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Because his father had known Colonel Blanchard of the 509th Bomb Command, Jeffrey was able to wangle an invitation to the 1996 reunion of the 509th. There he met pilots stationed at Roswell in 1947, most of whom, he found, had "heard nothing about the supposed crashed-saucer incident until years later, after all the publicity started." After chasing down other sources suggested by 509th pilots, Jeffrey was convinced. "In essence," he says, "the 1947 Roswell case has turned out to be a red herring, diverting time and resources away from research into the real UFO phenomenon."
Later this month, the Air Force will release the results of its second study, launched after UFOlogists complained that its 1994 report did not address the issue of alien bodies. ("It seemed rational to us," explains the Air Force's Weaver, "that since we proved there were no UFOs, it automatically meant no aliens.")
For a few years after 1947, the report will explain, the Air Force conducted experiments that involved dropping dummies from high-altitude balloons to study the results of the impact. Witnesses' descriptions of the "aliens," the Air Force notes, closely match the characteristics of the dummies: 3 1/2 ft. to 4 ft. tall, bluish skin coloration and no ears, hair, eyebrows or eyelashes.
"What quite likely happened," says Weaver, "is that people who saw these dummies mistook them for aliens." And, he notes, because no mention of aliens was made until 1978, those "who were interviewed were trying to recall events that took place 30 years earlier." Weaver blames UFOlogists for "linking" these sightings, which occurred after 1947, to the original Roswell incident.
Despite the Air Force reports, despite Pflock and Jeffrey, Roswell believers remain unshaken. "If you can't attack the data," Friedman says, "attack the people by saying they are nuts, kooks, quacks ... The evidence is overwhelming," he insists, "that planet Earth is being visited by extraterrestrial life."
The millions of Americans who believe that U.S. officials are withholding the truth about Roswell specifically and UFOs in general are not about to be swayed by the facts. Echoing The X-Files, they insist the truth is still out there. Says Weaver: "What I hadn't realized [before we issued our first report] was the vehemence of the pro-UFO people. Telling them there was no saucer at Roswell was like telling a kid there is no Santa Claus." With the urge to believe so strong, the legend of Roswell will doubtless go on and on.
--Reported by James Willwerth/Roswell, Elaine Rivera/New York and Chandrani Ghosh/Washington