Roswell Documentation vs. Roswell Eyewitnesses

Since I have now annoyed all my friends with my analysis of the Roswell documentation and how some of it is quite suggestive that nothing alien fell there, I thought it time to annoy all my skeptical friends. Lining up against that documentation is the testimony of some people who were on the scene in 1947. This is based on the documentation we can find about them and the stories they tell us in the world today. Walter Haut, for example, either wrote the press release claiming the 509th had found a flying saucer, or he took the

By Kevin Randle A Different Perspective 8-18-19

Walter Haut being interviewed.
© Kevin Randle.

dictation from Colonel William Blanchard to create the press release. At this point it doesn’t really matter. The press release was issued and it claimed they had “captured” a flying saucer in the Roswell region. The definition of flying saucer confuses the issue, because in 1947, there was no universally accepted definition. It could mean almost anything you wanted it to mean. But here’s the deal. It is vague to the point of being opaque. We don’t know what it means.

I have never understood the reason for the press release. If Blanchard was attempting to grab credit for solving the flying disk mystery, the press release was unnecessarily obscure. Compare it to the story out of Circleville, Ohio, in which a farmer found the remains of a weather balloon and rawin reflector on his land. We have a story in the local paper that identifies the farmer as Sherman Campbell and includes what is claimed a picture of his wife. When I talked to the family, I learned it was actually his daughter holding the rawin target. The point is that the Circleville newspaper story was clear and it included a photograph. The Roswell press release told us nothing of real importance, provided little in the way of verification and had no photograph.

We do have testimony from Haut, which, if we limit it to what was said in the press release, and what he said to us for decades before expanding his story, we learn that what was found was something strange. No, it tells us nothing about the alien nature of the crash, just tells us that Blanchard and company were perplexed by something they should have been able to identify easily if it was a weather balloon. No reason not to supply the explanation if it was something mundane, like was done in Circleville.

If we wish to get to the extraterrestrial, then there is Edwin Easley, who was the provost marshal (please note the proper spelling of marshal here) in Roswell. When I asked him if we were following the right path, he asked what I meant by that. I told him that we (meaning Don Schmitt and I) believed that the craft had been extraterrestrial. He said, “Well, let me put it this way, it’s not the wrong path.”

Taking that a step farther, he told family members about the alien “creatures.” That was his word to them, not mine. Sure, that statement is second hand at best because we learned it talking to family members, but hey, it does confirm his mindset on this.

No, there is no reason for Easley to have lied about it. He was very reluctant to talk, didn’t grant much in the way of interviews, and you won’t see him showing up in any of the old documentaries. I was always of the impression he wished to help me, but he had taken an oath in 1947 and he wasn’t going to break the oath.

There is Joe Briley, the operations officer in 1947. He said a couple of things that don’t take us directly to the extraterrestrial but do lead us to the highly unusual. He told me, when I mentioned, “…You heard the stories…” that “And then the story was changed immediately. As soon as the people from Washington arrived.”

Jesse Marcel

Yes, it is clear from the conversation on the tape that we’re talking about the UFO crash tale. I really don’t say anything specifically about it, but Briley knew why I had called him. In fact, later in the interview, he told me, “I just was not brought into that at all even though Butch [Blanchard] and I were extremely close.”

And later still, he said, “I don’t think Butch was stupid enough to call a weather balloon something else.”

Okay, this doesn’t get us to the extraterrestrial, but it does move us away from the conventional. It suggests things in Roswell were, well, up in the air in 1947.

I haven’t touched on Jesse Marcel, Sr. yet. He was quite clear in his statements about what had happened. There are any number of videos of him telling us that it was something “that wasn’t built on Earth but it had come to Earth.”

If he was stand alone, we could certainly dismiss his testimony. But it is not and while it is true that he seemed to drift all over the place before he died, he did say some provocative things about what he had seen and had done. These were backed up by his son and his wife. Still, we need to sound a note of caution when dealing with the senior Marcel.

Bill Brazel and Don Schmitt on the debris field

Before this gets too long, let’s move onto Bill Brazel. Here was another man extremely reluctant to talk about what he had seen. He did find a few scraps of the material that his father, Mack, described as having come from “that contraption I found.”

This debris included something that resembled fiber optics, a lead foil that seemed to have a memory, returning to its original shape when crumpled, and something that was as light a balsa but with a strength that rivaled steel. Although he lost the debris to Air Force personnel in 1949, he did show it to several others including Sallye Tadolini. Some of these witnesses, who handled the debris have affidavits about it.

Of course, Mack had shown a bit of the debris to Floyd and Loretta Proctor. She told me about the fire-resistant capabilities of the material. She mentioned, as did Marian Strickland, that Mack had been held by the military authorities for a number of days.

And I don’t want to forget Bill Rickett, the CIC NCOIC in Roswell in July 1947. He talked about his trip to see the crash site, some of the debris that he saw there, and some of the people on the scene including Sheridan Cavitt and Edwin Easley.

Karl Pflock

Here I could mention Frankie Rowe who wasn’t lying about what she said. True, she is second hand, having heard about the crash and the creatures from her father, fire fighter Dan Dwyer. But her sister confirmed the story and ironically, one of the fire fighters who Karl Pflock interviewed and used to dismiss the story, actually told me, that Dwyer had gone to the crash site in his private car. The fire fighter, C.J. Smith, told me about Dwyer’s trip when I asked, simply, “Did you know Dan Dwyer.” Smith’s response was, “He went out there in his car.”

These are some of the things that I think about when I’m not worrying about the documents that I mentioned in the last post. Most of the people mentioned here, and a dozen or two more that I could have brought up argue against the documents conclusion. While it is true that a few people might be inventing their tales, and we’ve had more than our share of them, there are some very solid people who had talked about their involvement. If I’m willing to concede some points based on the documentation, it seems only right that those at the other end of the spectrum admit that there are some disturbing testimonies. They all aren’t lying, looking for their fifteen minutes, and just wishing to have an interesting story to tell.

Oh, and before this degenerates into another long discussion about the foibles of human memory… yeah, I get it. But not all memories are flawed and inaccurate. Many times, the person gets the facts right as has been shown by numerous scientific investigations, and yes, I know about Elizabeth Loftus’ work on false memory. Her work demonstrates how such memories can be created, so we don’t really have to talk about that. We just have to remember that sometimes, the person relating the tale has the details right, was actually there, and is telling the truth as best he or she can…

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See Also:

The Decline of Roswell - Pt 2

The Decline of Roswell

"[Colonel] Blanchard Then Told Lytle That An Alien Craft Had Crashed Near Roswell . . . Four Bodies Had Been Recovered"

REPORT YOUR UFO EXPERIENCE

Who Told Walter Haut about the Rowell Debris Field?

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By Kevin Randle A Different Perspective 9-12-15

     Since this debate about the press release has gained a little traction here, I thought I’d add a few facts and perspective to see if we can’t reach some sort of a reasonable conclusion. We do have a great deal of information and while some of it is in dispute, there are aspects of it on which we all seem to agree.

Major Jesse Marcel, Sr.

Given the testimony we have and the articles that appeared in the newspapers of the time,it seems that Major Jesse Marcel, Sr. and Captain Sheridan Cavitt followed Mack Brazel out to the ranch sometime on Sunday July 6. Marcel, in his interview with Linda Corley suggested they had left in the early afternoon, but I think it was more likely they headed out later in the day. In today’s world, it takes about three hours to drive from Roswell to the ranch. In 1947 the roads wouldn’t have been quite so good and the route might not have been quite so direct. It might have taken four or five hours. With sunset coming sometime around 9:00 p.m., and Marcel’s suggestion they arrived about dusk, it seems they might not have left Roswell much before four in the afternoon.

There is also a question of where they stayed the night. We had heard that it was the “Hinds” house which in the 1990s was a one-room shack that was used to store hay. It was some five or six miles from the actual debris field. If, on the other had they stayed at the ranch house (which, I believe had been, at the very least, remodeled in the 1980s or so) then they were some fifteen or twenty miles from the debris field.

The Hinds House Near the Debris Field

Marcel said that they had cold beans and crackers for dinner. He said nothing about the time they might have gotten up the next morning which is July 7. We know, ironically, based on the Mogul records that sunrise was about five and in similar circumstances, meaning outside my comfort zone, that I would have awakened about dawn. Marcel said nothing about breakfast, what time they got up, or what they did before they went out to look at the debris field.

Bill Brazel showing us the Debris Field

Given all this, I would suspect that they arrived at the field no earlier than eight, but hell, that’s a wild ass guess. If I was Marcel or Cavitt, I’d want to get home as quickly as possible, so the earlier, the better. As I said in another post, Brazel saddled two horses and he and Cavitt rode out while Marcel drove his car. If they were at the Hines house, the travel time might have been thirty to sixty minutes. If they were farther north, at the location of the ranch house, travel time could have been longer. No one asked about that and there is no one to ask in the world today. All we can do is guess based on other timing.

Marcel said that the debris field was three-quarters to a mile long and a couple of hundred feet wide. Bill Brazel, when he took us out to the field showed us basically where it started and where it ended. We later measured that at about a mile long. This was based on what Brazel said was the length of the gouge, which is a detail that Marcel never mentioned.

Sheridan Cavitt

We have no idea how long they spent on the field. Cavitt told Colonel Richard Weaver that he recognized the debris as the remains of a weather balloon

immediately, but no one asked Cavitt why he hadn’t mentioned that to either Marcel or to Blanchard. (I will note here that according to what Cavitt told me, he hadn’t been there… this was after he had given his interview to Weaver.) Anyway, Marcel eventually told Cavitt to head on back to the base. He stayed, and according to what Marcel told Corley, stuffed his car with the debris, which, of course, suggests something more than a weather balloon.

As I’ve said, I don’t understand how they could have spent more than an hour or so at the field, but if they were walking the whole thing to make sure they saw everything around there, it might have taken longer. I have no idea how long it might have taken Marcel to load his car, and we have no information if they had eaten breakfast. I mention this simply because if Marcel, on his way home, stopped for lunch, then that adds time to the trip. Again, according to what Marcel told Corley, he got home late, but we don’t know exactly what that means either. All we really know is that Marcel did not go out to the base that night. He went in the next morning, that is, July 8.

Walter Haut

So now we come to the point of this long recap. How did Walter Haut learn about the debris recovery? Haut said that Blanchard had called him and either dictated the press release to him or gave him the major points and Haut wrote it. Marcel

said that they had an “eager beaver” press officer which tells us nothing about how Haut learned about the recovery or if he made a habit of issuing press releases on his own.

Here are a few facts that are new. Based on information in the Roswell airfield telephone directory, I know that Blanchard’s office was in building 810. Marcel had his office in building 31 and Haut’s office was in building 82. What this means is that Haut wouldn’t have run into Marcel in the hallway or near a coffeepot as they came to work or went about their duties. There is no evidence that they would have mingled in a professional sense other than both would have been in attendance at the staff meetings but Marcel would have been considered a member of the primary staff and Haut on the secondary. That means Haut’s job was not essential to the main operation of the bomb group but that Marcel’s was.

So again the question that must be asked is, “How did Haut learn about the recovery?”

And the only answer that works is that Blanchard told him. Cavitt, as the counterintelligence guy would not have wanted to talk to the PIO, nor would he want to be associated with any sort of investigation that would call attention to him, his subordinates or his duties. In fact, in 1947, even his rank was classified so that no one knew what rank any of the counterintelligence guys held or as Cavitt said to me, “You didn’t really want anyone to know that a sergeant was investigating a colonel so our ranks were classified. No one knew what rank we were.” The exception to that would have been Blanchard and some of the senior officers but not many.

Although Marcel lived on the same street as Haut, their houses were a few blocks apart and it seems they didn’t socialize that much. Since they worked in separate buildings, there is very little chance that they ran into each other on the morning of July 8 so that Marcel could tell Haut that he had picked up the debris. Even if they had met, it is unlikely that the topic would have come up. Marcel would have been reluctant to talk about it given the nature of his job. If you had no need to know, then you were outside the loop.

That leaves us with Blanchard. Haut told us that Blanchard called him and told him to issue the press release. Blanchard was the one to make that decision and Blanchard was the only one who had the information and the contact with Haut. There were only three people who knew about the recovery (and I exclude Brazel here because on that morning he was still at the ranch) and two of them wouldn’t have said a word about it to Haut if for no other reason than they wouldn’t have seen him that morning.

I think that we can now end the discussion of who authorized the press release. Without Blanchard telling Haut about the recovery and providing details, Haut wouldn’t have had the information. If Blanchard gave him the information, then it was a tacit approval of the press release. If Blanchard had not dictated it to him but only gave him the basic information, Haut could easily have called back to read him the final draft but, no matter how you slice it, Blanchard is the common denominator here.

I can see no other way, given the facts, which Haut would have learned about the recovery. He could not decide on his own to write the story because he didn’t know about it. He was given the information by Blanchard and told to issue the press release. This should stop the endless speculation about Haut issuing the release on his own.

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See Also:

New Revelations On Haut Affidavit

Roswell Officer's Amazing Deathbed Admission Raises Possibility That Aliens DID Visit

1:01 pm: Lt. Walter Haut, Spokesman Who Announced Wreckage of Flying Saucer in Roswell, Died at 83!

REPORT YOUR UFO EXPERIENCE

Kevin Randle & Phil Klass Debate The Roswell UFO Crash on Larry King Live | VIDEO

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UFO Debunker, Philip Klass and the FBI

Walking in Phil Klass' Footsteps

Philip J. Klass - Ufology's Arch Nemesis has Passed Away at 86

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Veteran Roswell UFO Researcher Condemns Recent Witness Revelations As Shoddy and Disingenuous

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Anthony Bragalia takes credit for other researchers work

Editors Note: As many of our regular readers are aware, both Dennis Balthaser and Tony Bragalia have columns here at TUFOC and we have been publishing their respective penscript for years. The following article is a revision of the original (12-13-12) after Mr. Balthaser & Mr. Bragalia discussed the matter.

In the original article Mr. Balthaser made a public request/suggestion for Mr. Bragalia to remove a snippet of audio (re an interview with witness Walter Haut, co-copyrighted by Balthaser & Wendy Connors) or links thereof, from his (TB’s) recent article—Mr. Bragalia complied posthaste—FW

By Dennis Balthaser www.truthseekeratroswell.com 12-13-12

     Anthony Bragalia’s latest article entitled “Roswell Officer Speaks from the Grave: Taped Confession of ET Recovery Revealed”, posted on his bragalia.blogspot.com on December 6, 2012 is another of his articles containing wrong, and misleading information where in my opinion he also wrongly took credit for being the first to reveal certain information. I previously called Bragalia’s hand in January 2010 about an article he wrote about the BLM and the Foster ranch where the Roswell debris was found.

The taped confession he refers to is an “oral history video recording” that former Historical Researcher Wendy Connors and I did with Walter Haut at the UFO Museum November 15, 2000. (My copy of the videotape has the following notation on the cover: “Copyright © MM-Wendy Connors/Dennis Balthaser”.) In Bragalia’s article he lists the date of the recording as 1999, which indicates he did not know it was a video recording or the date it was done. He also states that, “Wendy Connors has graciously and generously entrusted him with access to her years of research materials, now in the care of an archivist in the Pacific Northwest.”

I contacted Wendy about that statement, and she emphatically informed me that, “she gave him permission to get copies of printed materials from her archives, but DID NOT give him permission to use the Haut interview we did.” The Walter Haut interview we did is not in the public domain. Apparently this is where the confusion came into play, as Tony has an email from Wendy stating he has “Carte Blanche” to her archived material.

That brings me to the copyright law. The Haut interview as stated above, is copyrighted jointly by Wendy and I. I was never contacted by Bragalia about using any portion of the interview, before he wrote it, and consequently suggested that he remove it in its entirety from his blog or any other website that might have posted it.

“AFTER” Bragalia heard about this editorial I was writing he did finally call me, and I am of the opinion that he was not aware that I was part of the interview or had the joint copyright with Wendy. His reason for not calling earlier was due to other articles I had written that were critical of his research (like now), highlighting errors and erroneous statements etc. The 27-second audio recording he originally had in the article was removed quickly after hearing about my concern, which was the prudent thing to do, claiming that had he known about the copyright he would have called me. I will accept that and advised him to be more diligent in the future when doing his research.

Bragalia had no knowledge of how or when Wendy and I discovered some of the information we discussed with Walter during the interview. I can tell you that some of the information came from Walter’s daughter prior to the interview and that 6 pages of questions and comments were used to conduct the interview by me, with his daughter agreeing to the questions to be presented. (I have a copy of the written agenda used with a note that she had seen the agenda.) There were no restrictions placed on Wendy or I about what would be discussed in the interview, which covered Walter’s personal and military life as a video oral history, and were explained to him to his satisfaction during the first part of the recording

In the first paragraph of Bragalia’s article he refers to Walter Haut as a Lieutenant Colonel and Press Officer. Walter was a Lieutenant---not a Lieutenant Colonel. Considering the difference in rank between a Lieutenant Colonel and Lieutenant is more than an oversight as Bragalia admitted it was on his part.

In the same paragraph he states that a portion of the rare audiotape is revealed publicly by him for the first time in his article. Wendy Connors and I being interviewed on the radio show “Strange Days Indeed”, years ago played a small portion of the tape as copyright owners, so Bragalia should not have taken credit for revealing something for the first time. Our interview with Walter was not the first time that he revealed some of the information, but was one of the reasons Wendy and I decided to do the oral history with him.

The notarized declaration of 2002 that Bragalia mentions as being published in Schmitt and Carey’s book, was not written by Walter, but by Don Schmitt by his own admission on the “Paracast” radio show. Walter signed it in the presence of a visitor to the UFO Museum, whose last name is not listed as the witness on the affidavit in their book. Neither Schmitt, nor Carey were present when Walter signed it. There was another affidavit signed by Walter Haut in 1993 witnessed by Max Littell, who along with Glenn Dennis and Walter Haut were the original founders of the UFO Museum. The verbiage, content and style of writing in the 2002 affidavit was totally different than the 1993 affidavit and did not sound like the man Wendy and I interviewed in 2000.

Bragalia makes no reference to some of the photos used in his article as having requested permission to use them, such as the movie film prop belonging to the Museum, or the Roswell Daily record newspaper that he shows in the article. Perhaps in Bragalia’s mind he is the first to reveal those photos also. A good researcher would make sure he has permission to use certain information before going public with it.

Having volunteered at the Museum from 1996-1998, I had the opportunity to visit with Walter daily and had the utmost respect for him. I in fact wrote a tribute to him on January 2, 2006 after his death in 2005. I also wrote an editorial on October 1, 2007 about the 2002 affidavit Walter signed written by Don Schmitt. Both articles are archived on my website in the Editorials link.

If Bragalia is going to write future articles about Roswell, he needs to thoroughly research his information before going public, and honor copyright laws, when they apply as they did in this latest article about Walter Haut. I do not take lightly those who use other researchers' years of work for their own credit, and can assure you I will publicly do whatever is needed to keep the field of Ufology honest. Copyright laws are there for a reason, to prevent people from taking credit for other researchers work.

In our phone conversation Tony admitted that he “assumed” that I was just sitting in on the interview rather than being an actual participant in the interview, and never bothered to contact me, or question my involvement with the interview, knowing I was present. I would like to believe that Anthony Bragalia is a better researcher than what he presented in the article, and would hope that any future articles he writes are better researched than this one was.

I was pleased that he finally did contact me, and I accept the fact that he admitted he should have also contacted me about the copyright, and did have the short audio clip removed as I requested, however I stand firm on my thoughts about the wrong and misleading information he presented in the article.

Continue Reading . . .


See Also:

A Tribute to Walter Haut

Walter Haut, Roswell and a Whole Lotta Questions

New Revelations On Haut Affidavit

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Roswell Officer Speaks from the Grave: Taped Confession of ET Recovery Revealed

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Editor's Note–Please see my commentary (rebuttal) at the end of the article–FW

By Anthony Bragalia
The UFO Chronicles
12-6-12

      A Lieutenant Colonel and Press Officer at Roswell Army Air Field (RAAF) in 1947 left a testament to the reality of fallen ET in a rare audio recording that was meant to be heard after his death. A portion of it is revealed here publicly for the first time.

It is in this taped message that Walter Haut (a decorated bombardier and Purple Heart recipient) first openly acknowledged his personal witness to an alien-piloted craft found on the desert floor in New Mexico. And people who knew Walter well have now come forward about what he had said about the matter very early on- and why he did not release all of this information until the winter of his life.

Walter would of course go on to sign a notarized declaration in December, 2002 of his full knowledge of the Roswell incident as a piloted, extraterrestrial event. This was famously reported in mainstream media based on the publication of the bestseller Witness to Roswell and the work of the book’s authors Tom Carey and Don Schmitt.

But it was four years before this in 1999 that Walter Haut had admitted for the first time to someone outside of a small circle what he knew about the entirety of the Roswell event. And he allowed it to be recorded.

Like the notarized affidavit, Walter did not wish this 1999 recorded confession released until some point after his death, which occurred in 2005 at age 83. This enabled him to honor his oath during his life to the ultimate secret: the recovery and retrieval of beings not from earth.

A Walter Redux

As Press Officer at RAAF in July of 1947, Walter Haut composed the famous Press Release that was dictated to him by Colonel William Blanchard, Base Commander and close personal friend. Walter was made to state that the “flying disc” reported crashed near Roswell earlier was now known to be merely an errant weather balloon, initially confused as something more. The release was carried in the Roswell papers and the world over.

In 2002 Walter elected to come clean for history about what really had happened. None of the press reports he was made to distribute were true. Walt said that there was in fact a small craft that was piloted that had crashed. He saw it and the debris and one of the extraterrestrial beings. This announcement made headlines and brought Roswell back in the news like never before in the preceding 60 years that the crash had occurred.

A Snippet of the Actual Haut Recorded Confession

In 1999 pioneering New Mexico researcher Wendy Connors interviewed Walter in-person for the record about Roswell. She was tenacious in her questioning. She was accompanied by one of her associates at the time, Dennis Balthaser.

Wendy is now in poor health but has graciously and generously entrusted me with access to her years of research materials, now in the care of an archivist located in the Pacific Northwest.

In the interview, tape running, Wendy Connors asks Walter about his knowledge of any beings that may have been associated with the craft that fell at Roswell. Walter hesitatingly replies to her:

“To the best of my remembrance there was one body.”

“It was a relatively small body, comparable to, oh, maybe to an 11 year old or a 10 year old child.”

“It was pretty well beat up.”

He then seems to pause as if he had said too much and pulls back:

“I cannot give you (illegible) to be honest anything other than that.”

In other parts of the tape (hopefully to be released in its entirety at a later date) Haut does say just a bit more.

He speaks of the childlike body having been partially covered by a tarp.

He also speaks of having personally witnessed the craft wreckage from the crash stored in a hangar at the base after the crash and offers details on this.

He makes mention that the bodies may have been taken to Lovelace Clinic afterwards.

LINK TO AUDIO HAS BEEN REMOVED PER REQUEST OF DENNIS BALTHASER COPYRIGHT HOLDER

What Walter Privately Hinted to Others

Very little known is that Walter did give hints to the ultimate secret that he had held- to a very select few.

Robert Shirkey was the Base Operations Officer at RAAF in 1947. Before he passed, Shirkey told his son that back in 1989 Walter had personally confessed to him that he had he has personal knowledge that the object that crashed in the desert could only have been from another world, and that he had seen it.

Lloyd E. Nelson was a PFC who clerked for Haut in the RAAF Public Information Office in 1947. He remembers Walt coming into their office at the time and showing to him small pieces of wreckage debris including an I-Beam that was small and had writing on it. He was also shown a ceramic type piece of material that appeared broken off. Both Officer Jesse Marcel who was confirmed at the site and Walter told Nelson to say nothing.

This confirms details of Haut’s much later signed confession in 2002. In the early 2000s, Nelson called Walter to find out more about the material. Nelson said, “To my dismay, Walter would not confirm to me anything. He knew that I was there but he would not admit it, not even to me.”

Base Finance Officer Richard C. Harris told Roswell researcher and author Kevin Randle in the mid-1990s that Haut did know about the bodies from the crash having been stored in the base hangar. He knew this because Haut asked Harris at the time of the event if he would like to see them. Harris, apparently not wishing such a sight, did not.

Fred Wilcox (a civilian employee at Roswell Army Air Field in 1948) was an acquaintance of Haut. In 2000, Wilcox said that in 1955 a mutual female friend of theirs’ told him that Walt had confided in her privately that he was actually at the crash scene and that there were alien bodies.

Why Walter Didn’t Talk Until the End

Walt’s wife “Pete” Haut said that for years after the crash incident that Haut received visits from an Air Force Intelligence officer that he knew from his days in the service. Pete states, “Anytime that there was a ‘flap’ about UFOs in the news anywhere in the country, he would show up. He would always manage to talk about hos the Air Force had explained away this sighting or that.”

Towards the end of his life, Haut himself said that he would receive regular phone threats for many years after the incident. He said to one researcher, “There were so many calls I lost track of them- about 20 years of it.” One of these calls was from the retired Colonel son of a late General who told Haut, “Lieutenants should know how to keep their mouths shut.”

Among Walter’s personal affects were found Christmas cards from the former head of the CIC intelligence at Ft. Worth, TX, Milton Knight. One of the cards read, “I still say that there were no bodies at Ft. Worth.”

Walter’s Truth Finally Revealed

We hear in his own words here (with more to follow) that Walter admits his personal witness to the ET reality of Roswell. And we see here that others from his far past were privilidged to know his secret. This shows that Walter Haut was not in any way “coached” about his 2002 affidavit, as some critics suggest. It shows that he was of sound mind and that he offered the final secret of the found bodies willingly, if not reluctantly.

Bragalia Drops The Ball On This One
Please note this is a hasty, brief response to the above article

Oh my! Where to begin?!

Actually, since this has all been hashed and rehashed years ago, I'll begin by repeating what I said then:

Re Walter: I have the highest regard for him, and believe him to have been a person of good character, and I applaud his service during the war and all of his life's achievements thereafter, including of course being one of the co-founders of "The Roswell Museum."

That said, probably the most significant matter of fact in reference to what Tony has "labeled" a taped confession (aside from that being an erroneous description) is that the interview that Dennis & Wendy conducted with Walter was "VIDEO taped" (in November 15, 2000) and performed under the auspice of “Oral History” about “Walter’s life” (not just Roswell).

I was one of the researchers to get a full, unedited copy of the interview after Walter's passing and it was not at all what I anticipated, nor is it anything akin to what Tony describes herein–quite the opposite in fact.

To state the obvious, the merits of a "video" interview far surpass that of just audio alone, and for anyone to properly interpret it, or offer an informed opinion they need to watch it in its entirety; for research purposes—absorbing it several times while taking notes is prudent (as I did ).

To be clear and to put things in their proper context, Walter Haut for over 50 years (although endorsing the ETH for the Roswell Incident and repeatedly describing his part in the events, i.e., being the base PIO and writing the now famous press release and disseminating it to the civilian news organizations in Roswell) denied ever seeing bodies, wreckage etc., or being more involved then he was in his capacity as base PIO. In 1993 “he” wrote and signed an affidavit affirming said facts.

In the “2000 video interview” rather then being a confession or smoking gun as suggested here, for me in the most positive light it confused the issues and in the worst case scenario it affirmed what Walter had said all along as “HE SAID 4 TIMES THAT HE DIDN”T SEE ANYTHING in the very same session!”

Moreover, during the interview in response to direct questions, he couldn’t remember where he did his basic training; he couldn’t remember where he was stationed after the war; he couldn’t remember certain words; he often repeated himself, as well as contradicted himself—one time within a few sentences and didn’t seem to be cognizant of it. I later had my wife watch the interview with me (without any advanced input from me); at the end, we both felt that we might be watching the early onset of either Alzheimer's and or some form of dementia.

In 2003 Walter appeared on the Larry King Show; again, he appeared very confused and in this instance could not finish the segment. Prior to unexpectedly exiting the interview, King asked:

"Did you, Walter, ever see any of the wreckage?"

Walter replied, "No."

In 2007 Schmitt & Carey’s book was released with what was exalted (like now) as smoking evidence and or a death bed confession in the form of another affidavit; in reading it . . . this clear, concise, meticulously written document, inclusive of precise dates and times etc., it gave me great pause (to be polite), as the man that I saw in the video, (two years prior) didn’t seem capable of crafting such an elucidation. Quite frankly, I was dumbfounded!

I was certainly curious to know just how the affidavit was prepared; my prurience was satisfied with Don Schmitt’s admission that “Walter did not write the affidavit–he (Schmitt) did.”

I don’t mean to be rude; however, none of what is presented in the article is new; this was beat to death 5 years ago, and quite frankly as evidence is worthless:

• By text book definition, Walter had dementia of some sort, whether from old-age or otherwise.

• We have two (or more) conflicting affidavits, one Walter wrote himself and one Schmitt wrote.

• We have a “video-taped interviewed” where Walter seemed confused, very forgetful and contradictory; again he repeatedly said (4 times he didn’t see anything).

At the end of the day, for one to assess the Haut debacle properly, studying the video in its entirety (along with everything else) is essential; however, barring that pay heed to the a fore mentioned facts weigh it accordingly.–FW

See Also:

New Revelations On Haut Affidavit

Walter Haut, Roswell and a Whole Lotta Questions

A Tribute to Walter Haut

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Flying Saucer is Found in New Mexico

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By Walla Walla Union-Bulletin
7-8-1947

See Also:

THE ROSWELL INCIDENT:
Interview with Jesse Marcel Sr.

Rancher Who Was Thought To Have Found Disc , Sorry He Mentioned It!

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Rancher Who Was Thought To Have Found Disc , Sorry He Mentioned It!

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By Las Cruces Sun-News
7-10-1947

See Also:

Roswell Witness Related to the Old Wild West

Dee Proctor, One of The Last Original Witnesses To The Roswell Incident Has Died

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'Flying Saucer' is Found in New Mexico!7-8-1947

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By The Walla Walla Union-Bulletin
7-8-1947

See Also:

Blanchard, Lytle and Roswell

Army Reveals It Has Flying Disc Found On Ranch in New Mexico

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Walter Haut, Roswell and a Whole Lotta Questions

© Dennis Balthaser
10-1-07

     During the past eight years I have written several editorials accentuating the importance of verifying and confirming information pertaining to the subject of UFOs. The recently released affidavit signed by Walter Haut in 2002, first made public this summer in Don Schmitt and Tom Carey’s book is no exception, and it appears that as verification and confirmation is attempted about the affidavit, more questions are being raised than answered.

A few things are now known, and by Don Schmitt’s own admission on the “Paracast radio show” recently, we have learned that Walter Haut did not write the affidavit he signed in 2002, but rather it was prepared for his signature based on comments and remarks Haut had made over a period of time to Schmitt, Carey and others. (Editor’s note: After denying any involvement in the Roswell Incident for 55 years except for writing the now famous newspaper article of July 8, 1947, why wasn’t Walter Haut reading, approving and signing such an important document video taped for historical value?)

By their own admission publicly, we know that neither Schmitt nor Carey were present when Walter supposedly signed the affidavit, and the witnesses last name on the 2002 document is not shown, preventing any opportunity for verifying what that person witnessed. Additionally we know that the verbiage, content and style of writing in the 2002 affidavit is totally different from the 1993 affidavit Haut wrote, in which he denied any involvement. The 1993 affidavit was witnessed by Max Littell, one of the co-founders of the UFO Museum in Roswell, which included Walter Haut, Max Littell and Glenn Dennis.

We also know that the oral history videotape of Walter Haut done on November 15, 2000 and copyrighted by Wendy Connors and myself shows a man that couldn’t remember where he took basic training, names, dates, etc., while the 2002 affidavit is very detailed and precise with information Haut could accurately remember 2 years after he was video taped. Under constant questioning by Wendy Connors during the video interview in 2000, Walter did agree to several points mentioned in the 2002 affidavit such as seeing a body, a meeting in Roswell with General Ramey and Colonel DuBose present, leaving me with the impression of not knowing if he was still trying to cover-up what he knew during our video taping, or actually couldn’t remember. All quite different than the 2002 written affidavit.

Also known is the fact that less than 24 hours after Walter Haut passed away, Wendy Connors and I both received a written letter from Walter’s daughter (the current Director of the UFO Museum in Roswell), threatening us that we could not now, or ever share any of the information we gathered in our copyrighted 2000 video interview of Walter, nor talk about any conversations we ever had with him. Many of those conversations occurred privately with Walter on a daily basis while I volunteered at the Museum from 1996 – 1998, before the current Director took “power”. Obviously the 2000 video tape shows Walter as a totally different person than the one represented in the 2002 written affidavit, and we now know that he didn’t write the affidavit, nor are we able at this time to determine under what conditions it was signed.

The alleged meeting in Roswell with General Ramey, Colonel DuBose, Base Commander Colonel Blanchard, Intelligence Officer Major Marcel and Public Relations Officer Walter Haut, and others is of utmost importance to the research of the Roswell Incident. If in fact such a meeting occurred, why was it necessary for Major Marcel to fly debris from Roswell to General Ramey’s office in Ft Worth, since they had all handled the debris in the meeting and apparently set up the cover-up operation?

Recently on an Internet UFO list, Don Schmitt accused Wendy Connors and I of “crossing the line” when we did the video interview with Walter in 2000. Schmitt said, “that Walter was never told in advance that we would ever touch on the subject of Roswell”. Of the hundreds, perhaps thousands of researchers and media personnel that have interviewed Walter Haut over the years, not one has not asked Walter about the Roswell Incident, due mainly to Walter having written the July 8, 1947 press release, and being a first-hand witness.

Don Schmitt needs to retract that statement because at the beginning of the videotape, details of what the interview would involve were explained to Walter to his satisfaction. He was informed on camera that the tapes would not be sold by Wendy or I, (the museum could sell them if they chose to), however Wendy and I would use the information for our research and share the videos with serious researchers. Additionally 10 copies of the interview were given to Walter’s daughter for the family. Most importantly, Walter’s daughter was asked to review and approve a 6 page written agenda Wendy and I prepared for the interview, which she did and in fact added some questions about her Father for us to ask during the interview. I have a copy of the written agenda with a note that she had seen the agenda, so we didn’t “cross the line” as Schmitt has accused us of.

If in fact Walter’s comments about going to the crash site(s), seeing a body, being in on the meeting in Roswell at the base, etc., are true as stated in the affidavit, Walter was a part of the cover-up, and basically maintained his silence for 55 years, until 2002. Walter idolized his boss Colonel Blanchard as he personally shared many stories with me over the years, and on the videotape, about his relationship with him. Walter was a dedicated soldier as most, if not all were that were involved with the Roswell Incident. They had a job to do and did it well. Keeping secrets was their prime responsibility, lest we not forget that these were the same guys that ended WWII by dropping the atomic bombs on Japan.

What remains for us researchers is as stated in the beginning of this editorial---verifying and confirming information:

Were General Ramey and Colonel DuBose from 8th Army-Air Force headquarters in Ft Worth Texas, in Roswell for a meeting about the crash?

Which of Walter Haut’s statements are correct; the 1993 affidavit, the 2000 oral history video tape, or the 2002 affidavit?

Why were Wendy Connors and I threatened about releasing any information about the videotape we did, when apparently Schmitt and Carey were allowed to publish the 2002 affidavit with the approval of Walter Haut’s daughter and the UFO Museum?

Why wasn’t the affidavit released after Walter’s death in December 2005, instead of in conjunction with the 60th anniversary of the Roswell Incident this past July?

Why didn’t Schmitt and Carey or the UFO Museum include original Roswell researcher Stanton Friedman in obtaining or releasing the affidavit?

As with most everything related to the Roswell Incident, more answers are needed. In the case of Walter Haut’s affidavit we have some more information to work with, and will search for the truth in finding the answers.

www.truthseekeratroswell.com

truthskr@roswell.net

See Also:

Is Timing Everything---As Related to the Roswell Incident?

Verification, Confirmation and Facts

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New Revelations On Haut Affidavit

By Frank Warren
The UFO Chronicles
7-23-07

Schmitt Reveals Details of Haut Affidavit

     With the recent publication of, Witness to Roswell, co-authored by researchers, Donald Schmitt and Tom Carey much attention is being given to the previously unknown sealed affidavit that was -signed- by former Lt. Walter Haut, base public information officer (PIO) of the then Roswell Army Air Field. (RAAF 1947) A copy of the affidavit is printed in toto within the pages of the book.

Walter of course was tasked to write the press release which announced to the world that the “RAAF Captures Flying Saucer On A Ranch Near Roswell.”

The affidavit which apparently was to be held until Walter’s death, curiously was not released at that time, but rather held until Schmitt & Carey’s book was complete, and it’s release coincided with the 60th anniversary of the Roswell Incident. (This past July).

One needn’t be a rocket scientist to understand the timing in regards to releasing a book (another) about the Roswell crash at the 60th anniversary given all the media attention etc., however, I personally find it curious why the affidavit was held back.

It certainly gives the book more punch; however, the significance of the statements contained therein is unquestionably more valuable then increased book sales!

For those not paying attention, the affidavit is a reversal of Walter’s lifelong public statements in regards to the depth of his involvement with the Roswell flying saucer crash and its occupants.

Although Walter has always maintained an other worldly explanation for the debris, and has been supportive of the anecdotal evidence in regards to bodies etc., he has always denied (publicly), having seen any wreckage, bodies and or having gone to the crash site!

With the release of the book, and more specifically the affidavit within, a mild dissonance is undulating amongst Ufologists. To be clear, the layperson might argue the crux of Walter’s declaration, i.e., “an alien craft and it’s occupants,” and then post cover-up; however, the issue amongst researchers is not the core content but what is on it’s fringes.

In 2000 esteemed Ufologists Wendy Connors and Dennis Balthaser interviewed Walter, and recorded it on video tape; it was done on the same precept as the recently released affidavit; that is, it was to be released posthumously in order for Walter to talk openly and freely. (Which was honored).

Having watched the video interview a number of times (with pen in hand) the possibility arose, in my view, that Walter may have been exhibiting signs of some form of dementia; in that he couldn’t remember where he did his basic training; he couldn’t remember where he was stationed after the war; he couldn’t remember certain words; he often repeated himself, as well as contradicted himself, one time within a few sentences, and didn’t seem to be cognizant of it.

The severity of his “memory problems” has been contentious; however, for those who have watched the interview–most (if not all) agree it was evident to some extent.

That said, when I read the affidavit—this clear, concise, meticulously written document, inclusive of precise dates and times etc., it gave me great pause (to be polite), as the man that I saw in the video, (two years prior) didn’t seem capable of crafting such an elucidation.

I was certainly curious to know just how the affidavit was prepared; my prurience was satisfied yesterday with Don Schmitt’s admission that Walter did not write the affidavit!

In a recent interview with co-hosts, Gene Steinberg and David Biedny of the Paracast Show (an internet podcast production on the paranormal) the Roswell researcher, and co-author of “Witness To Roswell” came clean on the Walter Haut affidavit.

Schmitt related that through his research he became aware of just how close Haut and base commander Colonel William Butch Blanchard became, and pondered the notion of Haut being left out in the cold in regards to the information vis-à-vis the Roswell Incident.

On that premise Schmitt would often question Haut regarding any knowledge he may have.

Haut Didn't Pen Affidavit Himself

Schmitt states:

It was 3 years before Walter died. And he actually trickled information to us, on and off through the years, but he was quite clear that he was very sensitive to not only his security oath, but as though he was honoring someone else’s request to him, and it was quite clear as we demonstrated in the book, that he was honoring the 'old man,' as he called him, Colonel Blanchard . . . that Blanchard asked him not to say another word about this, and he was doing just that.

So we had to come up with a venue, a manner by which he could present the information, tell us what had happened to the best of his ability, without betraying that trust, that bond that he had with Blanchard. And it was suggested to us by an attorney that a ‘sealed statement’ (emphasis added) might provide that opportunity, and that’s what we’ve done, and ‘it was prepared, it was based on things that Walter told us in confidence for a number of years’ (emphasis added) leading up to that time he was ready to do it, his doctor, had given us a clear go ahead, that he mentally was totally competent . . ..

Schmitt goes on to reiterate that Walter read the document a number of times and then signed it with three other witnesses present.

Some have suggested that Walter’s “memory problems” were nothing but a ruse, in keeping the party line, i.e., not publicly breaking his security oath, or any promise to Colonel Blanchard; I would suggest to those folks, to view the video interview of 2000; however, if there weren’t any mental difficulties, and given the guidelines of the affidavit, that is a posthumous release, then the question would be, “why didn’t Walter pen the document himself?” Opposed to it being “prepared, based on things that Walter told Schmitt (presumably) in confidence for a number of years?”

Walter not penning the affidavit himself comes to no surprise to me; however it is important to point out that assuming he was in sound mind, and apparently according to Schmitt, it was deemed necessary to have a doctor “confirm that” (a wise move in these matters of grave circumstance in my view), the affidavit, from a legal standpoint, carries the same weight as if it were penned by his own hand.

Thomas J. Carey and Donald R. Schmitt Interview on Paracast

See Also:

Roswell Officer's Amazing Deathbed Admission Raises Possibility That Aliens DID Visit

1:01 pm: Lt. Walter Haut, Spokesman Who Announced Wreckage of Flying Saucer in Roswell, Died at 83!

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