SUBJECT: TIMELINE OF THE ROSWELL EVENT FILE: UFO2764
TIMELINE OF THE ROSWELL EVENT
Note: Bracketed [] entries are those for which we have only indirect
evidence or for which a time slot could not be definately established.
This chart is a revised version of the one that appeared in _UFO Crash
at Roswell_.
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Date/Time | Events at Roswell, N.M. | Events elsewhere
----------|--------------------------------------|---------------------------
Tue. 7/1 | |
----------|--------------------------------------|---------------------------
| | Sherman Campbell discovers
| | weather balloon debris
| | near Circleville, OH.
----------|--------------------------------------|---------------------------
Wed. 7/2 | |
----------|--------------------------------------|---------------------------
Night | 9:50pm. Mr. & Mrs. Dan Wilmot report |
| oval-shaped UFO moving NW, toward the|
| crash site. William Woody and his |
| father also observe a bright, arching|
| light with a red contrail as they are|
| driving NW of Roswell. |
| Mac Brazel and others hear loud |
| explosion. |
----------|--------------------------------------|---------------------------
Thu. 7/3 | |
----------|--------------------------------------|---------------------------
Mid- | Mac Brazel, accompanied by 7-year-old|
morning | D. Proctor, discovers a large amount |
| of light-weight, metallic debris on a|
| remote pasture (the debris field). |
| |
Late | Brazel visits his neighbors, the | Aborted V-2 rocket launch
morning | Proctors, and shows them some of the | at White Sands Proving
| material. | Grounds, NM.
| |
Evening | Brazel removes a large, circular |
| piece of debris from the debris field|
| and stores it in a shed. |
----------|--------------------------------------|---------------------------
Fri. 7/4 | |
----------|--------------------------------------|---------------------------
| Holiday. | 1:00-2:00pm. Flying disks
| | observed at Portland, OR.
| | 9:12pm. United Air Lines
| | flight crew watches 9
| | disks over Emmett, ID.
----------|--------------------------------------|---------------------------
Sat. 7/5 | |
----------|--------------------------------------|---------------------------
| Brazel goes to Corona, NM, and tells |
| some acquaintances about the find. |
| On the way back he stops again at the|
| Proctors. |
----------|--------------------------------------|---------------------------
Sun. 7/6 | |
----------|--------------------------------------|---------------------------
Morning | Brazel drives to Roswell to visit | [Army Air Force captain
| Sheriff Wilcox. | sees flying disk near
| | Fairfield, CA.
| |
Early | Brazel and Wilcox call Roswell base | 1:45pm B-25 crew observes
afternoon | and report the find. | silvery disk over Clay
| | Center, KS.
| |
| Col. Blanchard, Maj. Marcel, and CIC |
| Captain Cavitt arrive at Wilcox's |
| office to interview Brazel. |
| |
Mid- | [Blanchard returns to the base with | [General Ramey alerts the
afternoon | a portion of Brazel's debris and | Pentagon about the find.
| alerts General Ramey in Fort Worth | The Pentagon orders debris
| about the find.] | sent to Fort Worth.]
| |
Late | Marcel and Cavitt accompany Brazel |
afternoon | back to his ranch to go to the debris|
| field. |
| The two deputies return to Sheriff |
| Wilcox, having found an area of |
| blackened ground. |
| |
Evening | 1st flight out. Debris flown to |
| Fort Worth. |
| |
Night | Marcel and Cavitt stay at Brazel's | Col. Alan D. Clark flies
| ranch and examine the large piece | debris in a B-26 from Ft.
| stored in the shed. | Worth to Washington, DC
| | for Gen. McMullen.
----------|--------------------------------------|---------------------------
Mon. 7/7 | |
----------|--------------------------------------|---------------------------
Early | Brazel takes Marcel and Cavitt to |
morning | debris field. |
| |
Daytime | | 11:45am. Koshkonong, WI,
| | flying disk sighting.
| [General Twining makes an unannounced| 2:30pm. East Troy, WI. case.
| visit to Kirtland Air Field, near | 9:00pm. William Rhodes takes
| Albuquerque.] | photograph of flying disk
| | over Phoenix, AZ.
| |
Late | Marcel and Cavitt leave for the | [Debris from Washington
evening | Roswell base after loading their | is sent to Wright Field,
| vehicles with debris. | near Dayton, OH.]
----------|--------------------------------------|---------------------------
Tue. 7/8 | |
----------|--------------------------------------|---------------------------
Very early| Marcel stops at his home (2:00am) and|
morning | shows some of the debris to his wife |
| and son before proceeding on to the |
| base. |
| |
Early | Blanchard orders Maj. Easley to post |
morning | guards on the access roads to the |
| debris field. |
| [7:30am] Staff meeting held by |
| Roswell base officers to discuss |
| debris. |
| |
Mid- | 9:00am Cavitt and his assistant M/Sgt|
afternoon | Rickett obtain a staff car and drive | 9:30-11:50am. Series of disk
| to Brazel's ranch to pick him up and | sightings by pilots and
| return to the debris field. | officers at Muroc Air Base
| Troops arrive at debris field to | CA.
| begin recovery. |
| [11:00am] Blanchard dictates a press |
| release on the recovery of a flying |
| disk to PIO Walter Haut. |
| |
Mid-day | Haut goes into town to deliver his |
| press release to the radio stations |
| and newspapers. His first stop is at|
| station KGFL, where he gives the |
| release to Frank Joyce. |
| Noon. The information is put on the |
| AP wire. |
| 1st flight in arrives from Washington|
| DC, carrying a special team of photo-|
| graphers and W/O Robert Thomas. |
| William Woody and his father, still |
| curious about their sighting, drive |
| toward Corona. They are turned away |
| by MPs posted on outlying roads. |
| |
Early | News of the recovery spreads as the |
afternoon | story hits the wire services. Phone |
| lines at the base, at the sheriff's |
| office, and at newspaper and radio |
| news offices are tied up. |
| Sheriff Wilcox sends two more |
| deputies to the debris field; they |
| are turned back by MPs. |
| Cavitt and Rickett return to the |
| Roswell base with Brazel. |
| |
Mid- | Brazel is flown back to the debris |
afternoon | field from the base; other planes |
| from Roswell are similarly recon- |
| noitering the area. |
| The impact site is discovered from |
| the air; ground troops are directed |
| toward it. |
| [Barney Barnett and a group of |
| students and archeologists or rock- |
| hunters are already at the impact |
| site and see debris and bodies; they |
| are escorted off by the Army.] |
| Col. Blanchard "goes on leave" from |
| the base, but he actually leaves to |
| visit the debris field. |
| Material has been brought from the |
| debris field and loaded onto a C-54; |
| this 2nd flight out is flown by Capt.|
| Pappy Henderson to Wright Field. | J. Bond Johnson, of the
| 3rd flight out, a B-29, carries | Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
| Marcel to Fort Worth Army Air Field. | is told to go to Fort
| A few wrapped packages [of debris] | Worth Army Air Field to
| are also on the plane. | cover a flying disk story.
| |
Late | Clean-up continues at the crash | Marcel arrives in Fort
afternoon | sites. | Worth and confers with Gen.
| Brazel is flown back to the base, | Ramey; at some point
| then leaves and is located by Walt | remnants of a balloon are
| Whitmore, Sr., of radio station KGFL,| substituted for the real
| who interviews him about the find. | debris.
| Blanchard visits the debris field | A press conference is held
| and impact site with his staff. | in Ramey's office; Johnson
| A 2nd flight from Washington, DC, | photographs Marcel and
| arrives at the base; Rickett gives | Ramey with the balloon
| the crew a sealed box filled with | remnants; W/O Irving
| debris; the plane returns shortly to | Newton identifies the
| Washington (4th flight out). | material as a balloon with
| The Roswell Daily Record carries | a radar target device
| "RAAF Captures Flying Saucer" story. | attached.
| | Ramey issues a statement
| | claiming that the Roswell
| | officers were fooled and
| | that the material was from
| | a weather balloon.
| |
Early | Sgt. Melvin Brown looks under a tarp | 6:17pm Memo from FBI Dallas
evening | on the back of a truck at the impact | office to SAC regarding
| site and sees several alien-looking | weather balloon cover
| bodies. | story.
| Glenn Dennis, a local mortician, is | Ramey gives an interview
| intrigued by several inquiries from | on Fort Worth radio station
| the base about tissue preservation | WBAP about the weather
| and the smallest caskets he has | balloon cover story.
| available. |
| Truck carrying the bodies arrives at |
| the base. |
| A preliminary autopsy is attempted at|
| the base hospital by pathologist Dr. |
| Jesse Johnson, Jr. |
| Dennis tries to visit the base |
| hospital but is turned away forcibly;|
| a nurse friend warns him to leave |
| before he gets in trouble. |
| [8:30pm] Barnett returns home to |
| Socorro. |
| |
Night | Capt. John Martin, Sgt. Brown, and |
| other MPs guard a crate containing |
| the bodies that has been placed |
| inside an empty hangar. |
----------|--------------------------------------|---------------------------
Wed. 7/9 | |
----------|--------------------------------------|---------------------------
Early | Troops continue clean-up at the crash|
morning | sites. |
| At the base, three C-54's begin to be|
| loaded with crates filled with debris|
| (8:00am). |
| [Senator Dennis Chavez calls Walt |
| Whitmore Sr. to warn him against |
| broadcasting an interview with |
| Brazel; a representative of the FCC |
| threatens to pull his broadcast |
| license.] |
| |
Mid- | Officers from the base locate Brazel |
morning | (who had stayed with Whitmore) and |
| return him to the base for |
| questioning. |
| |
Late | Brazel is taken by the military to |
morning | the office of the Roswell Daily |
| Record, where he gives a revised, |
| sanitized version of the story. |
| [A special secret service envoy |
| representing President Truman arrives|
| from Washington (3rd flight in.)] |
| |
Noon | The crate with bodies is moved from |
| the hangar to Bomb Pit Number One. |
| [Floyd Proctor, Lyman Strickland, |
| and others observe Brazel in town |
| escorted by soldiers.] |
| |
Early | Officers from the base visit | General Schulgen requests
afternoon | newspaper and radio offices in town | FBI cooperation in solving
| and recover all copies of Haut's | the flying disk problem.
| original press release. | The War Department tells
| Brazel is taken to radio station | the FBI that the disks
| KGFL, where he gives a revised | do not belong to the
| version of his story. | Army or Navy.
| |
Late | Three fully loaded C-54's (5th-7th |
afternoon | Flights out) carry debris to Los |
| Alamos, NM, via Kirtland Field. |
| 4:00pm. The crate from Bomb Pit |
| Number One is transferred to a B-29 |
| and flown (8th Flight out) to Fort |
| Worth. | 5:00pm. Ball of light
| The Roswell Daily Record carries a | deposits odd metal on
| sanitized version of Barzel's story. | ground near Midland, MI.
| |
Early | | 6:00pm. Officers and a
evening | | mortician in Fort Worth
| | meet the incoming B-29
| | from Roswell; the flight
| | crew returns to Roswell
| | with Marcel.
| |
Late | 8:00pm. Marcel arrives back in | 11:30pm. Constable in
evening | Roswell (4th Flight in). | Grand Falls, Newfoundland,
| | observes 4 flying disks.
----------|--------------------------------------|---------------------------
Thu. 7/10 | |
----------|--------------------------------------|---------------------------
| Clean-up continues at the crash | [A flight from Wright Field
| sites. | arrives in Fort Worth and
| Brazel continues to be interrogated | returns to Wright Field
| and held at a guest house on the | with more debris and a
| base. | large, metallic container
| [Remaining debris confiscated from | on board.]
| Sheriff Wilcox by military | FBI memo, Fitch to Ladd.
| personnel.] | Aborted V-2 launch at
| | White Sands.
| | [General Twining stops at
| | White Sands before return-
| | ing to Wright Field.]
| | President Truman derides
| | flying disk stories.
| | 4:00pm. TWA representative
| | sees flying disk at Harmon
| | Field, Newfoundland.
----------|--------------------------------------|---------------------------
Fri. 7/11 | |
----------|--------------------------------------|---------------------------
| MPs and others involved in the |
| retreival are debriefed and told to |
| forget that it happened. |
----------|--------------------------------------|---------------------------
Sat. 7/12 | |
----------|--------------------------------------|---------------------------
| Bill Brazel Jr. returns to his | 6:30pm. Flying disk follows
| father's ranch; no evidence of a | a C-47 at Elmendorf Field,
| military presence remains. | Alaska.
----------|--------------------------------------|---------------------------
Late July | |
----------|--------------------------------------|---------------------------
| July 15 - Mac Brazel returns to his |
| ranch from the Roswell base after his| 7/20- Silver-white disk
| interrogation. | moving at great speed
| | reported near Cumberland,
| | MD.
| | 7/26- National Security
| | Act passes, which
| | coordinates the Army, Navy,
| | and Air Force into a single
| | national military
| | establishment under the
| | Secretary of Defense. The
| | Army Air Force becomes
| | the U.S. Air Force.
| | 7/30- The first Air Force
| | "estimate" of the nature
| | of the flying disks is
| | drafted by Gen. Schulgen's
| | staff.
----------|--------------------------------------|---------------------------
August '47| |
----------|--------------------------------------|---------------------------
| Mac Brazel and Tommy Tyree spot a | 8/19- FBI memo, Fitch to
| piece of debris in a sinkhole near | Ladd.
| the debris field. |
----------|--------------------------------------|---------------------------
Sept. '47 | |
----------|--------------------------------------|---------------------------
| Prof. Lincoln LaPaz, secretly charged| 9/5- Gen. Schulgen tells
| with reconstructing the object's | the FBI that the disks do
| trajectory, arrives from Washington | not belong to the Air
| and rediscovers the area of black- | Force.
| ened ground with Rickett. | 9/23- Gen. Twining calls
| | for an official invest-
| | igation of the flying
| | disks.
| | 9/24- Alleged memo from
| | Truman to Forrestal,
| | establishing Operation
| | Majestic Twelve. Vannevar
| | Bush meets with Truman.
| | 9/25- FBI memo, Ladd to
| | Hoover, advising that FBI
| | discontinue flying disk
| | investigations.
| | 9/26- Sidney Souers named
| | head of new National
| | Security Council, which
| | holds its first meeting.
----------|--------------------------------------|---------------------------
Oct. '47 | |
----------|--------------------------------------|---------------------------
| | 10/1- Truman letter to
| | Vannevar Bush, the sig-
| | nature of which matches
| | the MJ-12 memo of 9/24.
| | 10/28- Schulgen issues a
| | draft collection memo-
| | randum that outlines the
| | essential elements of
| | information required to
| | analyze flying disk
| | reports.
----------|--------------------------------------|---------------------------
Sep. '48 | |
----------|--------------------------------------|---------------------------
| LaPaz tells Rickett that he is still |
| convinced the Roswell debris was an |
| unoccupied probe from another world. |
----------|--------------------------------------|---------------------------
Summer '49| |
----------|--------------------------------------|---------------------------
| The gouge is still visible at the |
| debris field. |
| Mac Brazel, having found various |
| scraps of debris for the past two |
| years, mentions in Corona that he |
| still has the material. The next day|
| a Capt. Armstrong and three others |
| from the base confiscate the pieces. |
----------|--------------------------------------|---------------------------
1978 | |
----------|--------------------------------------|---------------------------
| | Pappy Henderson confides
| | to a close friend that he
| | had flown wreckage from
| | a crashed saucer to Wright
| | Field; he still has a
| | fragment of the debris.
| | Marcel, located by
| | researcher Stan Friedman,
| | says he is sure the debris
| | was nothing from earth.
----------|--------------------------------------|---------------------------
1980 | |
----------|--------------------------------------|---------------------------
| | In Search Of interviews
| | Marcel, who says he is
| | sure the Roswell debris
| | was nothing from earth.
| | Charles Berlitz and William
| | L. Moore publish their
| | report on the case, The
| | Roswell Incident.
----------|--------------------------------------|---------------------------
1982 | |
----------|--------------------------------------|---------------------------
| | Pappy Henderson tells his
| | wife Sappho about his role
| | in the recovery.
----------|--------------------------------------|---------------------------
1988 | |
----------|--------------------------------------|---------------------------
| Oct.- An Air Force pickup truck is |
| seen on the Foster Ranch; the driver |
| asks ranch hand Jim Parker if the |
| Roswell crash site is nearby. |
----------|--------------------------------------|---------------------------
1989 | |
----------|--------------------------------------|---------------------------
| Sept. 15-19 The Center for UFO |
| Studies conducts an expedition to |
| the debris field. |
----------|--------------------------------------|---------------------------
1991 | |
----------|--------------------------------------|---------------------------
| | July- Kevin Randle and
| | Donald Schmitt's account
| | of the case, UFO Crash
| | at Roswell, is published
| | by Avon Books.
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