Unidentified flying objects -- Sightings and encounters -- New Mexico -- Roswell
Interviewed for this report were the registrar of the hospital, 1st
Lt. Jack Whenry (now a retired Major) and a medical administration
specialist assigned to the registrar, SSgt. John Walter (now a
retired Master Sergeant), both of whom assisted in the processing and
identification of the deceased aircrewmen. Whenry and Walter both
recalled the strong odor, that some persons became ill during the
procedures (as did the alleged missing nurse), and the unusual transfer
of the remains to the Walker AFB commissary (the nurse also allegedly
described the transfer of remains to another building on the base).
However, neither recalled that a nurse was missing or any of the other
activities as described by Dennis.[149]
=The “Big Redheaded Colonel.”= The big redheaded colonel is a likely
reference to the hospital commander, Col. Lee F. Ferrell, who was
6′1″ tall and had red hair. Ferrell served at the Walker AFB hospital
from 1954 until 1960.[150] It would not be unusual for the hospital
commander to be present at the hospital following a major aircraft
accident.
=The Two Mysterious “Doctors.”= The two doctors not assigned to the
Walker AFB hospital who were allegedly observed at the hospital
performing preliminary autopsies have been identified as an Air Force
civilian identification specialist and a local Roswell pathologist.
=_Identification Specialist._= In an aircraft mishap involving multiple
fatalities, identification of victims can go beyond the capabilities
of a small Air Force hospital such as the one at Walker AFB. Beginning
in July 1951, the Air Force Memorial Affairs Branch, now called Air
Force Mortuary Services, employed full-time civilian morticians and
funeral directors, known as identification specialists, to assist Air
Force installations in the identification of deceased persons.[151]
When requested by the local commander, the identification specialists,
on a 24-hour standby basis, responded from Wright-Patterson AFB to the
location of an incident.[152] Records confirm that Walker AFB only
requested an identification specialist on two occasions, in October
1955 and to identity the victims of the June 1956 crash.[153] For this
accident the identification specialist arrived at Walker AFB on June
27, 1956 and made positive identifications of the 11 crewmen on June
28, 1956.[154]
When contacted for this report, the retired identification specialist
who responded to this accident, Mr. George Schwaderer, did not have
any recollections of Dennis, the nurse, the pediatrician, or any of
the other unusual activities as alleged.[155] Schwaderer did recall
that on identifications of group remains such as this, it was typical
to wear standard hospital surgical gowns and masks and that he was
often mistaken for a pathologist.[156]
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