More recently, during the Renaissance period, a famous painting was created of the Madonna and Child, with a saucer-shaped craft shown hovering in the nearby sky; a man and a dog are looking skyward at the object. Going back a bit further, there are even biblical accounts of what could well be UFO encounters, such as Ezekiel's "wheel" he witnessed and described typical UFO apparitions. The ancients described them as objects familiar to them, such as chariots, shields, and flaming wheels. Similarly, today we describe such sightings in relation to objects that are familiar to us, such as cigar shapes, saucer shapes, flying triangles, and the like.
In 1897, there was an intriguing-yet reasonably contested account of a sighting throughout the Midwest, where people reported seeing what they described as "airships" flying through the air. This was years before the Wright Brothers first flew at Kitty Hawk, and although there were hot air balloons at that time, it was obvious that what people were seeing were not balloons. In April of that year, a flying object crashed into a windmill on a ranch outside of Aurora, Texas. When the site was investigated, considerable damage was seen to have been done to the windmill, and the remains of the object were lying about the area. People reported seeing strange writing on the pieces of debris, but the strangest remains were that of the apparent pilot. The description given by a number of people at the time was of a nonhuman being. This being was given a Christian burial in the town cemetery, and the remains of the craft were dumped down a well. That well has now been bricked over, and investigators have long been denied permission to excavate it. Likewise, permission could not be obtained to excavate the grave of the being, and the grave marker disappeared long ago. One artifact has been recovered from the site, which was quite weathered, indicating it had been there for years. Analysis showed that it was an alloy of aluminum and iron that would be difficult to manufacture, and for which there is no known use.
It seems quite apparent that UFO apparitions have been with us for a long time. It is reasonable to assume that many UFO sightings are labeled "UFO" simply because the observed object was too far away for proper identification-an unidentified, though terrestrial, flying object. There remains a significant number of reports that cannot be dismissed as hoaxes, weather phenomena, or misidentification of man-made objects. It is these reports that drive the skeptics crazy. It is humorous to see what lengths they will go to explain the sightings. Swamp gas, earthquake lights, weather balloons, or the planet Venus are the usual explanations given by avowed skeptics to disqualify sightings, the real identity of which they haven't the foggiest idea. It has become increasingly obvious that there are those whose agenda is focused upon debunking anything they cannot explain. I imagine that it pains these people greatly to even consider-much less reluctantly admit-the possibility of intelligent life elsewhere in our galaxy. I would love to know what the vocal skeptics admit privately. I think that, for whatever reasons, the most vocal skeptics have a need to ridicule people who believe in the reality of extraterrestrial visitations.
In response to the growing level of public interest and openness, the major media outlets such as NBC, The Discovery Channel, the Sci-Fi Channel, and others, have begun offering additional UFO-related content. From my own limited perspective, I have seen an increase in the frequency of requests for interviews from me. I also know that the people involved in SETI are all primed for making the Big Announcement when the signal that they know is out there finally comes in. They have not popped the champagne corks yet, but it is possible-even likely-that the bubbly could flow at any time, whether it be tomorrow or 20 years from now. Naturally, they have to be absolutely sure that the signal is genuine, but you can bet that there will be no holding back when it does come in. And I am sure that when the announcement is made, most people will accept it without reservation, rather than be overcome with the panic that the more paranoid among us would predict.
My own life and those of my family have been touched by the truth of otherworldly civilizations, and it is my hope that you, the reader, can feel that touch and look objectively, hopefully, and perhaps even lovingly upon the promise that future contact holds for humanity. Our job-indeed, our responsibility-is to provide future generations with truth, upon which they may make better decisions than the generations that preceded them. Our other job is to act responsibly when faced with evidence that the universe is big enough to be home to a great number of civilizations. As rve said before, to deny this would be to place human limits upon God's infinite capacity for creation.
The Vatican's chief astronomer and director of the Vatican Observatory, the Reverend Jose Furies, in a May 13, 2008 interview, stated that believing in aliens does not contradict faith in God. He said that the vastness of the universe means it is possible that there could be other life outside Earth-even intelligent life. He stated that such a notion "doesn't contradict our faith" because aliens could still be God's creatures. The interview was headlined "The extraterrestrial is my brother." Furies said that ruling out the existence of aliens would be like "putting limits" on God's creative freedom.
We are not alone!
Epilogue
UFO believers and skeptics alike have sometimes referred to the Roswell Incident as the biggest UFO story that almost wasn't. Those who are most cynical call it the biggest UFO non-event in history, or much ado about nothing. It's true that, for decades, no one talked much about the mysterious 1947 crash in the high desert of New Mexico, although, despite what many skeptics say, the silence didn't occur because Roswell was no big deal after all. Not to belabor the point, but there was a concerted effort to make the story go away…and it very nearly did. It was only due to the diligent work of ufologists such as Stanton Friedman, whose efforts have been both praised and damned, that the Roswell Incident reemerged into the public eye more than three decades after it happened. And now, for better or worse, the story has taken on a life of its own.
For my family, of course, the story never did go away. For the Marcels, Roswell has cut a swath both deep and wide, sweeping across generations and piercing the heart of our family in ways that went beyond the effects on my father's livelihood and reputation.
The legacy of Roswell reaches far beyond the Marcel family. Roswell is a story rich in political, sociological, scientific, historical, and even cosmological implications. Thousands of words have been written and spoken about Roswell; it is one of the most thoroughly examined incidents in UFO history. I don't expect that this one little book will do much to change anyone's mind about whether or not that long-ago crash in the desert was evidence of a visitation from a world beyond ours. The most I can do is tell my story and my father's, and I hope I have done an acceptable job of that.
As for changing anyone's mind, that's not my job. I am well aware that, as in most controversial matters, both sides have a significant stake in their opinions, and many aren't willing to seriously consider arguments from the other side. I'll grant that some UFO believers have been as guilty of this closed-mindedness as have skeptics. Some skeptics have even called me closed-minded, stubborn, foolish, or merely misguided for continuing to insist that the debris my father and I handled was "not of this world."
But I know what I saw and what I felt on that summer night in 1947. I know of my father's excitement, frustration, and ultimate despair as a result of Roswell. I know there is still more to this story than has yet been told. And I know that, although my experiences and observations do not prove beyond a skeptic's doubt that the Roswell crash came from an unearthly source, there is a lot of evidence supporting the "not of this world" school of thought. In any case, if sticking to my beliefs about Roswell is foolish or stubborn, then I proudly accept those mantles.