Fig. 72. “Their heads were hairless ... no eyebrows, no eyelashes, no hair,” a likely description of Alderson Laboratories type anthropomorphic dummy. These Alderson dummies, of the same type used for Projects High Dive/Excelsior, were used to test NASA’s Apollo spacecraft three-man couch at Holloman AFB, N.M. in 1965. (U.S. Air Force photo)
Assessment
This description of events also indicates that the eyewitness apparently did not closely examine the scene and was “just starting to look things over” when the military arrived. As with the previous testimony, from a distance the dummies were likely to look, as described by the witness, “not exactly like humans ... similar but not exactly.” The description of the flying saucer that had “burst open” is a likely description of the dummy suspension rack that was open on the sides (see figures [74], [75], [76]). The detailed descriptions of the “beings” as “about three and a half to four feet tall, very slim in stature ... their heads were hairless, with no eyebrows, no eyelashes, no hair,” with “hands that were not covered” and “had only four fingers,” is a likely description of an Alderson Research Laboratories model anthropomorphic dummy. The head of the Alderson dummy was “bald” and the area of the eyebrows protruded but had no “hair” (see figure [72]). Also, a distinguishing feature of the Alderson dummy, unlike the Sierra dummy, was that it had individual fingers not covered by gloves that were often damaged during the tests resulting in the loss of fingers (see figures [35], 73, 75).
Due to the secondhand nature of these accounts, even UFO theorists were not convinced that this “incident” actually occurred. Corroborating testimony of a firsthand witness was necessary to verify these claims. The firsthand testimony is examined next.
The Firsthand Account
This testimony became part of the Roswell Incident in 1990 following an episode of the television program Unsolved Mysteries.[122] Following a dramatized re-creation on the program, persons with information concerning this event were encouraged to call a special toll free telephone number.
From the outset, some UFO theorists were skeptical of this testimony due to the amount of detail provided from the witness who was only five years old in 1947. In fact, UFO organizations sponsored a conference in February 1992 to evaluate the testimony for authenticity.[123] The witness was asked to take a polygraph examination, which he passed.[124] Many UFO enthusiasts remained skeptical of the claims and denounced this testimony as “no more than a fabrication.”[125]
Unless otherwise noted, two sources of testimony attributed to the witness have been used in this examination; interviews used to prepare the video Recollections of Roswell Part II by the Fund for UFO Research (see [Appendix C]) and Crash at Corona by Don Berliner and Stanton Friedman (passages from this book were used only when exact quotations of the witness were indicated).
Gerald Anderson