The alleged UFO crash at Roswell is certainly the most-scrutinized UFO case in history. But scrutiny has not brought clarity. While no one doubts anymore that something secret crashed in the Roswell vicinity at about the reported time -- summer 1947 -- what it was remains in dispute. The U.S. Air Force finally changed their unacceptable "weather balloon" story to a somewhat more plausible "top secret balloon called Project Mogul" story in September, 1994. That story, however, fails to account for claims of exotic metallic wreckage and a second crash site, and fails especially to account for alleged bodies.
The claim of bodies, though attested by several wintesses, hinges on the testimony of Roswell mortician Glenn Dennis. Despite many holes and contradictions in the accrued Roswell evidence, researchers have been nearly unanimous in proclaiming Dennis a reliable witness. But one of those researchers seems to have changed his mind.
In April of 1994, researcher Karl Pflock published a controversial report titled "Roswell in Perspective." This was the first publication to persuasively argue for Project Mogul as the likely source of wreckage at the Brazel ranch. In his report, however, Pflock also said he could not rule out the possibility of some other strange event, perhaps happening concurrently with the crash of a Mogul balloon, perhaps involving another crash site with wreckage and bodies. His main reason for this lingering doubt, he said, was the testimony of Glenn Dennis.
Now, some three years later, Karl Pflock seems ready to explain away this crucial testimony, and with it any likelihood (at least in his mind) of a real "UFO" at Roswell. In early January, 1997, Pflock sent a letter to Glenn Dennis explaining his new position and cc'd it to a number of researchers. CNI News has obtained permission to reprint this memo in full below.
However, CNI News has also learned of another alleged witness, Colonel Philip J. Corso (ret.) who will publish a book titled "The Day After Roswell" later this year. If Corso's story is true, the Roswell UFO crash case will have found perhaps its strongest testimony yet. Details follow the Pflock memo.
Will 1997 see the demise of Roswell, or its final vindication? Or will the case remain in limbo, as it's been for years? Time will tell. Stay tuned.
Karl Pflock's letter to Glenn Dennis follows:
"[Glenn:...] I think you need to know my current views on the Roswell case in general and your story in particular. The first is easy: Based on my research and that of others, I'm as certain as it's possible to be without absolute proof that no flying saucer or saucers crashed in the general vicinity of Roswell or on the Plains of San Agustin in 1947. The debris found by Mac Brazel and brought to the Roswell air base by Brazel, Major Marcel, and others was the remains of something very earthly, all but certainly something from the Top Secret Project Mogul.
"The recollections of the real Roswell witnesses and those involved with Mogul and the 1947 press accounts, official records having to do with Mogul, and weather data from the time support the conclusion that what Brazel found was from Mogul and that he found it in mid-June, not early July. The formerly highly classified record of correspondence and discussions among top Air Force officials who were responsible for cracking the flying saucer mystery from the mid-1940s through the early 1950s makes it crystal clear not only that they didn't have any crashed-saucer wreckage or bodies of saucer crews, but that they were desperate to have such evidence and tearing their hair out because they didn't.
"The other part -- your story -- is, well, another story. Please understand what follows is from friend to friend, even though what I have to say calls into question much of what you have told me and others about your experiences.... Here's what I think and why --
"I believe you were called by the base mortuary officer as you say you were, but I think the calls had nothing to do with the bodies that were at the base hospital when you showed up there. Moreover, they probably didn't come in on the day you got into a fix at the hospital. As for the strange bodies, I believe there were bodies, but they had nothing to do with what Brazel found or anything from another planet, regardless of who found it and where. In fact, I now think it very likely what happened to you did not happen when you now recall it did --more likely, it was a year or two later. Finally, while I still believe there was an army nurse who was your friend, who got mixed up in the examination of the bodies, and who later told you about it, I no longer believe she mysteriously disappeared or had a name anything like Naomi Selff -- and I don't think you do either.
"The calls. Newspaper accounts and other material turned up by a military historian reveal that, during the summer of 1947, there was a polio epidemic among the dependent children living in base housing on Roswell Army Air Field. Apparently, army authorities feared a panic among the civilian population and so kept the lid on the situation until months later. It seems likely to me the calls you got had to do with contingency plans should any of the kids on the base die. As you have related, your caller told you both times the army needed the information for future reference.
"The bodies. I think they were from some sort of accident, probably a plane crash, which involved an intense fire, and which the army was concerned to keep quiet -- or at least completely under military control until an investigation could be completed. Without revealing their connection to Roswell, UFOs, etc., a colleague of mine showed your sketches to an M.D. who is an expert in aircraft-crash trauma. The expert's first words were, 'What crash are these from?' He said they had all the earmarks of bodies subject to crash trauma and intense fire.
"Records turned up by the military historian mentioned above and others show a fully loaded B-29 crashed on takeoff from what was by then Walker Air Force Base in, if I recall correctly, 1949. I believe the plane clipped a water tower or some other structure and crashed inside the base perimeter. All 13 (?) aboard were killed and very badly burned. The Air Force goes bananas when such things happen, and rightly so. They clamp down a tight lid of secrecy and conduct a very careful investigation. It's also a very emotional situation, often with the officers and others in charge having lost friends in the accident.
"It's also possible the accident involved a highly classified program of some type, perhaps some activity which went beyond authorized limits and/or involved German scientists and technicians who, at that time, were illegally in the United States and working for the army. Several such activities involving such folks were going on in New Mexico at the time.
"In any case, what happened to you didn't require a crashed flying saucer. While it's true the military authorities seem to have exceeded proper bounds, I don't find it inconsistent with something like what I've outlined above.
"The nurse. I think she was one of the five nurses assigned to the base at the time (those pictured in the base yearbook) and, if what happened to you did happen when you think it did, she was one of the four who were on the base at the time (the fifth was on leave). An Air Force investigator and a private researcher have located the hospital morning reports and other hospital personnel records for the entirety of 1947, showing who was on duty and when, etc. They've also identified all the nurses who were assigned to the base during that year and when they were assigned there and transferred out. Another private researcher located and interviewed the one surviving nurse of the five, whose name was McManus in July 1947 (she died not long ago).
"Many researchers, including Yours Truly, have done a lot of digging to find some trace of 'Naomi' and the plane crash in which she is alleged to have died. One private researcher has established that David Wagnon and the other former base-hospital technician who say they remember your nurse are actually remembering one of the five who appear in the yearbook. There is no record (military or civilian) of and no one interviewed remembers anyone named anything like Naomi Selff or of a crash in which several nurses were killed. There is no record or reliable recollection of any abrupt transfer of any member of the base-hospital nursing staff or of any mysterious activity at the hospital -- including an order for regular staff not to report for duty -- in early July '47; this includes the recollections of the man who commanded the hospital at the time.
"The simple truth is, no matter how efficient and far-reaching a group of cover-up conspirators might be, there is absolutely no way they could possibly have eliminated all record and recollection of 'Naomi.' She simply didn't exist, Glenn.
"So what do I think is the truth? When you were approached by Stan Friedman in 1989 in his usual fashion, with leading questions and set-up lines ('I'm investigating the 1947 crash of a flying saucer and the discovery of the bodies of its crew, and I've been told you were involved.' Etc.) and his advance 'packet of information' about himself and what supposedly happened near Roswell (which we know from your interview with Friedman you read before the interview), I believe you got to thinking: 'Hmm. You know, there was that time I got into trouble at the base hospital, that time my friend who was a nurse there got so shook up... I wonder if it had anything to do with that?' Then you quite honestly told this to Friedman and, realizing you had nothing to back up the story, you decided to mention both 'the pediatrician' and the nurse, giving a false name for the latter (Naomi Self -- one "f" at the time of the interview with Friedman) because you and she had been a bit more than friends and you were married at the time. Why? Because if she were still alive, you wanted to protect her from scandal. [Note to colleagues: It is entirely possible the nurse is 100% fiction, but having gotten to know Glenn as well as I do, I think the above scenario to be much more likely.]
"Since then, naturally, you spent a fair amount of time trying to recall more details and fill in the blanks. Through the fog of many years, unrelated events became part of the story and you recalled or thought you recalled many more 'interesting' details and made 'adjustments' to your story (like seeing the newspaper headline about the crashed saucer just hours after meeting with the nurse). As people began to question your story, you quite naturally tried to come up with people who could provide supporting testimony and, both consciously and unconsciously, embellished your story.
"Glenn, I think you got into this whole business quite honestly, sincerely trying to help Friedman and others with their investigations. At some point, you probably began to realize what you recalled probably had nothing to do with a flying saucer crash, but you thought you were in too deep to say so. So you've just stuck with your story, always being careful to say you really have no idea what it was you got mixed up in, in 1947. What started out as an honest attempt to recall events you thought might be connected with a crashed flying saucer story got out of hand, grew into a tall tale, and became part of the Roswell myth, which now is more 'real' to thousands than the facts of the case." [end of Pflock memo]
CNI News contacted Stanton Friedman for comment on Pflock's suggestion that Friedman may have tainted Dennis's testimony. Friedman flatly denied the charge, terming Pflock's whole memo "an imaginative scenario." Prior to meeting Glenn Dennis for the first time in August of 1989, Friedman says, "I did send him my c.v., my paper 'Flying Saucers and Physics,' probably my paper 'The Cosmic Watergate,' but none of this was about Roswell. I was just trying to establish my credibility." Glenn Dennis had never spoken to any UFO researcher before and was understandably concerned about getting his story properly told. This was also the same week that "Unsolved Mysteries" arrived in Roswell to film their now famous segment on the UFO crash, including an interview with Dennis.
"I believe he [Dennis] is telling the truth," Friedman insists. "I believe he's changed some information as he's given dozens of interviews. You refer back 40 or 50 years, the first memories are incomplete. You go back again, you get more details. Was he lying the first time? No."
Meanwhile, a new name has entered the Roswell story. Colonel Philip J. Corso (ret.) is about to publish a book that, if rumors prove true, could blow the lid on Roswell once and for all. Corso reportedly served on President Eisenhower's National Security Council and also headed the Foreign Technology Desk at the U.S. Army's Research and Development Department. And he claims to have personal knowledge of alien artifacts recovered at Roswell.
Corso's book, "The Day After Roswell," (co-written with William J. Birnes) will be published in July by Pocket Books, a division of Simon and Schuster. According to an announcement from the publisher:
"This landmark expose puts the controversy about the famous crash of an unidentified aircraft to rest with conclusive proof about its extraterrestrial origin."
The promotional text continues:
"Since 1947, the mysterious crash of an unidentified aircraft in Roswell, New Mexico, has fueled a firestorm of speculation and controversy about whether the craft actually was of another world. No solid evidence has existed to prove the alien theory... until now. Colonel Philip J. Corso (ret.) has come forward to tell the whole explosive story.
"Backed by newly declassified documents, Colonel Corso (ret.) reveals his personal stewardship of alien artifacts from the crash, how these items changed the course of twentieth century history, and the U.S. government's astonishing role in covering up the incident. Laying bare some of the government's most closely guarded secrets, "The Day After Roswell" forces us to reconsider our past, as well as our role in the universe.
"Colonel Philip Corso was a key Army intelligence officer on President Eisenhower's White House staff. During his 21-year military career, Corso was honored with 19 medals, decorations and ribbons for meritorious service. He was retired from the Army in 1965.
"To help celebrate Roswell's fiftieth anniversary, {the Publisher] will kick off the book's publication with an event at the site of the crash. Corso will walk the media through the crash site while providing never-before-heard documentation surrounding extraterrestrial artifacts and government cover-ups." [end of publisher's memo]
CNI News notes that there have been many Roswell "insiders" over the years whose testimony did not live up to expectations, or could not be authenticated. Will Corso be different? We hope so, but time will tell.
CNI News contacted Corso's editor, Mr. Tris Coburn, and his publicist, Ms. Theresa Zoro. Neither were willing to divulge details about the book, but both stated their firm conviction that Corso is entirely credible and that his story will be a bombshell. Ms. Zoro said Corso will not do any interviews until publication time, but various claims about his background can be checked. "Corso has been in the news many times, even recently," Coburn said. "Anyone who wants to can check him out. He is who he says he is."
Referring to the publicity text, CNI News pushed Mr. Coburn on Corso's specific claims concerning direct knowledge of the crash and bodies. "I can't tell you any more at this time," Coburn said. "But make of that statement what you will. It's all there." Asked how he personally felt about the text, Coburn replied, "It blew my mind."
Stanton Friedman told CNI News that a search for Corso's name on the worldwide web turned up the fact that Corso had been actively involved in recent negotiations for the return of POW and MIA records from Korea, and there are also media indications that Corso served "at a fairly high level" in the Eisenhower administration.
Meanwhile, a number of researchers met with Corso in Roswell nearly four years ago. One of those researchers, who wishes to remain anonymous, told CNI News the following:
Corso's military career checked out. But Corso also claimed to be involved in a supersecret group called the Interplanetary Phenomenon Unit, or IPU. [The IPU is referenced in Timothy Good's "Above Top Secret" as "an elite UFO investigation group" within the Scientific and Technical Branch, Counterintelligence Directorate (Army), set up by General George C. Marshall in 1947 and disbanded in the 1950s.]
According to the researcher, Corso said he was not at Roswell but had flown over the site (WHICH site was not specified) a day after the event had occurred. Corso claimed that when he worked in Washington during the Kennedy Administration [Corso retired from the military in 1965] he was going through an archive and found a piece of unusual material about half the size of a playing card with attached documents indicating it was from the Roswell crash. He also found some sort of computer chip or transistor with the same kind of documents attached. Corso said these materials had been turned over to the Rand Corporation or a similar group.
When Corso met with the researchers, he had with him a stack of documents, but nothing that seemed especially unusual. He also had with him a notebook stuffed with information but was reluctant to show it and would not let it out of his sight. The researcher said he got one peek into the notebook and was impressed to see an unusual drawing of a gray-type alien eye with a group of nine concentric circles that seemed to represent some sort of computerized material behind the gray's black eye cover.
The day-long visit with Corso included visits to the newly identified crash site on the Hub Corn ranch north of Roswell, as well as the Brazel debris field near Corona, the researcher said.
CNI News comments: It will be interesting to learn which crash site Colonel Corso will identify as THE crash site, since there are, at last count, no fewer than five contenders. But if Corso can actually demonstrate personal knowledge of alien artifacts from the crash, he may prove to be the most impressive Roswell witness yet.
Original file name: CNI - Roswell.Dead or Alive?
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