Chapter VII: Section TWO: Reports of Bodies at the Roswell AAF Hospital (1)

This section examines the remaining portion of the Roswell Incident claims--the reports of “bodies” at the Roswell AAF hospital. Examinations of the various “crashed saucer” scenarios revealed references to the Roswell AAF hospital appeared in virtually all of them. Most of these were based on the account of one individual, W. Glenn Dennis. His undocumented and uncorroborated recollections, reportedly first related in 1989, over 42 years after the alleged Roswell Incident, are based on activities he allegedly encountered as a mortician providing contract services to the Roswell AAF hospital. Dennis’ recollections have, in turn, been interpreted by UFO theorists as evidence that the U.S. Army Air Forces recovered “alien” bodies and autopsied them at the Roswell AAF hospital in July 1947.

Dennis has been described as the “star witness” and his claims as the most credible of the Roswell Incident.[1] This, even though his most sensational assertions were not based on his own experiences but on information allegedly related to him by unidentified mystery witnesses.

The mystery witnesses were allegedly an Army Air Forces nurse and a pediatrician both assigned to the Roswell AAF hospital in 1947.[2] To casual observers, this account, which contains references to actual U.S. Army Air Forces and U.S. Air Force personnel and activities, appears to have a ring of authenticity. However, when examined closely by Air Force researchers, the dates of events, the events themselves, and the people described as having participated in them, were found to be grossly inaccurate and totally unrelated to activities of July 1947.

The Account

The following is a summary of information provided by W. Glenn Dennis, who claimed he was a 22-year-old mortician at the Ballard Funeral Home in Roswell in July 1947, when he alleged these events occurred.[*]

[*] Excerpts of interviews contained in this summary were taken
from audio or video recordings made by persons referenced in the
appropriate endnote. The sole exception is the interview conducted
by Stanton T. Friedman on August 5, 1989. Quotations from this
interview were taken from a transcript which is reportedly an
accurate representation of the interview. Friedman has not honored
repeated requests for an audio recording.

On July 7, 1947, Dennis alleged he received a series of phone calls at the Ballard Funeral Home, where he worked, from the Mortuary Affairs officer at Roswell Army Air Field. He recalled that the mortuary officer inquired as to the availability of child sized caskets and procedures for preserving bodies that had been “laying out in the elements.”[3] Later that day he received an emergency ambulance call (the civilian mortuary for which he worked also provided an ambulance service) to respond to the site of a minor traffic accident in Roswell.[4] The accident victim was an “airman” stationed at Roswell AAF, and Dennis transported the airman to the hospital at the base.[5]

As Dennis walked into the hospital he noticed three military box-type ambulances, one or more of which contained what appeared to be “wreckage.”[6] He described the wreckage as being inscribed with odd markings or symbols and bluish-purplish in color.[7] He recalled that some of this wreckage was resting against the inside wall of the rear compartment of the ambulance and two pieces of it “looked kind of like the bottom of a canoe.”[8] He described other wreckage on the floor of the ambulance as being “all sharp” and as best he could tell “was like broken glass.”[9] He also recalled observing Military Policemen (MPs) standing at the back of two of these ambulances.[10]

When he went inside the hospital, he encountered a military nurse who was assigned there and with whom he was previously acquainted.[11] The nurse, who looked upset, was covering her mouth with a cloth and told him that “you’re going to get in a lot of trouble” and that he should “just get out of here.”[12] Dennis also stated that he encountered a military doctor who was assigned to the hospital, a pediatrician, with whom he was “pretty good friends” but did not speak with at that time.[13]

Having seen the wreckage in the rear of the ambulance and believing there had been an accident, he asked another officer in the hospital if there had been a plane crash. The officer, whom Dennis had never seen before, asked him: “Who in the hell are you?” When he responded he was “from the funeral home,” the officer summoned two MPs to escort him from the hospital.[14]

However, before Dennis and the two MPs had left the hospital, he heard someone say, “We’re not through with that SOB, bring him back here.”[15] When Dennis turned around, he observed a redheaded captain (in one version of these events Dennis is quoted as describing this person as a “big redheaded colonel”[16]) who said, “You did not see anything. There was no crash here. You don’t go into town making any rumors that you saw anything or that there was any crash ... you could get in a lot of trouble.”[17]

Angry about being called an SOB, Dennis informed the redheaded officer that he was a civilian, not under his authority, and that he, the redheaded officer, “can’t do a damn thing to me.”[18] The redheaded officer was alleged to have threatened Dennis by responding “Oh yes we can”.... “Somebody will be picking your bones out of the sand”.... “We can do anything to you ... that we want to.”[19] A black sergeant, whom Dennis recalled had accompanied the redheaded officer, allegedly stated he would “make real good dog food.”[20] Following this exchange, Dennis claimed he was “picked up ... arm and arm” and escorted back to his place of business by two MPs.[21]

The following day, July 8, 1947, Dennis attempted to telephone the nurse he had seen in the hall at the hospital to find out “what was going on.”[22] He stated that he was unable to reach the nurse but did reach another nurse, a “Captain Wilson,” who explained to him that the nurse he was trying to contact was not on duty, but “Wilson” would give her a message to call him.[23] The nurse called Dennis later that same day at the funeral home where he worked and agreed to meet with him at the officers’ club at Roswell AAF that afternoon.[24]

When the two met, the nurse appeared disturbed and ill.[25] Dennis asked her to explain what was going on when they met in the hospital the day before. The nurse explained that, in the course of her normal duties, she entered an examining room to get some supplies and encountered two doctors whom she did not recognize that “supposedly were doing a preliminary autopsy” on “three,” “very mangled,” “black,” “little bodies.”[26] The doctors requested the nurse remain in the room because they needed her assistance.[27] She allegedly explained that there was a terrible odor in the room that made both her and the doctors ill.[28] Due to this terrible odor and inadequate ventilation, the nurse allegedly told Dennis that the autopsies were moved to another facility on the base and then “everything” was taken to “Wright Field” (now Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio).[29]

The nurse described the little bodies in detail and even provided a diagram.[30] She described “little bodies” three to four feet in length that had large, “flexible,” heads, and concave eyes and noses.[31]

After this meeting Dennis claimed he never saw the nurse again, and he was told she had been shipped out the same afternoon (July 8, 1947) or the next day (July 9, 1947).[32] However, some time later Dennis received a letter from the nurse that indicated she was in London, England.[33] Dennis stated that he tried to respond to the nurse, but his letter was returned stamped “return to sender” and “deceased.”[34] After receiving this letter, he inquired at the base about the nurse and was told by “Captain Wilson” that she didn’t know where the nurse was, but there was a rumor that she and several other nurses had been killed in a plane crash while on a training mission.[35]

Some years later, Dennis stated that he visited the unidentified military pediatrician he had seen at the hospital.[36] The pediatrician had since left the military and set up practice in Farmington, N.M.[37] Dennis said he and the pediatrician discussed the incident of years past but was stopped short when the pediatrician told him that he was consulted regarding this incident, but that “it was completely out of [his] field of medicine,” then ended the discussion.[38]

Based on this account, UFO theorists have presented the following assertions:

=a.= Dennis, the “missing” nurse, and the unidentified pediatrician
inadvertently stumbled onto the highly classified autopsies of
alien bodies at Roswell AAF hospital in July 1947.

=b.= The two mysterious doctors at the hospital were sent
to Roswell AAF from a higher headquarters to conduct the
autopsies after which the bodies were transported to what is now
Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio.

=c.= The bluish-purplish wreckage that looked like the bottom of
a canoe in the rear of the ambulance, were “escape pods” from a
flying saucer flown by the aliens that crashed in the Roswell area.

=d.= Dennis was forcibly removed from the hospital and threatened
with death by the redheaded officer because he had witnessed some
of these activities.

=e.= The nurse was kidnapped, possibly murdered, and all records
that she ever existed were systematically destroyed by government
agents, also because she witnessed these activities.

As in other accounts examined in this report, the episodes described here became part of the Roswell Incident only because the witness claimed they occurred at a very specific time, July 7–9, 1947. These dates coincide with an actual event: the retrieval of experimental Project MOGUL research equipment that was erroneously reported as a flying disc (see Section One).[39] If the events described here occurred at any other time—years, months, weeks, or even days before or after July 7–9, 1947—they might be considered unusual to an uninformed person, but certainly not part of the Roswell Incident.

Air Force research revealed that the witness made serious errors in his recollections of events. When his account was compared with official records of the actual events he is believed to have described, extensive inaccuracies were indicated including a likely error in the date by as much as 12 years.

2.1

The “Missing” Nurse and the Pediatrician

To illustrate the errors in this account and to identify actual events, the following section will examine the accounts of the missing nurse and the unidentified pediatrician. Both of these persons were allegedly present at the Roswell AAF hospital when the events described by the witness occurred.

The “Missing” Nurse

Dennis recalled that the nurse was quickly and suspiciously shipped out either the same day or the day after he met with her in the Roswell AAF Officers’ Club. If this allegation was true, it certainly seemed unusual—and verifiable. Therefore, the morning reports, the certified daily personnel accounting records required to be kept by all Army Air Forces units at that time, were obtained and reviewed. These reports did not indicate that a nurse or any other person was reassigned on the days alleged, July 8 or July 9, 1947.[40] The morning reports of the 427th Army Air Forces Base Unit (AAFBU) Squadron “M,” the unit that all the medical personnel at Roswell AAF were assigned in July 1947, did not indicate a sudden or overseas transfer of a nurse or any other person. Records indicated that one nurse was reassigned on July 23, 1947, over two weeks after the purported events described by Dennis.[41] That nurse was transferred by normal personnel rotation procedures to Ft. Worth AAF (now Carswell AFB), Texas, where she remained on active duty until March 1949.[42] In fact, the Squadron “M” morning reports revealed the strength of the Army Nurse Corps (ANC) at Roswell AAF for July 1947 was only five nurses. Of these five nurses none were transferred overseas or killed in a plane crash—the “rumored” fate of the missing nurse.[43]

This review of the hospital morning reports also indicated that the name of the missing nurse provided by the witness was inaccurate. The witness stated in several interviews that he believed the nurse’s name was Naomi Maria Selff.[44] A comprehensive search of morning reports and rosters from the Roswell AAF Station Hospital indicated that no person by this name, or a similar name, had ever served there. This finding was supported by a search of personnel records at the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) in St. Louis, Mo., a part of the National Archives and Record Administration. NPRC is the depository for all U.S. military personnel records. The search at NPRC also did not find a record that a person named Naomi Maria Selff had ever served in any branch of the U.S. Armed Forces.

These findings were consistent with previous efforts of several pro-UFO researchers who have also attempted to locate this nurse or members of her family. They, likewise, were also unable to confirm her existence.[45] While some UFO theorists continue to allege that this absence of records regarding a nurse by this name is part of a conspiracy to withhold information, the most likely reason for the lack of records is that this name is inaccurate.[*]

[*] Interestingly, an article published in the Fall 1995 edition
of _Omni_ magazine, a publication that in the past has published
sensational “Roswell” claims, also independently accounted for all
five of the nurses and expressed a decidedly skeptical opinion of
the account of the “missing nurse.”

Even though the name of the nurse is incorrect, it appears that a nurse assigned to the Roswell AAF Station Hospital in 1947 may have been the basis for the claims. Eileen Mae Fanton was the only nurse of the five assigned to Roswell AAF in July 1947, whose personal circumstances and physical attributes not only resembled those of the missing nurse, but appeared to be nearly an exact match.

The “Missing Nurse?”

1st Lt. Eileen M. Fanton was assigned to the Roswell Army Air
Field Station Hospital from December 26, 1946 until September 4,
1947.[46] Fanton, who is deceased, was retired from the U.S. Air
Force at the rank of Captain on April 30, 1955, for a physical
disability.[47]

In this account, the missing nurse is described as single, “real
cute, like a small Audrey Hepburn, with short black hair, dark
eyes and olive skin.”[48] Lieutenant Fanton was single in 1947,
5′1″ tall, weighed 100 pounds, had black hair, dark eyes, and was
of Italian descent.[49] Dennis also stated that the nurse was of
the Catholic faith, and had been “strictly raised” according to
Catholic beliefs.[50] Fanton’s personnel record listed her as Roman
Catholic, a graduate of St. Catherine’s Academy in Springfield,
Ky. and as having received her nursing certification from St. Mary
Elizabeth’s Hospital in Louisville, Ky.[51]

The witness also recalled that the “missing nurse” was a
lieutenant, was a general nurse at the hospital, and had sent him
correspondence at a later date which stated she was in London,
England with a New York, N.Y. APO number (military overseas mailing
address) as the return address.[52] Records revealed that Fanton
was a First Lieutenant (promoted from Second Lieutenant to First
Lieutenant in June 1947), and she was classified as a “nurse,
general duty.”[53] Records also indicated that of the five nurses
assigned to the Roswell AAF Station Hospital in July 1947, she
was the only one that later served a tour of duty in England.
Furthermore, she was assigned to the 7510th USAF Hospital, APO
240, New York, N.Y., where she served from June 1952 until April
1955.[54] The 7510th USAF Hospital was located approximately 45
miles north of London at Wimpole Park, Cambridge, England.

An additional similarity between Fanton and the “missing nurse”
is that her personnel record indicated that she quickly departed
Roswell AAF and it is probable that the hospital staff would not
have provided information concerning her departure. Fanton’s
unannounced departure from Roswell AAF, on September 4, 1947 was
to be admitted to Brooke General Hospital, Ft. Sam Houston, Texas,
for a medical condition.[55] This condition was first diagnosed
in January 1946 and ultimately led to her medical retirement
in 1955.[56] Therefore, if someone other than a family member
contacted the Station Hospital at Roswell AAF and inquired about
Fanton, as Dennis stated he did, the staff was simply protecting
her privacy as a patient. The staff was not participating in a
sinister “cover-up” of information as alleged by UFO theorists.

The Pediatrician

In at least two interviews, the witness stated that a pediatrician stationed at the hospital was involved in the events he described.[57] When asked by an interviewer how he knew the pediatrician was involved, Dennis was quoted as replying, “I know he was involved because I saw him there.”[58] Dennis is also quoted as saying that he and the pediatrician were “pretty good friends,” and after the pediatrician left the military he [the pediatrician] set up a practice in Farmington, N.M. “I used to go fishing all the time up north and I visited him several times up there and he was involved,” Dennis said. “I don’t remember his name, I think he is still practicing in Farmington.”[59]

A review of personnel files and interviews with former members of the Roswell AAF/Walker AFB hospital staff, revealed that only one physician ever relocated to Farmington, N.M. following his military service. The former Capt. Frank B. Nordstrom served at Walker AFB from June 1951 until June 1953.[60] Records also revealed that Nordstrom was indeed a pediatrician and while at Walker AFB, served as the Chief of Pediatric Services.[61] When Nordstrom, a resident of the small town of Aztec, N.M., was interviewed for this report, he stated that he did not recall ever meeting Dennis and could not recall any events that supported any of his claims (see signed sworn statement in Appendix B).[62]

Farmington (population 8,000 in 1954) is located in the primarily rural Four Corners region of New Mexico approximately 300 miles northwest of Roswell. According to Nordstrom, Farmington did not have a pediatrician before his arrival in 1954. From 1954 until approximately 1970, Nordstrom believes he was the only pediatrician in the area. His recollections were confirmed by a local Farmington pharmacist, Charles E. Clouthier.[63] Clouthier also served at the Walker AFB hospital, from 1955 to 1957, and following his military service returned to Farmington, his hometown, where he had lived since 1934. Clouthier has been employed by and co-owned a business, Farmington Drug, since 1957. He is familiar with most, if not all, of the doctors who practice in Farmington and the Four Corners region of New Mexico. Clouthier’s confirmation that Nordstrom was the first pediatrician to practice in the Farmington area, was based on both his frequent professional contacts with local physicians and his experiences as a longtime Farmington resident.[64]

Although Nordstrom believed that he was the pediatrician described, he was at a loss to explain how Dennis gained information concerning his military and civilian employment history. In a signed sworn statement, Nordstrom stated that he did not recall ever meeting Dennis and had certainly never been visited by Dennis as he has claimed. One possible source of the information is that from approximately 1958 until approximately 1961 Dennis operated a drugstore in Aztec, N.M., a small town near Farmington where Nordstrom resides (interestingly Aztec is the location of the original “crashed flying saucer” story, see below). However, Nordstrom also did not recall any contact with Dennis in his capacity as a drugstore operator.

Behind the Roswell Incident?

The “Roswell Incident” story is hardly original. In 1948, a work
of fiction reportedly appeared in the _Aztec_ (N.M.) _Independent
Review_ describing the crash of a flying saucer with “little
men” near Aztec, N.M. In 1950, Frank Scully, a columnist for
the theatrical publication _Variety_, published a book, _Behind
the Flying Saucers_, which proclaimed the story to be true.[65]
Based on the Aztec story, _Behind the Flying Saucers_ bears many
similarities to the Roswell Incident, most notably, descriptions
of covert “flying saucer” and “little men” recoveries interspersed
with doses of unsubstantiated accusations directed at the U.S. Air
Force.[66]

In his book, Scully claimed he had information from two scientists,
Silas M. Newton and a mysterious “Dr. Gee,” who he claimed
investigated the crash for the government.[67] In reality,
Newton and Gee were con-men who convinced Scully of the story’s
authenticity.[68]

Intrigued by the sensational claims made in _Behind the Flying
Saucers_, a reporter for the _San Francisco Chronicle_, J. P. Cahn,
decided to look into the matter. What resulted from Cahn’s research
were articles in the September 1952 and August 1956 edition of
_True_ magazine which determined that the story was as “phony as a
headwaiters bow and smile.”[69]

Cahn, with the assistance of a magician, devised a plan to “sting”
the two con-men.[70] To execute the sting, he used sleight of
hand switching an “indestructible” metal disk, claimed to be
from a flying saucer, with a slug of his own manufacture. After
the switch, Cahn submitted the disk to a laboratory for analysis
revealing that they were of earthly origin, in particular, a grade
of aluminum used to manufacture pots and pans![71]

Even with the exposure of this obvious fraud, the Aztec story is
still revered by UFO theorists. Elements of this story occasionally
reemerge and are thought to be the catalyst for other crashed
flying saucer stories, including the Roswell Incident.

Descriptions of Other Air Force Members

Since official records proved that none of the nurses at Roswell AAF in July 1947 were missing, and the nurse and pediatrician described in this account had been identified, major discrepancies between Dennis’ recollections and official records were apparent. In an effort to provide for the fullest possible accounting of these claims, even though key aspects had already been proven false, Air Force researchers sought additional information to determine if there was validity to _any_ portion of the account. Since the witness has never provided documentation to support his claims, the only source of additional information was the numerous interviews he had previously provided to private researchers and the media. His many statements, which have appeared in newspapers, videos, magazines, movies, books, lectures, journals and television programs, were reviewed for information that might further explain his testimony.

Examination of this large body of publicly available information immediately provided clues that the witness may have recalled incidents from a period other than July 1947. The first clue was that he repeatedly, in all of the interviews, referred to the injured military person he allegedly transported to the Roswell AAF hospital as an airman. The rank of airman was not in existence in 1947. It was implemented on April 1, 1952.[72] Prior to that date an airman in the Air Force was referred to by the U.S. Army equivalent, a private. Another possible indication that he recalled events from a different time was the description of an alleged “black sergeant” that accompanied the redheaded officer at the hospital. The pairing of a white officer with a black NCO seemed unlikely since in 1947 the U.S. Army Air Forces was racially segregated, as were all branches of the armed forces. The U.S. Air Force did not begin racial integration until the May 11, 1949 issuance of Air Force Letter 35-3 that formally ended segregation.[73] Though it was not impossible in 1947 for a black NCO to accompany and seem to be working with a white officer, it would be unlikely. These two discrepancies did not provide a firm time frame of actual events, if any occurred at all.

To approximate a time frame for actual events, the specific details of the information provided were examined. This examination was to determine if any military members were identified by name or by a combination of any other distinguishing characteristics such as rank, position, age, or physical attributes. If the testimony identified a military member as having been present for an event, then their personnel record could be used to affix an approximate date. Affixing a date of an event by referencing personnel records was possible since each military member’s personnel file contains a physical description and chronological listing of duty stations, units of assignment, and work assignments for his/her entire military career.

This detailed examination revealed several likely references to specific individuals, which through their personnel files, were documented as having been assigned to the hospital at Roswell AAF or Walker AFB (Roswell AAF was renamed Walker AFB in January 1948).

=The “Big Redheaded Colonel.”= An indication that Dennis might have mistaken the date of actual events was that he was quoted in at least one book as having said that the officer who threatened him in the hospital was a big redheaded colonel.[74] Research revealed that only one tall colonel with red hair was known to have been assigned to the Walker AFB hospital. Colonel Lee F. Ferrell was the hospital commander from October 1954 until June 1960.[75] Ferrell was 6′1″ tall and had red hair.[76]

“=Captain ‘Slatts’ Wilson.=” In at least two interviews Dennis repeatedly made reference to a nurse named “Captain Wilson.”[77] He recalled that “Captain Wilson”, who he believed was the head nurse, was another nurse stationed at the Roswell AAF hospital in July 1947.[78] Dennis claims he spoke to “Captain Wilson” several times in reference to the alleged missing nurse.[79]

He claims that on the day after he met with the missing nurse at the Roswell AAF Officers’ Club, he attempted to contact her by telephone at the hospital but was told that she wasn’t on duty.[80] Instead, he spoke with “Captain Wilson.” “I called the station I knew she [the missing nurse] always worked at,” Dennis said, “She was a general nurse.... I was informed that she wasn’t working that day. [Dennis then telephoned] An old girl by the name of Wilson, Captain Wilson, and I asked her ‘what happened’? She said, ‘Glenn, I don’t know what happened, she’s not on duty.’ She said she’d try to get word to her [the missing nurse] that you [Dennis] want to talk to her.”[81] Later in the same interview Dennis further described Wilson. “We called her ‘Slatts’ Wilson who was a big tall nurse about six foot two or three—big tall skinny gal—and we called her ‘Slatts’—everybody called her ‘Slatts.’ She’s the one who told me she heard there was a plane crash and the nurses went down on a training mission.”[82]

The testimony appeared to clearly identify by name, rank, position, physical attributes and by a distinctive nickname, “Slatts,” another nurse present at the hospital in July 1947. But a review of the morning reports of the Roswell AAF hospital for July 1947 did not contain the name of a nurse, or anyone else, named Wilson.[83] The only female captain assigned to the Roswell AAF Hospital in July 1947 was the Chief Nurse Capt. Joyce Goddard.[84] Goddard, who was 5′6″ tall, was transferred from Roswell AAF to Korea on August 21, 1947.[85]

Therefore, according to Dennis’ recollection of events, this review of the morning reports indicated that there were two missing nurses, not one—“Lieutenant Naomi Selff” and “Captain ‘Slatts’ Wilson.” Further scrutiny of personnel records of individuals assigned to the Roswell AAF/Walker AFB hospital indicated that Dennis’ recollections of events were apparently inaccurate.

Examination of the August 1947 morning reports did not list a nurse named Wilson, but they _did_ list a nurse named Slattery.[86] Captain Lucille C. Slattery, who retired as a Lieutenant Colonel and is now deceased, was reassigned from Ft. George Wright, Wash. to Roswell AAF on August 7, 1947.[87]

Slattery replaced Goddard as the Chief Nurse and was the only female captain assigned to the Roswell AAF hospital. Interviews of persons with longtime professional and personal associations with Slattery, revealed that she was known by the unusual nickname of Slatts.[88] Additionally, former associates of Slattery interviewed for this report, recalled that she was the only Air Force nurse that had ever been known as Slatts.[89] Persons interviewed were Air Force nurses who retired in the 1960s, each with more than 20 years of service, including retired Air Force Col. Ethel Kovatch-Scott, who served as Chief Nurse of the Air Force from 1963 to 1965.

Upon review of Slattery’s personnel file it was learned that she was only 5′3″ tall and therefore was most likely not the 6′2″ or 6′3″ “tall skinny” nurse described.[90] This discrepancy in physical description and the fact that she did not arrive at Roswell AAF until nearly one month _after_ Dennis claims he spoke to her, led to the conclusion that perhaps he confused Slattery with some other tall thin nurse, possibly named Wilson, who was stationed at the Roswell AAF or Walker AFB hospital at some other time.

Consequently, a comprehensive review of the morning reports and rosters of the Roswell AAF/Walker AFB hospital revealed that only one nurse named Wilson had ever served there and she did not arrive until February 1956.[91][*] Capt. Idabelle Miller, who became Maj. Idabelle Wilson in 1958 due to marriage and a promotion, was assigned to the Walker AFB hospital from February 1956 until May 1960.[92]

[*] Records were also searched for names similar to Wilson. Three nurses stationed at Roswell AAF/Walker AFB were identified: Martha Wasem, Carol Williams, and Chalma Walker. None of these nurses physical descriptions or personal/professional circumstances were similar to the descriptions of “Captain Wilson” described by the witness.

Upon review of Maj. Wilson’s personnel file, it was learned that she was 5′9″ tall and thin. Also, she served as the Head Nurse of the surgical ward at the Walker AFB hospital.[93] Therefore, Wilson’s physical attributes, tall and thin, and position as Head Nurse matched Dennis’ recollections of “Captain Wilson.” When contacted by Air Force researchers, Wilson stated she had no recollection of Dennis, of ever having conversations with him, any of the events he described, or of a nurse that was missing.[94] She also made it abundantly clear that as an Air Force officer and medical professional she would not spread a rumor of a plane crash, as Dennis alleged “Captain Wilson” did in conversations with him.[95]

Results of Missing Nurse and Pediatrician Research

Examination of the missing nurse and the pediatrician stories, and other facts established by research, provide a foundation for further analysis to determine what actual event(s), if any, were responsible for these claims. Based on information developed, it appears this witness may be mistaken in some of his statements, especially regarding the time frame of these events.

The following facts have been established:

=a.= The only physician who ever relocated to Farmington, N.M.,
following his military service at Roswell AAF/Walker AFB was the
former Chief of Pediatric Services at the Walker AFB hospital,
the former Capt. Frank B. Nordstrom. Further, he did not arrive
at Walker AFB until June 1951, four years _after_ the purported
Roswell Incident, has no recollection of Dennis, the statements
Dennis attributes to him, or of any actual events that explain his
account.

=b.= The only nurse ever assigned to the Roswell AAF hospital
(subsequently renamed Walker AFB) named Wilson, was Idabelle
Wilson. She served at the Walker AFB hospital from 1956 until 1960
and had no recollection of ever meeting or speaking with Dennis or
any of the activities he described.

=c.= Captain Lucille C. Slattery, the only Air Force nurse ever
known by the distinctive nickname “Slatts,” _was_ stationed at the
Roswell AAF hospital. However, she did not arrive until August 7,
1947. This was one month _after_ the Roswell Incident, making it
improbable that Dennis spoke with her in early July 1947.

=d.= There is no record that a nurse named Naomi Maria Selff, was
ever assigned to Roswell AAF, Walker AFB, or was ever a member of
the U.S. military.

=e.= All nurses assigned to the Roswell AAF hospital in July 1947,
have been accounted for, thereby eliminating any possibility that
there was ever a missing nurse.

Since actual Air Force members who served at Roswell AAF/Walker AFB hospital were described in this account, the next step was to determine if actual events that occurred at the hospital were possibly the source of this story. As stated earlier in this report, a thorough examination of both classified and unclassified records from 1947 revealed no Army Air Forces or U.S. Air Force activities that explained the alleged events. Therefore records were reviewed from other time periods, based on personnel records of individuals believed to have been identified. These persons and the periods when they were assigned to Roswell AAF/Walker AFB are listed in Table 2.1.

Table 2.1
Persons Described and Periods of Service
at Roswell AAF/Walker AFB

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Witness Actual Individual Period of Service at
Description Described Roswell AAF/Walker AFB
----------------------------------------------------------------------

the “missing” nurse 1st Lt. Eileen M. Fanton Dec. 1946-Sept. 1947

“Capt. ‘Slatts’ Wilson” Capt. Lucille C. Slattery Aug. 1947-Sept. 1950
(composite of two and
individuals) Maj. Idabelle M. Wilson Feb. 1956-May 1960

“the pediatrician” Capt. Frank B. Nordstrom June 1951-June 1953

“big redheaded colonel” Col. Lee F. Ferrell Oct. 1954-June 1960

The Research Profile

With the establishment of a possible time frame, research efforts paralleled the previous examination in Section One of this report that determined high altitude balloons with anthropomorphic dummy payloads were responsible for the reports of aliens at the two rural New Mexico “crashed saucer” locations. A further review of Air Force activities was then made to determine if any were significantly similar to the information provided. Based on the time period established by personnel records and statements contained in the witness’ own account, the following profile of possible events was established:

An event involving the Walker AFB hospital that took place between 1947 and 1960;

=a.= that may have resulted in “very mangled,” “black,” “little
bodies,” that had a strong “odor” being placed in “body bags”;

=b.= that may have resulted in two persons not normally assigned to
the hospital, believed to be doctors, that were “supposedly doing
preliminary autopsies” on the “little bodies”;

=c.= that may have involved a body with a head that was much larger
than normal which was transported to Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio;

=d.= that may have involved a redheaded captain or a big redheaded
colonel;

=e.= that may have resulted in an ambulance parked in the rear
of the hospital containing wreckage with inscriptions, that were
bluish-purplish which looked kind of like the bottom of a canoe;
and,

=f.= that may have required a heightened state of security.

2.2

Aircraft Accidents

The examination of events that involved the Walker AFB hospital that may explain reports of bodies was begun by reviewing the most prominent possible source, which were aircraft accident(s).[*] A review of aircraft accidents from 1947 to 1960 revealed eight fatal accidents that involved Walker AFB.

[*] Other possible explanations such as automobile accidents,
house fires, etc., were also examined. However, none of these were
determined to be responsible for this account of bodies.

Table 2.2
Fatal Aircraft Accidents by Year in the Vicinity of Walker AFB
1947–1960
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Year Aircraft Location of Accident Number of
Type (distance from Walker AFB, N.M.) Fatalities
----------------------------------------------------------------------

=1947=
None

=1948=
8/12/48 B-29 4 miles South 13

=1949=
5/16/49 C-47 6 miles Northeast 6
12/15/49 B-29 2 miles Northwest 7

=1950=
6/1/50 KB-29 12 miles East/Southeast 3

=1951=
None

=1952=
None

=1953=
None

=1954=
None

=1955=
6/16/55 T-33 On runway 2
10/3/55 B-47 34 miles West 2

=1956=
6/26/56 KC-97 8.8 miles South 11

=1957=
None

=1958=
None

=1959=
None

=1960=
2/3/60 KC-135 On runway and ramp 13

The following three basic criteria were used to narrow research efforts to specific accidents for more detailed examinations: were the victims burned, resulting in possible descriptions of “black” “little bodies”?; were the victims transported to the Walker AFB hospital?; and, were the victims autopsied? To facilitate this examination, researchers reviewed official accident reports, organizational and base histories, individual personnel records of victims, and contemporary newspaper accounts of the accidents. Interviews of persons who participated in the aftermath of these accidents were also conducted. As a result, only one accident met the three criteria, the June 1956 KC-97 accident.

Table 2.3
Analysis of Air Force Aircraft Accidents
by Year in the Vicinity of Walker AFB
1947–1960
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date of Aircraft Fatalities
Accident Type
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Burned? Taken to WAFB Autopsied?
Hospital?

8/12/48 B-29 Yes[96] No[97] No[98]

5/16/49 C-47 Yes[99] No[100] No[101]

12/15/49 B-29 No[102] Yes[103] Yes[104]

6/1/50 KB-29 No[105] No[106] No[107]

6/16/55 T-33 Yes[108] No[109] Yes[110]

10/3/55 B-47 Yes[111] No[112] No[113]

6/26/56 KC-97 Yes[114] Yes[115] Yes[116]

2/3/60 KC-135 Yes[117] No[118] No[119]

Upon detailed review of records of the 1956 accident and interviews with persons who participated in the recovery and identification of the victims, extensive similarities to the description the witness provided were apparent.

Fatal KC-97 Aircraft Mishap

In 1956, Walker AFB, N.M. was the home of Strategic Air Command’s 6th and 509th Bombardment Wings.[120] Additionally, Walker was home of the 509th Aerial Refueling Squadron (509th ARS) equipped with the KC-97G aircraft.

The accident occurred on June 26, 1956, 8.8 statute miles south of Walker AFB.[121] A KC-97G aircraft with 11 crewmen on board, while on a refueling training mission, experienced a propeller failure four and one half minutes after takeoff.[122] As a result of the propeller failure, a propeller blade was believed to have punctured the deck fuel tank of the fully loaded tanker causing an intense cabin fire.[123] The aircraft was quickly engulfed in flames, spun out of control, and was completely destroyed. All 11 Air Force members were killed instantly by the fire and impact explosion.[124] Due to the isolated rural impact location on property owned by the state of New Mexico, there was minimal collateral damage and no fatalities or injuries to persons on the ground.[125]

The remains of the crewmen were recovered from the crash site and transported by members of the 4036th USAF Hospital (numerical designation of the hospital at Walker AFB) to the hospital facility at Walker AFB for identification.[126]

On the day following the crash, an identification specialist from Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio arrived at the hospital to assist in identifying the remains.[127] Part way through the identification process, conducted by both the identification specialist and Air Force members assigned to the Walker AFB hospital, the identification activities were moved to a refrigerated compartment at the Walker AFB commissary.[128] This was due to an overpowering odor emitted by the burned and fuel-soaked bodies and the lack of proper storage facilities at the small base hospital.[129] Also on the day following the crash, June 27, 1956, autopsies of three of the victims were accomplished by a local Roswell pathologist.[130] These examinations were performed at a local funeral home.[131] Upon completion of the identification procedures and the postmortem examinations, the remains were shipped to the next of kin for burial.

Comparison of the Account to the KC-97 Mishap

This series of actual events contains extensive similarities to the account provided by Dennis. The numerous and extensive similarities indicate that some elements of this actual event were most probably included in Dennis’ account. This aircraft accident provides an explanation for the following elements of the research profile—the very mangled, black, little bodies in body bags, the odor, the two strange doctors, and the report of a redheaded colonel.

Aircraft Crashes and UFOs

Since the first flying saucer story in June 1947, persons have
attempted to exploit actual military aircraft accidents to support
UFO theories and propagate the flying saucer phenomenon.

One of the first exploitation attempts involved a fatal August 1,
1947 Army Air Forces B-25 accident near Kelso, Wash. Descriptions
of this accident, which UFO theorists contend was caused because
the aircraft carried parts of a flying saucer, were included in
a poorly executed hoax. Nonetheless, it received a considerable
amount of attention.

Another incidence was photographs of an “alien,” supposedly from
a 1948 crash of a flying saucer in Mexico. However, when the
photographs were examined by Air Force officials, they noticed
a pair of government issue, aviator style, sunglasses lying
underneath the “alien” body.

Perhaps the most famous attempt to exploit an actual aircraft
accident involved the fatal January 1948 crash of a Kentucky Air
National Guard F-51 fighter near Franklin, Ky. Theorists contend
the fighter was shot down by a UFO. However, it was determined
that this aircraft most probably crashed while observing a newly
invented high altitude research balloon thought to be a UFO. The
large balloon, which matched eyewitnesses’ descriptions at the
time, was released the previous day, and its ground track placed
it precisely in the area where the unidentified object was sighted
the next day. Regardless, shameless attempts to exploit this
event continued as recently as 1995, when the tabloid TV program,
_Sightings_, aired and published (_Sightings_, Simon & Schuster,
1996, 170–176) a distorted interpretation of this tragedy.

=The “Black” “Little Bodies.”= Review of the autopsy protocols of the victims of this accident revealed extensive similarities to the descriptions of the bodies allegedly described by the missing nurse. Dennis related in various interviews that the missing nurse described, “... three; very mangled; black; little bodies in body bags.”[132] Records of this mishap confirmed that the victims suffered “injuries, extreme, multiple.”[133] According to persons who assisted in the identification of the remains from this crash, and in compliance with Air Force directives in effect at that time, human remains pouches, commonly called body bags, were used to recover and transport victims’ bodies.[134]

Statements made by Dennis described bodies that were “three-and-a-half to four feet tall,” and “black” in color.[135] The autopsy protocols of two victims described extensive third degree burns and loss of the lower extremities.[136] Dennis also described a head of one of the bodies that was not rigid but “flexible” and tissues of a body in “strings” that looked as if they were “pulled” by predatory animals after the crash.[137] An autopsy protocol of a victim described “multiple fractures of all bones of the skull” and “partially cooked strands of bowel ... over the abdomen and in the chest.”[138] Additional similarities between the autopsy protocols and Dennis’ statements were a detached hand and descriptions of the fingers and arms of the crash victims.[139]

The autopsy protocol of one victim also described remains with a “face completely missing.”[140] This description corresponds with Dennis’ recollections of a body with eyes and nose that were concave. Also, the drawing of the head of one of the “little bodies” Dennis claims is representative of a drawing given to him by the missing nurse is a reasonably accurate representation of a human body with its face completely missing.[141]

Another similarity to Dennis’ account is that of the 11 victims of this accident, only three were autopsied—the same number of bodies that were allegedly autopsied in the missing nurse’s account.[142] Finally, records revealed that due to limited facilities at the Walker AFB hospital, the autopsies were performed at the Ballard Funeral Home in Roswell.[143] This is the same funeral home where Dennis claimed to be employed in 1947 until 1962.[144][*]

[*] It is unclear when Dennis worked at this funeral home since
city and phone directories listed him as co-owning a different
funeral home in Roswell, as vice-president of another funeral home
in Roswell, and as having been employed as a drug store supervisor
and oil field worker during the periods when he claims he worked at
the Ballard Funeral Home.

=The Odor.= Transportation of remains to a small base hospital was unusual since the hospital did not have the necessary facilities—a preparation room, refrigeration equipment or a morgue, to accommodate multiple deceased persons. Records of other crashes involving Walker AFB showed that the remains of crash victims were transported either to another facility on Walker AFB or directly to a local funeral home.[145]

In fact, the Air Force manual that prescribed the policies, standards and procedures relating to the care and disposition of deceased Air Force personnel in effect in 1956, Air Force Manual 143-1, _Mortuary Affairs_, did not direct that remains be brought to a hospital. It encouraged the local commander to “improvise facilities” and make use of “garages, warehouses, large tents, or other facilities for processing groups of remains.”[146] Nonetheless, records of the June 1956 crash and interviews with the persons who processed the remains indicated that the victims were brought from the crash site to the Walker AFB hospital.[147] During the identification procedures, the odor became too strong and the bodies and the identification activities were moved to a refrigerated compartment at the base commissary.[148]

Interviewed for this report were the registrar of the hospital, 1st Lt. Jack Whenry (now a retired Major) and a medical administration specialist assigned to the registrar, SSgt. John Walter (now a retired Master Sergeant), both of whom assisted in the processing and identification of the deceased aircrewmen. Whenry and Walter both recalled the strong odor, that some persons became ill during the procedures (as did the alleged missing nurse), and the unusual transfer of the remains to the Walker AFB commissary (the nurse also allegedly described the transfer of remains to another building on the base). However, neither recalled that a nurse was missing or any of the other activities as described by Dennis.[149]

=The “Big Redheaded Colonel.”= The big redheaded colonel is a likely reference to the hospital commander, Col. Lee F. Ferrell, who was 6′1″ tall and had red hair. Ferrell served at the Walker AFB hospital from 1954 until 1960.[150] It would not be unusual for the hospital commander to be present at the hospital following a major aircraft accident.

=The Two Mysterious “Doctors.”= The two doctors not assigned to the Walker AFB hospital who were allegedly observed at the hospital performing preliminary autopsies have been identified as an Air Force civilian identification specialist and a local Roswell pathologist.

=_Identification Specialist._= In an aircraft mishap involving multiple fatalities, identification of victims can go beyond the capabilities of a small Air Force hospital such as the one at Walker AFB. Beginning in July 1951, the Air Force Memorial Affairs Branch, now called Air Force Mortuary Services, employed full-time civilian morticians and funeral directors, known as identification specialists, to assist Air Force installations in the identification of deceased persons.[151] When requested by the local commander, the identification specialists, on a 24-hour standby basis, responded from Wright-Patterson AFB to the location of an incident.[152] Records confirm that Walker AFB only requested an identification specialist on two occasions, in October 1955 and to identity the victims of the June 1956 crash.[153] For this accident the identification specialist arrived at Walker AFB on June 27, 1956 and made positive identifications of the 11 crewmen on June 28, 1956.[154]

When contacted for this report, the retired identification specialist who responded to this accident, Mr. George Schwaderer, did not have any recollections of Dennis, the nurse, the pediatrician, or any of the other unusual activities as alleged.[155] Schwaderer did recall that on identifications of group remains such as this, it was typical to wear standard hospital surgical gowns and masks and that he was often mistaken for a pathologist.[156]

Due to restrictions on the release of information concerning the identification process, uninformed individuals who may, by chance, have witnessed some portions of the identification, were often the source of a considerable amount of speculation. The identification procedures employed by the identification specialists were not classified, but AFM-143-1, _Mortuary Affairs_, directed that “no information will be divulged concerning identification or shipment of any remains until a final determination of identity has been resolved for all remains.”[157]

For this accident, identification took approximately two days and any releases of information were restricted to individuals with an official requirement. These restrictions extended, not only to the general public, but also to Air Force members.

A possible reference to the identification specialist is found in one of Dennis’ recitations of the account. Dennis, a mortician who might possess limited knowledge of Air Force mortuary procedures, stated that he was told the “doctors” might be pathologists from “Walter Reed Army Hospital.”[158] Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington D.C. is a likely location that an unknown pathologist performing an autopsy on military personnel might have been based. Co-located at Walter Reed is the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP) and beginning in 1955, AFIP sent pathologists into the field to examine aircraft accidents. A review of records at AFIP and interviews with persons involved with the identification procedures at Walker AFB do not indicate AFIP sent any personnel to assist in this accident.[159]

=_Pathology Consultant._= In June 1956, the Walker AFB hospital did not have a pathologist on staff.[160] All autopsies and examinations of pathological specimens were conducted by a civilian consultant from Roswell.[161] The autopsy protocols of the deceased crewmen from the June 1956 crash indicated that Dr. Alfred S. Blauw of Roswell performed the three autopsies.[162] Obviously, neither the pathologist nor the identification specialist were normally assigned to the Walker AFB hospital and would not be expected to be present at the hospital, especially to an observer with limited knowledge of these activities.

Continuing Research

The focus of research was now shifted to other activities that might explain the remaining portions of the profile. The unexplained portions were:

=a.= the presence of a redheaded captain;

=b.= the wreckage in the rear of the ambulance outside the Walker
AFB hospital;

=c.= the heightened state of security at the Walker AFB hospital;
and,

=d.= the shipment of a body with a large head to Wright-Patterson
AFB.

Based on previous research, this effort began by examining records of the other Air Force aerial vehicle known to have operated extensively in the Roswell area since the late 1940s—high altitude research balloons.

2.3

High Altitude Research Projects

By 1960, hundreds of high altitude research balloons, some that carried anthropomorphic dummies, descended and were recovered in areas surrounding Walker AFB and Roswell. But based on the descriptions of the bodies and the involvement of a hospital and medical personnel, it did not seem likely that high altitude research balloons with scientific instruments or anthropomorphic dummies could possibly account for this testimony. Therefore, the focal point of the research shifted to manned high altitude balloon flights conducted by the Air Force during the mid to late 1950s and early 1960s.

Manned Balloon Flights

Two manned balloon projects, MAN HIGH and EXCELSIOR, were conducted within the time period targeted for research: MAN HIGH from 1957 to 1958[163] and the manned portion of EXCELSIOR in 1959 and 1960. The only other manned high altitude balloon project in Air Force history, STARGAZER, did not fly until 1962.

It was discovered that only six manned flights were made for MAN HIGH and EXCELSIOR. These flights were determined unlikely as the source of the testimony since there were no injuries or deaths, all six flights had been the subject of intense media coverage, and none were flown in the vicinity of Roswell. Despite the apparent dead end these flights presented to explain this account, records were obtained and persons involved in MAN HIGH and EXCELSIOR were contacted and interviewed. These records and interviews confirmed that there were, in fact, only six USAF manned high altitude balloon flights, none with characteristics similar to the testimony. However, detailed examinations of the records revealed that, in addition to the six high altitude balloon flights, there were also numerous low altitude balloon flights made to train and qualify the high altitude balloon pilots.[164] Records of the training flights indicated that some of these were conducted at Holloman AFB, N.M., and several mishaps occurred resulting in injuries to the pilots.[165]

Further research revealed that one accident had taken place just northwest of Roswell.[166] The accident occurred on May 21, 1959, 10 miles northwest of Walker AFB, on a pilot training mission for the upcoming Project EXCELSIOR and STARGAZER flights scheduled to begin that fall. Analysis of the accident revealed actual events that closely resembled the remaining portions of the established profile.

U.S. Air Force Manned High Altitude Balloon Projects

In addition to unmanned high altitude balloon research flights,
from 1957 to 1962 the U.S. Air Force conducted a series of seven
manned high altitude flights. These forward-looking projects
investigated the upper reaches of the earth’s atmosphere and
laid the foundation for manned spaceflight. Most flights were
conducted before rocket booster technology was available to propel
a spacecraft into earth’s orbit. In this interim period, to “bridge
the gap” while awaiting developments in rocket technology, high
altitude balloons were the only vehicles capable of reaching the
altitudes required. All three of the USAF manned high altitude
balloon projects, MAN HIGH, EXCELSIOR, and STARGAZER utilized
Holloman AFB balloons to transport men to the very edge of space,
above approximately 99 per cent of the earth’s atmosphere, a region
known as “near space.”

=Project MAN HIGH.= In 1955, a combined effort by the U.S. Air
Force Aeromedical Field Laboratory, Winzen Research International,
and the Holloman Balloon Branch resulted in the first Air Force
manned balloon program. Project MAN HIGH, officially known as the
Biodynamics of Space Flight, directed by Lt. Col. David Simons
(MC), was the first of the three widely publicized manned high
altitude balloon programs. The objective of Project MAN HIGH was
to measure the physiological and psychological capabilities of a
human in a space equivalent environment. Many developments of this
successful project were later incorporated into the first phase
of the U.S. Air Force Man in Space Program nicknamed MAN IN SPACE
SOONEST (MISS). Technology developed for MISS was transferred to
NASA in 1959 and became part of Project MERCURY, the initial series
of U.S. space missions.[167]