Subject: Roswell Documents Detroyed
The GAO report on the Roswell Incident was released Friday (my
birthday). Attached is a newswire story.
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Subject: Roswell Documents Already Gone
Copyright: 1995 by The Associated Press, R
Date: Sat, 29 Jul 95 14:50:05 PDT
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) -- Key military documents on the so-called
Roswell Incident, cited by UFO buffs as an alien crash, were
apparently destroyed without authorization decades ago, a
congressman said Saturday.
Rep. Steve Schiff of New Mexico said a General Accounting Office
report shed no new light on the 1947 crash and showed that
important documents are missing.
``Documents that should have provided more information were
destroyed,'' Schiff said. ``The military cannot explain who
destroyed them or why.''
Schiff said the GAO estimates the information was destroyed more
than 40 years ago.
The Air Force has said that the wreckage was probably a balloon
launched as part of a classified government project to detect
Soviet nuclear weapons.
The GAO report, released Friday, said that two government
documents are the only official records remaining of the crash near
what was then the Roswell Army Air Force Base.
For nearly half a century, the mysterious crash has fueled
speculation about aliens in the New Mexico desert, Cold War secrecy
and a government cover-up.
``The debate on what crashed at Roswell continues,'' the GAO
report said.
It said the Roswell base's administrative records from March
1945 through December 1949 and its outgoing messages from October
1946 through December 1949 were destroyed.
Those messages, internal military communications, would have
shown how military officials in Roswell explained what happened to
their superiors, the Republican congressman said.
``My understanding is that these were permanent records which
should not have been destroyed,'' Schiff said.
Scientists and Pentagon officials have said an experimental
aerial surveillance balloon crashed northwest of Roswell in 1947,
but UFO buffs have contended that was a cover up for the crash of
an alien space ship.
The GAO report includes an FBI teletype and a reference to a
``radar tracking device,'' or weather balloon.
The weather balloon story has since been discredited by the Air
Force itself, which last year said the wreckage was probably a
balloon launched as part Project Mogul. The project was a highly
classified effort to detect Soviet nuclear weapons using balloons
that carried radar reflectors and acoustic sensors, the GAO report
said.
Included in this section is the actual official release that was made
by U.S. Congressman Steve Schiff from New Mexico in regards to his
investigation to get documents released related to the Roswell
Incident of July 1947. Here is his a textual reproduction of
Congressman's Schiff statement:
=========================
U.S. CONGRESSMAN
Steve Schiff
WASHINGTON OFFICE: 2404 Rayburn Building * Washington, D.C. 20515 *
(202) 225-6316 FAX (202)225-4975
DISTRICT OFFICE: 625 Silver Ave., S.W., Suie 140, Albuquerue, NM 87102
(505) 766-2538 FAX (505)766-1674
=======================================================================
Immediate Release J. Barry Bitzer
July 28th, 1995 (202) 225-2245
Schiff Receives, Releases Roswell Report
(missing documents leaves unanswered questions)
Washington: Congressman Steve Schiff today released the General
Accounting Office (GAO) report detailing results of a records
audit related to events surrounding a crash in 1947, near
Roswell, New Mexico, and the military response.
The 20 page report is the result of constituent information
requests to Congressman Schiff and the difficulty he had getting
answers from the Depart of Defense in the now 48-year-old
controversey.
Schiff said important documents, which may have shed more light
on what happened at Roswell, are missing. "The GAO report states
that the outgoing messages from Roswell Army Air Field (RAAF) for
this period of time were destroyed without proper authority."
Schiff pointed out that these messages would have shown how
military officials in Roswell were explaining to their superiors
exactly what happened.
"It is my understanding that these outgoing messages were
permanent records, which should never have been destroyed. The
GAO could not identify who destroyed the messages, or why." But
Schiff ponted out that the GAO estimates that the messages were
destroyed over 40 years ago, making further inquiry about their
destruction impractical.
Documents revealed by the report include an FBI teletype and
reference in a newsletter style internal forum at RAAF that refer
to a "radar tracking device" - a reference to a weather balloon.
Even though the weather ballon story has since been discredited
by the U.S. Air Force, Schiff suggested that the authors of those
communications may have been repeating what they were told,
rather than consciously adding to what some believe is a "cover
up."
"At least this effort caused the Air Force to acknowledge that
the crashed vehicle was no weather balloon," Schiff said. "That
explanation never fit the fact of high military security used at
the time." The Air Force in September, 1994 claimed that the
crashed vehicle was a then-classified device to detect evidence
of possible Soviet nuclear testing.
Schiff also praised the efforts of the GAO, describing their work
as "professional, conscientious and thorough."
A two page letter discussing a related investigation into
"Majestic 12" was also delivered.
Schiff will be available to the media Saturday, July 29th, from
10:00 AM to 2:00 PM (Eastern) at 2404 Rayburn HOB in Washington,
DC and by telephone: (202) 225-6316.
A copy of the report may be obtained by callig (202) 512-6000
and referencing Document number GA)/NSIAD-95-187.
Comments from Illinois: - My only comment on this recent
circumstance of events is: What is the Government afraid of that
they must destroy secret documents and change their story? Related
to UFO information, if nothing is said, this saids alot, don't you
think. It is probably time for the U.S. Government to sacrifice
Roswell, there are enough witnesses talking about what they know
now. Glad to see one of the U.S. Congressmen meeting the same
reception many researchers have found when trying to uncover
documents which clearly show what happened at Roswell!!
