Page 146 of 242
123 hundred-mile flight from Roswell AAF to Fort Worth AAF was at low level, four to five thousand feet. Usually, a B-29 on such a trip flies at twenty-five thousand feet, as its cabin is pres- surized and a B-29 flies better at high altitude. But the bomb bay, where the mysterious crate was carried, cannot be pres- surized, as it is designed to be opened in flight at high altitude so bombs can be dropped. Whatever was in the crate, which was too large to be carried in any other part of the airplane, had to be protected from a major drop in air pressure. Adding to the surreal atmosphere was the presence of the four MPs in the bomb bay. When they arrived at Fort Worth AAF, Ist Lt. Felix Martucci of the 393rd Bomb Squadron told Slusher, "We made history." He did not elaborate, leaving the puzzled sergeant to make of it what he could. The crate was then loaded onto a flatbed weapons carrier and hauled off, accompanied by the MPs, whose need to guard a sealed wooden box was not explained. On the flight back to Roswell, "Capt. Frederick Ewing was the pilot, the co-pilot was Ist Lt. Edgar Izard, Sgt. David Tyner was the engineer, the navigator was James Eubanks. Others involved were S/Sgt. Arthur Osepchook and Cpl. Thaddeus Love. The four MPs also came back with us. "The return flight was above twenty thousand feet, and the cabin was pressurized. The round trip took approximately three hours, fifteen minutes. The flight was unusual in that we flew there, dropped the cargo, and returned immediately. It was a hurried flight; normally we knew the day before [that] there would be a flight. "There was a rumor that the crate had debris from the crash. Whether there were any bodies, I don't know. The crate had been specially made. it had no markings." By flying at low altitude with the special crate, the army planted the idea that whatever was in it, was sensitive to air pressure. That suggests it was not merely scrap pieces of metal brought back by Marcel and Cavitt but rather something bio- logical, such as a body or even a living being. But this is only a supposition, based solely on circumstantial evidence. RETRIEVAL AND SHIPMENT