The Mammoth Book of Cover-Ups

did not find documented evidence that Gen. Ramey was directed to espouse a weather balloon in his press conference, he may have done so because either he was aware of Project Mogul and was trying to deflect interest from it, or he readily perceived the material to be a weather balloon based on the identification from his weather officer, Irving Newton. In either case, the materials recovered by the AAF in July 1947 were not readily recognizable as anything special (only the purpose was special) and the recovered debris itself was unclassified. Additionally, the press dropped its interest in the matter as quickly as they had jumped on it. Hence, there would be no particular reason to further document what quickly became a “non-event.”

The interview with Colonel Trakowski […] also provided valuable information. Trakowski provided specific details on Project Mogul and described how the security for the program was set up, as he was formerly the TOP SECRET Control Officer for the program. He further related that many of the original radar targets that were produced around the end of World War II were fabricated by toy or novelty companies using a purplish-pink tape with flower and heart symbols on it. Trakowski also recounted a conversation that he had with his friend, and superior military officer in his chain of command, Colonel Marcellus Duffy, in July 1947. Duffy formerly had Trakowski’s position on Mogul but had subsequently been transferred to Wright Field. He stated: “… Colonel Duffy called me on the telephone from Wright Field and gave me a story about a fellow that had come in from New Mexico, woke him up in the middle of the night or some such thing with a handful of debris, and wanted him, Colonel Duffy, to identify it…. He just said, ‘It sure looks like some of the stuff you’ve been launching at Alamogordo,’ and he described it, and I said, ‘Yes, I think it is.’ Certainly Colonel Duffy knew enough about radar targets, radiosondes, balloon-borne weather devices. He was intimately familiar with all that apparatus.”

Attempts were made to locate Colonel Duffy but it was ascertained that he had died. His widow explained that, although he had amassed a large amount of personal papers relating to his Air Force activities, she had recently disposed of these items. Likewise, it was learned that A. P. Crary was also deceased; however his surviving spouse had a number of his papers from his balloon-testing days, including his professional journal from the period in question. She provided the Air Force researchers with this material. […] Overall, it helps fill in gaps of the Mogul story.

During the period the Air Force conducted this research, it was discovered that several others had also discovered the possibility that the “Roswell Incident” may have been generated by the recovery of a Project Mogul balloon device. These persons included Professor Charles B. Moore, Robert Todd, and coincidentally Karl Pflock, a researcher who is married to a staffer who works for Congressman Schiff. Some of these persons provided suggestions as to where documentation might be located in various archives, histories and libraries. A review of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests revealed that Robert Todd, particularly, had become aware of Project Mogul several years ago and had doggedly obtained from the Air Force, through the FOIA, a large amount of material pertaining to it; long before the AAZD researchers independently seized on the same possibility.

Most interestingly, as this report was being written, Pflock published his own report of this matter under the auspices of FUFOR, entitled “Roswell in Perspective” (1994). Pflock concluded from his research that the Brazel Ranch debris originally reported as a “flying disc” was probably debris from a Mogul balloon; however, there was a simultaneous incident that occurred not far away that caused an alien craft to crash and that the AAF subsequently recovered three alien bodies therefrom. Air Force research did not locate any information to corroborate that this incredible coincidence occurred, however.

In order to provide a more detailed discussion of the specifics of Project Mogul and how it appeared to be directly responsible for the “Roswell Incident,” a SAF/AAZD researcher prepared a more detailed discussion on the balloon project which is appended to this report […]

[…]

Conclusion

The Air Force research did not locate or develop any information that the “Roswell Incident” was a UFO event. All available official materials, although they do not directly address Roswell per se, indicate that the most likely source of the wreckage recovered from the Brazel Ranch was from one of the Project Mogul balloon trains. Although that project was TOP SECRET at the time, there was also no specific indication found to indicate an official pre-planned cover story was in place to explain an event such as that which ultimately happened. It appears that the identification of the wreckage as being part of a weather-balloon device, as reported in the newspapers at the time, was based on the fact that there was no physical difference in the radar targets and the neoprene balloons (other than the numbers and configuration) and between Mogul balloons and normal weather balloons. Additionally, it seems that there was over-reaction by Colonel Blanchard and Major Marcel, in originally reporting that a “flying disk” had been recovered when, at that time, nobody for sure knew what that term even meant since it had only been in use for a couple of weeks.

Likewise, there was no indication in official records from the period that there was heightened military operational or security activity which should have been generated if this was, in fact, the first recovery of materials and/or persons from another world. The post-War US Military (or today’s for that matter) did not have the capability to rapidly identify, recover, coordinate, cover-up, and quickly minimize public scrutiny of such an event. The claim that they did so without leaving even a little bit of a suspicious paper trail for 47 years is incredible.

It should also be noted here that there was little mentioned in this report about the recovery of the so- called “alien bodies.” This is for several reasons: First, the recovered wreckage was from a Project Mogul balloon. There were no “alien” passengers therein. Secondly, the pro-UFO groups who espouse the alien-bodies theories cannot even agree among themselves as to what, how many, and where, such bodies were supposedly recovered. Additionally, some of these claims have been shown to be hoaxes, even by other UFO researchers. Thirdly, when such claims are made, they are often attributed to people using pseudonyms or who otherwise do not want to be publicly identified, presumably so that some sort of retribution cannot be taken against them (notwithstanding that nobody has been shown to have died, disappeared or otherwise suffered at the hands of the government during the last 47 years). Fourth, many of the persons making the biggest claims of “alien bodies” make their living from the “Roswell Incident.” While having a commercial interest in something does not automatically make it suspect, it does raise interesting questions related to authenticity. Such persons should be encouraged to present their evidence (not speculation) directly to the government and provide all pertinent details and evidence to support their claims if honest fact-finding is what is wanted. Lastly, persons who have come forward and provided their names and made claims, may have, in good faith but in the “fog of time,” misinterpreted past events. The review of Air Force records did not locate even one piece of evidence to indicate that the Air Force has had any part in an “alien” body recovery operation or continuing cover-up.

During the course of this effort, the Air Force has kept in close touch with the GAO and responded to their various queries and requests for assistance. This report was generated as an official response to the GAO, and to document the considerable effort expended by the Air Force on their behalf. It is anticipated that that they will request a copy of this report to help formulate the formal report of their efforts. It is recommended that this document serve as the final Air Force report related to the Roswell matter, for the GAO, or any other inquiries.

[…]

Royal Institute of International Affairs

The Royal Institute of International Affairs is the legal name for the British think-tank more popularly known as Chatham House. At first viewing everything about the RIIA seems open and above-board; it is a membership- based organization that hosts discussions any member can attend (providing he or she pays up an annual membership fee in excess of ?300). Staff are listed on the RIIA website, and posts are advertised publicly.

Critics claim, however, that behind the elegant 18th-century facade of Chatham House there machinates a cabal of politicians which seeks to undemocratically influence world opinion. More darkly still, some internet websites argue that the RIIA and its sister US organization, the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), are home to a secret society which actually runs the earth’s affairs.

Few would disagree that Chatham House lies both literally and metaphorically in the heart of the British Establishment; founded in 1920, it provides a regular sounding board for senior statesmen, especially the