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ONE OF THE MISSING LINKS TO THE
ROSWELL INCIDENT?
Is there a connection between the crashed
discs stories that appeared in the Circleville Herald in early July 1947
and the most famous crashed saucer story of them all, Roswell, New
Mexico? Perhaps. While researching UFO stories in the microfilm copies
of the 1 Circleville (Ohio) Herald, Jon Fry, chief researcher for
Roundtown UFO Society, discovered what could be an important piece of
information that may shed light on the Roswell, N.M. incident.
On Saturday, July 5, 1947 a farmer Sherman Campbell discovered a six
pointed star shaped object which was 50 inches high, 48 inches wide and
weighed about 2 pounds. It appeared to have silver foil around it. Later
two other strange objects were found in various parts of Pickaway
County, Ohio. Mr. Campbell took the object he found to the office of the
Herald newspaper and announced it was his opinion that this was one of
the famed flying discs (also known as saucers) that had been making news
throughout the nation. (This was only two weeks after Kenneth Arnold's
June 24, 1947 sighting of several unusual saucer shaped objects over
Washington State that ushered the modern era of UFO sightings.)
The July 5, 1947 headlines of the Herald read "Flying Disc Believed
Found on Pickaway Farm." This news eventually spread nationwide. One or
more of the mysterious flying objects had finally crash-landed or so the
papers claimed. The remaining parts of the "disc" was exhibited for a
while at the Herald office. However, the discs found on the Pickaway
County farms had a down to earth explanation. They were obviously parts
of at least one or possibly more than one weather balloon. Because on
close examination the letters and serial numbers of the balloon were
visible. (Weather balloons in that era had a metallic segment attached
to it so that radar could track them.) Thus the story that the famous
crashed discs were in reality nothing more than Army weather balloons
was also picked up by the media and made headlines throughout the
nation.
On July 9 a few days after the story of the Pickaway County crashed
discs the Circleville Herald told of another crashed disc story.
However, this one was out west in Roswell, New Mexico. The article
linked the Pickaway County crashed discs with the disc found in Roswell.
The front page headlines announced "Device like local discs found in
West." Circleville was proud to have the first crashed discs and they
viewed the Roswell case as an exact copy.
In both the Circleville and Roswell incidents, an initial explanation
for the mysterious remains, that they were crashed discs was changed to
the more simple explanation that they were weather balloons. Is there a
connection between the crashed disc stories of Pickaway County and the
resultant explanation of a weather balloon and the explanation of merely
a weather balloon in the alleged cover-up at Roswell? Perhaps. Since the
Ohio story made newspapers throughout the country then presumably
decision makers in the military or intelligence communities were aware
of the Pickaway County disc-balloon controversy.
One can envision two scenarios as to the link of the Ohio story to
Roswell. The first possible scenario is that the weather balloons were
purposely released after the Kenneth Arnold sighting but before the
announcement of the Roswell incident. The public was excited with
stories of flying saucers. Perhaps military or intelligence officials
hoped to debunk the subject of flying discs by stating that they were
merely weather balloons. They could point to the Pickaway County
incidents as proof that eyewitness reports were not accurate thus in
effect debunking any further flying saucer stories that the public might
read.
Furthermore it appears that according to the 1947 Herald story that as
many as three weather balloons went down in Pickaway County in a short
period of time. How often does this happen? Are weather balloons really
that plentiful? Or was this a setup? Did certain secret authorities
purposely release several Army weather balloons with the knowledge that
the excited public would think they were flying saucers? (It would be
ironic that the first crashed disc story originated in a town called
Circleville (its nickname is "Roundtown"). The name originated from the
circular mounds upon which the town was built, which was also originally
in a circle.)
The second possible scenario is slightly different. In this scenario the
Army learns of the Pickaway County crashed disc story and the resulting
explanation for the disc that it was a weather balloon from the teletype
or from the newspapers since it was a nationally reported story. Then
comes knowledge of the Roswell incident. Initially it was reported by
the military that a disc had indeed crashed. But shortly after
this story was "killed" and the report was changed to the simple
explanation of a weather balloon. Did the military think that the public
would accept this explanation because the Circleville incident had set
the precedent? After all weather balloons had been the real solution to
the Circleville discs.
A further Ohio connection to Roswell is that the July 9, 1947 Herald
stated that if the object found at Roswell had been a real disc it would
have been flown to Wright Air Field in Dayton for further examination.
Furthermore, General Curtis LeMay who was to command SAC, the Strategic
Air Command was from Columbus, Ohio, which is only 26 miles north of
Circleville. Several decades later former Senator Barry Goldwater from
Arizona was told by LeMay on the subject of a crashed saucer at Wright
Field that he did not have enough of a security clearance to be told
about what really happened at Roswell. If it was merely a weather
balloon or an experimental missile or U.S. aircraft then' why all the
secrecy for four decades?
Of course this doesn't really shed much light on what really happened
near Roswell. One is left to wonder what really happened.
Were weather balloons really coming down in such great numbers as the
Army would have us believe? Or was the thing that crashed near Roswell
an experimental aircraft or missile? After all New Mexico would become
known for being home base to the German scientists captured in World War
II who worked on what eventually became known as the U.S. space program.
If it was an experimental plane or missile then why was it being tested
on a stormy night? The rancher who originally found the remains
remembered that he heard a crashing sound on the night of a violent
storm.
Perhaps if it was an experimental missile there was the danger of it
straying off and hitting civilians. This would be politically
embarrassing to the Truman Administration. Imagine the headlines
"Missile Built by Former Nazis Nearly Hits Civilians!" If the missiles
crossed state boundaries it might explain the apparent interest of FBI
Director J. Edgar Hoover who in a document wondered about the "flying
discs" of New Mexico.
However, if it was a missile or experimental plane that crashed then why
all the secrecy for four decades? It if was something that was
politically embarrassing to the Truman Administration then why did the
later Republican Eisenhower Administration also keep it secret?
If it wasn't a balloon, experimental plane or missile, was it a craft
not of this Earth? We don't know. There are no known authentic photos of
whatever crashed. If it was a strange object from an unknown,
non-terrestrial destination then it has become one of the best kept
secrets of all time.
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