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[Originally posted in four parts to alt.paranet.ufo by John Kirby,
jkirbypdx@aol.com.]
TO: Those Interested
FROM: John Kirby, Portland OR
DATE: 7-30-95
The following is the complete text of the GAO Report to Congressman
Steve Schiff having to do with the Roswell incident. It also includes
related documents.
Contents:
* Press release from Congressman Schiff's office
* GAO Report
-- Actual report
-- Appendices
* Extra report from the GAO to Congressman Schiff regarding "Majestic
12" documents.
ALL OF THE GAO REPORT (with very minor exceptions mentioned below) is
included in this file. The documents were optically scanned and run
through an OCR (optical character recognition) tool. I proof-read
the resulting document for errors (although some may have slipped
through).
The only things missing are:
* Formatting of the pages (this was lost in the conversion to
text format). This includes loss of letterhead pictures etc.
I indicated, in many places, where significant letterhead was
lost.
* Out of sympathy for the bureaucrats who gave their desk phone numbers
to the GAO, I deleted some phone numbers for this wide posting.
Main switchboard phone numbers were preserved. Numbers
can of course be obtained by directory assistance. Those phone
numbers are also in the publicly available report.
The actual hard copy of this report can be ordered by calling
the GAO publications ordering desk at (202) 512-6000.
Thanks.
John Kirby, Portland Oregon
Randle and Schmitt Roswell Investigation Team
e-mail: JKirbyPDX@aol.com
===================================================================
NEWS RELEASE
U.S. Congressman Steve Schiff, First Congressional District
New Mexico
Washington Office: 2404 Rayburn Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
(202) 225-6316
FAX: (202) 225-4975
District Office: 625 Silver Ave., SW
Suite 140
Albuquerque, NM 87102
(505) 766-2538
FAX (505) 766-1674
---------------------------------------------------------------
Immediate Release J. Barry Bitzer
July 28th, 1995
Schiff Receives, Releases Roswell Report
(missing documents leave unanswered questions)
Washington: Congressman Steve Schiff today released the General
Accounting Office (GAO) report detailing results of a records
audit related to events surrounding a crash in 1947, near
Roswell, New Mexico, and the military response.
The 20 page report is the result of constituent information
requests to Congressman Schiff and the difficulty he had getting
answers from the Department of Defense in the now 48-year-old
controversy.
Schiff said important documents, which may have shed more light
on what happened at Roswell, are missing. "The GAO report states
that the outgoing messages from Roswell Army Air Field (RAAF) for
this period of time were destroyed without proper authority.
Schiff pointed out that these messages would have shown how
military officials in Roswell were explaining to their superiors
exactly what happened.
"It is my understanding that these outgoing messages were
permanent records, which should never have been destroyed. The
GAO could not identify who destroyed the messages, or why." But
Schiff pointed out that the GAO estimates that the messages were
destroyed over 40 years ago, making further inquiry about their
destruction impractical.
Documents revealed by the report include an FBI teletype and
reference in a newsletter style internal forum at RAAF that refer
to a "radar tracking device" - a reference to a weather balloon.
Even though the weather balloon story has since been discredited
by the US Air Force, Schiff suggested that the authors of those
communications may have been repeating what they were told,
rather than consciously adding to what some believe is a "cover
up."
"At least this effort caused the Air Force to acknowledge that
the crashed vehicle was no weather balloon," Schiff said. "That
explanation never fit the fact of high military security used at
the time." The Air Force in September, 1994 claimed that the
crashed vehicle was a then-classified device to detect evidence
of possible Soviet nuclear testing.
Schiff also praised the efforts of the GAO, describing their work
as "professional, conscientious and thorough."
A two page letter discussing a related investigation into
"Majestic 12" was also delivered.
Schiff will be available to the media Saturday, July 29th, from
10:00 AM to 2:00 PM (Eastern) at 2404 Rayburn MOB in Washington,
DC and by telephone: (202) 225-6316.
A copy of the report may be obtained by calling (202) 512-6000
and referencing Document number GAO/NSIAD-95-187.
================= END PRESS RELEASE =======================
================= START GAO REPORT =======================
United States
General Accounting Office
Washington, D.C. 20545
National Security and
International Affairs Division
B-262046
July 28,1995
The Honorable Steven H. Schiff
House of Representatives
Dear Mr. Schiff:
On July 8, 1947, the Roswell Army Air Held (RAAF) public information
office in Roswell, New Mexico, reported the crash and recovery of a
"flying disc." Army Air Forces personnel from the RAAF's 509th Bomb
Group were credited with the recovery. The following day, the press
reported that the Commanding General of the U.S. Eighth Air Force, Fort
Worth, Texas, announced that RAAF personnel had recovered a crashed
radar-traciting (weather) balloon, not a flying disc."
After nearly 50 years, speculation continues on what crashed at Roswell.
Some observers believe that the object was of extraterrestrial origin. In
the July 1994 "Report of Air Force Research Regarding the Roswell"
Incident, the Air Force did not dispute that something happened near
Roswell, but reported that the most likely source of the wreckage was
from a balloon-launched classified government project designed to
determine the state of Soviet nuclear weapons research. The debate on
what crashed at Roswell continues.
Concerned that the Department of Defense (DoD) may not have provided
you with all available information on the crash, you asked us to determine
the requirements for reporting air accidents similar to the crash near
Roswell and identify any government records concerning the Roswell
crash.
We conducted an extensive search for government records related to the
crash near Roswell. We examined a wide range of classified and
unclassified documents dating from July 1947 through the 1950s. These
records came from numerous organizations in New Mexico and elsewhere
throughout DoD as well as The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and the National Security Council. The
full scope and methodology of our work are detalled at the end of This
report.
======================================================================
RESULTS IN BRIEF
iN 1947, regulations required that air accident reports be maintained
air accidents reported by the Army Air Forces in New Mexico during
July 1947. All of The accidents involved military aircraft and
occurred after July 8,1947 -- the date the RAAF public information office
first reported the crash and recovery of a "flying disc" near Roswell.
The Navy reported no air accidents in New Mexico during July 1947.
Air Force officials told us that according to record-keeping
requirements in effect during July 1947, there was no requirement to
prepare a report on the crash of a weather balloon.
In our search for records concerning the Roswell crash, we learned that
some government records covering RAAF activities had been destroyed and
others had not. For example, RAAF administrative records (from Mar. 1945
through Dec. 1949) and RAAF outgoing messages (from Oct. 1946 through
Dec. 1949) were destroyed. The document disposition form does not
indicate what organization or person destroyed the records and when or
under what authority the records were destroyed.
Our search for government records concerning the Roswell crash yielded
two records originating in 1947 -- a July 1947 history report by the
combined 509th Bomb Group and RAAF and an FBI teletype message dated
July 8, 1947. The 5O9th-RAAF report noted the recovery of a "flying disc"
that was later determined by military officials to be a radar-tracking
balloon. The FBI message stated that the military had reported that an
object resembling a high-altitude weather balloon with a radar reflector
had been recovered near Roswell.
The other government records we reviewed, including those previously
withheld from the public because of security classification, and the Air
Force's analysis of unidentifled flying object(1) sightings from 1946
to 1953 (Project Blue Book Special Report No. 14), did not mention
the crash or the recovery of an airborne object near Roswell in July
1947. Similarly, executive branch agencies' responses to our letters
of inquiry produced no other government records on the Roswell crash.
-----------
Footnote
(1) According to Air Force regulations, an unidentified object is an
airborne object that by performance, aereodynamic characteristics,
or unusual features, does not conform to known aircraft or missiles,
or does not correspond to Air Force definitions of familiar or known
objects or unidentified aircraft.
----------
REPORTING AIR ACCIDENTS
According to press accounts from July 1947, Army Air Forces personnel
from RAAF were involved in the recovery of an airborne object near
Roswell. Therefore, if an air accident report was prepared, it should
have been prepared in accordance with Army regulations. According to an
Army records management official, in 1947 Army regulations required that
air accident reports be maintained permanentiy. An Air Force official
said there was no similar requirement to report a weather balloon crash.
According to an Air Force official who has worked in the records
management field since the inid-1940s, air accident reports prepared in
July 1947 under Army regulations should have been transferred to Air
Force custody in September 1947, when the Air Force was established as a
separate service.
The Air Force Safety Agency is responsible for maintalning reports of air
accidents. We examined its microflim records to determine whether any
air accidents had been reported in New Mexico during July 1947. We
identified four air accidents during this time period.(2) All of the
accidents involved military fighter or cargo aircraft and occurred
after July 8, 1947 -- the date the RAAF public information office
first reported the crash and recovery of a "flying disc" near Roswell.
According to the Army Air Forces' Report of Major Accident, these
four accidents occurred at or near the towns of Hobbs, Albuquerque,
Carrizozo, and Alamogordo, New Mexico. Ouly one of the four accidents
resulted in a fatality. The pilot died when the aircraft crashed
during an attempted take-off.
-------------
Footnote:
(2) These records do not include information regarding mishaps of air
vehicles belonging to civilian or other government agencies. These
records also do not include mishaps involving unmanned air vehicles
such as remotely piloted aircraft, low-speed cruise missiles, and
most balloons.
-------------
SEARCH FOR RECORDS
In searching for government records on the Roswell crash, we were
particularly interested in identifying and reviewing records of military
units assigned to RAAF in 1947 -- to include the 509th Bomb Group, the
1st Air Transport Unit, the 427th Army Air Force Base Unit, and the
1395th Military Police Company (Aviation).
Document disposition forms obtained from the National Personnel
Records Center in St. Louis, Missouri, indicate that in 1953,
the Walker Air Force Base (formeriy RAAF) records officer transferred
to the Army's Kansas City records depository the histories of units
stationed at Walker Air Force Base. These histories included the
509th Bomb Group and RAAF for February 1947 through October 1947; the
1st Air Transport Unit for July 1946 through June 1947; and the
427th Army Air Force Base Unit for January 1946 to February 1947.
We could not locate any documentation indicating that records of
the 1395th Military Police Company (Aviation) were ever retired
to The National Personnel Records Center or its predecessor depositories.
The July 1947 history for the 509th Bomb Group and RAAF stated that
the RAAF public information office "was kept quite busy ... answering
inquiries on the `flying disc,' which was reported to be in [the]
possession of the 509th Bomb Group. The object turned out to be a
radar tracking balloon." By his signature, The RAAF's commanding
officer certified that the report represented a complete and
accurate account of RAAF activities in July 1947. (Excerpts from
the report are contained in app. I.)
In addition to unit history reports, we also searched for other
government records on the Roswell crash. In this regard, The Chief
Archivist for the National Personnel Records Center provided us
with documentation indicating that (1) RAAF records such as finance
and accounting, supplies, buildings and grounds, and other general
administrative matters from March 1945 through December 1949 and
(2) RAAF outgoing messages from October 1946 through December 1949
were destroyed. According to this official, the document disposition
form did not properly indicate the authority under which the disposal
action was taken. The Center's Chief Archivist stated that from his
personal experience, many of the Air Force organizational records
covering this time period were destroyed without entering a citation
for the governing disposition authority. Our review of records control
forms showing the destruction of other records-including outgoing RAAF
messages for 1950 -- supports the Chief Archivist's viewpoint.
During our review of records at FBI headquarters, we found a July
8, 1947, teletype message from the FBI office in Dallas, Texas,
to FBI headquarters and the FBI office in Cincinnati, Ohio. An
FBI spokesperson confirmed the authenticity of the message.
According to the message, an Eighth Air Force headquarters official
had telephonically informed the FBI's Dallas office of the recovery
near Roswell of a hexagonal-shaped disc suspended from a large balloon
by cable. The message further stated that the disc and balloon were
being sent to Wright Field (now Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio)
for examination. According to The Eighth Air Force official, the
recovered object resembled a high-altitude weather balloon with a
radar reflector. The message stated that no further investigation
by the FBI was being conducted. (A copy of the teletype message
appears in app. II.)
To follow up on the July 8th message, we reviewed microfilm abstracts of
the FBI Dallas and Cincinnati office activities for July 1947. An
abstract prepared by the FBI Dallas office on July 12, 1947, summarized
the particulars of the July 8th message. There was no mention in the
Cincinnati office abstracts of the crash or recovery of an airborne
object near Rosweil.
Because the FBI message reported that debris from the Roswell crash was
being transported to Wright Held for examination, we attempted to
deterinine whether military regulations existed for handling such debris.
We were unable to locate any applicable regulation. As a final step, we
reviewed Air Materiel Command (Wright Held) records from 1947 to 1950
for evidence of command personnel involvement in this matter. We found
no records mentioning the Roswell crash or the examination by Air
Materiel Command personnel of any debris recovered from the crash.
QUERIES TO FEDERAL AGENCIES REGARDING RECORDS ON THE CRASH
We sent letters to several federal agencies asking for any government
records they might have concerning the Roswell crash. In this regard, we
contacted DoD, the National Security Council, the White House Office of
Science and Technology Policy, the CIA, the FBI, and the Department of
Energy.
The National Security Council, the White House Office of Science and
Technology Policy, and the Department of Energy responded that they had
no government records relating to the Roswell crash. (Copies of their
responses appear in app. III, IV, and V.) The FBI, DoD, and the CIA
provided the following information.
FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION
The FBI informed us that all FBI data regarding the crash near Roswell
had been processed under Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests
previously received by the Bureau. We reviewed the FBI's FOIA material
and identified the July 8, 1947, FBI teletype message discussing the
recovery near Roswell of a high-altitude weather balloon with a radar
reflector. (A copy of the FBI's response appears in app. VI.)
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
DoD informed us that the U.S. Air Force report of July 1994, entitied
"Report of Air Force Research Regarding the Roswell Incident",
represents the extent of DoD records or information concerning the
Roswell crash. The Air Force report concluded that there was no
dispute that something happened near Roswell in July 1947 and that
all available official materials indicated the most likely source
of the wreckage recovered was one of the project MOGUL balloon trains.
At the time of the Roswell crash, project MOGUL was a highly classified
U.S. effort to determine the state of Soviet nuclear weapons research
using balloons that carried radar reflectors and acoustic sensors.
(A copy of DoD's response appears in app. VII.)
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
In March 1995, the CIA's Executive Director responded to our letter of
inquiry by stating that earlier searches by the CIA for records on
unidentified flying objects produced no information pertaining to the
Roswell crash. The Executive Director added, however, that it was unclear
whether the CIA had ever conducted a search for records specifically
relating to Roswell. In the absence of such assurance, the Executive
Director instructed CIA personnel to conduct a comprehensive records
search for information relating to Roswell. On May 30, 1995, the CIA's
Executive Director informed us that a search against the term "Roswell,
New Mexico," in all CIA databases produced no CIA documents related to
the crash. (A copy of CIA's response appears in app. VIII.)
AGENCY COMMENTS
A draft of this report was provided to DoD for comment. DoD offered no
comments or suggested changes to the report. The Chief Archivist,
National Personnel Records Center offered several comments clarifying
matters dealing with records management. These comments have been
incorporated into the final report where appropriate.
The CIA, the Department of Energy, the FBI, the National Security
Council, and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy
also received excerpts from the report discussing the activities of
their respective agencies. They had no substantive comments and made no
suggested changes to the report.
SCOPE AND METHODOLOGY
To determine the requirements for reporting all accidents in 1947, we
interviewed military service records management officials, reviewed
military record-keeping regulations in effect during this time period,
and examined Army Air Forces and Navy air accident reports.
We also sought to identify any government records related to the Roswell
crash. In this regard, we visited and reviewed records at the locations
listed in table 1.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% START TABLE %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Table 1: Locations Visited and Records Reviewed
LOCATIONS VISITED RECORDS REVIEWED
----------------------------------------------------------------------
National Archives, * Air Force papers on unidentified flying objects
Washington, D.C. * Army Counterintelligence Corps historical files,
1947-49
----------------------------------------------------------------------
National Archives II, * ProJect Blue Book Special Report No. 14
College Park, Md. * National Security Council meeting minutes,1947-48
----------------------------------------------------------------------
National Archives, * Army Inspector General reports, 1947-59
National Record * Army staff intelligence correspondence, 1947-56
Center, Suitland, * Headquarters Army Air Force message traffic,
Md. 1947-54
* Army Air Force and Air Materiel Command
(Wright Field) research and development tiles,
1947-50
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
National Personnel * Morning reports for RAAF units, July 1947
Records Center, * Eighth Air Force messages, 1947-50
St. Louis, Mc. * Eighth Ar Force correspondence, 1947-51
* Eighth Air Force weekly activity summaries,
July 1947
* Service records of key personnel assigned to
RAAF, 1947
* Project Sign(a) investigative reports, 1948
* Army Adjutant General correspondence, 1947-49
* Missile test tiring reports at White Sands,
N. Mex., 1947-54
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Department of the Air * Current and past records management regulations
Force, Washington, * Report of Air Force Research Regarding the
D.C. Roswell Incident, July 1994
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Department of the * Current and past records management regulations
Army, Washington,
D.C.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Department of the * Air accident reports, July 1947
Navy, Washington,
D.C.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Air Force Safety * Air accident reports, July 1947
Agency, Kirtland
Air Force Base,
N. Mex.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Air Force History * 509th Bomb Group and RAAF monthly histories,
Support Office, July and August 1947
Boiling Air Force
Base, Washington,
D.C.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
National Security * FOIA records, Citizens Against UFO Secrecy
Agency, Fort Meade,
Md.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Military History * Army Counterintelligence Corps reports, 1947
Institute, Army War
College, Carlisle,
Pa.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Army Central * Army Counterintelligence Corps reports, 1947
Security Facility,
Fort Meade, Md.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Central Intelligence * "Scientific Advisory Panel on Unidentified
Agency, Langley, Va. Flying Objects" (Robertson Panel) report
* FOIA records, Ground Saucer Watch, Inc,
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Federal Bureau of * FOIA records on unidentified flying objects
Investigation,
Washington, D.C.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
National Atomic * 509th Bomb Group historical information, 1947
Museum, Kirtland * RAAF base newspaper Atomic Blast, July and
Air Force Base, August 1947
N. Mex.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Footnote
(a) Project Sign was the predecessor to Project Blue Book.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% end table %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Our search of government records was complicated by the fact that some
records we wanted to review were missing and there was not always an
explanation. Further, the records management regulations for the
retention and disposition of records were unclear or changing during the
period we reviewed.
We also queried the National Security Council, the White House Office of
Science and Technology Policy, the Department of Energy, the FBI, DOD,
and the CIA to determine what government records they have on the
Roswell crash. We did not independently verify the information provided
to us in their written responses.
In addition to physically examining government records, we contacted the
following federal activities to determine whether they had any information
about the Roswell crash:
* Air Force Historical Research Agency, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama;
* Air Force Aeronautical Systems Center, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base,
Ohio;
* Army Center for Military History, Washington, D.C.; and
* 509th Bomb Wing, Office of the Historian, Whiteman Air Force Base,
Missouri.
We conducted our review from March 1994 to June 1995 in accordance
with generally accepted government auditing standards.
Unless you publicly announce its contents earlier, we plan no further
distribution of this report until 30 days after its issue date. At
that time, we will make copies avallable to other interested parties
upon request.
If you or your staff have any questions about this report, please
call me. A major contributor to this report is Gary K. Weeter,
Assistant Director.
Sincerely yours,
/s/ Richard Davis
Director, National Security
Analysis
===================================================================
===================================================================
APPENDICES
Appendix 1: Combined History for July 1947
Appendix 2: FBI Teletype Message Dated July 8, 1947
Appendix 3: Comments From the National Security Council
Appendix 4: Comments From the Office of Science and Technology
Policy, Executive Office of the President
Appendix V: Comments from the Department of Energy
Appendix VI: Comments From the Federal Bureau of Invesitgation
Appendix VII: Comments From the Department of Defense
Appendix VIII: Comments From the Central Intelligence Agency
Table 1: Locations Visited and Records Reviewed
Abbreviations:
CIA Central Intelligence Agency
DoD Department of Defense
FBI Federal Bureau of Investigation
FOIA Freedom of Information Act
RAAF Roswell Army Air Field
===================================================================
APPENDIX I: Combined History for July 1947
[ Picture / cover page appeared here, text: ]
Combined History
509th Bomb Group
and
Roswell Army Air Field
1 July 1947 Through 31 July 1947
---------------------- page break --------------------------
[page from retierved document follows]
RESTRICTED
The other three briefings were those which were given to the VIP
and a simulated briefing to a large group of Air Scouts representing
all of the troops in New Mexico which was given on 15 July 1947.
Several small projects were completed during the month including
signs on all the office doors, a building directory, and a world situation
map which is maintained on a day-to-day basis.
The Historical Section of S-2 has been seriously handicapped by
the removal of the regular stenographer with the reduction in force.
Due to the fact that the quality of the department reports has
in general been so inadequate, lectures are being prepared to be given
early in August to properly train the liaison representatives of each
department.
The Office of Public Information was kept quite busy during the
month answering inquiries on the "flying disc", which was reported to be
in the possession of the 509th Bomb Group. The object turned out to be
a radar tracking ballooon.
The main project of the month was making all arrangements for a
successful Air Force Day. Lt. Golonel Oliver LaFarge, Air Reserve Corps,
at Santa Fe, made arrangements for Colonel Blanchard to visit the Governor
of New Mexico and ask him to declare Air Force Day in New Mexico on
7 August.
RESTRICTED
39
[end excerpt from Combined History]
======================================================================
APPENDIX II: FBI TELETYPE MESSAGE DATED JULY 8, 1947
[Note %%%% indicates area blacked out by marker; spelling is reproduced
as is in the original.]
TELETYPE
FBI DALLAS 7-8-47 6-17 PM %%%%%%
DIRECTOR AND SAC, CINCINNATI URGENT %%%%%%%
FLYING DISC, INFORMATION CONCERNING %%%%%%% HEADQUARTERS
EIGHTH AIR FORCE, TELEPHONICALLY ADVISED THIS OFFICE THAT AN OBJECT
PURPORTING TO BE A FLYING DISC WAS RE COVERED NEAR ROSWELL, NEW
MEXICO, THIS DATE. THE DISC IS HEXAGONAL IN SHAPE AND WAS SUSPENDED
FROM A BALLON BY CABLE, WHICH BALLON WAS APPROXIMATELY TWENTY
FEET IN DIAMETER. %%%%%%% FURTHER ADVISED THAT THE OBJECT
FOUND RESEMBLES A HIGH ALTITUDE WEATHER BALLON WITH A RADAR
REFLECTOR, BUT THAT TELEPHONIC CONVERSATION BETWEEN THEIR OFFICE
AND WRICHT FIELD HAD NOT %%%%%%%%% BORNE OUT THIS BELIEF. DISC AND
BALLOON BEING TRANSPORTED TO WRIGHT FIELD BY SPECIAL PLANE FOR EXAMINAT
INFORMATION PROVIDED THIS OFFICE BECAUSE OF NATIONAL INTEREST IN CASE.
XXXX AND FACT THAT NATIONAL BROADCASTING COMPANY, ASSOCIATED PRESS, AND
OTHERS ATTEMPTING TO BREAK STORY OF LOCATION OF DISC TODAY. %%%%
%%%%% ADVISED WOULD REQUEST WRIGHT FIELD TO ADVISE CINCINNATI
OFFICE RESULTS OF EXAMINATION, NO FURTHER INVESTIGATION BEING
CONDUCTED.
WYLY
RECORDED
END
CXXXX ACK IN ORDER
UA 92 FBI CI MJW
BPI H8
8-38 PM O
6-22 PM OK FBI WASH DC
OK FBI CI
=================================================================
APPENDIX III: COMMENTS FROM THE NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL
[letter follows on "National Security Council" letterhead]
NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL
Washington, D.C. 20506
April 28, 1995
MEMORANDUM FOR MR. JOSEPH E. KELLEY
Director-in-Charge, International
Affairs Issues
General Accounting Office
SUBJECT: Request for NSC Records
I am responding to your April 12, 1995, request for information
or NSC records related to the crash of an airborne object near
Roswell, New Mexico in July 1947. The NSC has no records or
information related to the incident at Roswell.
For information about any government records that may document
the crash at RosweIl, we suggest you contact the National
Archives, Textual Reference Division, 8601 Adelphi Road, College
Park, Maryland 20740.
/s/ Andrew D. Sens
Executive Secretary
====================================================================
APPENDIX IV:
COMMENTS FROM THE OFFICE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY POLICY,
EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
[letter follows on "Executive Office of the President,
Office of Science and Technology Policy" letterhead]
EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
OFFICE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLODY POLICY
WASHINGT0N D.C 20500
April 26, 1995
Dear Mr Hunt.
In response to your recent inquiry of April 12, 1995. The Office
of Science and Techology Policy reviewed its records regarding the
Roswell Incident. OSTP has no direct knowledge of what occurred at
Roswell and no records, except for the information I received
from the Air Foree.
I look forward to receiving the GAO report.
Sinrerely,
/s/ John H. Gibbons
Director
Enclosures
As stated
Mr. William Hunt
Director, Federal Management Issues
United States Government Accounting Office
Washington, DC 20548
====================================================================
APPENDIX V:
COMMENTS FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
[letter follows on "Department of Energy" letterhead]
Department of Energy
Washington, DC 20585
June 5. 1995
Richard Davis
Director, National Security
Analysis
General Accounting Office
Washington, D.C. 20538
Dear Mr. Davis.
This is in response to your request for records related to the crash of an
airborne object near Roswell, New Mexico, in July 1947. We conducted an
in-
depth search for documents related to the crash and have found no such
documents.
If you have any questions regarding this matter. please do not hesitate to
contact Barry Uhlig of my staff.
Sincerely,
/s/ Joseph F. Vivona
Chief Financial Officer
====================================================================
APPENDIX VI:
COMMENTS FROM THE FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION
[letter follows on "U.S. Department of Justice, Federal
Bureau of Investigation" letterhead]
U.S. Department of Justice
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Washington, D.C. 20535
April 24, 1995
Mr. Richard Davis
Director
Attn: Gary K. Weeter
National Security Analysis
General Accounting Office
Washington, D.C.
Dear Mr. Davis:
This is in response to a letter dated April 7, 1995,
from Norman J. Rabkin, Director, Administration of Justice
Issues, General Accounting Office, to John E. Collingwood,
Inspector in Charge, of Office of Public and Congressional Affairs,
FBI, regarding government records concerning the crash of an
airborne object near Roswell, New Mexico, in July 1947 (code
701034)
A search of FBI indices for information relating to the
crash of an airborne object near Roewell, New Mexico, in 1947,
determined that all FBI data concerning the incident has been
processed under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act
(FOIA) and is available for review in our FOIA Reading Room. A
copy of the document forwarded to me by Gary Weeter is among the
documents in the Reading Room. If your staff wishes to review
the material, please call Margaret Tremblay, a member of my
staff, at least 48 hours in advance of the desired appointment.
Sincerely yours,
/s/ Swanson D. Carter
Supervisory Special Agent
Office of Public and
Congressional Affairs
====================================================================
APPENDIX VII:
COMMENTS FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
[letter follows on "Inspector General, Department of Defense"
letterhead]
INSPECTOR GENERAL
Department of Defense
400 Army Navy Drive
Arlington, Virginia 22202-2884
May 4, 1995
Nr. Richard Davis
Director, National Security Analysis
U.S. General Accounting Office
441 G Street N.W.
Room 5025
Washington, D.C. 20548
Dear Mr. Davis:
The Department of the Air Force July 1994 report
is the DoD response to questions posed in your April 12
letter related to GAO Code 701034.
If you have any questions, please contact my action officer,
Pattie Cirino. If she is not available, please contact Ms. Merlene
L. Scales.
/s/ Rathryn M. Truex
Deputy Assistant Inspector General
for GAO Report Analysis
Enclosure
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APPENDIX VIII:
COMMENTS FROM THE CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
[letter follows on "Central Intelligence Agency"
letterhead]
Central Intelligence Agency
[ symbol ]
Washington, D.C. 20585
Mr. Richard Davis
Director, National Security Analysis
US General Accounting Office
Washington, D.C. 20548
Dear Mr. Davis,
In a letter dated 30 March 1995, this Agency advised you
that it would conduct a comprehencive record search to aid in
the completion of your investigation of the crash of an airborne
object near Roswell, New Mexico, in July 1947. In accordance with
your request, we have searched all of our data bases against the
terms "Project Mogul" and 'Roswell, New Mexico."
The search did not yield any documents related to either of
these terms. Therefore, this Agency has no information, beyond
those records already reviewed by Mr. Gary Weeter of your staff,
relevant to your investigation.
Sincerely,
/s/ Nora Slatkin
Executive Director
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START: EXTRA REPORT / LETTER FROM THE GAO TO CONGRESSMAN SCHIFF
REGARDING RECORDS HAVING TO DO WITH "MAJESTIC 12".
GAO
United States
General Accounting Office
Washington, D.C. 20548
------
National Security and
International Affairs Division
94-0692
July 28, 1995
The Honorable Steven H. Schiff
House of Representatives
Dear Mr. Schiff:
In response to your request, we asked several agencies for
their views on the authenticity of the publicly circulated
written material referred to as Majestic 12. The origin of
this material is unknown, but it is purported to represent
highly classified government records explaining
unidentified flying object recovery procedures and the
crash of a disc-shaped aircraft near Roswell, New Mexico,
in July 1947.
Since the late 1980s, several federal agencies have been
contacted by nongovernmental persons and asked to comment
on the authenticity of the Majestic 12 material. The
agencies contacted include
--the Information Security Oversight Office (responsible
for overseeing the information security programs of all
executive branch agencies that create or handle
classified national security information),
--the Office of the Secretary of the Air Force, Deputy for
Security and Investigative Programs, and
--the National Archives.
These agencies responded to the inquiries by stating that
their knowledge of Majestic 12 was limited to the written
material submitted to them by nongovernmental persons.
These agencies added that they found no records in their
files relating to Majestic 12. Moreover, the agencies'
overall conclusion concerning the authenticity of the
Majestic 12 written material was the same--there is no
evidence that the Majestic 12 written material constitutes
actual documents originally created in the executive
branch. According to the Information Security Oversight
Office and the Air Force, the Majestic 12 material should
not be treated as if it had ever been actually classified
by an executive branch agency or government official. We
found nothing in our work that contradicts the conclusions
reached by these agencies.
We also asked the archivists at the Harry S. Truman and
Dwight D. Eisenhower libraries for their views on the
authenticity of the Majestic 12 material. The archivists
said that over the years they have received several
inquiries from the public concerning this material. In
their search for related records, including classified
intelligence and National Security Council documents, they
found nothing that appeared to fit the description of the
Majestic 12 material or any references to this particular
designation.
Lastly, during our review of material received from the
public by the Information Security Oversight Office in
connection with past Freedom of Information Act requests,
we came across a message dated November 17, 1980. The
message, which appeared to have been originated by the
Operations Division of the Air Force Office of Special
Investigations (AFOSI), contained the words "MJ Twelve."
We contacted AFOSI to determine the authenticity of the
November 1980 message. In a letter dated February 28,
1995, the Commander, AFOSI, Investigative Operations
Center, advised us that a search of AFOSI files failed to
disclose any official record copy of the message. The
commander also advised us that in connection with an
earlier Freedom of Information Act request, AFOSI had been
asked to determine the authenticity of the message. At
that time, AFOSI concluded that the message was a forgery.
Sincerely yours,
/s/Richard Davis
Director, National Security
Analysis