July 8, 1947: Things Were Hopping All Over or the Evolution of a Cover Story

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  Objects reported over Muroc (future Edwards) airfield in California. Morning and afternoon sightings. Also, some day before.
• Missile scientists, with Naval background, prepping in southern New Mexico for a test the next day, observe strange object in the sky that no one can identify.
• Major General Nathan F. Twinings statements insisting the flying saucers are not the Army's released over AP wire serves from Portland, Oregon. "Neither the AAF nor any other components of the armed forces has any plane, guided missile or other aerial device under development which could possibly be mistaken for a saucer or formation of flying discs... Some of the witnesses evidently saw something, but we don't know what. We are investigating."
• Roswell Army Airfield press release comes out in Roswell newspaper about the finding of a "disc" by a local rancher.
• Various newspapers carried stories that included comments from an "unnamed or identified source", often labeled as a "high ranking Army officer" that included the following statement in one form or another: "Privately high-ranking Army officers said they believed the saucers were a hoax and that some persons were victims of hysteria." (UP, July 8).
• A story found in Texas papers and identified as an AP story "Aluminum Missile Found on Beach" was subtitled "Flying Disk Mystery. and dated July 8. Various people found discs along the shores of Trinity Bay near Houston. They were even inscribed: "Military secret of the United States of America, Ary Air Forces M4339652. Anyone damaging or revealing description or whereabouts of this missile subject to persecution by the U.S. government. Call collect at once LD 446, Army Air Forces Depot, Spokane, Washington." When contacted the commanding officer said he could neither confirm or deny the existence of such a missile. The article reported numerous silvery object seen flying over Lubbock, Hillsboro and Bonham in the past several days (July 6-8). Was this an attempt to "muddy the waters"? Some had to have sprinkled those labeled discs across the southern regions of Texas. There are ghost hunters who have faked ghosts into order to promote the idea that ghosts are real; was something similar going on here with the military (or some combination of agencies and "arms" uniting) to create hoaxes that could then be knocked over (a straw man approach to the whole topic.)
• The conflicting views and attitudes coming out of 'higher up' offices and military leaders in the days from early May to Roswell and beyond could imply various attempts to float a working excuse or explanation or story to (1) explain (2) allay "fears" and (3) keep control of the subject.
• The ridicule hard was being played with a heavy hand on July 8 in UP story found in a Texas newspaper, "Dry Kansas Miss Flying Discs: Military Men Believe Saucers are Hoax."  "The army and ground forces announced that they were investigating the reported cloud hopping discs with an open mind." They added, "But privately, high ranking army officers said they believed the saucers were a hoax and that some persons were the victims of hysteria." The reported a story from North Carolina of a bright light in the sky. "Meanwhile, they mystery of the saucers took on an internal flavor...The discs already reported over most of teh 48 states and parts of Canada were reported over Mexico City." Mexican authorities did not believe the people calling in reports and Russia laughed at the idea they were from that area. The "U.S. Army officers discounted theories that they flying discs might be secret weapons for use in bacteriological warfare." They noted as significant the fact none of the objects had yet registered on army radar." The close was the killing note - - "Kansas, a dry state, boasted that none of its residents had seen one."

Someone - or more than one someone's - was working backstage sending out different actors with different lines but similar motives.  

Earlier news stories of balloons, radar sondes, and the like prove the topic was not as uncommon as a wished to express to the vast population. College newspapers, daily papers, and books had shared the developing field of weather forecasting and data collection from the early arctic experiments to more recent developments. Columns regularly addressed changes in air crafts and their potentials for changing mail service, commerce, and travel.

There may be a reason so many of the articles about the topic would grow giddy to show up the ignorance or isolation of rural sightings by farmers, miners, ranchers, and small town people. Present the populace as short a few bricks and make the topic easier to ridicule both person and topic.

When Project Blue Book or its predecessors encountered that hated of all witness - an experienced, qualified, and observant person - one can sometimes hear the gnashing of teeth. The one or two short tempered readers (consultants maybe?) who loved to add "!!!!!!!" behind statements made by witnesses and point out what they saw as mistakes with a "got ya!" glee must have been chewing aspirin by the bottle!