McGovern remained in specialized photography during his 20-year career in the military. When he retired in 1961, he was stationed at Vandenberg AFB, California, where he was the commander of the Photographic Squadron. After his retirement from the military, he became the civilian chief of the photographic division for the Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards AFB, California. A Professional Assessment ------------------------- Part of the modus operandi of the military is regimentation, discipline, and strict adherence to prescribed procedures. That is the way it has to be. The mission of the military demands it. Military photographers are no exception. They receive much the same training and are subject to the same rules and regulations as other soldiers. Dan McGovern, Bill Gibson, and Joe Longo all viewed the alien autopsy footage, as well as photocopies of film box labels furnished by Santilli to TF1, supposedly supplied by his cameraman. The three former military cameramen all noted a number of significant discrepancies -- some of which are described below -- in both the film itself and the story behind it. From the standpoint of appropriate military procedures applicable at the time and which would have definitely been followed, the scenario recounted by Santilli's alleged cameraman makes no sense. The cameraman claims that he was stationed in Washington, D.C., and flown on June 1, 1947, to Roswell, New Mexico. McGovern, Gibson, and Longo point out, however, that there were qualified cameramen with top-secret security clearances stationed at military installations all over the country, including New Mexico. Cameramen, both motion and still, from a local military installation such as Roswell or Alamagordo -- not from Washington, D.C. -- would have been dispatched immediately to the scene. According to Santilli, his cameraman claims that he processed the film himself and that authorities in Washington did not bother to collect all the reels. Our three cameramen consider this claim total nonsense. On top -secret projects, a cameraman never, under any circumstances, processed the film himself. Additionally, military regulations required that all film, developed or undeveloped, had to be accounted for -- not just every reel, but every frame of every reel. To ensure compliance, either the length of the film on a reel was physically measured (e.g., 99 feet, 10 frames) or a machine called a frame counter was used. Furthermore, according to Santilli's cameraman, there were only three autopsies. The footage he allegedly kept covered a major part of one of those autopsies. On that basis alone, it is inconceivable that the authorities overseeing the operation would have overlooked so much missing film. Three basic types of film were used by the military in 1947, 16mm color, 35mm black and white, and 16mm black and white. For very special or important projects (as the autopsy of an alien would have been) 16mm color film was used. Furthermore, McGovern, who filmed a number of autopsies, was very positive that all medical procedures were shot in color. He also stated that for important medical procedures, two cameras were used, both in fixed positions. The first camera was mounted on a tripod sitting on a riser (for extra elevation) adjacent to the operating or autopsy table. The second camera was overhead, mounted on the ceiling. Our three cameramen pointed out that a motion picture cameraman would almost always be accompanied by a still photographer. The two would work together as a team. During an autopsy, every step of the procedure would be carefully photographed by the still photographer, who would invariably be visible in the motion picture. (Medical people have also stated that still pictures definitely would have been taken.) In the Santilli alien autopsy film, there is no evidence whatsoever that stills were taken. Even the technique of Santilli's cameraman, according to our three cameramen, was inconsistent with the highly standardized procedures and methods used by military cameramen at that time. McGovern, Gibson, and Longo are in a position to know -- all three trained other military cameramen. All three consider the quality of the camera work in the Santilli film appalling and, for a myriad of reasons, not even close to meeting military standards. As Joe Longo put it, If anybody in my unit shot film in that manner, he'd be back scrubbing pots in the kitchen. According to the box label submitted by Santilli, the film used was Kodak High Speed Super-XX Panchromatic Safety Film. According to McGovern, Gibson, and Longo, with a Bell and Howell Model 70 (the camera used by the alleged cameraman), the depth of field should have been very good when using this film. Consequently, even with the apparent mediocre lighting conditions in the Santilli autopsy film, the picture quality should have been excellent. Our cameramen all agreed that using the Bell and Howell Model 70 and Super-XX film, with the focus set at 25 feet and the aperture at F-8, under normal indoor lighting, everything from about a foot and a half to infinity would be in focus. This should have been the case with the Santilli film, but it obviously was not. McGovern concluded that the Santilli film was deliberately blurred so that no subject is visible in detail. McGovern, Gibson, and Longo also noted problems with the labeling on the film box. For example, the seal with the eagle -- probably placed there to give it an official look -- was something none of them had ever seen. In their experience, of the thousands of boxes of film ordered by the military from Kodak, none were stamped with seals. One of the Santilli labels reads Reel # 52 Truman 85 Filter 2/3 stop Force X 2 stop - Possible. All three cameramen noted that an 85 filter was used only with color film. The 2/3 stop indicates the amount of light that would be blocked bythe filter and Force X 2 stopindicates the amount of additional exposure time required to compensate for the resultant loss of light. In effect, it is a prescription for underexposing and then compensating by overdeveloping the film -- a procedure that would unnecessarily increase the graininess and lower the resolution of the picture. An additional discrepancy concerning the labeling on the film box was caught by McGovern. McGovern, who was born and received his early education in Ireland, noticed immediately that the writing on the box was in European -style handwriting -- something that would have been most unusual for a cameraman who was supposedly born and raised and had spent most of his life in Ohio. An Offer by Colonel McGovern ---------------------------- Even if, despite all the previously mentioned discrepancies, business partners Ray Santilli and Volker Spielberg submit a suitable sample of film to Kodak and, against all expectations, the film is authenticated as 1947 vintage, it would still be necessary to authenticate the ultimate source of the film -- the cameraman. Without the cameraman, this film is like a loose piece of celluloid floating in the wind, not anchored to reality. No matter how convincing, no laboratory test anywhere would in itself constitute complete authentication of the film and what it purports to represent. On the basis of the information that has been made available to him, Dan McGovern, like his colleagues, Bill Gibson and Joe Longo, feels the Santilli film is a fraud. However, McGovern is willing to keep an open mind and to give Santilli the benefit of the doubt. Just as Kodak has offered to authenticate the film, Colonel McGovern has offered to authenticate the cameraman. McGovern would require the cameraman's full name and serial number so that he could verify his military service with the Air Force Records Center in St. Louis, Missouri. Colonel McGovern, a man of his word and a man who has held a top-secret security clearance, would reveal only his conclusion. He would keep all other information, including the cameraman's identity, strictly confidential, revealing it to no one. The secret of the alleged cameraman's identity would surely be safer with McGovern, who has no axe to grind, than it would be with the two foreign businessmen who are now supposedly aware of it and who would have much to gain by revealing the name, since the value of their film would soar with confirmation of the cameraman. Aside from the cameraman's name and serial number, the only other requirement of Colonel McGovern is that the cameraman make one 15-minute phone call to McGovern. At the time of his retirement, McGovern was one of the highest ranking photographic managers in the military. Considering his experience, he is probably the most qualified person available to evaluate the alleged cameraman. In short, authentication by him would be of extreme value because no impostor in the world could fool Colonel Dan McGovern. Furthermore, Santilli's alleged cameraman, who was stationed in Washington D.C. in June 1947, would surely enjoy talking with McGovern because, in addition to a common background and probable common acquaintances, they have something else unique in common. In June 1947, Colonel Dan McGovern was a motion picture project officer for the Air Force -- stationed in Washington, D.C. The Kodak-McGovern Challenge ---------------------------- Many have now charged that the alien autopsy film is a fraud and the marketing scheme surrounding it an absolute scam. It is possible, however, to quickly and easily lay all doubt to rest, once and for all. Two very reasonable offers of verification have been made -- Eastman Kodak to verify the film, and Colonel McGovern the cameraman. Verification by either would increase the monetary value of the film exponentially. Both Mr. Santilli and Mr. Spielberg have stated unequivocally that they believe the film genuine. If that is truly the case, they would have nothing to lose and everything to gain by submitting the film for verification. As experienced businessmen, they are certainly fully aware of that fact. Let them then stand behind their word and, as any reasonable person or businessman would do under such circumstances, accept either Kodak's offer or Colonel McGovern's, or, preferably, both. Unfortunately, that is not likely to happen. We will almost certainly never see the acceptance of either offer. If past actions are any indication of future actions, as surely as the sun rises and sets, Santilli and Spielberg will continue to make excuses, false claims, and abundant promises with regard to authentication, but they will never follow through. They unquestionably have little choice. To prove an article genuine, in reality, it has to be genuine. To prove you are telling the truth, in reality, you have to be telling the truth. One cannot deliver what does not exist. A pattern of continually maneuvering to conceal or withhold critical evidence, as we have seen in this case, leads only to one inescapable conclusion -- there is no cameraman and there is no film. According to a well-known story, it was once pointed out to nineteenth century showman and circus owner Phineas T. Barnum that customers were angry with him because they found out after having paid their admission that the freaks in his show were hoaxes. Barnum's legendary reply was that he was not concerned about losing business because there's a sucker born every minute. Whether or not this particular anecdote is true, we should not forget that such a mentality is widespread in today's world. Trickery and deceit are abundant. We cannot always assume the same high standards of honesty and integrity in others that we may exhibit ourselves or find in those to whom we are close. The individuals who have created, marketed, and profited from the alien autopsy film are more than just aware of P. T. Barnum's philosophy. They have put it into practice on a grand scale. Barnum would be smiling. Addendum -------- A letter, including a copy of this article, has been sent to the chief executive officer of the Fox Entertainment Group, Rupert Murdoch. The letter requests that the Fox network, in the interest of honest journalism, refrain from airing any future version of Alien Autopsy: Fact or Fiction, until Ray Santilli has accepted both Eastman Kodak Corporation's offer to authenticate the film and Colonel Dan A. McGovern's offer to authenticate the cameraman. The chief executive officers of the other major television networks in the United States, as well as several in Europe, have also been sent a copy of this article and the letter to Rupert Murdoch. This article (IRI Bulletin #5) and the letter to Rupert Murdoch are available on the International Roswell Initiative (IRI) Internet Web page: http://www.roswell.org. Additionally, any meaningful response from Fox will be posted on the Web page. Rupert Murdoch can be reached at Fox Entertainment Group, P.O. Box 900, Beverly Hills, CA 90213. The International Roswell Initiative can be reached at 3105 Gables Drive, Atlanta,GA 30319 USA. (Phone/Fax: 404 240-0655 / Email: Roswelldec@aol.com) I would like to thank Bob Durant, Steve Gill, Gayle Nesom, Joanne Pianka, and Rebecca Schatte for their input and many helpful suggestions. All are excellent writers in their own right. Finally, I would like to thank Bill Gibson, Joe Longo, and Dan McGovern. Because of their help in this quest for the truth, we may all better see the alien autopsy footage for what it is. end