The [[Roswell Incident]] is the alleged crash of a [[Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena|UAP]] in the desert near Roswell, New Mexico, in July 1947. The event is considered by many to be the foundational incident of the modern UAP era and the beginning of the U.S. government's long-standing policy of secrecy and denial on the subject.[^1] ### The Crash and Recovery According to information shared with [[Luis Elizondo]] by [[Hal Puthoff]], a UAP did in fact crash near a government test facility in Roswell in 1947. The craft broke into two debris fields, and the U.S. Army initially believed it was a foreign reconnaissance vehicle. However, they soon realized that the craft was not of human origin. It was hypothesized that the craft, which was conducting reconnaissance of the U.S. atomic program, was inadvertently downed by an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) from one of the nearby test ranges.[^1] Puthoff also confirmed to Elizondo that four deceased non-human bodies were recovered from the crash site. Witnesses to the debris reported seeing strange hieroglyphic-like markings on the material, which was described as a lightweight, incredibly strong, and metallic-like fabric.[^1] ### The Cover-Up The U.S. government quickly moved to cover up the incident. The initial story of a "flying saucer" crash was retracted and replaced with the now-famous cover story of a downed weather balloon. The government has since revised its explanation for the incident at least twice, including the claim that it was part of "Project Mogul," a top-secret project to detect Soviet atomic tests using high-altitude balloons.[^1] The Roswell Incident established the playbook for the government's handling of UAP for decades to come: deny everything, retrieve all materials, intimidate witnesses into silence, and create a climate of ridicule and stigma around the topic. This policy of secrecy was driven by the desire to reverse-engineer the advanced technology and to prevent public panic and exploitation by foreign adversaries.[^1] ### Significance The Roswell Incident is the bedrock of the modern UAP narrative and the alleged origin of the "Legacy Program," the deeply hidden effort to retrieve and reverse-engineer UAP technology. The event has been the subject of countless books, documentaries, and investigations, and it remains a potent symbol of government secrecy and the public's right to know.[^1] ### Footnotes [^1]: Elizondo, Luis. *Imminent*. William Morrow, 2024.