Person
Donald Schmitt
Also known as Donald R. Schmitt, Don Schmitt, Schmitt
- Roswell researcher and author
Donald Schmitt is an American Roswell researcher from Wisconsin, formerly with the J. Allen Hynek Center for UFO Studies, who has co-written several books on the 1947 case, first with Kevin Randle (UFO Crash at Roswell, 1991) and later with Tom Carey (Witness to Roswell). He says they have interviewed more than 600 people connected with the case, and he has led archaeological digs at the debris field.
His credibility was damaged in 1995, when a Milwaukee Magazine reporter found he had made false claims about his degrees and his job; Schmitt admitted them, and in September Randle ended their partnership. At the 2013 Citizen Hearing he testified for the Roswell panels on witness accounts, the Air Force's changing explanations and the retired Gen. Arthur Exon. His accounts relay what others told him, mostly decades later.
Sources: Citizen Hearing on Disclosure (2013) · Philip J. Klass, Skeptics UFO Newsletter #32, #33, #34 and #36 (1995), quoting Milwaukee Magazine, the IUR and Randle's letter
Facts and claims
- claimed Schmitt says that he and his co-researchers have interviewed more than 600 people directly or indirectly involved in the Roswell case. — Donald Schmitt Source: Citizen Hearing 2013: Roswell, Part 1 at 9:37
- claimed In February 1995 Milwaukee Magazine (Gillian Sender) reported that a background check found he had never attended the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee or Marquette and had no bachelor's degree; its March issue added that he worked as a full-time mail carrier in Hartford, Wisconsin, not as the medical illustrator he had said. In a “Clarification” in the CUFOS journal International UFO Reporter he admitted false claims about his education and work, and resigned as CUFOS Director of Special Investigations. Source: centerforinquiry.org (archived)
- claimed In a letter of 10 September 1995 Kevin Randle broke with him: “I had believed that his lying related only to his personal life. Now I learn that it doesn't.” — Kevin Randle Source: centerforinquiry.org (archived)
Connected files
Books
- Roswell: The Ultimate Cold Case — Climax of a Cover-Up (authored)
- The Truth About the UFO Crash at Roswell (authored)
- UFO Crash at Roswell (authored)
- UFO Secrets Inside Wright-Patterson: Eyewitness Accounts from the Real Area 51 (authored)
- Witness to Roswell: Unmasking the 60-Year Cover-Up (authored)
Claims
- The U.S. has recovered the bodies of non-human beings from crashed craft (asserts)
- The U.S. holds recovered craft of non-human origin and runs a secret program to reverse-engineer them (asserts)
- A craft of non-human origin crashed near Roswell, New Mexico, in July 1947, and the military recovered it (asserts)
Hearings & briefings
- Citizen Hearing on Disclosure (testified at)
Incidents
- Roswell crash (researched) — He says he and Tom Carey have interviewed more than 600 people connected with the case
People
- Kevin Randle (collaborated with) — Co-author of UFO Crash at Roswell (1991); they split in 1995
Videos
- Citizen Hearing 2013: Roswell, Part 1 (appears in)
- Citizen Hearing 2013: Roswell, Part 2 (appears in)
Mentioned in documents and records
- NASA-UAP-D002 — Apollo 17 Transcript, 1972
- NASA-UAP-D006 — Apollo 17 Technical Crew Debriefing, 1973
- NASA-UAP-D009 — Apollo 17 Audio Excerpt, December 7, 1972