The Department of War's seventh PURSUE release includes a declassified 2002 affidavit attributed to former Roswell Air Base Public Information Officer Walter G. Haut, detailing his alleged eyewitness account of an egg-shaped spacecraft and non-human bodies recovered in July 1947. The inclusion marks the first time the U.S. government has officially archived Haut's sworn testimony in a government UAP disclosure document.
The Pentagon released its seventh batch of declassified Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) files on October 23, 2026, under the Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System for UAP Encounters (PURSUE). Among the 28 newly declassified documents is an affidavit attributed to Walter G. Haut, a former military public information officer at Roswell Army Air Field, whose account describes the recovery of a mysterious egg-shaped craft and the bodies of its occupants following the legendary 1947 Roswell incident. The affidavit, sworn in 2002 and previously published in the 2007 book "Witness to Roswell," was not classified by the government at its creation but its inclusion in the official PURSUE archive represents the first formal acknowledgment of the account within federal UAP documentation.
According to Haut's testimony, on July 8, 1947, he attended a staff meeting at Roswell Army Air Field where military officials discussed wreckage collected from a ranch approximately 40 miles north of Roswell. Haut claimed he was ordered to draft a press release announcing the recovery of a "flying disc," which appeared in the local Roswell Daily Record. He stated that after the initial announcement, the narrative was officially changed to claim the debris was from a weather balloon and radar kite. Haut asserted that he personally visited one of the recovery sites and returned to the base with wreckage samples, which he displayed in his office before they mysteriously disappeared.
Haut's most detailed account concerns his alleged visit to a heavily guarded building on the base, identified as "Building 84." He described being shown a recovered craft approximately 12 to 15 feet long, not quite as wide, and about 6 feet high, with a distinctive egg shape. According to his testimony, the craft exhibited a metallic surface but possessed no windows, portholes, wings, tail section, landing gear, or visible propulsion systems. Haut recalled handling debris samples described as resembling metal foil—"paper thin yet extremely strong"—with unusual markings along their length that military personnel could not identify. He stated that fragments varied in composition and appearance, suggesting composite construction rather than conventional aircraft materials.
Most significantly, Haut claimed he observed human remains under canvas at the recovery site. "Also from a distance, I was able to see a couple of bodies under a canvas tarpaulin," Haut stated in the affidavit. "Only the heads extended beyond the covering, and I was not able to make out any features. The heads did appear larger than normal and the contour of the canvas suggested the size of a 10-year-old child." He further reported being told that a temporary morgue had been established at the base to accommodate the recovered bodies. Haut concluded his affidavit with the declaration: "I am convinced that what I personally observed was some type of craft and its crew from outer space."
Historians and UFO researchers have long debated the Roswell incident and the competing narratives surrounding it. The official U.S. military explanation evolved over decades. Initially, the Army Air Forces announced recovery of a "flying disc" on July 8, 1947, fueling international speculation. Within hours, the military retracted the statement, claiming the recovered object was a weather balloon. Decades later, in 1995, the Air Force disclosed that the object was actually a classified reconnaissance balloon from Project Mogul, a program designed to detect Soviet nuclear tests. Subsequent investigations and scholarly analysis attributed the phenomena to misidentified balloon debris and witness misremembering over time. However, alternative accounts from witnesses present at the scene have persisted in historical records and have circulated within UFO researcher communities.
The Pentagon's All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), established to investigate UAP incidents, noted in a 2024 historical review that it found no independently verifiable evidence that the U.S. government had recovered extraterrestrial technology or operated classified reverse-engineering programs. Nevertheless, AARO's conclusions remain contested by whistleblowers and former government officials who have testified before Congress in recent years about classified UAP recovery programs. The inclusion of Haut's affidavit in the official PURSUE archive does not constitute government verification of his claims; the Pentagon stated it was publishing historical records as part of its transparency initiative without endorsing their veracity.
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth issued a statement upon the release: "These files, hidden behind classifications, have long fueled justified speculation—and it's time the American people see it for themselves." The statement reflects the Trump administration's policy of broad declassification of UAP-related government records, a directive signed by the President in February 2026. Officials have emphasized that documents are released as historical records and do not necessarily reflect current government positions on UAP origins or authenticity of witness claims.
The Haut affidavit's publication within the PURSUE archive has already generated substantial media attention and renewed discussion within UFO research communities about Roswell's historical significance. Some researchers argue that the government's decision to formally archive previously private witness testimony suggests a shift in official acknowledgment of UAP accounts, even as government officials maintain that no definitive conclusions can be drawn regarding extraterrestrial origins. UFO tour operator and Roswell researcher Paul Semones told reporters that the newly published account was not historically novel but represented a significant symbolic shift: the U.S. government formally recognizing and preserving testimony about recovered non-human bodies in an official disclosure archive.
The PURSUE portal has now released 478 declassified UAP files across seven tranches since May 8, 2026. The administration has announced that additional documents will be released on a rolling basis, with the Department of War actively working on future releases. The inclusion of the Haut affidavit and other controversial witness accounts alongside documented military UAP sightings and historical reports has expanded the scope of government-sanctioned UAP discourse beyond recent incidents to encompass contested historical narratives. Researchers and journalists are examining the full archive to identify additional eyewitness accounts and government documents that may shed light on decades-old UAP incidents and classified investigations.
