The following is an article from the Albuquerque Journal. It is the story of the so called piece of Roswell debris that was studied in secret, and the results were to be revealed at the 50th anniversary in Roswell. It was controversial before the unavailing of the results, and its even more controversial now. Two years later there is still little we know for real.
Alleged UFO Fragment Unveiled
University of California chemist claims tests on a small chunk of purported crash
debris prove it is not of earthly origin
By Leslie Linthicum
Journal Staff Writer
ROSWELL -- A chemist, a movie producer and a hypnotherapist announced Friday
they have obtained and tested a piece of debris from the 1947 Roswell crash and determined
it is "of extraterrestrial origin."
A 50th anniversary prank? No, the men say. They are serious about finding
"the proof" everyone has been looking for.
But after dropping the bombshell they say is the UFO equivalent of finding the
Holy Grail, no one involved would answer questions about their evidence, methodology or
origin of the alleged piece of debris.
 |
| RICHARD PIPES/JOURNAL |
| A researcher says this 1\-inch wide object is debris
from the Roswell crash, and that tests prove it has come from out of this world. The red
line running through it is from a lighted pointer. |
Russell VernonClark, who said he has a doctorate in chemistry from the
University of California, San Diego, told an auditorium packed with dozens of reporters
and photographers and hundreds of UFO believers on the campus of the New Mexico Military
Institute that he performed tests on an unidentified fragment and found startling results:
The material's atomic makeup was so different from that of any known earthly matter that
he concluded it was extraterrestrial.
"The atomic mass so differs from that found in known earthly
elements," VernonClark said, "that it is impossible for it to be from
Earth."
VernonClark, who identified himself as an environmental health and safety
specialist in the school's department of chemistry, said the fragment was 99 percent pure
silicon with traces of nickel, silver, germanium and zinc, with ratios of protons and
neutrons that differ dramatically from those that naturally occur in those elements on
Earth.
After the presentation concluded, VernonClark sped out a side door, leaving a
comet's tail of questions. The university's Internet Web site shows a listing for a
Russell VernonClark, who is not a professor but is employed in the department of chemistry
and biochemistry.
The Roswell Incident has been the victim of hoaxes before. There was the alien
autopsy, which was discredited when Hollywood makeup artists recreated it on video. Last
year brought Penthouse magazine photos of the alien autopsy, which turned out to be photos
of the props used in the Showtime movie "Roswell." And the last piece of
purported alien aircraft was revealed last year to be a piece of metal from a Utah
jeweler's shop.
Debate about this latest "evidence" was the talk of the town Friday,
as Roswell's Fourth of July population swelled with big-time crowds of visitors and locals
happy to eat, shop and breathe aliens during this 50th anniversary celebration.
UFOlogist Michael Lindeman, founder of the online Institute for the Study of
Contact with Non-human Intelligence, called the claim "extraordinary, if true."
"The fact is that it is possible to alter isotopic ratios," said
Lindeman. "It is possible someone went to an extraordinary length to produce a very
elaborate hoax."
Paul Davids, executive producer of the "Roswell" movie and spokesman
for the "discovery," was cornered after the presentation by a swell of the some
500 reporters, photographers and producers sent here to cover the 50th anniversary
celebration.
The piece, which appears on a videotape to look like a shiny charcoal
briquette, was nowhere in sight at the presentation.
"You've seen what we've offered," said Davids. "Please,"
he said, "accept what you've been offered."
Why didn't they produce the actual chunk of rock?
Security reasons, Davids said.
"The evidence is so sensitive, so unique, that it's being treated like
the Moon Rock. When you have one sample and one sample only, the risks are just too great.
This is as rare as the Shroud of Turin."
Davids would not name the other research institutions he said performed the
tests. "We can't say," said Davids. "This is so controversial that men's
reputations have been ruined over their seriously making these conclusions."
Nor would he say who produced the object and how he could know that the
object, if indeed unearthly, came from the crashed Roswell ship.
The object was given to Derrell Simms, a certified hypnotherapist, who would
not identify the person, but said he or she told him it came from the Roswell crash site.
Dr. Jesse Marcel Jr., whose father was an Air Force lieutenant colonel who
brought some of the debris home after the Air Force cleanup of the crash in 1947, said the
chunk looked like what he saw when he was a surprised 11-year-old.
Chuck Wade, an engineer from Gallup, listened to the presentation and Marcel's
testimony with rapt attention. Wade grew up in Corona, and his father owned the bar that
rancher Mac Brazel visited after he found the debris. Wade grew up hearing his father's
tales of Brazel's discovery.
After seeing a slide presentation and a videotape of the object that is said
to came from Corona, Wade was wide-eyed, if not totally convinced.
"I think it's fascinating," Wade said. "I think it's just
fascinating."
Max Littell, one of the founders of the International UFO Museum &
Research Center, said Roswell has seen evidence of the crash before. "We have
followed many leads and the last one was the jewelry incident," Littell said.
"You just have to look at them as you go. We never know if you've got trash or
treasure."