In the 60 years that have passed since what has become known as the Roswell Incident, we have seen quite a parade of characters involving themselves in alternately trying to prove or dismiss the notion that the crash at Roswell was extraterrestrial in origin. Many, if not most of these people, have also been engaged in the issue of whether or not Earth has been visited by beings from another planet, or whether or not such beings even exist. Yet, for all the efforts expended by both factions, we seem to be no closer to separating fact from fiction on the subject.
This is not particularly surprising when you look at the members of each faction. On the "believers"' side, the most vocal proponents and, unfortunately, those who get the most media coverage-seem to belong to the "tuifoil hats" brigade. These are the people who offer such bizarre tales of abduction and the like that it is nearly impossible for any rational person to take them seriously. The most vehement members on the "naysayers"' side, however, usually use dismissal and denial-rather than actual evidence-in their attempts to refute anything that is inconsistent with their perspectives. Some, unfortunately, even resort to character attacks, as I have come to know all too well. In an attempt to bolster their arguments and refute evidence on the "pro-ET" side, some have questioned my father's credibility as well as his credentials. They have even tried to besmirch his wife, my mother, by implying that merely by being the niece of a Louisiana governor, she was somehow involved in corrupt Louisiana politics, and therefore not to be believed.
The result of the decades-long polarization and name-call ng is that there has been little objective information available to those who are cautiously skeptical, as well as those open-minded skeptics who acknowledge the possibility-if not the presence of proof-that the debris found near Roswell was indeed extraterrestrial in origin. This is unfortunate not only for people who want to know the truth about Roswell, but also for all who are interested in the question of whether there is extraterrestrial life, and if so, whether the ETs have the technology to visit Earth.
To add to the confusion, it seems that all of the different factions have offered their own interpretations of events described by my father. Although some of those interpretations held reasonably close to the accounts he had given over the years, others seemed to take on a life of their own, ignoring or embellishing his actual narratives, with some of the would-be debunkers appearing to be more focused on diminishing my father's credibility than on uncovering the truth.
The true story of my father's part in the Roswell Incident, unembellished by wishful thinking and unsuppressed by political imperative, needed to be told by the one person most qualified to do so: myself. I have been asked why I have waited so long to personally publish the story of what I saw and what my father luiew. I must acknowledge that this is certainly an appropriate question, and one I myself would ask of anyone in my position. The answer is quite simple. Before he passed away in 1986, my father made me promise to see the true story told. Like my father, I too had kept silent on the matter for many years, for I was, like my father, a career military man. Neither my father nor I felt at liberty to challenge the government's official version of what happened that night so many years ago, as doing so would pose a very real danger to our careers, if not our very lives. I was also consumed with the responsibilities of my medical practice (I am an ear, nose, and throat specialist), and with raising a large family. Nevertheless, since my father's death, I have attempted to tell the story via numerous interviews, only to see my words edited, twisted, and even fabricated from whole cloth. I guess I finally grew tired of seeing the truth filtered through someone else's agenda to the point that it bore little resemblance to the actual events, and decided it was time to set the record straight.
My busy life, and my own tendency to procrastinate, prevented me from sitting down and telling my father's story even after the mandate for discretion was no longer an issue. Though I had participated in countless media interviews about Roswell, the book idea was always more or less on the back burner. It was in the perilous deserts of Iraq, where I served as a flight surgeon for 13 months, from 2004 to 2005, that I was hit with a realization of urgency. Being continually in harm's way has a tendency to alter your perspective. I knew time was running out for me to keep my promise to my father; given my own age, delaying the effort any further could well put the story at risk of going untold. While still in Iraq, fueled by a sense of my own mortality, I finally began typing out my father's story. When I returned stateside, I continued my effort in earnest.
In keeping with the promise I made, I am determined to refute the allegations aimed at my father by those whose interests were apparently to perpetuate the lie, even at the cost of an honest man's reputation. To that end, included within the manuscript are previously unpublished photographs and photocopies of documentsunearthed in 2004 and 2005-which unequivocally establish my father's credentials, level of expertise, and participation as described in the events so long disputed and shrouded in mystery.
Mine is a story of actually seeing and handling artifacts from the site, of my fascination with things that neither I nor anyone else on Earth had ever beheld. I will try to communicate the depth of my father's frustration, not with those who smeared his good name, but with the complete abandonment of truth in the telling of a story so profound that it could drastically change the way we humans deal with each other. At its core, this is the story of a military officer's integrity, and a legacy of truth that must not be withheld. It is also my attempt to repay a debt to a man who taught me the value of honor, the absolute necessity of truthfulness, and the concept of respect. That such an attempt inevitably falls short of the mark is a testament to the integrity of the man himself.
To the casually curious, this book will be a source of relatively untainted information upon which they may make their own determinations about Roswell, and, possibly, about the reality of extraterrestrial life. To a government long accustomed to feeding the public information (or misinformation) however it sees fit, with little regard for the public's right to be told the truth, this book will no doubt be yet another thorn in its side. But I feel that readers deserve to know the facts, and I also believe my father deserves the respect long denied him by the government's desire to silence what he saw and knew.
Beyond my wish to see my father remembered as a man of integrity and intelligence, I feel that the public has a right to la-low die answer to one of the biggest questions facing us: Are we alone in the universe? The answer, firmly I believe, is no.
Another question Americans must ask is whether or not their government can be relied upon to tell them the truth, despite the potential for embarrassment that telling such truth might cause. Once again, the answer is no. Given the tenuous nature of this country's relationship with our neighbors-ally and adversary alike-it is imperative that citizens base their support upon facts, rather than convenient sound bytes or obfuscation. To do less is to shirk one's responsibility and invite disaster.
I don't pretend to have all the answers to the mystery of Roswell, nor do I pretend to be deeply knowledgeable about the technical and scientific issues surrounding the Roswell Incident or interplanetary travel. Nevertheless, I have some facts and evidence on my side, as well as a boundless curiosity about the mysteries of the universe.
My first concern is to keep my promise to my father by telling his story as it relates to the Roswell Incident. In the process, I will also tell my own story of growing up in the shadow of what is arguably the most famous event in the UFO world, and I will even share stories of how Roswell affected my own children. I will offer my views of the investigation, and a few comments about my own interactions with the media, particularly with the skeptics and naysayers, throughout the years. I have found that all too often, despite their purported rationality and scientific approach, many of the skeptics have their own agenda, and are as willing to manipulate the truth to their own interests as those whom they accuse of poor science.