A MARCEL FAMILY DOCUMENTARY
The Story of the Roswell Incident and the Marcel Family
A documentary journey through family history, memory, military service, and the question that still endures: Are we alone?
Documentary in development
THE STORY WE INHERITED
For nearly eighty years, people have argued about what happened outside Roswell, New Mexico, in the summer of 1947.
For us, the story begins with our grandfather, Major Jesse Marcel Sr., the intelligence officer sent to investigate unusual debris recovered from a ranch outside Roswell. It also belongs to our grandmother, Viaud Marcel, and our father, Dr. Jesse Marcel Jr., who was ten—almost eleven—when his father came home late one night, woke them, and showed them material he said he had brought back from the desert. Jesse Sr. later recalled bringing pieces into the house and showing them to both Viaud and Jesse Jr. before continuing to the base.
Behind one of the most debated events of the twentieth century were real people—a husband, a wife, a son, two generations of dedicated military service, and a family that lived with the questions for generations.
BEYOND THE HEADLINES
Dad, Grandpa, and Viaud were far more than the roles history assigned them in the Roswell story.
01
Grandfather · Intelligence Officer
Born into a French-speaking sugarcane family in Louisiana, he became a mapmaker, radio operator, and military intelligence officer. His career carried him through World War II, service in the Pacific, Operation Crossroads, and ultimately the 509th Bomb Group at Roswell.
02
Grandmother · Witness · Family Anchor
Viaud was present when Jesse Sr. brought pieces into the family home and showed the material to her and their young son before continuing to the base. Her place in the story is essential to understanding that night as a lived family experience—not merely a historical claim.
03
Father · Physician · Colonel
He became a physician and ear, nose, and throat specialist. He served in the United States Navy and the Montana Army National Guard, learned to fly helicopters in his forties, became State Surgeon, and retired as a colonel in 1996. At sixty-eight, he returned to active duty and served for just over a year as a flight surgeon in Iraq.
Their military service is not presented as proof of what happened in 1947. It is an essential part of understanding who they were.
A FAMILY OF QUESTIONS
We are going back before 1947 to introduce the people behind the famous story—and then following what happened to them afterward.
We grew up in a family filled with science, curiosity, and questions: rockets launched in Montana fields, experiments in the basement, radios, motorcycles, a homemade observatory, and long nights beneath the stars.
And always, somewhere in the background, was the story our father and grandfather believed had changed their lives.
THE DOCUMENTARY APPROACH
This is not simply another retelling of Roswell. It is a family history examined alongside the surviving record.
Family photographs, military records, wartime letters, original documents, recorded interviews, eyewitness accounts, and archival material.
Our father’s recorded recollections, including his 1997 hypnosis sessions, considered with care rather than treated as unquestionable proof.
Accounts do not always agree. Memories change. Documents sometimes answer questions—and sometimes create new ones.
OUR PROMISE
Government explanations, Project Mogul, Sheridan Cavitt’s testimony, Charles Moore’s correspondence, military records, and evidence both supporting and challenging our family’s recollections will all be part of the story. We want viewers to see what Dad and Grandpa actually said, what the records actually show, where the accounts agree, where they conflict, and what remains unanswered.
THE FAMILY BEHIND THE FILM
Why We Believe is being created by the children of Dr. Jesse Marcel Jr.—Denice Marcel, John Marcel, and Jesse Marcel III—as a deeply personal journey through the history our family inherited.
Co-Creator · Marcel Family
Child of Dr. Jesse Marcel Jr. and granddaughter of Major Jesse Marcel Sr.
Full biography and portrait will be added following family review.
Co-Creator · Marcel Family
Child of Dr. Jesse Marcel Jr. and grandson of Major Jesse Marcel Sr.
Full biography and portrait will be added following family review.
Co-Creator · Marcel Family
Child of Dr. Jesse Marcel Jr. and grandson of Major Jesse Marcel Sr.
Full biography and portrait will be added following family review.
THE ARCHIVES
As the documentary develops, this archive will become a carefully organized home for selected records, photographs, interviews, correspondence, and research notes that help viewers examine the story for themselves.
THE QUESTION THAT ENDURES
For Dad and Grandpa, that question was not theoretical. They believed their experiences had already given them an answer. For the rest of us, the question remains—and maybe that is why we are still looking up.
This is their story. This is our story.
CONTACT
For documentary inquiries, archival contributions, family correspondence, and future updates:
admin@whywebelieve.netFrom Montana night skies to the questions that have followed our family for generations, curiosity has always been part of our story.
Select Play to watch the Irish setter come to life and hear its bark.