• TIMELINE OF THE ROSWELL EVENT

    From Scott Allen@RICKSBBS to All on Sun Jul 19 06:22:49 2026
    TIMELINE OF THE ROSWELL EVENT

    Note: Bracketed [] entries are those for which we have only indirect
    evidence or for which a time slot could not be definately established.
    This chart is a revised version of the one that appeared in _UFO Crash
    at Roswell_.

    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Date/Time | Events at Roswell, N.M. | Events elsewhere ----------|--------------------------------------|--------------------------- Tue. 7/1 | | ----------|--------------------------------------|---------------------------
    | | Sherman Campbell discovers
    | | weather balloon debris
    | | near Circleville, OH. ----------|--------------------------------------|--------------------------- Wed. 7/2 | | ----------|--------------------------------------|--------------------------- Night | 9:50pm. Mr. & Mrs. Dan Wilmot report |
    | oval-shaped UFO moving NW, toward the|
    | crash site. William Woody and his |
    | father also observe a bright, arching|
    | light with a red contrail as they are|
    | driving NW of Roswell. |
    | Mac Brazel and others hear loud |
    | explosion. | ----------|--------------------------------------|--------------------------- Thu. 7/3 | | ----------|--------------------------------------|--------------------------- Mid- | Mac Brazel, accompanied by 7-year-old|
    morning | D. Proctor, discovers a large amount |
    | of light-weight, metallic debris on a|
    | remote pasture (the debris field). |
    | |
    Late | Brazel visits his neighbors, the | Aborted V-2 rocket launch morning | Proctors, and shows them some of the | at White Sands Proving
    | material. | Grounds, NM.
    | |
    Evening | Brazel removes a large, circular |
    | piece of debris from the debris field|
    | and stores it in a shed. | ----------|--------------------------------------|--------------------------- Fri. 7/4 | | ----------|--------------------------------------|---------------------------
    | Holiday. | 1:00-2:00pm. Flying disks
    | | observed at Portland, OR.
    | | 9:12pm. United Air Lines
    | | flight crew watches 9
    | | disks over Emmett, ID. ----------|--------------------------------------|--------------------------- Sat. 7/5 | | ----------|--------------------------------------|---------------------------
    | Brazel goes to Corona, NM, and tells |
    | some acquaintances about the find. |
    | On the way back he stops again at the|
    | Proctors. | ----------|--------------------------------------|--------------------------- Sun. 7/6 | | ----------|--------------------------------------|--------------------------- Morning | Brazel drives to Roswell to visit | [Army Air Force captain
    | Sheriff Wilcox. | sees flying disk near
    | | Fairfield, CA.
    | |
    Early | Brazel and Wilcox call Roswell base | 1:45pm B-25 crew observes afternoon | and report the find. | silvery disk over Clay
    | | Center, KS.
    | |
    | Col. Blanchard, Maj. Marcel, and CIC |
    | Captain Cavitt arrive at Wilcox's |
    | office to interview Brazel. |
    | |
    Mid- | [Blanchard returns to the base with | [General Ramey alerts the afternoon | a portion of Brazel's debris and | Pentagon about the find.
    | alerts General Ramey in Fort Worth | The Pentagon orders debris
    | about the find.] | sent to Fort Worth.]
    | |
    Late | Marcel and Cavitt accompany Brazel |
    afternoon | back to his ranch to go to the debris|
    | field. |
    | The two deputies return to Sheriff |
    | Wilcox, having found an area of |
    | blackened ground. |
    | |
    Evening | 1st flight out. Debris flown to |
    | Fort Worth. |
    | |
    Night | Marcel and Cavitt stay at Brazel's | Col. Alan D. Clark flies
    | ranch and examine the large piece | debris in a B-26 from Ft.
    | stored in the shed. | Worth to Washington, DC
    | | for Gen. McMullen. ----------|--------------------------------------|--------------------------- Mon. 7/7 | | ----------|--------------------------------------|--------------------------- Early | Brazel takes Marcel and Cavitt to |
    morning | debris field. |
    | |
    Daytime | | 11:45am. Koshkonong, WI,
    | | flying disk sighting.
    | [General Twining makes an unannounced| 2:30pm. East Troy, WI. case.
    | visit to Kirtland Air Field, near | 9:00pm. William Rhodes takes
    | Albuquerque.] | photograph of flying disk
    | | over Phoenix, AZ.
    | |
    Late | Marcel and Cavitt leave for the | [Debris from Washington evening | Roswell base after loading their | is sent to Wright Field,
    | vehicles with debris. | near Dayton, OH.] ----------|--------------------------------------|--------------------------- Tue. 7/8 | | ----------|--------------------------------------|--------------------------- Very early| Marcel stops at his home (2:00am) and|
    morning | shows some of the debris to his wife |
    | and son before proceeding on to the |
    | base. |
    | |
    Early | Blanchard orders Maj. Easley to post |
    morning | guards on the access roads to the |
    | debris field. |
    | [7:30am] Staff meeting held by |
    | Roswell base officers to discuss |
    | debris. |
    | |
    Mid- | 9:00am Cavitt and his assistant M/Sgt|
    afternoon | Rickett obtain a staff car and drive | 9:30-11:50am. Series of disk
    | to Brazel's ranch to pick him up and | sightings by pilots and
    | return to the debris field. | officers at Muroc Air Base
    | Troops arrive at debris field to | CA.
    | begin recovery. |
    | [11:00am] Blanchard dictates a press |
    | release on the recovery of a flying |
    | disk to PIO Walter Haut. |
    | |
    Mid-day | Haut goes into town to deliver his |
    | press release to the radio stations |
    | and newspapers. His first stop is at|
    | station KGFL, where he gives the |
    | release to Frank Joyce. |
    | Noon. The information is put on the |
    | AP wire. |
    | 1st flight in arrives from Washington|
    | DC, carrying a special team of photo-|
    | graphers and W/O Robert Thomas. |
    | William Woody and his father, still |
    | curious about their sighting, drive |
    | toward Corona. They are turned away |
    | by MPs posted on outlying roads. |
    | |
    Early | News of the recovery spreads as the |
    afternoon | story hits the wire services. Phone |
    | lines at the base, at the sheriff's |
    | office, and at newspaper and radio |
    | news offices are tied up. |
    | Sheriff Wilcox sends two more |
    | deputies to the debris field; they |
    | are turned back by MPs. |
    | Cavitt and Rickett return to the |
    | Roswell base with Brazel. |
    | |
    Mid- | Brazel is flown back to the debris |
    afternoon | field from the base; other planes |
    | from Roswell are similarly recon- |
    | noitering the area. |
    | The impact site is discovered from |
    | the air; ground troops are directed |
    | toward it. |
    | [Barney Barnett and a group of |
    | students and archeologists or rock- |
    | hunters are already at the impact |
    | site and see debris and bodies; they |
    | are escorted off by the Army.] |
    | Col. Blanchard "goes on leave" from |
    | the base, but he actually leaves to |
    | visit the debris field. |
    | Material has been brought from the |
    | debris field and loaded onto a C-54; |
    | this 2nd flight out is flown by Capt.|
    | Pappy Henderson to Wright Field. | J. Bond Johnson, of the
    | 3rd flight out, a B-29, carries | Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
    | Marcel to Fort Worth Army Air Field. | is told to go to Fort
    | A few wrapped packages [of debris] | Worth Army Air Field to
    | are also on the plane. | cover a flying disk story.
    | |
    Late | Clean-up continues at the crash | Marcel arrives in Fort afternoon | sites. | Worth and confers with Gen.
    | Brazel is flown back to the base, | Ramey; at some point
    | then leaves and is located by Walt | remnants of a balloon are
    | Whitmore, Sr., of radio station KGFL,| substituted for the real
    | who interviews him about the find. | debris.
    | Blanchard visits the debris field | A press conference is held
    | and impact site with his staff. | in Ramey's office; Johnson
    | A 2nd flight from Washington, DC, | photographs Marcel and
    | arrives at the base; Rickett gives | Ramey with the balloon
    | the crew a sealed box filled with | remnants; W/O Irving
    | debris; the plane returns shortly to | Newton identifies the
    | Washington (4th flight out). | material as a balloon with
    | The Roswell Daily Record carries | a radar target device
    | "RAAF Captures Flying Saucer" story. | attached.
    | | Ramey issues a statement
    | | claiming that the Roswell
    | | officers were fooled and
    | | that the material was from
    | | a weather balloon.
    | |
    Early | Sgt. Melvin Brown looks under a tarp | 6:17pm Memo from FBI Dallas evening | on the back of a truck at the impact | office to SAC regarding
    | site and sees several alien-looking | weather balloon cover
    | bodies. | story.
    | Glenn Dennis, a local mortician, is | Ramey gives an interview
    | intrigued by several inquiries from | on Fort Worth radio station
    | the base about tissue preservation | WBAP about the weather
    | and the smallest caskets he has | balloon cover story.
    | available. |
    | Truck carrying the bodies arrives at |
    | the base. |
    | A preliminary autopsy is attempted at|
    | the base hospital by pathologist Dr. |
    | Jesse Johnson, Jr. |
    | Dennis tries to visit the base |
    | hospital but is turned away forcibly;|
    | a nurse friend warns him to leave |
    | before he gets in trouble. |
    | [8:30pm] Barnett returns home to |
    | Socorro. |
    | |
    Night | Capt. John Martin, Sgt. Brown, and |
    | other MPs guard a crate containing |
    | the bodies that has been placed |
    | inside an empty hangar. | ----------|--------------------------------------|--------------------------- Wed. 7/9 | | ----------|--------------------------------------|--------------------------- Early | Troops continue clean-up at the crash|
    morning | sites. |
    | At the base, three C-54's begin to be|
    | loaded with crates filled with debris|
    | (8:00am). |
    | [Senator Dennis Chavez calls Walt |
    | Whitmore Sr. to warn him against |
    | broadcasting an interview with |
    | Brazel; a representative of the FCC |
    | threatens to pull his broadcast |
    | license.] |
    | |
    Mid- | Officers from the base locate Brazel |
    morning | (who had stayed with Whitmore) and |
    | return him to the base for |
    | questioning. |
    | |
    Late | Brazel is taken by the military to |
    morning | the office of the Roswell Daily |
    | Record, where he gives a revised, |
    | sanitized version of the story. |
    | [A special secret service envoy |
    | representing President Truman arrives|
    | from Washington (3rd flight in.)] |
    | |
    Noon | The crate with bodies is moved from |
    | the hangar to Bomb Pit Number One. |
    | [Floyd Proctor, Lyman Strickland, |
    | and others observe Brazel in town |
    | escorted by soldiers.] |
    | |
    Early | Officers from the base visit | General Schulgen requests afternoon | newspaper and radio offices in town | FBI cooperation in solving
    | and recover all copies of Haut's | the flying disk problem.
    | original press release. | The War Department tells
    | Brazel is taken to radio station | the FBI that the disks
    | KGFL, where he gives a revised | do not belong to the
    | version of his story. | Army or Navy.
    | |
    Late | Three fully loaded C-54's (5th-7th |
    afternoon | Flights out) carry debris to Los |
    | Alamos, NM, via Kirtland Field. |
    | 4:00pm. The crate from Bomb Pit |
    | Number One is transferred to a B-29 |
    | and flown (8th Flight out) to Fort |
    | Worth. | 5:00pm. Ball of light
    | The Roswell Daily Record carries a | deposits odd metal on
    | sanitized version of Barzel's story. | ground near Midland, MI.
    | |
    Early | | 6:00pm. Officers and a evening | | mortician in Fort Worth
    | | meet the incoming B-29
    | | from Roswell; the flight
    | | crew returns to Roswell
    | | with Marcel.
    | |
    Late | 8:00pm. Marcel arrives back in | 11:30pm. Constable in evening | Roswell (4th Flight in). | Grand Falls, Newfoundland,
    | | observes 4 flying disks. ----------|--------------------------------------|--------------------------- Thu. 7/10 | | ----------|--------------------------------------|---------------------------
    | Clean-up continues at the crash | [A flight from Wright Field
    | sites. | arrives in Fort Worth and
    | Brazel continues to be interrogated | returns to Wright Field
    | and held at a guest house on the | with more debris and a
    | base. | large, metallic container
    | [Remaining debris confiscated from | on board.]
    | Sheriff Wilcox by military | FBI memo, Fitch to Ladd.
    | personnel.] | Aborted V-2 launch at
    | | White Sands.
    | | [General Twining stops at
    | | White Sands before return-
    | | ing to Wright Field.]
    | | President Truman derides
    | | flying disk stories.
    | | 4:00pm. TWA representative
    | | sees flying disk at Harmon
    | | Field, Newfoundland. ----------|--------------------------------------|--------------------------- Fri. 7/11 | | ----------|--------------------------------------|---------------------------
    | MPs and others involved in the |
    | retreival are debriefed and told to |
    | forget that it happened. | ----------|--------------------------------------|--------------------------- Sat. 7/12 | | ----------|--------------------------------------|---------------------------
    | Bill Brazel Jr. returns to his | 6:30pm. Flying disk follows
    | father's ranch; no evidence of a | a C-47 at Elmendorf Field,
    | military presence remains. | Alaska. ----------|--------------------------------------|--------------------------- Late July | | ----------|--------------------------------------|---------------------------
    | July 15 - Mac Brazel returns to his |
    | ranch from the Roswell base after his| 7/20- Silver-white disk
    | interrogation. | moving at great speed
    | | reported near Cumberland,
    | | MD.
    | | 7/26- National Security
    | | Act passes, which
    | | coordinates the Army, Navy,
    | | and Air Force into a single
    | | national military
    | | establishment under the
    | | Secretary of Defense. The
    | | Army Air Force becomes
    | | the U.S. Air Force.
    | | 7/30- The first Air Force
    | | "estimate" of the nature
    | | of the flying disks is
    | | drafted by Gen. Schulgen's
    | | staff. ----------|--------------------------------------|--------------------------- August '47| | ----------|--------------------------------------|---------------------------
    | Mac Brazel and Tommy Tyree spot a | 8/19- FBI memo, Fitch to
    | piece of debris in a sinkhole near | Ladd.
    | the debris field. | ----------|--------------------------------------|--------------------------- Sept. '47 | | ----------|--------------------------------------|---------------------------
    | Prof. Lincoln LaPaz, secretly charged| 9/5- Gen. Schulgen tells
    | with reconstructing the object's | the FBI that the disks do
    | trajectory, arrives from Washington | not belong to the Air
    | and rediscovers the area of black- | Force.
    | ened ground with Rickett. | 9/23- Gen. Twining calls
    | | for an official invest-
    | | igation of the flying
    | | disks.
    | | 9/24- Alleged memo from
    | | Truman to Forrestal,
    | | establishing Operation
    | | Majestic Twelve. Vannevar
    | | Bush meets with Truman.
    | | 9/25- FBI memo, Ladd to
    | | Hoover, advising that FBI
    | | discontinue flying disk
    | | investigations.
    | | 9/26- Sidney Souers named
    | | head of new National
    | | Security Council, which
    | | holds its first meeting. ----------|--------------------------------------|--------------------------- Oct. '47 | | ----------|--------------------------------------|---------------------------
    | | 10/1- Truman letter to
    | | Vannevar Bush, the sig-
    | | nature of which matches
    | | the MJ-12 memo of 9/24.
    | | 10/28- Schulgen issues a
    | | draft collection memo-
    | | randum that outlines the
    | | essential elements of
    | | information required to
    | | analyze flying disk
    | | reports. ----------|--------------------------------------|--------------------------- Sep. '48 | | ----------|--------------------------------------|---------------------------
    | LaPaz tells Rickett that he is still |
    | convinced the Roswell debris was an |
    | unoccupied probe from another world. | ----------|--------------------------------------|--------------------------- Summer '49| | ----------|--------------------------------------|---------------------------
    | The gouge is still visible at the |
    | debris field. |
    | Mac Brazel, having found various |
    | scraps of debris for the past two |
    | years, mentions in Corona that he |
    | still has the material. The next day|
    | a Capt. Armstrong and three others |
    | from the base confiscate the pieces. | ----------|--------------------------------------|---------------------------
    1978 | | ----------|--------------------------------------|---------------------------
    | | Pappy Henderson confides
    | | to a close friend that he
    | | had flown wreckage from
    | | a crashed saucer to Wright
    | | Field; he still has a
    | | fragment of the debris.
    | | Marcel, located by
    | | researcher Stan Friedman,
    | | says he is sure the debris
    | | was nothing from earth. ----------|--------------------------------------|---------------------------
    1980 | | ----------|--------------------------------------|---------------------------
    | | In Search Of interviews
    | | Marcel, who says he is
    | | sure the Roswell debris
    | | was nothing from earth.
    | | Charles Berlitz and William
    | | L. Moore publish their
    | | report on the case, The
    | | Roswell Incident. ----------|--------------------------------------|---------------------------
    1982 | | ----------|--------------------------------------|---------------------------
    | | Pappy Henderson tells his
    | | wife Sappho about his role
    | | in the recovery. ----------|--------------------------------------|---------------------------
    1988 | | ----------|--------------------------------------|---------------------------
    | Oct.- An Air Force pickup truck is |
    | seen on the Foster Ranch; the driver |
    | asks ranch hand Jim Parker if the |
    | Roswell crash site is nearby. | ----------|--------------------------------------|---------------------------
    1989 | | ----------|--------------------------------------|---------------------------
    | Sept. 15-19 The Center for UFO |
    | Studies conducts an expedition to |
    | the debris field. | ----------|--------------------------------------|---------------------------
    1991 | | ----------|--------------------------------------|---------------------------
    | | July- Kevin Randle and
    | | Donald Schmitt's account
    | | of the case, UFO Crash
    | | at Roswell, is published
    | | by Avon Books. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------


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