February 26, 1980🇺🇸Disclosure

Roswell Story Goes Public: National Enquirer Publishes Before Moore/Berlitz Book

A February 26, 1980 edition of the National Enquirer described the Roswell story six months before the release of The Roswell Incident by William Moore and Charles Berlitz. The Enquirer's publisher Gene Pope had long-time connections to the CIA. Co-author Berlitz had a long history in military intelligence, and Moore was fluent in Russian and would soon be deep in the intelligence world. Dolan questions whether Moore and Berlitz were supported by the CIA to promote the story — either as a genuine leak or as disinformation.

Date
February 26, 1980
Location
United States🇺🇸
Type
Disclosure
Country
🇺🇸 United States

Background

1. On February 26, 1980, the National Enquirer published an article about the Roswell incident. This occurred six months prior to the release of the book "The Roswell Incident" by William Moore and Charles Berlitz.

The Incident In January 1978, Stanton Friedman met a television station manager in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, who suggested he speak with someone who had handled a "flying saucer" in the past. Friedman then contacted retired Colonel Jesse Marcel, Sr. Marcel told Friedman that as an intelligence officer at the 509th Bomber Unit at Roswell Army Air Field, he was dispatched to retrieve wreckage from a flying disc.

Marcel described the debris as including foil-like material of incredible toughness and strong I-beams that looked flimsy but could not be bent or broken. He also noted strange hieroglyphic-like writing on the debris. The fragments were transported to Roswell Army Air Field, then to Fort Worth, Texas, and finally to Wright Field in Dayton, Ohio, for analysis.

Investigation Marcel stated that while at Fort Worth, he had to lie to the press and say they were recovering a downed weather balloon. He maintained that he was "certain" the object was not a balloon, nor any type of aircraft or rocket. William Moore later found a July 1947 press release stating the Air Force had recovered a flying disc, followed by another press release three hours later claiming it was a weather balloon. Friedman and Moore then interviewed almost 100 people who knew something about the event.

Significance The National Enquirer's publication of the Roswell story brought the incident to a wider audience before the release of Moore and Berlitz's book. The Enquirer's publisher, Gene Pope, had connections to the CIA, and co-author Berlitz had a history in military intelligence, adding another layer to the narrative. The event is significant as an early instance of public disclosure regarding the Roswell incident, contributing to the development of the "Crash Retrieval Syndrome" narrative within ufology.

Connections