Roswell once again has hit the news (even making it on to Slashdot!), not least because it’s the 60th anniversary of the ‘event’, but also because of a new revelation discussed in the book Witness to Roswell (Amazon US and UK). The late Army Lt. Walter Haut, former Roswell AAF Base Public Relations Officer – in fact, the man responsible for the original ‘captured flying saucer’ press release – signed an affidavit before his death last year, swearing that the Roswell incident did indeed involve an extraterrestrial craft:
(12)…I was permitted from a safe distance to first observe the object just recovered north of town. It was approx. 12 to 15 feet in length, not quite as wide, about 6 feet high, and more of an egg shape. Lighting was poor, but its surface did appear metallic. No windows, portholes, wings, tail section, or landing gear were visible.
(13) Also from a distance, I was able to see a couple of bodies under a canvas tarpaulin. Only the heads extended beyond the covering, and I was not able to make out any features. The heads did appear larger than normal and the contour of the canvas suggested the size of a 10 year old child. At a later date in Blanchard’s office, he would extend his arm about 4 feet above the floor to indicate the height….
(19) I am convinced that what I personally observed was some type of craft and its crew from outer space.
Despite the calls of some ufologists that this is the ‘smoking gun’ of Roswell, I don’t see this making too much impact on the argument (although it’s great PR for the public perception). Haut’s memory of the Roswell incident is beyond fickle – he has on different occasions said that he actually didn’t see anything, that the UFO claims are “just a bunch of hooey”, and has even sworn a previous affidavit saying that Marcel was the one who saw the debris. While it’s possible he was saying otherwise to protect himself (eg. if under oath of secrecy), it still leaves his final affidavit (not a death-bed confession, as many are reporting) ringing rather hollow.
Interest obviously remains high in the Roswell case though, with Witness to Roswell almost breaking through into the Amazon Top 100 at the moment.