Roswell Legacy How A Town Became Ufo Central

By Lee Speigel

AOLNews.com

6-30-10

(June 30) -- Sixty-three years ago, something fell out of the sky near Roswell, N.M., launching decades of speculation about the true nature of the object.

Was it an extraterrestrial spacecraft that crashed in 1947, killing its alien occupants, or -- as the military originally claimed -- nothing more than a weather balloon?

"It wasn't a weather balloon. I could swear on the biggest Bible there is. It wasn't a missile, it wasn't any part of any kind of aircraft that we know," said Maj. Jesse Marcel, who served as intelligence officer at Roswell Army Air Field (RAAF) in 1947.

But enough people favor the alien spaceship theory to warrant a huge annual festival this weekend, as Roswell -- or, if you will, UFO central -- celebrates the 63rd anniversary of the event that turned the 50,000-resident town into a global UFO culture destination.

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See Also:

The Joiner Report: Live From Roswell! Jesse Marcel Verifies Roswell Event " />

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