Issued Infamous 1947 Roswell Release, Founded UFO Museum

Aero-News has learned Walter Haut, the US Army Lieutenant who issued a press release that forever cast doubt that mankind is all alone in the universe, died in Roswell, NM on December 15. He was 83.

Haut, a former spokesman for the Roswell Army Air Field, was only doing his job when he took dictation from base commander Col. William Blanchard on a warm July day in 1947. What was the message Blanchard gave to him? That the Army had recovered a flying saucer outside of town.

Haut issued the release, according to the AP, which was picked up the next day by the Roswell Daily Record and ran under the striking headline "RAAF Captures Flying Saucer on Ranch in Roswell Region."

The date was July 9, 1947, and it forever put Roswell -- then a tiny southeastern-New Mexico town best known for its artesian wells -- on the map.

The Army quickly retracted its earlier statement about the flying saucer, issuing a follow-up stating the object recovered on W.W. "Mack" Brazel's ranch was actually a weather balloon -- and thus an entire movement -- some would say a mythology -- was created.

For his part, Haut later founded Roswell's International UFO Museum with Max Littell and Glenn Dennis.

Aero-News isn't entirely sure the sentiment "Gone West" is appropriate here -- not out of any disrespect, but rather since compass directions serve no purpose in space. We can only assume, though, that Walter Haut now knows the truth that's... out there.

FMI: www.iufomrc.com