The Roswell UFO Crash: A New Lead and a New Direction

Written by: Bill Knell
Published on: August 1, 2011
Category: UFOs

It's been over sixty years since the crash of an alleged Alien Spacecraft near Roswell, NM. Despite a multitude of credible civilian and military witnesses who claim the object and its occupants were from another world, we still lack absolute proof. As a result, researchers trying to solve this puzzle constantly hope for two things: Actual physical evidence and reliable witnesses.

Because the Roswell Crash took place in 1947, the likelihood of turning up any new first hand witnesses to the crash, military investigation or cover-up fades with each year that passes. The same may be said of physical evidence. Even if somebody found a shoe box full of metal or other strange material from the crash stashed in their attic, they might not even know what it was. That leaves the possibility of second or third hand witnesses.

While it's easy to dismiss witnesses who didn't actually experience the crash or aftermath, they can often provide serious researchers with some tidbit of information that can lead to more later. Recently, I was contacted by a man living in California who I'll call Al. After listening to the late Colonel Philip Corso (author of 'The Day after Roswell') speak about events surrounding the Roswell UFO Crash on a late night radio show, Al began to give some thought to something that had occurred earlier in his life.

Al moved to San Francisco, California, in 1964. Sometime in the winter of 1964-65, he was set up on a blind date with 'a good-looking young blond woman.' While he could not recall her name or where they went on the date, he did remember an unusual conversation they had at the end of the evening.

Although the two didn't hit it off romantically, they did seem to enjoy talking with one another. The topics included philosophy, astronomy and science fiction. All very popular themes of the day. At some point the young woman asked Al if he believed in the existence of other life forms or Alien life in the Universe. Al said he did and gave a few reasons why, which included the size of the Universe and the common scientific probabilities of the day. The young woman almost immediately gave affirmation to Al by saying something like, "Yea, you're right," and followed up with a most amazing story.

Al's date began her narrative by explaining that she was the daughter of an Air Force Chaplain. The family lived in Roswell and her father was serving on the Base known as Roswell Army Air Field in 1947 (later named Walker Air Force Base in 1949). Although he cannot recall the actual calendar date or day of the week, the young woman told him that sometime during dinner two men came to the door to get her dad. She recalled hearing them tell him that his services were needed. The incident caused such a stir in the household that everyone stayed up late until he returned.

Seeing that everyone was still awake, the Chaplain told his family that he was called to give religious comfort to some sort of Alien Life Forms near what seemed to be an Alien Spacecraft. At least two of four creatures were still alive when he got there. He described them as looking a bit like adolescent boys, but obviously not human. No one knew what the creatures were or precisely how to care for them. As a result, all of the beings eventually perished. That was the crux of the story.

Al would have been seven and the young woman would have been around five years of age at the time of the Roswell UFO Crash. Despite her young age, one can assume that this event left a huge impression on her and was probably discussed a number of times over the years by one or more family members. Either way, she seemed to recall enough of the story to share it with her date.

As an experienced paranormal investigator, I know that you can second guess almost any story into oblivion. This is the way of most skeptics. They merely tinker with stories, evidence or witnesses until the believable becomes unbelievable. That is not what I will do here. Instead, I will consider the possibilities.

Although there are many missing pieces from this story, it has one shining asset. Al provides a fascinating new direction for Roswell UFO Crash researchers. I never thought to include a Chaplain in the mix of characters who were a part of the military response to the Roswell Crash. It's easy to forget that people tended to be much more religious in those days. It's also worthwhile to remember that no one expected an alien spacecraft to fall out of the sky and into a world that wasn't ready for such an event.

While it might seem hard to imagine that a Chaplain would be considered important enough to be summoned in the manner he was for such an event, it gets easier if you consider the military mindset. When it comes to any branch of the armed services, it was and still is all about preparedness. We have to assume that some sort of short list of first responders for emergencies was always available to Officers on duty.

Despite the unusual nature of the vehicle and occupants which crashed near Roswell, the initial reaction of the military reveals an almost textbook response to what might otherwise have been considered to be something like a plane crash. The local funeral home was contacted for coffins and/or services, a military investigator and recovery crew was sent out to do their job and the press was duly notified. Given the religious beliefs and values of that time, it would not be unexpected to find a Military Chaplain being made available to those on the scene of a disaster.

Under normal circumstances, it probably wouldn't be that difficult to track down the names of Military Chaplains serving at the Roswell Army Air Field in 1947. However, the task becomes very complicated because the base was home to military aircraft given the mission of carrying Atomic Bombs and personnel were involved in the retrieval and cover-up of a crashed Alien Spacecraft. Anyone who has ever visited Roswell or tried to follow the paper trail back to 1947 knows that peripheral information is everywhere, but tracing down specific information is difficult and the results are not always reliable.

Despite the hardships of verifying a story like this one, the new direction provided opens up a whole new world of possibilities. After all, Chaplains are not just military personnel, but have ties to mainline faiths. It's possible that the Chaplain involved shared some information with other Chaplains or religious leaders, in addition to his immediate family, before the lid was clamped down or he was ordered to keep quiet. Al's blind date of forty years ago may prove to be another important piece in the Roswell puzzle.

Author: Bill Knell
Author's Email: billknell@cox.net
Author's Website: http://www.billknell.com