Jesse Marcel
Jesse Marcel (1907–1986) was an officer in the U.S. Army Air Forces who took part in recovering the Roswell debris in 1947. He later claimed that the debris consisted of materials that were not of terrestrial origin.
Jesse Marcel (1907–1986) served as a major in the United States Army Air Forces, in 1947 as the intelligence officer of the 509th Bomb Group stationed at Roswell Army Air Field in New Mexico. His name is tied to the Roswell incident: he was one of the officers who, in Summer 1947, took part in recovering pieces of debris found on a nearby ranch.
His role in the Roswell incident
According to the documented events, a local rancher, W. W. "Mac" Brazel, found debris on his property and reported it to the sheriff, who notified the base. Marcel went out to the ranch with Sheridan Cavitt, an agent of the Army's Counter Intelligence Corps (CIC), and brought pieces of debris back to the base. On July 8, 1947, the base reported in a press release that a flying disc had been found. That same day, General Roger Ramey presented the debris to the press in Fort Worth as a weather balloon. Marcel appears in the photographs taken there.
What he claimed
Beginning in 1978, three decades after the events, Marcel began speaking publicly about the incident after being approached by ufologist Stanton Friedman. According to his account, the debris consisted of materials with unusual properties, such as extremely light metal foil that returned to its original shape after being crumpled, and small beams covered with symbols, and he did not consider these to be of terrestrial origin. His statements form one of the main foundations of the Roswell UFO story.
Official and skeptical position
According to a 1994 U.S. Air Force report, the debris was part of a secret program called Project Mogul, which tested the detection of Soviet nuclear tests using sensors mounted on high-altitude balloons. According to skeptics, Marcel's memories may have changed over time, and the materials he described can be matched to components of the balloon system, including the foil and braces of the radar reflectors. Some researchers have also disputed Marcel's claims about his military career, for example his statements about his college degree and his past as a pilot, which are not supported by military records.
His son, Jesse Marcel Jr. (1936–2013), was an ear, nose and throat physician who also served as a flight surgeon in the National Guard. When he was 11, his father showed him the pieces of debris, and for the rest of his life he spoke as a witness about what he had seen then.