Sciences, as well as past UFO studies and the Air Force’s two decades of experience investigating UFO Reports.” 

Due to space restrictions for this editorial many responses are not included here, several of which only commented on the proposed space missile defense system in their reply, completely ignoring the issues of UFOs and extraterrestrials. To me, it appears that most of the responses are polite (although somewhat generic) to their constituents, while none of our representatives are willing to take the leadership required to reveal to the public what our government knows on the subject of UFOs. Personally I plan to keep the pressure on my representatives, as others hopefully will also do.

Dennis G. Balthaser

Web site: www.truthseekeratroswell.com

Email: truthskr@roswell.net

Contact your elected officials: http://www.firstgov.gov/Contact/Elected.shtml

Little Known Facts About Roswell, New Mexico

 By Dennis G. Balthaser 

08-09-04 

Moving to Roswell New Mexico from Texas in 1996 to continue my interest in Ufology, provided me with a good base for doing that research, and also gave me the opportunity to learn a lot more about my new home state, and particularly the town of Roswell and Chaves County. With the help of many “locals”, and particularly information I’ve gathered from Elvis E. Fleming, Chief Archivist of the Historical Society for Southeast New Mexico, Inc.  www.hssnm.net  I will try to share some information with you that perhaps you’ve not read or heard about before concerning the area of New Mexico where the 1947 UFO crash occurred. 

Pre-history for the Roswell area began during the Paleo-Indian Period, who lived in the area around 12,000B.C. –  6,000 B.C.  Archaeological dig-sites in the area known as Bloom Mound, Henderson Site, Rocky Arroyo and Fox Place have revealed a sedimentary culture that occupied Southeast New Mexico from about the 9^th century until the 14^th century, known as the “Jornada-Mogollon”. Other Mogollon cultures in the area included the Anasazi of the Four Corners region and the Hohokam of Arizona. Sometime later the Jornada-Mogollon were replaced by the Mescalero Apaches. The Pioneer Period for Roswell and Chaves County began about 1866 to about 1890.

Charles Goodnight and Oliver Loving blazed the Goodnight-Loving Trail in 1866.  John Chisum also settled in the Pecos Valley and by 1870 had become the “Cattle King of the Pecos”, being the largest cattle-producer in the United States with tens of thousands of cattle on the ranges along the Pecos River from Ft. Sumner south to the Texas line. In the late 1870s with the Lincoln County War going on, (adjacent to what is now Chaves County), Roswell-area resident Pat Garrett  (pictured right) became sheriff of Lincoln County in an attempt to put and end to the violence, and hunt down Billy the Kid. The Army sent the now-famous “Buffalo Soldiers” to protect the town from outlaws in the aftermath of the war.

The Buffalo Soldiers

Chaves County was created in 1889 and organized in 1891. Today it covers an area of 6,095 square miles (4^th largest county in New Mexico). The town of Roswell had a population of 343 in 1890. Ten years later Roswell had grown to 2049. In 1947 the population of Roswell was about 22,000, and Chaves County was 35,600. Today the city of Roswell is approaching 50,000. New Mexico Military Institute (pictured left) was established in 1891, and by 1947 had an enrollment of 600 boys. Today NMMI is co-ed and has an enrollment of approximately 1000. The only newspaper today is the Roswell Daily Record, which was started in 1891. In 1947 Roswell had 2 newspapers---the Roswell Daily Record and the Roswell Morning Dispatch. Telephone service failed in 1894 but was successful in 1899. In 1947 most telephone numbers consisted of only 2 or 3 numbers, unlike the 7 digit numbers we have today. Roswell Seed Co. was started in the late 1890s and is still in business today. The railroad also arrived in Roswell in the 1890s. Electricity lit up Roswell for the first time in 1901. KGFL and KSWS were the only two radio stations in Roswell in 1947. KGFL, prominent in the Roswell Incident of 1947, went on the air in 1931. In 1947, postage rates were a little lower than they are today. 1^st class letters were 3 cents per ounce; post cards were 1 cent and airmail was 5 cents to anywhere in the United States. Roswell had 25 churches of various denominations in 1947, and 2 banks, First National Bank and Roswell State Bank. 

Robert Goddard,  (pictured left) the “Father of Modern Rocketry” moved to Roswell in the 1930’s, where he made man’s first attempt to explore outer space. Well known artist Peter Hurd was born in Roswell in 1904.  Several other locals achieved national fame in sports over the years, including  Tom Brookshier, Pete Jaquess and Chick Smith. Roswell’s All-Stars became Little League World Champions in 1956. Roger Staubach former Dallas Cowboy quarterback, attended New Mexico Military Institute for a year in the 1960’s before attending the Naval Academy. Women’s PGA golfer Nancy Lopez is from Roswell and “Henry John Deutschendorf, Jr.” was born in Roswell in 1943 at St. Mary’s hospital (established in 1906). You know “Deutschendorf” better as the famous entertainer “John Denver”. Denver’s dad was stationed at Roswell Army Air Field as a pilot-instructor in the early 1940s. Movie superstar Demi Moore attended school in Roswell before becoming a Hollywood actress.

 The Mayor of Roswell in 1947 was Thomas J. Hall. The Governor of New Mexico was Thomas J. Mabry and the Lt. Governor was Joe M. Montoya, who according to some researchers had witnessed the bodies in the hangar in 1947.  New Mexico Legislature representatives for Chaves County in 1947 were State Senator Clarence E. Hinkle, while A. B. Carpenter, Ellis Whitney and Wayne W. Adams represented Chaves County in the New Mexico House of Representatives. George Wilcox was the Sheriff of Chaves County, who Mack Brazel contacted when he arrived in Roswell from his ranch, with debris he had recovered on the ranch a few days earlier in July 1947. 

The Military Period for Roswell was from 1940 until 1967, which will put us in the time period of the July 1947 UFO crash. Military presence at Roswell began with the installation of a military flying school, which later became Roswell Army Air Field and when the Army and Air Force became separate entities in 1948, the name of the base was changed to Walker Air Force Base. During WW II, Camp Roswell was a large prisoner-of-war camp at Orchard Park, housing 4800 German prisoners. During the 1960s, the federal government built Atlas missile sites and Nike missile installations within a twenty-five mile radius of the Air Force base, which were only operational for a few years. Walker Air Force Base was closed in 1967 and was converted into the Roswell International Air Center, as it remains today. 

After WWII, Roswell Army Air Field became the home of the only atomic warfare group, the 509^th Composite Bomb Group, who helped end the war by dropping the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan. The “Enola Gay” B-29 bomber (pictured above) was part of that group and stationed here. 

In July 1947, something occurred on a ranch northwest of Roswell, near Corona New Mexico, that warranted a press release by then LT. Walter Haut (Public Information Officer of the 509^th  pictured left), under orders of the base commander Colonel William Blanchard, stating “RAAF Captures Flying Saucer on Ranch in Roswell Region”. That article was distributed to both newspapers and both radio stations on July 8, 1947 by Haut, and from then on the world knew about the Roswell Incident of July 1947. 

In  1991 the International UFO Museum and Research Center was founded by Walter Haut, local Mortician in 1947 Glenn Dennis, and local business man Max Littell. The museum is now in it’s third location since being incorporated and annually draws 200,000 visitors to Roswell.

Present day Roswell is world known for the UFO crash of 1947, and several of us researchers continue to search for answers to this incident that occurred here 57 years ago. Many of the structures at the old base and in town have been demolished or replaced, but the UFO Incident will not go away. The Dairy industry, farming and ranching also continue to thrive on the high plains of southeast New Mexico, making Roswell and Chaves County a unique location with a vast history from Pioneer life to the mysteries of the universe.

Photo Credits: Pat Garrett, The Historical Museum Archives for Southeast New Mexico. Walter Haut, Copyright © Balthaser, 2001.

Dennis G. Balthaser
Web site:  www.truthseekeratroswell.com
Email:   truthskr@roswell.net

God the Geometer, Manuscript illustration 

UFO Research and Christian Faith
By Dennis G. Balthaser

 06-01-04 

This editorial will touch on a topic that not everyone will agree with and that’s OK, but I felt it was a subject that I could personally talk about based on my own experience as both a UFO researcher and a Christian.  Over the years at symposiums and in conversations, I’ve been questioned several times about whether I was a Christian or not, and my answer is always, “Yes I am.”  Many people seem to have a problem or “hang up” about that, whereas I never have. One’s Christian belief to me is a personal decision, and I normally don’t emphasize it in my research unless asked about it.  I was a Christian long before I became a UFO researcher, so I saw no need to change anything because I chose to do this type research.  

I have also for many years been interested in reading comments made by the Catholic church (particularly the Vatican), about their views on the subject of extraterrestrials and the possibility of life in the universe, other than just on our little glob of mud and water known as earth, and their views appear to be leaning more and more toward the possibility that other life probably does exist out there somewhere.  The Vatican has a tremendous interest in “what is out there,” from meteorites and asteroids to extraterrestrials, as I’ll briefly review later. 

In recent years, a few scientists have also finally admitted that the universe probably has life other than just us, so it appears to me that we are all slowly coming together with the same conclusion, from totally different points of view.  

One profound exception that I know of was made by Evangelist Pat Robertson several years ago, when he was quoted as saying, “Anyone who believes in UFOs or Extraterrestrials, should be stoned.” That certainly wasn’t very comforting to those of us that have chosen to research this subject. 

Several researchers have studied the Bible and many scriptures have been found that seem to indicate a relationship with UFOs, the best example for me being the book of Ezekiel, Chapter 1, (King James Version), which discusses living creatures coming out of the north in a cloud and wheels within wheels.  Perhaps I shouldn’t make that comparison, but it does appear similar to many UFO reports, which also refer to creatures, wheel shaped craft such as discs or saucer’s coming from the sky, etc. 

I was raised in the Lutheran faith for the first 30 years of my life and have been associated with the Southern Baptists since then.  Today I am active at First Baptist church here in Roswell, in the choir, playing drums in the Praise band, Sunday school, Men’s Bible study and other activities at church. Recently at a symposium while talking to some attendees I was asked, “You mean they let you in First Baptist church,” as if I had some disease that would prevent me from being active in church because I research UFO’s.  My method of doing this research has always been to do the research and share that information with the public, allowing them to decide what they want to believe or not believe. 

A few weeks ago I took that one step further.  I was asked to do a lecture at our church for the monthly senior’s luncheon.  Instead of the normal 20-25 people showing up, there were between 70 and 80 at my presentation.  They were extremely attentive and interested, with excellent questions after the presentation.  Other than a few humorous comments from time to time by fellow church members, I’ve never been ridiculed for what I do, which indicates an open-mindedness we could all learn from. 

I was brought up believing that God created everything, and my interpretation of everything means everything, so why couldn’t there be life elsewhere?  Just because we don’t yet know if life exists somewhere else in the universe, certainly doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.

Earlier I mentioned the Vatican in Rome, and from time to time articles are released by them on the subject of life elsewhere in the universe and what they are doing in space exploration. I have heard that the Vatican has one of the largest UFO related libraries in the world.  

According to Vatican astronomer Dr. Guy Consolmagno, since 1981 the Vatican has operated a 1.8-meter telescope on Mt. Graham in Arizona.  Including the Mt Graham telescope, the Vatican has two observatories and five telescopes.  Castel Gandolfo, Italy is home of the Vatican meteorites.  The library at Castel Gandolfo contains more than 22,000 volumes and rare antique books including the works of Copernicus, Galileo, Newton, Kepler and others.  It’s believed that the “church” wants to show the world that it is not afraid of science.  It’s my belief that one does not have to choose between science and religion, but rather that it’s entirely possible that they can work together. Science should not be done for money, our own prestige or glory, but because we want to find out what’s the truth.  

On October 8, 1995 Vatican Priest Monsignor Corrada Balducci went on Italian National Television and said “Extraterrestrials do exist.”  He stated that of the entire phenomenon that exists, if 99 out of 100 were false and that one was true, it’s that one that says some phenomenon exist.

To me Christian religion and the study of UFOs are based on human testimony, and we as individuals have the choice of what we believe or do not believe.  My personal choice is to believe in both, one of which I pursue by faith, and the other not by faith, but by trying to determine which human testimony is accurate and truthful pertaining to Ufology. 

French scientist Charles Richet (1850-1935), wrote in his “Traite de Metapsychique”, in 1922, “Do we have any right to claim, just because of our limited senses and our mistaken intelligence, that man is the only intelligent being in this immense cosmos?…That other intellectual forces, different from us, exist is not only possible but extremely probable. It is even certain…It is absurd to claim that we are the only intelligence in nature. The existence of these beings has not yet been proven, but the probability of their existence is evident.” And to quote nuclear physicist and UFO researcher Stanton Friedman,  “We humans, intelligence-wise, are trying to get into the pre-school of the universe.” 

Cardinal Nicolo Cusano (1401-1464), philosopher and scientist said, “We are not authorized to exclude that on another star beings do exist, even if they are completely different from us.” 

Jesuit George Coyne, director of the Vatican Observatory, said, “The more we study the stars, the more aware we become of our own ignorance, and it is madness to think we humans are alone in the universe.” 

So after I discontinue my UFO research, I will still be a Christian, and during the interim period I will comfortably be both.  

Challenging Misinformation

04-01-04

Doing Ufology research is not much different from some of the civil engineering research I did for many years, because as in all research, it is of the utmost importance that information is validated and verified before going public with it. Ufology research, especially concerning topics such as the 1947 Roswell Incident, are difficult to research and investigate for many reasons. Some witnesses who were involved are not willing to share information, while others embellish or elaborate on their involvement for some reason; the government and military catch-all excuse of “national security” and the out right lying they do; and finally, the physical evidence which has not shown up yet (although I’m convinced it’s out there somewhere).  So I pay close attention to any information about the Roswell Incident presented whenever I have the opportunity. With several hundred, perhaps thousands of web sites on the internet about the Roswell Incident, it’s a given that most of those sites are comprised of second or third-hand research— knowing the “researcher” has never actually done any research on their own. I suppose that’s all right if the information presented is factual or accurate, but in many cases it’s not.  

Unfortunately, many times the general public accepts whatever they are told by whoever tells it. This was the situation with the Roswell Incident for 30 years until the Incident was finally investigated starting in the late 1970s. Fortunately, there is a delete button on computers to get rid of such information, or as in my case, as I’ve done twice before on my website, I have responded publicly in editorials I’ve written: once to a challenge I received from Phil Klass where I had to defend my credibility, and again with James Bond Johnson, when he elaborated on his involvement based on 3 separate interviews he had done. 

I assume the politically correct method of challenging misinformation would be privately, however, due to the amount of time that is required to “clear the record” and try to put a stop to it, I have decided to do it in the open. The public deserves accurate information, and serious researchers should be devoting their time to research – not correcting errors and misinformation put out by individuals that have not done the research. This editorial is not a personal attack on these individuals, but rather an attempt on my part to challenge the unverified information being put out. It’s difficult enough to find the truth dealing with the military, government and witnesses, without having to cope with wrong information or misinformation distributed by individuals, so my approach has become one of doing it publicly as I hope to bring attention to it and put an end to at least some of it.

A good example of this is when critics, debunkers and skeptics mistakenly agree to debate Stanton Friedman on the Roswell Incident. Typically they don’t do the required research to be on the same platform with Mr. Friedman, and in a short period of time Mr. Friedman will have presented documentation and factual information that they can’t dispute. As soon as the debate is over, however, they’ll be back to spreading their misinformation to anyone that will listen. It appears to me that sensationalism sells, and this gives these individuals, despite their lack of research, lecture opportunities or the media exposure that they do not deserve.

On many occasions TV documentaries present information that is not factual.  They do this, primarily I believe, because the media have not done the required research in the first place, or the information being presented has been altered to fit someone’s specific agenda. Ufological research especially requires credibility: validated testimonies and documentation that can be verified. UFO research is too important from a historical viewpoint, and to important to our future to allow certain individuals to continue to distribute “bogus” information as though it were factual.

Such was the case, when recently, I was asked to be Master of Ceremonies at a UFO symposium where I had the pleasure of introducing 6 guest speakers on a variety of topics from the Aztec crash to crop circles to Native American information. I am not one to buy into everything presented, and really have a difficult time believing everything I’m told – especially when it’s presented as the only possibility based on that individuals belief. 

Nancy Red Star was one of the invited speakers, and being interested in what information she would present about Native Americans star knowledge and UFO involvement, I paid extra attention to her presentation. She showed an hour-long video in which she interviewed several Native Americans and for the most part it was of historical value getting some of their experiences on tape.  

During part of the video, Nancy was interviewing an elder who said he had been involved in the Roswell Incident in 1947. As she interviewed this gentleman, he spoke of guarding two live aliens recovered from the Roswell crash in 1947, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, for a year at Area 51. He even said meals were delivered to him so he'd never have to leave his guard position during that time. He described the beings similarly to how others have described them as looking, and he mentioned communicating with them through telepathy.  

Two of the areas that I have dedicated my research to for the past 15 or 20 years are Roswell and Area 51, so the gentleman being interviewed by Nancy was talking about topics that I felt I was very familiar with. After she completed her presentation and the floor was opened to questions, I challenged her about the statements the elder had just made on the video. I explained how long I had been researching these two topics, and informed her that this person could not have been guarding 2 live aliens at Area 51 in 1947, and that I believed this was information that should not be included in her video. I explained that Area 51 was not placed into service until 1955 when the CIA was looking for a secret location to test the U-2 spy plane. The U-2 had been developed by Kelly Johnson and when he presented it to the CIA, they felt a more secretive location than Edwards Air Force Base was needed to test it. Consequently, 12 sites were reviewed in the southwestern United States, and the location at Groom Lake, Nevada was chosen. A runway was built, several buildings erected under the fake construction name of “CLJ”, and by 1955 the CIA had its secret base. This of course means that the gentleman being interviewed could not have been at Area 51, 8 years earlier since it didn’t even exist in 1947. 

Nancy took exception to my challenge, emphatically stating that I should talk to the gentleman she interviewed— not to her.  She missed the whole point, in my opinion, because if she’d done her research she would have known he was not telling the truth and she could have challenged his statements herself or removed his testimony from the presentation. I explained to her that since she was doing the interview on tape and had produced the film, she was responsible for its contents. Those one hundred people in the audience at the symposium, some of whom may have not researched Roswell or Area 51, would not have known the facts if I had not questioned her publicly.  

After her presentation several people approached me and thanked me for bringing up the discrepancy after her presentation, however, Nancy voiced her concern to me that I'd challenged her, and she let me know she didn’t appreciate it. My response was that I didn’t appreciate her putting out misinformation, or in this case, unverified information, which turned out to be false.  I have the documents to support when Area 51 came into existence; she had nothing other than the gentleman’s remarks, which she never verified.  I told Nancy to do her homework before presenting information that is unverified. She refused to be part of a panel discussion later that day with all of the speakers and myself. 

Some of us researchers are watching and listening to what is being presented, and in my case I will no longer keep it to myself.  The truth is too important.

Dennis G. Balthaser

Searching for the Truth
 (Always Telling the Truth Means Never Having to Remember Anything)

                               Area 51: Still Above the Law

                               

Since 1955 the United States has developed and maintained a secret military base 85 miles northwest of Las Vegas, Nevada, known by several names, such as Groom Lake, Dreamland, the Box and the most popular name, “Area 51.” This is no small piece of real estate in the Nevada desert, but rather a land area the size of the state of Connecticut, containing an even larger restricted air space. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed an executive order on August 19, 1955, restricting the air space over Groom Lake, Nevada, which is still heavily in force today

Originally set up to test the U-2 reconnaissance airplane by the CIA, it has served as a test facility for nearly every newly developed aircraft since then including; the A-10, A-12, Stealth F-117, B-1 and B-2 bomber. Whatever has come off of the design drawing boards since then is probably being test flown there now, which could include such craft as the Black Manta, The Pumpkin Seed, the Aurora and other military aircraft that we can’t even speculate about.

The Air Force finally admitted to the existence of Area 51 on April 17, 2000, when an Air Force spokeswoman told the Associated Press reporters, “We acknowledge having an operating site there (Area 51), and the work is classified”. She also stated that the work done at Area 51 includes “operations critical to the U.S. military and the country’s security.”

I have always maintained that Area 51 (at least for me) is a “Catch 22” situation. I totally agree that we (the United States) need a place to test newly developed aircraft to keep our adversaries from knowing what we are developing. That would also explain to me why much of what is at Area 51 probably is hidden in underground facilities or in hangars to keep the prying eyes of foreign satellites from knowing what is going on there. Rumors have surfaced over the years that the base has as many as 22 levels underground, and some of the hangars seen from locations miles from the base indicate structures of gigantic size. One of the two runways at Groom Lake is 30,000 feet long, indicating some aircraft are landing at tremendous velocity, to require that length of runway. As a comparison, one of the Roswell Army Airfield runways is 13,000 feet and was used by B-29 and B-52’s to carry atomic bombs in the 40’s, 50’s and early 1960’s.

Other than the flight-testing of aircraft, we know very little about what transpires at the base, but due to the security around the base and in the air, it’s obvious that other highly secretive projects are conducted there on a regular basis. At least one of those projects involves the production, use, and disposal of toxic waste, which all government and private business’s except Area 51 are required to report in their waste disposal procedures, as required under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), administered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

For the fifth year in a row, the President of the United States has recently granted the Air Force an “executive exemption” from legal requirements to disclose information regarding solid or hazardous waste disposal operations at Area 51. Under federal law 42-U.S.C. 6961(a), the President can exempt any solid waste management facility of any department or agency in the executive branch from compliance with such a requirement, if he determines it to be in the paramount interest of the United States to do so. I have always believed that the President of the United States does not have the security clearance to know all there is to know about UFOs, and other secretive projects of our government and/or military, because he’s a temporary employee---in office a maximum of 8 years. Making the exemption every year for Area 51 was decided in 1997, when a court ruled that the exemption for “an operating location near Groom Lake” had to be issued by the White House. The first exemption was issued by President Clinton in 1998 and is being continued yearly by our current resident in the White House, George W. Bush, who issued the most recent exemption (Presidential Determination No 2003-39) on September 16, 2003, according to an “immediate release” issued by the White House Office of the Press Secretary

It’s believed the yearly exemption by the President is the result of a lawsuit filed in 1996 on behalf of two former civilian employees at Area 51. Both died of illnesses connected to inhalation of smoke from toxic materials being disposed of at Area 51. Attorneys for the families of the two employees claimed the Air Force and EPA violated the RCRA by illegally burning hazardous waste at Area 51 in open pits. The attorneys were not seeking monetary damages, but were asking that the Air Force be required to disclose what the chemical nature of the hazardous waste was, and their method of disposing of the chemicals at Area 51. When the lawsuits were filed, the Pentagon denied the existence of Area 51, and the Air Force lawyers indicated the deceased former employees could not have possibly inhaled non-existent smoke from non-existent hazardous waste disposed of at a non-existent Air Force Base. When the court handed down it’s ruling, it ordered the EPA to conduct annual inspections at “the operating location near Groom Lake” for compliance with RCRA and to make it’s findings public. To avoid any information going public, the federal law mentioned above was invoked and the Air Force was able to maintain their secrecy at the base, with the blessing of the President by virtue of the exemption issued each year. The widows of the former employees will probably never know what their husbands were exposed to that caused their deaths, while employed at Area 51. There are undoubtedly other secretive bases within the United States that also do not need to comply with the EPA laws, simply exempted from the law, with the stroke of the President’s pen. What about the ranchers, livestock and wildlife in the vicinity of Area 51? Are they also in jeopardy of being exposed to deadly radiation from the unlawful means used to dispose of toxic wastes at the secret base?

Nothing about any aliens, UFO craft or otherworldly things was ever mentioned by the former employees or the attorney’s representing their families, when the lawsuit was filed. There is no factual proof or verification that anything related to UFOs is taking place at Area 51, however the rumors continue to flourish, based primarily on statements made by individuals who claim to have worked there at one time or another. Those rumors will continue I’m sure until such time that the government or military decides to inform the public about what really transpires at the base that has the highest security in the world. As taxpayers we are entitled to know some things, however if national security is involved, care must be taken in who is told what. That however does not in my opinion relieve our government from complying with the same laws that all other businesses have to comply with. Politicians constantly rant and rave about the environment, while dedicated employees such as the two mentioned in the lawsuit are exposed to toxic waste, that apparently had fatal results while employed at Area 51, and exemptions continue to be given.

The original Presidential Determinations signed by then President Clinton and more recently by George W. Bush in 2000 did not mention the lawsuit. Both the 2002 and 2003 Determinations signed by Bush however do mention the litigation, in Kasza v. Browner and Frost v. Perry.

We can assume then that Area 51 is still alive and well. The signs around the perimeter still indicate “the use of deadly force is authorized”, and the patrols by the “cammo dudes” in their Jeeps, and 4 wheel drive Ford and Chevy pickups, still monitor any unauthorized individuals approaching to close to the boundary of the base.

I agree that some of the work being done at Area 51 probably deserves to be classified, but it does not give the government or military permission to break the law or to abuse the rights of its employees.

Dennis G. Balthaser

Email                  truthskr@roswell.net

Web site            www.truthseekeratroswell.com

Searching for the Truth 

(Always Telling the Truth, Means Never Having to Remember Anything) 

08-05-03 

Calling the Debunkers Hand 

Another Roswell Incident anniversary has recently passed and after 56 years we still have not been told what really happened on the high plains of New Mexico in 1947. The debunkers and skeptics continue to bring up the same excuses they have been using for 25 years, but when their theories are challenged they refuse to admit they are wrong. Time compression for witnesses, Mogul balloon theories, and anthropomorphic crash test dummies are just a few of the excuses they have given.

It’s been 6 years since the Air Force presented their last excuse, so I assume they are currently working on their next public pacification statement. The Air Force after all, has given us 4 excuses since 1947: “We captured a Flying Saucer” reported on July 8, 1947. According to General Ramey, “it was a weather balloon” on July 9, 1947. 

Note: General Ramey’s response that it was nothing more than a weather balloon actually started about an hour after Walter Haut’s article went out under orders of Col. Blanchard, (the Roswell Army Airfield base commander), stating we had captured a flying saucer. Due to the lateness of the Ramey response on July 8, it didn’t make the newspapers except for a few west coast evening papers. Irving Newton’s ID of a weather balloon along with Ramey’s response was widely posted on July 9, 1947.  

 “It was a Mogul balloon” according to the Air Force Report in 1994, and finally “the bodies witnesses saw were anthropomorphic dummies” according to the 1997 Air Force report.

If any of the 4 excuses given by the Air Force were correct, why would ranch foreman Mack Brazel not have brought the tag attached to most balloons in to the base to collect a reward for locating the balloon, as he had done on previous occasions? Why would one of the best (if not “the” best) intelligence officer in the military at the time, (Major Jesse Marcel) be ordered out to the crash site to retrieve a weather balloon or Mogul balloon or any other kind of balloon? Did the Intelligence Officer of the atomic bomb group not have better things to do. Why would General Ramey want Marcel to bring a weather balloon to Fort Worth so he could see it and then have it flown on to Dayton Ohio to Wright Field?  We have first, second, third and fourth hand witnesses to these events. We are sentencing criminals to prison and execution daily in this country with testimony of only one witness, while we have hundreds of witnesses for the Roswell Incident and no one in the military or government will admit to what happened. Is it possible that whatever was recovered back in 1947 near Roswell, is still not understood, and therefore cannot be made public due to the military advantages such information would have?

If we look at the testimony of these witnesses, could a weather balloon or a Mogul balloon spread out over an area as described, several hundred yards wide and ¾ of a mile long? 

Basically the Mogul balloon launches from southeast New Mexico have come down to a Mogul 4 launch as the only possibility of the crash being a balloon. Researchers David Rudiak and Brad Sparks have seriously challenged the calculations presented by Mogul engineer Charles Moore (and defended by debunkers Dave Thomas,  Karl Pflock and several others), purporting to show that Mogul 4 would have landed on the Foster ranch and triggered the Roswell Incident. Instead the model was badly miscalculated and really shows that Mogul 4 would not have come down anywhere near where Brazel found debris, but dozens of miles away. There is even some discussion on whether there actually was a Mogul 4 launch.

Did Mac Brazel change his story about what he found and when he found it? Yes, according to the radio station personnel that talked to him. His story did change after he was detained by the military at the base, and why would a ranch foreman be detained by the military for finding a balloon? Once again we have first hand testimony from AP reporter Jason Kellahin, radio station KGFL personnel, Jud Roberts, Frank Joyce and others, (such as Brazel’s son Bill), but the debunkers prefer to ignore that. 

Through Freedom of Information Act requests, I have tried unsuccessfully for several years to obtain information from the Air Force about the remarks made in 31 pages written by Colonel Weaver in the 1994 Air Force report pertaining to the photo analysis done by a national organization of the pictures taken in General Ramey’s office. Not only have Weaver and the Air Force refused to identify this “national level organization,” they have never documented the alleged conclusion of this organization that nothing could be read in General Ramey’s memo because of “insufficient quality.” This is a government printed book authorized by the Air Force, but neither will take any responsibility for the contents in the report. Wouldn’t a “national level organization” like the CIA or FBI have more sophisticated equipment then some of our researchers have access to, and what were the results obtained by that national organization? 

In my opinion, David Rudiak http://www.roswellproof.com/ has done some of the best work so far on analyzing the Ramey photos. Other individuals and groups are also working on what could be the “smoking gun “ for the Roswell Incident, but Rudiak’s work stands above the rest. Here too we seem to have personal agenda’s that slip in to the research. As an example Don Burleson claims to see the word “Carlsbad” (New Mexico) in his interpretation of the Ramey memo, but to my knowledge no other researcher agrees. James Bond Johnson who took the photographs in Ramey’s office in 1947 has embellished his involvement in interviews done with Kevin Randle and myself on separate occasions.

I have had my own experience with threats, so when the Air Force says witnesses have time frames confused with actual events, I must disagree. I can assure you that once you’ve been threatened; you will remember the date and location where it happened for a very long time. Most of the Roswell witnesses still alive are now in their late 70s or early 80s and memory loss has taken it’s toll on some information, but trying to change dates by 5 or more years as the Air Force implies is just another excuse in their continuous cover up of facts.

Of all the excuses given over the years, I suppose my favorite has to be the 1997 report by the Air Force, in which they state that the bodies seen by witnesses were anthropomorphic crash test dummies. To my knowledge none of the witnesses have ever described the bodies as being 5’-8” to 5”-10” tall and weighing 180 pounds, which the crash test dummies are. Again I know this from first hand experience, having obtained a crash test dummy (pictured) from the Space Museum in Alamogordo, New Mexico for a display at the International UFO Museum and Research Center in Roswell a few years ago.  Neither debunkers, critics, nor the Air Force however will defend this theory since the dummies were not even used until 1953, (6 years after the Roswell Incident happened). The Air Force shot themselves in the foot with the dummy excuse in 1997, and for many active duty Airmen I talked to when the report came out, it was an embarrassment.

I don’t expect the four excuses given so far to be the last, and anticipate more cover up about Roswell in the future. Those of us that continue to research the Roswell Incident are still finding new witnesses and compiling information as best we can. I think it’s time we stand up to the debunkers and critics and demand that they present new information. Mogul balloons, crash test dummies, and a refusal to make information available are not helping us to find the truth. Why doesn’t Mogul engineer Charles Moore admit his calculations are wrong? Why won’t the Air Force give us the results of the tests done on the Ramey photographs by a national level organization, or admit the crash test dummies were not used until 1953? We have wasted enough time with the Dave Thomas, Karl Pflock, and Phil Klass types over the years. They have no new information while claiming to be researchers. Prove us wrong about the research we’ve done.

Dennis G. Balthaser
Email truthskr@roswell.net
Web site www.truthseekeratroswell.com

Ramey Message Copyright © 2001, by David Rudiak. 
Image used with permission from David Rudiak,

http://roswellproof.homestead.com 

Searching For the Truth
(Always Telling the Truth, Means Never Having to Remember Anything)

05-01-03 

Roswell: More than UFOs and Aliens

Mention that you are from “Roswell” and someone will invariably ask, “ have you seen an alien?” The connection between Roswell and the alleged UFO incident of 1947 are synonymous. I’ve even mail ordered things and when giving my address as Roswell, New Mexico was told, “I’m sorry --- we don’t ship out of the country.” You get used to it.

Here in the southwest United States we don’t measure distance in miles either, but rather in time. For those of us that live in Roswell we sometimes think, “you can’t get there from here” due to the vastness of the area. As an example, the closest major cities are Lubbock and El Paso, Texas and Albuquerque, all about 3 hours driving distance, which converts to approximately 200 miles for all three from Roswell. That can create problems for woman that like to shop, but they’ll jump in their vehicle make the round trip and think nothing of it.

Moving here from El Paso, Texas in 1996, which with it’s sister city Juarez, Mexico, has a combined population of over 2 million people, I found Roswell to be a pleasant change. Roswell has a population of approximately 50,000 people and it’s possible to drive from one end of town to the other in 15 or 20 minutes. Traffic congestion doesn’t exist. Obtaining stores such as a Super Wal-Mart and Home Depot are major events for us. We’re excited about getting an I-Hop restaurant soon too. Living here, it’s the little things that you learn to appreciate such as the weather, (clear skies, an indescribable sunset, low humidity, etc.), and the people.

I thought for those of you that have never been here you might like to know a little about this community that became famous 56 years ago when a craft of unknown origin supposedly crashed on the high plains northwest of Roswell.

Due to that event, the International UFO Museum and Research Center, located downtown at the intersection of all roads in and out of Roswell has become world famous. Originally founded in 1991 by Walter Haut, Glenn Dennis and Max Littell, the museum draws 200,000 visitors to our city annually. Walter and Glenn are at the museum most days to share their experiences with the visitors.  Max passed away in 2001. That number of visitors to Roswell annually converts to revenue for local merchants, restaurants and lodging facilities.  Many downtown merchants have also adopted the alien theme in their window displays. Downtown Roswell has definitely been rejuvenated thanks to the museum being located there.

Being located in an arid desert region receiving only about 10 or 12 inches of rain per year at an elevation of 3600’,  I was surprised at the amount of vegetation within the city. Roswell has 41 parks offering sports facilities and jogging and bicycling trails, including the 36-acre Spring River Park and zoo. Also located just east of town is the Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge---a habitat for sandhill cranes, snow geese and other migratory birds. In the same area is Bottomless Lakes State Park with camping and picnic facilities.

Over 100 churches or houses of worship represent all faiths. The Roswell Symphony Orchestra presents 5 or 6 concerts per season and is comprised of excellent musicians. Roswell’s Community Little Theater presents local talent in productions at least 6 times a year.  There is a Historic District of homes representing architectural styles including Queen Anne, Prairie, Bungalow, Victorian and others. The Roswell Museum and Art Center features Native American, Western Americana and Hispanic collections. We have the Goddard Planetarium located next to the Art Museum as well as the “father of rocketry”, Robert H. Goddard museum, which includes a workshop recreated to represent what his workshop looked liked while testing his rockets in the area. Other museums in town include the Historical Center for Southeast New Mexico, depicting the history of Roswell, Chaves County and southeastern New Mexico, and the Anderson Museum of Contemporary Art. Finally there is the General Douglas L. McBride Military Museum, with military memorabilia and exhibit’s documenting 20^thcentury military history.

Roswell has an Adult Center, second to none offering more than 50 classes including foreign languages, writing, woodworking and fine arts. RSVP (Retired and Senior Volunteer Program) provides a variety of opportunities for retired individuals to stay active in services for the community. The Chaves County J.O.Y. center provides services to senior citizens 60 years of age and older from four centers. We have 15 schools for K-6, 4 for 7-8 and 3 for 9-12, in addition to Eastern New Mexico University, with a coeducational college preparatory high school and university parallel junior college curriculum.

If you retire here (as I did to pursue my interest in Ufology), or are just visiting as over 200,000 people a year do (to visit the museum), Roswell is a must stop if in the southwest U.S.

If you plan on visiting Roswell there are several other attractions and points of interest within just a few hours driving time from Roswell that should be included in your itinerary.

To the south approximately 100 miles following US 285, is Carlsbad, New Mexico, home of the well known Carlsbad Caverns, which should not be missed. You can eat lunch 750’ underground and have a choice of several walking tours into the caverns. The size of this cavern will amaze you. (The big room is the size of 8 football fields.) Carlsbad also has the living desert state park, with local animals and vegetation on display.

To the north on US 285 and State road 20 is Fort Sumner; the location of western outlaw “Billy the Kid’s” gravesite, Fort Sumner State Monument and close by is Fort Sumner Lake State Park.

Following route 380 west from Roswell will take you both back in time through Lincoln, New Mexico, (where Billy the Kid broke out of jail), and through Capitan where the originally “Smokey the Bear” was laid to rest in 1976, after recovering from a forest fire in 1950 and living at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. for 26 years. Continuing west on 380 just passed Carrizozo, New Mexico is the Valley of Fires State Park. 5000 years ago little Black Peak erupted. Lava from the mountain flowed south covering an area 4 to 6 miles wide, more than 160 feet thick at the center and 44 miles long.

Another 100 miles to the west on 380, just past Socorro will bring you to the future, and the location of the VLA (Very Large Array), consisting of 20 gigantic radio astronomy telescope dishes used to listen in on space for possible life, and as seen in the movie “Contact” with Jodie Foster.

Also traveling west on 380 and 70 from Roswell, you’ll be amazed in the changes in the scenery as you drive from the high plains and desert area surrounding Roswell, into the Lincoln National Forest at elevations of 8-10,000 feet with 60’ pine trees, fresh mountain air and snow skiing in the winter. Both Ruidoso and 30 miles away, the village of Cloudcroft, have quaint little shops, being adjacent to the Mescalero Apache Indian Reservation.

Continuing west a short distance down the mountain from either Ruidoso or Cloudcroft, the city of Alamogordo, New Mexico becomes visible. Alamogordo is home to the Space Museum and Holloman Air Force Base, (White Sands Missile Range and home base of the F-117 Stealth fighter). 14 miles west of Alamogordo is the White Sands National Monument, consisting of 275 square miles of gypsum, creating the world’s largest sand dune field.

A trip to Roswell and southeastern New Mexico will be one that you won’t forget soon, blending the past with the future.

Dennis G. Balthaser

Email  truthskr@roswell.net

Web site www.truthseekeratroswell.com

01-09-03 

Discrediting Witnesses and Researchers

Having read many of the discussions on the various UFO email lists recently, I am again bothered with some of the comments being made by a few of those list members about certain witnesses and researchers. If our government and/or military is in fact covering up the Roswell Incident of 1947 as most of us believe they are, those covering it up must sometimes sit in their Washington, D.C. offices and almost be laughing out loud at the way the Ufology community attempts to resolve this research. It appears to me that at times we don’t need a government cover-up for the Roswell Incident, since we can’t agree about anything related to the event ourselves. We have a major need in the Ufology community to clean up our own act, and I think we should do that by putting an end to the name calling and accusations being thrown around. 

I certainly don’t condone lying in any sense of the term, but also in certain cases, feel that the accusations against individuals that have been untruthful or embellished their witness accounts are unfair and may be unjustified at times. I’ve also noticed that in some of these comments, “people” are often being ridiculed ---rather than the data they’re presenting. Some of those accused of lying or embellishing their information are being completely ruled out as having any worth at all, and that’s where I have a problem. Granted once an individual has been exposed for not telling the truth or embellishing his account, it makes it a lot more difficult to believe anything else they say. Being called a liar is a fairly strong accusation. It seems we sometimes-lose sight of what the bottom line of our research really is, i.e. trying to determine what took place near Roswell in 1947, which to me means “weeding” through the untruths and embellishments in order to arrive at the truth and factual information, without destroying or attacking individuals in the process. Perhaps in some cases it’s a personality thing, or a way of drawing attention to one’s self, neither one having a place in research in my opinion.

Over the years, I have had indications from certain witnesses that they are not, or have not been completely truthful also, and I admit that it makes my research that more difficult. In most cases however, I won’t attack the individual, and until absolutely sure that all information about the person has been exhausted, won’t completely rule them out as a witness or a respectable researcher. On the other hand, I have realized that the debunkers and skeptics are the easiest types to deal with. In most cases they haven’t done any worthwhile research to begin with, and once publicly exposed crawl back in their hole to re-group. They don’t particularly like being exposed for their comments, so that’s exactly what I’ve done when confronted by them.

(Ref: http://www.truthseekeratroswell.com/editorial0502002.html)

Yes it drags the research on, but we’re researching a subject (in the case of the Roswell Incident), that is already 50 some years old. To rule a witness or researcher completely out because of a lie or embellishment without further investigation is unjustified in many cases. In the case of the researcher, do we ignore the good work and valid information he or she has presented over the years? Do we really know the reason behind the lies or embellishments? Until we do know (and in some cases we may never know), I believe we must continue to do our research. Only when all of the information has surfaced can we truly say the person is not worthy, and in my opinion there are some that do fall into that category.

Over the years I have run into both witnesses and researchers that have embellished their education or their involvement in the Roswell Incident. I have never understood why this is done, because it’s easy to check on one’s education by contacting the school or university they claimed to have attended. I know in my case, I worked in the civil engineering field for 33 years with the Texas Department of Transportation and 3 years in the U.S. Army prior to that in an engineering battalion, doing QA and QC Inspection. I never say I was a civil engineer because that requires registration in the individual states you work in, and there is a difference between being a civil engineer and working in civil engineering. I have been in the presence of Stanton Friedman when he has been addressed as Doctor Friedman, and he emphatically pointed out to that person that he does not have a doctorate, but rather a Masters Degree. So those wishing to embellish their education or their involvement as witnesses are playing with a time bomb, since they will eventually be exposed.

Two good examples of individuals whose credentials or claims of involvement have not been verified include Bob Lazar of Area 51 fame, and Lt. Col. Corso, co-author of “the Day After Roswell”.  I would like nothing better than to believe the information these two individuals have presented, however without verification I cannot. Perhaps with more research we will discover that some of their claims were accurate, and then we can decide if any of their information is believable or not, but we don’t have to destroy them as individuals in the process. Lazar’s claimed education cannot be verified, and Corso supplied no references in his book, nor can many of his claims be verified as accurate.

Many times when requesting information through Freedom of Information Act requests on Roswell military witnesses from the Military Personnel Records Center in St Louis, I am told that a fire allegedly destroyed the individual’s records in 1973. Were the files destroyed? Colleges and Universities keep pretty good records of their graduates, and to my knowledge do not respond, that the records were lost or destroyed.  On the embellishment side for witnesses, I suppose they want to be more involved than they actually were for ego, greed, notoriety or whatever their reason. Many times the reasons can be revealed through thorough research, by comparing statements made at one time with statements made later, or checking official documents when they are available.

James Bond Johnson, who took the photographs in General Ramey’s office in July 1947 while employed by the Fort Worth Star Telegram newspaper, has definitely changed his involvement over the years, as evidenced in interviews he has done separately with Kevin Randle, David Rudiak and myself on three different occasions. He did take the photographs, but years later he claims more involvement, so even though he has embellished his involvement, the fact remains that he took those photographs that we are so interested in today.

Frank Kaufmann was someone I’d known since 1996 and visited with several times. His claims of involvement in the Roswell Incident are now questioned emphatically as being hoaxed documents that he provided to researchers to read, as well as his accounts of events he was involved in back in July 1947. Did Frank hoax these documents himself, or did someone else create them for him to use? Frank passed away last year so we may never know. Personally I believe he had some involvement, which many other researchers will not agree with because they have written Frank off as totally unreliable.

Jim Ragsdale, who went public in 1995 about his involvement with the Roswell Incident at Boy Scout Mountain, west of Roswell, also passed away a few years ago. Ragsdale’s account was changed in two separate affidavits he did, and in his case it may have been for monetary reasons. I would have to see a considerable more amount of information on Ragsdale before I would accept his account of being involved.

Glenn Dennis the mortician in Roswell in 1947 has admitted to giving researchers the wrong name of the missing nurse, and consequently has been tagged by certain researchers as not believable based on that. I’ve had long conversations with Glenn over the past 6 years, and believe he was involved, but have not been able to determine to what extend.

If I’m wrong in continuing to believe in certain researchers and witnesses, then I’ll admit that I was wrong, but in the meantime, I hope that I can continue to do my research without personally attacking anyone, and exhaust all avenues available to me before stating they are not credible or worse that they are liars.

Dennis G. Balthaser
Email truthskr@roswell.net
Web site www.truthseekeratroswell.com

11-01-02
Area 51, A History and Update:

For a place that doesn’t officially exist, Area 51 has been referred to by a lot of names over the years. Some of those names included; GroomLake, Dreamland, Paradise Ranch, Watertown Strip, the Box, the Pig Farm and several others. Many people do not know how or when Area 51 came into existence in the Nevada desert some 85 miles northwest of Las Vegas Nevada. Most people believe it was a military base, when in fact it was originally opened by the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency). 

President Truman through the National Security Act of 1947 set up both the National Security Council and the Central Intelligence Agency. Back then, the Director of the CIA answered directly to the President. In 1949 the CIA Act was passed which stipulated that not only would the CIA’s activities be classified but that it’s budget would also be classified. The U. S. Government could also deny any responsibility for the CIA’s activities should they be exposed. 

After World War II the United States was very concerned about whether the Soviet Union had developed an atomic bomb. One way to find out would be to over fly the Soviet Union in a high altitude aircraft equipped with cameras. Lockheed’s Kelly Johnson designed such an aircraft and went directly to the CIA with it. Normally such aircraft would have been test flown at Edwards Air Force Base, but with the security required for such a top-secret project as this, it was decided to look for a new secure site somewhere in the Southwest. A dozen sites were looked at before deciding on Groom Lake, Nevada, adjacent to the Nevada Test site. The area which was previously controlled by the Atomic Energy Commission for testing atomic weapons was expanded to include Groom Lake and by July 1955 the CIA had its secret base. A fake construction firm “CLJ” was formed to oversee the construction on the base mostly done by sub-contractors to build hangars, a mile long runway, ramps, control tower, mess hall and other required structures. 

The airplane designed by Kelly was known as the “Aquatone” by the CIA, and as “Angel” by Lockheed. The first prototype was called “Article 341”, and flown to Groom Lake in a transport plane on July 24, 1955. Eventually that aircraft became known as the U-2. 

The thing to remember about the inception of Area 51 is that it was not an Air Force base, but rather that Lockheed and the CIA were in charge, not the military. Pilots were recruited from the F-84 pilots with top-secret clearances from SAC bases. If they became U-2 pilots they resigned from the Air Force and became CIA employees. 

The first mission over the Soviet Union took place on July 4, 1956, and the missions were quite effective due to their speed and high altitude capabilities, until May 1, 1960 when Francis Gary Powers was shot down by a Soviet missile, captured and forced to confess to spying. That same day the first American spy satellite film was retrieved which showed more information about the Soviet Union than all the previous U-2 flights combined. The satellites however did not put an end to spy planes developed and test flown at Area 51. 

With Project Oxcart, which eventually became the SR-71, a longer runway was needed and in fact a small town was built for the support personnel assigned there. 

The Stealth project began in 1973 and was referred to as “Project Harvey”. Because of the flat surfaces on the plane to reflect radar away from their source, such as the appearance of facets on a diamond, Lockheed named the project “the Hopeless Diamond”. It was renamed “Have Blue” when the prototypes began arriving at Area 51 in 1977 for testing.

Other aircraft that have been test flown at Area 51 include the A-10, A-12, B-1 and the B-2. Captured foreign aircraft are also flown there such as the MIG-21.  Under development and being test flown there today are such names as the TR-3A Black Manta, the Pumpkin Seed and the Aurora. Within the last few years, contrails have been seen that leave a trail that look like “doughnuts on a rope” which is believed to be a pulsating propulsion system, possibly from the Aurora. 

Several researchers have indicated that the crashed saucer from Roswell, originally taken to Wright-Patterson AFB in Ohio in 1947, may be at Area 51 today. Other reports indicate that Area 51 has as many as 22 levels below ground and the secret base was brought to the forefront involving UFOs when Bob Lazar claimed to have been there to back engineer a UFO propulsion system in another area of the base known as S-4 at Papoose Lake. No real evidence of this has come to light and Lazar has been seriously questioned on his credibility. 

Like Lt Col. Corso, co-author of “the Day After Roswell” whom I met on three separate occasions, and several of the Roswell witnesses, Lazar is one of those types that I’d like to believe, but cannot without a significantly more amount of verification of his claims. Credibility, verification and validity remain the cornerstones of UFO research. 

Rumors have been rampant for sometime that the base is or has moved.  That’s just not true, as one of my sources has recently informed me that a new gigantic water storage tank has recently been constructed at Area 51.  Employees are moved around from base to base when their projects are completed, so the number of employees at the base varies from time to time depending on what projects are being done there. Daytime stealth is one of things we believe currently being tested at the base. If successful it would make the surface of an aircraft appear invisible by taking on the appearance of the background. 

Each year the President of the United States issues a Presidential Determination pertaining to classified information concerning the Air Force’s Operating Location near Groom Lake, Nevada. Basically that determination states that “information concerning activities at Groom Lake have been properly determined to be classified, and disclosure would be harmful to National Security. Continued protection of this information is therefore in the paramount interest of the United States”. 

As a tax payer who has helped pay for the base over the years, I certainly would be disturbed if the base were shut down or moved, particularly after being lied to about it’s existence in the first place for many years. I do have very mixed emotions about Area 51 however, as I look at it as a “catch 22” situation. As a world leader our country needs a location to test newly developed aircraft and other technology, because we certainly don’t want our advisories knowing what we’re developing, but if alien craft or beings are being kept there, I think we deserve to know it.  Because of the governments past record I am highly suspicious that they are hiding something other than the development of new aircraft. As recently as 1995 the Department of the Interior withdrew 4000 acres of BLM land from public access creating an even larger buffer zone to prevent the public from seeing any activities at Groom Lake. This means the area of land incorporated into Area 51 is now the size of Connecticut and the restricted airspace above the base, encloses almost a thousand square miles. 

Security at the base continues to be some of the most stringent of anywhere in the world.  I have been told that security is handled by ASI (not Wackenhut anymore) and in addition to the white Grand Cherokees we have heard about for years, they now use Ford and Chevy pickup trucks also.  Highly sophisticated sensing devices are still in place as well, using camera’s, motion detectors and sensor’s that can determine the difference between human and animal odors and perspiration.  F-16’s and black un-marked helicopter gun ships fly around the perimeter of the base to keep the curious out. The signs posted still say “the use of deadly force is authorized” and they mean what they say. 

So for those of you that have thought that our government can’t keep secrets, I’ve just presented you with a few examples of some secrets they have kept at least at Area 51. The base (with a land area the size of the state of Connecticut) existed under the control of the CIA for some 25 or 30 years before anything public was acknowledged about it’s existence. Today we are told that a base exists there, but nothing else. We found out about the stealth F-117 during the Gulf War in 1991, whereas it had been test flown at Area 51 in 1977 under the name “Have Blue” and it’s development had begun in 1973. 

With the other projects going on at Area 51 including radioactive projects, and the fact that as a taxpayer I’m helping to fund these projects, I feel you and I have every right to be suspicious and should continue to seek whatever information we can about what is taking place at this base. 

I highly recommend web site www.dreamlandresort.com  to anyone with an interest in Area 51. 

Dennis G. Balthaser
Email: truthskr@roswell.net
Web site: www.truthseekeratroswell.com

09-09-02
Ufologist Involved in the Great Pyramids of Giza Research

Many of you might wonder how a Ufologist would fit in with the research being done by The Great Pyramid of Giza Research Association. Dr. John DeSalvo is the Director of this association, and he has organized some of the best researchers in the world within the past few years to research the history of the pyramids and to study the effects the pyramids supposedly possess. Currently the advisory board consists of 22 individuals from Canada, Ukraine, Italy, India, France, Malta and the United States comprised of scientists, physicists, Egyptologists, engineers and recently a Ufologist. The association web site is www.gizapyramid.com and if you have any interest in the pyramids, I would highly recommend this site. Currently the association has over 5000 members.

In this editorial I will share a limited amount of the research that has been done by a few members of the advisory board over the years and give a few of my own theories.

Stephen Mehler has researched a civilization known as Khemitians, well over 10,000 years old, which has led to his book, "The Land of Osiris". He and others believe the Khemitians were an advanced prehistoric civilization in ancient Egypt. Could the Khemitians have built the pyramids? Mehler thinks the answer could be yes, and his research supports that of others that say the Great Pyramids were never intended to be a tomb for an Egyptian King, but possibly a machine to transform, generate and transmit energy. The theories on the Khemitian civilization by some researchers goes as far as stating they may have been in contact with star people, because it appears they had technology and tools that were superior to anything the Egyptians or any other known civilization possessed. The use of water and sound may someday prove to have been a key factor in the building of the great pyramids as a means of overcoming gravity to handle the gigantic stones used to build the pyramids and the precise accuracy used to cut them.

No mummy or remains of any kind have been found in the great pyramid. When first entered by the Arabs in 820 AD, the only thing found was an empty granite box in the Kings chamber called the "coffer". The empty, lidless box was uninscribed and undecorated, and most certainly would have been covered with hieroglyphics and paintings had a Pharaoh been placed in it, as was the custom of the Egyptians. It is the only pyramid with ascending and descending passages. Others pyramids only have descending passages. Dead Pharaoh's don't need air, so why were airshafts built into the great pyramid?

Originally the great pyramid was covered with highly polished limestone casing stones, which acted like gigantic mirrors to reflect light and so powerful that it would have been visible from the moon. The Arabs removed most of the casing stones from the pyramid in the 14th century to build mosques.

It has been assumed the great pyramid was built for Khufu a pharaoh of the 4th dynasty about 2600 BC, but historical records indicate Khufu was not buried in the great pyramid, and it is our belief that the Sphinx and the pyramids of Giza are much older than we've been told by modern day Egyptologists. Many have researched the Pyramids during the past 4 or 500 years including Napoleon Bonaparte in 1798, whose expedition was accompanied not only by his military, but also by engineers, surveyors, astronomers, artist and archeologists. Their work was published in many volumes from 1809 to 1822 by order of Napoleon. Napoleon was supposedly visibly shaken after spending time alone in the King's Chamber and refused to ever talk about it again. Some say he was given some vision of his destiny while alone in the King's chamber.

Another of our advisory board members, Joe Parr has spent an entire night on top of the great pyramid on two separate occasions in 1997 and 1998, conducting electrical, magnetic and radioactive measurements. He has been able to measure an Energy field or bubble that forms around the pyramid. The energy field appears to vary with the 11-year sunspot cycle. As a point of interest it appears that the great pyramid was never finished, since the top is flat and contains no top stone. The top of the pyramid has a 30 by 30 foot flat area.

Our Russian board member Volodymyr Krasnoholovets, was part of a Russian and Ukrainian group utilizing large pyramids recently built by the Russian National Academy of Sciences in the Ukraine, that discovered; the immune system of organisms increased upon exposure in the pyramid, agriculture seeds placed in the pyramid for 1 to 5 days showed a 30% increase in yield, violent weather seems to decrease in the area of the pyramid, the potency of pharmaceuticals increased with decreasing side effects, and the pyramids decrease the strength of various viruses and bacteria. Ordinary water does not freeze even at 40 degrees below zero and retains its properties for years, while synthesized diamonds turn out harder and purer when placed in the pyramids.

Since I have had an interest in the pyramids and a few other subjects for years I felt very honored when I was recommended by Jeff Rense and asked to join the advisory board, and this research may well be some of the most difficult I've attempted thus far. After all it's not going to be easy for any of us to prove, much less convince the world that the great pyramids of Egypt may not be Egyptian. Keep in mind that tourism in Egypt is big business and they will not relinquish that easily. In my research I'm referring only to the 3 pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx, as I do believe many if not all of the other pyramids in Egypt may have been built by the Egyptians, but when they are studied, it seems obvious to me that they are simply poor replicas of the original 3, based on the workmanship, the smaller size and the lack of technology involved. None of the pyramids anywhere in the world compare with the pyramids of Giza. In recent years there have been attempts to duplicate the construction of the pyramids only to have failed miserably in their attempts, and they wound up using cranes, front-end loaders and other modern day equipment, still not able to duplicate what was accomplished thousands of years ago. Whoever and whenever the pyramids of Giza were built knew something that apparently we still don't know today. They were one of the original seven wonders of the world and are in fact the only thing still remaining of those seven wonders.

The factual information about the pyramids of Giza to someone like myself that devoted 36 years to civil engineering is almost incomprehensible. Let me share a few of those facts with you before I talk about some of the research I've done with other advisory board members as it pertains to Ufology and particularly the Roswell Incident.

The great pyramid of Giza is composed of 2 ½ million blocks of limestone, which weigh 2 to 70 tons each, (you could build 30 Empire State buildings with its masonry). The base of the pyramid covers 13 acres and it has a volume of 90 million cubic feet. It is 454 feet high, equivalent to a 48-story building. There are 203 courses or steps to the summit. Each side slopes upward at an angle of 51 degrees 51 minutes and each side has an area of 5 ½ acres, while less than a fiftieth of an inch separates the blocks with optical precision. Construction of the great pyramids of Giza was no accident---whoever build them knew what they were doing.

Some of our assumptions about the pyramids of Giza being much older than we've been told are derived from the Sphinx. For many years the body of the Sphinx was protected by sand that completely covered it except for the head portion. When the sand was removed in the mid 1800s, the body of a lion appeared including outstretched paws. Further study of the Sphinx now indicates to many researchers that the deteriation of the Sphinx body was not caused by sand and wind, but rather by water, and there has not been that volume of water in that area of the world for over 7,000 years, which would predate the Egyptian civilization, that today takes credit for the Sphinx and the pyramids of Giza. The head of the Sphinx is also a concern to us. Some of us believe the face of the Sphinx has been altered. It is totally out of proportion with the body and may at one time have been the head of a lion or even a female face, which would correspond with the Khemetian civilization that appears to have had the female gender in the power positions rather than males. This again would be contrary to Egyptian teaching, since the female was the dominant gender for the Khemitian civilization I mentioned earlier as predating Egyptians, and a female face would probably have been that of a North African woman, which the face does resemble today. My personal belief in viewing the head of the Sphinx is that the back half of the head seems proportioned to the body, while the front half may in fact have been altered.

My own research on the Pyramids and more specifically the Egyptians since I became a part of the association, was created from being familiar with the symbols described by Major Jesse Marcel and his son Jesse Jr. pertaining to the I-beams from the 1947 Roswell Incident craft. The writing on the I-beams has been referred to as resembling hieroglyphics on several occasions.

I contacted Linda Corley who was the last person to interview Major Marcel in 1981, prior to his death. During that interview Marcel drew 5 symbols on a piece of paper as he remembered them looking, and signed the paper. Ms Corley's research indicated that the symbols did in fact resemble demotic hieroglyphics. After obtaining Ms. Corley's permission, since her work is copyrighted, I purchased her manuscripts and asked one of the Pyramid Association members to analyze Marcel's drawing. The response I got back was negative pertaining to any similarities with Egyptian hieroglyphics. I will continue to exhaust all research avenues available to me in order to confirm or deny that there is any correlation between the symbols on the Roswell craft I-beams and hieroglyphics.

Another part of my research will of course involve the possibility of extraterrestrials having been involved in some manner, perhaps not in the actual construction of the pyramids, but by providing technology to a civilization that predates Egypt. It will certainly be interesting research.

Dennis G. Balthaser
Email: truthskr@roswell.net
Web site: www.truthseekeratroswell.com

07-01-02
My 10 Favorite UFO Cases

I suppose most researchers have their favorite UFO cases which they are interested in, so when I was recently asked to list my 10 favorite UFO cases, I thought this will certainly create some discussion, as there will be those that disagree for one reason or another with my favorites.  I preferred to not call them “My top 10 UFO cases” for that very reason.  Over the years my research has been primarily devoted to the 1947 Roswell Incident, Underground Bases, Area 51 and most recently the Great Pyramids of Giza.  In reality there are probably hundreds of cases that could be listed, and I discovered early on in my research that it’s impossible for me to investigate or research all phases of this subject, but I still can have an interest in them, even though I might not personally be researching them. 

The list of my 10 favorite UFO cases is not in any order as far as importance to me, but rather ten of the cases that I personally feel are worth further investigation or research, based on the information already known.  I cannot tell you that all cases are factual either, and until validated information is brought forward to prove or disprove them satisfactorily, I will continue to have an interest in these and others.

My 10 Favorite UFO Related Cases:

1947 Roswell Incident: Reports of a crashed extraterrestrial craft with bodies on a ranch northwest of Roswell New Mexico in July 1947. The United States Air Force has unsuccessfully given 4 excuses over the past 55 years to explain what actually happened. Most major afternoon newspapers west of Chicago reported the crash on July 8, 1947 stating, “RAAF Captures Flying Saucer On Ranch in Roswell Region”.  The next day July 9, 1947, General Ramey’s weather balloon cover story was in major newspapers east of Chicago.  Hundreds of first hand witnesses have been interviewed since 1978 when the investigation again started.  New Mexico Congressman Steven Schiff had the GAO (General Accounting Office) investigate the Roswell Incident, only to have the United States Air Force issue a 1995 report stating it was a Mogul balloon.  In 1997 the Air Force issued their 4^th excuse stating the bodies found were anthropomorphic crash test dummies.  The dummies however were not used until1953, 6 years after the Roswell Incident happened.  The debunkers, skeptics and non-believers have failed miserably in satisfactorily explaining what actually happened near Roswell New Mexico in 1947.

1964 Socorro New Mexico: Known as the Lonnie Zamora case (a policeman for the city of Socorro) who on April 24, 1964 during a high-speed vehicle chase, was deviated from the chase by the sight of a blue flame under an object in the distance.  His first thought when approaching was that it was an overturned vehicle with two people near by.  Within several hundred feet of where Zamora stopped his police car, he saw a white, egg-shaped object standing on 4 legs with a bright polished metal surface.  Within moments of being spotted by one of the beings outside the craft, he heard the slamming of a thick metallic door and a low frequency roar eventually rising to a higher pitch.  The craft began rising with a bright blue and orange flame visible underneath the craft. Project Blue Book classified the case as an “unknown”.  Later inspection of the site revealed impressions in the ground where the craft had landed.  Debunkers have theorized that it was a hot air balloon, however the flame on hot air balloons must go upwards, not downward to heat the balloon envelope for lift.

Area 51: Known by many other names such as Dreamland, the box, the dark side of the moon and the ranch, Area 51 is a secret military base located 85 miles northwest of Las Vegas Nevada. It has been in existence since the 1950s, however only recently has the government and military admitted that the base exists at all.  What transpires there is some of the highest security work in the United States, some of which includes testing of new type aircraft, radioactive research, etc.

It has been reported that extraterrestrial craft and possibly alien bodies are housed at this installation in an area known as S-4.  Reports of 22 levels below ground have also been noted. Security is some of the highest in the country with signs at the perimeter of the base that warn trespassers that, “the use of deadly force is authorized”.   I don’t want our military development secrets revealed to our adversaries, however if alien craft or bodies are kept there, I am interested in that for the future of our children and grandchildren.

Fire in the Sky: Travis Walton’s November 5, 1975 abduction experience has been recorded both in book form and big screen movie.  Working with loggers in the mountains of northeastern Arizona, an unusually bright light was observed in the sky.  Walton got out of the truck to view it closer and as he walked toward the light, he was blasted with a bolt of unknown energy.  The other logger’s fled the scene in fear. Returning to the site, Walton was not to be found.  A massive manhunt was mounted for five days to find Walton (or his body), since his co-workers were suspected of murder after his disappearance.  Walton finally reappeared, disoriented to a world of disbelievers and interrogations that would change his life forever.

Great Pyramids of Giza: I was recently asked to join the Advisory Board of the Great Pyramid of Giza Research Association.  Many of us believe that the pyramids of Giza are much older than we’ve been told, primarily due to the fact that the deterioration of the Sphinx was probably done by water rather than wind and sand erosion.  Since there hasn’t been a large quantity of water in that region for over 15,000 years, it would mean that the pyramids of Giza are pre-Egyptian.  If that’s the case, and the Pyramids were not built by Egyptians, who build them?  Some theorize that perhaps there was “ET” involvement due to the technology required to construct the only remaining structures of the Seven Wonders of the World.

Barney and Betty Hill Abduction: One of the best-documented abduction cases on record. While traveling from Canada to their home in Portsmouth, New Hampshire at about 10:15 pm on September 19, 1961 the couple noticed a light in the sky below the moon that kept getting closer to them.  As it got closer Barney was able to see occupants standing inside the craft.  Because of the time required to make the trip (two hours longer than normal), both Barney and Betty believed that they had been abducted and given medical examinations.  Betty claimed to have been shown a star map with information that mainstream science didn’t know about until years later.

1952 Washington, D.C. Invasion: Over a 10 day period Washington, D.C. was invaded by UFOs witnessed by radar controllers, pilots and crews of both commercial and military aircraft, and ground observers.  The craft detected on radar screens would hover in one position at times and also dart up and down.  Radar equipment was checked and found to be working correctly.

F-94 interceptors were called in but by that time the targets were gone.  Major General John A. Samford, Air Force Director of Intelligence, announced at the Pentagon on July 29, 1952, that the radar and visual sightings over the Washington, D.C. area, “were due to mirage effects created by a double temperature inversion”.

Phoenix Lights: Seen by thousands of witnesses on the ground, many with cameras and video equipment on March 13, 1997.  Described as very large (the size of a Boeing 747), reported to have had the sound of rushing wind, V-shaped with large lights on the leading edge.  The lights were seen in the states of Nevada and Arizona over a 3-hour period as it crossed those states. Luke AFB, Public Affairs office announced 2 months later that their investigation had revealed that the lights were flares dropped from A-10 aircraft over the Gila Bend Firing Range.  The national news media didn’t report anything until June 18, 1997 when USA Today had an article 10 weeks after the event.

Kenneth Arnold Sighting: On June 24, 1947, two weeks before the Roswell Incident, pilot Kenneth Arnold reported seeing nine shiny objects traveling at an estimated speed of 1,900-1,600 mph while flying his aircraft between Mt. Rainer and Mt. Adams in the state of Washington.  The term “flying saucer” is credited to reporter William C. Bequette, who at the time worked in the newsroom of the Pendleton East Oregonian. Arnold had described the movement of the craft as similar to a saucer being skipped across water.

Aztec, NM Crash, March 1948: A 99foot diameter craft containing “16 little men” crashed outside of Aztec, NM in Hart Canyon.  A high security recovery operation took place over the next two weeks. Some researchers believe the date should be changed to later (March 1950), when the Farmington, New Mexico Daily Times newspaper had a front page headline describing an armada of flying saucers that were witnessed by Farmington residents over a 3 day period describing estimated speeds at 1000mph. 

Many other cases such as the Dulce underground Base, the Maury Island Incident, Shag Harbor, the White Sands Landing in the 50’s and of course my own 1997 Interception experience would also qualify as favorites for a larger list.

Dennis G. Balthaser
Email: truthskr@roswell.net
web site: www.truthseekeratroswell.com

Searching for the Truth
(Always Telling the Truth, Means Never Having to Remember Anything)

12/03/01 

You Want Proof (about UFOs)

Trying to prove that aliens exist, or that we’ve been visited is a challenge at times for us researchers.  The debunkers, skeptics, and non-believers are always quick to ask,  “where’s your proof?”  It’s my thinking that they either ignore or distort the proof when it’s given to them. It’s similar to the United States Air Force denying the Roswell Incident, then giving 4 excuses over 50 years for what happened in 1947.  Why 4 different excuses? 

UFOs (Unidentified Flying Objects) are not debatable; they’re a fact of life.  What UFOs are, some think is debatable.  I suppose that’s where the disagreement starts. We have an enormous amount of physical evidence, and I do not understand why they won’t accept the proof that has already been produced. Perhaps if we had a piece of metal or other material from an actual craft, some would tend to agree that we have been, and are being visited by extraterrestrials from another world. Many of us believe that our government does in fact have such physical proof, but we have not yet been able to obtain it. The government may have good reason to withhold the proof, but I can’t speak for them. I will try in this editorial to explain some of what we do have as physical evidence and proof. 

Several well-documented cases come to mind. The 1964 Socorro, New Mexico, Lonnie Zamora case had imprints in the soil from a craft, as well as burnt vegetation around the area. Within hours, an Army Intelligence agent from White Sands, as well as an FBI agent investigated it. When Project Blue Book ended their study of UFOs in 1969, this case was still listed as unknown. A U.S. Military Base in England had the same thing, as well as an “audio recording” of the event. The Shag Harbor case reportedly produced a green film on the water. Maury Island had its “debris” analyzed in Chicago and Washington State, not to mention what the military investigated. The 1947 Roswell Incident, had material scattered over a large area of the impact site, recovered by the military, and it has never been seen again. And there are more cases.   

Our judicial system in the United States is set up where one eye-witnesses testimony is enough to find a defendant guilty, and sentence that person to life imprisonment or even execution. There is no physical proof involved there either. Many of the witnesses that have come forward over the years pertaining to UFOs are very distinguished, professional, respectable individuals, but the critics won’t believe them, even though some of those names included the biggest names in the military as well as the intelligence community. Consequently, to avoid embarrassment or ridicule, most sightings or experiences with UFOs are never reported. For our politicians, apparently admitting to knowledge about UFOs would be politically devastating. Perhaps that’s why many of our leaders are not informed about the UFO situation. Who has given certain individuals the authority to withhold information? 

I have in previous editorials mentioned some phrases in the Bible that many believe are UFO related; the ancient artwork from the 1900 and 1400’s that show what appear to be UFOs in these artwork masterpieces; and other examples of UFO existence for thousands of years.  We cannot, nor should we ignore that, simply because we are not displaying a piece of a crashed craft or a recovered alien as physical proof.  It’s now believed that the Egyptian pyramids are thousands of years older than we’ve originally been told, and in the future I hope to research the possibility of alien involvement in the building of the pyramids, if in fact they were built in pre-Egyptian time. 

With the use of video cameras in recent years, many sightings have been recorded by thousands of individuals and the images on those films cannot be explained satisfactorily. Examples include hundreds of people video taping the Phoenix Lights a few years ago, the Mexico sightings from all over that country, taken simultaneously and reported by every major media outlet in Mexico (but not here in the states).  In the U.S. there are thousands of hours of videotape of UFOs, many authenticated by “experts”, both government and civilian. The same holds true for photographs. Granted some are hoaxes or explainable, but not all and it’s time we were told about them. 

Regardless of what the Air Force says about not being interested in UFOs or not investigating them, we now have enough documentation through the efforts of reliable historical Ufologists to prove that the United States Air Force has investigated UFOs and still is, regardless of what their Public Relations personnel say.  Forensic experts have authenticated some of these documents, which indicate a possible conspiracy by certain individuals within our government to keep this quiet. We have in our possession military and governmental documents to support our proof. In addition, the government has admitted to lying about UFOs on several occasions on the subject of UFOs.  Look up the CIA, NSA, and FBI on your computer and see what they are saying on this subject, and while doing that, think about what they are not telling you. 

The Random House Dictionary of the English Language, states as the first definition of the word “Proof”--- “evidence sufficient to establish a thing as true, or to produce belief in its truth”. I firmly believe we have met those criteria. 

Some of the people that claim to have been abducted by extraterrestrials have unexplainable marks on their bodies, implants, missing time in their lives, etc.  Radar screens have detected objects that are unexplainable, based on their speed and movement, when no aircraft are reported in the area of the radar units at the time of the observation.  Our own and other countries military aircraft have been scrambled to chase after UFOs, only to find they cannot catch them or they completely disappear from the pilots view.  All of these examples are well documented, yet we are asked, “where’s the proof”? 

In my opinion, many of those that want proof, really don’t want it, because once they are given that proof, they manage to distort the facts and truth to continue their own agenda as is the case with several researchers/authors on the subject of Ufology.  Also, certain members of the military and our government have had years of practice in denying any involvement with UFOs.  In their case, I believe we are now accumulating enough documentation to prove that they are interested and are involved, and sooner or later will have to admit to the public that there is proof that extraterrestrial craft with intelligent occupants have visited our planet. 

Researcher Stanton Friedman addressed this subject of proof or evidence some time ago and has graciously agreed to let me quote what he said about it. 

“The case for the flying saucer reality is far better than the case against most convicted criminals. If you do it on an evidential basis, you can look at things like Ted Phillips’ collected information on over 5,000 physical trace cases from 70 countries. These are cases where the saucer is seen on or near the ground, and after it leaves, one finds clear physical changes such as burn circles and burn rings, landing gear marks, swirled vegetation, dried out soil, and so forth. People say there is no physical evidence. Well, if a footprint and a fingerprint are physical evidence, then the physical trace cases are certainly physical evidence. In addition, the same things keep happening all over the world. The problem is most people are unaware of the evidence, even though there is a preponderance of evidence. Given the physical trace cases, the radar sightings, the photographs and the eyewitness testimony from people all over the world, we have quite sufficient evidence to conclude that our planet is being visited by manufactured objects behaving in ways that we Earthlings cannot yet duplicate, and that therefore were produced someplace else.” 

I agree with Mr. Friedman about the public being unaware of any evidence (proof). After all if there was any proof, the media would have told us about it in the news, or the White House would have issued a statement. Nothing could be further from the truth, and we should not continue to allow the media to be controlled, nor have certain individuals with the power to suppress information or distort the facts. We cannot afford to continue ignoring the proof we have, and must pursue validating information as we obtain it. If we keep searching for life on other worlds in the universe, isn’t that proof that it must exist, and if they admit it exists, why can’t they admit we’ve been visited? 

Dennis G. Balthaser

Email: truthskr@roswell.net

10/18/01

 Media Control and the Presidents Interest in Ufology:

When doing radio or TV interviews and lectures, I am frequently questioned about the cover-up of the Roswell Incident and other related topics.  The general public has a hard time accepting the statements I make from time to time, that the news media is controlled to some degree by the government, and that the President of the United States is not totally informed about the UFO situation. 

If I’m incorrect about the media, why don’t we hear or read more about UFOs from them?  There are several lists on the internet that report sightings from around the world on a weekly basis, but that information very seldom receives any coverage in national or local newspapers, radio or TV broadcasts.  When it is reported, invariably the reporter makes light of it rather than reporting it seriously, which does nothing to advance the knowledge of the average person about this topic. 

There are of course exceptions to this in radio, with shows such as Art Bell, Jeff Rense, Jerry Pippin and several other local broadcasts around the country.  As a researcher, I’m thankful that they exist to give us researchers an opportunity to share our knowledge and information at least with a small percentage of the public.

I feel strongly that some information as it pertains to our national defense, is justified in being kept undercover, such as our approach to dealing with bin Laden, in response to the terrorist attack against the United States on September 11, 2001.  With news coverage being what it is today, there are certain things that we don’t need to broadcast to the world.  Past history has proven that secrets can be kept and the news media can be prevented from going public with the information.

In the 1940s, the development of the atomic bomb right here in New Mexico had over 50,000 people involved and the public knew nothing about it for almost 10 years.  The Stealth fighter, (F-117), was basically not made public until the Gulf War in the 90’s but the development and testing of that aircraft goes back more than 25 years.  World wide, UFOs are reported daily and the impact they could have on our future is of vital importance, so I have to assume that we are not being told everything about their existence, since the major news media hardly ever report anything on the subject of UFOs.  It has been reported that UFOs are the second most popular posting on the Internet, meaning there is a large interest in this subject, but the media continues to ignore it, or as I believe, perhaps is told to ignore it.

As to the Presidents of the United States not being totally informed about the UFO situation, I maintain that the President is a temporary employee and by law only allowed to be in office for two terms or 8 years.  Basically I don’t think the President can be trusted with all the information that certain individuals in our government possess about the subject of UFOs, because of term limits of the President and the fact that he doesn’t possess the security clearance apparently related to the subject of UFOs.  Some have indicated over the years that the security of the UFO situation was rated higher than the security for the development of nuclear bombs.

Most, if not all of the Presidents since Harry Truman have publicly had an interest in the subject of UFOs, but for one reason or another have not been able to obtain the information they desired on the subject.  If they are unable to obtain the information as President of the United States, why not?  We all know the President is somewhat limited in his ability to get things done, due to the check and balance system set up by our forefathers in establishing our government in the first place, and that still is the best governmental system in the world.  It is my strong belief however, that there are others within our government that have the information on UFOs, and will not share that with anyone outside of their group, including the President of the United States. 

I will share some comments and statements with you, that as a researcher I have been able to obtain over the past few years in regards to our recent Presidents involvement and interest in UFOs.  You can decide what to believe.

Many rumors have circulated since 1947, that President Harry Truman was involved with the Majestic 12 group that allegedly had a written policy for dealing with UFOs.  The authenticity of those documents however, is still being investigated and researched.  On July 10, 1947, (days after the Roswell Incident), Truman was asked if he had ever seen a flying saucer.  His response was, “only in the newspapers.”  A reporter then asked Truman if there was “any explanation of them.” Truman again responded,  “Only the explanations I have seen in the newspapers.”

Many of us believe that Truman advised Dwight D. Eisenhower about the UFO situation when he succeeded Truman as President.  (Remember that Eisenhower was a five star General during his military career also).  In December 1954, “Ike” was asked about a “flap” of UFO sightings in Europe, and if U.S. authorities suspected something extraterrestrial was involved.  He responded that nothing had come to him, verbally or in written form.  He further stated that the last time anyone had talked to him about the subject, it had been from a man whom he trusted in the Air Force, who said it was, as far as he knew, completely inaccurate to believe that they came from any other planet or otherwise.

As a side note, I believe that there have only been 3 letters on the subject of UFOs signed by Presidents after entering the White House.

1)      Letter from Lyndon Johnson (while Vice President) to a researcher in Canada,

      directing him to NASA for analysis of a UFO photo.

2)      Letter from President Richard Nixon to a young girl commenting on her theory as to

      where UFOs come from.

3)      Letter from Ex-President Gerald Ford to a researcher, telling him that he was unable

      to get any answers to the UFO question as a Congressman, Vice President, or

      President.

President John F. Kennedy was supposedly asked, “what do you think about UFOs” by one of the stewards aboard Air Force One, to which he replied, “I’d like to tell the public about the alien situation, but my hands are tied.”  If in fact Kennedy knew anything about the UFO situation, that knowledge was forever silenced in Dallas, Texas November 22, 1963.

Ronald Reagan obviously had an obsession with the UFO phenomena, and made several comments in various speeches.  Reagan in fact had several sightings himself while governor of California.  One of his most famous comments came when he was attending the Geneva summit with Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev in November 1985, when he supposedly stated, “that if the people of the world were to find out that there was some alien life form that was going to attack the earth, then that knowledge would unite all the peoples of the world.”  He referred to his comments with Gorbachev, at Fallston High School in Maryland a month later. The most famous Reagan comment I believe occurred as he was addressing the Forty-second general assembly of the United Nations on September 21, 1987, when he said in part, “Perhaps we need some outside, universal threat to make us recognize the common bond.  I occasionally think how quickly our differences worldwide would vanish if we were facing an alien threat from outside this world.  And yet I ask---is not an alien force already among us?”

President George H. Bush had been Reagan’s Vice President, and previously for a year, the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency under then President Ford.  He might have had access to UFO information in those positions.  In March 1988, while still Vice President and on the campaign trail in Arkansas he was approached by a UFO Investigator and asked, “Will you tell the people the truth about UFOs?”  Bush replied, “Yeah---if we can find it, what it is. We are really interested.”  

President Jimmy Carter is on public record as having seen and reported (two reports) a UFO in Georgia, while governor in January 1969.  I have heard that in 1977-78 Pentagon officials secretly suppressed a White House study into Extraterrestrial Communications during the Carter Presidential years.  In 1976, at the Southern Governor’s Conference, Carter stated, “I don’t laugh at people anymore when they say they saw a UFO.  I’ve seen one myself.”  He added, “If I become President, I’ll make every piece of information that this country has about UFO sightings available to the public.”  Whether forgotten or reconsidered in the White House, he never did.

The late television and film star Jackie Gleason, was an avid collector of UFO literature and golfing partner of President Richard Nixon.  Gleason’s widow claims that President Nixon took Gleason to Homestead Air Force Base, where he saw six or eight mangled remains in what looked like glass-topped freezers located in an inner chamber of one of the structures at the base. Nixon supposedly also pointed out what he said was the wreckage from a flying saucer, enclosed in several large cases.

President Clinton kept a copy of Schmitt and Randle’s book, “UFO Crash at Roswell”, on a shelf in his private study.  During a trip to Belfast, Northern Ireland, he read a letter from a thirteen-year-old boy named Ryan, dealing with the crash in Roswell in 1947.  He answered the boy by saying, “No, as far as I know, an alien spacecraft did not crash in Roswell, New Mexico in 1947. And, Ryan, if the United States Air Force did recover alien bodies, they didn’t tell me about it either, and I want to know.”  While president, Clinton asked long-time associate and assistant attorney general Webster Hubbell, “to find the answers to two questions for him: One who killed JFK; and two, are there UFOs?”  Hubbell in his book, “Friends in High Places” says, “Clinton was dead serious.”  Hubbell said, “he had looked into both, but Clinton wasn’t satisfied with the answers.”

That brings us to our current President, George W. Bush. Bush was questioned about the UFO situation and stated his Vice President Dick Cheney would be the man to know about this subject, having been former Secretary of Defense.  I personally will not hold my breath for any disclosure by the former Secretary of Defense.

There are many other comments by the men that have held the highest office in this country over the years, but again, it is my belief that what ever they might know, we will probably never learn from them.  It appears evident to me that the President does have some information on the subject and that several have definitely had an interest in the topic, but researchers and the public, will have to obtain the information from other sources than the media and our Presidents.

Dennis G. Balthaser

Email: truthskr@roswell.net

9/6/01

Searching For the Truth

(Always Telling the Truth, Means Never Having to Remember Anything)

Explain This:

As I continue my research into the truth behind the 1947 Roswell Incident; (which the United States Air Force claims was a balloon with dummies), Area 51; (which according to the government is nothing more than a test facility for newly developed aircraft) and Underground Bases, (which are only facilities for commercial use), I continue to be amazed at the responses we as tax payers and citizen’s of this country are supposed to condone.  Within the United States government, some military personnel and certain civilian’s are obviously on another planet, or in a different dimension than those of us that seek to find answers to the many questions we’ve asked over the years.

I also continue to be astonished by the individuals that claim to be authors, investigators or researchers on the subject of Ufology.  I occasionally have the opportunity to attend lectures given by some of these individuals, and daily I read comments on different email lists that indicate those individuals have no knowledge of what they are speaking of. Perhaps the general public doesn’t know, or worse, doesn’t care what is being said.   After all, how many of us know the names of our neighbors, or even care if they have names?  Are we to complacent?  So as a researcher, we not only have to look for new information pertaining to a certain subject, but also have to contend with putting out the fires of disinformation, fraudulent statements, and other comments, which have no basis for validity.  This of course means wasting many hours of valuable research time.  Recently I heard a lecturer state that there is an underground base under the city of Albuquerque, New Mexico.  I had to challenge that statement since there is a gigantic water aquifer under Albuquerque, not far below the surface.

I can understand at times why the government would not want certain information disclosed, and they affectionately refer to it as “national security”, but I believe that term is too frequently used by our government to cover-up other things that we do have a right to know.  Three examples of national security excuses include; the design and development of the F-117, Stealth aircraft which is probably 30 years old, and was test flown for at least 10 years without the public’s knowledge; the code used during WWII which was kept secret for 30 years, and the two widows who tried to sue the government a few years ago, due to their husbands dieing of radiation exposure contacted while employed at Area 51, were told Area 51 doesn’t exist.  So it shouldn’t come as a surprise to us that our government could keep secrets.

That brings me back to the Roswell Incident and my question as to why it hasn’t been satisfactorily explained?   Karl Pflock recently wrote a new book on Roswell and “trashes” both Major Marcel (the intelligence officer at RAAF in 47) and Col. Blanchard (the base commander and head of the 509^th Bomb wing). Major Marcel was, based on his many commendations and recommendations both before and after the Roswell Incident, a superior intelligence officer, while Colonel Blanchard went on to become a 4-star general at the Pentagon and considered for Joint Chiefs of Staff (the highest rank in the military). So here is Mr. Pflock, an ex-CIA employee, still putting out wrong information about two distinguished military men to discredit them and their involvement in the Roswell Incident.  Mr. Pflock also holds on to his theory about a balloon of some sort being what crashed at Roswell, when in fact ranch foreman “Mack” Brazel was very familiar with balloons, having recovered several to obtain the reward offered by the Air Force at the time.  In July 1947 however, he didn’t know what had crashed on his ranch and brought some of the debris to town to Sheriff Wilcox. Brazel was interrogated at the base for several days by the military, something certainly not required if it was just a balloon of some sort.

As to the Mogul balloon theory, if they were being used to check on Russian nuclear testing, why were they used 2 years before the Russians began testing nuclear devices? Of course the latest excuse in 1997 by the Air Force, that the bodies recovered at the crash site were anthropomorphic crash test dummies, is a true “masterpiece” by the Air Force, since the dummies weren’t used until 1953, 6 years after the Roswell Incident occurred.

Why won’t the Air Force provide me the information I requested about the photographs taken in General Ramey’s office in 1947, since my Freedom of Information Requests are quoting from their government printed, 1994 account of what happened in Roswell and written by Air Force Colonel Weaver?  There must be records of the testing done by a national laboratory according to Weaver’s statements, that the photos were analyzed. Also, if the debris were a highly classified balloon of some sort, why would pictures of it taken in Ramey’s office be published in most newspapers?

If the debris discovered on the ranch was a military top secret, why didn’t the military launch a full investigation into the cause and location of the crash when it happened, rather than wait to order Major Marcel and Captain Cavitt to the site after the rancher had contacted the local Sheriff?  You can see for many miles in all directions from an aircraft above the site and anything crashed over that large an area would have been visible immediately as soon as they knew it had crashed.

Why did the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) contact Walt Whitmore of Roswell radio station KGFL and threaten to suspend his license if he continued to broadcast information about the Incident?

Why were there at least 7 flights of aircraft used to transport a balloon out of Roswell, most of the flights under high security?

Explain the need for new personnel (unknown to the local military) at the base hospital at the time of the incident?

Why is the Roswell Incident not included in the Air Force Blue Book report along with several hundred other UFO cases?

There are many other questions that could be asked about what we’ve been told about the Roswell Incident, but since the Air Force has already given us 4 excuses, perhaps it will suffice to wait for another excuse from them.  In the meantime I will continue to ask “Explain This”?

It is vividly important that the Roswell Incident continue to be investigated.  We continue to lose first-hand witnesses, and the disinformation, debunkers and critics need to answer some of the questions, others and I have been asking for many years.

Dennis G. Balthaser
Email:   truthskr@roswell.net