Unidentified flying objects -- Sightings and encounters -- New Mexico -- Roswell
Examination of this large body of publicly available information
immediately provided clues that the witness may have recalled
incidents from a period other than July 1947. The first clue was that
he repeatedly, in all of the interviews, referred to the injured
military person he allegedly transported to the Roswell AAF hospital
as an airman. The rank of airman was not in existence in 1947. It
was implemented on April 1, 1952.[72] Prior to that date an airman
in the Air Force was referred to by the U.S. Army equivalent, a
private. Another possible indication that he recalled events from a
different time was the description of an alleged “black sergeant” that
accompanied the redheaded officer at the hospital. The pairing of a
white officer with a black NCO seemed unlikely since in 1947 the U.S.
Army Air Forces was racially segregated, as were all branches of the
armed forces. The U.S. Air Force did not begin racial integration until
the May 11, 1949 issuance of Air Force Letter 35-3 that formally ended
segregation.[73] Though it was not impossible in 1947 for a black NCO
to accompany and seem to be working with a white officer, it would be
unlikely. These two discrepancies did not provide a firm time frame of
actual events, if any occurred at all.
To approximate a time frame for actual events, the specific details
of the information provided were examined. This examination was to
determine if any military members were identified by name or by a
combination of any other distinguishing characteristics such as rank,
position, age, or physical attributes. If the testimony identified
a military member as having been present for an event, then their
personnel record could be used to affix an approximate date. Affixing
a date of an event by referencing personnel records was possible since
each military member’s personnel file contains a physical description
and chronological listing of duty stations, units of assignment, and
work assignments for his/her entire military career.
This detailed examination revealed several likely references to
specific individuals, which through their personnel files, were
documented as having been assigned to the hospital at Roswell AAF or
Walker AFB (Roswell AAF was renamed Walker AFB in January 1948).
=The “Big Redheaded Colonel.”= An indication that Dennis might have
mistaken the date of actual events was that he was quoted in at least
one book as having said that the officer who threatened him in the
hospital was a big redheaded colonel.[74] Research revealed that only
one tall colonel with red hair was known to have been assigned to the
Walker AFB hospital. Colonel Lee F. Ferrell was the hospital commander
from October 1954 until June 1960.[75] Ferrell was 6′1″ tall and had
red hair.[76]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account