Jesse Marcel Sr.

Intelligence Officer

Intelligence officer who handled initial recovery of Roswell debris and later claimed the material was unlike conventional aircraft wreckage. Jesse Antoine Marcel Sr. (1907–1986) was a Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Army Air Forces who served as the intelligence officer for the 509th Bombardment Group at Roswell Army Air Field in 1947. WWII Service: Marcel played an integral role in planning the atomic bomb missions over Hiroshima and Nagasaki, receiving two Air Medals and a Bronze Star for his combat service in the Pacific Theater. Roswell Investigation: On July 7, 1947, Marcel led the recovery team at the crash site near Corona, New Mexico. He initially reported the discovery of a "flying disc," but the Air Force quickly retracted this, claiming the debris was from a weather balloon (later identified as part of the classified Project Mogul). Extraterrestrial Claims: Marcel consistently maintained that the recovered debris was "not made by human hands," describing it as lightweight, indestructible, and bearing indecipherable markings. He believed the material was of extraterrestrial origin