{"id":39782,"date":"2022-06-27T23:35:57","date_gmt":"2022-06-28T05:35:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/dispatch-from-1947-offers-another-look-at-ufo-incident\/"},"modified":"2022-06-28T05:35:57","modified_gmt":"2022-06-28T05:35:57","slug":"dispatch-from-1947-offers-another-look-at-ufo-incident","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/dispatch-from-1947-offers-another-look-at-ufo-incident\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Dispatch\u2019 from 1947 offers another look at UFO incident"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"A
A sign directs travelers to the start of the \u201c1947 UFO Crash Site Tours\u201d in Roswell, N.M., on June 10, 1997. In Roswell, locals don't argue anymore about whether a space ship crashed nearby. They argue about whose ranch it landed on. (Eric Draper\/Associated Press file)<\/span>Eric Draper<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

ROSWELL, N.M. (AP) \u2013 The Roswell incident has been one of the most thoroughly researched and debated mysteries in the history of the UFO phenomenon and among the most enduring.<\/p>\n

Barring a major revelation between now and July, Roswell will mark the 75th anniversary<\/a> of the alleged 1947 UFO crash with the debate over what occurred here far from settled.<\/p>\n

That hasn\u2019t been for a lack of digging. For decades now, journalists, authors, documentary film crews and others fascinated by the incident have unearthed and publicized countless bits of information and artifacts of that time.<\/p>\n

\"The
The July 9, 1947, Roswell Dispatch\u2019s front-page headline reads: \u201cArmy Debunks Roswell Flying Disk, As World Simmers With Excitement.\u201d The Roswell Morning Dispatch, a long-defunct sister newspaper of the Roswell Daily Record, was published in the mornings from 1928 to 1950. The Dispatch covered the news of the day, and as such, it carried accounts in July 1947 of the unfolding events related to the alleged recovery of a crashed \u201cFlying Disk\u201d outside Roswell, along with the military\u2019s explanations for what had occurred. (Roswell Dispatch\/Roswell Daily Record via AP)<\/span>Eric Draper<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Along the way, they\u2019ve brought attention to many pieces of Roswell history, such as the July 1947 front pages of the Roswell Daily Record<\/em> that recorded initial reports of the incident along with a follow-up version of events presented by the military that some now view as one of history\u2019s greatest cover-ups.<\/p>\n

The intensity of focus placed on the Roswell incident for three-quarters of a century has led some to posit that most contemporaneous records have already been scrutinized. But one piece of local history recently uncovered provides an interesting companion to those iconic 1947 headlines the public has become familiar with \u2013 while adding yet more pages to a still-growing historical record.<\/p>\n

The Roswell Morning Dispatch<\/em>, a long-defunct sister newspaper of the Roswell Daily Record<\/em>, was published in the mornings from 1928 to1950. The Dispatch<\/em> covered the news of the day, and as such, it carried accounts in July 1947 of the unfolding events related to the alleged recovery of a crashed \u201cFlying Disk\u201d outside Roswell, along with the military\u2019s explanations for what had occurred.<\/p>\n

Its historical headlines were discovered among archived editions of the newspaper, the Daily Record<\/em> reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Of interest to UFO research enthusiasts: The July 9, 1947, headline in the Morning Dispatch<\/em> read, \u201cArmy Debunks Roswell Flying Disk As World Simmers With Excitement,\u201d followed by a subhead bearing a familiar assertion that would help fuel future accusations of a cover-up: \u201cOfficers Say Disk Is A Weather Balloon.\u201d A sidebar describes then-sheriff George Wilcox fielding calls from media around the world as journalists sought information about what would come to be known as the Roswell incident.<\/p>\n

Nick Pope, who investigated UFOs for the UK Ministry of Defense, said discovery of the old headlines holds significance for researchers and others interested in the phenomenon.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a fascinating piece of history that time had forgotten,\u201d Pope said. \u201cIt just shows that 75 years after the Roswell incident, there are still discoveries to be made in the archives.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added, \u201cAny historian will tell you that going back to the original sources is priceless when it comes to getting an insight into what happened and how those people involved were reacting and perceiving things, and what the feeling was in the local community.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is just an amazing glimpse into Roswell in 1947 \u2013 which was ground zero for this mystery that still endures to this day.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"This
This is a file photo from the U.S. Air Force book released June 24, 1997, entitled \u201cThe Roswell Report,\u201d which shows \u201cSierra Sam,\u201d center, and 1st Lts. Eugene Schwartz, left, and Raymond Madison. The 231-page report, released on the eve of the 50th anniversary of the Roswell, N.M., UFO incident, is meant to close the book on longstanding rumors that the Air Force recovered a flying saucer and extraterrestrial bodies near Roswell, N.M. (U.S. Air Force via AP file)<\/span>Eric Draper<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Barbara Beck, publisher of the Roswell Daily Record<\/em>, said that bringing a new resource to light for researchers is something the paper\u2019s staff members are excited about. \u201cIt has taken over 70 years for the Roswell Morning Dispatch<\/em> with its unique articles and headlines to be discovered while looking through our newspaper\u2019s archives,\u201d she said. \u201cThe Dispatch <\/em>was originally owned by my family and it\u2019s very exciting that we now have a new primary resource to further understand the history of New Mexico and its undiscovered stories.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Roswell Daily Record<\/em> headlines related to the 1947 UFO incident have, for some time, been federally trademarked. Beck added that the Roswell Morning Dispatch<\/em> accounts have also now been trademarked, meaning they can\u2019t be reproduced without permission.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s much to be discovered in the archives. A look at the Dispatch <\/em>records provide a reminder, for instance, of the degree to which a public fascination with UFOs had taken hold here and across the country at that time. The Roswell incident is one of four UFO-related accounts that appear just on the front page of the July 9, 1947, Morning Dispatch<\/em>. The other items: \u201cCarrizozo Man Sees Flying Disk,\u201d \u201cJoe Massey Spots Disk Over Roswell,\u201d and an image of an unknown object in the sky over Seattle, Washington, with a caption that asks the question, \u201cIs this a flying disc?\u201d<\/p>\n

\"This
This photo is from the U.S. Air Force\u2019s \u201cThe Roswell Report,\u201d released June 24, 1997, which discusses the alleged UFO incident in Roswell, N.M. in 1947. On balloon flights, test dummies were used and placed in insulation bags to protect temperature-sensitive equipment. These bags may have been described by at least one witness as \u201cbody bags\u201d used to recover alien victims from the crash of a flying saucer. The 231-page report, released on the eve of the 50th anniversary of the Roswell, N.M., UFO incident, is meant to close to book on longstanding rumors that the Air Force recovered a flying saucer and extraterrestrial bodies near Roswell. (U.S. Air Force via AP file)<\/span>Eric Draper<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Further research into the archives has uncovered many more mentions of sightings.<\/p>\n

Readers might also notice that the Dispatch<\/em> front page contains instances of language that reflect the less culturally sensitive times during which the paper was being published. Daily Record<\/em> management thought it was important to present the archival front page, a piece of local history, to the public unedited and unaltered.<\/p>\n

Pope, who will travel to Roswell in July to participate in the Daily Record\u2019<\/em>s Roswell Incident event, part of the city\u2019s UFO Festival, said he hopes discovery of the old Dispatch<\/em> headlines reminds people that historical records could still be out there, waiting to be discovered. Such a discovery could, as the much anticipated 75th anniversary of the incident nears, help shed new light on what happened in 1947.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fact that Roswell will be the focus of world attention again, is almost like … a sort of final chance to maybe solve the mystery, one way or the other, for good,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"Col.
Col. John Haynes holds a copy of an U.S. Air Force report entitled \u201cThe Roswell Report\u201d during a Pentagon news conference in Washington on June 24, 1997, to discuss the UFO incident in Roswell, N.M., in 1947. On the eve of the 50th anniversary of the incident, the Air Force offered what it hopes is the final word about claims by UFO buffs that alien bodies were recovered at the crash site. (Susan Walsh\/Associated Press file)<\/span>Susan Walsh<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A sign directs travelers to the start of the \u201c1947 UFO Crash Site Tours\u201d in Roswell, N.M., on June 10, 1997. In Roswell, locals don't argue anymore about whether a space ship crashed nearby. They argue about whose ranch it landed on. (Eric Draper\/Associated Press file)Eric Draper ROSWELL, N.M. (AP) \u2013 The Roswell incident has […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":39783,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[815,138],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-39782","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-associated-press-new-mexico","tag-new-mexico"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39782","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39782"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39782\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39783"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39782"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39782"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39782"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=39782"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}