I did a small amount of journalistic writing when I was much younger, and that experience is often not as heavily researched and certainly not produced in a manner on parrallel with publishing a book. I have spent many years developing a personal style of investigation, and now I need to know ATS' opininion of the value of this specific subject as a first book.

The Bad:
Never, ever be a vendor in Roswell. The Roswell UFO Festival will have to have some major miracle to survive the strife, errors, bad will, lawsuits I've been told are coming relating to the overt as well as covert mistakes made, the fact they may have squirrelled away as much as $60,000 that was supposed to promote it, and instead may have gone into Museum pockets, outright lies (proof positive just for the asking for copies of the pictures ), and a seemingly unending amount of doubnle speak, evading contact with vendors who really need answers, etc, etc.....

The Incredibly Great:
HOWEVER!!!!! Something wonderful. While in Roswell for July 4, a very humble and frail gentleman of an advanced age wheeled his wheelchair to my vendor booth and very sincerely and self assuredly stated that he and his sister actually witnessed the crash itself in 1947. This young man is now in his upper 70s and in poor health so he has now decided he wants to tell the story before it is too late.I believe in what we Christians call the spiritual gif of discernment, which implies that I believe I can understand when someone is truthful and when one is not, This man is telling it as he believe it.

So...................

Two things. Does this merit the scrutiny of a book of it's own? Personally I think it would almost be a crime not to. He offered to allow me to video and audio tape his testimony, and the portions he has already discussed are all items to get excited about. Of course, I can't discuss them yet because of confidentiality and the need for collabration, verification, and other research as well.I am very tired writing this, but I do have exclusive rights to this story. If I can develop an unbiased approach, which is not far from completion and then execute that plan, this could become one of the greatest, if not THE greatest UFO case file on the whole Roswell experience. There has never been anyone make claims such as he has to me.

I welcome ATS to participate in any manner you like. Research takes time, people, money, and more. If you would like to be a part of this very important research let me know.Send me input. Questions to ask. Mini outlines to tell the story. If there is enough interest in this thread, I will post my own outline for constructive criticism. The gentlema believes what he has to say, and ATS can come with me to capture his story. Let me know if interested.

Thanks

Originally posted by samstone11
While in Roswell for July 4, a very humble and frail gentleman of an advanced age wheeled his wheelchair to my vendor booth and very sincerely and self assuredly stated that he and his sister actually witnessed the crash itself in 1947.

Is this someone that has come forward before?

If not, without wishing to be rude, why come forward to you at this point and give you "exclusive rights" to his story?

In relation to your query about a book, I doubt a single additional Roswell witness at this point would be able to provide enough material to make a book worthwhile but, hey, it depends on what he has to say (and, crucially, whether he has any evidence in support of his story).

Most of the questions to start with are fairly obvious:

(1) what did he see?
(2) when?
(3) where?
(4) who else was present? What do they say about what they saw?
(5) what evidence does he have in support of his story?
(6) when did he first tell someone else about what he claims to have seen? What does that person recall being told?

Originally posted by samstone11
I believe in what we Christians call the spiritual gif of discernment, which implies that I believe I can understand when someone is truthful and when one is not, This man is telling it as he believe it.

The fact that so many people believe that they can tell when someone is truthful and when one is not helps explain why so many people can make a comfortable living as con-men. Confidence tricksters are able to rely upon this (false) believe that merely looking at someone's body language enables you to tell if someone is telling the truth.

At this stage, most people would be cautious about the claims made by a supposed Roswell crash witness - or, indeed, a researcher claiming to have met someone that claims to have seen the crash (hence it being desirable to video any interviews and also get an affidavit signed by the relevant witness)...

While you may believe this gentleman, many many people will not. Indeed, without more details, many of the more experienced members of ATS will doubt he exists and that you are telling the truth.

A good starting point when investigating this story would be, instead of believing everything you are told, to adopt an attitude that extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.

All the best,

Isaac

I for one believe in discernment as well, I think that's an interesting part if your post. That being said, I'd love to read what you're working on when you're finished, in fact you should let me know if/when you do get it ready for release! Good luck with the interview, I hope the man has an interesting story. There's always something great about gearing the stories of those who are older than us.

My first impulse would be to contact and solicit the opinions of those who have long and valuable experience in Roswell. Stanton Friedman would be a good start. There is a possibility, however remote, that your guy has approached others before, and may well be a known con-man. Or he may indeed be a true witness to the events. But definitely get the input of those who have many years of experience in this field....

I would say if you do write a book or article, start from the viewpoint that what the man says is untrue (even if your gut tells you otherwise) and then see where the evidence takes you. It should be up to him to convince you he is telling the truth and that means more than just appearing honest. Try and be objective even if your personal opinion is that he is the real deal.

*Ask, scrutinize, and validate anything and everything you are told.
*Be courteous, but maintain a healthy skepticism.
*Remove your own biases and preconceived notions about any witness behavior or testimony. Statement you've made like this one are dangerous and will impact your journalistic impartiality:

...I believe in what we Christians call the spiritual gif of discernment, which implies that I believe I can understand when someone is truthful and when one is not...

*ASK FOR EVIDENCE! ANY EVIDENCE! What you need is something - anything - that is exclusive and as yet non-disclosed, but (hopefully) verifiable. For example, does your witness have any other names, additional witnesses, etc., that have not yet come forward but can be 'looked up' and confirmed to have existed, been present at the time, etc? Does your witness have an artifact, photo, revelation that has not yet been discussed, published or otherwise in the public domain?

What you need is a "hook", something that will substantiate the exclusivity of your witness' account. This will go far in setting apart your witness from someone else who may simply be delusional, seeking fame, or just passing misinformation for their own nefarious reasons. Again - your "hunch" or "feeling" of believability is your own alone. Without their own ability or means to interview or meet; Your readers will ultimately demand more than your "feelings" to make your witness testimony believable to them.

Good luck with this project. It will likely be interesting reading. I would certainly read it. Just remember that some will read it as potentially a work of fiction rather then a factual eye-witness account if you convey the impression that you are merely a mouthpiece for a 'story-teller' rather than an investigative reporter...

Good luck

Hello, Isaac and thanks for your help. I will try to answer your comments/questions in brief.

No, this gentleman has never told his story before. Further, he actually has not yet addressed his rationale beyond unwanted criticism and his belief that it wasn't important enough to him personally to invite the attention. Personally, I will likely question this particular motive as I know very few teenagers the age he was when this event occurred who would not revel in a spotlight.

The "exclusive rights" also is somewhat mystifying to me as well. I most certainly am no one special, famous, and haven't been published since my college years (we were still using cave drawings back then). The closest I can come to understanding this concern myself is this: the gentleman rides a wheelchair to and from the merchants in town and I was just the closest, quickest, and easiest to get to. I admit it sounds beyond fortuitous, but if true I definitely won't complain about a bit of good luck.

In my professional career (hospice), I am accustomed to extremely thorough reports and documentation. I have always thought my wife could write 10 books a day just by recording all of the talking she does, and the truth is that with complete and appropriate research multiple volumes could be written on one witness. Of course, what sets this apart is the potential that he could be one-of-a-kind, and any documentation would have to address his background, his reputation, his family, viability of his assertions, verification of same, transcripts, and much more. The trick, thus the reason for my initial inquiry about the possibility of writing a book, is how to keep it interesting and if the public would have a deep enough appetite for his story. I do have answers for some of your questions, and I would most certainly want to see if they can be substantiated.

Sort of good news is that I would expect to come out quite well when others begin to look into my own background and personal reputation. I have spent many years working in the public for hospice as both a business owner and a patient advocate. The statement I made regarding "discernment" is based on a successful career in hiring, firing, advocacy (as mentioned above), the necessity to be politically involved, the tendency for the politicians I had to work with to not tell the entire truth, a great deal of moderating between the minimum of two sides to every story whenever hard decisions had to be made, and more. I have been accused of everything from a saint to any type of sinner you can imagine, but con man would be new. There are many individuals of high character in my community whom I am more than certain would readily vouch for my intentions, morals, and ethics. One more thought: as a businessman in the hospice industry, I must also concern myself with how much I have to lose. Credibility is crucial for my work, and we all know that a large portion of the public has a pretty negative viewpoint of those involved in this type of research.

I agree that caution is extremely important. You are absolutely correct in advising that audio and video recording would be mandatory. This approach would also help others in making their own determinations regarding what they choose to believe and not believe. You mentioned that many will not believe him, and truthfully he would be an easy target for naysayers and skeptics. Frankly, I have not yet decided whether or not I believe him entirely myself. What I am prepared to say, is I believe he believes it. If done correctly, any documentation would by necessity have to be completely objective. On that front, I think I would be a very good candidate for authoring his story as I worry that those who have too much invested in their reputation, either yea or nay, could quickly skew the record irrevocably in one direction or another. It would be my intention to offer facts as related, a substantive due diligence, and if I have any opinions, they will be expressly described as such.It would be a shame to see the gentleman "roasted", and this seems to lend additional credibility to his claims. At his age, he says he only wants to tell his story before it is too late, and his health is overtly failing. In other words, it would seem he would be much safer and probably better off if he did not invite the onslaught of scrutiny upon himself and his family at his age and position in life.

As for his "existence", this is quickly and undeniably established. Again, if anything, I fear for the intense scrutiny he will be inviting on himself. This does lead to a new consideration, however. In good conscience, would you agree that it would be important that I make absolutely certain he understands exactly what that means? There is always the chance no one would notice, I turn out to be such a poor writer or researcher his story never gets published, no one is interested for various and sundry reasons and he lives his life out as before. But if he does garner a great deal of attention, would I not have a moral imperative to try and establish some support mechanism for him and/or his family in advance? At least aggressively warn them of the potential for all the negative attention?

Incredible claims, incredible evidence. That's the thing in a nutshell. If there is nothing to report, I definitely cannot invest in presenting it. If it appears he has enough to say and something to support it, I would also hate to sit on that information. Wouldn't you?

Thank you for the stimulating notes. I will do my best to remember your input and do us all at ATS proud if there is something to it.

Best Regards to You And Yours,


---Sam

Thank you, Mapkar, for the encouragement. I have made a note, and will honor your request to keep you informed. Please see my additional comments for minor new information as is.

Thanks, Sam

I completely support you journaling his testimony of the events he experienced back then. If anything, for you as an astonishing witness of the events that took place in 1947. I like you, am privy to knowledge told to me by someone else that I cannot go public with, for fear of my safety, so that is the only thing I can recommend for you is to consider your safety and your families safety and whether it is worth- getting into on a public scale. On a personal scale- i say go ahead and do it. But, as to go public with it- this could open a whole can of worms for you that you wont be able to close easily. Best of luck, and Id love to hear what he has to say!