Fact or Fiction?

We interviewed 3 UNM students to get

their opinion on the Rowell Crash.
Q: How much do you
know about the Roswell crash?

A: I know that the

crash didnt actually
happen in Roswell, it
was a little bit outside of Roswell in
like the open area of
the farm land, so I know that like when it happened people
were on the fence about whether it was real or not, while people
in Roswell really believed
that it happened. Briana
Graves

So now, its up to you to decide:

Is the Roswell Incident an Urban
Legend?

The Roswell
Incident
By: Anna Cairo

Q: Do you believe the

crash in Roswell is an
urban legend?
A: I think it could be considered one,
yes...because its highly
controversial, whether it happened or not, and there are people
on both sides that are passionate about it, and its something
thats so out there that makes it [seem fake], but its presented in
a realistic way. -Melissa
Rosenthal
Q: Do you believe that
the crash in Roswell is
an urban legend?
A: No...because its real.
Why would the government threaten people?
Why would so many people have the same things to say about the
government threatening them [regarding the Roswell crash]? Jessica Casas

What really happened in

Roswell, New Mexico, on
July 9th, 1947?

The Story
On July 7 , 1947, an unidentified flying
object crashed on a ranch northwest of
the town. The rancher, W.W. Brazel,
found metal debris around the area, and
it was suggested by his neighbors Floyd
and Loretta Proctor that the pieces of
metal may have been from a UFO crash
due to the increased number of US sightings that had occurred that summer.
Brazel decided to report the incident to
George Wilcox of the Roswell sheriffs
office. According to several reports, Wilcox then contacted military authorities
at the nearby Roswell Army Air Field,
where Major Jesse Marcel was assigned
to investigate.
th

From left to right:

W.W. Brazel, George
Wilcox, Jesse Marcel

The Frenzy Begins

The Legend Born Again

Immediately, Marcel and two other agents,

Sheridan Cavitt and Lewis Rickett, drove out to
the ranch where Brazel worked to examine and
collect the wreckage. On July 8th, the public
information office at Roswell Army Air Field
made the startling announcement that they had
recovered the remains of a flying disc.

With Rameys devaluing announcement, the Roswell

flying saucer story was effectively dead and
would remain so for decades. Then, in 1978, UFO
researcher Stanton Friedman happened to meet
Marcel. Because Marcel dredged up his recoveredsaucer story,
and Friedman
thought he had
at
last found a
star witness
who could blow open the U.S. governments alleged
cover-up of the crash, the Roswell myth began
anew, with Friedman as its most vocal advocate.

The Myth
Debunked?
However, by

the next day

the excitement was over. Brigadier General Roger Ramey,
who had ordered the wreckage sent to him for
examination at Carswell Air Force Base (also
known as Fort Worth), held a press conference,
with Major Marcel present, and announced that
all the excitement had been over a mistaken
weather balloon, and nothing more.

The Conspiracy Continues

Despite the
claims made by
the U.S. government that this
was just a
weather balloon,
many people
believe that this
was in fact a
government cover up which increases the likelihood
for this to not be considered an urban legend.