Probably the most important -- and forgotton -- Roswell investigation.
In 1992, the Fund for UFO Research commissioned an
independent study of the Roswell evidence.
Independence they got!
Investigator Karl Pflock found significant problems in the claims
presented by Randle and Schmitt and other mass-market authors.
In this report, the flaws are clearly described.
More importantly, Pflock explains how the real "incident"
occurred.
The key figure, only briefly mentioned in most discussions of
Roswell, was Col. William Blanchard, the base commander.
During a period of great national hysteria about
flying saucers, when unidentified debris was found near his
base, it was Blanchard who decided to issue the fateful
press release. Evidently, he wanted to be a hero.
Once the wheels were set in motion, all
of the rest was human nature; the genie could not be put back into the
bottle.
As the Roswell 50th anniversary approached,
this report was not what UFO proponents or the general public wanted,
so it was generally ignored.
It was noticed mainly by skeptics, who have drawn on it heavily in
their recent Roswell books.
This document was the first skeptical book
on the Roswell crash, and it remains the best.
No compounding of fact upon fact by committed debunkers
can compete with Pflock's understanding of the human perspective.
No other author makes the solution seem so plain.
Includes an appendix of Roswell-related documents that have not
been published elsewhere, including:
(1) The full transcript of an interview between Jesse Marcel and
the National Enquirer,
(2) The daily base personnel report for July 9
showing no interruption of
vacation schedules for base commanders in spite of the supposedly
momentous events,
(3) a portion of a technical report on the Project Mogul balloon,
(4) Original wire server reports, and
(5) 40 pages of witness affidavits.
Although this is supposed to be only a "interim" report,
no final report seems necessary.
-- Glenn Campbell
By Karl Pflock
