U.S. Army Lt. Walter Haut (Ret).
The officer who issued the press release stating ‘RAAF Captures Flying Disk’ in New Mexico dead at 83.
ALBUQUERQUE
-- Army Lt. Walter Haut, made famous for issuing a news release that said a
flying saucer landed in Roswell, New Mexico, has died, his daughter, Julie
Shuster, said. He was 83.
Haut, a former spokesman for the Roswell Army Air Field, listened closely on July 8, 1947, as base commander Col. William Blanchard dictated a news release about a recovered flying saucer and ordered Haut to issue it.
The Roswell Daily Record newspaper ran a bold headline on July 9, 1947: "RAAF Captures Flying Saucer on Ranch in Roswell Region."
The same day, a statement was released saying it was only a weather balloon.
Haut _ who died Thursday -- said he never was told exactly where the flying disc reported in his news release was found nor did he ever see a UFO. But he remained a believer.
Haut and two other men founded The International UFO Museum in 1991 where he was president until 1996. More than 2 1/2 million people have visited the museum since it opened in 1992, Shuster said. (AP)
UFODATA A true gentleman amongst the few who have comeclosest to grabbing the UFO phenomena by the throat, OneRoswell witness who can prove beyond doubt that ‘He was there’. God Bless you Walter…
December 19, 2005