"The evidence points to the fact that Roswell was a real incident and that indeed an alien craft did crash, and that material was recovered from that site. We all know that UFOs are real.All we need to ask is where do they come from, and what do they want?" -Capt. Edgar Mitchell Apollo 14 Astronaut.

Kevin Randle and Don Schmidt at the Crash Retrieval Conference, Las Vegas, Nevada. 9th Nov, 2008.
(Photo credit: Doc.)     

This weekend one of Open Minds Forum's six Co-Owners, 'Doc' was at the 2008 UFO Crash Retrieval Conference in Las Vegas.

He got a chance to to talk to Kevin Randle and Don Schmidt, world famous Roswell researchers, about Roswell, their first rip to the debris field and the popular film, "Roswell".

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I caught up with Kevin Randle and Don Schmidt, not often seen together these days, and I asked them if I could have a picture for Open Minds Forum.  They both gave me a long, hard look and said, "No."  Then Kevin Randle said, "Maybe for five dollars."  I replied, "I have that much," patting my wallet.  "Take off the lens cap," Randle said.

I told them that I'd been inspired by their books, mentioning Randle's UFO Crash book and Schmidt's latest on Roswell.  They seemed pleased to hear that.  I also mentioned how much we at OM had enjoyed interviewing Earl Fulford.  Don Schmidt interjected that they "had no idea we would lose him so soon." . . . . .

Lisa Davis, Director of The National UFO Conference came up then and she asked Don and Kevin about Frank Kaufman and the debris fields. Don explained bout the various debris fields that had been identified and Kevin talked about discovering that Kaufman had been "less than honest" in what he told them.

I stood there wishing I was writing this all down or recording it.  I had only gone up to them in hopes of getting a picture and here they were talking about one of the best known UFO investigations in history.

I asked about the Roswell film and Kevin Randle smiled and asked, "Did you see us in it?", "No. Where were you?" I asked, "I was in the background arguing with the sheriff," Randle said. Schmidt added, "I was the bartender in the reunion scene."

Then Kevin Randle said, "Let me tell you my Kyle MClachlan story.  He showed up on the set in uniform and the insignia on his collar were not on right, so I fixed them for him.  Then I noticed his belt was on wrong so I reached for it to fix it, thinking how many women would like to be doing this.  Then I thought, 'should I be doing this?'  I asked Kyle if it was OK to go ahead and fix his belt and he said, 'Sure, go ahead.'" Kevin chuckled at the memory and the rest of us laughed along with him, imagining that embarrassing moment.

I had one more question: What was it like that first day, going out to the debris field?  "We were short," Don said.  A second later Kevin added, "We came up short.  Bill Brazel drove us out there and we only got as far as the fallen windmill."  I'm thinking, Bill Brazel drove them out to the debris field?

They began to talk about the windmill and distances from Roswell to the debris field, 50 miles, 62 miles. They were excited now, reliving the memories. "What did it feel like, that day, going to that place?" Don Schmidt pulled his hands up to his chest, fingers curled nearly into fists, shaking a bit, his face emotional. "It was like battle.  Like being on a battlefield."

I thanked Kevin and Don for the picture again, "This for Open Minds Forum.  You know who we are, right?" They both looked at me with that same, solemn look they gave me when I asked for the picture.  "Yeah," they answered.

Life is good. 

Click Here for more pictures from the conference.