New Mexico Myths and Legends by Marriott Barbara;

Author:Marriott, Barbara;
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781493015856
Publisher: Globe Pequot Press, The
Published: 2015-07-23T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER NINE

The Crash That Never Happened

It was late June 1947, in the years before satellites and trips to the moon, before space stations and stem cell research. On that early-summer day, nature was ripping through New Mexico with its usual enthusiasm. The air sizzled with ozone, the aftermath of the lightning bolts that tore the sky apart. Thunder had its say as it rumbled through the mountains and crept over the plains. The ranchers had seen and heard it all before, but on this summer day something was different; added to the clanging cacophony of nature was a new sound, one that boomed over the thunder of the storm.

It takes a lot to surprise a rancher. When you live with nature on its lowest level, you learn to accept the unexpected. So although the ranchers noted the sound, none went out into the monsoon storm to locate the cause of it. They figured that they could find out later, when they checked their cattle and their fence lines, whether the big boom had affected them.

It wasn’t until days later, in the beginning of July, that Mark Brazel headed out to do just that, to check his pastures, his livestock, and his fence lines. Brazel was the foreman of the Foster Ranch. The ranch raised some cattle but mostly sheep, and it was Brazel’s responsibility to oversee this spread. That day he was accompanied by his favorite riding partner, seven-year-old Timmy “Dee” Proctor. It was Dee’s dream to be a big-time rancher like Brazel, and he was an enthusiastic partner who often accompanied the cowboy on his rounds. On that fateful day, both Brazel and Dee were to learn much more than they ever dreamed, and it would change their lives forever.

It was July Fourth when Dee and Brazel rode into one of the pastures. Amazingly, it was covered with hundreds of pieces of shiny metal. It looked like pieces of aluminum in sizes ranging from a few inches to a foot or two. When they dismounted and picked up a piece, they were surprised at its lightness. Crumpling the material in their hands was easy because of its thinness and flexibility. However, when they opened their fists, the material sprang back into its original shape. This characteristic of the material astounded both the adult and the child. Because of this amazing peculiarity, the material was given the nickname “memory metal.”

In ranch country news travels fast, and some neighbors were able to visit the site. They picked up pieces of the material and carted them home for souvenirs. However, when neighbor Bud Palmer went to round up a stray near where Brazel had found the debris, military personnel stopped him and escorted him away from the area. In the ensuing days the military clamped down hard on news of what was later described as a UFO crash. Reportedly, in house-to-house searches, the military confiscated the souvenirs and warned people to say nothing of what they saw or knew.

Initially Brazel did not try to keep anything secret.

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