Friday, January 20, 2017

Roswell - What's Next?


The other day someone asked me, “What’s the next step for Roswell?”

It was a question that I hadn’t thought about much but is one that needs to be addressed though I thought I had made a note of this in Roswell in the 21st Century. (Sure, some of you might be annoyed at these little promotional mentions, but hey, I don’t charge you a membership to visit here.)

One of the displays in the Roswell UFO
Museum. Copyright by Randle.
Let’s look at it this way. If there is a first-hand witness still alive who saw anything, if he or she has not come forward and we all who have been searching for every possible witness hasn’t found that person, I would bet that person simply didn’t see much at all or is long past providing us with any useful information. Certainly nothing that would break the case open and provide the smoking gun. Everyone at the top levels of the Roswell command structure, whether officer or NCO, is dead. Some of the lower ranking and therefore younger members might still be out there, but the odds are that they are deep into their nineties with the 70th anniversary looming. There has been an effort to find papers, documents, diaries, journals, letters, anything that mentions the crash and recovery and written prior to 1978 when Jesse Marcel first burst onto the scene. To this point there is simply nothing of value found, certainly nothing that can be properly dated and nothing that leads us into the realm of the alien.

So, witnesses can no longer be interviewed, unless you resort to talking to the children or the grandchildren of those stationed at Roswell. This is something that I don’t think bears much fruit. Those former service members certainly could have been spinning a tale or two, the listeners could have misinterpreted what was said, or thought they heard things that weren’t said. If someone had written it down in one of those seemingly nonexistent diaries or journals at the time the tale was uttered, then we might have something interesting or something that would provide a lead, but none of that has borne fruit either.

There really isn’t a next step, except for the search for documents, and that hasn’t gone all that well. Personally, I’ve made dozens of FOIA requests and I’m not alone in that. Hundreds, if not thousands, have been made, and I’m still waiting for responses on some of them. (Or I get snide letters such as the one from the CIA… I had asked about the analysis of the Ramey Memo done in the mid-1990s by an organization that was, at that time, part of the CIA… I mentioned that the photo had been taken in 1947 and they told me that the CIA didn’t exist in 1947. I didn’t bother telling that the Central Intelligence Group did but my question dealt with the Air Force inquiry that came in the 1990s not something from 1947).

We can review the information already collected. Many, if not most, of the interviews were conducted on audio and videotape so that a record of them exists that might provide some clues. These can be reviewed. As I was doing that, I did find some interesting tidbits overlooked at the time. Oh, nothing that would alter anyone’s view, but interesting tidbits that helped complete an overall picture. And, of course, we can compare later statements with earlier ones to see if any, or rather how much, those statements have changed. Sometimes it’s just little things and other times it is a major alteration. That also can provide information but that sort of data won’t lead us to the extraterrestrial, or any other answer for that matter.

We can continue the onslaught of FOIA, but the records sought, if they even exist, would be so highly classified that national security would come into play and the records would be withheld. We would be told that the specific agency under FOIA could neither confirm nor deny the existence of the records sought. And that’s if they even bother to look for them. We just might just be told that they have no records that are responsive to our requests. I once FOIAed a document, giving the title, the date it was written, the author, and the overall topic and was told that my request hadn’t been specific enough. I’m not sure that if I have even given them the first page or two that would have been specific enough. I just don’t know what else I could have included to make it clearer to them and there seemed to be nowhere to go with the next request.

Thinking about this carefully, I just can’t seem to think of anything more to be done except another “cold case” review of the information. The testimony has been collected, the documentation has been sought, and archives have been searched. A review might suggest something to someone who has not been immersed in the case for decades, or he or she might think of an avenue of research that hasn’t been explored, but I don’t know what it would be. We are now dead in the water, waiting for inspiration.

12 comments:

TheDimov said...

Someone has to come forward with pieces from the ranch. That someone hasn't already has been the one truly befuddling thing for me. I mean if I was in possession of a piece from the crash site, and if I wasn't relying on government pension, there is no way I would keep it to myself, I would tell the world, without question. Especially if I were at an age where I wouldn't care too much for anything anymore. And that this didn't happen truly bothered me about the Roswell case. I just cant believe such a secret has been kept for so long. I mean the stuff was apparently nondescript, so you could even play dumb if the MIBs came calling, but the fact that there has been no such disclosure, well it annoys me. Why cling on to it... show the world damn it.

Could it be possible that some pieces were handed down to younger generations, and someone might be brave enough to disclose? But it should have happened by now. But to me this is really the only chance to resurrect the case good and proper. Physical evidence, anything.

MrAnonymous said...

What's the next step?

Give up. Roswell's dead and you're the last serious researcher beating this horse.

Everything about Roswell's been addressed and you're chasing shadows and FOAF tales.

Don't end up like Greer or Maussan. Not even playing the veteran card will keep you from becoming a laughingstock like the former two.

KRandle said...

MrAnonymous -

If that is really your name...

I thought I made it clear that there wasn't really anywhere new to go. I thought it was clear that I have given up the search, that the case wasn't nearly as robust as we had thought. I thought I made it clear that I wasn't looking for more witnesses or answers... And, of course, I didn't write the book about the children of Roswell.

So, I have moved on, but if someone asks a question, should I just ignore it? If someone makes a good point by asking what is next for Roswell, should I not answer it. As of now, as I have said, I just don't know what more can be done and unless or until someone finds a document, a government official makes a claim along with the documentation, or someone presents a bit of metal, or pictures of the crash site, we are quite done.

Nitram said...

Hello Dr Randle and Happy New Year...

Yes 70 years is a long time and I agree, no new witnesses will surface.
However there are still one or two old leads/ideas that should be followed up on.

I also commend you and "your team" on the work to date.
The 70th Anniversary should be interesting and I really hope you will be there for it.

Regards
Nitram

MrAnonymous said...

> So, I have moved on, but if someone asks a question, should I just ignore it? If someone makes a good point by asking what is next for Roswell, should I not answer it.

There's an acronym older than the internet. RTFM, or Read The Fine Manual.

If someone has a question about Roswell, they should google it up themselves. Perhaps provide a link to LMGTFY, or Let Me Google That For You.

Let them explore the rabbit hole, bumping into every dead end, and left with a handful of smelly pellets rather than anything of substance.

Roswell is dead.

BF said...

G'day Lt Col (Rtd) Kevin Randle,

Did you ever interview the late Col Ingo Swann prior to his death about the Roswell Case or others on these matters? Enjoy reading your latest book on Roswell Case and also the interview you did with Col Halt.

Regards,
BF

Unknown said...

I fear you are clinging at straws. You are a "believer" but the facts just don't seem to be there. Now there is conspiracy of generations who are keeping hidden artifacts. Come on, get real.

In the end perhaps the great secret of Roswell is that there is no great secret. An event to be sure, a cover up of something and more than likely some disinformation fueled by early Cold War paranoia. The military and the government move in strange and mysterious ways, but the real truth is more than likely disappointingly mundane.

zoamchomsky said...


"...I have given up the search...."

Congratulations!

The "Roswell" myth began long before 1947 so just the suggestion that a folktale based in science-fiction literature had somehow become reality was implausible in the extreme.

And as an example of the ETH for "UFO" reports Roswell shares all of the objections to that "least likely" explanation for why people tell "UFO" stories:

There may be few places in the Galaxy hospitable to the evolution of complex sentient life that might eventually aspire to explore the stars. Anything at all like us might be the rarest sort of thing--existing only as a completely random accident. "They" most probably don't even exist.

Interstellar travel is prohibitively difficult. The distances between most stars are immense, the time required to travel such distances is much greater than the probable lifetimes of living things. Space is filled with deadly radiations and other hazards from mundane interstellar grains to exotic dark objects that could destroy spacecraft before they're even detected. "They" could never get here.

And even if such space travelers did, do or will exist it doesn't mean they have, are or will ever visit the Earth. The Galaxy is gigantic and labyrinthine. So most probably neither will we ever visit or even detect "them."

Now how about the "UFO" myth generally. How are you with it? Or without the ETH does the whole idea "UFO" become as inconsequential as over a century of unusual stories based in misperceptions, misidentifications and wild media-manufactured science-fiction inspired predispositions, space-age hopes and repressed war fears?

Kevin, you sound incredibly youthful, energetic and sharp on radio! Pretty amazing.

Best, zo



KRandle said...

All -

I sometimes worry about reading comprehension. I sometimes worry about directing everyone to the Internet where is no real peer review, where anyone, no matter how ill-informed can comment and where information that is clearly too far out to be considered anything but fantasy is routinely posted. But I'm told to allow those with an interest in the case to search the Internet and I wonder why I shouldn't save them a lot of wasted effort if I can answer the questions easily.

No, Roswell is not dead, though it may be mortally wounded. It is, currently, one of thousands of multiple witness cases that has little in the way of documentation and nothing in the way of physical evidence... and this may be and probably is where it will rest.

And no one is suggesting a "conspiracy of generations who are keeping hidden artifacts." Where did this notion arise?... I said that there is not much more that can be done unless "someone presents a bit of metal, or pictures of the crash site," not that there is a conspiracy to hide such evidence.

So, we all agree that something fell at Roswell, but one commentator would not have me answer legitimate questions about that because of his belief. Another thinks I have suggested a conspiracy of generations to hide the debris. All I have said is there isn't a place to go now. We don't have a real answer. We have competing theories with proponents who will not listen to counter arguments and that is about all we have at this point.

If you really want to understand my position, I suggest you read the book. It lays it all out clearly, but then, many would just misunderstand that as well.

John Steiger said...

Roswell is neither dead nor mortally wounded. Rather the Roswell crash of 1947 is a historical fact which will continue to be celebrated annually as proof of alien visitation and alien intervention here on earth. Although not unique, the importance of Roswell should not be underestimated.

David Esp said...

Sources drying up - so situation might appear static - but no, it will decay. Perceived "fakeness" is a growing phenomenon (was always going to be). Need preservation of provenance (metadata) in its variable forms. Help future generations work it out (either way). Only pointless if aliens (etc.) then turn up ;-)

Terry the Censor said...

(Reading comprehension under this post is surprisingly bad.)

Anyway, if there is no new evidence, the future of Roswell will still produce false claims, hoaxes, and bizarre interpretations (the Roswell slides had all three).

And so we'll need honest researchers who can factcheck and atomise these things.