Maj. Jesse Marcel
U.S. Army Air Forces intelligence officer
Intelligence officer at the 509th Bomb Group in Roswell, New Mexico, in July 1947. Photographed with debris recovered from the J. B. Foster ranch in the days following what the Roswell Army Air Field publicly described as the recovery of a 'flying disc' before the Army revised its account to a weather balloon.
- Document Release
FBI 62-HQ-83894: the master 'flying disc' file, 1947–1968
Eighteen sections and serials of the FBI Headquarters master investigative case file on 'flying discs,' covering the Roswell era through the late 1960s. Includes Oak Ridge nuclear-facility overflight reports. The largest single PDF in PURSUE is 101 megabytes.
- Official Statement
Roswell Army Air Field announces recovery of a 'flying disc'
The Roswell Army Air Field public information officer issues a press release stating that the 509th Bomb Group has come into possession of a 'flying disc' recovered from a nearby ranch. Within twenty-four hours the Army retracts the statement and identifies the debris as a weather balloon.