Jesse Antoine Marcel Sr. (May 27, 1907 – June 24, 1986) was a lieutenant colonel in the United States Air Force who helped administer Operation Crossroads, the 1946 atom bomb tests at the Bikini Atoll.

Marcel was the first military officer tasked with investigating the 1947 Roswell incident, where supposed "flying disc" debris was later identified as pieces of a weather balloon. The incident was largely forgotten until 1978, when Marcel, then a retired lieutenant colonel, told ufologist Stanton Friedman that he believed the Roswell debris was extraterrestrial.

Early life
Jesse Marcel Sr. was born on May 27, 1907, in Bayou Blue, Louisiana. He was the youngest of seven children born to Theodule and Adelaide Marcel. Jesse harbored an early interest in amateur radio and graduated from Terrebonne High School.

After Marcel graduated from high school, he worked at a general store and attended a few graphic design classes at Louisiana State University. Marcel began working as a draftsman and cartographer for the Louisiana Highway Department, the Army Corps of Engineers, and the Shell Oil Company.

Personal life
In June 1935, Marcel married Viaud Aleen Abrams. The following year she gave birth to their only child, Jesse A. Marcel Jr.

Military career
In 1924, Marcel began a three-year enlistment in the Louisiana National Guard.

World War II
In March 1942, Marcel was commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant in the US Army Air Force, and in mid-1942, Marcel attended the Army Air Force Intelligence School in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, for training as combat photo interpreter/ intelligence officer. Upon graduation from the program, Marcel was promoted to the role of instructor.

In October 1943, 1st Lieutenant Marcel was assigned to the 5th Bomber Command in the Southwest Pacific, serving as squadron intelligence officer and, later, group intelligence officer. Marcel received two Air Medals and the Bronze Star. After a promotion to captain, in May 1945, Marcel was promoted to the rank of major.

509th and role in Operation Crossroads

Operation Crossroads was a pair of nuclear weapon tests conducted by the United States at Bikini Atoll in mid-1946. They were the first nuclear weapon tests since Trinity in July 1945, and the first detonations of nuclear devices since the atomic bombing of Nagasaki on August 9, 1945. The purpose of the tests was to investigate the effect of nuclear weapons on warships. There were only seven nuclear bombs in existence in July 1946.

The tests, called Able and Baker, both used Fat Man plutonium implosion-type nuclear weapons of the kind dropped on Nagasaki. The Able bomb was stenciled with the name "Gilda" and decorated with an Esquire magazine photograph of Rita Hayworth, star of the 1946 movie, Gilda. The Baker bomb was nicknamed "Helen of Bikini".

In mid-1946, Marcel was attached to the 509th Composite Group to prepare for and participate in Operation Crossroads. On July 26, 1946, Brigadier General Roger M. Ramey authored a letter of commendation complimenting Marcel's performance during Operation Crossroads. The following month, Marcel received an additional letter of commendation from Major General W. E. Kepner for his performance in the operation.

Role in the Roswell incident

Investigation
Marcel was the first military officer tasked with investigating a balloon crash near Roswell, New Mexico—an event that occurred amid the flying saucer craze of 1947, and which would subsequently become known as the Roswell incident. On June 26, media nationwide had reported civilian pilot Kenneth Arnold's story of seeing what became known as "flying saucers". Historians would later chronicle over 800 "copycat" sightings reported after the Arnold story. 

On Monday, July 7, Roswell Army Air Field was contacted by Sheriff George Wilcox, who reported that a local rancher had recovered a crashed "flying disc". Marcel and Lieutenant Colonel Sheridan Cavitt met with rancher Mac Brazel and followed him back to the ranch outside Corona. With Marcel in a jeep while Brazel and Cavitt rode horses, the trio visited the debris field where they loaded debris into the vehicle.

Upon his return to base, Marcel reported the recovery to base commander William H. Blanchard. Roswell Army Air Field issued a press release announcing the recovery of a 'flying disc' and naming Marcel as the responsible officer. The debris was loaded onto a plane, and Marcel accompanied it from Roswell to Fort Worth. After his arrival, Marcel participated in a press conference in Texas where the debris was identified as pieces of a weather balloon kite. Marcel was quoted as saying, "[We] spent a couple of hours Monday afternoon [July 7] looking for any more parts of the weather device, [and] we found a few more patches of tinfoil and rubber."

Renewed interest
The event at Roswell was largely forgotten until 1978. That year, the sensationalist tabloid National Enquirer reprinted the original, uncorrected article from July 8, 1947. In February 1978, Marcel, then a retired lieutenant colonel, was interviewed by ufologist Stanton Friedman. In that interview, Marcel said he believed the Roswell debris was extraterrestrial.

On December 19, 1979, Marcel was interviewed by Bob Pratt of the National Enquirer, and on February 28, 1980, the tabloid brought large-scale attention to the Marcel story. On September 20, 1980, the TV series In Search of... aired an interview where Marcel described his participation in the 1947 press conference:

Marcel's son, Jesse A. Marcel Jr., spent 35 years stating that in 1947, when he was 10 years old, his father had shown him alien debris recovered from the Roswell crash site, including "a small beam with purple-hued hieroglyphics on it".

According to a 1994 Air Force report, produced in response to a Congressional inquiry into the Roswell Incident, the material recovered by Marcel was likely debris from Project Mogul—a "then-sensitive, classified project, whose purpose was to determine the state of Soviet nuclear weapons research" using high-altitude balloons. During June and July 1947, Mogul balloons had been test-launched at Alamogordo Army Air Field (now Holloman AFB) and White Sands Missile Range. Air Force declassification officer Lieutenant James McAndrew concluded:

Strategic Air Command and later career
In late 1947, Marcel received a promotion to the rank of lieutenant colonel. Marcel remained with the 509th at Walker AFB until August 16, 1948, when he was transferred to Strategic Air Command at Andrews AFB. When SAC HQ transferred to Offutt AFB in Nebraska on November 9, 1948, Marcel transferred with it.

After requesting a hardship discharge to care for his elderly mother, in July 1950, Marcel returned to Houma, Louisiana. In September 1950, Marcel was released from active duty and transferred to the Air Force reserves. He received his final discharge in 1958.

Final years and death
In his final years, Marcel was a self-employed television repairman. He died on June 23, 1986, in Houma, Louisiana, at the age of 79.

References

1907 births
1986 deaths
Recipients of the Air Medal
United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II
United States Army Air Forces officers
United States Air Force colonels
Personnel of Strategic Air Command
United States Air Force reservists
Military personnel from Louisiana