Jesse Marcel
From the UAP Encyclopedia, the open encyclopedia of UFO and UAP history · 👤 Person
Contents 8
| Type | Person |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Maj. Jesse Marcel |
| On the Timeline | 4 events, 1947–2020 |
Jesse Antoine Marcel (27 May 1907 – 23 June 1986) was a U.S. Army Air Forces intelligence officer with the 509th Bomb Group who, in July 1947, collected debris from a ranch near Roswell, New Mexico. His statements in 1978 that the debris was not of this world revived the Roswell incident and made him its central witness.[1][2]
Early life and service
Marcel was born in Bayou Blue, Louisiana, the youngest of seven children, and was interested in amateur radio. He served in the Louisiana National Guard from 1924 and the Texas National Guard in the late 1930s, and worked as a draftsman and cartographer. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Army Air Forces in 1942 and served as an intelligence officer with the 5th Bomber Command in the south-west Pacific, earning two Air Medals and a Bronze Star and promotion to major in 1945. In 1946 he took part in Operation Crossroads, the atomic tests at Bikini Atoll, with the 509th Composite Group.[1]
Roswell
In July 1947 Marcel was the intelligence officer at Roswell Army Air Field. After rancher Mac Brazel reported debris, Marcel and counterintelligence officer Capt. Sheridan Cavitt went to the ranch to collect it. Marcel then flew with the material to Fort Worth, where he was photographed with debris that Gen. Roger Ramey's staff identified as a weather balloon.[1][3]
Later life
Marcel transferred to Strategic Air Command in 1948. In 1950 he requested a hardship discharge to care for his mother, left active duty that September, and was finally discharged from the reserves in 1958. He then ran a television repair business in Houma, Louisiana.[1]
The 1978 revival
In 1978 Marcel told nuclear physicist and researcher Stanton Friedman that the balloon story had been a cover and that the debris, which he described as unusually strong and light material, some with symbols, was not from Earth. Interviews with the National Enquirer and the TV series In Search of... in 1980, and the book The Roswell Incident that year, made him famous.[1][3]
Questions about his claims
Researchers including Robert Todd and Karl Pflock found that some of Marcel's claims about himself did not match records: neither Louisiana State University nor George Washington University had records of the degrees he mentioned; he said he had been a gunner who shot down enemy planes, but records show he flew as an intelligence officer; and his Army records list no flying experience despite his claim of a 1928 pilot's licence. Critics argue this undermines his account of Roswell, while supporters say his description of the debris remained consistent.[1][4]
Family
His son, Jesse Marcel Jr., a physician, said for decades that his father showed the family pieces of the debris at their kitchen table in 1947. The Air Force's 1994 report concluded the debris most likely came from Project Mogul.[1][5]
On the UAP Timeline
- Thomas DuBose affidavit on the Roswell debris (8 July 1947) — Col. Thomas DuBose's affidavit says the Roswell debris went via Fort Worth to Wright Field and the balloon photos were a cover story.
- Robert Shirkey affidavit on the Roswell debris flights (8 July 1947) — Lt. Robert Shirkey's affidavit says he saw debris loaded for flights from Roswell to Fort Worth and Wright Field.
- Jesse Marcel Jr.'s account of the Roswell debris (6 March 1991) — Jesse Marcel Jr. says his father showed him strange Roswell debris in 1947.
- Marcel family Roswell debris (12 December 2020) — Jesse Marcel's grandson says his family held unusual Roswell debris.
References
- Jesse Marcel — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- Lily Rothman, "How the Roswell UFO Theory Got Started", Time (7 Jul 2015) · time.com · archived copy
- R. Weaver and J. McAndrew, The Roswell Report: Fact versus Fiction in the New Mexico Desert, U.S. Air Force (1995) · dafhistory.af.mil · archived copy
- Robert G. Todd, "Major Jesse Marcel: Folk Hero or Mythomaniac", The KowPflop Quarterly (1995) · roswellfiles.com · archived copy
- "Roswell author who said he handled UFO crash debris dies at 76", The Guardian / Associated Press (2013) · theguardian.com · archived copy
This page was last edited on 29 October 2026. Articles are written in our own words from the sources listed under References; disputed claims are attributed to the people who made them.
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