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Illustration by John MacNeill of the scene inside of RAAF hangar P-3
By Michael Schratt
On July third 1947, an object of unknown origin crashed on the high desert region of New Mexico. According to the ground breaking book Witness to Roswell, the incident occurred sometime between 11:00 and 11:30 pm (just a few minutes before America’s Independence Day). Originally, the object exploded in mid-air over the Foster ranch approximately seventy-five miles north west of Roswell. Hundreds of pieces of debris rained down, and were scattered over an area measuring approximately 300 feet wide by ¾ of a mile long. Starting at the northern end of the debris field, a 500 foot long gouge stretched across the ground. As it continued to travel in an easterly direction, it’s believed that two bodies may have been ejected from the craft about 1-1/2 miles from the debris field. Rapidly losing altitude, the unknown object ultimately impacted a rocky outgrowth approximately forty-three miles north of Roswell, and just west of highway 285. What was believed to be the main portion of the craft, and possibly three additional bodies lay untouched on the desert floor for the better part of four days. They were eventually discovered by a team of archeologists from the University of Texas on the afternoon of July seventh.
Technically, there was no military involvement or “boots on the ground” regarding the Roswell case until the morning of July seventh when both Major Jesse Marcel (air intelligence officer) and CIC (Counter Intelligence Corps) commander Sheridan Cavitt examined the debris on the Foster ranch. The actual retrieval operation did not begin until the morning of July eighth, when George Houck drove his eighteen wheeler low-boy tractor trailer north of Roswell to the so called “second site”. With the retrieval operation in full gear, a large convoy of military vehicles was sighted around 3:00 pm traveling down Main Street in the direction of the base. Hangar P-3 building 84 became the central depository for both the debris, and the alleged bodies. It’s known from the testimony of staff sergeant Earl Fulford, that George Houck drove his low-boy tractor-trailer (carrying a tarp covered egg-shaped craft) directly into the hangar. Once inside, the debris, and the “victims of the wreck” would have been packaged, and made ready for the quickly planned flights to Eighth Air Force HQ (Fort Worth Texas) and Wright Field (Dayton Ohio).
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