This article was published in the daily newspaper The News Observer, of Raleigh, North Carolina, USA, on May 5, 2003.
The Associated Press
AZTEC, N.M. (AP) - Were you looking into the New Mexico sky in 1947 or 1948? Did you see little green men or the smoldering wreckage of a strange ship? A pair of researchers trying to uncover the secrets of two purported UFO crashes wants to pick your brain.
Stanton Friedman, a ufologist and nuclear physicist, was the first person to investigate a farmer's field in Roswell where many believe an alien spacecraft crash-landed in 1947. He's also gathering facts from a lesser-known purported UFO 1948 crash in Hart Canyon north of Aztec.
Friedman is hunting for people who may have witnessed either craft's flight or wreckage, but he knows time is running out.
"We're dealing with important real, earth-shaking events. These are major events in man's history, in New Mexico's history," Friedman said.
"The kicker here is we're racing the undertaker. There are people who know about these events, but don't know who to talk to."
Friedman is joined in his quest by Scott Ramsey of North Carolina, who was one of the initial researchers of the Aztec crash.
"We really need people to come forward," said Ramsey, who has found declassified military documents about the Aztec crash during more than six years of study.
Ramsey said a former Air Force intelligence officer told him everyone who knew about the military investigation in Aztec was sworn to secrecy for 50 years - a deadline that has now passed.
The men are searching for raw data, any memories or information a person may have about the Roswell or Aztec crashes.
"We all have that old memory stuck in the back of our brains," said Friedman. "It's important to get the data before it's gone."
To contact the researchers, call 1-877-457-0232 or write to Scott Ramsey C/O Aztec 1948, 15704 Mooresville Rd., Mooresville, NC 28115.
