Fig. 22. (Below) Steel panels painted Air Force blue (lower right and left) described as “bluish-purplish” “wreckage” that looked “kinda like the bottom of a canoe.” (U.S. Air Force photo)
The “inscription or something,”[213] the so called “hieroglyphics,” were a probable reference to the lettering painted on the equipment support rack above the panels. The lettering on the rack would be visible, but probably not readable, to an observer that quickly walked past the ambulance. Other wreckage “all over the floor” that was “like broken glass,”[214] was a probable reference to the clear plastic 30-foot polyethylene balloon that was recovered following the balloon training mission and placed in the back of the converted ambulance or the weapons carrier for later disposal.
Dennis also recalled that he parked the vehicle he was driving near three field ambulances and then walked up the ramp into the hospital.[215] The description of ambulances near a “ramp” is consistent with the recollections of the Balloon Branch Communication Technician who drove the converted ambulance to the Walker AFB hospital following the balloon accident. While waiting for the injured pilots, A2C Ole Jorgeson, now a retired Master Sergeant, recalled in a recent interview that he parked the converted ambulance near a ramp at the hospital.[216] A review of Walker AFB hospital records revealed that there was only one ramp. The ramp was attached to the hospital dispensary, Walker AFB Bldg. 317.[217] The other ambulances described by the witness were either the other ambulance from Holloman AFB that provided medical support of the balloon flight or the two “standby” ambulances, that in May 1959, were routinely positioned adjacent to the ramp behind the dispensary at Walker AFB.[218]
Fig. 23. “It was all sharp ... like broken glass,” a witness’ description of debris in the rear of an ambulance at Walker AFB. The debris described was most probably the remnants of the polyethylene balloon, similar to the one in this photo, recovered by Balloon Branch personnel following the mishap in May 1959. (U.S. Air Force photo)
Additional Security at the
Walker AFB Hospital
The witness described what appeared to be a heightened state of security at the hospital when he allegedly took the injured airman there for treatment. UFO theorists contend the heightened security at the hospital was because alien remains were being autopsied. However, it appears that the witness described the security measures taken by Walker AFB personnel due to the unusual circumstances of the arrival of the balloon crew.
In 1959, Walker AFB was a part of the 47th Air Division of Strategic Air Command (SAC). It was home of the 6th Bombardment Wing (6th BW), equipped with the nuclear capable B-52 Stratofortress bomber (the 509th BW was reassigned to Pease AFB, NH on July 1, 1958).[219] The mission of the 6th BW, to strike the enemy with nuclear weapons anywhere in the world at a moment’s notice, demanded a heightened state of security at all times. One of the methods instituted during this period to maintain the high standards of security and effectiveness of SAC units, was unannounced “surprise” visits of Headquarters SAC inspection teams. A favored method of transportation for these surprise visits was a helicopter. When a SAC inspection team landed at a base, often the first evaluation they made was of the security response to their unannounced arrival. Failure of security personnel to properly challenge unidentified visitors, regardless of their method of arrival, was considered a serious breach of security.
When transported to Walker AFB for medical treatment, unexpected and at an early hour, the balloon crew, not surprisingly, was met by armed security personnel.[220] The security personnel escorted them to the hospital and remained with them until their identities and purpose of their visit were verified. Kaufman, one of the balloon pilots, recalled that their presence at Walker AFB was initially met with skepticism.
“The [helicopter] pilot called the tower and said ... having come from an experimental base, it was nothing unusual for him to have a balloon accident. ‘We’ve got an injured pilot on board. There’s been a balloon accident and we would like the flight surgeon and an ambulance to meet us at the tower.’ The tower established the fact that yes, we were an Air Force chopper and that we seemed to have somebody injured and what had we been doing? We had been shooting touch and go landings in a balloon?... We got clearance to land ... right in front of the tower, and we were met by an ambulance and several MPs with machine guns.”[221]