1 00:00:04,533 --> 00:00:06,467 and may contain mature subject matter. 2 00:00:06,467 --> 00:00:10,667 Viewer discretion is advised. 3 00:00:10,800 --> 00:00:14,767 - Tonight on "History's Greatest Mysteries": and may contain mature subject matter. 4 00:00:17,600 --> 00:00:19,667 - Late this afternoon, a bulletin from New Mexico 5 00:00:19,800 --> 00:00:21,333 suggested that one of the strange discs 6 00:00:21,467 --> 00:00:23,633 had been found and inspected. 7 00:00:23,767 --> 00:00:25,400 Fishburne: In 1947, 8 00:00:25,533 --> 00:00:27,166 something crashed in the desert 9 00:00:27,300 --> 00:00:29,000 in the American Southwest. 10 00:00:29,133 --> 00:00:30,767 Whatever the object was, 11 00:00:30,900 --> 00:00:34,333 it has created shockwaves still felt today. 12 00:00:34,467 --> 00:00:36,767 I'm Laurence Fishburne. 13 00:00:36,900 --> 00:00:38,500 On tonight's mystery: 14 00:00:38,633 --> 00:00:41,667 what crashed in Roswell, New Mexico? 15 00:00:41,800 --> 00:00:45,834 Was it a flying saucer, as headlines first announced, 16 00:00:45,967 --> 00:00:48,734 or a secret military aircraft? 17 00:00:48,867 --> 00:00:51,467 A new investigation seeks answers. 18 00:00:51,600 --> 00:00:54,033 - This might be that piece of the puzzle. 19 00:00:54,166 --> 00:00:56,667 Fishburne: An ex-CIA officer named Ben Smith 20 00:00:56,800 --> 00:00:59,300 has obtained a cryptic journal. 21 00:00:59,433 --> 00:01:00,734 Fishburne: It was found among the papers 22 00:01:00,867 --> 00:01:02,400 of Major Jesse Marcel, 23 00:01:02,533 --> 00:01:06,400 the first U.S. Army officer to investigate the wreckage. 24 00:01:06,533 --> 00:01:08,567 - He always said that he was sworn to secrecy. 25 00:01:08,700 --> 00:01:10,767 Fishburne: Does it contain coded clues 26 00:01:10,900 --> 00:01:13,000 of what Marcel really saw? 27 00:01:13,133 --> 00:01:16,633 - It was not anything from this Earth. 28 00:01:16,767 --> 00:01:19,266 Fishburne: What about stories of alleged alien bodies 29 00:01:19,400 --> 00:01:20,467 in the wreckage? 30 00:01:20,600 --> 00:01:22,200 - She said there were little people, 31 00:01:22,333 --> 00:01:24,066 and there was some dead and some alive. 32 00:01:24,200 --> 00:01:26,367 Fishburne: Did the U.S. government cover up the truth, 33 00:01:26,500 --> 00:01:29,433 and does it still possess the wreckage of a UFO? 34 00:01:29,567 --> 00:01:34,033 - I do know one name of a man who had pieces of debris. 35 00:01:34,166 --> 00:01:36,533 Fishburne: The truth behind Roswell 36 00:01:36,667 --> 00:01:40,033 according to those who were there. 37 00:01:40,166 --> 00:01:43,000 [dramatic music] 38 00:01:43,133 --> 00:01:50,066 ♪ ♪ 39 00:01:53,967 --> 00:01:56,834 [foreboding music] 40 00:01:56,967 --> 00:02:02,533 ♪ ♪ 41 00:02:02,667 --> 00:02:06,100 A former CIA operative, investigator, and author, 42 00:02:06,233 --> 00:02:10,900 Ben Smith has been intrigued by Roswell and UFOs for years. 43 00:02:11,033 --> 00:02:13,600 - Investigating was at the core of my work at CIA. 44 00:02:13,734 --> 00:02:16,767 I went under deep cover, lived a double life, 45 00:02:16,900 --> 00:02:19,100 to collect intel on terrorist networks, 46 00:02:19,233 --> 00:02:20,367 foreign spy activities, 47 00:02:20,500 --> 00:02:22,166 even weapons of mass destruction. 48 00:02:22,300 --> 00:02:24,100 Fishburne: Smith says this may be 49 00:02:24,233 --> 00:02:25,734 his most challenging mission: 50 00:02:25,867 --> 00:02:28,900 trying to figure out the truth about what really crashed 51 00:02:29,033 --> 00:02:32,133 near Roswell, New Mexico, in 1947. 52 00:02:32,266 --> 00:02:34,367 ♪ ♪ 53 00:02:34,500 --> 00:02:35,967 - So this is it, huh? - This is it. 54 00:02:36,100 --> 00:02:37,467 Ground Zero. 55 00:02:37,600 --> 00:02:39,800 Fishburne: Don Schmitt has written seven best-sellers 56 00:02:39,934 --> 00:02:42,734 about Roswell and interviewed more people connected 57 00:02:42,867 --> 00:02:45,300 to the incident than anyone alive. 58 00:02:45,433 --> 00:02:50,000 - Taking a look at the impact site now of that crash in '47. 59 00:02:50,133 --> 00:02:51,967 I was a special investigator 60 00:02:52,100 --> 00:02:54,166 for the late Dr. J. Allen Hynek, 61 00:02:54,300 --> 00:02:57,166 who was consultant to the Air Force Project Blue Book. 62 00:02:57,300 --> 00:02:58,934 I was a skeptic, 63 00:02:59,066 --> 00:03:03,667 and the one case that I wanted to investigate was Roswell, 64 00:03:03,800 --> 00:03:07,567 and for having talked to over 600 witnesses 65 00:03:07,700 --> 00:03:10,333 either directly or indirectly involved, 66 00:03:10,467 --> 00:03:14,600 I am 99% convinced that what indeed crashed here 67 00:03:14,734 --> 00:03:18,867 back in 1947 was a craft of unknown origin 68 00:03:19,000 --> 00:03:20,934 not manufactured on this planet. 69 00:03:21,066 --> 00:03:26,000 ♪ ♪ 70 00:03:26,133 --> 00:03:28,166 Fishburne: Ben Smith asked Schmitt to show him 71 00:03:28,300 --> 00:03:30,533 the site where the crash debris was found. 72 00:03:35,033 --> 00:03:36,166 - This is it, Ben, 73 00:03:36,300 --> 00:03:40,033 what we consider the most significant location, 74 00:03:40,166 --> 00:03:43,266 as far as in the entire history of the UFO phenomenon. 75 00:03:43,400 --> 00:03:47,000 ♪ ♪ 76 00:03:47,133 --> 00:03:50,066 It's total isolation. 77 00:03:50,200 --> 00:03:53,467 We could just as well be on the dark side of the moon. 78 00:03:53,600 --> 00:03:55,867 ♪ ♪ 79 00:03:56,000 --> 00:03:57,934 - You know, my background is in the CIA, 80 00:03:58,066 --> 00:04:03,433 and I have no agenda except to explore this mystery, 81 00:04:03,567 --> 00:04:05,967 bring some clarity to some unanswered questions. 82 00:04:06,100 --> 00:04:07,867 It's thrilling to finally be out here 83 00:04:08,000 --> 00:04:09,400 after having read so much about it, 84 00:04:09,533 --> 00:04:11,166 a lot of your work. 85 00:04:11,300 --> 00:04:13,934 - This is where it all began, back in 1947. 86 00:04:14,066 --> 00:04:20,867 ♪ ♪ 87 00:04:21,000 --> 00:04:23,967 Fishburne: In the 1940s, New Mexico was home to some 88 00:04:24,100 --> 00:04:27,533 of America's most sensitive military installations, 89 00:04:27,667 --> 00:04:30,133 including where the atomic bomb was developed. 90 00:04:30,266 --> 00:04:31,266 ♪ ♪ 91 00:04:31,400 --> 00:04:33,400 By the summer of 1947, 92 00:04:33,533 --> 00:04:34,934 the U.S. was worried 93 00:04:35,066 --> 00:04:37,867 that the Soviets were building their own atomic bomb, 94 00:04:38,000 --> 00:04:40,867 and Americans were worried about something else: 95 00:04:41,000 --> 00:04:44,367 hundreds of reports of UFOs. 96 00:04:44,500 --> 00:04:46,166 - What is the flying saucer? 97 00:04:46,300 --> 00:04:47,633 What's behind the daily reports 98 00:04:47,767 --> 00:04:50,100 of aerial phenomena in the nation's press? 99 00:04:50,233 --> 00:04:52,200 - These supposed sightings were reported 100 00:04:52,333 --> 00:04:55,133 in a number of newspapers throughout the United States, 101 00:04:55,266 --> 00:04:58,200 and they actually started to grow in number 102 00:04:58,333 --> 00:05:00,500 in kind of a mass hysteria. 103 00:05:00,633 --> 00:05:01,967 ♪ ♪ 104 00:05:02,100 --> 00:05:05,834 - Much of the activity seemed to be focused in New Mexico, 105 00:05:05,967 --> 00:05:09,433 the hotbed of military activity at that time. 106 00:05:09,567 --> 00:05:11,934 New Mexico became the focus. 107 00:05:12,066 --> 00:05:14,333 Not only the Soviet Union, 108 00:05:14,467 --> 00:05:18,633 but also the UFO phenomenon, as though someone else 109 00:05:18,767 --> 00:05:21,100 was very interested in our military potential. 110 00:05:21,233 --> 00:05:24,100 [booming] 111 00:05:24,233 --> 00:05:26,600 ♪ ♪ 112 00:05:26,734 --> 00:05:28,734 Fishburne: By late June 1947, 113 00:05:28,867 --> 00:05:31,300 more than a week before the Roswell crash, 114 00:05:31,433 --> 00:05:33,667 residents in the southern part of the state were spooked 115 00:05:33,800 --> 00:05:37,266 by nearly 70 sightings of UFOs. 116 00:05:37,400 --> 00:05:40,767 - But it was just going in a northerly motion 117 00:05:40,900 --> 00:05:42,100 in a pretty rapid speed, 118 00:05:42,233 --> 00:05:45,800 but nothing like a falling star or a meteorite. 119 00:05:45,934 --> 00:05:47,166 So bright, like that, 120 00:05:47,300 --> 00:05:50,600 you couldn't look directly at it very long at a time, 121 00:05:50,734 --> 00:05:52,567 and you had to look to the side of it, 122 00:05:52,700 --> 00:05:54,500 just like looking into a bright sun. 123 00:05:54,633 --> 00:06:01,667 ♪ ♪ 124 00:06:04,967 --> 00:06:08,200 Fishburne: Then, on the morning of July 6, 1947, 125 00:06:08,333 --> 00:06:11,233 something even stranger occurred. 126 00:06:11,367 --> 00:06:14,000 ♪ ♪ 127 00:06:14,133 --> 00:06:17,266 Roswell sheriff called the nearby Army Air Field 128 00:06:17,400 --> 00:06:18,867 to say that a sheep rancher 129 00:06:19,000 --> 00:06:20,867 had come in with pieces of debris 130 00:06:21,000 --> 00:06:24,266 that he believed came from a crashed flying saucer. 131 00:06:24,400 --> 00:06:27,000 ♪ ♪ 132 00:06:27,133 --> 00:06:28,300 The base's commander 133 00:06:28,433 --> 00:06:30,800 was Colonel William H. Blanchard, 134 00:06:30,934 --> 00:06:33,066 a highly decorated military pilot 135 00:06:33,200 --> 00:06:37,834 who, in 1945, had supervised the mission of the Enola Gay, 136 00:06:37,967 --> 00:06:41,200 the bomber that destroyed Hiroshima. 137 00:06:41,333 --> 00:06:46,066 By 1947, the base was still home to the 509th, 138 00:06:46,200 --> 00:06:48,100 the world's only nuclear-equipped 139 00:06:48,233 --> 00:06:49,734 bomber squadron. 140 00:06:49,867 --> 00:06:54,934 - Roswell was the headquarters of the elite military 141 00:06:55,066 --> 00:06:56,066 at that time. 142 00:06:56,200 --> 00:06:58,767 The base was always on full alert, 143 00:06:58,900 --> 00:07:01,066 because they had the atomic bomb. 144 00:07:01,200 --> 00:07:02,633 ♪ ♪ 145 00:07:02,767 --> 00:07:04,400 Fishburne: In response to the call from the sheriff, 146 00:07:04,533 --> 00:07:05,800 Colonel Blanchard 147 00:07:05,934 --> 00:07:07,967 dispatched the base's intelligence officer, 148 00:07:08,100 --> 00:07:10,100 Major Jesse Marcel. 149 00:07:10,233 --> 00:07:11,900 With him was Sheridan Cavitt, 150 00:07:12,033 --> 00:07:14,300 an agent for Army counterintelligence. 151 00:07:14,433 --> 00:07:16,266 ♪ ♪ 152 00:07:16,400 --> 00:07:18,567 According to Don Schmitt's research, 153 00:07:18,700 --> 00:07:20,166 this is what happened next. 154 00:07:20,300 --> 00:07:25,166 ♪ ♪ 155 00:07:25,300 --> 00:07:27,500 - Monday morning, July 7th, 156 00:07:27,633 --> 00:07:30,166 Jesse Marcel and Sheridan Cavitt 157 00:07:30,300 --> 00:07:33,533 arrive at the debris field with the rancher. 158 00:07:33,667 --> 00:07:36,967 ♪ ♪ 159 00:07:37,100 --> 00:07:39,066 Major Jesse Marcel said 160 00:07:39,200 --> 00:07:41,934 the first thing that struck him 161 00:07:42,066 --> 00:07:45,066 was the massive amount of debris. 162 00:07:45,200 --> 00:07:48,100 As he would say, "There was just so much of it." 163 00:07:48,233 --> 00:07:51,000 Covered an area almost a mile long. 164 00:07:51,133 --> 00:07:52,600 ♪ ♪ 165 00:07:52,734 --> 00:07:56,066 - Interviewed later about what he saw in the debris field, 166 00:07:56,200 --> 00:08:00,133 Marcel claimed it was 3/4 of a mile long, 167 00:08:00,266 --> 00:08:01,400 a couple of hundred feet wide. 168 00:08:01,533 --> 00:08:03,133 ♪ ♪ 169 00:08:03,266 --> 00:08:08,967 - At that point, that material has been out there for days, 170 00:08:09,100 --> 00:08:12,100 and no one else is looking for it, 171 00:08:12,233 --> 00:08:15,700 which would clearly suggest it's not ours, 172 00:08:15,834 --> 00:08:19,467 and if it's not ours, then whose is it? 173 00:08:19,600 --> 00:08:25,133 ♪ ♪ 174 00:08:25,266 --> 00:08:28,100 - So Marcel and Cavitt spend the better part of the day 175 00:08:28,233 --> 00:08:29,500 out there looking at this thing 176 00:08:29,633 --> 00:08:32,867 and trying to determine what it was. 177 00:08:33,000 --> 00:08:35,467 Fishburne: Marcel picked up different pieces of the debris 178 00:08:35,600 --> 00:08:38,233 and put them in boxes in the trunk of his car. 179 00:08:38,367 --> 00:08:42,333 ♪ ♪ 180 00:08:42,467 --> 00:08:47,233 - Cavitt would stay behind and concentrate more 181 00:08:47,367 --> 00:08:51,333 on the wreckage in a general area. 182 00:08:51,467 --> 00:08:54,767 Marcel would make the drive back to Roswell. 183 00:08:54,900 --> 00:08:58,000 ♪ ♪ 184 00:08:58,133 --> 00:09:01,266 Fishburne: What Jesse did next, according to his family, 185 00:09:01,400 --> 00:09:05,333 was an uncharacteristic breach of military protocol. 186 00:09:05,467 --> 00:09:09,934 - He knew the material would be classified Top Secret 187 00:09:10,066 --> 00:09:12,567 the moment it would cross the front gate 188 00:09:12,700 --> 00:09:14,300 at the Roswell Army Air Field. 189 00:09:14,433 --> 00:09:17,567 It was important enough, strange enough, 190 00:09:17,700 --> 00:09:21,400 unusual enough that Major Marcel 191 00:09:21,533 --> 00:09:25,700 would stop at his home on the way back to the base. 192 00:09:25,834 --> 00:09:30,400 ♪ ♪ 193 00:09:30,533 --> 00:09:32,767 - He came back real late one night-- 194 00:09:32,900 --> 00:09:35,567 about 2:00 in the morning, as I recall--very excited, 195 00:09:35,700 --> 00:09:39,400 because he found parts of a UFO--or a flying saucer 196 00:09:39,533 --> 00:09:41,800 at that time-- and he wanted me to see it. 197 00:09:41,934 --> 00:09:43,934 ♪ ♪ 198 00:09:44,066 --> 00:09:47,400 - Marcel would describe paper-thin, 199 00:09:47,533 --> 00:09:48,867 metal-like material, 200 00:09:49,000 --> 00:09:51,200 practically weightless in your hands, 201 00:09:51,333 --> 00:09:53,367 that you couldn't cut, you couldn't burn. 202 00:09:53,500 --> 00:09:57,533 There was silken strands of material that Marcel described 203 00:09:57,667 --> 00:09:59,967 that a lighter could be held to one end 204 00:10:00,100 --> 00:10:02,533 and the light would emit out the opposing end. 205 00:10:02,667 --> 00:10:06,400 Well, they're describing fiber optics in 1947, 206 00:10:06,533 --> 00:10:09,300 yet fiber optics didn't come into development 207 00:10:09,433 --> 00:10:12,033 until around 1970, 208 00:10:12,166 --> 00:10:14,166 and then the I-beam structures. 209 00:10:14,300 --> 00:10:15,834 ♪ ♪ 210 00:10:15,967 --> 00:10:17,567 - Most unusual part of the debris 211 00:10:17,700 --> 00:10:20,700 that I saw was the I-beam fragments. 212 00:10:20,834 --> 00:10:22,967 ♪ ♪ 213 00:10:23,100 --> 00:10:24,567 Fishburne: Jesse Marcel, Jr. 214 00:10:24,700 --> 00:10:27,700 spent a lifetime thinking about the strange materials 215 00:10:27,834 --> 00:10:30,233 his father brought home and let him handle. 216 00:10:30,367 --> 00:10:33,400 - They were, uh, very light, very strong, 217 00:10:33,533 --> 00:10:36,567 and they had some writing on the inside surface of this, 218 00:10:36,700 --> 00:10:38,567 and that was the thing that really set this apart 219 00:10:38,700 --> 00:10:40,934 from anything I had ever seen before. 220 00:10:41,066 --> 00:10:47,900 ♪ ♪ 221 00:10:48,033 --> 00:10:50,934 [suspenseful music] 222 00:10:51,066 --> 00:10:52,934 ♪ ♪ 223 00:10:53,066 --> 00:10:56,900 - I am on my way to meet with the Marcel family, 224 00:10:57,033 --> 00:11:01,166 the grandchildren of the first American official 225 00:11:01,300 --> 00:11:03,767 on the scene at Roswell in 1947. 226 00:11:03,900 --> 00:11:05,767 ♪ ♪ 227 00:11:05,900 --> 00:11:08,266 Fishburne: Having learned of Ben Smith's investigation, 228 00:11:08,400 --> 00:11:11,266 the Marcel family is eager to talk with him. 229 00:11:11,400 --> 00:11:12,800 They believe they have something 230 00:11:12,934 --> 00:11:15,467 he will certainly want to see. 231 00:11:15,600 --> 00:11:17,800 - The Roswell incident could potentially be 232 00:11:17,934 --> 00:11:20,800 the greatest event in the history of humankind. 233 00:11:20,934 --> 00:11:25,100 You know, we have, uh, how many--300 trillion stars 234 00:11:25,233 --> 00:11:29,166 and 200 billion galaxies and, uh-- 235 00:11:29,300 --> 00:11:33,000 scattered across, like, 15 billion light years. 236 00:11:33,133 --> 00:11:34,266 ♪ ♪ 237 00:11:34,400 --> 00:11:35,900 And to think that we're all alone 238 00:11:36,033 --> 00:11:39,400 in all of that space is pretty sad. 239 00:11:39,533 --> 00:11:41,133 ♪ ♪ 240 00:11:41,266 --> 00:11:47,467 So I personally want to know, is there anybody out there, 241 00:11:47,600 --> 00:11:48,834 and have they been here? 242 00:11:48,967 --> 00:11:50,967 ♪ ♪ 243 00:11:51,100 --> 00:11:52,800 The Roswell incident 244 00:11:52,934 --> 00:11:55,300 has got the potential for physical evidence 245 00:11:55,433 --> 00:11:58,367 and, uh, you know, a host of reliable witnesses 246 00:11:58,500 --> 00:12:02,000 who all describe something 247 00:12:02,133 --> 00:12:03,734 the world has never seen before. 248 00:12:03,867 --> 00:12:05,100 ♪ ♪ 249 00:12:05,233 --> 00:12:07,333 There's no way for me to know but to research, 250 00:12:07,467 --> 00:12:08,500 to start at the bottom 251 00:12:08,633 --> 00:12:10,133 and work my way through the facts. 252 00:12:10,266 --> 00:12:13,734 ♪ ♪ 253 00:12:13,867 --> 00:12:20,233 The Marcel family has a journal belonging to their grandfather. 254 00:12:20,367 --> 00:12:22,266 ♪ ♪ 255 00:12:22,400 --> 00:12:25,867 This journal could change the entire story 256 00:12:26,000 --> 00:12:27,767 about what happened in Roswell. 257 00:12:27,900 --> 00:12:34,867 ♪ ♪ 258 00:12:37,834 --> 00:12:39,500 [doorbell rings] 259 00:12:41,367 --> 00:12:42,600 - Hi. - Hey. 260 00:12:42,734 --> 00:12:43,867 - Jesse Marcel. - Jesse, pleasure to meet you. 261 00:12:44,000 --> 00:12:45,000 Ben. 262 00:12:45,133 --> 00:12:46,367 - Ben. - Yeah. 263 00:12:46,500 --> 00:12:48,734 - Nice to finally meet you. Come on in. 264 00:12:48,867 --> 00:12:51,867 My brother and sister are here as well. 265 00:12:52,000 --> 00:12:54,633 I first saw the journal going through 266 00:12:54,767 --> 00:12:57,000 some military documents of my grandfather, 267 00:12:57,133 --> 00:12:59,800 and it was just in with the military documents. 268 00:12:59,934 --> 00:13:01,934 Hers the diary. 269 00:13:02,066 --> 00:13:03,433 - Oh, okay. Wow. 270 00:13:03,567 --> 00:13:05,033 - He put it in a cedar chest, 271 00:13:05,166 --> 00:13:06,967 and it was in there till the day he died. 272 00:13:07,100 --> 00:13:10,300 There's something very important about that journal. 273 00:13:10,433 --> 00:13:12,133 ♪ ♪ 274 00:13:12,266 --> 00:13:14,133 - This is pretty wild. - Right? 275 00:13:14,266 --> 00:13:15,533 Fishburne: Until now, 276 00:13:15,667 --> 00:13:17,233 no one outside the Marcel family 277 00:13:17,367 --> 00:13:19,300 has ever seen this journal. 278 00:13:19,433 --> 00:13:21,133 Does it contain fresh details 279 00:13:21,266 --> 00:13:23,166 about what really happened in Roswell? 280 00:13:23,300 --> 00:13:25,934 ♪ ♪ 281 00:13:26,066 --> 00:13:28,367 Coming up... 282 00:13:28,500 --> 00:13:30,867 will local residents open up about memories 283 00:13:31,000 --> 00:13:33,300 they've been afraid to share for decades? 284 00:13:33,433 --> 00:13:37,166 - It was just a flash. It was there and it was gone. 285 00:13:37,300 --> 00:13:38,500 Fishburne: Did this man's father 286 00:13:38,633 --> 00:13:40,900 hide UFO debris on his property? 287 00:13:41,033 --> 00:13:41,867 - Well, something happened, 288 00:13:42,000 --> 00:13:43,767 'cause they spent a lot of money 289 00:13:43,900 --> 00:13:45,600 hiding what really did happen. 290 00:13:45,734 --> 00:13:48,400 Fishburne: Magnetic readings are off the charts. 291 00:13:48,533 --> 00:13:52,066 - It's enough metal to basically max out the sensor. 292 00:13:52,200 --> 00:13:54,400 Fishburne: Could it be something from another world? 293 00:13:54,533 --> 00:13:57,834 - I want to throw everything we got now at that new site. 294 00:13:57,967 --> 00:13:59,133 [motors revving] 295 00:13:59,266 --> 00:14:02,500 ♪ ♪ 296 00:14:06,133 --> 00:14:09,000 [dramatic music] 297 00:14:09,133 --> 00:14:16,100 ♪ ♪ 298 00:14:17,934 --> 00:14:20,700 - January 4th, 1946 to 1948. 299 00:14:20,834 --> 00:14:22,734 See, that would have been a year--almost a year after. 300 00:14:22,867 --> 00:14:25,433 - About a year after August-- almost exactly a year. 301 00:14:25,567 --> 00:14:26,934 Fishburne: Ben Smith's investigation 302 00:14:27,066 --> 00:14:29,266 of the Roswell incident has taken him to Spokane, 303 00:14:29,400 --> 00:14:32,767 Washington, to meet the grandchildren of Jesse Marcel, 304 00:14:32,900 --> 00:14:36,533 who believe they have a crucial piece of evidence. 305 00:14:36,667 --> 00:14:38,200 - Boy, this really does run the gamut then. 306 00:14:38,333 --> 00:14:39,967 - Right. - It starts before Roswell 307 00:14:40,100 --> 00:14:41,200 and ends about a year afterwards. 308 00:14:41,333 --> 00:14:42,900 - Right. - Yep. 309 00:14:43,033 --> 00:14:44,133 Fishburne: After his death, 310 00:14:44,266 --> 00:14:45,500 Marcel's family found a journal 311 00:14:45,633 --> 00:14:47,400 hidden with his military records 312 00:14:47,533 --> 00:14:49,867 that he had never shared with anyone. 313 00:14:50,000 --> 00:14:53,166 - There's something very important about that journal. 314 00:14:53,300 --> 00:14:54,567 ♪ ♪ 315 00:14:54,700 --> 00:14:56,066 Fishburne: There are entries dated from around 316 00:14:56,200 --> 00:14:57,400 the time of Roswell, 317 00:14:57,533 --> 00:15:00,400 but the notations are strange and confusing. 318 00:15:00,533 --> 00:15:04,533 Could they be coded clues to what Marcel really saw? 319 00:15:04,667 --> 00:15:06,600 - Why was he writing movie quotes? 320 00:15:06,734 --> 00:15:08,367 Or songs? 321 00:15:08,500 --> 00:15:10,000 - How into pop culture and movie 322 00:15:10,133 --> 00:15:11,934 and books was your grandfather? 323 00:15:12,066 --> 00:15:13,734 - We never talked about that with our grandfather. 324 00:15:13,867 --> 00:15:14,800 - No. 325 00:15:14,934 --> 00:15:15,900 - You know, it could also be something 326 00:15:16,033 --> 00:15:17,300 like a mnemonic device, 327 00:15:17,433 --> 00:15:19,333 where you memorize something totally different 328 00:15:19,467 --> 00:15:23,533 from the subject matter so that it prompts your recall later. 329 00:15:23,667 --> 00:15:25,333 Fishburne: Ben wonders if their grandfather, 330 00:15:25,467 --> 00:15:27,166 a seasoned intelligence officer, 331 00:15:27,300 --> 00:15:30,100 was trying to hide information because he'd been warned 332 00:15:30,233 --> 00:15:32,633 never to reveal the truth about the UFO. 333 00:15:32,767 --> 00:15:33,767 [dramatic music] 334 00:15:33,900 --> 00:15:35,333 - Since he worked in intelligence, 335 00:15:35,467 --> 00:15:38,000 you're not gonna state out, "Oh, wow, I just found a UFO." 336 00:15:38,133 --> 00:15:39,600 You know, you're not gonna write it out like that. 337 00:15:39,734 --> 00:15:40,800 - Right. 338 00:15:40,934 --> 00:15:42,100 - You're gonna be kind of cryptic about it, 339 00:15:42,233 --> 00:15:43,066 because you don't want anybody else 340 00:15:43,200 --> 00:15:44,300 to maybe see what you're writing. 341 00:15:44,433 --> 00:15:45,667 - Mm-hmm. 342 00:15:45,800 --> 00:15:47,500 - At one point the military came back and said, 343 00:15:47,633 --> 00:15:48,800 "Yeah, you've got to stop 344 00:15:48,934 --> 00:15:52,266 making this stuff up about the--the UFO crash," 345 00:15:52,400 --> 00:15:55,400 and he grabbed his medals and threw them away. 346 00:15:55,533 --> 00:15:56,667 Says he was done. 347 00:15:56,800 --> 00:15:59,834 He was done, and he--he was very upset. 348 00:15:59,967 --> 00:16:02,100 [dramatic music] 349 00:16:02,233 --> 00:16:04,467 Fishburne: Jesse Marcel was born in 1907 350 00:16:04,600 --> 00:16:07,333 in the bayou country of southern Louisiana. 351 00:16:07,467 --> 00:16:10,133 His childhood fascination with maps would lead to a job 352 00:16:10,266 --> 00:16:13,467 with Shell Oil where he worked with aerial photographs. 353 00:16:13,600 --> 00:16:15,867 ♪ ♪ 354 00:16:16,000 --> 00:16:19,066 This combination of skills made him an obvious candidate 355 00:16:19,200 --> 00:16:21,533 for Air Force intelligence school after America 356 00:16:21,667 --> 00:16:24,367 went to war in 1942. 357 00:16:24,500 --> 00:16:26,233 Lieutenant Marcel's job, 358 00:16:26,367 --> 00:16:28,834 mapping targets for bomber squadrons in the Pacific, 359 00:16:28,967 --> 00:16:31,600 earned him two Air Medals and a Bronze Star. 360 00:16:31,734 --> 00:16:33,400 ♪ ♪ 361 00:16:33,533 --> 00:16:34,767 When World War II ended, 362 00:16:34,900 --> 00:16:36,934 Marcel, with a young family to support, 363 00:16:37,066 --> 00:16:38,934 decided to stay in the military, 364 00:16:39,066 --> 00:16:40,300 receiving a plum assignment 365 00:16:40,433 --> 00:16:42,600 with the Army Air Force's most elite unit, 366 00:16:42,734 --> 00:16:46,166 the 509th Bomber Squadron based in Roswell. 367 00:16:46,300 --> 00:16:48,533 - He always said that he was sworn to secrecy, 368 00:16:48,667 --> 00:16:52,734 so he never shared everything that had happened out there. 369 00:16:52,867 --> 00:16:56,367 - But whatever he saw was so significant, 370 00:16:56,500 --> 00:16:57,934 he was willing to take a chance 371 00:16:58,066 --> 00:17:00,600 with his entire military career 372 00:17:00,734 --> 00:17:02,834 to show his son and his wife this stuff. 373 00:17:02,967 --> 00:17:04,400 ♪ ♪ 374 00:17:04,533 --> 00:17:06,633 Fishburne: The Marcels say that after stopping at home 375 00:17:06,767 --> 00:17:09,367 to show the debris to his wife and son, 376 00:17:09,500 --> 00:17:12,000 Jesse arrived at the Roswell Army Air Field 377 00:17:12,133 --> 00:17:14,233 for the regular morning officer's meeting. 378 00:17:14,367 --> 00:17:16,066 ♪ ♪ 379 00:17:16,200 --> 00:17:17,767 He presented this strange debris 380 00:17:17,900 --> 00:17:19,967 he'd collected to the base's commanding officer, 381 00:17:20,100 --> 00:17:22,600 Colonel William H. Blanchard. 382 00:17:22,734 --> 00:17:25,300 Blanchard ordered his public affairs officer, 383 00:17:25,433 --> 00:17:27,066 First Lieutenant Walter Haut, 384 00:17:27,200 --> 00:17:29,467 to issue an immediate press release. 385 00:17:29,600 --> 00:17:31,834 - I was introduced by Colonel Blanchard 386 00:17:31,967 --> 00:17:36,900 to put out a press release which, in effect, stated 387 00:17:37,033 --> 00:17:41,633 that we had in our possession a flying saucer. 388 00:17:41,767 --> 00:17:43,467 ♪ ♪ 389 00:17:43,600 --> 00:17:46,667 - As soon as that hit the Roswell Daily Record, 390 00:17:46,800 --> 00:17:50,400 was broadcast by the local radio station, 391 00:17:50,533 --> 00:17:52,367 it went--they didn't use that term back then, 392 00:17:52,500 --> 00:17:54,967 but it went viral across the whole globe. 393 00:17:55,100 --> 00:17:58,133 [keyboard clacking] [beeping] 394 00:17:58,266 --> 00:17:59,200 - Late this afternoon, 395 00:17:59,333 --> 00:18:00,667 a bulletin from New Mexico 396 00:18:00,800 --> 00:18:02,600 suggested that the widely publicized mystery 397 00:18:02,734 --> 00:18:05,200 of the flying saucers may soon be solved. 398 00:18:05,333 --> 00:18:06,600 Army Air Force officers reported 399 00:18:06,734 --> 00:18:08,467 that one of the strange discs had been found 400 00:18:08,600 --> 00:18:11,500 and inspected sometime last week. 401 00:18:11,633 --> 00:18:12,800 Fishburne: As news that a flying saucer 402 00:18:12,934 --> 00:18:15,700 had been discovered spread around the world, 403 00:18:15,834 --> 00:18:18,633 the Army chain of command took control. 404 00:18:18,767 --> 00:18:22,133 Millions of Americans believe that what happened next, 405 00:18:22,266 --> 00:18:24,633 the effort to conceal the UFO crash, 406 00:18:24,767 --> 00:18:27,900 is one of the greatest cover-ups in U.S. history. 407 00:18:28,033 --> 00:18:31,767 ♪ ♪ 408 00:18:31,900 --> 00:18:34,200 - Colonel Blanchard ordered Major Marcel 409 00:18:34,333 --> 00:18:38,467 to fly to Carswell Army Air Field in Fort Worth, Texas, 410 00:18:38,600 --> 00:18:42,200 to present the material to Brigadier General Roger Ramey, 411 00:18:42,333 --> 00:18:43,633 head of the Eighth Air Force, 412 00:18:43,767 --> 00:18:46,967 commanding officer over the 590th Bomb Group. 413 00:18:47,100 --> 00:18:48,800 ♪ ♪ 414 00:18:48,934 --> 00:18:51,667 Fishburne: Marcel thought he was flying to Fort Worth 415 00:18:51,800 --> 00:18:54,133 with pieces of flying saucer debris. 416 00:18:54,266 --> 00:18:55,700 ♪ ♪ 417 00:18:55,834 --> 00:18:58,700 - Major Marcel would arrive at Fort Worth 418 00:18:58,834 --> 00:19:01,700 approximately 4:00 that afternoon, 419 00:19:01,834 --> 00:19:03,800 and he presented the material. 420 00:19:03,934 --> 00:19:05,200 ♪ ♪ 421 00:19:05,333 --> 00:19:09,367 Ramey took Marcel to an adjoining map room. 422 00:19:09,500 --> 00:19:12,934 When Marcel would return with the general, 423 00:19:13,066 --> 00:19:16,433 back to his office, the real material was gone. 424 00:19:16,567 --> 00:19:18,367 ♪ ♪ 425 00:19:18,500 --> 00:19:21,333 In its place was a weather balloon. 426 00:19:21,467 --> 00:19:25,867 ♪ ♪ 427 00:19:26,000 --> 00:19:27,500 [flash bulb crackles] 428 00:19:27,633 --> 00:19:30,300 Fishburne: The Army called a hasty press conference. 429 00:19:30,433 --> 00:19:32,834 It's at the moment, according to Schmitt, 430 00:19:32,967 --> 00:19:34,734 that the alleged cover-up begins. 431 00:19:34,867 --> 00:19:36,467 [camera shutter clicks] 432 00:19:36,600 --> 00:19:39,400 - "Ladies and gentlemen, mystery solved. 433 00:19:39,533 --> 00:19:42,700 "It's just a weather balloon device. 434 00:19:42,834 --> 00:19:44,633 Nothing to worry about," 435 00:19:44,767 --> 00:19:46,834 and the press accepted it. 436 00:19:46,967 --> 00:19:48,233 ♪ ♪ 437 00:19:48,367 --> 00:19:50,033 All the personnel at the base were ordered 438 00:19:50,166 --> 00:19:51,800 never to bring it up again, 439 00:19:51,934 --> 00:19:56,033 never to talk about what had transpired, 440 00:19:56,166 --> 00:19:58,133 and they got away with it. 441 00:19:59,834 --> 00:20:01,567 Fishburne: 31 years later, however, 442 00:20:01,700 --> 00:20:02,834 the man at the center 443 00:20:02,967 --> 00:20:03,834 of the Roswell incident 444 00:20:03,967 --> 00:20:05,367 from the very beginning 445 00:20:05,500 --> 00:20:09,233 came forward with what he said was the real story. 446 00:20:09,367 --> 00:20:11,567 - The following morning we went out to the site 447 00:20:11,700 --> 00:20:13,033 where the crash was, 448 00:20:13,166 --> 00:20:15,533 and what I saw, I couldn't believe. 449 00:20:15,667 --> 00:20:18,200 - Marcel says in interviews, 450 00:20:18,333 --> 00:20:20,467 "That's not the stuff I brought from Roswell." 451 00:20:20,600 --> 00:20:21,900 ♪ ♪ 452 00:20:22,033 --> 00:20:24,567 Fishburne: In a 1980 interview for the series 453 00:20:24,700 --> 00:20:26,934 "In Search of... with Leonard Nimoy," 454 00:20:27,066 --> 00:20:31,100 Marcel claims he was forced to go along with a cover-up. 455 00:20:31,233 --> 00:20:32,433 - They took pictures, of course. 456 00:20:32,567 --> 00:20:35,200 They had a whole flock of microphones there. 457 00:20:35,333 --> 00:20:38,066 They wanted me to--they wanted some comments from me, 458 00:20:38,200 --> 00:20:41,233 but I wasn't at liberty to do that. 459 00:20:41,367 --> 00:20:44,533 So all I could do is keep my mouth shut, 460 00:20:44,667 --> 00:20:47,834 and General Ramey is the one who discussed-- 461 00:20:47,967 --> 00:20:50,233 told the paper-- the newspapers--I mean, 462 00:20:50,367 --> 00:20:54,100 the newsmen--what it was and to forget about it. 463 00:20:54,233 --> 00:20:58,033 It was nothing more than a weather observation balloon. 464 00:20:58,166 --> 00:21:00,367 Of course, we both knew differently. 465 00:21:00,500 --> 00:21:02,767 I had never seen anything like that before. 466 00:21:02,900 --> 00:21:05,467 As of now, I don't know what it was. 467 00:21:05,600 --> 00:21:07,867 It was not anything from this Earth, 468 00:21:08,000 --> 00:21:09,900 that I'm quite sure of. 469 00:21:10,033 --> 00:21:13,367 - Watching this interview with his grandchildren, 470 00:21:13,500 --> 00:21:16,000 you can really feel the emotion in the room. 471 00:21:16,133 --> 00:21:19,133 Marcel claimed the military swore him to secrecy 472 00:21:19,266 --> 00:21:20,700 and hid the truth. 473 00:21:20,834 --> 00:21:23,700 For his family, it was a government cover-up, 474 00:21:23,834 --> 00:21:25,633 plain and simple. 475 00:21:25,767 --> 00:21:27,300 - Our grandpa wasn't really a public person. 476 00:21:27,433 --> 00:21:28,934 He didn't want the spotlight. He didn't-- 477 00:21:29,066 --> 00:21:30,266 - Right. 478 00:21:30,400 --> 00:21:31,600 - In fact, he kind of shied away from it 479 00:21:31,734 --> 00:21:34,100 but I really think that this gave him a way 480 00:21:34,233 --> 00:21:36,667 to release a lot of weight on his shoulders. 481 00:21:36,800 --> 00:21:38,300 - Mm-hmm. - This was, like, a cleansing, 482 00:21:38,433 --> 00:21:41,734 in a way, a way just to let off--this off his chest, 483 00:21:41,867 --> 00:21:44,000 going to kind of go where it's gonna go. 484 00:21:44,133 --> 00:21:45,633 - I mean, he's incredibly courageous. 485 00:21:45,767 --> 00:21:48,734 I don't--there's--there are very few intelligence officers 486 00:21:48,867 --> 00:21:51,467 who ever come forward in public about what they did. 487 00:21:51,600 --> 00:21:55,333 So there's a very admirable trait of bravery. 488 00:21:55,467 --> 00:21:57,133 He stood up for what he believed, and he went out... 489 00:21:57,266 --> 00:21:58,500 - Right. - And he spoke to everyone, 490 00:21:58,633 --> 00:21:59,700 and that--that takes guts, 491 00:21:59,834 --> 00:22:01,266 and then to deal with the blowback. 492 00:22:01,400 --> 00:22:04,133 - He felt that there was an importance for it 493 00:22:04,266 --> 00:22:05,700 to come out to be seen, 494 00:22:05,834 --> 00:22:07,100 you know, that something did occur. 495 00:22:07,233 --> 00:22:08,567 - Mm-hmm. 496 00:22:08,700 --> 00:22:10,967 - You know, I think he was really upset that they made him 497 00:22:11,100 --> 00:22:12,500 the fall guy, 498 00:22:12,633 --> 00:22:15,233 and that he couldn't believe that it still--at this point, 499 00:22:15,367 --> 00:22:18,000 that it was still being covered up, 500 00:22:18,133 --> 00:22:21,000 and I think he did want it to be out, 501 00:22:21,133 --> 00:22:22,500 but at the same point, 502 00:22:22,633 --> 00:22:25,066 he knew that there were secrets that had to stay secret. 503 00:22:25,200 --> 00:22:28,600 - I think Grandpa wanted us to learn more. 504 00:22:28,734 --> 00:22:31,000 I think he was--really wanted to tell 505 00:22:31,133 --> 00:22:32,633 everything he knew about it. 506 00:22:32,767 --> 00:22:34,533 That's the reason I think there's evidence out there 507 00:22:34,667 --> 00:22:35,700 that he did. 508 00:22:35,834 --> 00:22:37,333 We've just got to get to it. 509 00:22:37,467 --> 00:22:39,900 Fishburne: Jesse Marcel's grandchildren hope the journal 510 00:22:40,033 --> 00:22:42,533 will vindicate him by revealing the truth 511 00:22:42,667 --> 00:22:46,367 about what really crashed at Roswell and the cover-up 512 00:22:46,500 --> 00:22:49,200 they say he was forced to participate in. 513 00:22:49,333 --> 00:22:50,166 - Somebody comes out and says, 514 00:22:50,300 --> 00:22:51,266 "You know what? 515 00:22:51,400 --> 00:22:52,667 "He served his country well 516 00:22:52,800 --> 00:22:55,533 and we apologize for making him go through this," 517 00:22:55,667 --> 00:22:56,667 and also, my father. 518 00:22:56,800 --> 00:22:58,300 I want some vindication for him too. 519 00:22:58,433 --> 00:23:00,300 - I probably won't have answers immediately, 520 00:23:00,433 --> 00:23:01,300 just looking at it. - Oh, sure, sure. 521 00:23:01,433 --> 00:23:02,600 - No. - But over time, 522 00:23:02,734 --> 00:23:05,900 and as we start to build the investigation, 523 00:23:06,033 --> 00:23:09,266 perhaps some of these clues will--will come into focus. 524 00:23:09,400 --> 00:23:10,800 This could be a game changer: 525 00:23:10,934 --> 00:23:13,300 the rest of the story about what happened at Roswell 526 00:23:13,433 --> 00:23:16,100 from its most important witness. 527 00:23:23,166 --> 00:23:26,033 [dramatic music] 528 00:23:26,166 --> 00:23:32,967 ♪ ♪ 529 00:23:34,800 --> 00:23:36,300 Fishburne: During his investigation, 530 00:23:36,433 --> 00:23:38,700 Smith will work with Joe Pappalardo, 531 00:23:38,834 --> 00:23:42,300 a veteran journalist who specializes in aviation. 532 00:23:42,433 --> 00:23:44,367 ♪ ♪ 533 00:23:44,500 --> 00:23:49,066 - My investigation really starts from this man here, 534 00:23:49,200 --> 00:23:50,533 Jesse Marcel, Sr., 535 00:23:50,667 --> 00:23:53,867 the chief of intelligence at the 509th Bomber Group 536 00:23:54,000 --> 00:23:57,133 at Roswell Army Air Force Base. 537 00:23:57,266 --> 00:24:00,100 Jesse Marcel, Sr. 538 00:24:00,233 --> 00:24:04,867 kept a small Army portfolio of his military records, 539 00:24:05,000 --> 00:24:08,200 and in it a small journal. 540 00:24:08,333 --> 00:24:10,734 Jesse Marcel, the man at the center of the claim 541 00:24:10,867 --> 00:24:12,467 that Roswell was a cover-up, 542 00:24:12,600 --> 00:24:15,700 kept this journal among his most important papers. 543 00:24:15,834 --> 00:24:18,000 Obviously, it was very valuable to him. 544 00:24:18,133 --> 00:24:19,433 The question is, 545 00:24:19,567 --> 00:24:21,033 is it a key to my investigation? 546 00:24:21,166 --> 00:24:23,233 ♪ ♪ 547 00:24:23,367 --> 00:24:28,900 Some of the dates described in the journal capture 1947. 548 00:24:29,033 --> 00:24:30,767 It's a remarkable piece of history, 549 00:24:30,900 --> 00:24:33,934 and nobody really knows about it yet. 550 00:24:34,066 --> 00:24:35,633 - You're right to be excited. 551 00:24:35,767 --> 00:24:37,400 If this is real--if this is 552 00:24:37,533 --> 00:24:39,233 an actual journal from that time, 553 00:24:39,367 --> 00:24:42,734 it would represent a primary source document from that era. 554 00:24:42,867 --> 00:24:44,266 So that's the thing that you want to go after, 555 00:24:44,400 --> 00:24:45,600 as a researcher. 556 00:24:45,734 --> 00:24:47,000 I would like to take a look at what you've got, 557 00:24:47,133 --> 00:24:49,266 to see a little bit more about this diary. 558 00:24:49,400 --> 00:24:51,867 - Let me actually bring it up on the projector here. 559 00:24:52,000 --> 00:24:55,033 ♪ ♪ 560 00:24:55,166 --> 00:24:56,567 This is the notebook here. 561 00:24:56,700 --> 00:25:01,000 Right away, I see a typical Army field issue notebook. 562 00:25:01,133 --> 00:25:03,800 So here we have a date: 1946. 563 00:25:03,934 --> 00:25:06,166 - This entire journal comes from when he was at Roswell. 564 00:25:06,300 --> 00:25:07,333 - Correct. 565 00:25:07,467 --> 00:25:11,600 Our date here--we have August 31, 1947, 566 00:25:11,734 --> 00:25:15,667 about six weeks, seven weeks after the U.S. Army Corps 567 00:25:15,800 --> 00:25:18,500 put out their infamous UFO crash at Roswell, 568 00:25:18,633 --> 00:25:20,500 flying disc. 569 00:25:20,633 --> 00:25:22,934 There's beautiful cursive handwriting, 570 00:25:23,066 --> 00:25:25,633 and then, if we fast forward, 571 00:25:25,767 --> 00:25:32,633 shift to this kind of erratic, mixed-case, blocky lettering, 572 00:25:32,767 --> 00:25:34,767 and I can't make sense of it. 573 00:25:34,900 --> 00:25:36,800 - Couple of things leap to mind immediately when you see 574 00:25:36,934 --> 00:25:38,500 a change that's this drastic. 575 00:25:38,633 --> 00:25:40,734 It's impossible not to notice that it's different. 576 00:25:40,867 --> 00:25:42,433 It's either a different person writing it, 577 00:25:42,567 --> 00:25:45,266 or it's the same person in different mindset. 578 00:25:45,400 --> 00:25:48,133 Is that by design or is that just unintentional? 579 00:25:48,266 --> 00:25:50,333 - The content seems the same. 580 00:25:50,467 --> 00:25:51,734 - How does the journal 581 00:25:51,867 --> 00:25:54,467 compare with the timeline of the incident? 582 00:25:54,600 --> 00:25:57,266 - Well, there's--there's no mention of--of Roswell at all, 583 00:25:57,400 --> 00:25:59,734 no mention of any events, no mention of any wreckage. 584 00:25:59,867 --> 00:26:02,600 It's just these jokes and quotes and musings 585 00:26:02,734 --> 00:26:05,500 and ideas captured in different handwriting, 586 00:26:05,633 --> 00:26:08,500 and there's only sporadic dates. 587 00:26:08,633 --> 00:26:15,066 They read like quotes from "Reader's Digest." 588 00:26:15,200 --> 00:26:16,633 "Life is what you make it 589 00:26:16,767 --> 00:26:19,567 until someone comes along and changes it." 590 00:26:19,700 --> 00:26:22,400 "Two half-brothers make one." 591 00:26:22,533 --> 00:26:24,934 "Well, now that I'm too old to set a bad example, 592 00:26:25,066 --> 00:26:27,100 I delight in giving good advice." 593 00:26:27,233 --> 00:26:29,066 ♪ ♪ 594 00:26:29,200 --> 00:26:31,500 - So it meant something to him but no one knows what. 595 00:26:31,633 --> 00:26:33,767 - Yeah. He's a soldier. 596 00:26:33,900 --> 00:26:37,000 He was in charge of intelligence at the 509th. 597 00:26:37,133 --> 00:26:40,734 He knew a lot of secrets. He took them very seriously. 598 00:26:40,867 --> 00:26:44,834 - It's kind of hard to imagine the seriousness that 599 00:26:44,967 --> 00:26:48,033 people back then took secrecy and took nuclear secrecy... 600 00:26:48,166 --> 00:26:49,266 - Uh-huh. 601 00:26:49,400 --> 00:26:51,000 - And nuclear weapons, in particular. 602 00:26:51,133 --> 00:26:53,900 I mean, there were hordes of Soviet spies 603 00:26:54,033 --> 00:26:55,934 trying to get this information at the time. 604 00:26:56,066 --> 00:26:58,500 [rocket roaring] 605 00:26:58,633 --> 00:27:00,300 Fishburne: In 1947, the United States 606 00:27:00,433 --> 00:27:03,233 and the Soviet Union were already Cold War enemies. 607 00:27:03,367 --> 00:27:05,333 The U.S. possessed nuclear weapons, 608 00:27:05,467 --> 00:27:07,133 while the Soviets did not. 609 00:27:07,266 --> 00:27:09,100 Major Jesse Marcel and his colleagues 610 00:27:09,233 --> 00:27:13,266 in the 509th Bomber Squadron wanted to keep it that way. 611 00:27:13,400 --> 00:27:15,800 - They were basically the only nuclear bombing group 612 00:27:15,934 --> 00:27:16,800 in the world. 613 00:27:16,934 --> 00:27:18,066 He was entrusted 614 00:27:18,200 --> 00:27:21,934 with the biggest secrets that the military has. 615 00:27:22,066 --> 00:27:25,000 - One thing that the Marcel children insist on 616 00:27:25,133 --> 00:27:28,567 is that their grandfather was absolutely certain that 617 00:27:28,700 --> 00:27:31,433 the debris that he was holding in this photo right here, 618 00:27:31,567 --> 00:27:34,600 the official government photo, that was in the press release, 619 00:27:34,734 --> 00:27:38,400 is not the debris that he found in the field. 620 00:27:38,533 --> 00:27:42,000 - I see my grandfather holding up something that he knew 621 00:27:42,133 --> 00:27:43,734 that wasn't what he found. 622 00:27:43,867 --> 00:27:45,633 - He was adamant that this was not 623 00:27:45,767 --> 00:27:47,200 what he saw in the debris field. 624 00:27:47,333 --> 00:27:51,100 - I see a man that is not liking 625 00:27:51,233 --> 00:27:53,500 what they're having him do, 626 00:27:53,633 --> 00:27:58,433 but he knows he has to do it, because that's his job. 627 00:27:58,567 --> 00:28:00,100 - That's not what he found, 628 00:28:00,233 --> 00:28:01,967 and at that point in time, I'm sure he kind of felt, 629 00:28:02,100 --> 00:28:04,734 "Well, maybe I'm going to be made out to be a fall guy." 630 00:28:04,867 --> 00:28:06,333 - Keeping a secret is one thing, 631 00:28:06,467 --> 00:28:08,667 but telling a lie is another, 632 00:28:08,800 --> 00:28:10,200 and being the face of that lie 633 00:28:10,333 --> 00:28:14,033 in the newspaper could break a man like Jesse Marcel. 634 00:28:14,166 --> 00:28:15,567 - That could explain the difference 635 00:28:15,700 --> 00:28:16,533 in the journal as well. 636 00:28:16,667 --> 00:28:18,133 Someone under that much stress, 637 00:28:18,266 --> 00:28:19,533 who knows how that manifests? 638 00:28:19,667 --> 00:28:20,633 It's different handwriting 639 00:28:20,767 --> 00:28:23,300 'cause you're in a different mental state. 640 00:28:23,433 --> 00:28:25,200 Fishburne: What made the writing so cryptic, 641 00:28:25,333 --> 00:28:27,967 and why did it suddenly change? 642 00:28:28,100 --> 00:28:32,633 Did it have to do with the UFO or its passengers? 643 00:28:32,767 --> 00:28:33,867 - Okay, so you've got this hot 644 00:28:34,000 --> 00:28:35,300 piece of evidence in your hands. 645 00:28:35,433 --> 00:28:37,834 How do you plan on verifying that it's real? 646 00:28:37,967 --> 00:28:39,033 - I think the first step 647 00:28:39,166 --> 00:28:41,433 is to authenticate the document itself. 648 00:28:41,567 --> 00:28:43,000 Is this dated to the time period, 649 00:28:43,133 --> 00:28:44,934 or is this a recreation? 650 00:28:45,066 --> 00:28:46,700 If we can exclude the fact 651 00:28:46,834 --> 00:28:48,533 that it's a forgery, then we're winning. 652 00:28:48,667 --> 00:28:50,033 - Do the forensics first 653 00:28:50,166 --> 00:28:52,000 to make sure that it's actually of the era. 654 00:28:52,133 --> 00:28:53,834 - Yeah. Another interesting question: 655 00:28:53,967 --> 00:28:55,166 why did he have it? 656 00:28:55,300 --> 00:28:56,867 Why was it so important to him that he kept it 657 00:28:57,000 --> 00:29:00,900 and left it among his things to pass on to his children? 658 00:29:01,033 --> 00:29:02,200 - And then the third tier 659 00:29:02,333 --> 00:29:03,400 is trying to figure out what the hell it says? 660 00:29:03,533 --> 00:29:04,767 - Yeah, exactly. 661 00:29:04,900 --> 00:29:06,066 - You've got your work cut out for you on this one. 662 00:29:06,200 --> 00:29:07,033 - All right. 663 00:29:07,166 --> 00:29:10,433 ♪ ♪ 664 00:29:10,567 --> 00:29:11,900 Fishburne: To further his investigation 665 00:29:12,033 --> 00:29:13,100 of Marcel's journal, 666 00:29:13,233 --> 00:29:15,233 Ben Smith contacts Jennifer Naso, 667 00:29:15,367 --> 00:29:17,600 a leading handwriting expert. 668 00:29:17,734 --> 00:29:20,233 She will perform a forensic analysis on the document 669 00:29:20,367 --> 00:29:22,367 to determine if it's genuine or a forgery, 670 00:29:22,500 --> 00:29:25,767 and also whether Jesse Marcel wrote it himself. 671 00:29:25,900 --> 00:29:27,100 ♪ ♪ 672 00:29:27,233 --> 00:29:29,633 - I understand you worked for the Secret Service. 673 00:29:29,767 --> 00:29:30,867 - I did. 674 00:29:31,000 --> 00:29:34,066 I completed my training with the Secret Service 675 00:29:34,200 --> 00:29:36,033 and worked there for a number of years. 676 00:29:36,166 --> 00:29:37,567 - I used to work for the CIA, so we have a little bit of, 677 00:29:37,700 --> 00:29:39,867 like, USG connection going on. 678 00:29:40,000 --> 00:29:41,600 - My name is Jennifer Naso. 679 00:29:41,734 --> 00:29:43,934 I'm a forensic document examiner, 680 00:29:44,066 --> 00:29:47,734 and what I do is I receive documents that are in question, 681 00:29:47,867 --> 00:29:50,767 and I analyze them to determine their authenticity. 682 00:29:50,900 --> 00:29:52,000 At the Secret Service, 683 00:29:52,133 --> 00:29:53,266 I authenticated 684 00:29:53,400 --> 00:29:56,500 a lot of the threat letters that came in. 685 00:29:56,633 --> 00:29:57,900 We also did a lot of work 686 00:29:58,033 --> 00:30:01,533 with documents that were false and forged. 687 00:30:01,667 --> 00:30:03,700 - I do have a very interesting document 688 00:30:03,834 --> 00:30:05,433 that I need your help authenticating: 689 00:30:05,567 --> 00:30:09,767 a document belonging to the first guy on the scene 690 00:30:09,900 --> 00:30:13,400 of the alleged Roswell incident in 1947. 691 00:30:13,533 --> 00:30:15,300 - Okay. - A man named Jesse Marcel, Sr. 692 00:30:15,433 --> 00:30:18,734 This could potentially hold Marcel's private thoughts 693 00:30:18,867 --> 00:30:22,600 about the incidents that July, about the crash, 694 00:30:22,734 --> 00:30:25,266 about the materials, about the potential cover-up. 695 00:30:25,400 --> 00:30:29,900 So I need to determine that this is not in fact a forgery. 696 00:30:30,033 --> 00:30:31,266 Fishburne: If the journal was written 697 00:30:31,400 --> 00:30:33,567 by Jesse Marcel in 1947, 698 00:30:33,700 --> 00:30:35,533 could it hold the key 699 00:30:35,667 --> 00:30:38,934 to unlocking the mystery of Roswell? 700 00:30:39,066 --> 00:30:40,200 Coming up... 701 00:30:40,333 --> 00:30:42,533 - Definitely an interesting magnetic anomaly 702 00:30:42,667 --> 00:30:44,033 that I want to investigate. 703 00:30:44,166 --> 00:30:45,700 - Will this aerial photo 704 00:30:45,834 --> 00:30:47,767 showing deep furrows in the ground, 705 00:30:47,900 --> 00:30:49,567 reveal that a UFO crashed here? 706 00:30:49,700 --> 00:30:53,467 - I'd like to find additional proof of that impact zone. 707 00:31:02,233 --> 00:31:05,100 [dramatic music] 708 00:31:05,233 --> 00:31:12,166 ♪ ♪ 709 00:31:12,800 --> 00:31:14,900 - I do have a very interesting document 710 00:31:15,033 --> 00:31:17,834 that I need your help authenticating. 711 00:31:17,967 --> 00:31:20,133 Fishburne: Former CIA operative Ben Smith 712 00:31:20,266 --> 00:31:22,900 has brought Jesse Marcel's mysterious journal 713 00:31:23,033 --> 00:31:25,266 to a forensic document examiner for testing. 714 00:31:25,400 --> 00:31:26,734 ♪ ♪ 715 00:31:26,867 --> 00:31:29,934 - This could potentially hold Marcel's private thoughts 716 00:31:30,066 --> 00:31:32,934 about the incidents that July. 717 00:31:33,066 --> 00:31:34,767 Fishburne: Marcel was the first investigator 718 00:31:34,900 --> 00:31:36,867 at the Roswell crash site. 719 00:31:37,000 --> 00:31:38,266 While the U.S. Army 720 00:31:38,400 --> 00:31:40,367 claimed the wreckage was from a weather balloon, 721 00:31:40,500 --> 00:31:43,266 Marcel's family alleges something different: 722 00:31:43,400 --> 00:31:45,800 that the journal may hold coded clues 723 00:31:45,934 --> 00:31:48,233 about what really happened. 724 00:31:48,367 --> 00:31:51,200 - I would like to believe the journal is going to give us 725 00:31:51,333 --> 00:31:54,166 the truth we've been looking for for the last 70 years. 726 00:31:54,300 --> 00:31:57,133 ♪ ♪ 727 00:31:57,266 --> 00:32:00,633 - So I see most of the document is written 728 00:32:00,767 --> 00:32:02,300 in a cursive writing. - Mm-hmm. 729 00:32:02,433 --> 00:32:03,633 - And then when you get to the end, 730 00:32:03,767 --> 00:32:07,467 it changes to a print writing. 731 00:32:07,600 --> 00:32:08,667 - Yeah. 732 00:32:08,800 --> 00:32:10,200 - It may be an indication 733 00:32:10,333 --> 00:32:12,066 that there were two different writers in this journal. 734 00:32:12,200 --> 00:32:14,633 That I would have to do a more thorough investigation 735 00:32:14,767 --> 00:32:16,166 in order to determine. 736 00:32:16,300 --> 00:32:18,133 It's important to authenticate historical documents, 737 00:32:18,266 --> 00:32:20,700 because it can turn the tables 738 00:32:20,834 --> 00:32:23,633 in terms of what we know versus what we thought we knew. 739 00:32:23,767 --> 00:32:26,133 The date of the document is important to note, 740 00:32:26,266 --> 00:32:28,834 because what I'm gonna do is static dating. 741 00:32:28,967 --> 00:32:31,000 We know the introduction dates of certain elements 742 00:32:31,133 --> 00:32:32,633 of the paper or the inks. 743 00:32:32,767 --> 00:32:35,266 We can see whether or not they were available during the time 744 00:32:35,400 --> 00:32:37,500 that this document was purportedly produced. 745 00:32:37,633 --> 00:32:40,100 - Some of the dates in the journal itself range 746 00:32:40,233 --> 00:32:43,767 from 1946 to 1948 and '49, um, 747 00:32:43,900 --> 00:32:47,500 so they cover the period of the Roswell incident, 748 00:32:47,633 --> 00:32:51,166 but one of my biggest concerns about this document is forgery. 749 00:32:51,300 --> 00:32:53,800 I want to make sure that this document is real. 750 00:32:53,934 --> 00:32:55,467 What can you tell me 751 00:32:55,600 --> 00:32:57,934 about what you've seen in forged documents? 752 00:32:58,066 --> 00:33:00,867 Have you seen forgeries of this length before? 753 00:33:01,000 --> 00:33:02,300 - I have not, 754 00:33:02,433 --> 00:33:05,867 but there is a famous case where there were 755 00:33:06,000 --> 00:33:10,567 several diaries purportedly written by Hitler. 756 00:33:10,700 --> 00:33:12,567 ♪ ♪ 757 00:33:12,700 --> 00:33:14,934 Fishburne: On April 25, 1983, 758 00:33:15,066 --> 00:33:17,867 the West German magazine "Stern" 759 00:33:18,000 --> 00:33:19,400 announced that it was in possession 760 00:33:19,533 --> 00:33:23,000 of never-before-seen diaries written by Adolf Hitler 761 00:33:23,133 --> 00:33:26,033 that could rewrite the history of World War II. 762 00:33:26,166 --> 00:33:29,367 "Stern" had paid close to $4 million for the diaries 763 00:33:29,500 --> 00:33:31,633 and sold the rights to other major publications 764 00:33:31,767 --> 00:33:32,633 around the world. 765 00:33:32,767 --> 00:33:34,000 ♪ ♪ 766 00:33:34,133 --> 00:33:35,700 Totaling 60 volumes, 767 00:33:35,834 --> 00:33:37,200 the writings were authenticated 768 00:33:37,333 --> 00:33:39,333 by several prominent historians. 769 00:33:39,467 --> 00:33:43,400 ♪ ♪ 770 00:33:43,533 --> 00:33:45,767 But just days before publication, 771 00:33:45,900 --> 00:33:48,567 the diaries were exposed as fakes. 772 00:33:48,700 --> 00:33:51,500 A forensics analysis by the West German Archives 773 00:33:51,633 --> 00:33:53,700 quickly discovered that the diaries were made 774 00:33:53,834 --> 00:33:55,266 from a kind of paper and ink 775 00:33:55,400 --> 00:33:58,700 that wasn't even invented until after World War II. 776 00:33:58,834 --> 00:34:01,266 Their author was a prolific East German forger 777 00:34:01,400 --> 00:34:03,066 named Konrad Kujau, 778 00:34:03,200 --> 00:34:05,166 who wrote out his own confession in the style 779 00:34:05,300 --> 00:34:06,633 of Hitler's penmanship. 780 00:34:06,767 --> 00:34:08,600 ♪ ♪ 781 00:34:08,734 --> 00:34:11,000 - The way that they ended up determining 782 00:34:11,133 --> 00:34:12,300 that they were fraudulent 783 00:34:12,433 --> 00:34:14,500 is because the paper contains optical brighteners 784 00:34:14,633 --> 00:34:15,834 that were not available... 785 00:34:15,967 --> 00:34:17,600 - Oh. - Until after Hitler's death. 786 00:34:17,734 --> 00:34:18,767 - Interesting. 787 00:34:18,900 --> 00:34:20,233 You know, there's always conspiracy 788 00:34:20,367 --> 00:34:21,834 in every corner that I look. 789 00:34:21,967 --> 00:34:24,500 How long do you think it will take? 790 00:34:24,633 --> 00:34:26,200 - Um, usually it takes a few weeks. 791 00:34:26,333 --> 00:34:27,233 - Oh, it does. - Mm-hmm. 792 00:34:27,367 --> 00:34:28,433 - Okay. 793 00:34:28,567 --> 00:34:29,567 - Especially something of this magnitude. 794 00:34:29,700 --> 00:34:31,400 ♪ ♪ 795 00:34:31,533 --> 00:34:33,100 Fishburne: While Jennifer Naso performs 796 00:34:33,233 --> 00:34:35,734 a forensics analysis of the journal, 797 00:34:35,867 --> 00:34:37,767 Smith asks a team of archaeologists 798 00:34:37,900 --> 00:34:40,700 and geophysicists to meet him at the debris field. 799 00:34:40,834 --> 00:34:42,500 ♪ ♪ 800 00:34:42,633 --> 00:34:44,600 He hopes state-of-the-art technology will find signs 801 00:34:44,734 --> 00:34:48,133 that something more powerful than a balloon crashed here. 802 00:34:48,266 --> 00:34:50,133 ♪ ♪ 803 00:34:50,266 --> 00:34:51,367 - Even 70 years later, 804 00:34:51,500 --> 00:34:52,600 if we can find evidence 805 00:34:52,734 --> 00:34:54,533 that what crashed here was not a balloon, 806 00:34:54,667 --> 00:34:55,667 it could prove that Jesse Marcel 807 00:34:55,800 --> 00:34:56,967 was telling the truth-- 808 00:34:57,100 --> 00:35:00,467 that whatever crashed here was not of this world. 809 00:35:00,600 --> 00:35:02,900 Fishburne: According to author Kevin Randle, 810 00:35:03,033 --> 00:35:04,633 the weather balloon explanation 811 00:35:04,767 --> 00:35:05,834 put forward by the military 812 00:35:05,967 --> 00:35:08,500 at that 1947 press conference 813 00:35:08,633 --> 00:35:11,834 blindsided not only Jesse Marcel but also 814 00:35:11,967 --> 00:35:14,867 Mack Brazel, the rancher who found the wreckage. 815 00:35:15,000 --> 00:35:16,834 - General Ramey of course trotted it out-- 816 00:35:16,967 --> 00:35:18,300 "It's a weather balloon." 817 00:35:18,433 --> 00:35:20,166 The problem with that is Mack Brazel 818 00:35:20,300 --> 00:35:22,767 knew what weather balloons looked like. 819 00:35:22,900 --> 00:35:26,633 - This is Bill Brazel's memory of how his dad reacted. 820 00:35:26,767 --> 00:35:27,834 ♪ ♪ 821 00:35:27,967 --> 00:35:29,166 - He said that's what 822 00:35:29,300 --> 00:35:30,834 the Air Force tried to make him believe, 823 00:35:30,967 --> 00:35:32,367 that it was a weather balloon. 824 00:35:32,500 --> 00:35:35,133 He said, "Bill," he said, "It was not a weather balloon." 825 00:35:35,266 --> 00:35:38,367 He said, "I don't know what it was." 826 00:35:38,500 --> 00:35:43,867 But he said, "It was something altogether different, 827 00:35:44,000 --> 00:35:46,133 and much bigger." 828 00:35:46,266 --> 00:35:49,300 Fishburne: In this 1991 interview, Jud Roberts, 829 00:35:49,433 --> 00:35:52,800 manager of Roswell's local radio station KGFL, 830 00:35:52,934 --> 00:35:55,367 says that local residents were very familiar 831 00:35:55,500 --> 00:35:57,800 with the military's weather balloons. 832 00:36:02,700 --> 00:36:06,700 - Oh, well, weather balloons were being launched about 833 00:36:06,834 --> 00:36:08,967 a block from us every night. 834 00:36:09,100 --> 00:36:10,500 So weather balloons per se 835 00:36:10,633 --> 00:36:14,033 were not that--not that interesting to us. 836 00:36:14,166 --> 00:36:16,266 Fishburne: If local residents were indeed familiar 837 00:36:16,400 --> 00:36:17,734 with weather balloons, 838 00:36:17,867 --> 00:36:21,900 is it likely Jesse Marcel, an intelligence officer, 839 00:36:22,033 --> 00:36:25,367 could have mistaken a balloon for a flying saucer? 840 00:36:25,500 --> 00:36:27,633 - It was definitely not a weather balloon, 841 00:36:27,767 --> 00:36:30,633 and, uh, it was an aircraft. 842 00:36:30,767 --> 00:36:33,934 So what it could have been, I wouldn't know. 843 00:36:34,066 --> 00:36:38,233 ♪ ♪ 844 00:36:38,367 --> 00:36:41,333 - You mention Roswell in most places these days 845 00:36:41,467 --> 00:36:44,266 and people bring up UFOs. 846 00:36:44,400 --> 00:36:46,934 - It's a question, a story, 847 00:36:47,066 --> 00:36:50,867 a myth that is known practically worldwide. 848 00:36:51,000 --> 00:36:52,233 - Yeah. 849 00:36:52,367 --> 00:36:53,867 Fishburne: Smith has asked Bill Doleman 850 00:36:54,000 --> 00:36:57,233 to join the team of experts at the debris field. 851 00:36:57,367 --> 00:36:59,567 Doleman is the former principal investigator 852 00:36:59,700 --> 00:37:02,000 for the University of New Mexico's Office 853 00:37:02,133 --> 00:37:04,400 of Contract Archaeology. 854 00:37:04,533 --> 00:37:06,567 - Of all the disputed locations, 855 00:37:06,700 --> 00:37:09,133 this is the one that is least disputed. 856 00:37:09,266 --> 00:37:11,233 - You're the only one who's actually done a dig out there. 857 00:37:11,367 --> 00:37:12,533 - That's correct. 858 00:37:12,667 --> 00:37:15,100 - And you've done two of them. - Two. 859 00:37:15,233 --> 00:37:17,600 Fishburne: Doleman made two previous expeditions 860 00:37:17,734 --> 00:37:21,867 to the debris field, in 2002 and 2006, 861 00:37:22,000 --> 00:37:23,800 but he's hopeful that using new technology 862 00:37:23,934 --> 00:37:25,500 might uncover fresh evidence. 863 00:37:25,633 --> 00:37:26,934 - Bringing archaeological skills 864 00:37:27,066 --> 00:37:30,100 to a potential debris site, 865 00:37:30,233 --> 00:37:35,100 I'm hoping that we can turn up some fresh, new evidence. 866 00:37:35,233 --> 00:37:36,800 ♪ ♪ 867 00:37:36,934 --> 00:37:39,734 So what hit the debris field? 868 00:37:39,867 --> 00:37:42,000 There are a lot of conflicting accounts. 869 00:37:42,133 --> 00:37:44,600 A craft? Just debris? 870 00:37:44,734 --> 00:37:47,600 Some people saw a meteor-like object. 871 00:37:47,734 --> 00:37:49,200 What do you recommend we do first? 872 00:37:49,333 --> 00:37:53,900 Start with the archaeology dig, or deploy the drone technology? 873 00:37:54,033 --> 00:37:56,000 - We definitely deploy the drone technology, 874 00:37:56,133 --> 00:37:58,300 because the archaeology comes in 875 00:37:58,433 --> 00:38:03,266 where they identify anomalies that we can then go investigate 876 00:38:03,400 --> 00:38:06,900 using our standard archaeological methods. 877 00:38:07,033 --> 00:38:09,734 - There isn't a U.S. government map with this marked, 878 00:38:09,867 --> 00:38:12,100 but I actually happen to have a journal 879 00:38:12,233 --> 00:38:15,200 that belonged to Jesse Marcel, Sr., 880 00:38:15,333 --> 00:38:17,567 and Jesse was an intelligence officer. 881 00:38:17,700 --> 00:38:18,900 He was a smart guy. 882 00:38:19,033 --> 00:38:21,200 It's possible that he could have hidden 883 00:38:21,333 --> 00:38:24,400 some of what he knew in this journal. 884 00:38:24,533 --> 00:38:27,500 I would like to determine one way or the other 885 00:38:27,633 --> 00:38:29,533 if there was any evidence of a cover-up. 886 00:38:29,667 --> 00:38:32,233 If there was a debris site or an impact site 887 00:38:32,367 --> 00:38:34,667 and it was removed and then leveled over, 888 00:38:34,800 --> 00:38:36,667 we might be able to see something like that. 889 00:38:36,800 --> 00:38:38,700 ♪ ♪ 890 00:38:38,834 --> 00:38:42,667 I am finally back at the Roswell debris field. 891 00:38:42,800 --> 00:38:43,900 It's kind of hard to believe 892 00:38:44,033 --> 00:38:48,266 that a place this abandoned and quiet 893 00:38:48,400 --> 00:38:50,800 could be the birthplace 894 00:38:50,934 --> 00:38:52,900 of ufology in the United States, 895 00:38:53,033 --> 00:38:54,133 or in the world, actually. 896 00:38:54,266 --> 00:38:55,700 ♪ ♪ 897 00:38:55,834 --> 00:38:58,233 Fishburne: The term ufology refers to the study of UFOs, 898 00:38:58,367 --> 00:38:59,367 and for some, 899 00:38:59,500 --> 00:39:01,934 Roswell is the most important UFO, 900 00:39:02,066 --> 00:39:03,367 because it is the site 901 00:39:03,500 --> 00:39:06,734 where an alien spaceship allegedly crashed to Earth. 902 00:39:06,867 --> 00:39:08,233 ♪ ♪ 903 00:39:08,367 --> 00:39:09,567 - With Roswell, 904 00:39:09,700 --> 00:39:12,467 you have the best elements of all UFO cases: 905 00:39:12,600 --> 00:39:16,767 crash sites, physical bodies recovered, 906 00:39:16,900 --> 00:39:20,600 and then all the eyewitness testimony on top of that. 907 00:39:20,734 --> 00:39:22,233 - It's just this big mystery. 908 00:39:22,367 --> 00:39:24,233 Did it happen? What was it? 909 00:39:24,367 --> 00:39:26,166 That's still not solved. 910 00:39:26,300 --> 00:39:28,433 It's hard to write it off, 911 00:39:28,567 --> 00:39:30,166 and so you're left with this big question 912 00:39:30,300 --> 00:39:34,033 about something of incredible potential significance. 913 00:39:34,166 --> 00:39:36,200 ♪ ♪ 914 00:39:36,333 --> 00:39:39,734 - This is the famous backhoe trench 103. 915 00:39:39,867 --> 00:39:44,300 - So this would be what, uh, ufologists consider 916 00:39:44,433 --> 00:39:46,400 the actual furrow in the ground 917 00:39:46,533 --> 00:39:50,800 where, uh, some kind of craft made contact with the Earth. 918 00:39:50,934 --> 00:39:52,467 You were here in 2002, 919 00:39:52,600 --> 00:39:57,233 and you conducted an archaeological dig here, 920 00:39:57,367 --> 00:39:58,800 right--right in this furrow. 921 00:39:58,934 --> 00:40:02,233 - Yeah, and the furrow runs that way, supposedly. 922 00:40:02,367 --> 00:40:07,166 There are nails--big nails and rebar spikes in the ground 923 00:40:07,300 --> 00:40:08,467 marking the grid system 924 00:40:08,600 --> 00:40:11,567 that we used for locational control in 2002. 925 00:40:11,700 --> 00:40:14,133 Archeologists are the crime scene investigators 926 00:40:14,266 --> 00:40:15,266 of the past. 927 00:40:15,400 --> 00:40:17,300 We treat archaeological sites 928 00:40:17,433 --> 00:40:19,867 just the way a CSI treats a crime scene, 929 00:40:20,000 --> 00:40:23,066 to use our methods to look for the evidence of it. 930 00:40:23,200 --> 00:40:27,800 ♪ ♪ 931 00:40:27,934 --> 00:40:29,567 - Uh, 122.8. 932 00:40:29,700 --> 00:40:31,133 [beeps] 933 00:40:31,266 --> 00:40:32,400 Fishburne: Those methods are about to get 934 00:40:32,533 --> 00:40:33,967 a serious upgrade. 935 00:40:34,100 --> 00:40:37,100 Joining the team are two Canadian geophysicists, 936 00:40:37,233 --> 00:40:39,800 Colin Miasga and Eric Johnson, 937 00:40:39,934 --> 00:40:41,900 who will deploy 21st Century technology 938 00:40:42,033 --> 00:40:44,633 to investigate abnormalities in the terrain. 939 00:40:44,767 --> 00:40:48,066 ♪ ♪ 940 00:40:48,200 --> 00:40:50,100 - So density altitude, 941 00:40:50,233 --> 00:40:54,500 6,770 feet. 942 00:40:54,633 --> 00:40:56,567 ♪ ♪ 943 00:40:56,700 --> 00:40:58,800 Fishburne: This may be the best-equipped team ever 944 00:40:58,934 --> 00:41:00,333 to answer the question 945 00:41:00,467 --> 00:41:03,333 that has stumped generations of investigators: 946 00:41:03,467 --> 00:41:07,200 what kind of airborne vehicle crashed outside of Roswell? 947 00:41:07,333 --> 00:41:08,533 Coming up... 948 00:41:08,667 --> 00:41:10,633 does Jesse Marcel's mysterious journal 949 00:41:10,767 --> 00:41:15,367 contain coded clues to what really happened at Roswell? 950 00:41:15,500 --> 00:41:19,467 ♪ ♪ 951 00:41:23,333 --> 00:41:26,200 [dramatic music] 952 00:41:26,333 --> 00:41:29,367 ♪ ♪ 953 00:41:29,500 --> 00:41:32,500 - I'd like to find additional proof of that impact zone, 954 00:41:32,633 --> 00:41:34,300 what crashed here, and how heavy it was, 955 00:41:34,433 --> 00:41:36,433 and at what velocity. 956 00:41:36,567 --> 00:41:38,500 Fishburne: At the Roswell crash site, 957 00:41:38,633 --> 00:41:40,266 Ben Smith and a team of experts 958 00:41:40,400 --> 00:41:42,467 are using state of the art equipment 959 00:41:42,600 --> 00:41:44,100 to find possible evidence 960 00:41:44,233 --> 00:41:46,900 that Jesse Marcel may have been telling the truth 961 00:41:47,033 --> 00:41:51,000 that what crash landed here was no weather balloon. 962 00:41:51,133 --> 00:41:52,667 - It makes the most sense to start here 963 00:41:52,800 --> 00:41:54,767 and then widen the search from there. 964 00:41:54,900 --> 00:41:56,467 ♪ ♪ 965 00:41:56,600 --> 00:41:57,867 Fishburne: One curious aspect 966 00:41:58,000 --> 00:42:00,500 is that weeks before that early July day, 967 00:42:00,633 --> 00:42:02,533 when Marcel found what he believed 968 00:42:02,667 --> 00:42:04,834 was the wreckage of a flying saucer, 969 00:42:04,967 --> 00:42:06,900 there were a huge number of headline-making 970 00:42:07,033 --> 00:42:08,667 UFO sightings in the area. 971 00:42:08,800 --> 00:42:13,100 ♪ ♪ 972 00:42:13,233 --> 00:42:14,867 At the local radio station, 973 00:42:15,000 --> 00:42:16,133 Jud Roberts remembers 974 00:42:16,266 --> 00:42:19,133 fielding dozens of callers reporting UFOs. 975 00:42:19,266 --> 00:42:22,533 - And people that I knew who were highly respectable, 976 00:42:22,667 --> 00:42:24,600 who saw some of these things, 977 00:42:24,734 --> 00:42:28,100 and they had no reason to-- they had no reason to kid 978 00:42:28,233 --> 00:42:31,533 anybody about standing outside of their pickup 979 00:42:31,667 --> 00:42:33,400 and watching these lights go back and forth 980 00:42:33,533 --> 00:42:34,667 up in the mountain. 981 00:42:34,800 --> 00:42:37,700 ♪ ♪ 982 00:42:37,834 --> 00:42:40,867 - Dad looked up in the west and saw an object 983 00:42:41,000 --> 00:42:43,166 that came down and had lights blinking, 984 00:42:43,300 --> 00:42:47,734 and it was rather frightening to him. 985 00:42:47,867 --> 00:42:49,200 Fishburne: In 1947, 986 00:42:49,333 --> 00:42:51,333 Paul Wilmot's elderly parents 987 00:42:51,467 --> 00:42:52,734 were sitting on their porch 988 00:42:52,867 --> 00:42:56,500 when they were sure they saw a flying saucer. 989 00:42:56,633 --> 00:42:59,033 - He said all of a sudden it seemed to rock a little bit 990 00:42:59,166 --> 00:43:01,133 and sort of counterbalanced itself, 991 00:43:01,266 --> 00:43:02,667 wiggled a little bit, 992 00:43:02,800 --> 00:43:04,266 and then it seemed to settle down 993 00:43:04,400 --> 00:43:07,734 and take off at a rapid rate of speed. 994 00:43:07,867 --> 00:43:09,567 Fishburne: Then came Roswell, 995 00:43:09,700 --> 00:43:12,900 the event that would become the Holy Grail of ufology, 996 00:43:13,033 --> 00:43:15,000 a discovery that would be proof for many 997 00:43:15,133 --> 00:43:17,567 that aliens had visited the Earth. 998 00:43:17,700 --> 00:43:19,166 In truth, there is no agreement 999 00:43:19,300 --> 00:43:21,266 on what day the crash occurred. 1000 00:43:21,400 --> 00:43:25,033 UFO investigator Don Schmitt believes it was July 2nd. 1001 00:43:25,166 --> 00:43:26,400 [thunder booming] 1002 00:43:26,533 --> 00:43:29,266 - On the late evening of July 2nd, 1947, 1003 00:43:29,400 --> 00:43:31,433 there was a severe lightning storm 1004 00:43:31,567 --> 00:43:35,033 in the central high desert of Lincoln County. 1005 00:43:35,166 --> 00:43:36,967 - All ranchers go out on the porch 1006 00:43:37,100 --> 00:43:38,400 to see where it's raining. 1007 00:43:38,533 --> 00:43:39,934 - Mm-hmm. - My husband, 1008 00:43:40,066 --> 00:43:42,467 he had to stand out there and see where it was raining, 1009 00:43:42,600 --> 00:43:46,967 and there was so much thunder and lightning 1010 00:43:47,100 --> 00:43:50,900 that, um, I begged him to come in the house, 1011 00:43:51,033 --> 00:43:54,233 and finally there was this terrible thunder clap, 1012 00:43:54,367 --> 00:43:57,767 and he came in and he says, "Boy, that hit something." 1013 00:43:57,900 --> 00:44:00,233 - People think about desert as just pure dry, 1014 00:44:00,367 --> 00:44:01,767 and most of the time, it is, 1015 00:44:01,900 --> 00:44:04,300 but once that moisture starts creeping in, 1016 00:44:04,433 --> 00:44:06,133 all it needs is something to lift it, 1017 00:44:06,266 --> 00:44:10,066 and that's going to give you incredible thunderstorms. 1018 00:44:10,200 --> 00:44:13,667 - Witnesses describe not only the storm, 1019 00:44:13,800 --> 00:44:16,367 but between the thunder claps, 1020 00:44:16,500 --> 00:44:20,033 they heard what sounded like an explosion, 1021 00:44:20,166 --> 00:44:21,667 and then seeing something 1022 00:44:21,800 --> 00:44:24,667 in the northern portion of the sky. 1023 00:44:24,800 --> 00:44:30,000 - Large, red pulsating light came directly at us, 1024 00:44:30,133 --> 00:44:34,133 and all I could think of was that it was a plane 1025 00:44:34,266 --> 00:44:35,934 which--that was in trouble. 1026 00:44:36,066 --> 00:44:37,834 ♪ ♪ 1027 00:44:37,967 --> 00:44:39,700 [booming] 1028 00:44:39,834 --> 00:44:41,934 [rain pattering] 1029 00:44:42,066 --> 00:44:43,867 Fishburne: While there is no definitive proof 1030 00:44:44,000 --> 00:44:45,600 about what crashed in the field 1031 00:44:45,734 --> 00:44:48,333 75 miles west of Roswell, 1032 00:44:48,467 --> 00:44:50,800 no one disputes that it was rancher Mack Brazel 1033 00:44:50,934 --> 00:44:52,433 who made the first discovery 1034 00:44:52,567 --> 00:44:54,700 while taking his sheep to pasture. 1035 00:44:54,834 --> 00:44:56,000 ♪ ♪ 1036 00:44:56,133 --> 00:44:59,533 - Ranching in New Mexico would be very focused 1037 00:44:59,667 --> 00:45:00,967 on the monsoon season, 1038 00:45:01,100 --> 00:45:02,300 and so a rancher, 1039 00:45:02,433 --> 00:45:03,867 they'd be watching for those storms 1040 00:45:04,000 --> 00:45:05,567 and watching where the rain shafts come down 1041 00:45:05,700 --> 00:45:07,100 because their cattle 1042 00:45:07,233 --> 00:45:09,333 or whatever they're raising needs water. 1043 00:45:09,467 --> 00:45:11,400 ♪ ♪ 1044 00:45:11,533 --> 00:45:14,233 - There was a young boy who was with Mack Brazel, 1045 00:45:14,367 --> 00:45:16,667 the son of Floyd and Loretta Proctor. 1046 00:45:16,800 --> 00:45:19,867 His name was Timothy Dee Proctor-- 1047 00:45:20,000 --> 00:45:21,667 Dee, as he was called. 1048 00:45:21,800 --> 00:45:24,900 ♪ ♪ 1049 00:45:25,033 --> 00:45:28,900 Mack happened to stumble upon this huge 1050 00:45:29,033 --> 00:45:34,266 debris field--strange, unusual wreckage. 1051 00:45:34,400 --> 00:45:38,700 - Mack had found a huge field filled with metallic debris, 1052 00:45:38,834 --> 00:45:40,700 and he was annoyed because, 1053 00:45:40,834 --> 00:45:42,133 A, he didn't know who was gonna clean it up, 1054 00:45:42,266 --> 00:45:44,767 and B, he had to drive the sheep around it 1055 00:45:44,900 --> 00:45:46,600 to get them to water. 1056 00:45:46,734 --> 00:45:48,100 - They would not cross it. 1057 00:45:48,233 --> 00:45:50,033 They were either spooked 1058 00:45:50,166 --> 00:45:54,033 or they sensed something else coming from the wreckage. 1059 00:45:54,166 --> 00:45:58,533 ♪ ♪ 1060 00:45:58,667 --> 00:46:03,100 Mack then takes Dee Proctor back to his parents, 1061 00:46:03,233 --> 00:46:07,000 and he presents some of the material to the Proctors. 1062 00:46:07,133 --> 00:46:09,266 ♪ ♪ 1063 00:46:09,400 --> 00:46:12,767 - He showed us this piece that looked like plastic 1064 00:46:12,900 --> 00:46:14,600 or wood of some kind, 1065 00:46:14,734 --> 00:46:19,667 and he said that there was some metallic-looking stuff that, 1066 00:46:19,800 --> 00:46:21,433 when you crushed it, 1067 00:46:21,567 --> 00:46:22,967 it just straightened right back out. 1068 00:46:23,100 --> 00:46:25,767 It wouldn't--you know, wouldn't stay crushed. 1069 00:46:25,900 --> 00:46:27,300 Fishburne: According to Roswell author 1070 00:46:27,433 --> 00:46:28,633 and researcher Don Schmitt, 1071 00:46:28,767 --> 00:46:30,934 Loretta Proctor was the first person 1072 00:46:31,066 --> 00:46:32,600 to see samples of the debris 1073 00:46:32,734 --> 00:46:36,266 that Mack Brazel brought back from the fields. 1074 00:46:36,400 --> 00:46:38,367 - Well, we told him 1075 00:46:38,500 --> 00:46:41,100 it was probably a UFO and he should report it. 1076 00:46:41,233 --> 00:46:43,433 - Mack Brazel was convinced by his neighbor 1077 00:46:43,567 --> 00:46:45,100 that he should take it into Roswell. 1078 00:46:45,233 --> 00:46:47,300 ♪ ♪ 1079 00:46:47,433 --> 00:46:49,467 - Mack would take samples of the debris 1080 00:46:49,600 --> 00:46:52,200 to Wade's Bar in Corona 1081 00:46:52,333 --> 00:46:55,600 and present pieces there to fellow ranchers, 1082 00:46:55,734 --> 00:46:57,934 his friends, his neighbors. 1083 00:46:58,066 --> 00:47:00,333 Fishburne: The small farming community of Corona 1084 00:47:00,467 --> 00:47:03,233 was only 15 miles from the debris field. 1085 00:47:03,367 --> 00:47:05,433 It would be Mack Brazel's first stop 1086 00:47:05,567 --> 00:47:07,500 before going on to Roswell. 1087 00:47:07,633 --> 00:47:09,400 ♪ ♪ 1088 00:47:09,533 --> 00:47:12,066 - Mack Brazel came to Corona and talked to my dad 1089 00:47:12,200 --> 00:47:16,667 about the debris that he had found out on the Foster ranch. 1090 00:47:16,800 --> 00:47:19,400 - The material was as thin as a wrapper 1091 00:47:19,533 --> 00:47:24,400 on a Lucky Strike package, but you couldn't break it, 1092 00:47:24,533 --> 00:47:26,900 and if you twisted it and scrunched it up together, 1093 00:47:27,033 --> 00:47:30,467 it would come back to its own, yeah. 1094 00:47:30,600 --> 00:47:33,834 - He had no idea what it was, and they said, 1095 00:47:33,967 --> 00:47:37,100 "I bet you have one of them UFOs we've been reading about." 1096 00:47:37,233 --> 00:47:38,500 ♪ ♪ 1097 00:47:38,633 --> 00:47:41,033 - Mack Brazel was convinced by his neighbor 1098 00:47:41,166 --> 00:47:42,433 that he should take it in to Roswell 1099 00:47:42,567 --> 00:47:43,567 and show it to the sheriff. 1100 00:47:43,700 --> 00:47:46,166 ♪ ♪ 1101 00:47:46,300 --> 00:47:50,066 - But Brazel is still responsible for the ranch, 1102 00:47:50,200 --> 00:47:52,734 and it isn't until the end of the week, 1103 00:47:52,867 --> 00:47:55,400 Sunday, his day off, 1104 00:47:55,533 --> 00:47:57,533 that he finally makes the trek, 1105 00:47:57,667 --> 00:48:01,133 the 75-mile drive into Roswell, 1106 00:48:01,266 --> 00:48:05,333 to present it to the sheriff, George Wilcox. 1107 00:48:05,467 --> 00:48:06,834 Fishburne: Lieutenant George Wilcox 1108 00:48:06,967 --> 00:48:09,500 had been the county sheriff for 20 years. 1109 00:48:09,633 --> 00:48:11,934 Most of his work involved locking up drunks 1110 00:48:12,066 --> 00:48:13,467 and settling disputes 1111 00:48:13,600 --> 00:48:16,133 between ranchers over livestock and grazing rights. 1112 00:48:16,266 --> 00:48:18,266 ♪ ♪ 1113 00:48:18,400 --> 00:48:23,066 - Mack Brazel brought in two boxes of wreckage. 1114 00:48:23,200 --> 00:48:24,767 Sheriff George Wilcox 1115 00:48:24,900 --> 00:48:27,867 handled and observed the material firsthand. 1116 00:48:28,000 --> 00:48:29,300 ♪ ♪ 1117 00:48:29,433 --> 00:48:33,433 The sheriff immediately suggested that Mack Brazel 1118 00:48:33,567 --> 00:48:36,633 report this to the Roswell Army Air Field, 1119 00:48:36,767 --> 00:48:38,533 the 509th Bomb Group. 1120 00:48:38,667 --> 00:48:40,100 It sounds like a matter 1121 00:48:40,233 --> 00:48:42,867 they need to know about most urgently. 1122 00:48:43,000 --> 00:48:44,200 ♪ ♪ 1123 00:48:44,333 --> 00:48:46,900 Fishburne: It was that call to the 509th 1124 00:48:47,033 --> 00:48:48,934 that led its commander to dispatch 1125 00:48:49,066 --> 00:48:51,633 Jesse Marcel, his intelligence officer, 1126 00:48:51,767 --> 00:48:53,333 to investigate the strange report. 1127 00:48:53,467 --> 00:48:55,467 ♪ ♪ 1128 00:48:55,600 --> 00:48:57,600 - I had never seen anything like that before, 1129 00:48:57,734 --> 00:49:01,066 and as of right--as of now, I don't know what it was. 1130 00:49:01,200 --> 00:49:03,033 Fishburne: When Marcel returned to the air base 1131 00:49:03,166 --> 00:49:06,133 and showed colleagues pieces of the debris he'd collected, 1132 00:49:06,266 --> 00:49:08,333 Base Commander William Blanchard made the decision 1133 00:49:08,467 --> 00:49:11,433 to go public and issue that famous press release. 1134 00:49:11,567 --> 00:49:13,000 ♪ ♪ 1135 00:49:13,133 --> 00:49:13,967 - Late this afternoon, 1136 00:49:14,100 --> 00:49:15,400 a bulletin from New Mexico 1137 00:49:15,533 --> 00:49:17,166 suggested that the widely-publicized mystery 1138 00:49:17,300 --> 00:49:20,133 of the flying saucers may soon be solved. 1139 00:49:20,266 --> 00:49:21,867 Fishburne: With the story of the flying disc 1140 00:49:22,000 --> 00:49:23,233 making international news, 1141 00:49:23,367 --> 00:49:24,700 Mack Brazel didn't see any harm 1142 00:49:24,834 --> 00:49:27,400 in being interviewed by the local radio station. 1143 00:49:27,533 --> 00:49:28,767 ♪ ♪ 1144 00:49:28,900 --> 00:49:30,500 - That morning, 1145 00:49:30,633 --> 00:49:34,633 reporters from KGFL in Roswell brought Mack Brazel 1146 00:49:34,767 --> 00:49:37,700 over to the radio station to finally, you know, 1147 00:49:37,834 --> 00:49:41,367 tell the world the truth about what has happened, 1148 00:49:41,500 --> 00:49:43,967 and the military was waiting for him. 1149 00:49:44,100 --> 00:49:45,834 They nabbed Brazel, 1150 00:49:45,967 --> 00:49:48,500 and they would then hide him out at the base 1151 00:49:48,633 --> 00:49:51,633 for the next five full days. 1152 00:49:51,767 --> 00:49:53,367 ♪ ♪ 1153 00:49:53,500 --> 00:49:56,467 He would later complain he felt like he was in jail, 1154 00:49:56,600 --> 00:49:59,200 that they asked him the same questions over 1155 00:49:59,333 --> 00:50:00,867 and over and over again, 1156 00:50:01,000 --> 00:50:05,400 24 hours around the clock, over a weather balloon. 1157 00:50:05,533 --> 00:50:06,900 ♪ ♪ 1158 00:50:07,033 --> 00:50:09,400 Fishburne: According to alleged eyewitness accounts, 1159 00:50:09,533 --> 00:50:11,133 in the days that followed, 1160 00:50:11,266 --> 00:50:13,600 the military swept through Roswell and Corona, 1161 00:50:13,734 --> 00:50:15,100 threatening scores of individuals 1162 00:50:15,233 --> 00:50:17,834 who heard Brazel's story. 1163 00:50:17,967 --> 00:50:20,166 These local residents were warned to keep quiet 1164 00:50:20,300 --> 00:50:22,266 or they could be charged with treason, 1165 00:50:22,400 --> 00:50:25,033 which carried the death penalty. 1166 00:50:25,166 --> 00:50:29,200 - The whole neighborhood was scandalized that the Army-- 1167 00:50:29,333 --> 00:50:32,300 that the services would treat people like that. 1168 00:50:32,433 --> 00:50:33,834 ♪ ♪ 1169 00:50:33,967 --> 00:50:36,000 Fishburne: The military reportedly used Brazel 1170 00:50:36,133 --> 00:50:39,066 to walk back the previous day's front page story 1171 00:50:39,200 --> 00:50:40,800 that a flying saucer had crashed. 1172 00:50:40,934 --> 00:50:42,166 ♪ ♪ 1173 00:50:42,300 --> 00:50:43,500 - Days later, 1174 00:50:43,633 --> 00:50:46,333 Brazel was escorted by the military, 1175 00:50:46,467 --> 00:50:48,066 taken to the newspapers, 1176 00:50:48,200 --> 00:50:50,633 taken to the two radio stations, 1177 00:50:50,767 --> 00:50:55,333 but specifically KGFL, where Frank Joyce, 1178 00:50:55,467 --> 00:50:59,967 reporter, meets Mack Brazel, and to his dismay, 1179 00:51:00,166 --> 00:51:02,967 Brazel only describes a weather balloon. 1180 00:51:03,100 --> 00:51:05,567 Joyce sees the two MPs and is like, 1181 00:51:05,700 --> 00:51:08,600 "Oh, now I see what's happening." 1182 00:51:08,734 --> 00:51:11,934 - Agents or agencies of people unknown wanted him 1183 00:51:12,066 --> 00:51:14,467 to change off of the original story. 1184 00:51:14,600 --> 00:51:15,767 ♪ ♪ 1185 00:51:15,900 --> 00:51:19,367 - And in his total frustration, 1186 00:51:19,500 --> 00:51:21,300 Joyce takes him off the air. 1187 00:51:21,433 --> 00:51:22,433 ♪ ♪ 1188 00:51:22,567 --> 00:51:24,800 - I said to him, "The little green men," 1189 00:51:24,934 --> 00:51:26,333 and that's where he said, 1190 00:51:26,467 --> 00:51:28,367 "Yeah, only they weren't green." 1191 00:51:28,500 --> 00:51:30,066 ♪ ♪ 1192 00:51:30,200 --> 00:51:32,033 Fishburne: Coming up, Will Smith 1193 00:51:32,166 --> 00:51:34,300 and a team of experts find new clues 1194 00:51:34,433 --> 00:51:36,700 to the mystery at the debris site. 1195 00:51:36,834 --> 00:51:40,700 ♪ ♪ 1196 00:51:44,433 --> 00:51:47,266 [dramatic music] 1197 00:51:47,400 --> 00:51:53,133 ♪ ♪ 1198 00:51:53,266 --> 00:51:55,166 Fishburne: At the Roswell crash site, 1199 00:51:55,300 --> 00:51:56,967 Smith is with a team of experts 1200 00:51:57,100 --> 00:51:58,667 searching for evidence of the wreckage 1201 00:51:58,800 --> 00:52:01,367 found here in 1947. 1202 00:52:01,500 --> 00:52:02,834 - Best plan for us 1203 00:52:02,967 --> 00:52:05,767 would be to start getting our MultiSpec data 1204 00:52:05,900 --> 00:52:06,934 going in the area. 1205 00:52:07,066 --> 00:52:09,033 We can cover a broad--broad area, 1206 00:52:09,166 --> 00:52:10,967 get the highest resolution, 1207 00:52:11,100 --> 00:52:13,166 most up-to-date aerial imagery. 1208 00:52:13,300 --> 00:52:14,934 - We also have that MultiSpectral camera. 1209 00:52:15,066 --> 00:52:16,367 - Oh, cool. So you can do both at once. 1210 00:52:16,500 --> 00:52:17,667 - Yeah. - Oh, that's-- 1211 00:52:17,800 --> 00:52:19,233 - So in one flight, 1212 00:52:19,367 --> 00:52:22,834 we're getting MultiSpectral imagery and the regular RGB. 1213 00:52:22,967 --> 00:52:26,300 - Until now, no one has ever used this technology here. 1214 00:52:26,433 --> 00:52:27,767 Whatever we find, 1215 00:52:27,900 --> 00:52:30,166 we'll know more about this place than anyone ever has. 1216 00:52:30,300 --> 00:52:31,567 ♪ ♪ 1217 00:52:31,700 --> 00:52:32,900 - We want to look for unnatural features. 1218 00:52:33,033 --> 00:52:35,834 We want to look for straight lines and that impact 1219 00:52:35,967 --> 00:52:37,500 and then that skid mark kind of thing, so-- 1220 00:52:37,633 --> 00:52:39,033 - Mm-hmm. 1221 00:52:39,166 --> 00:52:44,700 - So that commonly thought spot is just down in this area. 1222 00:52:44,834 --> 00:52:46,400 Fishburne: Archaeologist Bill Doleman 1223 00:52:46,533 --> 00:52:47,934 gives the geophysicists 1224 00:52:48,066 --> 00:52:51,000 some never-before-seen images of the area. 1225 00:52:51,133 --> 00:52:53,533 By comparing an aerial photograph of the terrain 1226 00:52:53,667 --> 00:52:56,600 taken just months before the Roswell incident 1227 00:52:56,734 --> 00:52:59,200 to one taken seven years later, 1228 00:52:59,333 --> 00:53:01,400 the team can identify distinct changes. 1229 00:53:01,533 --> 00:53:03,000 ♪ ♪ 1230 00:53:03,133 --> 00:53:05,300 - Look at that. - Wow, that is-- 1231 00:53:05,433 --> 00:53:08,233 - Here's the original location of interest. 1232 00:53:08,367 --> 00:53:13,533 Then, there's a big linear feature we're interested in. 1233 00:53:13,667 --> 00:53:16,700 ♪ ♪ 1234 00:53:16,834 --> 00:53:18,900 Fishburne: Just 800 meters from where Jesse Marcel 1235 00:53:19,033 --> 00:53:20,433 examined the debris, 1236 00:53:20,567 --> 00:53:22,834 the 1954 photos shows 1237 00:53:22,967 --> 00:53:26,734 what could be several long furrows carved into the earth. 1238 00:53:26,867 --> 00:53:28,900 ♪ ♪ 1239 00:53:29,033 --> 00:53:31,300 - There are delineations in the soil that-- 1240 00:53:31,433 --> 00:53:34,600 from a northwestern to a southeastern direction, 1241 00:53:34,734 --> 00:53:37,300 that match witness descriptions of something 1242 00:53:37,433 --> 00:53:38,767 falling from the sky, 1243 00:53:38,900 --> 00:53:40,834 hitting the Earth, skipping, and scattering debris. 1244 00:53:40,967 --> 00:53:43,233 That's what we see in--in the aerial footage. 1245 00:53:43,367 --> 00:53:45,100 ♪ ♪ 1246 00:53:45,233 --> 00:53:48,500 I want to throw everything we've got now at that new site. 1247 00:53:48,633 --> 00:53:49,934 I mean, what can we bring 1248 00:53:50,066 --> 00:53:54,467 to exploit this--these linear features here? 1249 00:53:54,600 --> 00:53:56,734 - Well, we'll send the drone over there, for sure. 1250 00:53:56,867 --> 00:53:58,967 Fishburne: If the team can show something with more force 1251 00:53:59,100 --> 00:54:01,834 and velocity than a weather balloon hit here, 1252 00:54:01,967 --> 00:54:03,567 it would be a major discovery. 1253 00:54:03,700 --> 00:54:06,467 [motors buzzing] 1254 00:54:06,600 --> 00:54:07,867 ♪ ♪ 1255 00:54:08,000 --> 00:54:10,433 - Any time there's differences in soil, um, 1256 00:54:10,567 --> 00:54:12,367 different vegetation can arise, 1257 00:54:12,500 --> 00:54:13,967 and if there's something 1258 00:54:14,100 --> 00:54:15,633 that doesn't look natural in the vegetation 1259 00:54:15,767 --> 00:54:17,533 that we pick up in the MultiSpectral, 1260 00:54:17,667 --> 00:54:18,800 we'll see that very well. 1261 00:54:18,934 --> 00:54:20,867 So the drone is going back and forth, 1262 00:54:21,000 --> 00:54:23,300 taking thousands of photos... - Oh, cool. 1263 00:54:23,433 --> 00:54:25,633 - Across parallel lines across the whole site. 1264 00:54:25,767 --> 00:54:26,600 - Yeah. 1265 00:54:26,734 --> 00:54:32,800 ♪ ♪ 1266 00:54:32,934 --> 00:54:34,633 - So here we have the aerial photography 1267 00:54:34,767 --> 00:54:36,033 collected by the drone... - Yeah. 1268 00:54:36,166 --> 00:54:37,967 - On the entire site. - Yeah. 1269 00:54:38,100 --> 00:54:41,300 - Then, we can turn on the MultiSpectral imagery. 1270 00:54:41,433 --> 00:54:45,133 So we have--the reds are little to no vegetation. 1271 00:54:45,266 --> 00:54:46,333 - Uh-huh. 1272 00:54:46,467 --> 00:54:49,033 - Blue is gonna be kind of dense vegetation, 1273 00:54:49,166 --> 00:54:51,834 and kinda everything in between. 1274 00:54:51,967 --> 00:54:53,600 Fishburne: But after hours of searching, 1275 00:54:53,734 --> 00:54:56,400 the team gets disappointing news. 1276 00:54:56,533 --> 00:54:57,367 - At the moment, 1277 00:54:57,500 --> 00:54:58,734 we're not picking up 1278 00:54:58,867 --> 00:55:02,133 any, uh, distinct feature near the furrow. 1279 00:55:02,266 --> 00:55:03,433 ♪ ♪ 1280 00:55:03,567 --> 00:55:05,633 - So the MutliSpectral imaging 1281 00:55:05,767 --> 00:55:08,400 didn't really show us any anomalies, 1282 00:55:08,533 --> 00:55:10,033 other than trenches that we've already dug. 1283 00:55:10,166 --> 00:55:12,233 - Yeah, nothing that can't be unexplained at the moment. 1284 00:55:12,367 --> 00:55:13,734 - Yeah. 1285 00:55:13,867 --> 00:55:15,433 Fishburne: The team concludes the archival image 1286 00:55:15,567 --> 00:55:17,367 had a defect. 1287 00:55:17,500 --> 00:55:19,400 - What else can we throw at that--that puzzle 1288 00:55:19,533 --> 00:55:20,867 to figure out what happened? 1289 00:55:21,000 --> 00:55:23,900 - Really, what we have right now is surface information. 1290 00:55:24,033 --> 00:55:25,533 So we need to get boots on the ground, 1291 00:55:25,667 --> 00:55:27,934 get sub-surface information. 1292 00:55:28,066 --> 00:55:31,734 Fishburne: Next, Colin Miasga will use a magnetometer, 1293 00:55:31,867 --> 00:55:33,567 a tool that can detect changes 1294 00:55:33,700 --> 00:55:35,767 in the Earth's magnetic field. 1295 00:55:35,900 --> 00:55:38,700 - So if something really hot hit the Earth 1296 00:55:38,834 --> 00:55:42,367 and heated up the surrounding soil, 1297 00:55:42,500 --> 00:55:44,000 it basically hits the reset button 1298 00:55:44,133 --> 00:55:46,467 on the Earth's magnetic field of that soil, 1299 00:55:46,600 --> 00:55:50,266 and it'll take on the Earth's magnetic field at the time 1300 00:55:50,400 --> 00:55:51,900 as it cools back down. 1301 00:55:52,033 --> 00:55:55,967 So this thing is gonna pick up anything with iron, magnetite. 1302 00:55:56,100 --> 00:55:58,467 - And then what else do you have left in your toolbox? 1303 00:55:58,600 --> 00:56:00,800 - Uh, we've got--we've got the ground-penetrating radar. 1304 00:56:00,934 --> 00:56:02,033 - Okay. 1305 00:56:02,166 --> 00:56:04,633 - And the gamma ray spectrometer 1306 00:56:04,767 --> 00:56:06,967 to measure for radioactive material. 1307 00:56:07,100 --> 00:56:08,433 [clicking] 1308 00:56:08,567 --> 00:56:11,934 So anything that's been in really high altitude or space 1309 00:56:12,066 --> 00:56:14,333 is gonna be exposed to a lot more radiation, 1310 00:56:14,467 --> 00:56:17,166 and that radiation is gonna stay with that material, 1311 00:56:17,300 --> 00:56:19,133 and then it's gonna give a strong signature 1312 00:56:19,266 --> 00:56:20,400 when it hits the ground, 1313 00:56:20,533 --> 00:56:21,633 and it's gonna stay there forever. 1314 00:56:21,767 --> 00:56:24,667 [clicking] 1315 00:56:24,800 --> 00:56:31,767 ♪ ♪ 1316 00:56:32,767 --> 00:56:35,066 Fishburne: Colin hopes to pick up a strong magnetic signal 1317 00:56:35,200 --> 00:56:37,467 in the vicinity where rancher Mack Brazel 1318 00:56:37,600 --> 00:56:39,166 first came across the debris. 1319 00:56:39,300 --> 00:56:42,834 ♪ ♪ 1320 00:56:42,967 --> 00:56:47,266 - It's enough metal to basically max out the sensor. 1321 00:56:47,400 --> 00:56:49,533 We did find interesting anomaly. 1322 00:56:49,667 --> 00:56:51,166 As we were walking around, 1323 00:56:51,300 --> 00:56:52,800 I was doing the magnetometer survey. 1324 00:56:52,934 --> 00:56:54,667 So now, this is the magnetometer. 1325 00:56:54,800 --> 00:56:57,000 But see all these high spots? 1326 00:56:57,133 --> 00:56:58,467 Those are all the metal pins in the ground. 1327 00:56:58,600 --> 00:57:00,900 They're really, really high responses. 1328 00:57:01,033 --> 00:57:03,266 The most interesting thing was something up here. 1329 00:57:03,400 --> 00:57:05,367 Definitely an interesting magnetic anomaly 1330 00:57:05,500 --> 00:57:07,033 that I want to investigate. 1331 00:57:07,166 --> 00:57:11,200 - So could this be one of those instances where the heat 1332 00:57:11,333 --> 00:57:13,467 of an impact could change 1333 00:57:13,600 --> 00:57:16,100 the magnetism of the soil around it or beneath it? 1334 00:57:16,233 --> 00:57:18,500 - Potentially. Yeah, absolutely. 1335 00:57:18,633 --> 00:57:20,433 Fishburne: Many hours into their search, 1336 00:57:20,567 --> 00:57:23,133 Colin finds something exciting: 1337 00:57:23,266 --> 00:57:24,367 a patch of ground 1338 00:57:24,500 --> 00:57:27,567 with unusually high magnetic readings. 1339 00:57:27,700 --> 00:57:30,066 It's an anomaly that could provide groundbreaking 1340 00:57:30,200 --> 00:57:32,533 new evidence of what crashed here. 1341 00:57:32,667 --> 00:57:34,400 - So given its possible depth, 1342 00:57:34,533 --> 00:57:37,233 does that age it out of our 70-year time span? 1343 00:57:37,367 --> 00:57:39,533 - I won't be able to say until we start digging, 1344 00:57:39,667 --> 00:57:40,700 and--and that's-- I'm gonna leave that 1345 00:57:40,834 --> 00:57:41,800 to the archaeologists 1346 00:57:41,934 --> 00:57:44,734 to--to start dating as--as they dig down. 1347 00:57:44,867 --> 00:57:47,700 So this was one of the high points, 1348 00:57:47,834 --> 00:57:51,400 hovering between 10, 15 nanoteslas per meter. 1349 00:57:51,533 --> 00:57:53,867 Fishburne: Colin marks the perimeters of the anomaly 1350 00:57:54,000 --> 00:57:56,900 so that archaeologist Esperanza Juarez 1351 00:57:57,033 --> 00:57:58,533 can collect soil samples 1352 00:57:58,667 --> 00:58:00,867 to analyze for radiation traces. 1353 00:58:01,000 --> 00:58:02,600 ♪ ♪ 1354 00:58:02,734 --> 00:58:05,934 - Run your line along the major axis. 1355 00:58:06,066 --> 00:58:09,266 Definitely hitting right over top of this spot. 1356 00:58:09,400 --> 00:58:13,333 - So the flags here outline 1357 00:58:13,467 --> 00:58:14,567 the general shape of the anomaly? 1358 00:58:14,700 --> 00:58:16,900 - Exactly, and I don't know. 1359 00:58:17,033 --> 00:58:18,300 Conveniently enough, 1360 00:58:18,433 --> 00:58:22,767 it's the same orientation as Bill's original furrow. 1361 00:58:22,900 --> 00:58:25,600 If we keep the UFO crash site in mind, 1362 00:58:25,734 --> 00:58:28,100 it's like, something hit here, 1363 00:58:28,233 --> 00:58:30,000 maybe there was slightly more minerals 1364 00:58:30,133 --> 00:58:32,633 that could become magnetized in this area, 1365 00:58:32,767 --> 00:58:34,500 and then as it kind of skidded, 1366 00:58:34,633 --> 00:58:37,300 it still was hot enough to cause that magnetization, 1367 00:58:37,433 --> 00:58:41,767 but maybe there's just slightly less particles in that spot, 1368 00:58:41,900 --> 00:58:43,567 so there's a slightly weaker signature. 1369 00:58:43,700 --> 00:58:45,233 ♪ ♪ 1370 00:58:45,367 --> 00:58:46,667 [hammer clanging] 1371 00:58:46,800 --> 00:58:47,867 Fishburne: After stringing a grid 1372 00:58:48,000 --> 00:58:49,500 across the site of the anomaly, 1373 00:58:49,633 --> 00:58:52,233 Esperanza beings her work, 1374 00:58:52,367 --> 00:58:53,767 collecting a range of samples 1375 00:58:53,900 --> 00:58:56,033 and documenting the location of each. 1376 00:58:56,166 --> 00:58:59,066 ♪ ♪ 1377 00:58:59,200 --> 00:59:00,633 - So the strongest signature was over 1378 00:59:00,767 --> 00:59:01,800 in this square right here? 1379 00:59:01,934 --> 00:59:03,300 - Yes. - Okay. 1380 00:59:03,433 --> 00:59:06,166 - And then plus I've also taken a soil sample. 1381 00:59:06,300 --> 00:59:07,800 Fishburne: The team wants to rule out 1382 00:59:07,934 --> 00:59:09,333 routine earthly causes 1383 00:59:09,467 --> 00:59:11,166 for the anomaly. 1384 00:59:11,300 --> 00:59:13,333 - No clear signs of a campfire or, 1385 00:59:13,467 --> 00:59:16,700 like, a prehistoric site or anything like that? 1386 00:59:16,834 --> 00:59:17,967 - No. - Yeah. 1387 00:59:18,100 --> 00:59:22,300 - So we've eliminated a volcanic, uh, anomaly. 1388 00:59:22,433 --> 00:59:24,033 - That's out. There's just no volcanic-- 1389 00:59:24,166 --> 00:59:26,033 - We've eliminated a campfire anomaly? 1390 00:59:26,166 --> 00:59:27,533 - Yes. There's no fire hearth. 1391 00:59:27,667 --> 00:59:30,200 - So we're still looking at that--the most 1392 00:59:30,333 --> 00:59:32,400 likely candidate for this anomaly right now 1393 00:59:32,533 --> 00:59:36,367 is the remnant magnetization due to heat. 1394 00:59:36,500 --> 00:59:39,133 - The soil will be able to tell you the time frame. 1395 00:59:39,266 --> 00:59:40,633 ♪ ♪ 1396 00:59:40,767 --> 00:59:42,800 - So the idea is that we test the soil, 1397 00:59:42,934 --> 00:59:47,200 and if the magnetism of that soil matches 1947, 1398 00:59:47,333 --> 00:59:49,066 then we know that something--potentially 1399 00:59:49,200 --> 00:59:52,567 an impact-- froze its signature to 1947. 1400 00:59:52,700 --> 00:59:53,567 - Yeah. 1401 00:59:53,700 --> 00:59:55,867 ♪ ♪ 1402 00:59:56,000 --> 00:59:57,467 Fishburne: The soil and rock samples 1403 00:59:57,600 --> 00:59:59,667 will be sent to a lab where they will be analyzed 1404 00:59:59,800 --> 01:00:02,600 to see if they contain metals not from this area, 1405 01:00:02,734 --> 01:00:05,433 and possibly not from this world. 1406 01:00:05,567 --> 01:00:06,867 ♪ ♪ 1407 01:00:07,000 --> 01:00:09,033 Coming up... 1408 01:00:09,166 --> 01:00:12,500 - This might be that piece of the puzzle. 1409 01:00:12,633 --> 01:00:15,567 - What did Jesse Marcel never tell the public? 1410 01:00:15,700 --> 01:00:17,000 Does the journal 1411 01:00:17,133 --> 01:00:19,734 that once belonged to him contain coded clues? 1412 01:00:19,867 --> 01:00:24,000 - It is written like three sevens attached. 1413 01:00:24,133 --> 01:00:26,700 Fishburne: If it was a weather balloon that crashed, 1414 01:00:26,834 --> 01:00:28,133 why was this man's father 1415 01:00:28,266 --> 01:00:31,300 forced to hand over the debris he kept? 1416 01:00:31,433 --> 01:00:32,867 - Two guys that showed up in a car, 1417 01:00:33,000 --> 01:00:35,033 and they said they weren't gonna take it, 1418 01:00:35,166 --> 01:00:36,867 but they weren't leaving without it. 1419 01:00:37,000 --> 01:00:40,734 ♪ ♪ 1420 01:00:44,533 --> 01:00:47,400 [dramatic music] 1421 01:00:47,533 --> 01:00:54,500 ♪ ♪ 1422 01:00:56,467 --> 01:00:58,333 Fishburne: While he waits for the soil analysis 1423 01:00:58,467 --> 01:00:59,800 to be completed, 1424 01:00:59,934 --> 01:01:03,233 Ben goes to visit the grandson of Mack Brazel, 1425 01:01:03,367 --> 01:01:05,066 the rancher who took his sheep into the field 1426 01:01:05,200 --> 01:01:08,233 looking for water, but found crash debris. 1427 01:01:08,367 --> 01:01:09,934 It was Mack who alerted the military and, 1428 01:01:10,066 --> 01:01:11,367 according to local legend, 1429 01:01:11,500 --> 01:01:14,266 was then detained and threatened to keep quiet. 1430 01:01:14,400 --> 01:01:16,667 ♪ ♪ 1431 01:01:16,800 --> 01:01:19,867 Joe Brazel lives a few miles outside of Roswell 1432 01:01:20,000 --> 01:01:22,433 and has avoided journalists and researchers for years. 1433 01:01:22,567 --> 01:01:23,934 - Hello. 1434 01:01:24,066 --> 01:01:26,567 Fishburne: With no proof about what crashed--spaceship, 1435 01:01:26,700 --> 01:01:29,166 weather balloon, or something else-- 1436 01:01:29,300 --> 01:01:31,900 Ben believes Joe might have a piece of the puzzle 1437 01:01:32,033 --> 01:01:34,767 that could help unravel the mystery of Roswell. 1438 01:01:34,900 --> 01:01:36,600 ♪ ♪ 1439 01:01:36,734 --> 01:01:40,266 - Thanks for taking the time to meet with me. 1440 01:01:40,400 --> 01:01:43,567 Joe rarely talks about how the Roswell incident 1441 01:01:43,700 --> 01:01:46,867 impacted his family, but he's agreed to meet me. 1442 01:01:47,000 --> 01:01:50,834 The Roswell incident recently has popped up in my research 1443 01:01:50,967 --> 01:01:53,900 as one of the more credible phenomena to investigate, 1444 01:01:54,033 --> 01:01:56,800 and, um, in particular, 1445 01:01:56,934 --> 01:01:59,700 the first people to encounter the debris 1446 01:01:59,834 --> 01:02:01,266 on the field--your grandfather, 1447 01:02:01,400 --> 01:02:04,800 Mack, um, being the, you know, patient zero, 1448 01:02:04,934 --> 01:02:06,400 the first person to... - Right. 1449 01:02:06,533 --> 01:02:08,133 - To encounter this debris, 1450 01:02:08,266 --> 01:02:10,700 uh, makes people close to him 1451 01:02:10,834 --> 01:02:12,934 especially important to the investigation, 1452 01:02:13,066 --> 01:02:15,633 and I would love to hear about some of the details 1453 01:02:15,767 --> 01:02:17,300 you inherited from your father 1454 01:02:17,433 --> 01:02:21,066 and from your--your grandfather, Mack. 1455 01:02:21,200 --> 01:02:23,400 - Well, everything I heard was from my dad. 1456 01:02:23,533 --> 01:02:24,467 - Okay. 1457 01:02:24,600 --> 01:02:26,266 - You know, he told me what he knew 1458 01:02:26,400 --> 01:02:29,433 and--and what he experienced with it 1459 01:02:29,567 --> 01:02:32,233 and then, you know, what had--Mack, you know, 1460 01:02:32,367 --> 01:02:36,400 the few things he said after he came back from Roswell. 1461 01:02:36,533 --> 01:02:40,467 I think if you really want to hear what my dad had to say, 1462 01:02:40,600 --> 01:02:43,100 you know, we have a clip that you can watch, you know, 1463 01:02:43,233 --> 01:02:45,467 and then we can talk a little bit more about it after that. 1464 01:02:45,600 --> 01:02:47,500 - Yeah, absolutely. I'd love to hear. 1465 01:02:47,633 --> 01:02:50,800 ♪ ♪ 1466 01:02:50,934 --> 01:02:54,367 Fishburne: Joe Brazel's dad, Bill, was Mack's son. 1467 01:02:54,500 --> 01:02:58,667 He was interviewed in 1989 by Japanese television. 1468 01:02:58,800 --> 01:03:02,033 - I was not out at the ranch at the time. 1469 01:03:02,166 --> 01:03:04,433 And I picked up an Albuquerque paper, 1470 01:03:04,567 --> 01:03:07,633 and here's my dad's picture looking at me, 1471 01:03:07,767 --> 01:03:10,533 and I thought, "Well, I wonder what he's done now." 1472 01:03:10,667 --> 01:03:12,033 ♪ ♪ 1473 01:03:12,166 --> 01:03:14,367 - My dad was living in Albuquerque, 1474 01:03:14,500 --> 01:03:15,967 and once he found out about it, 1475 01:03:16,100 --> 01:03:17,367 well, he went to the ranch, 1476 01:03:17,500 --> 01:03:20,000 because he knew that his dad was gone, 1477 01:03:20,133 --> 01:03:21,233 and he went down there 1478 01:03:21,367 --> 01:03:23,767 to actually take care of the stock, 1479 01:03:23,900 --> 01:03:26,166 and the Army had it blocked off. 1480 01:03:26,300 --> 01:03:28,867 They had a detachment out there picking up the pieces 1481 01:03:29,000 --> 01:03:32,133 and everything and, uh, wouldn't let him in. 1482 01:03:32,266 --> 01:03:34,867 - The Air Force had asked him to stay in Roswell. 1483 01:03:35,000 --> 01:03:36,500 ♪ ♪ 1484 01:03:36,633 --> 01:03:39,633 And I went out to the ranch and stayed until he got back. 1485 01:03:40,667 --> 01:03:46,166 And I asked him what he'd got into, 1486 01:03:46,300 --> 01:03:50,800 and oh, he says, "I found a bunch of trash," 1487 01:03:50,934 --> 01:03:53,266 and, uh-- 1488 01:03:53,400 --> 01:03:55,300 and I kept asking him questions, 1489 01:03:55,433 --> 01:03:58,133 and he said, "Well," he said, 1490 01:03:58,266 --> 01:04:00,533 "I told the Air Force I wouldn't tell anybody." 1491 01:04:00,667 --> 01:04:03,166 He said, "You're probably better off without knowing." 1492 01:04:03,300 --> 01:04:05,300 ♪ ♪ 1493 01:04:05,433 --> 01:04:07,100 - After the Army did their thing 1494 01:04:07,233 --> 01:04:09,367 and, you know, dad was down there helping Mack 1495 01:04:09,500 --> 01:04:12,066 on the ranch, you know, the rainstorms or whatever. 1496 01:04:12,200 --> 01:04:14,600 They'd be riding, they'd see a little piece, 1497 01:04:14,734 --> 01:04:16,066 and he'd pick it up. 1498 01:04:16,200 --> 01:04:18,533 - So then, of course, riding horseback, 1499 01:04:18,667 --> 01:04:20,767 you see lots of things, you know, 1500 01:04:20,900 --> 01:04:23,900 and I picked up a few scraps, 1501 01:04:24,033 --> 01:04:28,633 and, uh--that the Army hadn't--hadn't picked up. 1502 01:04:28,767 --> 01:04:30,800 ♪ ♪ 1503 01:04:30,934 --> 01:04:34,233 And I made--I'd bring them in my chaps pocket 1504 01:04:34,367 --> 01:04:38,266 and put them in a cigar box down at the barn. 1505 01:04:38,400 --> 01:04:41,333 - His, uh, description of some of the stuff is like tinfoil, 1506 01:04:41,467 --> 01:04:45,066 but it was, you know, just a lot tougher. 1507 01:04:45,200 --> 01:04:48,066 - When you bend it over, like a crease, 1508 01:04:48,200 --> 01:04:50,433 and it straightened right back out. 1509 01:04:50,567 --> 01:04:52,767 - This is the way my dad put it to me: 1510 01:04:52,900 --> 01:04:57,467 it's material that he'd never saw before or ever saw again. 1511 01:04:57,600 --> 01:04:59,633 ♪ ♪ 1512 01:04:59,767 --> 01:05:00,867 Fishburne: Bill Brazel's decision 1513 01:05:01,000 --> 01:05:02,266 to collect his own souvenirs 1514 01:05:02,400 --> 01:05:04,834 eventually brought the military to his door, 1515 01:05:04,967 --> 01:05:07,266 just as it had with his father. 1516 01:05:07,400 --> 01:05:08,700 The debris was confiscated, 1517 01:05:08,834 --> 01:05:10,800 and military police told him to keep quiet 1518 01:05:10,934 --> 01:05:12,834 about what he knew and had seen 1519 01:05:12,967 --> 01:05:14,433 or he would face arrest. 1520 01:05:14,567 --> 01:05:16,900 ♪ ♪ 1521 01:05:17,033 --> 01:05:19,967 - The debris that he had collected was confiscated... 1522 01:05:20,100 --> 01:05:21,567 - Yeah. - By the, uh-- 1523 01:05:21,700 --> 01:05:24,300 by the military police, or somebody from the base. 1524 01:05:24,433 --> 01:05:26,166 - Yeah. He just said two guys in a car. 1525 01:05:26,300 --> 01:05:28,767 - Two guys in a car. - That's all he ever told me. 1526 01:05:28,900 --> 01:05:30,100 - Yeah. 1527 01:05:30,233 --> 01:05:31,834 - He didn't say whether they were government. 1528 01:05:31,967 --> 01:05:34,133 He just said that there was two guys that showed up in a car, 1529 01:05:34,266 --> 01:05:36,934 and they said that they weren't gonna take it, 1530 01:05:37,066 --> 01:05:38,433 but they weren't leaving without it. 1531 01:05:38,567 --> 01:05:39,934 - Did they ever identify themselves? 1532 01:05:40,066 --> 01:05:41,066 - No. 1533 01:05:41,200 --> 01:05:42,600 - Well, that's-- 1534 01:05:42,734 --> 01:05:45,200 - You know, and the other thing you gotta understand is-- 1535 01:05:45,333 --> 01:05:47,800 is that Mack gave his word he wouldn't talk about it. 1536 01:05:47,934 --> 01:05:49,100 - Mm-hmm. 1537 01:05:49,233 --> 01:05:51,633 - You know, and his dad, if he gave his word, 1538 01:05:51,767 --> 01:05:53,734 that kind of extended to him as well. 1539 01:05:53,867 --> 01:05:55,066 - Right. 1540 01:05:55,200 --> 01:05:56,467 ♪ ♪ 1541 01:05:56,600 --> 01:06:00,900 I don't mean to misinterpret your father's claims, 1542 01:06:01,033 --> 01:06:02,500 but I did want to ask, 1543 01:06:02,633 --> 01:06:04,200 was there anything ever in your life 1544 01:06:04,333 --> 01:06:06,467 that would make you question what your dad saw? 1545 01:06:06,600 --> 01:06:08,400 - No. - Nothing about his character? 1546 01:06:08,533 --> 01:06:12,900 Nothing about his mental stability or his emotions? 1547 01:06:13,033 --> 01:06:14,400 - No. - Okay. 1548 01:06:14,533 --> 01:06:18,200 - I like to explain my dad this way, and myself: 1549 01:06:18,333 --> 01:06:20,834 what you see is what you get. - Mm-hmm. 1550 01:06:20,967 --> 01:06:23,200 - He's not gonna tell you something to your face 1551 01:06:23,333 --> 01:06:26,834 that isn't true or, you know, tell you something 1552 01:06:26,967 --> 01:06:28,900 and then go tell somebody else something else. 1553 01:06:29,033 --> 01:06:30,734 - Right. Yeah. 1554 01:06:30,867 --> 01:06:33,166 There's RUMINT--what's called rumored intelligence, 1555 01:06:33,300 --> 01:06:37,500 as we say in the business-- that Mack or Bill, your dad, 1556 01:06:37,633 --> 01:06:40,000 hid some of the material on their property, 1557 01:06:40,133 --> 01:06:43,066 and some might even claim here, on this property. 1558 01:06:43,200 --> 01:06:45,000 ♪ ♪ 1559 01:06:45,133 --> 01:06:46,333 Fishburne: One of the most persistent rumors 1560 01:06:46,467 --> 01:06:47,900 about Joe's father is that, 1561 01:06:48,033 --> 01:06:50,066 despite surrendering the cigar box, 1562 01:06:50,200 --> 01:06:52,533 he managed to hide a few shards of the wreckage 1563 01:06:52,667 --> 01:06:54,000 somewhere on this property. 1564 01:06:54,133 --> 01:06:55,767 ♪ ♪ 1565 01:06:55,900 --> 01:06:57,066 - Just to get a little more specific, 1566 01:06:57,200 --> 01:06:59,066 I think there was a claim at one point 1567 01:06:59,200 --> 01:07:02,066 that, um, there was perhaps some debris buried 1568 01:07:02,200 --> 01:07:06,200 under a cement slab on the old Brazel property. 1569 01:07:06,333 --> 01:07:08,633 - Yeah. - And I wanted to know, 1570 01:07:08,767 --> 01:07:10,633 is there any truth to that story? 1571 01:07:10,767 --> 01:07:13,233 - Why I don't just show you where that slab is? 1572 01:07:13,367 --> 01:07:15,066 - Lead the way. 1573 01:07:15,200 --> 01:07:17,567 - If Joe still has a piece of what he believes his dad 1574 01:07:17,700 --> 01:07:18,934 took from the debris field, 1575 01:07:19,066 --> 01:07:21,433 it could be a bombshell development. 1576 01:07:21,567 --> 01:07:25,500 - They hid it underneath this house right here. 1577 01:07:25,633 --> 01:07:29,967 ♪ ♪ 1578 01:07:33,533 --> 01:07:36,400 [dramatic music] 1579 01:07:36,533 --> 01:07:39,433 ♪ ♪ 1580 01:07:39,567 --> 01:07:41,300 Fishburne: Investigator Ben Smith is meeting 1581 01:07:41,433 --> 01:07:42,567 with Joe Brazel, 1582 01:07:42,700 --> 01:07:45,233 the reclusive grandson of Mack Brazel, 1583 01:07:45,367 --> 01:07:47,567 the rancher who first stumbled upon the mysterious 1584 01:07:47,700 --> 01:07:49,734 crash debris at Roswell, 1585 01:07:49,867 --> 01:07:51,533 but never spoke publicly 1586 01:07:51,667 --> 01:07:53,867 about how the Army threatened him into silence. 1587 01:07:54,000 --> 01:07:56,500 - He said he gave his word that he wouldn't talk about it, 1588 01:07:56,633 --> 01:07:59,767 and he said very little about it after that. 1589 01:07:59,900 --> 01:08:02,433 Fishburne: Jesse Marcel also never disclosed 1590 01:08:02,567 --> 01:08:04,066 everything he'd seen 1591 01:08:04,200 --> 01:08:06,467 or the full story of the cover-up. 1592 01:08:06,600 --> 01:08:08,600 - They hid it underneath this house. 1593 01:08:08,734 --> 01:08:10,900 Fishburne: Meanwhile, back in New York, 1594 01:08:11,033 --> 01:08:14,667 handwriting expert Jennifer Naso is doing a test 1595 01:08:14,800 --> 01:08:17,200 to try and authenticate the journal that belonged 1596 01:08:17,333 --> 01:08:22,166 to Marcel and could contain the secrets of Roswell. 1597 01:08:22,300 --> 01:08:24,900 - This is the journal I was given 1598 01:08:25,033 --> 01:08:28,233 as a question document to compare the handwriting 1599 01:08:28,367 --> 01:08:31,700 of Jesse Marcel, but it's not just handwriting. 1600 01:08:31,834 --> 01:08:33,367 I'm looking at a lot of elements 1601 01:08:33,500 --> 01:08:35,500 to help try to solve this puzzle. 1602 01:08:35,633 --> 01:08:38,133 The first thing I do is I look at the paper. 1603 01:08:38,266 --> 01:08:39,734 ♪ ♪ 1604 01:08:39,867 --> 01:08:42,300 I use specialized equipment in order to analyze 1605 01:08:42,433 --> 01:08:45,767 to see what might be in the paper, 1606 01:08:45,900 --> 01:08:48,934 and that might help to date the document. 1607 01:08:49,066 --> 01:08:51,400 I then look under my microscope 1608 01:08:51,533 --> 01:08:54,200 and determine what type of writing instrument 1609 01:08:54,333 --> 01:08:55,834 was used to create this document. 1610 01:08:55,967 --> 01:08:58,100 ♪ ♪ 1611 01:08:58,233 --> 01:09:00,834 In order to conduct a handwriting analysis, 1612 01:09:00,967 --> 01:09:03,934 I do a side-by-side comparison between the question 1613 01:09:04,066 --> 01:09:06,100 and the known-- in this particular case, 1614 01:09:06,233 --> 01:09:08,467 Jesse Marcel-- and determine whether or not 1615 01:09:08,600 --> 01:09:10,500 there are similarities or differences. 1616 01:09:10,633 --> 01:09:13,533 For example, the formation of the lowercase P 1617 01:09:13,667 --> 01:09:16,300 had a very tall introduction stroke, 1618 01:09:16,433 --> 01:09:18,867 which dropped down below the baseline 1619 01:09:19,000 --> 01:09:21,166 and then wrapped around to form the bowl of the P, 1620 01:09:21,300 --> 01:09:24,867 and that P is found throughout the entirety 1621 01:09:25,000 --> 01:09:26,967 of the question document. 1622 01:09:27,100 --> 01:09:28,333 ♪ ♪ 1623 01:09:28,467 --> 01:09:29,934 Fishburne: Jennifer Naso is trying to determine 1624 01:09:30,066 --> 01:09:32,834 whether the journal is genuine or fake, 1625 01:09:32,967 --> 01:09:35,800 the first step before decoding its meaning to learn 1626 01:09:35,934 --> 01:09:38,734 if it might change what we know about Roswell. 1627 01:09:38,867 --> 01:09:41,800 ♪ ♪ 1628 01:09:41,934 --> 01:09:43,333 Back in New Mexico... 1629 01:09:43,467 --> 01:09:45,734 - So tell me a little bit more about this house here. 1630 01:09:45,867 --> 01:09:50,867 - This house was built in 1902, so it's kind of in rough shape. 1631 01:09:51,000 --> 01:09:52,633 Fishburne: Smith has reached what he hopes will be 1632 01:09:52,767 --> 01:09:54,500 the most interesting part of his visit. 1633 01:09:54,633 --> 01:09:57,166 - I asked Joe about the rumor that there might still be 1634 01:09:57,300 --> 01:09:59,467 some debris hidden on his property. 1635 01:09:59,600 --> 01:10:03,166 The story goes that Bill Brazel, Joe's dad, 1636 01:10:03,300 --> 01:10:06,200 might have kept some of the debris as souvenirs. 1637 01:10:06,333 --> 01:10:08,400 Some researchers have claimed that your father or Mack 1638 01:10:08,533 --> 01:10:10,266 might have buried something 1639 01:10:10,400 --> 01:10:12,166 or hidden it under a cement slab. 1640 01:10:12,300 --> 01:10:14,700 - Yeah, well, I can show you right here. 1641 01:10:14,834 --> 01:10:16,667 This is--this is where the rumor was, 1642 01:10:16,800 --> 01:10:20,266 that this house--they hid it underneath this house, 1643 01:10:20,400 --> 01:10:26,533 and as you can see right here, there is no foundation. 1644 01:10:26,667 --> 01:10:29,266 There is no cement slab under this house. 1645 01:10:29,400 --> 01:10:31,200 - Yeah, looks just like dirt under there. 1646 01:10:31,333 --> 01:10:32,367 - It is. - Yep. 1647 01:10:32,500 --> 01:10:35,834 - In fact, when this house was first built, uh, 1648 01:10:35,967 --> 01:10:38,633 of course, they put the hardwood floors in, 1649 01:10:38,767 --> 01:10:41,967 but this was built on the dirt. 1650 01:10:42,100 --> 01:10:46,233 The only slab that was ever put in this house, 1651 01:10:46,367 --> 01:10:48,033 as far as, uh-- 1652 01:10:48,166 --> 01:10:52,567 is this rock slab right here for the old fireplace. 1653 01:10:52,700 --> 01:10:54,433 - Yeah. - And that's it, 1654 01:10:54,567 --> 01:10:55,767 and there's nothing under there. 1655 01:10:55,900 --> 01:10:56,867 That's--that's on dirt. 1656 01:10:57,000 --> 01:10:59,834 It's--it's been there since 1902, 1657 01:10:59,967 --> 01:11:01,567 long before the UFO. 1658 01:11:01,700 --> 01:11:03,066 - Yeah. - I can put the rumor 1659 01:11:03,200 --> 01:11:05,233 to rest that there's nothing underneath 1660 01:11:05,367 --> 01:11:06,633 the cement slab here, 'cause... 1661 01:11:06,767 --> 01:11:08,834 - Yeah. - There is no cement slab. 1662 01:11:08,967 --> 01:11:11,367 ♪ ♪ 1663 01:11:11,500 --> 01:11:13,867 There's no truth to their rumor whatsoever. 1664 01:11:14,000 --> 01:11:15,867 When they took that cigar box he had, 1665 01:11:16,000 --> 01:11:17,700 they took everything he had. 1666 01:11:17,834 --> 01:11:19,400 I guarantee, 1667 01:11:19,533 --> 01:11:21,967 if there had been something buried underneath this house, 1668 01:11:22,100 --> 01:11:25,033 my dad would have dug it up a long time ago. 1669 01:11:25,166 --> 01:11:27,266 - How do you think the rumor about debris hidden 1670 01:11:27,400 --> 01:11:29,100 under this cement slab 1671 01:11:29,233 --> 01:11:32,133 that is not here, uh, sort of impacted 1672 01:11:32,266 --> 01:11:33,600 the way your--your dad approached the story? 1673 01:11:33,734 --> 01:11:37,567 - What it did was it put a fear into him that--that, you know, 1674 01:11:37,700 --> 01:11:39,400 something might happen to one of his family members. 1675 01:11:39,533 --> 01:11:40,734 - Yeah. 1676 01:11:40,867 --> 01:11:42,700 - Because they--you know, they focus on the monetary... 1677 01:11:42,834 --> 01:11:43,667 - Mm-hmm. 1678 01:11:43,800 --> 01:11:45,100 - And think he has a piece of it, 1679 01:11:45,233 --> 01:11:46,700 and it's worth so much money. 1680 01:11:46,834 --> 01:11:48,734 - Right. - You know, and then-- 1681 01:11:48,867 --> 01:11:51,567 so he got real reluctant about talking about it, 1682 01:11:51,700 --> 01:11:53,767 and therefore you don't really get at the truth, 1683 01:11:53,900 --> 01:11:57,934 because you're always trying to fight and debunk the rumors. 1684 01:11:58,066 --> 01:11:59,166 - You've confirmed a lot of things for me 1685 01:11:59,300 --> 01:12:00,600 that I think is pretty fascinating: 1686 01:12:00,734 --> 01:12:03,667 one, the integrity and the quality of the person 1687 01:12:03,800 --> 01:12:05,767 that your father and your grandfather-- 1688 01:12:05,900 --> 01:12:07,166 - Yeah. 1689 01:12:07,300 --> 01:12:09,500 - The people that they were, and, uh, two, that--you know, 1690 01:12:09,633 --> 01:12:11,800 you've confirmed some things in the timeline for me 1691 01:12:11,934 --> 01:12:15,166 that make me think that it's reasonable for me 1692 01:12:15,300 --> 01:12:18,300 to continue the search, continue to use resources. 1693 01:12:18,433 --> 01:12:19,500 - Well, something happened. 1694 01:12:19,633 --> 01:12:21,433 'Cause they spent a lot of money 1695 01:12:21,567 --> 01:12:23,133 trying to figure out what happened, 1696 01:12:23,266 --> 01:12:27,133 and they spent a lot of money hiding what really did happen. 1697 01:12:27,266 --> 01:12:29,834 - Is there any other information that I could use 1698 01:12:29,967 --> 01:12:31,734 to help me in my-- in my investigation 1699 01:12:31,867 --> 01:12:33,700 to get--to get to that ground-level truth? 1700 01:12:33,834 --> 01:12:34,934 ♪ ♪ 1701 01:12:35,066 --> 01:12:36,767 - There's some other people you can talk to, 1702 01:12:36,900 --> 01:12:40,600 but I don't feel comfortable telling you on camera. 1703 01:12:40,734 --> 01:12:41,900 - Okay. 1704 01:12:42,033 --> 01:12:44,767 Would you mind, uh, typing their names into my phone 1705 01:12:44,900 --> 01:12:45,967 so at least I can-- - I'll give you-- 1706 01:12:46,100 --> 01:12:47,200 I'll give you one name. 1707 01:12:47,333 --> 01:12:52,834 ♪ ♪ 1708 01:12:52,967 --> 01:12:55,667 Fishburne: Joe Brazel doesn't have any crash debris, 1709 01:12:55,800 --> 01:12:57,667 but he does have something else: 1710 01:12:57,800 --> 01:13:00,233 the name of someone Ben Smith has never heard of, 1711 01:13:00,367 --> 01:13:01,734 someone Smith hopes 1712 01:13:01,867 --> 01:13:04,800 can bring this investigation closer to the truth. 1713 01:13:04,934 --> 01:13:06,400 ♪ ♪ 1714 01:13:06,533 --> 01:13:07,900 Coming up... 1715 01:13:08,033 --> 01:13:11,200 - Has anybody that you know found a piece of this debris? 1716 01:13:11,333 --> 01:13:12,367 - I do know of a man 1717 01:13:12,500 --> 01:13:16,900 who supposedly had several pieces of debris. 1718 01:13:17,033 --> 01:13:20,867 ♪ ♪ 1719 01:13:24,600 --> 01:13:27,467 [dramatic music] 1720 01:13:27,600 --> 01:13:34,266 ♪ ♪ 1721 01:13:35,333 --> 01:13:36,667 Fishburne: Following up on a promising lead 1722 01:13:36,800 --> 01:13:37,967 from Joe Brazel, 1723 01:13:38,100 --> 01:13:40,100 Ben Smith is on his way to a senior center 1724 01:13:40,233 --> 01:13:41,300 in the farming community 1725 01:13:41,433 --> 01:13:44,100 closest to where the debris was found. 1726 01:13:44,233 --> 01:13:47,100 He hopes the local residents who gather for lunch every day 1727 01:13:47,233 --> 01:13:49,567 will have memories they'd be willing to share. 1728 01:13:49,700 --> 01:13:52,834 - Well, I've got all the village elders 1729 01:13:52,967 --> 01:13:54,433 around the table here today. 1730 01:13:54,567 --> 01:13:57,266 I wanted to learn a little bit more about your perspective 1731 01:13:57,400 --> 01:14:01,333 on what happened, you know, in that early July of 1947. 1732 01:14:01,467 --> 01:14:02,834 - My father-in-law, 1733 01:14:02,967 --> 01:14:06,066 he was on top of a windmill tower, working, 1734 01:14:06,200 --> 01:14:08,200 and this was about the same time 1735 01:14:08,333 --> 01:14:11,500 that this supposed incident happened. 1736 01:14:11,633 --> 01:14:14,367 He said there was something that came 1737 01:14:14,500 --> 01:14:19,767 at him out of the sky, there was really no noise, 1738 01:14:19,900 --> 01:14:22,333 and he was afraid it was fixing to cut his head off, 1739 01:14:22,467 --> 01:14:24,467 so he went running down the windmill. 1740 01:14:24,600 --> 01:14:26,133 - Hmm. 1741 01:14:26,266 --> 01:14:27,600 - And he said it was just a flash. 1742 01:14:27,734 --> 01:14:30,200 It was there, and he just, like, 1743 01:14:30,333 --> 01:14:31,734 never got out of the way quick enough, 1744 01:14:31,867 --> 01:14:36,200 and then whenever he looked up, it was going, gone. 1745 01:14:36,333 --> 01:14:39,066 - That's a story that I have not heard in connection 1746 01:14:39,200 --> 01:14:40,233 to these events before. 1747 01:14:40,367 --> 01:14:41,600 - It hasn't been out... - Yeah. 1748 01:14:41,734 --> 01:14:42,700 - A whole lot. 1749 01:14:42,834 --> 01:14:44,033 - Yeah. - But he swore by it. 1750 01:14:44,166 --> 01:14:47,000 And when this man said something, he... 1751 01:14:47,133 --> 01:14:49,467 - Yeah. - He was truthful. 1752 01:14:49,600 --> 01:14:50,500 - I have a lot of questions. 1753 01:14:50,633 --> 01:14:51,667 There's some characters here 1754 01:14:51,800 --> 01:14:54,300 that are involved in this incident in 1947. 1755 01:14:54,433 --> 01:14:55,367 Do you remember Mack Brazel? 1756 01:14:55,500 --> 01:14:57,367 - I've seen that name. - Oh, sure. 1757 01:14:57,500 --> 01:14:59,533 That's the one that tell them about the UFO falling. 1758 01:14:59,667 --> 01:15:00,867 - I remember Mack. - Oh, you do? 1759 01:15:01,000 --> 01:15:02,200 - Mm-hmm. - Yeah? 1760 01:15:02,333 --> 01:15:03,633 Can you tell me what you remember about Mack? 1761 01:15:03,767 --> 01:15:05,066 - He was a cowboy. 1762 01:15:05,200 --> 01:15:08,400 Mack had a reputation for being honest. 1763 01:15:08,533 --> 01:15:10,433 He had a reputation for working hard. 1764 01:15:10,567 --> 01:15:12,166 ♪ ♪ 1765 01:15:12,300 --> 01:15:15,533 He just was a hardworking cowboy. 1766 01:15:15,667 --> 01:15:18,033 Fishburne: Sherrill Perkins' parents owned the drugstore 1767 01:15:18,166 --> 01:15:20,066 from which Mack Brazel called the sheriff 1768 01:15:20,200 --> 01:15:22,900 to report finding some strange crash debris 1769 01:15:23,033 --> 01:15:25,200 in his grazing fields. 1770 01:15:25,333 --> 01:15:28,700 - Mack Brazel goes to the DuBois Pharmacy, 1771 01:15:28,834 --> 01:15:33,734 and he makes the phone call with your mother, Geraldine. 1772 01:15:33,867 --> 01:15:35,567 Mack calls the sheriff, and from there, 1773 01:15:35,700 --> 01:15:37,066 that's really the first time 1774 01:15:37,200 --> 01:15:39,834 that information gets transmitted to the public. 1775 01:15:39,967 --> 01:15:42,834 I'm curious whether you overheard any of these details 1776 01:15:42,967 --> 01:15:45,934 and what you recall from that whole sequence of events. 1777 01:15:46,066 --> 01:15:49,600 - I remember conversations about it. 1778 01:15:49,734 --> 01:15:51,867 I probably was not there when that call was made. 1779 01:15:52,000 --> 01:15:53,200 - Okay. 1780 01:15:53,333 --> 01:15:54,600 - The main thing that I remember 1781 01:15:54,734 --> 01:15:56,266 my parents talking about 1782 01:15:56,400 --> 01:15:59,266 was they certainly believed that something happened. 1783 01:15:59,400 --> 01:16:02,200 - Do you recall your mother ever talking to Mack Brazel 1784 01:16:02,333 --> 01:16:04,266 about what he saw out in the field? 1785 01:16:04,400 --> 01:16:05,900 - I think that that did not happen. 1786 01:16:06,033 --> 01:16:07,266 - Oh, really? 1787 01:16:07,400 --> 01:16:09,533 - It would have been natural for him to have 1788 01:16:09,667 --> 01:16:11,433 followed up with, 1789 01:16:11,567 --> 01:16:15,000 "Yeah, I had to go to Roswell and stay for three nights," 1790 01:16:15,133 --> 01:16:18,367 or "Yeah, I did this," or "Yeah, I did that." 1791 01:16:18,500 --> 01:16:20,266 He didn't say anything. 1792 01:16:20,400 --> 01:16:22,867 It just didn't stand to reason 1793 01:16:23,000 --> 01:16:24,767 that they wouldn't have talked about it. 1794 01:16:24,900 --> 01:16:26,166 - Right. - So something happened 1795 01:16:26,300 --> 01:16:27,667 after they took him to Roswell. 1796 01:16:27,800 --> 01:16:31,500 - My daddy was a World War II veteran, 1797 01:16:31,633 --> 01:16:36,667 and when the government says you don't talk about something, 1798 01:16:36,800 --> 01:16:39,333 you didn't talk about anything, 1799 01:16:39,467 --> 01:16:40,834 and that was my theory 1800 01:16:40,967 --> 01:16:43,934 as to why it was never talked about. 1801 01:16:44,066 --> 01:16:46,133 - The ethos, the attitude at the time, 1802 01:16:46,266 --> 01:16:47,300 like you said, was, 1803 01:16:47,433 --> 01:16:49,000 "Look, this is your duty not to say anything 1804 01:16:49,133 --> 01:16:50,000 "and to follow orders, 1805 01:16:50,133 --> 01:16:52,000 "and so keep your mouth quiet 1806 01:16:52,133 --> 01:16:53,934 about anything that might have happened here." 1807 01:16:54,066 --> 01:16:55,133 - And the general attitude 1808 01:16:55,266 --> 01:16:57,467 was it was not a weather balloon. 1809 01:16:57,600 --> 01:16:59,166 If there was anything, it wasn't that. 1810 01:16:59,300 --> 01:17:01,867 - It was not a weather balloon. No, it was not. 1811 01:17:02,000 --> 01:17:04,367 - So what about the Proctor family? 1812 01:17:04,500 --> 01:17:07,667 - Well, Dee Proctor was in my class. 1813 01:17:07,800 --> 01:17:09,000 Started first grade together 1814 01:17:09,133 --> 01:17:12,066 and graduated from high school together. 1815 01:17:12,200 --> 01:17:13,667 Fishburne: Dee Proctor was the young boy 1816 01:17:13,800 --> 01:17:16,633 who was with Mack Brazel when he found the wreckage. 1817 01:17:16,767 --> 01:17:18,867 Brazel would allegedly take Dee home 1818 01:17:19,000 --> 01:17:21,500 and show his mother some of what they'd found. 1819 01:17:21,633 --> 01:17:22,834 ♪ ♪ 1820 01:17:22,967 --> 01:17:26,400 - There was some metallic-looking stuff that, 1821 01:17:26,533 --> 01:17:28,567 when you crushed it, 1822 01:17:28,700 --> 01:17:29,900 it just straightened right back out. 1823 01:17:30,033 --> 01:17:32,867 It wouldn't--you know, wouldn't stay crushed. 1824 01:17:33,000 --> 01:17:36,400 Well, we told him it was probably a UFO 1825 01:17:36,533 --> 01:17:38,066 and he should report it. 1826 01:17:38,200 --> 01:17:40,934 - Dee was seven when all of this happened. 1827 01:17:41,066 --> 01:17:42,066 ♪ ♪ 1828 01:17:42,200 --> 01:17:46,266 And Dee's sister told me, for positive, 1829 01:17:46,400 --> 01:17:49,734 sure, that he was with Mack Brazel. 1830 01:17:49,867 --> 01:17:51,834 Looking back on it and knowing for sure 1831 01:17:51,967 --> 01:17:56,500 that Dee was with Mack, he never ever talked about it. 1832 01:17:56,633 --> 01:17:57,834 - Hmm. 1833 01:17:57,967 --> 01:18:02,166 - So that makes me think for sure something happened. 1834 01:18:02,300 --> 01:18:05,400 I do believe that people purposely kept quiet 1835 01:18:05,533 --> 01:18:07,100 about what happened, because I think 1836 01:18:07,233 --> 01:18:09,767 they were probably threatened by the government, 1837 01:18:09,900 --> 01:18:12,633 or their sense of patriotic duty 1838 01:18:12,767 --> 01:18:14,467 was appealed to, and they said, 1839 01:18:14,600 --> 01:18:16,266 "Don't say anything about this," 1840 01:18:16,400 --> 01:18:19,500 because if it's true and they were truly aliens, 1841 01:18:19,633 --> 01:18:22,834 then we think everybody is going to panic. 1842 01:18:22,967 --> 01:18:25,867 ♪ ♪ 1843 01:18:26,000 --> 01:18:29,100 - Has anybody that you know personally ever claimed 1844 01:18:29,233 --> 01:18:31,767 to have found a piece of this debris? 1845 01:18:31,900 --> 01:18:33,567 - I do know one name of a man 1846 01:18:33,700 --> 01:18:38,667 who supposedly had several pieces of debris. 1847 01:18:38,800 --> 01:18:39,967 - Uh-huh. 1848 01:18:40,100 --> 01:18:41,533 - And I haven't heard his name mentioned at all today, 1849 01:18:41,667 --> 01:18:44,333 so I'm not mentioning it either. 1850 01:18:44,467 --> 01:18:48,967 - Uh, why the hesitancy to share with me his name? 1851 01:18:49,100 --> 01:18:50,900 - It's privacy. 1852 01:18:51,033 --> 01:18:52,266 - Yeah. - I don't know. 1853 01:18:52,400 --> 01:18:54,133 I can ask them if they would be willing to talk, 1854 01:18:54,266 --> 01:18:56,200 but I can bet you that they would not. 1855 01:18:56,333 --> 01:18:58,266 - Yeah, well, put in a good word for me. 1856 01:18:58,400 --> 01:18:59,767 - I will. - Uh, just, uh, you know, 1857 01:18:59,900 --> 01:19:01,734 if you could, I would-- - I will. 1858 01:19:01,867 --> 01:19:05,266 We're still pretty private about protecting the people 1859 01:19:05,400 --> 01:19:06,734 that--who have been most affected. 1860 01:19:06,867 --> 01:19:10,533 [rain pattering] 1861 01:19:10,667 --> 01:19:12,967 - As I was leaving, one of the seniors slipped me 1862 01:19:13,100 --> 01:19:16,133 the name of someone related to another eyewitness. 1863 01:19:16,266 --> 01:19:19,166 The Roswell incident is like an intricate puzzle, 1864 01:19:19,300 --> 01:19:20,700 and I finally feel like the pieces 1865 01:19:20,834 --> 01:19:22,133 are starting to fall into place. 1866 01:19:22,266 --> 01:19:24,567 ♪ ♪ 1867 01:19:24,700 --> 01:19:26,233 Fishburne: Coming up... 1868 01:19:26,367 --> 01:19:27,867 will Jesse Marcel's journal 1869 01:19:28,000 --> 01:19:30,667 be another piece of that puzzle? 1870 01:19:30,800 --> 01:19:33,333 - There is one feature that I'll point out. 1871 01:19:33,467 --> 01:19:36,233 Fishburne: What will forensic examination reveal? 1872 01:19:36,367 --> 01:19:39,967 ♪ ♪ 1873 01:19:43,700 --> 01:19:46,567 [dramatic music] 1874 01:19:46,700 --> 01:19:53,567 ♪ ♪ 1875 01:19:53,700 --> 01:19:55,734 Fishburne: Investigator Ben Smith heads 1876 01:19:55,867 --> 01:19:57,400 to the office of handwriting expert 1877 01:19:57,533 --> 01:19:58,767 Jennifer Naso, 1878 01:19:58,900 --> 01:20:00,900 who has spent nearly a month 1879 01:20:01,033 --> 01:20:03,300 doing a forensic examination of the journal 1880 01:20:03,433 --> 01:20:06,533 to find out if it is genuine or a fake. 1881 01:20:06,667 --> 01:20:07,767 ♪ ♪ 1882 01:20:07,900 --> 01:20:09,967 With him is Jesse Marcel's grandson, 1883 01:20:10,100 --> 01:20:11,834 who believes the journal may contain 1884 01:20:11,967 --> 01:20:14,333 the intelligence officer's coded secrets 1885 01:20:14,467 --> 01:20:17,734 about what really happened at Roswell. 1886 01:20:17,867 --> 01:20:19,867 - It's fascinating and potentially helpful 1887 01:20:20,000 --> 01:20:21,967 to solving, you know, the-- 1888 01:20:22,100 --> 01:20:25,834 for me, uh, the larger story about the Roswell incident. 1889 01:20:25,967 --> 01:20:29,066 - I just can't imagine he wouldn't leave some kind 1890 01:20:29,200 --> 01:20:33,066 of evidence, some writings of some kind, 1891 01:20:33,200 --> 01:20:35,934 about what was a very, very important event. 1892 01:20:36,066 --> 01:20:37,300 - Right. 1893 01:20:37,433 --> 01:20:40,000 - This might be that piece of the puzzle. 1894 01:20:40,133 --> 01:20:42,200 ♪ ♪ 1895 01:20:42,333 --> 01:20:43,767 Ooh. 1896 01:20:43,900 --> 01:20:44,834 [knocking] 1897 01:20:44,967 --> 01:20:46,467 - Jennifer? - Hi. 1898 01:20:46,600 --> 01:20:48,100 - Hey. Nice to see you again. 1899 01:20:48,233 --> 01:20:49,100 - Good to see you. - This is Jesse. 1900 01:20:49,233 --> 01:20:50,100 - Hi, Jesse. Jennifer Naso. 1901 01:20:50,233 --> 01:20:51,300 Nice to meet you. 1902 01:20:51,433 --> 01:20:52,667 - Jennifer, nice to meet you. - Uh, follow me. 1903 01:20:52,800 --> 01:20:54,900 I'll show you what I've been doing. 1904 01:20:55,033 --> 01:20:56,500 - Great. 1905 01:20:56,633 --> 01:21:01,300 - So I looked at the writing ink lines 1906 01:21:01,433 --> 01:21:05,033 of every passage in the journal, 1907 01:21:05,166 --> 01:21:07,633 and I'll show you under magnification. 1908 01:21:07,767 --> 01:21:11,000 You can see a little bit better image of the ink line. 1909 01:21:11,133 --> 01:21:12,266 - Mm-hmm. 1910 01:21:12,400 --> 01:21:15,000 This is consistent with non-ballpoint pen ink. 1911 01:21:15,133 --> 01:21:16,400 - Oh, okay. 1912 01:21:16,533 --> 01:21:18,533 - And the way I can tell is you can see the ink line, 1913 01:21:18,667 --> 01:21:20,667 how the ink kind of bleeds into the paper fibers. 1914 01:21:20,800 --> 01:21:22,166 - Sure. 1915 01:21:22,300 --> 01:21:24,734 - Whereas in ballpoint pen, the pen ink is more viscous, 1916 01:21:24,867 --> 01:21:28,333 and so it kind of sits a little bit more on top of the paper. 1917 01:21:28,467 --> 01:21:31,333 Here is an example of ballpoint pen ink. 1918 01:21:31,467 --> 01:21:32,400 - Okay. 1919 01:21:32,533 --> 01:21:34,400 ♪ ♪ 1920 01:21:34,533 --> 01:21:36,200 - And the characteristics commonly seen 1921 01:21:36,333 --> 01:21:37,667 with ballpoint pen ink 1922 01:21:37,800 --> 01:21:39,734 is you don't see that ink bleed into the paper. 1923 01:21:39,867 --> 01:21:42,467 It kind of sits more on top and has a sheen to it. 1924 01:21:42,600 --> 01:21:44,000 - Oh, okay. - And on curvatures, 1925 01:21:44,133 --> 01:21:46,233 you see what we call burr striations 1926 01:21:46,367 --> 01:21:49,834 that move from inside to outside on a curve. 1927 01:21:49,967 --> 01:21:52,033 So what I'm seeing throughout the document 1928 01:21:52,166 --> 01:21:54,100 that the entirety of the document is created 1929 01:21:54,233 --> 01:21:56,033 with that non-ballpoint pen ink... 1930 01:21:56,166 --> 01:21:57,233 - Okay. 1931 01:21:57,367 --> 01:21:59,667 - That is consistent with the time period 1932 01:21:59,800 --> 01:22:01,233 which this document was purportedly created. 1933 01:22:01,367 --> 01:22:02,667 - It is? - Yes. 1934 01:22:02,800 --> 01:22:04,100 ♪ ♪ 1935 01:22:04,233 --> 01:22:06,100 The next thing I looked at was the paper itself. 1936 01:22:06,233 --> 01:22:07,734 - Okay. - And what I'm looking for 1937 01:22:07,867 --> 01:22:09,233 are optical brighteners. 1938 01:22:09,367 --> 01:22:11,033 - Okay. - Optical brighteners are added 1939 01:22:11,166 --> 01:22:13,300 in the paper manufacturing process, 1940 01:22:13,433 --> 01:22:17,633 and it's to make the paper look nice and white and bright. 1941 01:22:17,767 --> 01:22:19,500 - Sure. - So the way to look 1942 01:22:19,633 --> 01:22:20,967 for optical brighteners 1943 01:22:21,100 --> 01:22:23,834 is to look under UV radiation, and what should happen, 1944 01:22:23,967 --> 01:22:25,567 if it contains optical brighteners, 1945 01:22:25,700 --> 01:22:28,100 is that the paper should luminesce. 1946 01:22:28,233 --> 01:22:30,900 It should glow under UV. 1947 01:22:31,033 --> 01:22:35,500 Here, I'll put the journal in, so you can see, 1948 01:22:35,633 --> 01:22:37,100 and just to give you a comparison, 1949 01:22:37,233 --> 01:22:40,467 I'll put a document which I know contains 1950 01:22:40,600 --> 01:22:42,867 optical brighteners under--right on top. 1951 01:22:43,000 --> 01:22:44,166 - Wow. 1952 01:22:44,300 --> 01:22:46,567 - So that technology began in around 1950. 1953 01:22:46,700 --> 01:22:48,066 - Correct. - Well, that makes sense, 1954 01:22:48,200 --> 01:22:49,433 'cause I think the last date 1955 01:22:49,567 --> 01:22:51,300 that I saw in the journal was like 1948. 1956 01:22:51,433 --> 01:22:54,633 - So professional opinion and the evidence showing 1957 01:22:54,767 --> 01:22:57,400 that it was created before 1950 anyway. 1958 01:22:57,533 --> 01:22:59,533 - Yes. It is consistent with documents 1959 01:22:59,667 --> 01:23:01,533 that were produced during that time period. 1960 01:23:01,667 --> 01:23:02,700 - Great. Okay. 1961 01:23:02,834 --> 01:23:04,967 - So did you find anything like a watermark 1962 01:23:05,100 --> 01:23:08,667 that might also provide clues about the time period? 1963 01:23:08,800 --> 01:23:13,467 - Right, so there was no logos or insignia on either cover 1964 01:23:13,600 --> 01:23:15,834 or in the pages which would indicate 1965 01:23:15,967 --> 01:23:18,500 the company that manufactured this document. 1966 01:23:18,633 --> 01:23:20,533 However, when I looked with transmitted light 1967 01:23:20,667 --> 01:23:21,667 shining through the document, 1968 01:23:21,800 --> 01:23:24,867 there is a watermark present on the document. 1969 01:23:25,000 --> 01:23:27,233 ♪ ♪ 1970 01:23:27,367 --> 01:23:29,166 In looking at-- 1971 01:23:29,300 --> 01:23:30,433 - Oh, look at that! - Yeah, I see it. 1972 01:23:30,567 --> 01:23:32,500 - You see the watermark, and on the top, 1973 01:23:32,633 --> 01:23:34,367 looking through several pages 1974 01:23:34,500 --> 01:23:36,000 and being able to piece it together, 1975 01:23:36,133 --> 01:23:41,900 the top actually says Juniata, J-U-N-I-A-T-A. 1976 01:23:42,033 --> 01:23:43,500 So curiosity got the better of me. 1977 01:23:43,633 --> 01:23:44,834 - Okay. 1978 01:23:44,967 --> 01:23:47,533 - And a quick internet search revealed that Juniata 1979 01:23:47,667 --> 01:23:49,000 is a university in Pennsylvania. 1980 01:23:49,133 --> 01:23:49,967 - Interesting. 1981 01:23:50,100 --> 01:23:51,233 That was the area 1982 01:23:51,367 --> 01:23:52,734 my grandfather went to intelligence school. 1983 01:23:52,867 --> 01:23:54,066 - In Pennsylvania? 1984 01:23:54,200 --> 01:23:55,633 He went to intelligence school in Pennsylvania? 1985 01:23:55,767 --> 01:23:58,200 - Yeah, he was actually a member in the very first class 1986 01:23:58,333 --> 01:23:59,667 of the very first intelligence school. 1987 01:23:59,800 --> 01:24:01,533 - Oh, really? - When he finished that class, 1988 01:24:01,667 --> 01:24:03,567 he turned around and they had him teach that class to-- 1989 01:24:03,700 --> 01:24:06,033 - Oh, I did read that. - And, again, it was right 1990 01:24:06,166 --> 01:24:07,767 in the same area where this paper came from. 1991 01:24:07,900 --> 01:24:09,700 - And that was in what year? 1940-- 1992 01:24:09,834 --> 01:24:11,400 - It had to be '41, '42, something like that. 1993 01:24:11,533 --> 01:24:13,200 - Yeah, it was after the war had already started. 1994 01:24:13,333 --> 01:24:14,567 - Exactly. Yeah. 1995 01:24:14,700 --> 01:24:16,533 He joined right--right--well, right after Pearl Harbor. 1996 01:24:16,667 --> 01:24:20,767 - To sum up, this document does appear to be consistent 1997 01:24:20,900 --> 01:24:23,867 with the time period with which it's purported to be written. 1998 01:24:24,000 --> 01:24:25,600 - That's half the battle right there. 1999 01:24:25,734 --> 01:24:27,300 - So I did a handwriting comparison with the journal... 2000 01:24:27,433 --> 01:24:29,133 - Mm-hmm. 2001 01:24:29,266 --> 01:24:31,700 - And the known specimens I had for Jesse Marcel. 2002 01:24:31,834 --> 01:24:34,467 I will say that in flipping through the journals, 2003 01:24:34,600 --> 01:24:38,834 the handwriting did appear to be freely 2004 01:24:38,967 --> 01:24:40,100 and naturally executed. - Okay. 2005 01:24:40,233 --> 01:24:43,600 - It does not appear to be deliberate or hesitant... 2006 01:24:43,734 --> 01:24:45,266 - Okay. - In its execution. 2007 01:24:45,400 --> 01:24:48,166 There is one feature that I'll point out, 2008 01:24:48,300 --> 01:24:51,400 and that is the capital letter M, 2009 01:24:51,533 --> 01:24:56,767 where it is written almost like three sevens attached. 2010 01:24:56,900 --> 01:24:59,467 So this is in the printed section, 2011 01:24:59,600 --> 01:25:01,934 This M does appear 2012 01:25:02,066 --> 01:25:05,934 in the cursive section from time to time. 2013 01:25:06,066 --> 01:25:07,900 - Oh, it's just like it. - Oh, wow. 2014 01:25:08,033 --> 01:25:11,133 ♪ ♪ 2015 01:25:11,266 --> 01:25:12,834 Fishburne: It is stunning news. 2016 01:25:12,967 --> 01:25:14,300 Both the cursive script 2017 01:25:14,433 --> 01:25:16,967 and the print were written by the same person. 2018 01:25:17,100 --> 01:25:18,900 The journal is genuine. 2019 01:25:19,033 --> 01:25:20,767 ♪ ♪ 2020 01:25:20,900 --> 01:25:24,767 Next on "Roswell: The First Witness"... 2021 01:25:24,900 --> 01:25:27,767 - The Roswell incident is real. 2022 01:25:27,900 --> 01:25:29,266 Fishburne: The investigation moves 2023 01:25:29,400 --> 01:25:30,800 into uncharted territory... 2024 01:25:30,934 --> 01:25:33,500 - It negates the skeptical arguments 2025 01:25:33,633 --> 01:25:34,667 about the Roswell case. 2026 01:25:34,800 --> 01:25:36,166 Fishburne: With new leads 2027 01:25:36,300 --> 01:25:38,100 that have never been explored before. 2028 01:25:38,233 --> 01:25:40,100 - Actually, it raises more questions than answers then. 2029 01:25:40,233 --> 01:25:41,633 - Yeah. 2030 01:25:41,767 --> 01:25:43,433 Fishburne: Was the mysterious journal Jesse Marcel 2031 01:25:43,567 --> 01:25:45,400 kept secret written in code 2032 01:25:45,533 --> 01:25:47,166 to hide its meaning from the government? 2033 01:25:47,300 --> 01:25:48,600 - To a cryptographer, 2034 01:25:48,734 --> 01:25:51,400 this indicates a certain kind of cipher. 2035 01:25:51,533 --> 01:25:53,166 Fishburne: Or was it something more sinister 2036 01:25:53,300 --> 01:25:55,166 that forced Jesse Marcel into silence? 2037 01:25:55,300 --> 01:25:59,600 - He said there are things that this world is not ready for. 2038 01:25:59,734 --> 01:26:03,033 - The impact site, the remains of the craft, 2039 01:26:03,166 --> 01:26:05,033 and the bodies recovered. 2040 01:26:05,166 --> 01:26:08,633 Fishburne: What else was Jesse Marcel hiding from the world? 2041 01:26:09,000 --> 01:26:12,567 [indistinc speaking] 2042 01:26:12,700 --> 01:26:14,367 Fishburne: The investigation uncovers 2043 01:26:14,500 --> 01:26:16,066 shocking possibilities. 2044 01:26:16,200 --> 01:26:18,033 - You think the debris could still be at the house? 2045 01:26:18,166 --> 01:26:19,867 - I know it could be. 2046 01:26:20,000 --> 01:26:24,033 Fishburne: Could it change what we know about Roswell? 2047 01:26:24,166 --> 01:26:25,867 I'm Laurence Fishburne, 2048 01:26:26,000 --> 01:26:29,433 thanks for watching "History's Greatest Mysteries".