In July 1947, an airborne object crashed new Roswell, New Mexico. Nearly 50 years later, speculation continues as to what that object was. Rumors had circulated that the object was an alien spacecraft and that the military had the debris in its custody. The Air Force contends that the wreckage was from a balloon-launched classified government project designed to monitor Soviet nuclear weapons research. GAO conducted an extensive search of the reports that should have been prepared and retained in accordance with government policies of the time. GAO's review of classified and unclassified documents from the late 1940s and 1950s took it to the files of the Pentagon, FBI, and CIA, the National Security Council, and other organizations. GAO found that some government records covering activities of the Roswell Army Air Field had been destroyed. GAO did locate two 1947 records that mentioned the crash--a July 1947 Roswell history report mentioning the recovery of the "flying disc" and an FBI teletype message dated July 8 reporting that the military had reported that an object resembling a high-altitude weather balloon with a radar reflector had been recovered new Roswell.
Online Stats: 
