Syracuse (NY) Herald-Journal, July 9, 1947, p. 1
---SAUCERS---
Captive 'Disc' Only Wind Balloon
'Captive' Saucer Just a Balloon
New Castle (PA) News, July 9, 1947, p. 1
'Flying Disc' Is Found To Be
Only Weather Balloon
----------
Supposed 'Flying Disc' Found In New Mexico Is Identified As Weather Testing Mechanism
DEVICE LIKE LOCAL 'DISCS' FOUND IN WEST
Pickaway Countians Believe 'Kites' Are Answer To U.S. 'Saucer' Tales
FORT WORTH, Tex., July 9 (INS)--The latest "flying disc" which Army Air Corps officials said was found on an eastern New Mexico ranch proved today to be nothing more than a weather balloon.
The identification as a bit of "meteorological equipment" was made by Warrant Officer Irving Newton, Stetsonville, Wis., an official of the Eighth Army Headquarters Weather Department.
(New Castle News only) The Fort Worth office said the weather stained rubberized "disc" was only a bit of equipment used by army and weather bureau officials.
An amplifying statement by public relations officer Capt. G. F. Haist said:
"Experts have identified the equipment as a box kite--or a 'Rawin high altitude sounding device' used by meteorologists."
The original announcement of the discovery of a so-called "flying disc" came from the Foster ranch near Corona, N.M.
W. W. Brizzell, an employee on the ranch, found the balloon last week and brought it in several days later.
An Air Corps public relations officer at Roswell, N. M., Lt. Warren Haught, electrified the country with his report of finding a "disc."
But a few hours later, the report blew up with the Fort Worth identification.
(Syracuse Herald-Journal only)
AN OFFICER at the Fort Worth field said, "about four a day go up from every Army weather station in the country." The spokesman added:
"This type of balloon is also used by many local weather stations."
The incident aroused the possibility that other of the mystery discs have been weather balloons reflecting the sun at high altitudes as they were carried briskly along by the wind.
Reports of the saucers fell off sharply as the Army and Navy began a concentrated campaign to stop the rumors.
A.A.F. HEADQUARTERS in Washington reportedly delivered a "blistering rebuke to officers at the Roswell, N.M. base for suggesting that the weather balloon was a "flying disk."
In Roswell, Sheriff George Wilcox's telephone lines were clogged. Three calls came from England, one of them from the London Daily Mail, he said.
Meanwhile, three scientists in New York City said the hysteria stirred up over the "flying saucers" could well mean that psychological casualties in an atomic or rocket war would far outnumber deaths from atomic bomb explosions.
ONE OF these experts, Dr. Edward Strecker, director of the Philadelphia Hospital for Mental and Nervous Diseases, said that at the beginning of the saucer episode some persons "may have seen something, such as the glint of an airplane in fast flight."
Another expert, who requested that his name not be used, said there are "certain types of group hysteria that is latent in all of us." He said it was common for some people to have spots "in front of their eyes."
HE SAID the hysteria over the saucers might be an example on a small scale of what would happen if an atomic bomb was dropped on this country, or if actual rockets from a foreign power started zooming over the countryside.
The third scientist, an internationally famous astronomer who also helped on the atomic bomb, said:
"The hysteria we see today over these reports would be mild compared to what would happen if bombs or other destructive weapons really started falling here."
He and the other scientists said it was time for the nation to "calm down."
Comments
This very rare INS main story on the Roswell events has a Fort Worth dateline and is somewhat more detailed than an alternate, equally rare INS article with a Chicago dateline. Wording of this INS article has portions nearly identical to main UPS Roswell story. Either INS relied heavily on UP reporting or INS and UP derived stories from the same official sources.
As in the other INS story and AP/UP stories, the usual weather balloon explanation. Only INS described the radar target as "weather stained"; the actual photos show paper-foil that is not stained and probably from a new radar target. Note how "disc" is conflated with the very undisc-like radar targets, and how it is also erroneously referred to as "rubberized".
**This is a unique quote. The PIO mentioned here delivering it was another of Gen. Ramey's at Fort Worth, as demonstrated in the 8th AAF history for this period.
The misspelling of Brazel's name is similar to UP's ("Brizell")
However, misspelling of Roswell PIO Walter Haut's name is the same as AP's. Again, it is called Haut's press release, although UP made it clear the statement came from Roswell C/O Col. William Blanchard.
Another example of how in 1947 the story was the weather balloon/radar target was used often and everywhere by both the military and civilian weather services. In the present, debunkers claim they were hardly used at all and almost unique to Project Mogul.
Virtually identical to UP's opening line: "Reports of flying saucers whizzing through the sky fell off sharply today as the Army and Navy began a concentrated campaign to stop the rumors." Also compare to opening line of other INS story. The military was running a saucer debunking campaign and bragging about it.
Again, almost identical wording to UP main story.
If this had really happened, there would have been an investigation and some officers involved would have suffered severe career consequences. But nothing on-the-record happened afterward.
Again, almost identical to UP story, except UP erroneously placed Wilcox in Fort Worth.
As in the other INS article, the remainder ends in heavy debunkery. Here three authority figure "scientists" ridicule the saucers as nothing but psychological mass hysteria or spots before people's eyes.
Strecker is also quoted in UP main story, in which he suggested most people reporting saucers had a mental disorder ("pathological receptiveness"). Later it was learned that Strecker, who had been president of the American Psychiatric Association, was a "spook" psychiatrist with a top-secret clearance who worked with the wartime OSS (CIA predecessor) on drugs for interrogation. (see Google books or here) Strecker was likely part of the military debunking campaign.
Probably referencing Howard Shapley, director of the Harvard Observatory, mentioned in alternate INS story. Shapley helped oversee funding of the Manhattan Project. Shapley suggested that people seeing flying saucers were either drunk or crazy. Interestingly, Shapley was replaced as director of the observatory in 1952 by infamous UFO debunker Donald Menzel.
