Hangar 18 — Key Persons Directory

Hangar 18 — Key Persons Directory

Military Witnesses

Lt. Col. Oliver Henderson (USAF, Ret.)

Decorated World War II pilot stationed at Roswell AAF in 1947. Told his wife Sappho that he personally piloted a cargo of Roswell debris and seven small alien bodies from Roswell to Wright Field. Maintained secrecy throughout his career; account shared by his widow and children after his death.

Marion "Black Mac" Magruder (USMC, WWII Ace)

World War II Marine Corps fighter ace. Claimed to have seen a living alien at Wright Field in 1947 — presumably a Roswell crash survivor. Told his children: "It was a shameful thing that the military destroyed this creature by conducting tests on it." Account shared by his family posthumously.

Col. Thomas DuBose (USAF)

General Ramey's chief of staff at Fort Worth in 1947. Gave a sworn affidavit stating that what Ramey displayed to the press was substitute material and that the actual Roswell debris had already been forwarded to Wright Field.

Brigadier General Arthur Exon

Former WPAFB base commander who, in interviews with Carey and Schmitt, spoke about materials being tested at the base and analysis of "what they had from the crash at Roswell." Did not specifically confirm Hangar 18 but confirmed that materials were examined at WPAFB.

Political Witnesses

Senator Barry Goldwater (R-AZ)

Republican presidential nominee 1964; Major General USAFR. Attempted multiple times to gain access to the Blue Room at Wright-Patterson; denied access by General LeMay with a warning never to ask again. Made multiple public statements over decades about being denied access to UFO materials at WPAFB. Key quote: "He said, 'Not only can you not get in there, but don't you ever mention it to me again.'"

Military Officials (Denials)

General Curtis LeMay

Air Force Chief of Staff; refused Goldwater's Blue Room access request; reaction characterized as furious. His emphatic refusal to a sitting senator and Air Force Reserve general has been interpreted as evidence of genuine institutional sensitivity.

UFO Researchers

Leonard Stringfield

UFO researcher; compiled multiple volumes of crash-retrieval testimony including extensive accounts pointing to Wright-Patterson as primary storage facility; UFO Crash Retrievals Status Reports I–VII (1978–1994).

Thomas J. Carey

UFO researcher; co-author (with Schmitt) of UFO Secrets Inside Wright-Patterson: Eyewitness Accounts from the Real Area 51 (2019); conducted extensive witness interviews regarding WPAFB's alleged UFO holdings.

Donald R. Schmitt

UFO researcher; co-author (with Carey) of multiple Roswell and WPAFB books; conducted extensive witness interviews; longtime collaborator with Stanton Friedman.

Stanton Friedman (1928–2019)

Nuclear physicist; initiated the civilian investigation of Roswell in the 1970s; wrote extensively on MJ-12, Roswell, and Wright-Patterson connections; author of Flying Saucers and Science, TOP SECRET/MAJIC, Crash at Corona.

Disclosure Era Figures

David Grusch

Former Air Force intelligence officer and NGA representative; provided sworn congressional testimony July 26, 2023, naming WPAFB as historically associated with stored non-human materials and crash-retrieval programs.

John Greenewald Jr.

Founder, The Black Vault; filed FOIA requests documenting the December 2024 WPAFB drone incursions and the removal of "black cube" from the FAA public database; primary FOIA researcher on contemporary WPAFB incidents.

Origin of the Legend

Robert Spencer Carr

Science fiction author; made the October 1974 radio broadcast that popularized the name "Hangar 18" and specifically connected it to Wright-Patterson and the Aztec incident; credibility significantly undermined by his son's posthumous account of his fabrication habits.

Skeptics

Thomas E. Bullard

Academic folklorist who studies UFO mythology; described the Hangar 18 film and associated mythology as "nascent Roswell mythology"; has analyzed the legend's development from folkloric and cultural perspectives without making claims about its factual basis.