Matt Ward
Record Staff Writer
It is a titillating mystery.
A story so fascinating that if it's ever proven true, it could shake the very foundation of modern civilization.
Our thoughts about religion, science, medicine, philosophy, history, even energy, could be transformed by the realization of one mere fact _ this planet is not unique, we are not alone in the universe.
The skeptics want hard proof, the believers say they only have to look toward the sky. Surely, of those trillions of sparkling lights in the night, at least one biological entity exists with the capacity for intelligence.
The Cable News Network's Larry King Live featured a discussion focused on the Roswell Incident Tuesday night about the possibility of life on other planets, in particular the ones who decided one July day in 1947 to crash land their lightweight saucer onto a Chaves County ranch.
A parade of figures from that era, or their children, were featured in the broadcast. Callers were invited to dial up their opinions, King the ever-gracious, but curt moderator.
A consensus was reached by all involved, except King, that something big happened at a ranch not too far from here 56 years ago - and they claim the government covered it up, fearing exposing the truth would be too dangerous.
Today, Roswell banks its tourism dollars on the popularity of the annual UFO Festival. The International UFO Museum attracted 205,000 people alone last year. Hotels are popping up like ground squirrels out of the desert floor. And new documentaries, books and articles are produced about the incident every year, mentioning this dusty town by name multiple times.
Tuesday's broadcast featured not only a series of tough King-questions but footage from documentaries, pictures of Roswell from that long-gone era and footage of high-ranking military officials denying anything serious happened here.
Walter Haut, Glenn Dennis, Dr. Jesse Marcel Jr., Nancy Johnston and Julie Shuster represent just a handful of people with local connections who swear something happened here, either UFO-related or possibly some military, Cold-War incident that will remain classified for national security reasons.
A smattering of their comments follow.
"I believe personally that we had in our possession a UFO," Haut, credited with making the incident public for the first time, said. "People on the base knew what was going on inside that craft."
Dennis, a Ballard Funeral Home employee in 1947, is often mentioned in books as the man the military called about procuring child-sized coffins, ostensibly to transport the tiny remains of extraterrestrials.
"I agree with him," he said about Haut's comments.
Johnston's father was in charge of military security at the alleged crash site.
"My father was very reluctant to talk about this incident. He said he promised he would not discuss it," she said.
Marcel, who's father was an intelligence officer for the 509th bomber group at Walker Air Force Base here, claims his uniformed dad brought crash debris home.
"I think it is something very extraordinary. I believe something happened out there in the country near Roswell ... it had to be something very big," he said.
Shuster's comments were interesting in their characterization of the Roswell Incident's main players.
"These are people with integrity who are conservative people," she said. "If they say something happened, something happened."
