UFO CASE BOOK

UFO Sightings
UFO
CASE BOOK
1865 – 20 **
Page 1
UFO Sightings
THE GREAT AIRSHIPS, FIRST ENCOUNTERS
Missouri Democrat October 19, 1865. USA. A strange story-remarkable discovery…
Mr. James Lumley, an old Rocky Mountain trapper, who
has been stopping at the Everett House for several
days, makes a most remarkable statement to us, and
one which, if authenticated, will produce the greatest
excitement in the scientific world. "Mr. Lumley states
that about the middle of last September, he
was engaged in trapping in the mountains about
seventy-five or one hundred miles above the Great
Falls of the Upper Missouri, and in the neighborhood of
what is known as Cadotte Pass.
Just after sunset one evening, he beheld a bright luminous body in the heavens,
which moved with great rapidity in an easterly direction. It was plainly visible for at least
five seconds, when it suddenly separated into particles, resembling, as Mr. Lumley
describes it, the bursting of a sky-rocket in the air. A few minutes later, he heard a heavy
explosion, which jarred the earth very perceptibly, and this was shortly after followed by
a rushing sound, like a tornado sweeping through the forest. A strong wind sprang up
about the same time, but suddenly subsided. The air was also filled with a peculiar odor
of a sulphurous character.
These incidents would have made a slight impression on the mind of Mr. Lumley, but for
the fact that on the ensuing day he discovered, at the distance of about two miles from
his camping place, that, as far as he could see in either direction a path had been cut
through the forest, several rods wide-giant trees uprooted or broken off near the
ground- the tops of hills shaved off and the earth plowed up in many places. Great and
widespread havoc was everywhere visible. Following up this track of desolation, he soon
ascertained the cause of it in the shape of an immense stone driven into the side of a
mountain.
An examination of this stone, or so much of it as was visible, showed that it was divided
into compartments that in various places it was carved with curious hieroglyphics.
More than this, Mr. Lumley also discovered fragments of a substance resembling glass,
and here and there dark stains, as though caused by a liquid. He is confident that the
hieroglyphics are the work of human hands, and that the stone itself, although but a
fragment of an immense body, must have been used for some purpose by animated
beings.
Strange as this story appears, Mr. Lumley relates it with so much sincerity that we are
forced to accept it as true. It is evident that the stone which he discovered, was a
fragment of the meteor which was visible in this section in September last. It will be
remembered that it was seen in Leavenworth, Galena and in this city by Col. Bonneville.
At Leavenworth it was seen to separate into particles or explode. Astronomers have long
held that it is probable that the heavenly bodies are inhabited - even the comets - and it
may be that the meteors are also. Possibly, meteors could be used as a means of
conveyance by the inhabitants of other planets, in exploring space, and it may be that
hereafter some future Columbus, from Mercury or Uranus, may land on this planet by
means of a meteoric conveyance, and take full possession thereof - as did the Spanish
navigators of the New World in 1492, and eventually drive what is known as the "human
race" into a condition of the most abject servitude. It has always been a favorite theory
with many that there must be a race superior to us, and this may at some future time be
demonstrated in the manner we have indicated. Oroville Daily Register 03. December,
1896… Air Ship at Forbestown.
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UFO Sightings
Harry P. Stow was in town yesterday from Forbestown and said that one of his most
reliable and trustworthy men at the Goldbank mine, Thos. E. Goyne, was positive that he
saw the airship on Sunday evening. It was a little after 7 o'clock when Mr. Goyne saw the
bright light carried at the bow of the "aerial" and after watching it a moment observed
that it rose and fell and did not remain stationary like a star. He ran into his house and
called Mrs. Anson, who came out to satisfy herself and she was so convinced that she
called the Rev. Mr. Kiest, who studied the floating light attentively.
Then Mr. Goyne ran down into the town and in a few moments half the people in
Forbestown were straining their eyes and craning their necks noting the position and the
movements of the mysterious moving light. It seemed to have a wave-like or oscillating
movement and this was observed by fully 100 people. Mr. Stow did not see the light
himself, but said the gentleman who first observed it felt confident that it was the
mysterious visitor that has been floating over Sacramento Valley.
OROVILLE DAILY REGISTER 03. DECEMBER, 1896. USA... A WONDERFUL METAL
Is It Used in the Newly Discovered Air Ship !?
It will be remembered that some years ago a man discovered a wonderful metal in Pine
Nut, Nevada. This peculiar metal was contained in clay and the man discovered it by
using some of the clay for a back to his stove. Some hours after building a fire in the
stove he found that the back had disappeared and in place of it was a clear white metal
with scarcely any weight to it.
Now the man who discovered and used that metal was in Oroville yesterday. In fact he
has been here a number of days. He does not want his name published but we met him
and talked with him for fifteen or twenty minutes. We do not know of course whether he
has anything to do with this mysterious air ship or not, but if there was any truth in the
report of the wonderful metal discovery it is possible that he has kept the secret and
used the new metal in contructing this wonderful floating ship.
CURRENTLY... STARSHINE SATELLITE NOW IN ORBIT...
On 16. December, 2001. shuttle astronaut Dan Tani deployed Starshine 2 into its own
Earth-circling orbit. Starshine 2 is an eye-catching aluminium sphere, about the size of a
beach-ball and covered with glistening mirrors. Like its sister satellite Starshine 3,
which was launched on September 29th, Starshine 2 reflects sunlight and looks to sky
watchers on Earth much like a pulsing 1st-magnitude star. Students and scientists plan
to track the pair by monitoring their flashes, and so learn how satellite orbits decay in the
outermost layers of Earth's atmosphere. The 845 mirrors on Starshine 2, were polished
by thirty thousand students in 660 schools in 26 countries (Thanks to NASA).
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UFO Sightings
THE AURORA, TEXAS CRASH OF 1897.
The state of Texas has always been called the "big state." This expression applies to
many things, but is especially true regarding "tall tales." I have heard them all of my life,
and sometimes it is difficult to separate truth from fiction. Such is the case with one story
that comes from the small town of Aurora.
The town's history book labels the community as
"the town that almost wasn't," and that expression
is probably applicable to the legend of a spaceship
crashing into a windmill, and the burial of a small
alien creature found in the aftermath. This event
has become the most important news story to ever
come out of this Texas city. Aurora was designated
a "historical site" by the State of Texas.
The year was 1897, and this was the year of the
"great airships" reports in the United States.
As the story goes, it was on April 19, 1897. that a
slow moving space ship crashed into a windmill,
bursting into pieces. As the debris was searched
through, supposedly the body of a small alien was
discovered. Originally the alien pilot was dubbed
the "Martian pilot." Some of the debris also
revealed material sketched with a type of
hieroglyphic. The town folk gave the poor little
creature a proper burial in the local cemetery. This incident, whether true or not, has had
just enough publicity to stay afloat for over 100 years. It was made into a movie,
"The Aurora Encounter" in 1986, starring Jack Elam. The news of the crash spread
quickly, even for that time period. A newspaper article of the event still exists, written by
E. E. Haydon, reporter for the Dallas Morning News. Below is the original article :
•
"About 6 o'clock this morning the early risers of Aurora were astonished at the
sudden appearance of the airship which has been sailing around the country. It was
traveling due north and much nearer the earth than before. Evidently some of the
machinery was out of order, for it was making a speed of only ten or twelve miles an
hour, and gradually settling toward the earth. It sailed over the public square and
when it reached the north part of town it collided with the tower of Judge Proctor's
windmill and went into pieces with a terrific explosion, scattering debris over several
acres of ground, wrecking the windmill and water tank and destroying the judge's
flower garden. The pilot of the ship is supposed to have been the only one aboard
and, while his remains were badly disfigured, enough of the original has been picked
up to show that he was not an inhabitant of this world."
The story never gained a lot of exposure at the time, but held on until it was commented
on by UPI on May 24, 1973 :
•
"Aurora, Tex. - (UPI) - A grave in a small north Texas cemetery contains the body of
an 1897 astronaut who was 'not an inhabitant of this world,' according to the
International UFO Bureau. The group, which investigates unidentified flying objects,
has already initiated legal proceedings to exhume the body and will go to court if
necessary to open the grave, director Hayden Hewes said Wednesday". "After
checking the grave with metal detectors and gathering facts for three months, we
are certain as we can be at this point [that] he was the pilot of a UFO, which
reportedly exploded atop a well on Judge J.S. Proctor's place, April 19, 1897,"Hewes
said." "He was not an inhabitant of this world."
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UFO Sightings
The legend was back in the news ! Only a
couple of days later, UPI followed up the first
report with another from Aurora. They had
located a living witness to the event.
A ninety-one-year-old who had been a girl of
fifteen in Aurora at the time of the reported
incident was quoted. "I had all but forgotten the
incident until it appeared in the newspapers
recently." She said her parents had actually
been to the crash sight, but had not allowed her
to accompany them for fear of what might be in
the debris. She recalled that the remains of the
pilot, "a small man", had been buried in the
Aurora cemetery, validating the other legends.
The Associated Press now joined the chase for
the sensational story. From the city of Denton, Texas came this account : "A North Texas
State University professor had found some metal fragments near the Oates gas station
(former Proctor farm). One fragment was said to be 'most intriguing' because it consisted
primarily of iron which did not seem to exhibit magnetic properties." The professor also
said he was puzzled because the fragment was "shiny and malleable instead of dull and
brittle like iron."
For reasons unknown, the Aurora Cemetery Association fought the
attempts to exhume the alleged alien body. They were successful,
and the dead alien's remains stayed a mystery. The town of Aurora
still shows traces of Military intervention today, and the question
must be asked, "Why would the U. S. Military be in the town of
Aurora ?" Anyone familiar with the Roswell crash of 1947.
will remember that debris from Mac Brazel's field was flown to
Ft. Worth, which is only a short hop's distance from Aurora.
Is this why the Military was in Aurora ? Could the Government
have the alien body ? Today Aurora, like other cities, is
modernized, and yet a few hints of the past still remain. Although
the headstone of the alien was stolen, there remain pictures of it
today. A copy of this photo now adorns the grave site. There has
been, at times, a lobby to exhume the remains of the little pilot and give it a proper
burial, with a new headstone. So far, this has not happened. Should the little grave be
dug up, or should we just leave it and the legend of the Aurora UFO alone ?
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UFO Sightings
THE 1917. FATIMA SIGHTINGS
On May 13, 1917. three illiterate shepherd children, at work tending sheep outside
Fatima, Portugal, were surprised by a bright flash in a nearby pasture called Cova de Ira,
widely known as an old sacred place. Approaching the pasture, they were caught in a
luminosity that nearly blinded them. In the center of the blaze of light, they perceived a
little woman who told them she was "from heaven" and warned that world-wide suffering
could be averted only if people ceased "offending God". The illuminated figure - who
quickly became known as Our Lady - asked them to return to the same spot every
month.
On June 13th, the children returned. This time fifty witnesses watched as the three knelt
in prayer and the oldest, ten-year-old Lucia, addressed an unseen entity whose answers
were unheard by anyone other than Lucia and her two young companions. One witness
reported hearing a faint voice or beelike buzzing. At the end of the dialogue, witness
heard an explosion and saw a small cloud rise near a tree.
Forty-Five hundred witnesses joined the three children near the same tree in the same
pasture on July 13th. This day several witnesses reported "a buzzing or humming"
sound, a decrease in the suns glow and heat, a small whitish cloud about the tree of the
apparitions, and a loud noise at the Lady's departure.
On August 13, the crowd grew to 18,000 but the three children were not among them.
They had been jailed by local officials eager to "put an end to this nonsense". Even so,
those present in the field reported a clap of thunder followed by a bright flash and a
cloud surrounding the same "magical" tree. One month later a crown of 30,000 watched
in astonishment as a globe of light appeared in plain view, advancing through the valley
floor from east to west, coming to rest on the same tree. Two deeply sceptical priest,
who arrived expecting to find evidence of mass hysteria reported that a white cloud
formed around the tree as "falling flowers" descended from the sky and disappeared as
witnesses reached to touch them.
The most amazing display occurred in Fatima on the October 13th, when 70,000
gathered in pouring rain. Many came to keep faith with the prophecy of Our Lady, others
to taunt what they saw as a display of medieval supernaturalism. Shortly after noon,
thick gray clouds suddenly departed and rolled back like curtains on a stage, as a strange
fragrance filled the air. The sun appeared against the clear blue sky as a flat silver disc
revolving on its own axis and sent forth shafts of red, violet, yellow and blue light in all
directions. Suddenly the disc plunged erratically downward in a zigzag fashion, causing
thousands of witnesses - believers and disbelievers alike - to fall to their knees in public
confession of their sins before the world ended. The disc stopped short and began slowly
rising into the sky in the same irregular way, disappearing into the sun, which stood once
again fixed in its natural brilliance. The entire display lasted less than fifteen minutes.
No less amazing was this fact, confirmed by the managing editor of Lisbon's largest daily
newspaper: the streets and clothes of thousands of witnesses were no longer wet, even
though heavy rains had fallen within the hour. Throughout the countryside, strange
healings were reported.
After 13 years of investigation, the Catholic Church, offered this evaluation of the Fatima
sighting :
•
"This phenomenon, which no astronomical observatory registered and which
therefore was not natural, was witnessed by persons of all categories and of all
social classes, believers and non-believers, journalists of the principal Portuguese
newspapers and even by persons some miles away. Facts which annul
anyexplanations of collective illusion."
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UFO Sightings
ALIEN CAPTURED ON FILM IN ALASKA ?
Subject
Date
From
To
File Size
Photograph taken by my grandfather
8/14/2003 5:16:28 AM CST
(name withheld by UFO Casebook)
webmaster@ufocasebook.com
(293329 bytes)
"Dear Sir.
The included picture was taken by my grandfather in the early 1930s. I scanned the
image immediately after he gave it to me last week. I wish to remain anonymous since
I don't want anything to do with any research or whatever on this. I know it looks like an
alien or a Bigfoot and I know my grandfather was telling me the truth about him taking
this picture. That's why I think it should be in the right hands. You are the only one
I'm sending this to, so please respect my privacy and don't contact me about this.
Thanks in advance."
The only additional information is contained on the bottom of the full size image, which
tells us the following :
The picture was taken in the early 1930s by the sender's grandfather, who lived in
Alaska. The entitiy was first seen when the grandfather was on his way to a lake.
He chased the entity until he got close enough to take this one picture. It was some four
months before the photograph was developed, being in in a remote, sparsely populated
area. The sender received the picture from his grandfather only last week.
His grandfather died the day after giving him the photo, and relating his story.
To say the least, I was intrigued by this mysterious message. What could this image be ?
I download it, and after looking at it a few moments, I knew it would be controversial to
say the least. Little did I know that there would be more than one mystery to solve.
As I began the task of selecting and cutting the
area around the small creature, I thought to
myself, "Wouldn't it be something if this was
the real thing, even though it may never be
proven as such ?" What if this gentleman's
grandfather had really filmed a creature from
another world, and I was looking at the proof.
My excitement was only tempered by the
thought of not being able to prove it one way or
the other. I would soon be faced, however, with
the second mystery.
After doing a couple of trial runs, I was relatively pleased with the results, considering
the fact that the scanned image was from a photograph approximately 70 years old.
As I looked through several of the cutouts I had made, I thought maybe I saw
something... something else. The entity's right lower arm/hand region seemed to be
obscured; but by what ? So I went back to the original scan, and starting working on that
particular area. What I finally saw, or thought I saw was a second, even smaller entity.
Is it possible that we had a female with her child ? I had done what I could, and the
results were inconclusive.
I thought of the Patterson Bigfoot film that had been the cornerstone of believers for
many years, until it was proven as a hoax. In other words, I have no definite answer as
to what we are looking at here. It is one of three things :
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UFO Sightings
•
An outright hoax, (someone in a suit, a la Patterson) and all the time and effort
was wasted.
•
A single unknown being, origin unknown, and we are without a way to go any
further toward discovery.
•
Number 2, with two beings.
All is not lost, and just like beauty being in the eye of the beholder, so is the result of
what we have here. One final question remains; Which is more important anyway, the
final solution of a mystery, or that mystery remaining alive and well ?
Ufocasebook Team.
CORDELL HULL SAW ALIENS IN GLASS CONTAINERS
William E. Jones writes, "I thought your readers should be aware
of the Cordell Hull story that alien artifacts were in our hands in
1939." In early December of 1999. the Center of UFO Studies
received a letter from the daughter of the Reverend Turner
Hamilton Holt : "Today I want to share some knowledge that has
been, by request, kept secret in our family since sometime in
World War II. This concerns something my father was shown by
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UFO Sightings
his cousin Cordell Hull, the Secretary of State under Franklin Roosevelt. Snip My father,
who was young, brilliant, and sound of mind, told us this story because he didn't want
the information to be lost.
One day when my father was in D.C., Cordell swore him to secrecy and took him to a
sub-basement in the U.S. Capitol building, and showed him an amazing sight :
•
Four large glass jars holding 4 creatures unknown to my father or Cordell [and],
•
A wrecked round craft of some kind nearby.
Description of Aliens in Containers
"My father wanted my sister and I to make this information known long after he and
Cordell were dead, because he felt it was a very important bit of information. We have
researched your group [Mufon] and feel it is the most reliable group in the country.
We hope that you will research and search this information. The jars with creatures in
formaldehyde and the wrecked craft are some where ! "Cordell said they were afraid they
would start a panic if the public found out about it." Sincerely, Lucile Andrew, Ashland,
Ohio.
Cordell Hull was one of the greatest statesmen of the 20th Century with absolutely no
apparent reason to tell this story unless it was true, especially at a time when stories of
flying saucers and their alien drivers had not yet become part of our culture. Hull was
elected U.S. Senator 1931-1937, as chairman of the Democratic National Committee, and
became the Secretary of State under President Franklin D. Roosevelt in March 1933,
the longest in American history until 1944, when he resigned because of ill health.
He was also offered the Vice Presidency and in 1945, Cordell Hull won the 1945. Nobel
Prize for Peace.
Reverend Holt and Hull were both born in Pickett County and were cousins and friends.
Holt attained a Doctor in Theology degree from Ashland Theological Seminary, and was a
minister at the Shenandoah Christian Church in Greenwich, Ohio. He was a community
leader, and wrote a book entitled Life's Convictionss. He married Vina May Clark and they
had three daughters. Two of the daughters claim they had been told about the creatures
by their father. Lucile's original letter essentially tells the story as her father told it to her
when she was a teenager. Unfortunately, Lucile said that she was too young to really pay
much attention to what her father told her but Allene the mother of Eloise, the co-author
of this story was told the same story as her sister. Both sisters assured us that they
remember the stories independently. Reverend Holt described the entities in the glass
jars as "creatures, a term common for his day..." He never referred to them as "aliens"
or "extraterrestrials". He never said where they came from.
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UFO Sightings
Description of Flying Saucer
Lucile stated that his experience happened in the "late 1930s", probably 1939.
The material that was nearby the less than four feet tall creatures was described as
"silver metallic." She also remembers him referring to the material as being a "vehicle"
that appeared to have been taken apart and was "in pieces". He said the color of this
material wasn't a color that he had seen before, but for the lack of a better word he used
"silver". Reverend Holt was not the sort of person to make up such a wild story and, the
sisters feel that by telling the story they are following their father's wishes.
Barbara A. Wolamin, "the curator U.S. Capitol building", chuckled a bit after being told
the story. She said, She had never heard about these creatures being stored at the
Capitol, but she did confirm there was a sub-basement that was divided into storage
rooms back then. She said that the building had been significantly changed over the
years, so in a small way, part of Reverend Holt's story checked out. After Cordell Hull left
government service he wrote his memoirs in a two-volume book set.
No reference, to this story appeared in these pages, in his papers in the Library of
Congress. Numerous experts and libraries were contacted and there has been no
confirmation for the story. If four alien bodies and other world technology were retrieved
in1939, what would that do to our interpretation of the U.S.
Government's involvement in UFO research ? One would assume prior knowledge would
have made the government ready for an event like Roswell and that the Roswell retrieval
was more efficient because of that. This is a story that truly deserves further
investigation.
Thanks to William E. Jones MUFON State Director for Ohio. Dr. Irena Scott and CUFOS
International UFO Reporter 2002.
UFO CRASH AND RETRIEVAL – MISSOURI, 1941.
One of the most mysterious stories of a crashed UFO
with alien bodies preceded the well know Roswell events
by some six years. This case was first brought
to investigators by Leo Stringfield in his book "UFO
Crash, Retrievals : The Inner Sanctum." He opened a
tantalizing account of a military controlled UFO crash
retrieval which is still being researched today. The details
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UFO Sightings
of the case were sent to him in a letter from one Charlette Mann, who related her
minister-grandfather's deathbed confession of being summoned to pray over alien crash
victims outside of Cape Girardeau, Missouri in the spring of 1941. Reverend William
Huffman had been an evangelist for many years, but had taken the resident minister
reigns of the Red Star Baptist Church in early 1941. Church records corroborate his
employment there during the period in question.
After receiving this call to duty, he was immediately driven the 10-15 mile journey to
some woods outside of town. Upon arriving at the scene of the crash, he saw policemen,
fire department personnel, FBI agents, and photographers already mulling through the
wreckage. He was soon asked to pray over three dead bodies. As he began to take in the
activity around the area, his curiosity was first struck by the sight of the craft itself
Expecting a small plane of some type, he was shocked to
see that the craft was disc-shaped, and upon looking
inside he saw hieroglyphic-like symbols, indecipherable to
him. He then was shown the three victims, not human as
expected, but small alien bodies with large eyes, hardly a
mouth or ears, and hairless. Immediately after
performing his duties, he was sworn to secrecy by
military personnel who had taken charge of the crash
area. He witnessed these warnings being given to others
at the scene also.
As he arrived back at his home at 1530 Main Street, he was still in a state of mild shock,
and could not keep his story from his wife Floy, and his sons. This late night family
discussion would spawn the story that Charlette Mann
would hear from her grandmother in 1984, as she lay
dying of cancer at Charlette's home while undergoing
radiation therapy. Charlette was told the story over the
span of several days, and although Charlette had heard
bits and pieces of this story before, she now demanded
the full details. As her grandmother tolerated her last few
days on this Earth, Charlette knew it was now or never to
find out everything she could before this intriguing story
was lost with the death of her grandmother. She also
learned that one of the members of her grandfather's congregation, thought to be
Garland D. Fronabarger, had given him a photograph taken on the night of the crash.
This picture was of one of the dead aliens being help up by two men. Charlette Mann
gave, in her own words, an account of what she knew for a television documentary.
Some of that account is given here :
"I saw the picture originally from my dad who had gotten it from my grandfather
who was a Baptist minister in Cape Girardeau Missouri in the Spring of ‘41. I saw, that
[picture] and asked my grandmother at a later time she was at my home fatally ill with
cancer so we had a frank discussion. She said that grandfather was called out in the
spring of 1941. in the evening around 9:00-9:30, that someone had been called out to a
plane crash outside of town and would he be willing to go to minister to people there
which he did." "Upon arrival it was a very different situation. It was not a conventional
aircraft, as we know it. He described it as a saucer that was metallic in color, no seams,
did not look like anything he had seen. It had been broken open in one portion, and so
he could walk up and see that. In looking in he saw a small metal chair, gauges and dials
and things he had never seen. However, what impressed him most was around the inside
there were inscriptions and writings, which he said he did not recognize, but were similar
to Egyptian hieroglyphics."
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UFO Sightings
"There were 3 entities, or non-human people, lying on the ground. Two were just outside
the saucer, and a third one was further out. His understanding was that perhaps that
third one was not dead on impact. There had been mention of a ball of fire, yet there was
fire around the crash site, but none of the entities had been burned and so father did
pray over them, giving them last rites. There were many people there, fire people,
photographers, and so they lifted up one, and two men on either side stood him up and
they stretched his arms out, they had him up under the armpits and out here. As I recall
from the picture I saw, he was about 4 feet tall, appeared to have no bone structure, soft
looking. He had a suit on, or we assume it was a suit, it could have been his skin, and
what looked like crinkled, soft aluminum foil. I recall it had very long hands, very long
fingers, and I think there were three but I cannot swear to that."
"My grandfather upon arrival, said there were already several people there on the scene,
two that he assumed were local photographers, fire people, and so not long after they
arrived, military just showed up, surrounded the area, took them off in groups
separately, and spoke to each of them. Grandfather didn't
know what was said to the others, but he was told ‘this
didn't happen, you didn't see this, this is national security,
it is never to be talked about again.’ My grandfather was
an honorable man, being a preacher, that’s all that needed
to be said to him. And so he came home and told the story
to my dad, who was there, and my grandmother and my
uncle. Now my mother was expecting at the time, so she
was off in the bedroom. My sister was born May 3, 1941,
so we are assuming this was the middle to the last of April. And he never spoke of it
again. But about two weeks later, one of the men who had a personal camera that he
had put in his shirt pocket, approached grandfather and said I think someone needs a
copy of this. I have one and I would like you to keep one. So that's how it came about
that grandfather had the picture to begin with. But he never spoke of it again. The other
people seem to be very intimidated and very frightened and paranoid."
Other living supporting witnesses include Charlette Mann’s sister who confirmed her story
in a notarized sworn affidavit, and the living brother of the Cape Girardeau County sheriff
in 1941, Clarance R. Schade. He does remember hearing the account of the crash,
yet does not have many details. He does recall hearing of a "spaceship with little people".
There are also Fire Department records of the date of the crash. This information does
confirm the military swearing department members to secrecy, and also the removal of
all evidence from the scene by military personnel. Guy Huffman, Charlette's father also
told the story of the crash, and had in his possession the photograph of the dead alien.
He showed the picture to a photographer friend of his, Walter Wayne Fisk. He has been
contacted by Stanton Friedman, but would not release any pertinent information.
Charlette had no luck in getting Fish to return calls or answer letters. It has been
rumored that Fisk was an advisor to the President, and if this was the case, would
account for his silence on the facts of the Missouri crash. This case ends like many
others, but appears by all indications to be authentic. All who have come in contact with
Charlette Mann found her to be a trustworthy person who is not given to sensationalism,
and has sought no gain from her account. There is still research being done on the
Missouri crash, and hopefully more information will be forthcoming to validate this
remarkable case.
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UFO Sightings
THE BATTLE OF LOS ANGELES
Case and point : A UFO event of mass proportion : a giant Alien spaceship hovering over
one of our major cities, threatening our very existence. A scenario from "War of the
Worlds", "Independence Day", or "The Day the Earth Stood Still" ? NO ! it is NOT science
fiction, it has ALREADY happened. When ? February 25th, 1942. in the Los Angeles area.
Many believe that the "beginning" of the UFO era was in 1947, when Kenneth Arnold
sighted flying disc-like objects over Mt. Rainier, coining the phrase "flying saucers."
This term was already common military jargon by the time of the Roswell event of the
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UFO Sightings
same year. Preceding these landmark UFO events was the mass sighting of a large flying
disc in the Los Angeles area in February 25th, 1942. Coming at a time of heightened
security and anxiety following the Japanese invasion of Pearl Harbor only a few months
before, this invasion would become a major UFO event, and possibly an omen of things
to come. In Ufology, this is commonly referred to as : The Battle of Los Angeles.
The early morning hours of 25. February, 1942. would bring the first alerts of an
invasion. Naturally, the first thought in the minds of everyone was that another wave of
Japanese planes was attacking America on its own soil. Citizens of Culver City and Santa
Monica would be the first to witness the surreal sight of a giant unknown object hovering
over the suburban areas of Los Angeles.
Immediately, an air raid siren shattered the peaceful sleep of the residents, and
volunteer Air Raid Wardens grabbed their gear, and headed to the streets, affecting a
total blackout. Army's 37th Coast Artillery Brigade swung into action, lighting up the
clear, black skies with their massive spotlights. What they saw was beyond belief. With
the Japanese planes still flying in their nightmares, another menacing flying machine was
now right on top of them.
Actual photograph of object under attack
In a matter of a few short minutes, the entire southern area of California was looking to
the skies, watching the intense spotlight beams converging on the giant invading UFO.
The 37th's anti-aircraft guns helped light up the night, firing volley after volley at the
large craft. Many eyewitness reports would state that the large object took many direct
hits, but appeared undamaged. The 30+ minute barrage would send fragmented shells
over homes, businesses, and citizens. In the aftermath six individuals were found dead
from the spent and fragmented artillery shells.
It was reported that hundreds upon hundreds of rounds were fired at the giant UFO,
yet it appeared unaffected. Eyewitness accounts described the object as a "surreal,
hanging, magic lantern." The object was especially visible as it hovered over the MGM
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UFO Sightings
studios in Culver City. There are a number of newspaper articles of this event, and an
astonishingly clear picture of the object as it was under its heaviest attack. The object
eventually made its way over Long Beach, before it silently disappeared from view.
The cannons were now silent.
Some of the most intriguing testimony of the UFO comes from a woman who was a
volunteer Air Raid Warden. She lived like many others, in fear of another Japanese
attack. Nothing, however, could prepare her for what she so clearly witnessed the night
of the giant UFO. Shaken awake by a call from her supervisor, she was briefed on the
situation. Living not far from Santa Monica, she was told the object was close enough for
her to see from her window. Peeking out of her window, she was shocked at the sight of
the massive UFO above. She described the sight as follows :
•
"It was huge ! It was just enormous ! And it was practically right over my house.
I had never seen anything like it in my life !" she said. "It was just hovering there in
the sky and hardly moving at all."
•
"It was a lovely pale orange and about the most beautiful thing you've ever seen.
I could see it perfectly because it was very close. It was big !"
•
"They sent fighter planes up and I watched them in groups approach it and then
turn away. There were shooting at it but it didn't seem to matter."
•
"It was like the Fourth of July but much louder. They were firing like crazy but they
couldn't touch it."
•
"I'll never forget what a magnificent sight it was. Just marvelous. And what a
gorgeous color !", she said.
Los Angeles Times Headlines of the event
As the giant UFO moved away, things began to get back to normal, as normal as things
could get, considering the times. The military clampdown on Japanese citizens, and
security restrictions on its native populace made this an unusual time. Had it not been
for America being at war, news of this event would have gained more momentum.
The lesson to be learned from this is simply that we must be ready at all times to defend
our country, and our globe from any invading force that would take our freedom as we
know it from us.
NEWSPAPER EXCERPTS
CHILLY THRONG WATCHES SHELLS BURSTING IN SKY, BY MARVIN MILES
Explosions stabbing the darkness like tiny bursting stars... Searchlight beams poking long
crisscross fingers across the night sky...Yells of wardens and the whistles of police and
deputy sheriffs...The brief on-and-off flick of lights, telephone calls, snatches of
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UFO Sightings
conversation : "Get the dirty.." That was Los Angeles under the rumble of gunfire
yesterday.
Residents Awakened
Sleepy householders awoke to the dull thud of explosions... "Thunder ? Can't be !"
Then : "Air Raid ! Come here quick ! Look over there...those searchlights. They've got
something...they are blasting in with anti-aircraft !" Father, mother, children all gathered
on the front porch, congregated in small clusters in the blacked out streets -- against
orders. Babies cried, dogs barked, doors slammed. But the object in the sky slowly
moved on, caught in the center of the lights like the hub of a bicycle wheel surrounded
by gleaming spokes.
Speculation Rife
Speculation fell like rain. "It's a whole squadron." "No, it's a blimp. It must be because
it's moving so slowly." "I hear planes." "No you don't. That's a truck up the street."
"Where are the planes then ?" "Dunno. They must be up there though." "Wonder why
they picked such a clear night for a raid ?" "They're probably from a carrier." "Naw, I'll
bet they are from a secret air base down south somewhere." Still the firing continued.
Like lethal firecrackers, the anti-aircraft rounds blasted above, below, seemingly right on
the target fixed in the tenacious beams. Other shots fell short, exploding halfway up the
long climb. Tracers sparked upward like roman candles. Metal fell. It fell in chunks, large
and small; not enemy metal, but the whistling fragments of bursting ack-ack shells.
The menacing thud and clank on streets and roof tops drove many spectators to shelter.
Close up view of large UFO
Wardens Do Good Job
Wardens were on the job, doing a good job of it. "Turn off your lights, please. Pull over to
the curb and stop. Don't use your telephone. Take shelter. Take shelter." On every street
brief glares of hooded flashlights cut the darkness, warning creeping drivers to stop.
Police watched at main intersections. Sirens wailed enroute to and from blackout
accidents. There came lulls in the firing. The search lights went out. (To allow the fighter
planes to attack ?). Angelinos breathed deeply and said, "I guess it's all over." But before
they could tell their neighbors good night, the guns were blasting again, sighting up the
long blue beams of the lights.
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UFO Sightings
Watchers Shiver
The fire seemed to burst in rings all around the target. But the eager watchers, shivering
in the early morning cold, weren't rewarded by the sight of a falling plane. Nor were
there any bombs dropped. "Maybe it's just a test," someone remarked. "Test, hell !" was
the answer. "You don't throw that much metal in the air unless you're fixing on knocking
something down." Still the firing continued, muttering angrily off toward the west like a
distant thunderstorm. The targeted object inched along high, flanked by the cherry red
explosions. And the householders shivered in their robes, their faces set, watching the
awesome scene.
NEWSPAPER ARCHIVES
ARMY SAYS ALARM REAL ROARING GUNS MARK BLACKOUT, BY MARVIN MILES
Identity of Aircraft Veiled in Mystery; No Bombs Dropped and No Enemy Craft Hit;
Civilians Reports Seeing Planes and Balloon.
Overshadowing a nation-wide maelstrom of rumors and conflicting reports, the Army's
Western Defense Command insisted that Los Angeles' early morning blackout and
anti-aircraft action were the result of unidentified aircraft sighted over the beach area.
In two official statements, issued while Secretary of the Navy Knox in Washington was
attributing the activity to a false alarm and "jittery nerves," the command in
San Francisco confirmed and reconfirmed the presence over the Southland of unidentified
planes. Relayed by the Southern California sector office in Pasadena, the second
statement read : "The aircraft which caused the blackout in the Los Angeles area for
several hours this a.m. have not been identified." Insistence from official quarters that
the alarm was real came as hundreds of thousands of citizens who heard and saw the
activity spread countless varying stories of the episode. The spectacular anti-aircraft
barrage came after the 14th Interceptor Command ordered the blackout when strange
craft were reported over the coastline. Powerful searchlights from countless stations
stabbed the sky with brilliant probing fingers while anti-aircraft batteries dotted the
heavens with beautiful, if sinister, orange bursts of shrapnel.
City Blacked Out For Hours
The city was blacked out from 2:25 to 7:21 am after an earlier yellow alert at 7:18 pm
was called off at 10:23 pm. The blackout was in effect from here to the Mexican border
and inland to the San Joaquin Valley. No bombs were dropped and no airplanes shot
down and, miraculously in terms of the tons of missiles hurled aloft, only two persons
were reported wounded by falling shell fragments. Countless thousands of Southland
residents, many of whom were late to work because of the traffic tie-up during the
blackout, rubbed their eyes sleepily yesterday and agreed that regardless of the question
of how "real" the air raid alarm may have been, it was "a great show" and "well worth
losing a few hours' sleep." The blackout was not without its casualties, however.
A State Guardsman died of a heart attack while driving an ammunition truck, heart
failure also accounted for the death of an air raid warden on duty, a woman was killed in
a car-truck collision in Arcadia, and a Long Beach policeman was killed in a traffic crash
enroute to duty. Much of the firing appeared to come from the vicinity of aircraft plants
along the coastal area of Santa Monica, Inglewood, Southwest Los Angeles,
and Long Beach.
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UFO Sightings
FOO FIGHTERS – 1944/45.
Although reports of sightings, which were eventually termed "UFOs," can be traced far
back into history, students of the subject have arbitrarily placed the beginning of the
modern era in the mid-1940s with the appearance of UFOs over both the European and
Pacific Theaters of War. These UFOs were called by many names, all of which revealed a
lack of understanding of their nature and source. To the Allies, they were "kraut fireballs"
or "foo fighters," with the latter term surviving. It is
believed that the Germans and Japanese saw them also.
Reports of "unexplained transparent, metallic and glowing
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UFO Sightings
balls" began in quantity in June, 1944, at about the same time the Allies invaded France,
and Nazi Germany began launching V-1 flying bombs aimed at London, thus starting the
era of unmanned missiles. Reports intensified in November 1944, not long after the first
German V-2 ballistic rockets were fired at London and Paris.
Pilots and their air crews reported that the "odd things" flew in formation with their
airplanes, "played tag" with them, and generally behaved as if they were under
intelligent control. At no time were they said to have displayed aggressive behavior.
Nevertheless, most people assumed they were an experimental enemy device being
prepared for operational use. Rumors of highly advanced weapons were common at this
time, fed by the awesome reality of the V1 and V2 weapons. The following are typical of
the scores of "foo fighter" reports on record. Rumors persist that the U.S. Eighth Air
Force in England commissioned a study on these reports, but no documentary evidence
has yet been found.
FOO FIGHTER CASES
Indian ocean - August, 1944.
On August 10, 1944 over the Indian Ocean, the co-pilot of a U.S. Army Air Force
B-29 Superfortress heavy bomber reported that :
"A strange object was pacing us about 500 yards [475 m.] off the starboard wing.
At that distance it appeared as a spherical object, probably five or six feet [1-2m.]
in diameter, of a very bright and intense red or orange... it seemed to have a halo effect.
"My gunner reported it coming in from about a 5 o'clock position (right rear) at our level.
It seemed to throb or vibrate constantly. Assuming it was some kind of radio-controlled
object sent to pace us, I went into evasive action, changing direction constantly, as much
as 90 degrees and altitude of about 2,000 feet [600 m.]. It followed our every maneuver
for about eight minutes, always holding a position about 500 yards [475 m.] out and
about 2 o'clock (right front) in relation to the plane. When it left, it made an abrupt 90
degree turn, accelerating rapidly, and disappeared into the overcast."
(Clark, Jerome, and Farish, Lucius, "The Mysterious 'Foo Fighters' of World War II," in
'1977 UFO Annual'.
Hagenau Germany – December, 1944.
On December 22, 1944 over Hagenau, Germany, the pilot and radar operator of an
American night fighter encountered two "large orange glows" which climbed rapidly
towards them. When the pilot dove steeply and banked sharply, the objects stayed with
him. The pilot stated : "Upon reaching our altitude, they levelled off and stayed on my
tail... After two minutes, they peeled off and turned away, flying under perfect control."
DOCUMENTS
Documents regarding foo fighter incidents are still being discovered even 50 years after
the end of World War II. In 1992, researcher Barry Greenwood of Citizens Against UFO
Secrecy (CAUS) went to the National Archives in Suitland, Maryland and located fifteen
"Mission Reports" from the 415th Night Fighter Squadron, covering a period between
September 1944 and April 1945. Here are two samples :
•
"December 22/23, 1944 - Mission 1, 17:05-18:50. Put on bogie by Blunder at 17:50
hours, had A.I. [Airborne Intercept radar] contact 4 miles range at Q-7372. Overshot
and could not pick up contact again. A.I. went out and weather started closing in so
returned to base. Observed 2 lights, one of which seemed to be going on and off at
Q-2422.
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UFO Sightings
•
"February 13/14, 1945 - Mission 2, 18:00-20:00. About 19:10, between Rastatt and
Bishwiller, encountered lights at 3,000 feet, two sets of them, turned into them, one
set went out and the other went straight up 2-3,000 feet [600 - 900 m.], then went
out. Turned back to base and looked back and saw lights in their original position
again."
Suggested explanations, both at the time and subsequently, have included prototype
enemy anti-aircraft devices, St. Elmo's fire (glowing balls of static electricity) and simple
misidentification of other airplanes. Here is an article of the New York Times following a
US Army press release. "In order to accept any of the above explanations, one would
have to discount the observational skills of scores of veteran combat pilots and their crew
members whose very survival depended on their ability to instantly identify and react to
any potential threat." Foo Fighters Related Documents : Major Keyhoe calls the ATIC, did
Air Force pilots shoot at unidentified object ? They shoot at foo fighters, says ATIC.
KENETH ARNOLD SIGHTING - 24. June, 1947.
Kenneth Arnold, a recreational private pilot, was returning home from a flight in
Wyoming when he received a radio signal requesting assistance in the Yakima,
Washington area. It seems there was a missing troop transport and a aerial search party
was being assembled.
At 3:00 p.m., flying at 9,000 feet, a bright flash of light caught
Arnold's attention. Turning to look our of the side window of
his airplane, Arnold was amazed to see 9 saucer shaped
objects flying in formation. Thinking they were some sort of
military aircraft, he watched them intently as they bobbed,
weaved, and darted about flying at an amazingly high rate of
speed. What fascinated Arnold the most was the fact that the
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UFO Sightings
flying objects had no tail, but rather were round, saucer shaped, metallic, and highly
polished. Arnold radioed in his sighting and the uproar began. When he landed he was
surprised to find a news conference scheduled at the Pendleton field in Oregon. It was at
this news conference that Arnold gave the world the first description of a saucer shaped
object. Arnold described the unknown objects flight characteristics like a "flying saucer."
The term was coined and the modern UFO craze began.
THE ROSWELL CASE
THE BRAZEL’S
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UFO Sightings
Mac Brazel
Mac Brazel & Wife
Brazel’s Ranch House
Near Corona, New Mexico, early July, 1947. After a hot, humid afternoon, a violent
thunderstorm filled the night skies. Sheep rancher Mac Brazel was used to the sound of
the lightning, wind, and thunder, but this night something was different. Mac heard a
sound that frightened him, an extremely loud sound… it was like a crash. He retired for
the night, and slept through the rest of the storm. Shortly, this quiet, soft-spoken
working man would enter a world he neither desired, nor endured well. He would begin a
story that would span over half a century, and continue to this day.
Frank Joyce
Jesse Marcel Sr.
Dr. Jesse Marcel Jr.
Sr. Marcel With Debris
The day after the storm, Brazel headed back into the pastures to check for any damage.
He was startled to find a large debris field. The debris seemed strange to him. He took
some of the strange materials to a nearby neighbor who urged him to report his find.
After talking to the Roswell, N. M. authorities, he is questioned by the local radio station
reporter Frank Joyce, who also reports the Brazel find to Roswell Army Airforce Base.
The information is relayed to Intelligence Officer Jesse Marcel Sr. Accompanied by a
security officer, Marcel meets with Brazel, and the debris field is examined. Marcel is
equally confused by the find, and loads the debris up, taking some of it to his house.
His son, Jesse Jr. vividly recalled the strange properties of the material his father brought
home that night.
Colonel William "Butch" Blanchard ordered the debris field cordoned off, and began the
investigation. On July 8th, Blanchard ordered the release of a press statement. Lt Walter
Haut would write the famous story confirming the Air Force had a "flying disc" in it's
possession. Shortly, the statement would be corrected, the saucer was now a weather
balloon. Major Edwin Easley was ordered to shut off all roads to the crash site,
and blackout information from the crash field. The debris was removed and flown to
Eighth Air Force Headquarters in Ft. Worth, Texas, under the command of General Roger
Ramey.
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UFO Sightings
Col. William Blanchard
Lt. Walter Haut
Mj. Edwin Easley
Gen. Roger Ramey
Colonel Dubose in Houston receives a phone call from a "very high" authority ordering
him to devise a cover-up story. The weather balloon cover is created. Marcel Sr. would
later state that the material he brought from New Mexico was switched with other
so-called balloon material. The photographs were taken by James Bond Johnson.
Meanwhile, back at Roswell, Mortician Glen Dennis of the Ballard Funeral Home is
contacted by Roswell for 4 "hermetically" sealed coffins that would fit children.
Col. Thomas Dubose
Ramey & Dubose
James Bond Johnson
Mortician Glen Dennis
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UFO Sightings
Nurse’s Drawing
Roswell Headlines
Roswell Article
A nurse friend of Mortician Dennis tells him a remarkable story. While working at RAAF,
she is called by doctors to assist in an "alien autopsy". She is sworn to secrecy, but must
confide in someone. She later meets Dennis, and draws him a sketch of what she saw.
She shortly is transfered, and never heard from again. The news of the "flying disc",
makes headlines world wide, and Mac Brazel begins to regret the day he found the
strange debris.
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UFO Sightings
Frank Kaufman
Pappy Henderson
Jim Ragsdale
A number of people have now seen the UFO wreckage, and even alien bodies.
Frank Kaufman gets a first hand look at the crash site, and the alien bodies.
The wreckage and alien bodies are stored at Roswell temporarily, but are then flown to
Wright-Patterson field in Ohio by "Pappy" Henderson. Jim Ragsdale, along with his
girlfriend, both testify that they stumble across the wreckage of a disc-shaped object in
the desert of New Mexico.
Alleged Debris Field
RAAF Hangar
Debris Pictures
THE ROSWELL UFO CRASH, PART 1
"Roswell," the very mention of the word brings images of
a crashed UFO, aliens, government cover-up, autopsies,
hidden debris, guarded charred bodies, and weather
balloons. In the history of UFO reports, no case has
received
the
world-wide
attention as the Roswell event
of 1947. Not only did the
alleged crash of a flying
saucer create mass coverage
at the time of the event, but
remains today as an often
discussed case by which all
other
cases
are
judged.
So many books and articles
have been written about
Roswell, it is not an easy
task to write another, but I
feel that no UFO enthusiast cannot include it among his comments. The Roswell event is
the cornerstone of UFO research. The case offers everything one could imagine; a crash
of some flying craft, direct, hands on testimony of witnesses who handled crash debris,
government cover-up and secrecy, and most of all a list of participants which is generally
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UFO Sightings
listed at around 500 first and secondhand testimonials. Ironically, the alleged crash story
originally
died
as
quickly
as
it
began.
It would be many years before UFO researchers refueled the fire behind it's enormous
potential. Most all of us are familiar with the famous Roswell headline stating that the
Army had captured a "flying saucer", and then the retraction a few hours later,
substituting a balloon for the crashed saucer. At the time of the original event, a sense of
naivety and trust gave birth to a rapid, quiet acceptance of the retraction, and there the
event died. But, fortunately, it was resurrected in 1976., and has kept pace with all other
events of the last 50+ years. It would be January, 1976., when ufologists William Moore,
and Stanton R. Friedman were mulling over some interview notes from two witnesses
whom Friedman had met with. A man and a woman, who both had knowledge of a
crashed saucer in July 1947. in Corona, New Mexico were the key witnesses.
A retired Air Force officer, Major Jesse A. Marcel asserted that he had first hand
involvement in the crash debris, and the Air Force cover-up. The woman was Lydia
Sleppy, who had been employed at an Albuquerque radio station KOAT. She claimed that
the military had covered-up the story of a crashed saucer, and the bodies of "little men",
who were aboard the craft. She also claimed that the Air Force had literally stopped the
sending of a teletype news report of the incident.
The USA Military had announced to the world that it had captured a flying saucer on a
remote ranch in Corona, and then about four hours later corrected the story, saying that
what was found was just a weather balloon with a radar reflector kite. We have two
stories. Which one is the truth ? Though subsequent confirmations of the balloon theory
continue, as long as we have firsthand witnesses who defy this explanation,
the investigation must continue. Of all of the explanations given to Project Bluebook,
it is quite strange that the Roswell story was never mentioned. The story that died so
quickly was rarely mentioned from the beginning, the only one, to my knowledge,
was in a mid-1950's lecture by UFO enthusiast Frank Edward. It seems that from the
beginning, a grass roots group of believers would perpetuate this grand story. When we
solve the puzzle of the many UFO reports, it will be due to this grass roots movement.
The truth is hard to kill.
It would be June 24, 1947., when the term, "flying saucer" was coined by pilot Kenneth
Arnold. He used this term to describe UFOs flying over Mr. Ranier, and only a couple of
weeks later, the phrase was used by the Air Force to explain what had been found in
Corona, New Mexico. The alleged crash debris was flown to Eight Army Air Force
Headquarters in Ft. Worth, Texas, and somehow between the time that Jesse Marcel Sr.,
had handled the "other worldly" material and it's arrival in Ft. Worth, the strange
material had lost it's luster, and became just a weather balloon. The Air Force had
effectively murdered the eye witness accounts, and made fools of all who were involved.
Marcel would categorically state that the debris he held in his hands, and showed to his
family, was not the same material shown in photos of the "balloon wreckage."
What happened to the saucer debris ? An uncertified, but controversial document might
provide an answer. Supposedly a brief prepared for then President-elect Dwight D.
Eisenhower, this document was authored on November 18, 1952. It asserts that on
September 24, 1947., President Harry S. Truman ordered the genesis of the highly
top-secret "Operation Majestic-12", to study the remains of the Roswell crash. These
papers would arrive in a plain manilla envelope, postmarked Albuquerque, in the post of
Los Angeles television producer Jaime Shandera in December 1984. In the early part of
1987., another copy was given to Timothy Good, a British ufologist. Good released it to
the British press in May. These documents caused quite a stir, but their authenticity
cannot be established beyond doubt. The jury is still out on the MJ-12 papers, but many
ufologists view it as a hoax. The issue itself is not insurmountable, however, as a huge
amount of evidence still remains to establish the Roswell crash as a reality. The Roswell
saga actually began in Silver City, New Mexico on June 25. Dr. R. F. Sensenbaugher, a
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UFO Sightings
dentist, reported sighting a saucer-shaped UFO fly over, that was about one-half the size
of the full moon. Two days later, in Pope, New Mexico, W. C. Dobbs reported a white,
glowing object flying overhead, not too far from the White Sands missile range. On the
same day, Captain E. B. Detchmendy reported to his commanding officer that he saw a
white, glowing UFO pass over the missile range. Two days later, on June 29, Rocket
expert C. J. Zohn and three of his technicians, who were stationed at White Sands,
watched a giant silver disc moving northward over the desert. On July 2, a UFO was
tracked at three separate installations ; Alamogordo, White Sands, and Roswell. In
Roswell, on the same day, Mr. and Mrs. Dan Wilmot saw a UFO. They report it's
appearance as "two inverted saucers faced mouth to mouth", moving at a high rate of
speed over their house. Enter rancher Mac Brazel.
The first hint that the debris could be "not of this world" would
come the next night from Mac's uncle, Hollis Wilson. Mac told Hollis
about his find, and Hollis urged Mac to report the findings, since
there had been reports of "flying saucers" in the area as of late.
On July 6, Mac was going to Roswell to strike up a deal for a new
pickup truck. He took along some of the debris, and stopped off at
the Chaves County Sheriff's Office and spoke to George Wilcox.
The story of the find was not significant to Wilcox until he actually
handled a piece of the silvery material. Wilcox telephoned the
Roswell Army Air Field, and spoke to one Major Jesse A. Marcel,
who was the base intelligence officer. Marcel told the Sheriff he
would come into Roswell and talk to Brazel about his find. Word of
the goings on began to spread rapidly in the community, and soon Mac was talking to
radio station KGFL about the incident. Mac told the station what he knew over the
telephone.
THE ROSWELL UFO CRASH, PART 2
Radio station KGFL reporter Frank Joyce informed his boss, Walt Whitmore Sr. about the
recent developments, and Whitmore drove out and picked up Brazel and took him to his
home in Roswell. There an interview took place, all taped into a recorder, but the
interview would never be made public. Threats from the military would prevent the
transmission of the tape. The next day, Whitmore took Brazel to the radio station, and
called the Roswell Army Base. What Whitmore told the Base is not known exactly,
but the military came and picked Mac up, and transported him to the base, where he
was a "guest" of sorts, for about a week. On July 8, the military returned Mac to the
Roswell Daily Record, where a press conference was conducted. Oddly enough, Mac's
story was somewhat different after his "stay" at Roswell Army Base. Mac now said that
he and his son had discovered the debris on June 14, but he was so busy, that he didn't
pay it any attention. He stated that some weeks later, on July 4th, he, his wife, and two
children drove out to the debris field, and collected some samples. Among the collection
were gray rubber strips, tinfoil, a type of heavy paper, and small wooden sticks. Mac
further asserted that he had found balloons on several occasions, but that this debris was
totally different from the other finds. "I am sure what I found was not any weather
observation balloon," he said. "But if I find anything else beside a bomb they are going to
have a hard time getting me to say anything about it", he said. Mac's military escort led
him out to a car after the conference, and drove him to KGFL. Eye witness accounts say
that as Mac left the newspaper office, he kept his head pointed to the ground, and did
not speak to any of his friends who were present at the time. Brazel went into the radio
station without his escort, and began telling Frank Joyce the same story he had related at
the press conference. Joyce was shocked by the sudden change in the story's details, and
interrupted Brazel at one point, asking him why he had changed his story. Brazel became
upset at the question, and stated, "It'll go hard on me."
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UFO Sightings
After this interview, Mac was taken back to the Army Base. After finally being released
from Roswell Base, suddenly Mac didn't want to discuss his find anymore. Those who
knew him say that in private, he complained about his harsh treatment by the military.
He was not allowed even to call his wife during his stay at the base, and he told his
children that he took an oath to never discuss the details of the debris field. Within a
year after finding the strange debris, Mac had moved off the ranch he loved so much,
into the town of Tularosa, where he opened a small business of his own. He passed away
in 1963. All of this for a weather balloon ? Major Jesse A. Marcel was the intelligence
officer at Roswell Army Air Force Base, which was home of the only bomb group in
existence at the time. It should be noted that all of the personnel at the base had high
security clearance. Marcel was a veteran officer, who was trusted fully. He had been a
highly skilled cartographer before World War II, and was sent to intelligence training by
the Army, because of his impeccable character. He was even an instructor for a time at
the training school. He also logged over 450 hours of combat duty as a pilot during the
War, and was highly decorated with five air medals for shooting down enemy aircraft.
After the War ended, he was chosen as a member of the 509th Bomb Wing, handling
security for "Operation Crossroads", which conducted nuclear testing in 1946. After being
awarded a commendation for his work on the nuclear project, he was named the
intelligence officer for Roswell AAFB.
Marcel was on a lunch break when he received a phone call from Sheriff Wilcox.
Wilcox informed him that rancher Mac Brazel had found debris from a crash of some
object on a sheep ranch. Marcel went to town, talked to Brazel, and reported his findings
to Colonel Blanchard. Marcel was given orders to go to the site, which he did,
accompanied by CIC officer Sheridan Cavitt. Arriving too late for ample light for a search,
the two soldiers spent the night with Brazel, and then proceeded to the sight the next
morning. Marcell related the events of the search through the debris in his own words :
"When we arrived at the crash site, it was amazing to see the vast amount of area it
covered."
- "...it scattered over an area of about three quarters of a mile long, I would say, and
fairly wide, several hundred feet wide. "It was definitely not a weather or tracking device,
nor was it any sort of plane or missile."
- "I don't know what it was, but it certainly wasn't anything built by us and it most
certainly wasn't any weather balloon."
- "...small beams about three eighths or a half inch square with some sort of
hieroglyphics on them that nobody could decipher. These looked something like balsa
wood, and were about the same weight, except that they were not wood at all. They
were very hard, although flexible, and would not burn at all. There was a great deal of an
unusual parchment-like substance which was brown in color and extremely strong, and
great number of small pieces of a metal like tinfoil, except that it wasn't tinfoil. I was
interested in electronics and kept looking for something that resembled instruments or
electronic equipment, but I didn't find anything." "
- "...Cavitt, I think, found a black, metallic-looking box several inches square.
As there was no apparent way to open this, and since it didn't appear to be an
instrument package of any sort, we threw it in with the rest of the stuff." - "It had little
numbers with symbols that we had to call hieroglyphics because I could not understand
them. They were pink and purple. They looked like they were painted on. I even took my
cigarette lighter and tried to burn the material we found that resembled parchment and
balsa, but it would not burn, wouldn't even smoke", "...the pieces of metal that we
brought back were so thin, just like the tinfoil in a pack of cigarettes", "...you could not
tear or cut it either. We even tried making a dent in it with a sixteen-pound
sledgehammer, and there was still no dent in it."
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UFO Sightings
Having rode to the site in two vehicles, Marcel sent Cavitt back to the base with his Jeep
full of the material, and Marcel took his Buick, and stopped by his house to show his wife
and son his amazing find. Marcel and Brazel met at the Sheriff's office. Mac told Marcel
what he knew, and showed him a piece of debris. Marcel reported the results of his
interview to Colonel William H. Blanchard back at Roswell Army Base. A decision was
made for Brazel to go out to the site, and investigate for himself. Marcel would take his
old Buick, and Army Counter Intelligence Corps officer Sheridan Cavitt accompanied him
in a Jeep all-terrain vehicle. Following Marcel back to the ranch, it was too late that day
to visit the site, so they all three stayed in Mac's ranch house. After a dinner of beans,
the three headed to the site the next morning. After a brief look around, Mac left Marcel
and Cavitt, returning to his chores.
Dr. Jesse Marcel Jr. (Marcel's son) :
- "The material was foil-like stuff, very thin, metallic-like but not
metal, and very tough. There was also some structural-like material
too, - beams and so on. Also a quantity of black plastic material
which looked organic in nature." - "Imprinted along the edge of
some of the beam remnants were hieroglyphic-type characters."
When Marcel arrived back at the base, he was instructed by Colonel
Blanchard to load the debris on a B-29, and fly with it to Wright
Field in Ohio, stopping on the way at Carswell AAFB in Ft. Worth,
Texas. The military was hard at work at Roswell. Colonel Walter
Haut was given an order from Col. Blanchard to write a press release stating that the
RAAF had in its possession a "crashed saucer." According to Haut, the saucer was
transported to the 8th Air Force, to be turned over to General Ramey. Haut discharged
his duty, and finished the press release he'd been ordered to write, giving copies of the
release to the two radio stations and both of the newspapers. The famous headlines hit
the newspapers.
Raaf Captures Flying Saucer On Ranch In Roswell Region
When Marcel arrived at Carswell, Brigadier General Roger Ramey, Commander of the 8th
Air Force took full charge of the case. The debris from Brazel's field was taken into
Ramey's office, and photographed. The photographer was James Bond Johnson. Marcel
was in one photo with the real debris. Ramey took Marcel into another office, and upon
their return to Ramey's office, some new and different material was spread on the floor.
Marcel, under orders, stated that this debris was from a weather balloon. After more
photos were taken, Ramey sent Marcel back to Roswell, along with a stern warning not to
disclose anything he had seen at Carswell. It was then reported that General Ramey
recognized the remains as part of a weather balloon. Brigadier General Thomas DuBose,
the chief of staff of the Eighth Air Force, after many years of silence would state : "[It]
was a cover story. The whole balloon part of it. That was the part of the story we were
told to give to the public and news and that was it." There can be NO doubt that the
orders to cover-up the saucer story came from our Chief Executive.
Marcel was stunned to find upon his return to his home base, that
he was made a laughing stock because he ignorantly misidentified
the balloon material with that of "something unknown." Some three
months later, however, Marcel was promoted to Lt. Colonel,
and assigned to a new program. He was in charge of testing
atmospheric particles to detect Russian atomic discharges. When he
was interviewed in 1978., he maintained that the debris he found
on the Foster ranch was definitely NOT a weather balloon. He
insisted that it was like nothing he had ever seen... Through the
first part of the Roswell story, we have heard of strange debris, and
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UFO Sightings
two different explanations of what that debris was. So what about the alleged alien
bodies, an actual saucer on the ground, or an alien autopsy ? To accurately continue our
quest
for
all
of
the
facts
behind
the
Roswell
case,
me move to a new location. The site is San Agustin, near Magdalena, New Mexico.
This story is based upon the testimony of Vern and Jean Maltais. The couple states that
in February 1950., an engineer friend of theirs, Grady L. "Barney" Barnett told them that
while working in the fields near Magdalena, July 3, 1947., he had come upon a crashed
disc-shaped object. This flying disc had alien bodies strewn about it. There were aliens
inside and outside of the craft. As important as this seems, there is a flaw in his story.
It seems that Barnett's wife kept a diary of his comings and goings. His wife stated that
his diary did not corroborate the date as July 3, 1947. This may or not mean anything,
as surely a mistake could have been made, or a date mixed up, or plans changed after
the entry was made.
Barnett's claims were controversial though, until yet another witness would come forward
which would shed new light on his claims. After an airing of a "Roswell Crash" segment
on the popular "Unsolved Mysteries" show in 1990., Gerald Anderson came forward with
some fascinating details. Anderson states that he and his family were hunting rocks
on the Plains of San Agustin in early July 1947., when they also came upon a crashed
saucer-shaped craft. The craft had four dead aliens inside. Though Gerald was only
six years old at the time, the extraordinary sighting was one he would never forget.
To take matters a step further, archaeologist, Dr. Buskirk, and five of his students
also came upon the crash scene. Anderson's story also has holes in it, however.
It seems that Dr. Buskirk was a former teacher of Anderson. Records indicate that the
Doctor was in Arizona at the time of the alleged sighting.
There is also a case for a second crash near Roswell. Testimony of mortician Glenn
Dennis, along with Captain Oliver Wendell "Pappy" Henderson seem to substantiate this
theory. The actions of the military can tell us a lot. Supposedly cordoning off the area,
and removing every iota of the debris field does not make sense if all that was there was
weather balloon material. Much importance must also be put upon Marcel. His word
seems to be above reproach. He states without wavering that the debris was NOT balloon
material. He should know. He also states that the debris he brought from Brazel's field
was NOT the debris in the newspaper photographs. What about all of the eyewitnesses ?
In all fairness, it must be said that many of the witnesses are NOT first hand. We know
how stories can be changed, or amended by being passed down the line. But there are
also many firsthand witnesses. What about their testimony ? If their stories are all lies,
then a large group of people, some unbeknownst to the others, have perpetuated one of
the best organized conspiracies in the last century. Let's examine the testimony of these
"first hand" witnesses.
Maybe the truth is out there after all. Is there a way to reconcile all of the different
theories into one authentic account of the events of Roswell ?
THE ROSWELL UFO CRASH, PART 3
What about the alien bodies ? There are many rumors about the "little men." Some say
there were three, some say four, some even count 5. Let's see if we can find the truth
behind the rumors by relying on eye witness testimony.
Ray Danzer, a plumbing contractor, was working on the Roswell Base. He was standing
outside of the emergency room, when he saw alien bodies being brought into the base
hospital on stretchers. Dumbfounded by the event, he was shaken back to reality by
military police who warned him to leave, and forget what he saw. Steve MacKenzie saw
four bodies around the crashed UFO. He said that another one was out of sight.
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UFO Sightings
Major Edwin Easley was commander of the Military Police who
cordoned off the crash site. He related to his family that he made a
promise to the President that he would never speak of what he saw
that day. Herbert Ellis, a painting contractor at Roswell AAFB,
reported that he saw an alien "walking" into the Roswell Army
hospital. Mary Bush, who was secretary to the base hospital
administrator, told mortician Glenn Dennis that she saw "a creature
from another world." She was called on to assist two doctors in a
hospital room where three "alien" bodies were being examined.
Though suffocated by an overwhelming odor from the bodies, she
clearly recalled that the aliens had four fingers, and no thumbs.
Joseph Montoya, Lt. Governor of New Mexico, told Pete Anaya that he had seen "four
little men." One of them was still alive. He states that they had oversized heads, with big
eyes. Their mouth was small, like a cut across a piece of wood. "I tell you they're not
from this world."
Sergeant Thomas Gonzales, with the 509th, was a guard at the crash site, and saw
bodies he called "little men."
A member of the Army COINTEL, Frank Kaufman, saw a "strange
looking craft embedded in a cliff." He also states that he saw debris
being put into crates which were stored under heavy military guard
at Roswell AAFB.
Again, we must ask the question. Are all of these witnesses lying ?
Are these stories simply fabrications ? What are the odds ? How far
would this kind of testimony go in a court of law ? The conclusion to
me is obvious. Although every tiny detail can be put under a
microscope to find fault and error, it is only a normal human
assumption to believe this story. There is just too much evidence to
support it. Many researchers have, in my opinion, wasted countless
hours trying to find fault in a report by one witness or so. At times, there have been
discrepancies found in a date, a name misspelled, a time of day an hour or two off, and
these researchers believe that the ability to discredit one witness makes it logical to
assume that ALL of the other witnesses who say essentially the same thing are not to be
believed. On the contrary, when so many agree on one general concept, even with small
errors in detail, all the more reason to believe the consensus of the gist of the whole.
There can be NO doubt that a flying craft of unknown origin crashed into the deserts of
New Mexico. At least three dead bodies were found, and examined. It seems that
possibly one of the aliens lived through the crash. Many theories abound about the
location of these bodies, and the crash debris. I have no answers to that end. There are
just too many first-hand witnesses to the events of Roswell not to believe their accounts.
The saga of Roswell continues even today.
THE DEATH OF THOMAS MANTELL
January 7, 1948. would be a day of tragedy for Captain Thomas F. Mantell of the
Kentucky Air National Guard, and his family, friends, and fellow Guardsmen. The Mandell
case would forever be a part of the hotbed of UFO reports of the late 1940s and early
1950s. He would have the unfortunate distinction of being the first human being to give
his life in the ongoing chase for the elusive truth behind bizarre reports of flying craft
from other worlds. Was his sighting a carry-over from the foo-fighters of World War II ?
or were they altogether another phenomena ?..a phenomena that was just out of his
reach. He gave all he had to reach this mysterious, intelligently controlled metallic craft,
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UFO Sightings
but whatever it was, and whoever controlled it, escaped that day.. that day that Thomas
Mantell lost his life.
Mantell was piloting an F-51 that fateful day, soaring to Standiford
Air Force Base, Kentucky. He was accompanied by three other
Guard planes. At approximately 1:30 P.M. the Kentucky State
Police began receiving reports from worried citizens of spotting a
large circular object flying over the city of Mansville. In a matter
of minutes the area of the sightings expanded to cover Irvington
and Owensboro. This large, metallic flying craft was then clearly
seen from the tower of Godman Air Force Base. The object was
described as being an extremely large, round, whitish in color,
with a red light toward it's bottom side, and seemed to be moving
slowly toward the South. A little over an hour after the first
reports, Mantell and his crew were asked to investigate these strange reports. The actual
transcripts read," Godman Tower Calling the flight of 4 ships northbound over Godman
Field. Do you read ? Over. [Pause] Godman Tower Calling the flight of 4 ships
northbound over Godman Field. Do you read ? Over." "Roger, Godman Tower. This is
National Guard 869, Flight Leader of the formation. Over." "National Guard 869 from
Godman Tower. We have an object out south of Godman here that we are unable to
identify, and we would like to know if you have gas enough; and if so could you take a
look for us if you will." "Roger, I have the gas and I will take a look for you if you give
me the correct heading. One of his three companions in flight received permission to
continue his pre-assigned flight plan, while Mantell and the remaining two planes headed
to the coordinates of the visual sightings.
Mantell led the way in the climb to 15,000 feet, and upon reaching the position,
he radioed the following statement back to the control tower. "The object is directly
ahead of and above me now, moving at about half my speed...It appears to be a metallic
object or possibly reflection of Sun from a metallic object, and it is of tremendous size. . .
. I’m still climbing. . . . I’m trying to close in for a better look. " 18,000, 20,000, 22,000
feet ! too high for the WWII fighters without oxygen ! The other two planes turned back,
leaving Mantell alone to pursue the giant object. By all accounts Mantell must have
passed out from lack of oxygen at about 30,000; at least his plane leveled off at that
height. His plane now began to plunge back toward earth. He crashed a few harrowing
moments later on the farm of William J. Phillips near Franklin, Kentucky. Mantell's watch
stopped at 3:16, and his body was still strapped in his plane, which become his coffin.
He had spent 45 minutes in a frantic flight into the realm of the unknown. By 3:50, the
giant craft was not visible from Godman, but other reports continued southward into
Tennessee.
The reports of the incident spread like wildfire. Theory and speculation reached radio
shows, television, and newspapers. The New York Times' story began with this headline,
"Flier Dies Chasing A `Flying Saucer," and another story was headlined with,
"Plane Exploded Over Kentucky as That and Near States Report Strange Object."
Common speculation that Mantell was chasing a UFO was countered by the Air Force,
which initially concluded that Mantell and his co-hearts were chasing the planet Venus.
They also announced that his death was directly related to oxygen deprivation.
This almost comical conclusion was hastily put to rest by an eye witness, Glen Mays, who
lived near Franklin. Mays stated categorically that Mantell's plane exploded in mid-air."
The plane circled three times, like the pilot didn’t know where he was going, reported
Mays, "and then started down into a dive from about 20,000 feet. About halfway down
there was a terrific explosion." Then again, there is the testimony of Godman Base
Commander Guy F. Hix, who stated to reporters that he observed the craft for almost an
hour through binoculars. He would not have confused what he saw with the planet
Venus.
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UFO Sightings
Richard T. Miller, who was in the Operations Room of Scott Air Force Base in Belleville,
Illinois also made several profound statements regarding the crash. He was monitoring
the radio talk between Mantell and Godman tower, and heard this statement very clearly.
"My God, I see people in this thing !" Miller added that on the morning after the crash,
at a briefing, investigators had stated that Mantell died "pursuing an intelligently
controlled unidentified flying object." In conclusion, Miller made this statement, "that
evening, Air Technical Intelligence Center officers from Wright-Patterson AFB arrived and
ordered all personnel to turn over any materials relating to the crash. "Then, after we
had turned it over to them, they said they had already completed the investigation."
"I was no longer a skeptic. I had been up to that time. Now I wondered why the
Government had gone to all of the trouble of covering it up, to keep it away from the
press and the public."
In more recent years, additional information has come forward. Captain James F.
Duesler, who was one of several military officers at Godman, was retired and living in
England. In 1997, he stated that he and several other officers actually saw the gigantic
UFO hovering over Godman field that day. Duesler, who was a pilot and crash
investigator, stated, "the UFO was a strange gray-looking object, which looked like a
rotating inverted ice cream cone." Shortly after the crash, Duesler visited the site, and
made these observations, "The wings and tail section had broken off on impact with the
ground and were a short distance from the plane," he recalled. "There was no damage to
the surrounding trees and it was obvious that there had been no forward or sideways
motion when the plane had come down. It just appeared to have "belly flopped" into the
clearing. There was very little damaged to the fuselage, which was in one piece, and no
signs of blood whatsoever in the cockpit. There was no scratching on the body of the
fuselage to indicate any forward movement and the propeller blade bore no telltale
scratch marks to show it had been rotating at the time of impact, and one blade had
been embedded into the ground. The damage pattern was not consistent with an aircraft
of this type crashing at high speed into the ground. Because of the large engine in the
nose of the plane, it would come down nose first and hit the ground at an angle. Even if
it had managed to glide in, it would have cut a swath through the trees and a channel
into the ground. None of these signs were present. All indications were that it had just
belly flopped into the clearing. I must admit, I found this very strange." To further
debunk the "Venus" theory, astronomical records indicated that the planet was only 33
degrees above the horizon at the time of the incident, thus totally eliminating it from the
case. The Air Force, embarrassed by the "Venus" theory falling through, now searched
for another "wordly" explanation for the object observed that day. After discovering that
Naval research was sending up the enormous "Skyhook" balloons, the Air Force had their
alternate solution. This theory was also soon aborted after discovering that no balloon
was launched, or could have been in the skies that day. The UFO theory received more
credence after Mantell's death. On January 8, residents of Clinton, North Carolina,
reported a cone-shaped object moving through the skies at incredible speeds, and on
February 1, a large metallic UFO was seen emitting an orange light near the ground at
Circleville, Ohio. Whatever happened on the day that Thomas Mantell crashed his plane,
it is certain that it was not a weather balloon, and it was not Venus, or any other planet.
Could it have been a visitor from another planet, or another dimension ?
THE CHILES/WHITTED SIGHTING
A classic UFO event that has all but been forgotten is the Chiles-Whitted sighting which
unfolded over Montgomery, Alabama on 24. July, 1948. This case was one of the very
first reports of a large UFO officially made by commercial airplane pilots. The experience
was a one of a kind for the two seasoned pilots, Captain Clarence S. Chiles, and co-pilot
John B. Whitted. While flying an Eastern Airlines DC-3 from Houston, Texas to Atlanta,
Georgia they encountered a huge cigar-shaped UFO which barely missed them.
This extraordinary event transpired while the DC-3 was cruising 5,000 feet above the city
of Montgomery, Alabama.
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UFO Sightings
The first part of their journey was a pleasant, uneventful one until 2:45 A.M.
Their relaxed cruising mode was suddenly interrupted by the sight of what seemed to be
a dullish-red glowing object, directly in their flight path. Still at a distance, the two pilots
first impression was that they were looking at a jet, unreported, and coming right at
them ! The glowing object barely missed them, passing on their starboard side at a
distance of about 1,000 feet, according to Chiles. Whitted would later estimate the
distance at somewhat more than Chiles' guess.
The two pilots both agreed that the object had no wings or tail section. Both also agreed
seeing at least two rows of windows from which appeared a glowing like "burning
magnesium." The object had a pointed nose section, and there was a "bluish glow"
running on it's belly from nose to it's end. Out of it's rear end, an "orange-red" exhaust
was seen by the two unnerved crewmen. This so-called emission was as long again as
the object's body. Both pilots were also in agreement that the object's length was
approximately that of a B-29 bomber, though somewhat thicker.
Captain Chiles' first reaction was to turn his DC-3
off to the left, as the object seemed to be coming
slightly to his right. Both pilots clearly witnessed
the oncoming craft do an abrupt pull-up, just after
missing them. Only Whitted was able to view the
object as it seemed to momentarily disappear after
making a rapid vertical ascent. When asked later to
elaborate on his description, he added, "the object
vanished instantaneously after its sharp pull-up."
The unusual object and it's dash at the DC-3 was
fully reported to Eastern officials and Project Sign.
Some further details were made available in this
report. The two pilots stated that "no disturbance
was felt from airwaves, nor was there any wash or
mechanical disturbance when the object passed." Other witnesses would later disagree
with this statement, and in the Naval Intelligence Report of the incident, it is stated by at
least one of the passengers that the "DC-3 was rocked by the wash from the object."
Witnesses also describe a sound like that of a V-2 rocket. Most of the passengers were,
fortunately for them, asleep at the time of the occurrence. Clarence McKelvie, who was
assistant editor of the American Education Press at Columbus, Ohio stated, "I saw no
shape or form. It was on the right side of the plane, and suddenly I saw this strange,
eerie streak out of my window. It was very intense, not like lightning or anything I had
ever seen before."
Chiles, Whitted, and McKelvie were not the only observers of this strange sight that
morning. Several witnesses from Robbins Air Base, near Macon, Georgia stated
they saw an object of the same description about 1/2 hour before the DC-3 sighting.
The object was reported as travelling in a southerly direction at a high rate of
speed. An official government investigation ruled out the possibility of a conventional
aircraft after tracing flight records of 225 civilian and military flights that morning.
Private debunkers, with no consideration of the facts, wrote the sighting off as an illusion
due to temperature inversions, and then later assigned the sighting to a meteor.
Project Sign would agree on the meteor theory, but in usual fashion, added that the
description of the object, and it's maneuvers did not match that of a meteor.
This near-collision is still listed under the "unexplained" category.
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UFO Sightings
THE TRENT PHOTOGRAPHS
A classic set of impressive UFO photos was taken by Mr. and Mrs. Trent in the early part
of the evening, just before sunset, on May 11, 1950, near McMinnville, Oregon.
According to the Trent's account the object, as it appeared over their farm was first seen
by Ms. Trent while she was feeding the farm's rabbits. She then quickly called her
husband who got the family's camera and Mr. Trent then took two shots from positions
only just a few feet apart. The pictures first appeared in a local newspaper and
afterwards in Life magazine. Seventeen years later the photos were subjected to a
detailed analysis for the University of Colorado UFO Project.William K. Hartmann, an
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UFO Sightings
astronomer from the University of Arizona, performed a meticulous photometric and
photogrammetric investigation of the original negatives, and set up a scaling system to
determine the approximate distance of the UFO. Hartmann used objects in the near
foreground, such as a house, tree, metal water tank, and telephone pole, whose images
could be compared with that of the UFO. There were also hills, trees, and buildings in the
far distance whose contrast and details had been obscured by atmospheric haze.
Hartmann used these known distances of various
objects in the photo to calculate an approximate
atmospheric attenuation factor. He then measured
the relative brightnesses of various objects in the
photos, and demonstrated that their distances could
generally be calculated with an accuracy of about
+/- 30%. In the most extreme case, he would be in
error by a factor of four. He then wrote : "It is
concluded that by careful consideration of the
parameters involved in the case of recognizable
objects in the photographs, distances can be
measured within a factor-four error ... If such good
measure could be made for the UFO, we could distinguish between a distant
extraordinary object and a hypothetical small, close model."
Hartmann then noted that his photometric measurements indicated that the UFO was
intrinsically brighter than the metallic tank and the white painted surface of the house,
consistent with the Trent's description that it was a shiny object. Further, the shadowed
surface of the UFO was much brighter than the shadowed region of the water tank, which
was best explained by a distant object being illuminated by scattered light from the
environment.
- "It appears significant that the simplest most direct interpretation of the photographs
confirms precisely what the witnesses said they saw."
Hartmann further wrote that "to the extent that the photometric analysis is reliable,
(and the measurements appear to be consistent), the photographs indicate an object
with a bright shiny surface at considerable distance and on the order of tens of meters in
diameter. While it would be exaggerating to say that we have positively ruled out a
fabrication, it appears significant that the simplest most direct interpretation of the
photographs confirms precisely what the witnesses said they saw." In his conclusion,
Hartmann reiterated this, stressing that all the factors he had investigated, both
photographic and testimonial, were consistent with the claim that "an extraordinary
flying object, silvery, metallic, disc-shaped, tens of metres in diameter, and evidently
artificial, flew within sight of [the] two witnesses."
CONTROVERSY - THE SKEPTICS' CASE
Not satisfied with Hartmann's findings and totally devoid of any evidence that the
UFO was a hoax and hanging from the wires, UFO debunker Robert Sheaffer argued
qualitatively that the haze in the photos (the haze veiled the UFO and led Hartmann to
conclude the UFO was about 1.3 kilometres distant) could be due to a "dirty" camera
lens, and thus the object could still be close to the camera. He further argued that
shadows on the garage were strong evidence for a large time lag between the photos,
and alleged that the shadow positions suggested the photos were taken at 7:30 in the
morning rather than in the evening (the image on the left depicts the edge enhancement
technique which, under typical conditions, can reveal the presence of a wire less than a
quarter of a millimetre thick at a distance of up to 3 metres).
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UFO Sightings
Dr. Bruce Maccabee, an optical physicist, analyzed the original negatives and found no
support for Sheaffer's time lag claim. He also repeated Hartmann's calculations in much
greater detail, including corrections for lens grease and obtained about the same results
as Hartmann originally did. (One other important aspect of Sheaffer's dirty lens
hypothesis is that it fails to explain why it didn't affect all objects in the photos, and not
just the UFO. All the nearby objects in the photo were all sharp with high contrast, but
the objects in the distance such as a barn, a house, trees, and hills (and the UFO), were
of low contrast, exactly as would be expected from absorption and scattering of light.)
Maccabee calculated the UFO to be over 1 kilometre away, and about 30 meters in
diameter and 4 meters thick.
Regarding the alleged reported time the photos were taken which, according to Sheaffer,
would be inconsistent with the position of the shadows on the photos, Maccabee
discovered that the garage shadows could only have been caused by a diffuse light
source, rebutting Sheaffer's argument. Maccabee suggested that a bright cloud
illuminated by the evening sun could possibly have caused them. Moreover, neither
Sheaffer nor Klass has provided a plausible cause as to why the Trents would have lied
about this, especially since it is immaterial to analysis of the UFO's distance.
REPEATERS
In his book "UFOs Explained," Klass argued that the Trents were "repeaters," citing a
story published in the Portland Oregonian June 10 in which Mrs. trent is quoted as saying
to reporter Lou Gillette that "she had seen similar objects on the coast three different
times but no one would believe me." Klass further quotes from a newspaper article
written about 17 years later, in which she is quoted as saying "We've seen quite a few
since then but we didn't get any pictures, they disappeared too fast."
Klass indictment of "repeater" is based solely on Mrs. Trent's claims as reported in the
paper. Assuming the account is accurate, an important detail however, is that Mr. Trent
apparently did notagree with his wife. For reasons we can only guess, Klass did not
include in his book Mr. Trent's response to the following question (story in the June 11,
1950 L.A. Examiner) : "Why [did you wait] so long before telling anyone about [the
photos]. Trent admitted he was 'kinda scared of it.' He said: 'You know, you hear so
much about those things... I didn't believe all that talk about flying saucers before, but
now have an idea the Army knows what they are."
This suggests that Mr. Trent had not seen any UFOs before and was skeptical about flying
saucers (hence his wife's claim that "no one would believe me")... until he saw one
himself. One get's into a logical muddle here. If, as Klass believes, there are no saucers
and therefore the Trents couldn't have seen one, then Mrs. Trent must have been lying
when she said she saw several previously. On the other hand, Mr. Trent was telling the
truth about his skepticism, although he could well have supported his wife's claim by
saying that he too had seen several even if he really didn't believe they existed. After all,
if its a hoax, he could say anything to support the hoax story. One way to get out of this
muddle is to assume that they both told the truth regarding previous sightings
(Mrs. Trent had several, Mr. Trent had none and didn't believe in saucers). Of course,
Mrs. Trent previous sightings certainly could have been honest misidentifications... and if
this were so then she wasn't really "a repeater" unless you classify a person who
repeatedly and honestly misidentifies objects as "a repeater" [Maccabee op. cit., private
communication].
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THE AZTEC UFO CRASH
In 1950, controversial author Frank Scully released the book, "Behind the Flying
Saucers." This effort, written during the beginnings of UFO awareness in the United
States, was considered to contain fabricated, or sensationalized accounts of four UFO
crashes. One of the accounts covered an alleged crash at Aztec, New Mexico in 1948,
only a brief period of time after the famous Roswell incident.
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UFO Sightings
Scully's information came largely from a mysterious Dr. Gee. Depending of which
commentary you read, the identity of this physician is attributed to either a real doctor,
or a fictitious person who was composed of elements of several different witnesses.
Scully described the Aztec crash as that of a craft which was measured at exactly
99.99 feet in diameter, covered by a material which resembled a light weight shiny metal
that possessed incredible strength and durability. It seems that nothing on this earth
could penetrate or damage the hull of this craft from another world.
The disc shaped craft had large metallic rings revolving around a central core, which was
supposedly the control bridge of the object. The hull of the craft contained no apparent
seams, rivets, or any hint of the material being pieced together. As the story goes,
the investigating team gained access to it's interior by the use of a long pole which they
pushed through a porthole in the saucer. A knob was engaged which opened a previously
hidden door. Once inside, the team found 16 small humanoid beings, all dead, their
bodies charred from fire. The aliens height was reported as 36-42 inches. The exterior of
the craft was not damaged. The inside showed that the craft was put together with a
framework of grooves and pins.
The craft and the alien bodies were allegedly sent to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.
Other supporting evidence of the Aztec crash was said to have surfaced in 1987 from one
William Steinman, but his sources were not verified. Steinman asserted that the crash
occurred on March 25, 1948, and was verified by three different radar stations.
Steinman's account listed 14 dead aliens instead of 16. Until supporting evidence of
Scully's or Steinman's account can be obtained, the Aztec crash story remains an
unknown.
THE LUBBOCK LIGHTS, 1951.
At 9:10 p.m. on August 25, 1951. Dr. W. I. Robinson, professor of geology at the Texas
technological College, stood in the back yard of his home in Lubbock, Texas and chatted
with two colleagues. The other men were Dr. A. G. Oberg, a professor of chemical
engineering, and Professor W. L. Ducker, head of the department of petroleum
engineering. The night was clear and dark. Suddenly all three men saw a number of
lights race noiselessly across the sky, from horizon to horizon, in a few seconds.
They gave the impression of about 30 luminous beads, arranged in a crescent shape.
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UFO Sightings
A few moments later another similar formation flashed across the night. This time the
scientists were able to judge that the lights moved through 30 degrees of arc in a
second. A check the next day with the Air Force showed that no planes had been over the
area at the time. This was but the beginning: Professor Ducker observed 12 flights of the
luminous objects between August and November of last year. Some of his colleagues
observed as many as 10. Hundreds of nonscientific observers in a wide vicinity around
Lubbock have seen as many as three flights of the mysterious crescents in one night.
On the night of August 30 an attempt to photograph the lights was
made by 18-year old Carl Hart Jr. He used a Kodak 35-mm camera
at f3.5, 1/10 of a second. Working rapidly, Hart managed to get
five exposures of the flights. The pictures exhibited by Hart as the
result of this effort show 18 to 20 luminous objects, more intense
than the planet Venus, arranged in one or a pair of crescents.
In several photographs, off to one side of the main flight, a larger
luminosity is visible –like a mother craft hovering near its aerial
brood. It seemed an ordinary Lubbock night when... The first
sightings began on the night of August 25 at 9:20pm and continued
for the next several evenings. Witnesses said they saw "dots" of
lights flying in "U" and "V" shapes, passing in two and three-second
intervals.
The number of dots reported in the formations ranged from eight to nine to
20 to 30. The lights appeared in the northeastern part of the sky and proceeded in a
straight line to the southwest. The color of the lights were "about like the stars, only
brighter," while others said they were either a blue or white with a slight yellow tinge to
them. Others described them as appearing "as a string of beads," moving roughly in a
semi-circle, and were "soft, glowing, bluish-green."
Another group of lights came over three minutes after the first group had been sighted.
Officials at Reese Air Force Base and the Civil Aeronautics Administration both reported
that to their knowledge, there were no jet planes flying in the area on the nights of the
sightings. The photographs were taken at 5:30pm and 10:37pm. The three Texas Tech
professors examined the 18-year-old's photographs, but could find no explanation for the
photos. Witness Roger Dods heard a slight rustling or whooshing sound as the objects
passed over head. He reported seeing them at 10:37pm. In late September, a report
on the Lubbock Lights reached the Air Force. The Air Force examined the pictures in
great detail and could neither prove nor disprove their authenticity. Captain Edward J.
Ruppelt, the Air Force officer who became the first director of Project Blue Book,
traveled to Lubbock to investigate the case. Ruppelt later wrote a very good book about
his experiences as a UFO investigator, called "The Report on Unidentified Flying Objects."
It was Ruppelt who interviewed an elderly rancher in Brownfield.
The rancher claimed to have heard the "unmistakable call of the
plover," a water bird with a one-foot wingspread and an oily white
breast that "could easily reflect city lights." But game wardens said
that the phenomenon could not have been plovers (birds about the
size of a quail) since these birds never fly in flocks larger than
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UFO Sightings
three.T.E. Snyder, Jr. reported, "I saw something like people have been seeing and it
definitely was ducks." Although not accounting for the unbelievable speed, a reflection
from the Westerner drive-in theater caused some ducks to be illuminated. Everything
seemed to point to flights of birds as the explanation of the mysterious phenomenon that
came to be known as the "Lubbock Lights," and yet there are those who disagree.
Dr. J.C. Cross, head of Tech’s Department of Biology, examined the 35mm photographs,
and asserted, "It definitely wasn’t caused by birds." In Matador, reports were made of a
"noiseless aircraft flying at a low altitude, without aid of propellers or wings." They said
it was different from any aircraft they had ever seen.
Professors at Texas Tech who saw Lubbock Lights (left to right), Dr. Oberg, Prof. Ducker, and Dr. Robinson,
discuss with them Dr. E. L. George
To this day, there are those who contend that Lubbock was visited by UFOs, while others
say that it was merely a natural phenomenon. No one really can say for sure, but as is
stated the History of Lubbock, "Lubbock’s reputation is greater in scientific circles for the
Lubbock Light Sightings (and flying saucers) than for any economic or civic reason."
So on these warm August nights, as one stares into the West Texas skies, they can look
at the lights that glisten in the distance, and ponder the legend of the Lubbock Lights.
UFO PHYSICAL TRACE CASES : FLORIDA SCOUTMASTER
August 19, 1952.
A heat wave from a flying saucer! A Sci-fi movie scenario ? well, not really. The following
account still stands as one of the best "physical trace" cases in UFO lore. The United
States Air Force certainly took it seriously, and so should we.
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UFO Sightings
Scoutmaster, D.S. "Sonny" DesVergers of West
Palm Beach, Florida was driving three scouts
home on the night in question. He turned off the
coastal highway and down an inland blacktop to
go where one of the boys lived. After traveling
about ten miles inland he noticed a bright light in
the palmetto thickets. At first he passed by it,
but then stopped down the road and turned the
car around to go back. He hesitated in doing this,
but could not help feeling that the light might
have been a fire, perhaps indicating a crashed
airplane.
DesVergers stopped the car, and got out to proceed to the scene of the bright lights.
The scouts objected, afraid to be alone in the darkness, but the Scoutmaster headed
toward the thick brush not far from the road. Nearby were the swamps, full of snakes,
alligators, and who knows what other deadly creatures. About 50 yards or so from the
road, Des Verges disappeared into the waist-high thicket. As he did, the first thing he
noticed was a terrible odor.
Using his machete to clear his way with one hand, his other held his flashlight to show
the way through the darkness. He carried a second flashlight on his person. The boys,
waiting in the car, could clearly see the beam of their Scoutmaster's flashlight through
the brush. Knowing he was being tracked by his flashlight, he shined it up into the
canopy of some of the trees as he proceeded toward the unknown source of the lights
that had caused him to stop on the road.
As he reached an opening in the brush, he paused momentarily to signal back to the
waiting boys. As he did, he was suddenly overcome by an intensely humid heat.
He glanced up into the clear night sky to get his bearings, but to his surprise, the many
stars he had seen only a few moments ago were gone directly above him. Something
else was blocking the view. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to a large, oval object
which was hovering about 30 feet above him. As he slowly moved away from the
frightening sight, he shined his flashlight toward the object. He could now make out the
concave bottom of a smooth, round craft with a dome on top. He continued to slowly
move back from the object until he heard a sound which froze him in his tracks.
The sound he heard was a large metal door closing. He now found himself surrounded by
a red mist. He then lost consciousness.
The three boys, Bobby Ruffing, Chuck Stevens, and David Rowan could see their role
model surround by what they could best describe as a "big red ball of fire." Frightened,
they left the car, and ran as fast as they could down the road to a house. Finding a
farmer, they told him what they had seen. The farmer quickly called the State Police who
soon arrived at the scene. Deputy sheriff Mott Partin picked the boys up and drove back
to the car. As they arrived, they saw DesVergers racing from the wooded area.
Partin said that DesVergers was more scared than anyone he had ever seen. The other
officers who accompanied Partin ran into the area vacated by the frightened
Scoutmaster, finding one of his flashlights still burning. They also noticed that the grass
was flattened near the flashlight. The master's second flashlight would never be found.
Arriving at Police headquarters, the officers noticed that DesVergers' hands, arms, face,
and cap were all burned. Although the officers were doubtful of the red mist account,
they believed the rest of the Scoutmaster's account enough to call the Air Force. Edward
J Ruppelt was heading the Air Force's Project Bluebook at the time, and was impressed
enough to take an investigative group to Florida to question DesVerges. He was
accompanied by Second Lietenant Robert M. Olsson, and two captains, Hoey and Davis.
Ruppelt would interview DesVergers several times, and remarked that the Scoutmaster
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UFO Sightings
remembered details very well, and did not respond in a rehearsed manner. He felt that
DesVergers was telling the truth.
An Air Force surgeon did an examination on DesVergers and determined that his wounds
were indicative of mild sunburn. There were singed hairs, burns on his face and arms,
and also his nostrils showed signs of being burned by a "flash heat source." At the scene
of the event, Ruppelt could find nothing to invalidate the Scoutmaster's account.
Although there were no apparent signs of scorched earth or grass, later it was revealed
after tests at Dayton, Ohio that the roots of the samples of grass taken at the scene were
charred. Also, DesVergers' cap showed signs of being damaged by "sparks of some kind."
The three boys confirmed that the cap had not been burned earlier in the day.
After interviewing the three boys, Ruppelt was convinced that they too were being
truthful. DesVergers' story stands today as a documented physical trace account of a
UFO encounter.
UFO CRASH IN ARIZONA
Though considered a hoax by some, there is an interesting account of a UFO crash that
comes to us from Arizona. The facts are certainly worth a look. Famed researcher
Raymond Fowler first broke the details of this event of May 20, 1953. Fowler relied
heavily on one "Fritz Werner," probably an alias. Werner's story goes something like this;
He was working for a company who had a government contract at a nuclear site in
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UFO Sightings
Nevada. He was summoned by his boss on 5-21-53, and sent on a "secret" assignment.
After being flown to Phoenix, Arizona, he was placed on a bus with blacked out windows,
and taken to a point northwest of the city of Phoenix proper.
The bus was full of passengers, none of whom Werner knew, and would not know,
as they were told not to communicate with each other. Arriving at their secret desert
destination, Werner was amazed to see a disc-shaped craft embedded into the sand.
Werner estimated it's diameter to be about 30 feet. Military personnel surrounded the
aluminum-like craft, which was brought down by either an internal explosion, or was hit
by military rockets, Werner surmised. The wound was easily seen, a gaping hole in it's
side.
Werner's duty was to calculate the speed of the craft, a task he quickly discharged.
Afterwards, the tense atmosphere of the group of investigators began to loosen some,
and Werner began to get details from some of the other personnel assigned to this
"off the record" mission. Werner was told of a small cabin inside the craft, and very small
chairs. Werner did not get to look into the unknown craft himself. He was taken aback,
however, when he peeked into a nearby medical tent. Inside was the small body of a
"creature," about 4 foot tall. Werner asserts that the alien was wearing a type of skull
cap, and a silver suit. The suit seemed to be seamless. Soon the investigation was called
to a halt, and the members summoned to leave the craft.
Back on the bus, all of the members of the assignment were ordered to sign the "official
secrets" act, and were warned not to discuss what they had seen with anyone. Before
bringing the fabulous story to other UFO groups, Fowler did a thorough background check
on Werner, and was satisfied to his authenticity, and personal integrity. Fowler also was
persuaded beyond doubt as to the ability of Werner to do his job, as he came forward
with great knowledge of his field and occupation. There was additional confirmation to
the validity of the Arizona crash. Personnel at Wright Patterson AFB claimed to have been
witness to the delivery from a "crash site" in Arizona. These witnesses claimed to have
seen "three small bodies packed in dry ice." The beings were reported as being about
4 foot tall, with large heads, and brownish skin color.
The time of the delivery perfectly coincided with the events put forth by Werner.
Unfortunately, the military personnel could not make their names public. Fowler asserts
that several other witnesses have come forward in the years following the incident, but
the lack of other facts, and other testimony leave the case lacking somewhat. Probably
too much time has elapsed since the Arizona event, but possibly one day someone will
come forward to give us more evidence on this alleged UFO crash.
UFO VANISHES IN FRANCE
This case was referred by renown researcher Jacques Vallee, and it is a strange one
indeed. Occurring at Nouatre, Indre-et-Loire, France in 1954, it is a case unlike any
other, and yet all of the witnesses to the event are considered trustworthy, and their
strange sighting has never been debunked. UFO students have treated this case with
little credibility, but serious investigators have embraced it as genuine. It began at a
construction site at 4:30 P.M. on September 30, 1954.
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UFO Sightings
George Gatay, who was foreman of an eight-man crew, was unexpectedly drawn away
from his crew, feeling a sense of "peculiar drowsiness." He was walking, but did not know
why or to where. A short distance from his construction site, Gatay was amazed to
encounter a man standing on a slope, some 30 feet from him. The "man" was wearing an
opaque glass helmet with a large visor which came all the way to his chest. He was
wearing gray coveralls, and short boots. He also held an object in his hand, which Gatay
described as a weapon of some kind, like a rod. There was a kind of electronic instrument
on his chest. This strange looking man was standing in front of a dome-shaped object,
which hovered about 3 feet above the ground.
The craft had a cupola which had blade-like devices above it. While enthralled with
the sight of the man and his craft, Gatay relates what happens next,
"Suddenly, the strange man vanished, and I couldn't explain how he did, since he did not
disappear from my field of vision by walking away, but vanished like an image one
erases. Then I heard a strong whistling sound which drowned the noise of our
excavators, the saucer rose by successive jerks, in a vertical direction, and then it too
was erased in a sort of blue haze, as if by a miracle."
Gatay had tried to run after first seeing the being and object, but was "paralyzed" during
the sighting. Strangely, his seven coworkers were also in a sort of a daze during the
incident. All eight of the men were "non-believers" before their strange incident. As soon
as Gatay was released from his strange encounter, he ran back to the other workers, and
cried, "Have you seen something ?" One of the men, Mr. Beurrois, exclaimed, "Yes,
A flying saucer !" Another of the men, excavator driver Mr. Lubanovic added, "There was
a man dressed like a diver in front of it." The other workers all added their confirmation
to the strange event.
Gatay was a well-known and respected man who had fought in the war with the
Resistance, and was wounded in Luxembourg. After the sighting, he began to suffer from
insomnia, strong headaches, and a loss of appetite. These symptoms lasted about a
week. Even after this strange sighting, the men collectively believed that they had been
witnesses to some type of experimental craft, probably from France itself.
This explanation was not feasible given the details of the hovering of the craft, and the
actual vanishing of the craft in front of the men. What was this other-wordly craft seen
by these men ? To this day, no reasonable explanation has been given, and this case is
still listed as unexplained.
THE KELLY-HOPKINSVILLE ENCOUNTER
Possibly an allusion to Ireland's leprechauns could account for the derisive term of "little
green men," in referring to aliens. Whatever the source, the question arises, "Has anyone
actually seen a little green man ?" Well, some people believe so ! Of the many cases of
alien encounters, one of the most bizarre is the Kelly-Hopkinsville account of a terrifying
night of "little green men." This most unusual event originated on the night of August 21,
1955. Located in the rural area of Christian County, Kentucky, this UFO enigma took
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UFO Sightings
place in the little town of Kelly, located near the small city of Hopkinsville. The family
Sutton would be the target of this "one of a kind" journey into the unknown.
The lifestyle of a typical Kentucky rural family has been kept intact for many decades,
and the Sutton family fit this tradition to a tee. "Lucky" Sutton, as he was known to
friends and neighbors, was the "patriarch" of this bluegrass clan. Visiting Lucky and his
family was a man from Pennsylvania named Billy Ray Taylor. Billy left the Sutton house
to go for some water from the family well. There was no inside plumbing at the Sutton
farm house. At the well, he saw an immense, shining object land in a small gully about a
quarter of a mile away. Running back to the house, he excitedly reported his sighting to
others in the house. Billy was laughed at; no one believed his "crazy" tale.
After a short period of time, the family dog began to raise a ruckus outside. As was the
custom in those parts, Lucky and Billy grabbed their guns and headed outside, planning
to shoot first, and ask questions later. Only a short distance from the front door, both
men were stopped dead in their tracks by the sight of a 3-4 foot tall creature, who was
walking towards them with hands up, as if to surrender. This most bizarre creature would
be described as having "large eyes, a long thin mouth, large ears, thin short legs, and
hands ending in claws." Frightened by the small greenish entity, Billy Ray fired a shot
with his. 22, and Lucky unloaded with his shotgun. Both men later admitted that there
was no way they missed the creature at close range, but the little being just did a back
flip, and ran into the woods in fright.
No sooner had the two men reentered the house before the creature, or another like it,
appeared at a window. They took a shot at him, leaving a blast hole through the screen.
They ran back outside to see if the creature was dead, but found no trace of it. Standing
at the front of the house, the men were terrified by a clawed hand reaching down from
the roof in an attempt to touch them. Again, they shot, but the being simply floated to
the ground, and scurried into the cover of the woods. The two men sought the protection
of the house again, only to find themselves under siege from these little men. For a time,
the entities seemed to tease the family, appearing from one window to another. Taking
pot shots through the windows and walls, their weapons seemed totally ineffective
against the invading creatures.
After several hours of fear, the Sutton family
decided to make a break from the house, and
get help at the Police station at Hopkinsville.
Family members took two vehicles to the Police
Station in Hopkinsville, and reported their
strange tale to Sheriff Russell Greenwell. Finally
persuading the policemen that they were not
joking, the authorities agreed to visit the Sutton
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UFO Sightings
house. Arriving at the farm, police found no trace of the creatures, but did find numerous
bullet and rifle holes in the windows and walls. Greenwell was in charge of the twenty
plus officers at the scene, and reported that the Suttons seemed sober, and were
genuinely frightened by something. After a canvas of the neighbors, reports were entered
of the "hearing of shots being fired," and the observation of "lights in the sky."
Exhausting all efforts to find the origin of this strange report, the police left the Sutton
place at about 2:15 am. As soon as they did, the creatures made their return.
They began again peeking in the windows, seemingly out of curiosity. More gunfire took
place, but again without effect. Several more hours of antics followed, finally stopping
just before daybreak. The police were finally persuaded to call in Air Force personnel the
next morning, but a new search brought no results. After the beings had left, Billy Ray
and Lucky had gone into Evansville, Indiana to take care of some business. The other
five family members were questioned by Air Force and Police. On 8/22/55, the Kentucky
"New Era" newspaper carried the story of the events. Naturally, initial public opinion was
that the whole story was a hoax. If this was the case, several questions must be
answered. Why would the Sutton family make up such an incredible claim ? They made
no money from the story, and did not seek any publicity. Why would they shoot holes in
the walls of their home, causing a financial drain on the family to repair the damages ?
Including Billy Ray and Lucky, seven adults were witnesses to these events. All of them,
when questioned separately, gave the same story. Also sketches were made of the
beings, and they depicted the creatures in a like manner. A year after the events, the
case was thoroughly investigated by Isabel Davis, who related that their stories had not
changed. As the years rolled by, the accounts of the Sutton family stood firm.
No evidence of a hoax has ever been brought forward. The case was also looked into by
Bud Ledwith, who was an engineer at a Hopkinsville radio station. Noted investigator,
Dr. J. Allen Hynek, also accepted the accounts of the Suttons. Hynek discussed the
details of the case with Davis and Ledwith. Although the Kelly-Hopkinsville case is an
extremely unusual one, it is considered today to be authentic by most UFO investigators.
THE RB-47, UFO ENCOUNTER
An Air Force RB-47, equipped with electronic countermeasures (ECM) gear and manned
by six officers, was followed by an unidentified object for a distance of well over 700 mi.
and for a time period of 1.5 hr., as it flew from Mississippi, through Louisiana and Texas
and into Oklahoma. The object was, at various times, seen visually by the cockpit crew
as an intensely luminous light, followed by
ground-radar and detected on ECM
monitoring gear aboard the RB-47.
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UFO Sightings
Of special interest in this case are several instances of simultaneous appearances and
disappearances on all three of those physically distinct "channels," and rapidity of
maneuvers beyond the prior experience of the aircrew.
INTRODUCTION
In the early morning hours of July 17, 1957, an RB-47 was flying out of Forbes Air Force
Base, Topeka, Kansas, on a composite mission that included gunnery exercises over the
Texas-Gulf area, navigation exercises over the open Gulf, and finally ECM exercises
scheduled for the return trip across the south-central United States. The RB-47 was
carrying a sixman crew, of whom three were electronic warfare officers manning ECM
gear in the aft portion of the aircraft. Their names are as follows :Lewis D. Chase, pilot;
James H. McCoid, copilot; Thomas H. Hanley, navigator; John J. Provenzano, No. 1
monitor; Frank B. McClure, No. 2 monitor; Walter A. Tuchscherer. No. 3 monitor.
I shall draw upon my interview with the crew as well as case files which I finally located.
The files consist of a three-page TWX filed from the 745th ACWRON, Duncanville, Texas,
at 1557Z on July 17, 1957, and a four-page case summary prepared by E.T. Piwetz, Wing
Intelligence Officer, 55th Reconnaissance Wing, Forbes AFB, and transmitted to ADC Hq.,
Ent AFB, Colorado, in compliance with a request of August 15, from Col. F. T. Jeep,
Director of Intelligence, ADC. That summary, plus a 12-page Airborne Observer's Data
Sheet, was forwarded on November 17 from ADC to Blue Book, and was evidently the
first notification Project Blue Book received concerning this case. The 12-page Data Sheet
(AISOP #2) was prepared by Major Chase on September 10, and contains a number of
points of relevance not covered in other parts of the case file.
There is very relevant information in the case file as to precise times, locations, and
other circumstances, and the case file does have the great virtue of representing a
summary account prepared while all of the details were fresh in the minds of the crew.
Before describing the first ECM contact, it is necessary to explain briefly the nature of the
ECM gear involved in this case. (Details are no longer classified, although all of the basic
case-file documents were initially SECRET.) This RB-47 had three passive
direction-finding (DF) radarmonitors for use in securing coordinate information and pulse
characteristics on enemy ground-based radar. The #2 monitor, manned by McClure, was
an ALA-6 DF-receiver with back-to-back antennas in a housing on the belly of the RB-47
near the tail spun at 150 or 300 rpm as it scanned an azimuth.
(Note that this implies ability to scan at 10/sec past a fixed ground radar in the
distance.)
It's frequency range was 1000-7500 MHz. Inside the aircraft, the signals from the ALA-6
were processed in an APR-9 radar receiver and an ALA-5 pulse-analyzer. All subsequent
references to the #2 monitor imply that system.
NUMBER 1 MONITOR
The #1 monitor, manned by Provenzano, was an APD-4 DF system, with a pair of
antennas permanently mounted on either wing tip. It was working at a higher frequency.
The #3 monitor, with a frequency range from 30-1000 MHz, was manned by
Tuchscherer. It was not affected and will not be described here. VHF communications
were likewise not affected.
For emphasis, it needs to be stressed that the DF receivers are not radars and do not
emit a signal for reflection off a distant target. They only listen passively to incoming
radar signals and analyze signatures and other characteristics. When receiving a distant
radar set's signal, the scope displays a pip or strobe at an azimuthal position
corresponding to the relative bearing in the aircraft coordinate system. For the case of a
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UFO Sightings
fixed ground radar, approached from one side, the strobe is initially seen in the upper
part of the scope and moves down-scope, a point to be carefully noted in interpreting the
following discussion.
Having completed the navigational exercises over the Gulf, Chase headed across the
Mississippi coastline, flying at an altitude of 34,500 ft, at about Mach 0.75 (258 kt
IAS=500 mph TAS). The weather was perfect and practically cloudless under the
influence of a large high-pressure area extending throughout the troposphere. There
were no showers or thunderstorms anywhere along the flight route. Shortly after the
coast near Gulfport was crossed at a point marked A on the map on page 00, McClure
detected on the #2 monitor a signal painting at their 5 o'clock position (aft of the
starboard beam). It looked to him as if he were receiving a legitimate ground-radar
signal. Upon noting that the strobe was moving up-scope, McClure tentatively decided
that it must be a ground radar off to their northwest painting with 180 deg ambiguity for
some electronic reason. But when the strobe, after sweeping up-scope on the starboard
side, crossed the flight path of the RB-47 and proceeded to move down-scope on the
port side McClure said he gave up the hypothesis of 180 deg ambiguity as incapable of
explaining such behavior.
Fortunately, he had examined the signal characteristics on his ALA-5 pulse-analyzer,
before the signal left his scope on the port side aft. In discussing it with me,
his recollection was that the frequency was near 2800 mcs, and he recalled that what
was particularly odd was that it had a pulse-width and pulse repetition frequency (PRF)
much like that of a typical S-band, ground-based, search radar. He even recalled that
there was a simulated scan rate that was normal. Perhaps because of the strong
similarities to ground-based sets such as the CPS-6B, widely used at that time, McClure
did not, at that juncture, call this signal to the attention of anyone else in the aircraft.
The #1 monitor was not working the frequency in question, it later developed.
The #3 monitor was incapable of working the frequency in question, McClure and the
others indicated to me.
I next quote information transcribed from the summary report prepared by the Wing
Intelligence Officer, COMSTRATRECONWG 55, Forbes Air Force Base, concerning this part
of the incident that involved this aircraft (call sign "Lacy 17") :
•
ECM reconnaissance operator #2 of Lacy 17, RB-47H aircraft, intercepted at
approximately Meridian, Mississippi, a signal with the following characteristics :
frequency 2995 mc to 3000 mc; pulse width of 2.0 microseconds; pulse repetition
frequence of 600 cps; sweep rate of 4 rpm; vertical polarity. Signal moved rapidly
up the D/F scope indicating a rapidly moving signal source; i.e an airborne source.
Signal was abandoned after observation...
INITIAL VISUAL CONTACT
If nothing further had occurred on that flight to suggest that some unusual object was in
the vicinity of the RB-47, McClure's observations undoubtedly would have gone
unmentioned and would have been quickly forgotten even by him. He was puzzled, but at
that point still inclined to think that it was some electronic difficulty.
The flight plan called for a turn to the west in the vicinity of Meridian and Jackson,
Mississippi (Point B), with subsequent planned exercises wherein the EWOs did simulated
ECM runs against known ground radar units. The contemporary records confirm what
Chase and McCoid described to me far more vividly and in more detail concerning the
unusual events that soon ensued.
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UFO Sightings
They turned into a true heading of 265 deg, still at Mach 0.75 at 34,500 ft. At 1010Z
(0410 CST), Major Chase, in the forward seat, spotted what he first thought were the
landing lights of another jet coming in fast from near his 11 o'clock position at, or
perhaps a bit above, the RB-47's altitude. He called McCoid's attention to it, noted
absence of any navigational lights, and as the single intense bluish-white light continued
to close rapidly, he used the intercom to alert the rest of the crew to be ready for sudden
evasive maneuvers. But before he could attempt evasion, he and McCoid saw the brilliant
light almost instantaneously change direction and flash across their flight path from port
to starboard at an angular velocity that Chase told me he had never seen matched in all
of his 20 years of flying, before or after that incident. The luminous source had moved
with great rapidity from their 11 o'clock to about their 2 o'clock position and then blinked
out.
The Airborne Observer's Data Sheet filled out by Chase as part of the post-interrogation
gives the RB-47 position at the time of that 1010Z first visual contact as 32-00N,
91-28W, which puts it near Winnsboro in east-central Louisiana (Point C).
The descriptions obtained in the 1969 interviews with these officers are closely supported
by the original intelligence report :
•
At 1010Z aircraft cmdr first observed a very intense white light with light blue tint at
11 o'clock from his aircraft, crossing in front to about 2:30 o'clock position, copilot
also observed passage of light to 2:30 o'clock where it apparently disappeared.
Chase did not observe any magnetic compass anomalies during the flight.
ACTIONS OVER LOUISIANA - TEXAS AREA
Immediately after the luminous source blinked out, Chase and McCoid began talking
about it on the interphone, with the already alerted crew listening in. McClure, recalling
the unusual signal he had received on his ALA-6 back near Gulfport, now mentioned for
the first time that peculiar incident and concurrently set his #2 monitor to scan at about
3000 mcs, to see what might show up. He found he was getting a strong 3000 mcs signal
from about their 2 o'clock position, just the relative bearing at which the unknown
luminous source had blinked out moments earlier.
Provenzano told me that immediately after that they checked out the #2 monitor on
other known ground-radar stations, to be sure that it was not malfunctioning;
it appeared to be in perfect working order. He then tuned his own #1 monitor to 3000
mcs and also got a signal from the same bearing. There remained, of course, the
possibility that, just by chance, this signal was from a real radar down on the ground and
off in that relative direction. But as the minutes went by and the RB-47 continued
westward at about 500 mph, the relative bearing of the 3000 mcs source out in the dark
did not move down-scope on the monitors as should have occurred with any ground
radar, but instead kept up with the RB-47, holding a fixed relative bearing.
I found these and ensuing portions of the entire episode still vivid in the minds of all the
men, although their recollections for various details varied somewhat, depending on the
particular activities in which they were then engaged.
Chase varied speed, going to maximum allowed power, but nothing seemed to change
the relative bearing of the 3000-mcs source. They crossed Louisiana and headed into
eastern Texas, with the object still maintaining station with them. Eventually they got
into the radar-coverage area of the 745th ACWRON, Duncanville, Texas, and Chase
dropped his earlier reluctance about calling attention to these peculiar matters and
contacted that station (code name "Utah"). The crew was becoming uneasy about the
incident by this time, several of them remarked to me. That phase of the incident is
tersely described in the following quotes from the report of the Wing Intelligence Officer :
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UFO Sightings
•
Aircraft comdr notified crew and ECM operator Nr 2 searched for signal described
above, found same approximately 1030Z at a relative bearing of 070 degrees;
1035Z, relative bearing of 068 degrees; 1038Z, relative bearing 040 degrees.
Note that the above time would indicate that McClure did not immediately think of
making his ALA-6 check, but rather that some 20 min went by before that was thought
of. Note also that by 1038Z the unknown source of the 3000 mcs radarlike signal was
moving up - scope relative to the 500 mph RB-47.
The Wing Intelligence Officer continued :
•
At 1039Z aircraft comdr sighted huge light which he estimated to be 5000 below
aircraft at about 2 o'clock. Aircraft altitude was 34,500 ft, weather perfectly clear.
Although aircraft comdr could not determine shape or size of object, he had a
definite impression light emanated from top of object.
•
At about 1040Z ECM operator #2 reported he then had two signals at relative
bearings of 040 and 070 deg. Aircraft comdr and copilot saw these two objects at
the same time with same red color. Aircraft comdr received permission to ignore
flight plan and pursue object. He notified ADC site Utah and requested all assistance
possible. At 1042Z ECM #2 had one object at 020 deg relative bearing.
In my interviews with the aircrew, I found differences between the recollections of the
various men as to some of these points. McCoid recalled that the luminous source
occasionally moved abruptly from starboard to port side and back again. Chase recalled
that they had contacted Utah (his recollection was that it was Carswell GCI, however)
prior to some of the above events and that Utah was ground-painting the target during
the time it moved up-scope and reappeared visually. As will be seen below, the
contemporary account makes fairly clear that Utah was not painting the unknown until a
bit later, after it had turned northwestward and passed between Dallas and Ft. Worth.
Chase explained to me that he got FAA clearance to follow it in that off-course turn
(Point D) and indicated that FAA got all jets out of the way to permit him to maintain
pursuit. The Intelligence summary continues :
•
At 1042Z ECM #2 had one object at 020 deg relative bearing. Aircraft comdr
increased speed to Mach 0.83, turned to pursue, and object pulled ahead.
At 1042.5Z ECM #2 again had two signals at relative bearings of 040 and 070 deg.
At 1044Z he had a single signal at 050 deg relative bearing. At 1048Z ECM #3 was
recording interphone and command position conversations.
•
ADC site requested aircraft to go IFF Mode III for positive identification and then
requested position of object. Crew reported position of object as 10 n. mi. northwest
of Ft. Worth. Texas, and ADC site Utah immediately confirmed presence of objects
on their scopes. At approximately 1050Z object appeared to stop, and aircraft
overshot. Utah reported they lost object from scopes at this time, and ECM #2 also
lost signal.
Chase, in reply to my questions, indicated that it was his recollection that there was
simultaneity between the moment when he began to sense that he was getting closure at
approximately the RB-47 speed, and the moment when Utah indicated that their target
had stopped on their scopes. He said he veered a bit to avoid colliding with the object,
not then being sure what its altitude was relative to the RB-47, and then found that he
was coming over the top of it as he proceeded to close. At the instant that it blinked out
visually and disappeared simultaneously from the #2 monitor and from the radar scopes
at Site Utah, it was at a depression angle relative to his position of something like
45 deg. Chase put the RB-47 into a port turn in the vicinity of Mineral Wells, Texas
(Point E), and he and McCoid looked over their shoulders to try to spot the luminous
source again. All of the men recalled the near simultaneity with which the object blinked
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UFO Sightings
on again visually, appeared on the #2 scope, and was again skin-painted by ground
radar at Site Utah. The 1957 report describes these events as follows :
•
Aircraft began turning, ECM #2 picked up signal at 160 deg relative bearing, Utah
regained scope contact, and aircraft comdr regained visual contact. At 1052Z ECM
#2 had signal at 200 deg relative bearing, moving up his D/F scope. Aircraft began
closing on object until the estimated range was 5 n. mi. At this time object appeared
to drop to approximately 15,000 ft altitude, and aircraft comdr lost visual contact.
Utah also lost object from scopes.
•
At 1055Z in the area of Mineral Wells, Texas, crew notified Utah they must depart
for home station because of fuel supply. Crew queried Utah whether a CIRVIS Report
had been submitted, and Utah replied the report had been transmitted. At 1057Z
ECM #2 had signal at 300 deg relative bearing, but Utah had no scope contact.
At 1058Z aircraft comdr regained visual contact of object approximately 20 n. mi.
northwest of Ft. Worth, Texas, estimated altitude 20,000 ft at 2 o'clock from aircraft
Chase added further details on this portion of the events, stating that he requested and
secured permission from Utah to dive on the object when it was at lower altitude. He did
not recall the sudden descent that is specified in the contemporary account, and there
are a number of other minor points in the Intelligence Report that were not recollected
by any of the crew. He told me that when he dove from 35,000 ft to approximately
20,000 ft the object blinked out, disappeared from the Utah ground-radar scopes, and
disappeared from the #2 monitor, all at the same time. McClure recalled that
simultaneous disappearance, too. It should be mentioned that the occasional appearance
of a second visual and radar-emitting source was not recalled by any of the officers
when I interviewed them in 1969.
ACTIONS OVER TEXAS - OKLAHOMA AREA
McCoid recalled that, at about this stage of the activities, he was becoming a bit worried
about excess fuel consumption resulting from use of maximum allowed power, plus a
marked departure from the initial flight plan. He advised Chase that fuel limitations would
necessitate a return to the home base at Forbes AFB, so they soon headed north from
the Ft. Worth area (Point F). McClure and Chase recalled that the ALA-6 system again
picked up a 3000 mcs signal on their tail, once they were northbound from Ft. Worth but
there was some variance in their recollections as to whether the ground radar
concurrently painted the object. McCoid was unable to fill in any of those details.
Fortunately the 1957 Intelligence Report summarized further events in this part of the
flight, as they moved northward into Oklahoma :
•
At 1120Z aircraft took up heading for home station. This placed area of object off
the tail of aircraft. ECM #2 continued to [get] D/F signal of object between 180 and
190 deg relative bearing until 1140Z, when aircraft was approximately abeam
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. At this time, signal faded rather abruptly. 55 SRW DOI
[55th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing, Director of Intelligence] has no doubt the
electronic D/F's coincided exactly with visual observations by aircraft comdr
numerous times, this indicating positively the object being the signal source.
It was Chase's recollection that the object was with them only into southern Oklahoma;
Hanley recalled that it was with them all the way to Oklahoma City area (Point G);
the others remembered only that it was there for some indefinite distance on the
northbound leg between Ft. Worth and Topeka, their home base.
BLUE BOOK REPORT
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UFO Sightings
The records indicate that Project Blue Book received summary information on this
incident from ADC on Oct. 25, 1957 (over two months after occurrence of the event).
A "Brief Summary" ends with the following paragraph :
•
In joint review with the CAA of the data from the incident, it was definitely
established by the CAA that object observed in the vicinity of Dallas and Ft. Worth
was an airliner.
This refers to a near-collision of two DC-6 American Airliners near Salt Flats, Texas,
50 mi. from El Paso at 14,000 ft at 3:30 a.m. of this day. The case is now carried in the
official Blue Book files as "Identified as American Airlines Flight 655."
THE LEVELLAND, TEXAS LANDINGS
One of the most baffling and most publicized cases of a close encounter of the second
kind occurred in 1957 at Levelland, Texas. Actually, there were no less than eight
well-documented reports of the same craft, and seven more that were unverified;
the seven called in by anonymous persons. Some of those who made their reports have
kept their names secret. Sadly, this is the case in many UFO reports. Many of those who
had thought they were doing the right thing have regretted their decisions later because
of public ridicule. However, the Levelland case has many respectable witnesses who have
come forward, especially several members of the Levelland Police Department who
witnessed the fantastic sights of 02. November, 1957. in the town of about 10,000.
To understand the full impact of this case, a chronological account is preferred.
•
11:00 P.M...Only one hour after the Russian Government launched their second
dog-carrying satellite, and before America was aware of it, an unusual set of events
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UFO Sightings
began in the small town of Levelland. Patrolman A. J. Fowler was on desk duty when
he received the first of fifteen different frantic phone calls in what would be an
unforgettable night for him and his fellow officers. About four miles west of
Levelland, Pedro Saucedo and his friend Joe Salaz were driving in Pedro's pickup
truck when they saw a brightly lighted, cigar-shaped object moving in their direction.
As the object approached, Pedro's car engine began to sputter, and his headlights
went out. Finally, the car rolled to a stop. Later, a terrified Saucedo would sign a
statement which indicated that the object was about 200 foot long. Calling Fowler
from the small town of Whiteface, his call was dismissed by Fowler, who thought
that the two men had been drinking.
•
11:45 P.M...Fowler receives a second call from a man identified only as Mr. W. The
man was driving near the town of Whitharral, about four miles east of Levelland,
when he came upon a brilliantly lit egg-shaped object, actually sitting on the
pavement in the middle of the road. Mr. W's car engine stopped, and his headlights
failed. Frightened, he left his vehicle, and after a brief period of time, the object
silently lifted up to about 200 ft. and disappeared. His car started back up, and he
sped away to make his phone call to Fowler.
•
12:00 A.M...Fowler receives a third call, this time from a man who was traveling 11
miles north of Levelland, when he spotted an unusual flying craft landed on the road.
His car also faltered, and he sat watching the silent object for a brief period of time,
until it rose up and disappeared into the night. Again, after the craft left the area, his
car started, he left the scene, and called the Police station.
•
12:10 A.M... A nineteen year old freshman from Texas Tech University,
Newell Wright, was driving 9 miles east of Levelland, when his car engine began to
cut out, and his lights falter. After stopping his car and checking for some loose wire
under the hood, he suddenly noticed a vivid object sitting on the pavement ahead of
him. He described the object as about 125 foot long, and a bluish-green in color.
Frightened, he tried to start his car again to no avail. He sat in his car; hoping that
another car would come by. None did. After a little while, the object silently rose and
faded away into the sky. Afraid to make a report, the young student waited to tell
his parents when they arrived home from a trip. They encouraged him to report
what he had seen. He made a statement at the Sheriff's office, and his report was
included in the US Air Force's Project Blue Book.
•
12:15 A.M...Officer Fowler receives another call. This time from a man in a phone
booth near Whitharral, who, as he was driving 9 miles north of Levelland,
encountered an object of some kind sitting in the middle of the road. He had the
same mechanical problems as the other motorists, and after the craft took off, his
engine started again. At this point, Fowler's curiosity and concern motivated him to
call the other patrol cars in the area, and report what he had heard from the
different travelers. Later, he would state that "something odd" was going on. In a
matter of a few minutes, two different Officers radioed in that they had seen two
different flying objects with extremely bright lights, but had not yet encountered any
engine problems.
•
12:45 A.M...A man driving west of Levelland very close to the spot of Saucedo's
initial sighting, sees a large orange ball approaching in his direction. The man
testifies that this unknown craft softly lands on the road about 1/4 mile away. The
motorist also related a very interesting fact. He stated that the craft, orange at first,
became a bluish-green color upon landing on the road. He also noticed that the craft
spanned the width of the road. After the craft landed, his engine also failed, and he
sat in the cab of his truck, which was lit up by the glow from the craft. After a time,
the craft lifted up and left the area. This man did not make a report at the time of
the sighting, but did file a report the next day.
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UFO Sightings
•
1:15 A.M... Fowler receives a call from a truck driver from Waco, Texas, who states
that while driving northeast of Levelland, he witnessed a large, glowing object, and
at the same time, his truck engine failed. Fowler noted that the caller was extremely
frightened. The driver added that the object was about 200 ft. long, and after it left
the area, his truck roared back to life, and he "got the hell out of there."
•
1:30 A.M...Fowler receives the first definite sighting of the object by two law
enforcement officers. Sheriff Clem and Deputy McCullough, who were receiving
constant updates from Fowler, had observed a "large, glowing object," pass across
the highway. The two officers were trying to track the object by the radio calls from
Fowler. They were about 4-5 miles outside of Levelland when they saw the object.
The two officers stated that the object looked like a large, red sun and it lit up the
entire highway as it passed over.
The events of the night finally came to an end. Fowler would later state that he had
received no less than fifteen calls from observers whoclaimed to have seen the unusual
craft. He also said that they were legitimately excited, and some of them extremely
frightened. The unusual number of witnesses to the Levelland events only solidified the
theory that some unusual craft had been in the area of the city for at least 2 1/2 hours
that night. The dramatic accounts of the landings on the road set this case off as one of
the most convincing cases of an encounter with the unknown. The next day the small
town of Levelland, Texas was bulging over with reporters, anxiously awaiting some
official explanation for the events of the night before. The Air Force did investigate these
sightings, but offered no reasonable cause for what was seen that night. The case is still
considered "unexplained."
UBATUBA UFO FRAGMENTS, 1957.
On September 14, 1957, Ibrahim Sued, a columnist for the Rio de Janeiro newspaper
"O GLobo", printed a letter, which he had received, concerning a UFO incident.
Accompanying the letter were three small pieces of white metal. Thus was ushered in one
of the most controversial of all physical-evidence cases.
The writer of the letter described an event in which a "flying disk" exploded over the
beach at Ubatuba, in Sao Paulo Province. Some of the metal, which had "rained down"
from the exploding disk, was collected, and three
small pieces were included in the letter to Sued.
Unfortunately, the signature on the letter was
illegible. Furthermore, the identity of all witnesses
to the original seaside event at Ubatuba remains
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UFO Sightings
unknown, despite extensive searches by the Brazilian representative of the AERIAL
PHENOMENA RESEARCH ORGANIZATION (APRO), Dr. Olavo FONTES. This lack of
witnesses is one of the greatest weaknesses of the Ubatuba case.
This piece of metal was picked up after a UFO explosion over Toninha's Beach,
in Ubatuba, Sao Paula State, Brazil, in 1957. This sample was analyzed and the results
showed a 99.99% pure magnesium. This other piece fell down from one of the three
UFO's that had flown over the city of Caminas, Sao Paulo State, Brazil, on December,
1954. Testa proved to be 88.91% pure tin.
Mr. Sued gave all three pieces of metal to Dr. Fontes, who in turn had one of them
analyzed at the Mineral Production Laboratory of the Department of Mineral Production in
the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture. Dr. Fontes personally delivered the samples to the
chief chemist, Dr. Fiegl, an internationally known specialist.
A qualitative, phosphomolybdic acid test was first made on a small chip, which showed
that the fragments were truly metallic.
One of the original fragments, designated Sample No.1 by Dr. Fontes, was subdivided
into several pieces and two of the pieces were submitted to the Spectrographic Section of
the Mineral Production Laboratory Semi-Quantitative Emmission Spectrochemical
Analysis.
One of the pieces was analyzed by Dr. Luisa Maria A. Barbosa. The analysis surprisingly
revealed that the sample contained only the element magnesium.
A second fragment of Sample No.1 was submitted to a separate spectrographic analysis
by Mr. Elson Teixeira of the Mineral Production Laboratory. Mr. Teixeira confirmed
Dr. Barbosa's finding that Sample No.1 was pure magnesium.
Further tests were run on fragments of Sample No. 1. These included Debye-ScherrerHull powder pattern X-ray diffraction analysis, density measurement, and radiation tests.
The interatomic spacings (d-spacings) of the samples closely matched those cited for
magnesium metal by ASTM 4-0770. Six faint lines on this diffractogram could not be
connected with known lines for magnesium, but were successfully related to magnesium
hydroxide, Mg(OH)2. A white powder had been observed on the surfaces of the metal
sample which was identified as Mg(OH)2.
The density of Sample No.1 was found to be surprisingly high : 1.866. This greater than
normal density has also been cited as evidence of extraterrestriality on the assumption
than an abnormal isotopic ratio was present. It should be noted that entrained
magnesium oxide can explain the abnormally high density without involving unusual
isotopic ratios. The two other portions of Sample No.1 were given to the Brazilian Army
and Navy respectively, but results of their analysis (if any) were never released.
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UFO Sightings
Since the two small fragments analyzed by Dr. Barbosa and Mr. Teixeira were destroyed
by their analytical procedure, no further portions of Sample No.1 are available for further
verification of the original results.
The significance of Dr. Barbosa's and Mr. Teixeira's findings is that it is impossible to
produce any element, terrestrially, that is absolutely spectrographically pure.
These results, therefore, are often cited by proponents of UFO extraterrestriality as proof
that the Ubatuba material must be EXTRATERRESTRIAL. Unfortunately, this supposition
cannot be proven, due to the lack of any further Sample No.1 fragments for verification
analysis.
The two other fragments received by Mr. Sued (Samples No.2 and No.3) were sent to
APRO in Arizona and have been the subject of continuing analysis by various scientists.
In the mid-1960s, Sample No.3 was loaned to the University of COLORADO UFO PROJECT
for analysis. Dr. Roy Craig, a physical chemist, had it subjected to a neutron activation
analysis at the National Office Laboratory, Alcohol and Tobacco Tax Division, Internal
Revenue Service, which determined that its purity was not as high as that which had
been reported in Brazil. The CONDON REPORT failed to mention, however, that high
purity had only been reported for Sample No.1, which had been consumed in Brazil, and
had not been available to the University of Colorado. The analysis also determined that
the sample contained an unusual amount of strontium, an impurity not present in
conventional magnesium. The sample was thus subjected to metallographic and
micro-probe analyses at Dow Chemical's Metallurgical Laboratory, which confirmed the
finding.
In 1969. APRO loaned the fragments to this writer, who conducted nondestructive
structural analyses. It was found that the material had undergone a directional crystal
growth type of manufacture. Directional crystallization can add strength to materials and
was being actively researched at the time (1969). However, the process was unknown
when the fragments were recovered (1957). Unfortunately, it was not possible to
conclusively prove directional crystallization for the main structure from which the
fragments came, due to their small size. These findings were validated by Dr. Robert W.
Johnson, of the Advanced Materials Division, Materials Research Corporation,
who reviewed the writer's analytic report.
The Ubatuba magnesium was reportedly submitted to laser impact studies at Australia's
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) in the early
1970s and to mass-spectrographic studies at Stanford University in the mid-1970s.
No results are available.
THE TRINIDADE ISLAND PHOTOGRAPHS
Trindade is a small, deserted, rocky island located in the middle of the South Atlantic
Ocean, between the Brazilian coast and the African continent, more than six hundred
miles off the coast of Bahia. During World War II, it was used as a military base for
United States and Brazilian warships engaging German U-boats. It was abandoned after
the end of the war, remaining completely deserted and forgotten until 1957. In October
of that year a task force from the Brazilian Navy arrived there, under the command of
Captain-of-Corvette Carlos Alberto Bacellar. The Hydrography and Navigation Division of
the Ministry of the Navy had decided to build an oceanographic post and a meteorological
station on the island for research connected with the International Geophysical Year
(IGY).
In early January 1958 the ship "Almirante Saldanha" left Rio de Janeiro's harbor and
proceeded toward the Island of Trindade with a crew of three hundred. The ship had
previously been a Brazilian Navy training vessel, but it had been converted into a
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UFO Sightings
hydrographic unit to be used for IGY-related research. It was operated by the
Hydrography and Navigation Division, and, since October 1957, it had made several trips
to Trindade, most of them connected with the Navy's oceanographic studies for the IGY.
Several civilians were aboard the ship this time, officially invited to collaborate in the
scientific studies which were underway at the island. One of these men was Almiro
Barauna, a photographer and former newspaperman working as a "free-lancer." He was
also an expert in submarine photography. After a routine trip, the ship arrived at the
Island and stayed there for several days. It was scheduled to leave for Rio on January
16. On that day, at 12 :15 P.M., when the ship was preparing to depart, a strange object
was sighted simultaneously by a number of observers gathered on deck. The UFO came
toward the island at high speed, hovered briefly over a peak, disappeared behind it for a
short time, and appeared again to move away toward the sea. Mr. Barauna was taking
pictures of the ship's maneuvers at that moment. He spotted the UFO and got four
pictures of it.
Barauna was later interviewed by reporter Joao Martins and his statements were
published in the Brazilian magazine "0 Cruzeiro" in the March 8, 1958 issue. Here is a
translation of that interview :
•
Mr. Barauna, what were the reasons for your presence aboard the NE Almirante
Saldaa ?
The Navy had invited several teams specialized in submarine hunting to visit the Island
of Trindade. I am a member of the Icarai Club for Submarine Hunting, and our group was
invited for the last trip. So, on January 8, when the ship left Rio, I was aboard together
with the following members of my group : Amilar Yieira Filho, captain of our team, a
government employee (he has a job at the CACEX); Jose Teobaldo Viegas, instructor at
the Aero Club of Niteroi and Air Force captain (retired); Mauro Andrade, from the London
Bank; and Aloisio, municipal employee at the Federal District. We were going to try to
beat some records on submarine hunting. Personally, I was going to take underwater
photographs for the Navy and, also, to write some articles about the Island and the
activities of the scientists working for the IGY.
•
Were any other civilians aboard, besides your group ?
Yes. There was Professor Fernando, a geologist, with two assistants, and also a
photographer, and a reporter from the newspaper Jornal do Brasil. The three scientists
left the ship and went to the island.
•
Please tell me what was the date of the sighting ? What happened ?
It was on January 16, at 12 :15 P.M. The ship was preparing to leave the island, to come
back to Rio. I was on the deck observing the operations to take aboard the boat used in
the trips between the ship and the island (the island has no harbor). The sea was
agitated. The weather was cloudy, clear, with no shadows. I had my Rolleiflex 2.8, Model
E, which was kept inside an aluminum box for protection against the corrosive effects of
water and salt. I had left my Leica with a telephoto lens in my cabin a few moments
before. The deck was full of sailors and officers. Suddenly, Mr. Amilar Vieira and Captain
Viegas called me, pointing to a certain spot in the sky and yelling about a bright object
which was approaching the island. At this same moment, when I was still trying to see
what it was, Lieutenant Homero, the ship's dentist, came from the bow toward us,
running, pointing out to the sky and also yelling about an object he was sighting. He was
so disturbed and excited that he almost fell down after colliding with a cable. Then I was
finally able to locate the object, by the flash (of light) it emitted. It was already close to
the island. It glittered at certain moments, perhaps changing its own light - I don't know.
It was coming over the sea, moving toward the point called the Galo Crest. I had lost
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UFO Sightings
thirty seconds looking for the object, but the camera was already in my hands, ready,
when I sighted it clearly silhouetted against the clouds. I shot two photos before it
disappeared behind the peak Desejado. My camera was set at a speed of 125 [125th of a
second], with the aperture at f/8, and this was the cause of an overexposure error, as
I discovered later. "The object remained out of sight for a few seconds, behind the peak,
reappearing bigger in size and flying in the opposite direction, but lower and closer than
before, and moving at a higher speed. I shot the third photo. The fourth and fifth ones
were lost, not only because of the speed the saucer was moving, but also for another
reason : In the confusion produced as a result of the sighting, I was being pulled and
pushed by other persons also trying to spot the object and, as a consequence,
photographed the sea and the island only - not the object. It was moving out to sea
again, in the direction from which it had come, and it appeared to stop in midair for a
brief time. At that moment I shot my last photo (the last on the film). After about ten
seconds, the object continued to increase its distance from the ship, gradually
diminishing in size and finally disappearing into the horizon.
•
Did you hear anything unusual during the sighting ? Was the object emitting any
sound ?
I am not sure, to be honest, because of the noise made by the sea waves against the
island's rocks, as well as for the yelling aboard the ship at the time. However,
I think that I heard nothing besides those sounds.
•
What was the color of the object ?
It showed a dark gray color, appearing to be surrounded - mostly in the area ahead of it,
by a kind of condensation of a greenish, phosphorescent vapor (or mist).
•
Did the object appear to be metallic ?
Yes. It was obviously a solid object.
•
How was it flying ? Any special characteristics ?
Yes. It showed an undulatory movement as it flew across the sky, like the flight of a bat.
And when it came back, it changed speed abruptly, with no transition, in a jump.
•
Do you know how many persons aboard the Almirante Saldanha sighted the object ?
The object was sighted by almost all the people on the deck at that time, including
Lieutenant Homero, Captain Viegas, and Mr. Amilar Vieira.
• What happened after the sighting ?
The ship's commander and several officers from the garrison wanted to see what
I had got in the photos. As I was very curious too, I decided to develop the exposed film
at once, aboard the ship. The processing was done under the supervision of several
officers, including Commander Carlos A. Bacellar. But only the negatives were seen
aboard. The reason : There was no photographic paper for the copies on the ship at that
time. The negatives, however, were seen and examined by the whole crew.
•
Did you keep the negatives in your hands ?
Yes.
•
Were you under any pressure to give up those negatives to Naval authorities ?
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UFO Sightings
No. Commander Saldanha da Gama (the ship's CO) and the other Navy officers aboard
were very kind. They never tried to get the negatives from me.
•
What happened when the ship came back to Rio ?
The ship stopped first at Vitoria, in the State of Espirito Santo. As it was going to stay
there for two days and later travel to Rio, we were permitted - the civilians from the
submarine-hunting group only - to leave the ship there and to take a bus for the rest of
the trip. Later, two days after the arrival of the Almirante Saldanha at Rio, Commander
Bacellar (ex-commander of the Navy Post at Trindade) appeared at my residence.
He wanted to see the enlargements made from the negatives and asked permission to
take them to the Naval authorities. Two days later, they were returned with
congratulations. I was also requested to appear at the Navy Ministry as soon as possible.
They wanted to ask me certain questions and to see the negatives again.
•
And what happened there ?
I was interviewed by several high-staff officers, who asked me all kinds of questions.
I went there twice. At the first meeting, they requested the negatives for examination.
They were sent to a civilian organization, the Cruzeiro do Sul Aerophoto grammetric
Service, remaining there for four days. I was told by the Navy officers that the analyses
proved they were genuine -excluding definitely the possibility of a trick or falsification.
On the second visit, they performed several time-tests. While I worked with my
Rolleiflex, taking shots at the same time intervals I had used to photograph the object,
three Navy officers with chronometers registered the times. They came to the conclusion,
based on these tests as well as on studies concerning the ship's position and
examinations of charts of the island, that the object was flying at a speed between 900
and 1,000 km./hour [about 600 mph]. The object's size was also estimated on the basis
of studies related with the island's details also appearing on the photos, diagrams drawn
on charts, graphs, et cetera. The object was about 120 feet in diameter and about
24 feet high.
•
Do you know anything about the official report on the case ?
I saw a dossier which was consulted many times during the interrogation. However, I
didn't read what was written there. I was also informed that my photos, mixed with other
pictures, had been shown to witnesses of the sighting - to be identified. The result was
positive.
•
Do you know anything about any photos by other people aboard the ship ?
No. Besides myself, there were at least four other persons with cameras at the time of
the sighting. But apparently they were not able to spot the object in time, or were
paralyzed by their emotions.
•
Were you warned against something by the Navy's authorities ? Was there some
recommendation ?
Yes. They requested me to keep the matter secret for some time. I was permitted to
publish the case only after authorization from the Navy. The permission was granted,
verbally, on the night of February 15, by Commander Bacellar. They made only one
restriction, which I cannot mention for the reason that I have given my word.
•
Do you know if your sighting was the first over the Island of Trindade ?
I was informed of four other sightings over the island during those thirty days preceding
the incident of January 16. I was also informed of another thing : At one of those
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sightings, the object was photographed by a Navy sergeant. His photo obviously was not
released and probably never will be - the reasons are evident. Besides those four
sightings, there was also the RADAR case. A target flying at supersonic speed was
tracked by the radar of the Almirante Saldanha on January 15.
•
Did you receive any money from the Navy for your work at the Island of Trindade ?
No. I was there as a guest.
•
Did you receive any money from the Navy for your photographic work, or for the
enlargements you made for them ?
No. I only received the photographic paper to be used for enlargements.
•
How many enlargements have you given them.
Thirty-eight.
•
One last question. What kind of impression did you get from observing the flying
saucer ?
I am absolutely sure it was a controlled object - either
directly or by remote control, but very well operated, in
any case. The general impression of people aboard the
ship was the same : It had come to make a close
observation of the ship. Immediately following the
publication of the photographs, the Brazilian Navy
refused to make any official statement confirming or
denying the incident. However, proofs from the original
negatives were sent to the other armed forces and to
Brazilian President Kubitschek. According to the press,
the narration so impressed Mr. Kubitschek that he
became convinced of the veracity of the happening.
On February 24, three days after the photos were first
published in the press, the Ministry of the Navy finally made the following official
statement : "With reference to the reports appearing in the press that the Navy is
opposed to divulge the facts concerning the appearance of a strange object over Trindade
Island, this Cabinet declares that such information has no basis. This Ministry has no
motive to impede the release of photographs of the referred-to object, taken by
Mr. Almiro Barauna, who was at Trindade Island at the invitation of the Navy, and
in the presence of a large number of the crew of Almirante Saldanha from whose deck
the photographs were taken. Clearly, this Ministry will not be able to make any
pronouncement concerning the object seen, because the photographs do not constitute
sufficient proof for such purpose." On the morning after the photos of the flying saucer
were published in the press (February 22), the Almirante Saldanha departed Rio to
continue its mission in connection with the IGY. Two days later, however, the ship docked
at Santos (February 24) for voyage repairs; this was the first chance that newspapermen
had an opportunity to interview officers and men aboard. The U.S. Assistant Naval
Attache' was in Santos at this time, in connection with the visit of U. S. Coast Guard
Cutter Westwind, and had an opportunity to visit aboard. The commanding officer,
Capitao-de-Mar-e-Guerra (Captain) Jose Santos Saldanha da Gama, had not seen the
object and was noncommittal. The executive officer also had not seen it but, arriving
shortly thereafter, had formed the opinion that those on deck had seen it. The captain
had reported that his secretary, a lieutenant commander, had seen it, but this officer,
when personally questioned, avoided discussing the matter. Later, it was learned that the
photographer was accompanied to the dark room by an officer who waited outside the
door while Barauna developed the negatives alone. When the Westwind's commanding
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officer paid a visit to the Almirante Saldanha, Captain Saldanha da Gama freely discussed
the flying saucer incident and showed the original proofs to the callers, but again did not
commit himself. Federal Deputy Sergio Magalhaes sent a note to the Ministry of the
Navy on February 27, protesting the Navy's failure to secure sworn statements from
witnesses. "For the first time in flying saucer history, the phenomenon was attended by
large numbers of persons belonging to a military force, which gives these photographs an
official stamp. Threats to national security require greater official attention and action,"
said the deputy. In the middle of all the publicity, other sighting reports came to light,
including one by a naval officer who saw a UFO a month before the sighting from the
Almirante Saldanha, off the coast of Espirito Santo. The commanding officer and crew of
the Ata Tridente had seen a UFO several days before the Saldanha episode, but had kept
the in formation secret.
THE DISAPPEARANCE OF PRIVATE IRWIN
One of the strangest, most baffling cases in UFO folklore is the story of one Private First
Class Gerry Irwin. On March 2, 1959, he awoke in Cedar City Hospital, and was
completely unaware of how he got there. Irwin had been unconscious for twenty-three
hours, and during that time was mumbling something about a "jacket on the bush."
As he regained consciousness, the first thing he said was "Were there any survivors ?"
The strange tale of Gerry Irwin came to my attention from the notes of James Lorenzen,
who is the esteemed director of the APRO group. The facts will leave one puzzled, and if
there was any type of investigation by the Armed Forces, those details remain hidden to
this day.
Irwin's story began on February 28, 1959, as he was driving from Nampa, Idaho back to
Fort Bliss, in El Paso, Texas, where he was a Nike missile technician. Returning from a
leave of absence, he reached Cedar City, Utah, and turned southeast on Route 14 when
he saw an unusual sight. The landscape was brilliantly lit as he observed a glowing
object, which crossed the sky from right to left in front of him. Startled, he left his car to
get a better view, and watched the strange craft continue until it was blocked from his
sight by a ridge. His first thoughts were that a large airplane was making a forced
landing. Wanting to render aid if possible, Irwin quickly wrote a note, left it on his car,
and headed in the direction of the supposed crash. The note said, "HAVE GONE TO
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INVESTIGATE POSSIBLE PLANE CRASH. PLEASE CALL LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS."
He attached the note to his steering wheel, and using shoe polish, wrote STOP on the
side of his car.
About 30 minutes later, a Fish and Game Inspector stopped at the sight of Irwin's note.
He immediately took the note to the Cedar City Sheriff's Office. Sheriff Otto Pfief quickly
organized a search party, and headed for the sight. Approximately an hour later, Irwin
was found unconscious in the area, with no sign of a plane crash. Upon arriving at the
hospital, he was examined by Dr. Broadbent, who found that although Irwin's
temperature and respiration were normal, he could not be awakened. Broadbent's initial
diagnosis was "hysteria." When the frightened Irwin did come to, he felt fine, but was
still puzzled by the strange object he had seen. He also was at a loss as to where his
jacket was, it not being on him when found by searchers. Irwin was flown back to Ft.
Bliss, and put under observation at William Beaumont Hospital for four days. He returned
to duty afterward, though his security clearance was withdrawn. A couple of days later,
while walking at the base, he fainted. He recovered almost immediately, however.
On March 15, he fainted again on an El Paso street, and was taken to Southwest General
Hospital. His condition at this time was very similar to his state at Cedar City. Irwin
awoke at 2 :00 A.M. on Monday, and asked, "Were there any survivors ?" He thought
that it was February 28 again, and was shocked to be told it was some two weeks later.
He was again taken to William Beaumont Hospital, and placed under observation in the
psychiatric ward. After a month's stay, he was released, and deemed "normal" by
Captain Valentine.
The very next day, seemingly without provocation, the Private left the fort without leave,
caught a bus in El Paso, and arrived in Cedar City on Sunday afternoon, April 19.
Returning to the scene of his strange encounter, he headed straight to an area where he
found his missing jacket. There was a pencil in a buttonhole with a piece of paper tightly
wrapped around it. He took the paper and burned it, and seemingly came out of his
trance. Irwin had trouble finding his way back to his car, and turned himself in to Sheriff
Pfief, who refreshed his memory of his first incident. Jim and Coral Lorenzen, hearing of
the strange case, contacted Irwin after he returned to Fort Bliss. He underwent another
psychiatric examination, with the same results as the first. His case was reviewed by
the Inspector General, who ordered a more complete examination. On July 10,
Irwin again entered Beaumont Hospital. After being released, he did not report for duty
on August 1. A month later, he was listed as AWOL. He has never been seen again.
THE RED BLUFF REFRACTION
Corning, California - August 13, 1960. 11:50 p.m.
California Highway Patrol Officers Charles A. Carson and Stanley Scott were patrolling on
Hoag Road, east of Corning, California when they saw what looked like a huge airliner
descending from the sky in front of them. Thinking that a plane was about to crash, they
stopped and got out of the car to get a better look. They watched as the object
descended in complete silence to about 100 to 200 feet from the ground, then suddenly
reversed and climbed back to about 500 feet from the ground and stopped.
Officer Carson described it in a police teletype report :
•
At this time it was clearly visible to both of us. It was surrounded by a glow making
the round or oblong object visible. At each end, or each side of the object, there
were definite red lights. At times about five white lights were visible between the red
lights. As we watched the object moved again and performed aerial feats that were
actually unbelievable.
The officers radioed the Tehama County Sheriff's Office and asked Deputy Clarence Fry to
contact the local Air Force radar station at Red Bluff. Deputy Fry reported back that the
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radar station verified that an unidentified object was visible on radar. As they continued
to watch the object.
On two occasions the object came directly towards the patrol vehicle; each time it
approached, the object turned, swept the area with a huge red light. Officer Scott turned
the red light on the patrol vehicle towards the object, and it immediately went away from
us. We observed the object use the red beam approximately 6 or 7 times, sweeping the
sky and ground areas.
The object then began to move slowly to the east, and the officers followed. When they
had reached the Vina Plains Fire Station, the object was approached by a second object
that came from the south. The second object moved near to the first and both stopped
and hovered for some time, occasionally emitting red beams. After a time, both objects
vanished below the eastern horizon. They had observed the first object for a total of
about two hours and fifteen minutes. When they returned to the Tehama County Sheriff's
Office, they found that the object had also been seen by Deputies Fry and Montgomery,
as well as by the night jailer. All described the same thing.
The next day, Officers Carson and Scott drove to the Red Bluff Air Station to discuss the
sighting and to speak to the operator that had seen it on radar. The Air Force, however,
now denied that the object had been seen on radar, contradicting what the radar
operator had told Deputy Fry the night before. The visit was completely unproductive.
More information regarding the sighting was obtained by NICAP(National Investigations
Committee on Aerial Phenomena) advisor Walter N. Webb, who contacted Carson and
received a copy of the report, drawings of the object, and a letter from Carson.
In the letter, dated November 14, 1960, Carson said :
•
We made several attempts to follow it, or I should say get closer to it, but the object
seemed aware of us and we were more successful remaining motionless and allow it
to approach us, which it did on several occasions.
In the original report, Carson also mentioned that :
•
Each time the object neared us, we experienced radio interference.
Again, from the letter to Webb :
•
The object was shaped like a football, the edges, or I should say outside of the
object were clear to us...[the] glow was emitted by the object, was not a reflection
of other lights.
THE OFFICIAL EXPLANATION
What was the "official" explanation for the sighting ? In a letter to a NICAP member, the
Air Force said : The findings [are] that the individuals concerned witnessed a refraction of
the planet Mars and the bright stars Aldebaran and Betelgeux… [temperature inversions]
contributed to the phenomena as the planet Mars was quite low in the skies and the
inversion caused it to be projected upward.
They also said :
•
A contributing factor to the sightings could have been the layer of smoke which hung
over the area in a thin stratiform layer. This smoke came from the forest fires in the
area hung in layer due to the stable conditions associated with the inversions.
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UFO Sightings
When NICAP pointed out that Mars, Aldebaran, and Betelgeuse were all below the
horizon at the time of the sighting, the Air Force changed the star involved to Capella,
which was slightly above the eastern horizon at the time. They neglected to explain the
fact that, as the sighting progressed, Capella would have risen in the sky, whereas the
objects disappeared below the eastern horizon at the end of the sighting.
Officer Carson had this to say about the Air Force explanations :
•
I have been told we saw Northern lights, a weather balloon, and now refractions.
•
I served 4 years with the Air Force, I believe I am familiar with the Northern lights,
also weather balloons. Officer Scott served as a paratrooper during the Korean
Conflict. Both of us are aware of the tricks light can play on the eyes during
darkness. We were aware of this at the time. Our observations and estimations of
speed, size, etc. came from aligning the object with fixed objects on the horizon.
I agree we find it difficult to believe what we were watching, but no one will ever
convince us that we were witnessing a refraction of light.
A check of the meteorological records of the area for that night by atmospheric physicist
James E. MacDonald failed to find any evidence that would indicate the presence of a
temperature inversion.
Over the next week, similar sightings were reported, including another sighting the very
next evening by Deputies Fry and Montgomery that was also seen by a Corning police
officer.
THE BETTY AND BARNEY HILL ABDUCTION
When I was but a young boy, the only time anyone talked about flying saucers was after
watching a movie about them, or seeing an episode of Twilight Zone, or Science Fiction
Theater. Then one morning, I was scanning over our local newspaper, and noticed about
three pages deep this heading, "New Hampshire couple encounters UFO." Well, needless
to say, I was intrigued. In our small town paper, you just didn't see things on this type of
subject. As I began to read the article, I was astounded to see that these two people
claimed to have been abducted by aliens, and taken inside the ship! Well, that was
enough for me to think, "What is this, some kind of joke?" I thought I had heard the last
of it, but I had not. Soon, this story became an international one, and even today, is still
considered one of the most believable, and certainly most researched UFO cases, except
for maybe the Roswell incident. One thing about this whole subject that seems odd to
me, is that it is considered within the realm of possibility that someone could see a UFO,
but for someone to be taken aboard one, NO WAY.
In 1961, Barney Hill was a 39 year old black man who worked for the US Postal Service.
His wife Betty was a 41 year old white woman, who owned a Master's Degree, and was
the supervisor for the child welfare department. The fact that the Hills were an interracial
couple has been given weight by some who state that Barney was suffering stress in
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dealing with some public ridicule about the black and white union, which was not nearly
as readily accepted in the early 1960s as it is today. In my research into Mr. Hill's life,
I can't find any reason for his stress being the cause of telling such an incredible story.
What ensued after the couple went public with their story, was much more stressful to
him than any anti-racial remarks he may have encountered.
The story of Betty and Barney Hill begins in
September 1961, in the state of New Hampshire.
Barney had recently developed an ulcer, and he
and his wife Betty decided to take a short
vacation to Canada. The couple had visited
Niagara Falls, and Montreal, and on the 19th of
the month, they began their journey back home
to Portsmouth. The night was clear, with a
crescent moon shining on the heavily wooded
landscape, that surrounded US Route 3 in the
central part of New Hampshire. At about a
quarter past 10:00 P.M., three miles south of the
city of Lancaster, Barney noticed what appeared
to be a bright star, or planet which seemed to move erratically. Barney pointed this out
to Betty, and they both began to keep track of the object.
The couple began to believe that they were watching a plane, appear and disappear,
as the movement of their vehicle caused the trees to come and go in obstructing their
view. Later Barney would state that he tried to convince himself that the object was
a plane, but that Betty thought it to be something else; an unidentified craft of some
kind. As the two continued to the Flume, just north of North Woodstock, the object
appeared to move in an odd way. As they reached Indian Head, Barney actually stopped
the car to have a look at the object with his binoculars. He saw multicolored lights,
and rows of windows on a flat-shaped object, which now seemed to be moving toward
him. As the object moved to within a hundred feet of him, he could see occupants inside.
Frightened, he ran back to his car where Betty waited. They climbed inside and sped
away. Soon, two hours of their lives would vanish into oblivion.
After resuming their journey home, they were not able to see the strange craft anymore.
Oddly though, they heard a beeping sound. They then heard the beeping a second time,
noticing that they were suddenly thirty-five miles farther down the road than a minute or
two ago. They were now in Ashla. The mood in the car was quiet as they proceeded
home, and went to bed. They both slept until the next afternoon. When Betty got up, she
called her sister Janet, and told her what had happened. Janet told her to call nearby
Pease Air Force Base, and report what she had seen. Betty reported the incident,
speaking to Major Paul W. Henderson, who told Betty; "The UFO was also confirmed
by our radar." It is important to note at this point that Barney was against calling the
sighting in to the base, hoping to keep it quiet.
At this time, neither Betty nor Barney recalled any abduction.
Soon, Betty began having nightmarish dreams of her and her
husband being taken aboard a craft of some kind, against
their will. In a matter of weeks, two writers got wind of the
story, and after interviewing the Hills, made an intensive log
of the events of the night. They discovered that there were
two hours of unaccounted time in the Hill's story, even
allowing for stops for the Hills, and breaks for their dog,
who also had made the trip with them. Another interesting
note that I should interject here is that these "two writers,"
which are mentioned in almost every report of this incident,
(and there are literally thousands of them), have not been
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UFO Sightings
named, or I cannot find their names. However, the story is true, because their interview
was attended by Major James MacDonald, a former Air Force Intelligence Officer. Shortly
after Betty began having these disturbing dreams, she wrote a letter to Major Donald
Kehoe, who passed her information on to one Walter Webb, who was on the staff of the
Hayden Planetarium. Webb, at the time, was a scientific advisor for the National
Investigations Committee on Arial Phenomena. (commonly referred to as NICAP) What
he did with the report is unknown.
The method of treatment that Dr. Simon chose for the Hills was regressive hypnosis,
which was meant to get to the source of their problem, whatever that may have been.
He began the sessions on Barney, and then followed up with the same treatment for
Betty. The process was slow, but after six months, it was Dr. Simon's expert opinion that
the Hills had been abducted, and taken aboard an unknown flying craft on the night in
question. Anyone who is deeply interested in these sessions, can see transcripts of them
in an excellent book on the entire Hill story, "The Interrupted Journey," written by
award-winning investigative author John G. Fuller. The Hills' story was also included in a
two-part article in "Look" magazine, and a movie, "The UFO Incident," a made-for-TV
production. The movie was released in 1976, and starred Estelle Parsons as Betty, and
James Earl Jones as Barney.
After the many sessions with Dr. Simon, the following
details became evident. The Hills related that their car
had stalled, and then the alien craft landed on the
road in front of their vehicle, forming a kind of
roadblock, hailing them down. They were taken into
the craft, and given medical examinations by these
aliens, and before being released, were ordered under
hypnosis not to recount any of the details of their
incident. The entities were described by the Hills
as"…bald-headed alien beings, about five foot tall,
with greyish skin, pear shaped heads, and slanting
cat-like eyes." This was the very first mention in UFO folklore of the so-called "greys."
The Hills were taken into separate rooms during their examinations. These "tests"
involved both physical and mental procedures.
As part of these tests, skin, hair and nail samples were taken. Betty had a long needle
inserted into her navel, and was told it was a pregnancy test. Under duress, Barney
related that he had given a semen specimen. Betty stated that she was given a kind of
book as a token of her visit, but this item was later taken back. Another odd fact related
under hypnosis was that the aliens seemed to have no conception of time, or of colors,
whatever this may mean. At one point, the aliens seemed surprised to find that Barney's
teeth (dentures) could be removed and replaced. Betty asked one of her abductors where
they were from, and in reply, she was shown a star map of sorts, which will be discussed
in more detail later. After these events, the Hills were taken back to their car, and the
last thing they remembered was an orange glow disappearing into the night sky.
It is very important to note that the Hills tried to keep these events out of the press,
but unfortunately, an inaccurate version of the events was leaked to the press, after
which, the Hills decided to come forward with the true events of the case.
Dr. Simon was under a great amount of pressure to release whatever information the
Hills authorized about their case. This was considered prudent, not to exploit the story,
but to stop speculation that the absence of a statement by him would seem to shed
a negative light on the Hills' story. Simon concluded that the Hills were not fabricating
their story. He further stated that he there were several conclusions that could be
reached. [1] "The experience actually happened, or, [2] some perceptive and illusory
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misinterpretations occurred in relationship to some real event." What the "real event"
may be, I do not know.
As the facts of the Hills' case came to public knowledge, two notable, respectable
professionals investigated the story, and made their conclusions. One was Dr. J. Allen
Hynek, who was at the time, Professor of Astronomy at Northwestern University,
and later to be an Air Force Consultant on Aerial Phenomena. He eventually would create
his own "Center For UFO studies." The other was Stanton T. Friedman, a nuclear
physicist and the nation's only space scientist devoting full time to researching the UFO
phenomenon.
As a consultant to Project Bluebook, Hynek later
released the book, "The UFO Experience," in
which he discussed the Hills' case. I will
insert his own words here; "Under repeated
hypnosis they independently revealed what had
supposedly happened. The two stories agreed in
considerable detail, although neither Betty nor
Barney was privy to what the other had said
under hypnosis until much later. Under hypnosis
they stated that they had been taken separately
aboard the craft, treated well by the occupants,
rather as humans might treat experimental
animals - and then released after having been
given the hypnotic suggestion that they would remember nothing of that particular
experience. The method of their release supposedly accounted for the amnesia, which
was apparently broken only by counterhypnosis.
Dr. Stanton Friedman spent many long hours with the Hills, discussing the case,
and being a nut and bolts man, issued this statement; "By no stretch of the imagination
could anyone who knows them conclude that they were nuts," he emphasizes.
The Hills had been interviewed and questioned by others scientists and investigators;
some under hypnosis, and all are in agreement on one important fact. The Hills did NOT
make their story up, and the events put forward are based upon some REAL event.
Although Barney and Betty were in an interracial marriage, which unfortunately cast an
unfavorable shadow on them, we must remember that Betty had a Master's Degree in
social work, and Barney served on the governor of New Hampshire's Civil Rights
Commission. Both of them were well-respected by those who knew them or worked with
them. What benefit they could have gained from such an elaborate hoax I cannot
imagine. Although many so-called abductees have lost their livelihoods because of their
stories, the Hills did not, and remained involved in previous activities to the extent that
the interruptions of what happened allowed them.
As I mentioned earlier, when Betty was aboard
the craft, she stated she was shown a star map,
and was asked by one of the humanoids, "Where
are you on the map ?" to which she shrugged and
said, "I don't know." There has been an immense
amount of discussion about the so-called
"star map," and a lot of it's interpretation is up for
grabs. A full understanding of astronomy would
be required to study it's plotting and try to find
it's pattern in a specific point in the skies. I am
certainly not qualified to undertake this task, but I will tell you what I consider some of
the more reasonable explanations by professionals. The map that Betty says she was
shown was a three-dimensional view with different size dots and lines on it. I vividly
recall at the time of this incident, that the fact that scientists could not find any
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constellation that fit it's markings, put much doubt on the Hills claims. However,
approximately 8 years thereafter, when more powerful telescopes came into use, several
scientist claim to have found a match for this map.
Being intrigued with the mystery of the map, (which Betty drew from hypnosis), an Ohio
schoolteacher and amateur astronomer Marjorie Fish became involved in the case in
1969. Wondering if the stars and planets on the map would match any known celestial
objects, Fish got an interview with Betty Hill in the summer of 1969. Barney Hill had died
earlier the same year from a cerebral hemorrhage. After a lengthy discussion with Betty,
Fish released the following statement :
•
"On August 4, 1969, Betty Hill discussed the star map with me. Betty explained that
she drew the map in 1964 under posthypnotic suggestion. It was to be drawn only if
she could remember it accurately, and she was not to pay attention to what she was
drawing, which puts it in the realm of automatic drawing. This is a way of getting at
repressed or forgotten material and can result in unusual accuracy. She made two
erasures showing her conscious mind took control part of the time." "Betty described
the map as three dimensional, like looking through a window. The stars were tinted
and glowed. The map material was flat and thin (not a model), and there were no
noticeable Lenticular lines like one of our three-dimensional processes (It sounds
very much like a reflective hologram)."
Betty did not shift her position while viewing it, so we cannot tell if it would give the
same three-dimensional view from all positions or if it would be completely three,
dimensional. Betty estimated the map was approximately three feet wide and two feet
high with the pattern covering most of the map. She was standing about three feet away
from it. She said there were many other stars on the map but she only (apparently) was
able to specifically recall the prominent ones connected by lines and a small distinctive
triangle off to the left.
There was no concentration of stars to indicate the Milky Way (galactic plane) suggesting
that if it represented reality, it probably only contained local stars. There were no grid
lines.
Three stars in the clusters were unknown
until 1969. No Astronomer on earth knew
their position in 1963. Yet Betty Hill drew
a map of these stars in 1963. Before
I conclude this article, I must point out
that I am not one given to shallow
evidence from one webpage or a
supermarket tabloid. I am simply taking
the role of reporter here, and offer no
opinion of my own. Everything included in
this article has been confirmed by many
investigators, scientists, psychiatrists, etc.
I will leave you this one fact. Astronomers
at Ohio State University had a computer
put them in their exact position out beyond the double star system of Zeta Reticuli 1 and
Zeta Reticuli 2-220 trillion miles, 37 light years from earth, looking toward our sun.
The computer duplicated with virtually no variation, the map of Betty Hill. The Betty and
Barney Hill story is an intriguing one, to say the least. Everyone privy to it's details is still
in wonderment; still seeking answers. It is very
difficult to believe that two sane people who
were driving to their home, simultaneously had
some illusion. It is also difficult to believe that
two well-liked and respected people would
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UFO Sightings
make up this story. To what end ? Certainly, they were not seeking public fame, it was
about two years from the time of the incident until the time that the Hills made the facts
known. One important fact we must adhere to; NOT ONE of any of the professional
people who had involvement in the case shed a negative light on the fact that something
very unusual occurred that night in New Hampshire, or on the Hills personally.
THE WILLOW GROVE ENCOUNTER
The "down under" country of Australia would be the stage for a classic close encounter on
February 15, 1963. The quiet area of Willow Grove, near Moe, Victoria hosted the spread
of one Charles Brew. As usual, Brew was up and on the job early in the morning.
His 20 year old son Trevor was working in their milking shed. Charles was standing in a
field, admiring the sky. The sun had been up for a time, but rain clouds threatened
overhead. With an obstructed view of the eastern sky, Brew saw something very strange.
A flying object began to descend toward the milking shed.
Brew's cattle and dogs began to react strangely as the object moved ever closer to the
shed. A local newspaper, which later wrote a report on the Brews' encounter, mentioned
the dogs reaction, but sensationalized the farm animals' reaction by stating that his
cattle were doing somersaults. The Drews, of course, denied this fantastic claim. The UFO
had now descended to about 75 feet above the ground, and began to hover over a
Stringy-Bark tree. Close enough now for some guesswork, Brew estimated the craft was
about 25 feet in diameter, and 10 feet in height. A transparent dome adorned the top of
the craft, which had an antennae about 6 feet high.
The top portion of the craft itself was a grayish, and apparently metallic. The underside
was a pale blue color, and had protuberances around the outside edge. The underbelly
slowly rotated as the craft hovering, seemingly defying Earth's gravity. A low "whoosh"
sound came from the rotating part of the airship. Brew describes is eyes as drawn to the
object, "as though beams of magnetic current" emanated from the UFO. Soon he
suffered a headache, apparently from the force of the beams. After a short period of
hovering, the object started to climb to the west, disappearing into the clouds.
Trevor never witnessed the craft itself, but did hear the strange sound that it made.
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UFO Sightings
By the time that Brews' report went through channels, it was March 4 before he was
officially interviewed. A Lieutenant Hudson and Squad Leader Javes of the RAAF
discussed Brew's sighting with him thoroughly. They were impressed with his story,
and felt that he was a credible individual. The weather conditions at the time of the
sighting: rain, low clouds, and poor visibility, effected the opinion of the investigators.
Their report contained the following :
•
"On 6th March, Dr. Berson and Mr. Clark (of the CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific &
Industrial Research Organisation) Meteorological Physics division) were interviewed
to see if clouds give this type of phenomenon. They agreed that a tornado condition
could give this effect. The direction of rotation of Brew's report of the object was
consistent with known facts for the Southern Hemisphere. The blue-ish colouring has
been reported previously and is probably due to electric discharge and there would
be a smell of ozone. The only difference in Brew's report was that the object moved
from East to West because all previous reports to the CSIRO Met section of this
nature have been from West to East. Mr. Brew stated that the wind was fresh from
an easterly direction. However, (a) meteorological report states that wind was
westerly at 8 knots."
The investigator also stated :
•
"There is little doubt that Brew did witness something, and it is most likely that it
was a natural phenomenon. The phenomenon was probably a tornado. There was no
reported damage along its path, therefore one could assume that it was weak in
nature." A civilian UFO research group influenced the Department of Air to also
investigate Brew's story.
They issued the following statement :
•
"Our investigation and enquiries reveal that there are scientific records of certain
tornado-like meteorological manifestations which have a similar appearance in many
ways to whatever was seen by Mr. Brew. The information available is such however,
that while we accept this is a possibility, we are unable to come to any firm
conclusion as to the nature of the object or manifestation reported."
The investigation's conclusion would list tornadic wind as the "possible" cause.
A statement issued by the Victorian Flying Saucer Research Society declared :
•
"We are unable to come to any firm conclusion as to the nature of the object or
manifestation reported." It seems clear that the RAAF were largely parroting the
CSIRO's conclusions and taking things a little further without any realistic
justification. Dr. Berson, of the UFO research group, paid a visit to Brew to
personally review the sighting. Berson stated that the headache Brew had was
probably due to "electronic magnetic" activity. Whatever "official" conclusions were,
it is apparent to me and surely any sane person, that a man with a credible
reputation, and good common sense, could easily tell the difference between a flying
saucer and a tornado. Brew was less than impressed with the findings of the
Australian governmental groups. In his own words : "I wished it would come again.
It was beautiful. I could feel the life pulsating from it."
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LOONIE ZAMORA PROJECT BLUE BOOK
About 5:45 P.M. 4/24/64 while in Socorro 2 Police Car (64 Pontiac white) started to
chase a car due south from west side of Court House. Car was apparently speeding, and
was about 3 blocks in front. At point on Old Rodeo Street (extension of Park St. south)
near George Morillo residence (about 1/8 mile south of Spring Street, the chased car was
going straight ahead toward rodeo grounds. Car chased was a new black Chevrolet
(it might have been boy about seventeen). Chased car still about three blocks ahead.
alone. At this time heard a roar and saw a flame in the sky to southwest some distance
away possibly a 1/2 mile or a mile. Came to mind that a dynamite shack in that area had
blown up, decided to leave chased car go. Flame was bluish and sort of orange too.
Could not tell size of flame. Sort of motionless flame, slowly descending. Was still driving
car and could not pay too much attention to the flame. It was a narrow type of flame.
It was like a "stream down" a funnel type narrower at top than at bottom. Flame possibly
3 degrees or so in width not wide.
Flame about twice as wide at bottom as top, and about four times as
high as top was wide. Did not notice any object at top, did not note if
top of flame was level. Sun was to west and did not help vision.
Had green sun glasses over prescription glasses. Could not see bottom
of flame because it was behind the hill. no smoke noted. Noted some
"commotion" at bottom dust ? Possibly from windy day wind was
blowing hard. Clear sunny sky otherwise just a few clouds scattered
over area. Noise was a roar, not a blast. Not like a jet. Changed from
high frequency to low frequency and then stopped. Roar lasted
possibly 10 seconds was going toward it at that time on the rough
gravel road. Saw flame about as long as heard the sound. Flame same color as best as
recall. Sound disctinctly from high to low until it disappeared. Windows both were down.
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UFO Sightings
No other spectators noted no traffic except the car in front and car in front might have
heard it but possibly did not see it because car in front was too close to hill in front, to
see the flame. After the roar and flame, did not note anything, while going up the
somewhat steep rough hill had to back up and try again, two more times. Got up about
halfway first time, wheels started skidding, roar still going on, had to back down and try
twice and rock. While beginning third time, noise and flame not noted.
After got to top, traveled slowly on the gravel road westwardly. Noted nothing for awhile.
For possibly 10 or 15 seconds, went slow, looking around for the shack did not recall
exactly where the dynamite shack was. Suddenly noted a shiny type object to south
about 150 to 200 yards. It was off the road. At first glance, stopped. It looked, at first,
like a car turned upside down. Thought some kids might have turned over. Saw two
people in white coveralls very close to the object. One of these persons seemed to turn
and look straight at my car and seemed startled seemed to jump quickly somewhat.
At this time I started moving my car towards them quickly, with idea to help. Had
stopped about only a couple seconds. Object was like aluminum it was whitish against
the mesa background, but not chrome. Seemed like O in shape and I at first glance took
it to be overturned white car. Car appeared to be up on radiator or on trunk, this first
glance. The only time I saw these two persons was when I had stopped, for possibly two
seconds or so, to glance at the object. I don't recall noting any particular shape or
possibly any hats, or headgear. These persons appeared normal in shape but possibly
they were small adults or large kids.
Then paid attention to road while drove towards scene. Radioed to sheriff's office
"Socorro 2 to Socorro, possible 10-44 (accident), I'll be 10-6 (busy) out of the car,
checking the car down in the arroyo." Stopped car, was still talking on radio, started to
get out, mike fell down, reached back to put up mike, then replaced radio mike in slot,
got out of car and started to go down to where I knew the object (car) was.
Hardly turned around from car, when heard roar (was not exactly a blast), very loud roar
at that close was real loud. Not like a jet knows what jets sound like. Started low
frequency quickly, then roar rose in frequency (higher tone) and in loudness from loud to
very loud. At same time as roar saw flame. Flame was under the object. Object was
starting to go straight up slowly up. Object slowly rose stright up. Flame was light blue
and at bottom was sort of orange color From this angle, saw the side of object (not end,
as first noted). Difficult to describe flame. Thought, from roar, it might blow up.
Flame might have come from underside of object, at middle, possibly a four feet
areavery rough guess. Cannot describe flame further except blue and orange. No smoke,
except dust in immediate area.
As soon as saw flame and heard roar, turned away, ran away from object but did turn
head toward object. Bumped leg on car back Fender area. Car facing southwest. Glasses
fell to ground, left them there. ran to north car between him and object. Object was oval,
in shape. It was smooth no windows or doors. As roar started, it was still on or near
ground. Noted red lettering of some type (see illustration). Insignia was about
2 1/2' high and about 2' wide I guess. Was in middle of object... Object still like
aluminum-white. After fell by car and glasses fell off, kept running to north, with car
between me and object. Glanced back couple of times. Noted object to rise to about level
of car, about 20 to 25 feet guess took I guess about six seconds when object started to
rise and I glanced back. I ran I guess about halfway to where I ducked down about fifty
feet from the car is where I ducked down, just over edge of hill. I guess I had run about
25 feet when I glanced back and saw the object level with the car and it appeared about
directly over the place where it rose from.
I was still running and I jumped just over the hill I stopped because I did not hear the
roar. I was scared of the roar, and I had planned to continue running down the hill.
I turned around toward the object and at same time put my head toward ground,
covering my face with my arms. Being that there was no roar, I looked up, and I saw the
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UFO Sightings
object going away from me. It did not come any closer to me. It appeared to go in
straight line and at same height possibly 10 to 15 feet from ground, and it cleared the
dynamite shack by about three feet. Shack about eight feet high. Object was travelling
very fast. It seemed to rise up, and take off immediately across country. I ran back to
my car and as I ran back, I kept an eye on the object. I picked up my glasses (I left the
sun glasses on ground), got into the car, and radioed to Nep Lopez, radio operator, to
"look out of the window, to see if you could see an object." He asked what is it ?
I answered "It looks like a balloon." I don't know if he saw it. If Nep looked out of his
window, which faces north, he couldn't have seen it. I did not tell him at the moment
which window to look out of.
As I was calling Nep, I could still see the object. The object seemed to lift up slowly, and
to "get small" in the distance very fast. It seemed to just clear the Box Canyon or Six
Mile Canyon Mountain. It disappeared as it went over the mountain. It had no flame
whatsoever as it was traveling over the ground, and no smoke or noise. Feeling in good
health. Last drink two or three beers was over a month ago. Noted no odors. Noted no
sounds other than described. Gave directions to Nep Lopez at radio and to Sergeant M.S.
Chavez to get there. Went down to where the object had been and I noted the brush was
burning in several places. At that time I heard Sgt. Chavez (N.M. State Police at Socorro)
calling me on radio for my location, and I returned to my car, told him he was looking at
me. Then Sgt. Chavez came up, asked me what the trouble was, because I was sweating
and he told me I was white, very pale. I asked the Sgt. to see what I saw, and that was
the burning brush. Then Sgt. Chavez and I went to the spot, and Sgt. Chavez pointed out
the tracks. When I first saw the object (when I thought it might be a car) I saw what
appeared to be two legs of some type from the object to the ground. At the time, I didn't
pay much attention to what it was I thought it was an accident I saw the two persons.
I didn't pay any attention to the two "legs ?" The two "legs" were at the bottom of the
object, slanted outwards to the ground. The object might have been about three and a
half feet from the ground at that time. I just glanced at it.
Can't tell how long I saw object second time (the "close" time), possibly 20 seconds just
a guess from time got out of car, glanced at object, ran from object, jumped over edge
of hill, then got back to car and radio as object disappeared. As my mike fell as I got out
of car, at scene area, I heard about two or three loud "thumps," like someone possibly
hammering or shutting a door or doors hard. These "thumps" were possibly a second or
less apart. This was just before the roar. The persons were not seen when I drove to the
scene area. Just before Sgt. Chavez got to scene, I got my pen and drew a picture of the
insignia on the object.
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UFO Sightings
THE BIG SUR UFO FILMING, 1964.
A Critical Analysis of the Curious Events at Vandenberg Air Force Base.
By Bob Jacobs, Ph.D.
It is a sad and curious fact that much of the literature surrounding the UFO phenomena
appears in the highly sensationalized "tabloids." Once relegated solely to pulp newsprint
this form of idiot journalism has now moved into television with personal ties like Geraldo
Rivera, Morton Downey, Jr. and a growing number of other slime merchants. Owing to
the prejudice toward this kind of journalism shared by intellectuals, academicians and the
celebrities who frequently decry being victimized by the tabloids, such exposure has
tended to desensitize the American Public to the potential seriousness of the UFO issue.
Since tabloids seem to be written stylistically by and for the lunatic fringe, then UFOs are
seen broadly as the purview of lunatics exclusively.
If one wanted deliberately to denigrate an issue, to relegate it to trash heap of pop
culture, one could not do so more completely than to insure that the issue falls into the
hands of The Star or The National Enquirer or Geraldo Rivera ! Perhaps a case could be
made for the UFO evidence having been delivered over to garbage journalism by design
as a method of discrediting it.
We know, for example, that at the beginning of his involvement with the subject, the late
Dr. J. Allen Hynek, later Chairman of the Department of Astronomy at Northwestern
University, was employed by the United States Air Force with Project Blue Book to
"debunk" all "flying saucer" sightings. His famous "Swamp Gas" conclusion has lived in
the popular mythos long after the good Doctor's formal recantation of it. And, in spite of
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UFO Sightings
some of the general popularizing of the subject in films like Close Encounters of the Third
Kind and E.T., Johnny Carson, David Letterman and other television talk show heroes,
still get comic mileage out of poking fun at UFO investigators, "swamp gas and the
frequent loonies who claim to be incarnate space ships or to own condos on Venus.
If the tabloids were not paid off to run as many mislead- ins, bizarre stories on UFOs and
UFO Fringies as possible, always making these tales appear to be from or about some
dimwit in the hinter lands, then they may as well have been.
Deliberate deception, Machiavellian conspiracy, coincidence or just the luck of the draw
whatever the reason, the resultant tabloid "sleaze factor" is a handicap for any scholar
wishing to engage in research into what is, in fact, a fascinating and deliciously intricate
field worthy of serious study. I am a scholar, a card-carrying Ph.D., and a university
professor in a department of Journalism and Broadcasting. Some years ago I was an
officer in the United States Air Force, the first officer in the photography career field,
by the way, to be awarded the Air Force Guided Missile Insignia; the "Missile Badge."
Those are facts. Another fact is that I have been a participant in an -official United States
Government-ordered UFO cover-up. I've been ridiculed by some of my colleagues in
academia because in 1982 I wrote an article about this cover-up and it appeared in The
National Enquirer. It was not my intention to become a tabloid writer then or now.
The Enquirer turned out to be the only publication I could find which was interested in
printing the article at all. Both academic and mainstream journals and periodicals turned
it down cold over the period of nearly a year during which I submitted and resubmitted
it. I was told by editor after editor that UFO stories weren't "publishable." I thought the
story was important then. That's why I let a tabloid publish it. I still think it's important.
That's why I responded to the invitation to write it for this journal. So much for preamble
about the press.
BIG SUR BACKGROUND
Six years then, after it first broke, here is my report on what we photographed at Big Sur
along with some of what has happened since 1982 in plain, unheroic, non-sensational,
unexpurgated and non-tabloidized English. I earned the "Missile Badge" for making a
"significant contribution to America's Missile and Space Program" so the citation read,
while I was Officer-in-Charge of Photo-optical Instrumentation in the 1369th
Photographic Squadron at Vandenherg Air Force Base, California from May, 1963 to May,
1966. My work in establishing a long range tracking site at Big Star, California in large
part is what convinced the Air Force to give me that cherished award. The circumstances
that took me to the "Missile Badge" ceremony as well as to that lovely and mysterious
bulge of California coastline known as the Big Star ended up changing my mind about a
number of things, including the nature of our government, the nature of my personal
belief systems and the nature of the universe.
It began with a man named Kingston A. George. "King" George had the title of
Operations Analyst for Headquarters, 1st Strategic Aerospace Division. The engineers,
civilian and military, whose job it was to evaluate the instrumentation photography which
we provided on every missile launch down the Western Test Range, were unhappy, he
said. Shooting tracking footage from Vandenberg only provided a look up the "tailpipe" of
the missile. What George said they wanted was a side look at all stages of powered
flight. This side-look was not possible from anyplace on the base. Because of the tortured
California coastline, such a view was possible from one spot. Big Star.
Topographically, Big Sur is both north and west of Vandenberg. We reasoned that we
might get the shot the engineers wanted if we could get high enough to provide both a
line-of-sight to the base and to put us well above the offshore fog bank which blankets
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UFO Sightings
the California shoreline much of the year. Because of the 124 mile distance from
Vandenberg to Big Sur, the final things needed were a lens with a very long focal length,
a recording device capable of enhancing the image and a tracking system on which to
mount them. According to George, such a device was built and ready to go. It was the
Boston University telescope, owned by the Air Force Eastern Test Range (AFETR) at
Patrick Air Force Base, Florida and under the direction of Mr. Walter Manning in the
Aerospace Sciences Division at AFETR. The optical segment of the device was a folded
Gregorian telescope with a 24- inch diameter objective mirror and a 240-inch focal
length. The lens apparatus was sealed from the air and insulated against heat and cold.
A set of Barlow extenders could yield effective focal lengths of from 480 to 2,400 inches.
(The normal focal length lens for a 35mm camera is about two inches !) The light sensing
element of the instrument was an image orthocon (television) tube. The I.O. could
enhance the optical image, convert it to a series of electrical signals and display on a
Kinescope where it was photographed with 35mm motion picture film. Because the I.O.
had remarkable low noise, the gain could be "cranked quite high to record very low light
level objects. Such a device could record sources of light emission or reflection which
were tens of times too weak for detection by other photographic methods.
The B.U., as it was called, was ideal for the purpose. One of the primary goals of our
mission, according to George, was to provide information on the "minute events
folIowing propellant depletion - at distance of from 300 to 800 nautical miles. (italics
mine). If we could find a level place accessible to the B.U. (not easy, considering that the
scope with its tracker was just a little smaller than a conventional moving van and had be
hauled by a heavy duty, cross- country type diesel truck) and see the missile through the
haze well enough to lock in on it with the tracking mount, we still had one problem left.
Engineering sequential photograph is of little use to the viewer without the addition of
timing marks on th film. This time code received from Wheeling, West Virginia tagged
each individual frame of film with a reference point in real time to the moment of engine
ignition and launch. The coded pips of light were recorded on the sound track area of the
film by an exciter lamp driven by the signal from WWV. On the base, timing signals were
sent to the cameras by hardlines from the blockhouse. Running a line to Big Sur with the
necessary amplifiers would have been to costly, particularly for what was only a
feasibility test. We had to try some thing else. The solution was really very simple.
On June 10,1964 I lead a group of people to the area I had discovered earlier near
Anderson Peak at an elevation of 3,400 feet on a Forest Service fire trail, 9 miles into the
woods and uphill from Highway 1 in Big Sur. With me on that sunny summer day were
my NCOIC, Chief Master Sergeant Ike N. Davis, Jr., NCOIC of my Tracking Section, Staff
Sergeant Jules Devine, Kingston A. George, with a Technical Sergeant Porter from 1st
STRATAD and a Mr. Paulson from Patrick Air Force Base at Cape Kennedy. All of us
agreed that the truck could certainly pull the B.U. up to this site with no trouble. Could
we now get timing pips to it ?
We had with us that day a portable radio transceiver which we used at Vandenberg to
communicate from my office to the mobile vehicles and our tracking sites on base. At
Vandenberg I had Airman First Class Joseph Williams standing by. He had wired the
output of one of the timing signals to an identical transceiver to the to the one I had. At
my command he activated the radio and transmitted flawless timing signals to us at Big
Sur, just as we had in a test weeks earlier. All that was necessary with the B.U. would be
to patch-in our receiver to its timing signal input on the 35mm motion picture camera.
Timing was no problem. There was happiness on the site and my "Missile Badge" was
assured rhat day.
On August 28,1964, I lead a convoy up the Pacific Coast Highway through Pismo Beach,
past Hearst Castle at San Simeon and into what would be history. Technical Sergeant
Thomas Dodd was my NCOIC for the remote site. He would operate our standard M-45
tracking mount with conventional 35mm Mitchell film cameras to compare with the
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UFO Sightings
results of the B.U. Telescope. A1C Joseph Williams was along to handle communications
and timing. A1C Daryl Winters was also along. As a sad sideline, Winters would become
the first and only Air Force photo man to be killed in action in Vietiian a little over two
years later. Our Air Force troop camped at the preselected fire trail turnout near the
summit of Anderson Peak, set up our M-45 and waited.
On August 31, 1964 the B.U. Telescope arrived on site with its truck and its caravan of
people for a 30-day test period. Walt Manning was with it along with a crew of three
operators and one supervisor. We were also joined by two people from Vandenberg :
Chief Warrant Officer Guy M. Spooner from the Operations Section of the 1369th and
Major Florenz J. Mansmann from 1st STRATAD. With a celebratory air, the B.U. was set in
place and made ready to perform. Mansmann and Spooner went back to Vandenberg.
The rest of us settled in to prepare for the first of what could be a total of 11 launches
from the base during the 30 day test. Nine of these would be photographed through a
major portion of powered flight by both the B.U. Telescope operating with effective focal
lengths ranging from 1200 inches to an average of 720 inches, and with the conventional
cameras and shorter lenses of the 1369th's M-45 mount.
THE INCIDENT
One of these launches would inspire an official government cover-up and provoke an
investigation and search for the filmed record which goes on to this day. Here is what
happened. To the best of my recollection and based on sketchy records - the date of the
event was most probably either September 2nd, 3rd, or 15th, 1964 The launch was of an
Atlas missile. It was an Atlas-F as I recall strongly, but it may possibly have been an
Atlas.D. The flight was in support of the Nike-Zeus objectives. Nike Zeus was one of the
United States' projects to develop an anti-missile missile. This particular mission was part
of a test of an enemy radar-defeating system. The whole program in hindsight seems
very primitive, possibly futile and even a bit silly. Nearly a quarter of a century ago in
1964 it was deadly serious business. At the Big Sur tracking site we were ready to go as
the countdown from Vandenberg progressed loud and clear on our radio. At the call of
"ignition... liftoff" all cameras rolled and scanned to the southeast for something to
photograph. "There it is !", I shouted out as the Atlas leaped through the snow-white
coastal fog blanket and both tracking mounts homed-in on the majestic "bird" in flight.
The big Atlas could not have been more clean, clear and majestic We were "Go" for the
operation. The magnification of the B.U. was truly impressive. The exhaust nozzles and
lower third of the Atlas missile literally filled the frame at this distance of over 100
nautical miles. With one tracking mount operator on azimuth and one on elevation
working completely manually, it was not easy to keep the image centered in the early
stages of flight. As the nosecone package approached T + 400 seconds, sufficient angle
of view had been established that we were literally locked down with the whole inflight
package centered in the frame. No one on the site was watching the screen by this point.
Our mission to provide the engineers with a side look at three stages of powered flight
had been accomplished and we were a very happy bunch, congratulating each other and
letting the film run out in the 35mm motion picture camera focused on the Kinescope.
I took the cans of exposed film and headed down the coast to Vandenberg and our
laboratory. Processing of the film would occur that night and the results would be ready
for viewing the next day.
MEN IN GREY
I was back at my desk enjoying the feeling of accomplishment from the Big Stir
expedition when I was called by Major Mansmann, who asked me to come right away to
his office at the Headquarters building. When I arrived, I found a movie projector set up
in the office and a group of people waiting. Among these I recall two men in plain grey
suits who spoke little and watched me intently as the lights were dimmed and the film
played on a bright screen. (Mansmann has since stated that there were actually three
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men present.) It was a surprise and a delight for me to be seeing the kinescope
recording from Big Sur after all the months of planning and weeks of work. I was quite
amazed and very pleased with the quality, especially at the distance involved as we could
make out quite plainly the separated nosecone, the radar experiment and the dummy
warhead all sailing along beautifully about 60 miles straight up from planet Earth and
some 300 to 500 nautical miles down range. As we neared the end of the camera run,
Mansmann said, "Watch carefully now, Lieutenant ant Jacobs." At that point the most
remarkable vision of my life came on the screen. Another object flew into the frame from
left to right. It approached the warhead package and maneuvered around it. That is, this
... "thing"...flew a relative polar orbit around our warhead package which was itself
heading toward the South Pacific at some 18 thousand miles an hour !
As the new object circumnavigated our hardware, it emitted four distinct bright flashes of
light at approximately the 4 cardinal compass points of its orbit. These flashes were so
intense that each "strike" caused the I.O. tube to "boom" or form a halo around the spot.
Following this remarkable aerial display the object departed the frame in the same
direction direction from which it had come. The shape of the object was that of a classic
"flying saucer." In the middle of the top half of the object was a dome. From that dome,
or just beneath it, seemed to issue a beam of light or which caused the flashes described.
Subsequently the warhead malfunctioned and tumbled out of suborbit hundreds of miles
short of its target. This ... unidentified flying ... "thing" had apparently "shot down" an
American dummy atomic warhead !
The lights came on and Major Mansmann said, "Lieutenant Jacobs, were you or any of
your people fooling around up there at Big Sur ? "No sir," I answered honestly. I was
shaking with excitement. "Then tell me ... what the Hell was that ?" I looked Major
Mansmann straight in the eye. "It looks to me like we got a UFO," I said. There was a
stifling silence among the men in grey, civilian suits who continued to stare at me. Major
Mansmann gave them what I can only describe as a "let me handle this" look.
COVER-UP
"Well," he smiled cordially, "let's just say it never happened. You are to say nothing
about this footage to anyone. As far as you and I are concerned, this never took place,
you understand ?"
I looked at the men in the grey suits. They were not smiling. I felt hot and anxious. I was
sweating badly. I think I just sat for a minute looking blankly at Major Mansmann.
I had just seen the most fantastic event of my life. It etched a path in my memory as
deep as the one put there almost a year earlier when President John F. Kennedy had
been shot to death in Dallas. I wanted more than anything to see it again, to study it
under a magnifier, to analyze the pictures frame by frame. Major Mansmann did smile,
nicely. "I don't need to remind you of the seriousness of a security breach, do
I Lieutenant ?", he asked. "No, sir," I replied. "Good," he said, motioning for me to stand.
I stood. He walked me to the door, speaking confidentially. "What you just saw did not
take place," he repeated. "It never happened." I looked at him once more. Something
flickered way back deep in his eyes as he again looked at the men in grey then back to
me. "But ... if at some time in the future," Florenz Mansmann said finally, "you are
pressed by someone about this and you can't get out of answering, just tell them ... tell
them it was flashes from laser tracking, O.K. ?"
And with that, I was ushered out the door and into over a decade of silence on the
subject. Never mind that in 1964 we did not have laser tracking, nor did we or any other
power on Earth have spacecraft capable of flying circles around a suborbital capsule.
I tried to sublimate the whole incident out of loyally and respect for Florenz Mansmann
whom I liked a great deal. While I did not talk about the event with anyone. I did begin a
period of intense research into the UFO phenomena.
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My research intercst in the field continues to the present. Of particular fascination is the
relationship of the press to the UFO. This great Liberal bastion of free enquiry, this body
of muckrakers which prides itself so highly on prodding and upsetting political figures,
has played very prettily into the hands of those same government minions who wish to
obfuscate the whole field of discovery, discussion and debate about the most perplexing
and possibly most important scientific conundrum in the history of our species. While
chasing after Pulitzer Prizes for such relatively petty mischief as political dirty tricks at
Watergate, or poor old Gary Hart and his happy harlots or the hapless Dan Quayle and
his colorless, but merely mediocre background, The Press has persistently missed one of
the really imperative stories of our time.
GOES PUBLIC
I told my small portion of it first, tentatively, on a late night talk show which I hosted in
Eureka, California in 1973 on station KFMl-FM. The response I got to my revelation was
almost as astonishing as had been the event itself. My program director, Richard Van
Pelt, came forth to tell his own tale of a CE3K which happened to him while he was an Air
Force Security NCO in Iceland 20 years earlier. A university physics professor at
California State University, Humboldt who had worked on the H-bomb project came forth
to tell about his firm belief in the extraterrestrial nature of UFOs. Since then I have met a
number of other people whom I respect, whom I know not to be "fringies" or cranks or
crackpots, but who share common experiences with UFO sightings and encounters.
And, finally, in 1982, 1 decided that my story needed to be aired to a broader audience.
Eighteen years had gone by. I could not get it out of my mind after all that time.
Then, first in the trade journals, later in the popular press, there were hints of a new
weapon system in the offing. It was some kind of satellite-smasher we were told. Soon
we would hear President Reagan himself disrobe the rumors and give us Star Wars (SDI).
There were the rumors of aircraft being built which were invisible to radar (some said to
the human eye, as well !) "Stealth," they were called. It is significant to recall that until
very recently, the Air Force denied that they existed, too ! There were persistent stories
of something called Project Snowbird where American pilots were being shown how to
operate captured (or donated) alien space craft Something about the Big Sur film
seemed to be part of the overall pattern. I held back writing my story because of the
Security angle until the truth occurred to me. There was no "security breach" in this
story. The damn thing had never been "Classified SECRET' or anything else. I had been
told simply that it "NEVER HAPPENED" ! Therefore, I was free to tell the story to
whomever I pleased since it was about a non event officially.
I wrote my article. I shopped it around. In the end The National Enquirer published it.
And as now retired Major Florenz J. Mansmann put it, "Jacobs opened Pandora's Box."
I was contacted by a variety of investigators, buffs, cranks, proponents and detractors
alike. James Oberg, a frequent "mouthpiece" for certain NASA projects and self-styled
UFO Debunker wrote to disparage my story and to ask provocatively, "Since you
obviously feel free to discuss top secret UFO data, what would you be willing to say about
other top secret aspects of the Atlas warhead which you alluded to briefly ... ?" I told Mr.
Oberg where to put his misplaced cynicism.
Mansmann, now a Ph.D. research consultant at Stanford and a farmer near Fresno,
California was besieged with requests for information, and for his version of what
happened. My respect and admiration for him was vindicated as he categorically verified
my account.
CONCLUSIONS
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Academicians first gather data, then postulate conclusions based on what they find. From
what I have gathered first hand, (primary evidence), pieced together from Mansmann,
from a fine researcher named Lee M. Graham), from contemplation, discussion and
debate of the material, as well as from the Air Force position on this and other related
matters, I have come to the following conclusions :
•
•
•
•
•
•
What we photographed that September day in 1964 was a solid, threedimensional, intelligently controlled flying device.
It emitted a beam of energy, possibly a plasma beam, at our dummy warhead and
caused a malfunction.
This "craft" was not anything of which our science and technology in 1964 was
capable. The most probable explanation of the device, therefore, is that it was of
extraterrestrial origin.
The flashing strikes of light we recorded on film were not from laser tracking
devices. Such devices did not exist then aside from small scale, laboratory
models.
Most probably the B.U. Tele scope was brought out to California specifically to
photograph this event which had been prearranged. That is, we had been setup to
record an event which someone in our Government knew was going to happen in
advance.
What we photographed that day was the first terrestrial demonstration of what
has come to be called S.D.I. or "Star Wars." The demonstration was put on for our
benefit for some reason by extraterrestrials. It is this aspect of the event, not
merely the recording of another "flying Saucer" which caused such consternation
both on the part of Major Mansmann when he told me "it never happened" and on
behalf of the government in its two and one half decade cover-up of the event and
the record we made of it.
It is this defense-oriented aspect of the case which has caused investigators to run into
stone walls in trying to track down my story. The Air Force has alternately denied that
I was ever an officer, that I was ever stationed at Vandenberg, that I was OIC of
Photo-optical Instrumentation in the 1369th Photographic Squadron, that there was a
tracking site at or near Big Sur, California, that an Atlas-F, or for that matter, any other
missile was launched on or about the date or dates I reported.
DOCUMENTATION
We have been able to verify through FOIA requests and my military records everything
except the specific launch and the fact of its having been filmed We have been told first
that there were no launches, then that there were launches but no malfunctions.
Herewith, for the first time I present the documentation for a mission malfunction in an
official unclassified Air Force document which has finally surfaced in my collection of
aging papers and books. "King" George gives us a quick sketch of the whole Big Sur
project, tells us that "Over the period of 30 days, from 31 August to 30 September,
during which the Boston University telescope was ready to film launches, eleven flights
were made from Vandenberg," that "a final report will be forthcoming in a few weeks
with a complete description of the system and the operations over the past several
weeks," that "a documentary film of about 30 minutes length containing several minutes
of selected film clips will be assembled" and that one powered flight anomaly was
observed (italics mine), and the coverage of the flights has produced enough data to
show that Big Sur photography could be an important adjunct to other instrumentation."
It is not clear whether or not Kingston George was privy to the screenings of the Big Sur
film which recorded the UFO. My suspicion is that he was one of those to whom
Mansmann has admitted showing the film. His document, however, states clearly that a
missile malfunctioned during the B.U. test period, now putting the final lie to the Air
Force denials.
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That is my story. It is from my own experiences, recollections, records, and hands. You
are free to interpret it as you like. As a footnote I need to comment, I suppose, on the
cover-up. I do not believe that anyone is going to succeed in getting the film on an
F.O.I.A. request. I have been asked to make such a request myself and refuse to do so.
Eric Mishara, Lee Graham, T. Scott Crain, Jr. and others have done so and have run into
the wall of futility. I don't believe that anyone can succeed in getting the film because the
fact of its existence will have been completely expunged from the records by now.
Investigators who encounter negative replies from the Air Force, from representatives
who are at Vandenberg now are not necessarily being deceived deliberately. Nearly
25 years have passed and no one presently at the base has any personal recollection of
the event, much less any official record of it. Consider the very limited number of people
who saw the film in the first place and you will comprehend how simple it was to make it
disappear.
Finally, if the government did officially "classify" the film either back then or
subsequently, then perhaps there were/are compelling reasons for it to have done so.
As the B-2 "Stealth" Bomber has now been unveiled publicly at last, we can contemplate
the rationale for having kept it "classified" for so long. At some point, when no harm can
come from the information, perhaps the film for which I was responsible that long ago
September day in the cool, clear mountains of Big Sur will be made public, along with the
possibly awe some technological power which the images recorded on it represented.
One significant fact remains. The experimental tracking site which I installed near
Anderson Peak became a permanent location for missile tracking on the Western Test
Range. Moved nearer the peak geographically and magnitudes better technically, it is
there today. You see footage from it everytime a Space Shuttle reenters for a landing at
Edwards Air Force Base. What else it records or has recorded and its ultimate purpose for
being there is a matter for history, hopefully, to reveal.
ALIEN ENCOUNTER IN CISCO COUNTRY
Bob Jacobs.
On September 4, 1964. 28 year old Donald Schrum and his friends were bow and arrow
hunting at Cisco Grove, Placer County, California. Before very long, the avid hunter
would have an encounter with the unknown; an encounter that would make this the most
memorable hunting trip of his life. During the afternoon of hunting, Schrum had become
separated from the rest of the group, and with nightfall fast approaching, he decided to
sleep the night away in a tree for safety. He attention was soon drawn, however, to the
sight of a white light which zig-zagged through the trees at low altitude. At first, he
thought it was a helicopter, so Schrum jumped down from the safety of the tree, and
began lighting flares to attract attention to himself. He thought that his friends had
launched a rescue party to locate their missing companion. Finally the white light turned
in his direction, coming to a stop some fifty yards from the tree.
He soon discovered that the object was not a
helicopter at all, but a strange-looking object, different
from anything he had seen before. Now frightened, he
climbed back up into the safety of the tree. After a
short period of time, he was shocked to see three
beings approaching the tree. Two of them seemed to
be a humanoid-type of being, while the third was more
robot-like. Shock became utter panic now, as the three
began to shake the tree in an attempt to dislodge him.
He vividly recalls a white vapor being shot from the
robot's mouth; which rendered him unconcious.
When he came to, he was nauseous, but began throwing lighted matches toward the
beings, which caused them to back away from the tree momentarily. Soon the assault
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continued. Finally, Schrum managed to load and shoot an arrow at the invaders, hitting
the robot. The direct hit caused a spark to fly, indicating that the arrow had hit a metallic
surface. He managed to shoot two more arrows at the beings, each time causing to the
group to scatter. Soon, a second robot joined the group, and again Schrum was rendered
unconscious by the strange, white vapor coming from the entity's mouth. When he
awoke again, the two humanoid beings were now climbing the tree ! He mananged to
thwart the attack by throwing different objects at them, and shaking the tree.
This scenario continued off and on for most of the night.
As dawn approached, more beings arrived, and this time a large volume of smoke caused
him to black out completely. When he awoke, he was barely hanging from the tree by his
belt. The aliens were finally gone. Schrum was soon rescued, and reunited with the other
hunters. Corroborating at least part of his story, one of the other men who had also
become lost, and seen the UFO. What exactly were these humanoid-like creatures that
Schrum encountered that fearful night in California ? Unfortunately, Donald Schrum was
the only witness to these other worldly beings.
UFO ON AUSTRALIAN BEACH
Vaucluse Beach, a suburb of Sydney, would be the location of a close encounter of the
eerie kind. On July 19, 1965, Dennis Crowe, a one-time technical artist for English
aircraft companies, would have the most unusual event of his life occur. A little after
5:00 P.M. Crowe was strolling along the beach, located not far from his home.
The sea had been rough that day, with high winds and
frequent rain showers, and Crowe was enjoying a calm
between the storms. In the distance, he began to see a
glow, and as he moved closer, he could make out the
shape of a disc-shaped object, sitting on legs on the
sandy beach. Crowe guessed the object's diameter at
20 feet, and he could now see a glowing blue-green
hue rim around it, with the craft's two parts a dullish
gray. The top appeared to be a transparent dome. The
disc shaped craft was sitting silently. The only sound he
heard at the time was barking from some dogs. They
were barking directly at the object. Crowe had made his first observations at several
hundred feet, and as he came to within about 60 feet, the object lifted itself from the
ground. Crowe could now hear a sound… a sound like air being forced out of f a balloon.
The disc shaped UFO quickly climbed into the air, and within about 10 seconds, it had
disappeared. The dogs were now silent. Crowe had been the only human to see the
strange craft. Crowe made a report of what he saw, and a geologist came to make an
inspection of the landing site. He stated that some type of object had definitely rested
where Crowe had seen the UFO. The plant life in the area of the landing was all dying.
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The sighting gained enough publicity to bring in The Royal Australian Air Force. They
offered a possible explanation for the event. They said that it could have been a
"tornado." Crowe categorically rejected this theory. For lack of more information, no
other research was forthcoming on this strange sighting. Crowe stood by his account of
what he saw that day, and no other evidence is available to deny his claims. The UFO
that landed on Vaucluse Beach that day remains an "unknown."
THE MOTHMAN LEGEND
Jack the Ripper, Dracula, Dr. Frankenstein's monster, Bigfoot, Extraterrestrials... these
creatures (among others) are the things that nightmares are made of. Let's add one
more to the ever growing list of the things that scare us the most; The Mothman.
The release of "The Mothman Prophecies" has renewed interest in this 40 year old
mystery, which brings us to the question at hand. What is the Mothman anyway ?
It seems that each time the creature was seen, it was described somewhat differently.
Could the unnerving thought of being ripped to shreds by this creature of the night cause
one's judgment to be impaired ? Obviously so. What could be worse than a cloaked
madman like the Ripper lurking in the fog shrouded alleys of Whitehall ready to take
another victim, or the sight of a half-man half-giant bird swooping down and clawing us
to death, or eating us alive ? How did the legend of the terror inspiring Mothman begin
anyway ? There is some doubt as to whether or not the Mothman belongs in the field of
UFOology, but there is some evidence that it does, and we will go into that in this article.
The very first sighting of the Mothman was supposedly on the night of November 15,
1966, near the town of Point Pleasant, West Virginia. Two married couples, Roger and
Linda Scarberry and Steve and Mary Mallette were driving past a closed down World War
II ammunitions plant that was commonly called the "TNT AREA" by locals. They were
only about six miles north of the city proper, in an area set aside by the city as a wildlife
preserve for birds, called the McClintic Wildlife Preserve. The area had many underground
tunnels and caves; an easy hiding or nesting place. The first thing that caught
their attention was the glow of two large red eyes peering through the darkness.
They could soon make out the shape of a creature six to seven foot tall, with the basic
shape of a human with what appeared to be wings folded around his sides and back.
The glowing red eyes were also identified with another mysterious creature, oddly
enough, in Flatwoods, West Virginia. The being is commonly referred to as the Flatwoods
monster. The Flatwoods event occurred in September of 1952. A bright, burning UFO
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that was seen crashing to the ground heralded the subsequent sighting of two large red
eyes about a foot apart which glowed in the night. The initial assumption was that an
airplane had crashed.. that is until the reports began to come in of sightings of the
monster. Eye witness testimony still exists, part of which I will quote from here :
Topping the hill, they (several school boys and a
neighbor lady) could see a "glowing, hissing" object
about 10 feet in diameter, about 100 yards away.
Now completely dark, the night was shattered by two
lights, about a foot apart. One of the boys had a
flashlight, and when he turned it on the two distant
lights a creature ten foot tall appeared.."… a bright red
face, bright green clothing, a head which resembled the
ace of spades, and clothing which, from the waist down,
hung in great folds." Suddenly, the creature began to
"float" toward them, sending the group running back
down the hill to the May house, where they quickly
called the Sheriff.
These two accounts, if put side by side will bring some
remarkable similarities. One could make a good case
that the Mothman and the Flatwoods monster were the
same species.
Both creatures had red glowing eyes. Both, allowing for some exaggeration by the
youngsters, were 7 foot tall or more. The clothing, which hung in folds, could have been
wings, and the "floating" could have been flying. Monsters stories are somewhat like fish
tales, and we must keep that in mind to get a reliable rendering of what the Mothman
really was. The four adults in Point Pleasant also made the statement that the eyes had a
"hypnotizing" effect on them. As they stared in wonderment at the creature, it suddenly
moved..then made a mad dash toward an open door in the plant. Awe had turned into
fear now, as the four sped away, racing toward Point Pleasant. Only a few moments
passed before they again saw the creature..or another like it. Standing in a field just off
the lonely road, it spread open it's massive wings. The witnesses said that the creature's
wings were similar to those of a bat.
The creature rose into the air, seemingly without effort, lifting it's enormous body against
the Earth's gravity easily. The four sped on, but now this hideous winged fiend was
following them! The frantic four, now speeding at near 100 miles per hour, were
astonished to see the creature pacing them. During this run for their lives, they could
hear a sound even above the roar of the car engine. This was a sound like a "record
played at high speeds." Obviously the high speed working of it's wings accounted for the
strange sound. Finally the foursome reached the town of Point Pleasant, where the
creature abandoned it's pursuit, opting for the loneliness of the outskirts rather than the
sounds and lights of the city. The witnesses noticed a dead dog near the city limits as
they finally put distance between themselves and the monster. Later, when returning
with policemen to the scene, they noticed that the body of the dog was gone. "It was
shaped like a man, but bigger. Maybe six and a half or seven feet tall. And it had big
wings folded against its back" Roger Scarberry told reporters. "But it was those eyes that
got us. It had two big eyes like automobile reflectors," added Linda Scarberry. "They
were hypnotic. For a minute, we could only stare at it. I couldn’t take my eyes off it. "
The frightened four never stopped their car until they reached the Mason County Sheriff's
Office. Deputy Millard Halstead was the first person the four frightened witnesses saw.
They immediately began to tell their unusual story.
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Location of two main sightings, Point Pleasant and Flatwoods, 125 miles apart by auto
Halstead would later state : "I’ve known these kids all their lives. They’d never been in
any trouble and they were really scared that night." The Deputy followed the four back to
the area of the initial sighting. Arriving at the spot, Halstead turned his radio on to make
reports if necessary. His radio did something very odd. It made a loud screeching sound
to the point that he turned it off. He was visibly shaken. He soon left the scene and
immediately returned to headquarters to report his radio problems.
The harrowing experience of the two couples was not the only unusual occurrence that
night in Point Pleasant. About 10 :30 P.M. contractor Newell Partridge was sitting at
home in front of the television. Suddenly, the picture on the screen disappeared. It was
replaced by a "herringbone pattern" and a "loud whining noise." He could now hear the
familiar sounds of his dog Bandit howling on the porch. Bandit was a big muscular
German Shephard who was always on guard, alerting Partridge of any unusual
happenings around the house. He was a country dog, and used to defending himself and
his family. Partridge quickly made his way to the
porch to see what his loyal Bandit was making such
a fuss about. The dog was heading to the family's
barn, located about one hundred and fifty yards
away. Partridge aimed his flashlight in the direction
of the barn, and was shocked to see "two circle-like
eyes" glowing red through the night. Partridge's own
words were : "I shined the [flash]light in that
direction, and it picked up two red circles, or eyes,
which looked like bicycle reflectors. I certainly know
what animal eyes look like… "these were much
larger. It’s a good length of a football field to that
hay barn, still those eyes showed up huge for that
distance." Something wasn't right, and Partridge ran
inside to get his trusty gun, ready to defend himself from whatever or whoever was
trespassing on his property. He spent the night with one eye open, and the gun at his
side. When morning broke, he went to find Bandit, worried that he was hurt, or worse,
dead. There was no sign of Bandit, but Partridge did find a worrisome clue to his
whereabouts. He found tracks in a circular pattern, telling him that Bandit had gone
round and round probably barking at something in the air ! Bandit was never seen again.
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Could the body of the dog seen on the outskirts of town been that of Bandit ? The news
of this strange event quickly spread from police headquarters to the local news media.
The popularity of the Batman television series and comic books would influence a local
reporter to tag the unknown creature as the "Mothman." The Batman series had a
character of that name. The legend was born.
The next morning a press conference was called by Sheriff George Johnson. At this
meeting, all of the witnesses of the night before were interviewed. In this short period of
time, the word had spread dramatically, reaching far beyond the state of West Virginia.
Present was journalist Mary Hyre, who covered the Point Pleasant area for the Athens,
Ohio paper the "Messenger." She would become a major player in the Mothman mystery.
She would write a riveting account of the West Virginia enigma which was picked up by
the Associated Press :
•
"Everybody in Point Pleasant knew Mary," recalled Roy Cross, her boss in the
bureau. "She ran that town." Hyre died February 15, 1970. Cross was one of her
pallbearers, along with several West Virginia state troopers, the Mason County
sheriff, and the Messenger’s publisher. The Pittsburgh Press, now defunct, gave the
United Press International version front-page coverage on its November 16 edition
with the headline, "Red-Eyed 7-Footer : ‘Bird’ Flaps Scare Into W. Va. Couples."
In time, there would be some one hundred witnesses who claimed to have seen the
Mothman. Sightings were made through the rest of the year, and even into 1967.
Many descriptions of the Mothman were made, all of them similar, yet with some
differences. The minor inconsistencies could easily be accounted for due to the
experience of the individual witness, or the circumstances of the event, as to lighting,
weather, and the venue.
•
"It stood taller and broader than a man, walked in sort of a halting shuffle on
humanlike legs, and emitted a squeaking sound."
•
"The red, glowing eyes, set into the shoulders, seem to have been more terrifying
than either the size of the creature or span of its batlike wings."
More than one witness mentioned hearing a mechanical humming as the creature flew
above them. Witnesses reported feeling an uncontrollable, indescribable terror :
•
"I’ve never had that feeling before. A weird kind of fear. That fear gripped you and
held you."
One of the most discussed sightings of the creature would occur on the night of
November 16, 1966. A terrifying creature would be encountered again in the sparsely
populated TNT area at the home of Ralph Thomas. Mr. and Mrs. Raymond Wamsley were
visiting the Thomas family along with Mrs. Marcella Bennett and her young daughter.
As the Wamsley group was walking through the yard to their car, they seemed to
accidently step on top of something either resting or asleep on the ground. They had
encountered the Mothman. Marcella Bennett would describe the experience in this
manner :
•
"It rose up slowly from the ground. A big, gray thing. Bigger than a man, with
terrible, glowing red eyes."
Marcella was so terrified that she dropped her
infant to the ground. The creature opened it's
massive wings, and as it did, Wamsley quickly
grabbed the baby, and ran with the rest of the
witnesses into the house. The three children of
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UFO Sightings
the house opened the door for the group as they too had witnessed the winged ogre.
Mothman followed behind them, coming up on the porch, and even peering through the
window. All of those in the house were totally terrified. Walmsley immediately phoned
the police, but before they arrived, the Mothman was gone. The witnesses in the yard
were probably spared injury or death because the creature was not fully awake. Mrs.
Bennet would require medical attention. She was in a state of shock after the event.
The TNT Area
At the TNT area outside of town, each night would bring visitors hoping to get a glimpse
of the Mothman. Many brought their families along, and camped out. They brought along
food, blankets, books, and cameras. Many hoped to get that one photograph of this
mysterious being. No doubt a good photograph would bring a small fortune when the
media was in the Mothman frenzy. It was common place for reporters and television
crews to camp out at the old TNT plant, hoping for that one big story or picture that
would launch the career of an up and coming reporter, or make a legend of an
established one. Unfortunately for them, the only legend launched would be that of the
Mothman.
The sightings of the Mothman seemed to wind down
by the end of 1967, but the legend would go out with
a bang. On November 21, police received a frantic call
from Richard West of Charlestown. He had spotted a
tall winged creature on the roof of his neighbors
house. He described the being as having a wing span
of six to eight feet. He also detected the red glowing
eyes. He claimed that the Mothman rose straight up
from the roof, just "like a helicopter." Only four days
later, on the 25th, Tom Vry was driving along Route
62 in the TNT area. As he scanned the landscape, he
was taken aback by the sight of a Mothman standing
in a field along the road.
He described the creature as tall and gray with wings.
He said the being spread it's wings, and lifted straight up into the air. Then the Mothman
flew above his car. Vry sped away and saw him no more. Two days later on the 27th,
Connie Carpenter was driving home from church. Near the town of Mason, she spied a
grayish figure standing on the golf course. The creature saw her, and flew directly toward
her car. He got close enough for her to see his face. She described it as "horrible."
Would this be the end of the Mothman ? For a time maybe, but the legend will continue.
Many UFOologists write the legend off as incredible fantasy, or a hoax. However, it must
be said that the reports of the Mothman should be viewed on a case by case basis, just
like UFO reports. Certainly there were some reports of the Mothman that were hoaxes, as
to be expected. Hoaxes are just part of human nature. Many try to sensationalize an
ongoing event for the purpose of personal notoriety or financial gain, but any clear
minded investigator must not discount ALL of the reports just because SOME of them are
false.
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UFO Sightings
The Mothman drawings
THE EXETER, NEW HAMPSHIRE ENCOUNTERS
In 1965, in the city of Exeter, New Hampshire, a series of UFO sightings took place which
gained vast media attention, and became the subject of the book, "Incident at Exeter,"
by John G. Fuller. The sensational happenings were also featured in a two-part article in
"Look" magazine. The remarkable chain of events in New Hampshire began with a man
named Norman Muscarello, who was hitchhiking back to his house in Exeter on Route
150. At the time, Exeter was a small New England town of about 7,000 people. In the
wee hours of the night, on a cold, September 3, 1965, eighteen-year-old Muscarello
made his trek. It was about 2 :00 A.M. that this lonely hitchhiker first noticed an unusual
light in the dark skies. The light became an object, which suddenly came from the sky
towards the young man. The object was described as approximately 90 feet in diameter,
with bright, beaming lights that appeared around its rim.
Silently, the object began to wobble, and float
toward the frightened man. His fear of actually
being hit caused him to fall to the ground by
the side of the road. At the last moment, the
object floated away from him. Muscarello took
this opportunity to jump up and run to a
nearby house, pounding on the front door.
The house was the home of Carl Dining.
No one answered his frantic pleas for help.
Meanwhile, at the Exeter Police Station, Officer
Eugene Bertrand received a call from a
frightened woman, who stated that a large,
silent object with flashing lights had followed
her car for twelve miles from the city of Epping
to a spot on the road where she pulled off in
fear. After she stopped her automobile, the
strange object had disappeared into the night.
Bertrand did not make an official report on the woman's call, believing it to be untrue or
a trick. Muscarello, not finding anyone at the farmhouse, ran back into the road, and
flagged down a passing car. A middle-aged couple stopped to render aid. They drove the
weary traveler to the Exeter Police Station. Muscarello, full of excitement, begins to
recount the events of the last hour on Route 150. The desk Officer, Reginald "Scratch"
Toland, is convinced that something has happened, and radioes to Officer Bertrand,
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UFO Sightings
who is now on patrol. At about 3 :00 A.M., Bertrand arrives at the station, and after
hearing Muscarello's story, thinks he may have discounted the earlier call from the
woman too quickly. Convinced that Muscarello's story is real, Officer Bertrand takes
Muscarello back to the spot on Route 150 where the incident began. At this point,
Bertrand has no idea as what lays ahead for him on this night.
Arriving at the scene, the two men scan the area, and at first see nothing out of the
ordinary. By the road, there is a large open field, the house that Muscarello had visited,
and a horse corral. They begin to walk out into the open field in the direction of the horse
corral. The horses seemed to be a little edgy, and suddenly dogs began to bark. From
behind two pine trees, an object begins to rise, lighting the whole area with a reddish
hue. Muscarello screams, "I see it ! I see it !" The next moment, Bertrand says, "My God,
I see the damn thing myself !" It is important to note that Bertrand had been in the Air
Force for four years, and knew military aircraft. He would later insist "this wasn't like
anything I had seen before." Like a leaf floating, the object slowly moved toward the two
men. They scurried back to the police car. The object is now hovering about one hundred
feet above the ground, some fifty yards from the police car.
The object's light is so intense, that it is difficult to make out its shape. The lights
emanating from the craft dim and then brighten, from left to right, and then right to left.
The object now begins to slowly move away from the men, in the direction of the city of
Hampton. At this very moment, another Policeman, David Hunt, arrives at the scene to
witness the craft in the sky, as it fades out of sight. In a matter of minutes, the craft is
sighted in Hampton, and a report made to Pease Air Force Base. Mrs. Virginia Hale, a
reporter for the Haverhill Gazette, also sees the unknown craft from her kitchen window
as it hovers over a neighbor's house for about 4 minutes. There were many other
reported sightings of a similarly described craft over the next several weeks, but it is
uncertain if they were all legitimate or not.
After repeated attempts to get a response from the Air Force on this matter, finally the
following letter was received :
•
"Gentlemen. Based on additional information submitted to our UFO Investigation
Officer, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, we have been unable to identify the object that
you observed on September 3, 1965. In nineteen years of investigating over ten
thousand reports of unidentified flying objects, the evidence has proved almost
conclusively that reported aerial phenomena have been either objects created or set
aloft by men, generated by atmospheric conditions, or caused by celestial bodies or
the residue of meteoric activity. Thank you for reporting your observation to the Air
Force, and for your subsequent co-operation concerning the report. I regret any
inconvenience you may have suffered as a result."
Sincerely,
John P. Spaulding
Lt. Col, USAF
The events at Exeter, New Hampshire were so compelling, that the case was featured in
the April 5, 1966, Congressional hearing that led to the Condon investigation.
The involvement of two police officers gave it an official character that made it a bit
harder than usual to dismiss. Attempts to explain it by invoking twinkling stars and
planets, ad planes, or military operations were difficult to jive with descriptions
given. Fuller insisted this constituted "convincing evidence" that UFOs were real and
extraterrestrial.
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UFO Sightings
THE KECSBURG CRASH
What exactly soared through the late afternoon skies of Canada, Michigan, Ohio, and
Pennsylvania on December 5, 1965 ? Eye witnesses described the unknown object as a
"fireball," but it seemed to be under some type of intelligent control, as it veered
somewhat in Ohio toward the Quaker State. One of the first official reports of that day
came from Frances Kalp, who phoned in her experience
to
radio
station
WHJB
in
Greensburg
at
6:30 P.M. She related seeing a fiery object crash into a
wooded area near her home in Westmoreland County.
Kalp and her children had approached the site within a
half-mile, and there they saw an odd object resembling
a "four-pointed star." Radio station employee John
Murphy immediately phoned in the report to the
Pennsylvania State Police Department. The Police
phoned Kalp and arranged to meet her in Kecksburg.
Murphy also raced to the site of the alleged crash. He
interviewed Kalp and her children for his report, while
the State Police searched the woods for the crashed object. Murphy eagerly awaited the
return of the searchers. When they finally completed their search, Murphy was unable to
get any clear information from either Carl Metz or Paul Shipco, who headed the search.
They only stated that they were calling in the Military to handle the case. Undaunted,
Murphy made phone contact with Captain Dussia at State Police Headquarters in
Greensburg. Murphy was instructed to visit the office to receive an official statement on
the search party results. Upon arriving at headquarters, Murphy noticed that the Military
had already arrived in force. Murphy was startled when he received the "official"
statement;
- "The Pennsylvania State Police have made a thorough search of the woods. We are
convinced that there is nothing whatsoever in the woods."
By this time, Murphy was convinced that there was a cover-up of some kind. If there was
nothing in the woods, why would the Military be in force at Pennsylvania's Police
headquarters ? After turning in his report to the radio station, Murphy overheard one of
the policemen involved in the search describing a "pulsating blue light" in the forest.
Murphy was told that Officer Metz and the Military were going back to the woods, and to
his surprise he was given permission to join the second search. Murphy's excitement
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UFO Sightings
soon turned to disappointment when after accompanying the party to the outskirts of the
woods, he was kept from going any farther. Murphy was an eye witness to the Military
sealing off the area, and banning all civilians from the scene and its immediate
surroundings. The story of the crash soon made newspapers and television, and the area
was quickly overflowing with people wanting to get first hand information on what could
possibly be a historic event. What had actually crashed into the woods ? Was it just a
fragment of a comet ? Or space debris reentering the Earth's atmosphere ? If the
explanation was so simple, however, why had the Military cordoned off the area ? Could
it have been a secret Military craft ? Or something far more mysterious ?
It soon became common knowledge that some eager, interested civilians had made a trip
into the woods before the Military gained control of the area. These few individuals were
interviewed by Stan Gordon, and told an amazing story. They stated that they saw a
copper-bronze colored, saucer-shaped object crashed in the woods. This craft was
anywhere from 9-12 feet in length, and bore a gold band around its bottom. Some of the
witnesses described writing on the craft which resembled Egyptian hieroglyphics. These
few witnesses were quickly whisked away when discovered by Military personnel. Later
that night, witnesses claimed that they observed a flatbed truck toting a large object,
covered by a tarpaulin. Shortly after the departure of the flatbed, many of the Military
personnel vacated the search area. Could this have been a craft from another world
being taken down our highways ?
An extremely intense day of activity was followed by a quiet morning, and it seemed that
what had occurred was just a dream. The Air Force concluded their investigation with the
"official" statement that a meteorite was responsible for the report of a glowing craft, and
subsequent crash in the woods. The media as a whole accepted this explanation, and the
matter seemed for all intent and purposes, closed. Had it not been for a 1990 television
program, the Kecksburg crash would have been just another fancied report by a few
overly excited witnesses. The area of Kecksburg would again become a beehive of
controversy after a dramatization of the events on "Unsolved Mysteries" in 1990.
The citizens of the area seemed to be equally divided on the value of airing the segment,
with some accepting the "official" explanation, and others claiming "cover-up." Even
before the segment aired, some protesters promoted a petition to stop the network from
airing the Kecksburg story. The actual witnesses of the event prevailed, stating that the
petitioner's list did not include any eye witnesses to the original event. Opposite sides
were also taken by those officially investigating the facts of Kecksburg
After the television show ran, two new witnesses came forward. One was a USAF officer
at Lockbourne AFB (near Columbus, Ohio). In the early hours of December 10, a truck
arrived by the little used back gate of the base and he was ordered to patrol it. It was a
flat-bed with a large tarpaulin on the surface covering a conical object. He was told to
shoot anyone who tried to get too close. He was advised the truck was bound for Wright
Patterson AFB, which is the reputed home of other crashed saucers. The other witness
was a building contractor who was asked two days later to take a load of 6,500 special
bricks to a hangar inside Wright Patterson. When he sneaked a look inside the hangar he
saw a bell-shaped device, some 12 feet high sitting there. Several men wearing white
anti-radiation style suits were inspecting the object. After he had been escorted out he
was told that he had just seen an object that would become common knowledge in
20 years time. Investigator Robert Young, for one, became an advocate of the Military's
official explanation. Stan Gordon, on the other hand, believed the eye witness accounts,
and the cover-up theory. Gordon took his findings to the next level, producing a
92 minute documentary video of his findings, titled "Kecksburg :
The Untold Story." As to be expected, alternative theories were
put forward by skeptics and debunkers, such as the reentering
of the Russian VENUS probe, but this scenario was rejected by
the American and Russian governments. One interesting
footnote to this haunting tale came from the widow of John
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UFO Sightings
Murphy, who shortly after his death, publicly stated that her husband had been one of
the first on the scene, and had actually photographed the strange craft. Supposedly,
these valuable snapshots were confiscated by Military officers, and Murphy was
instructed not to discuss what he knew, unless he wanted to suffer severe consequences.
In January 1980 UFO investigator Clark McClelland interviewed the assistant fire chief of
Kecksburg,
James
Mayes,
and
Melvin
Reese,
another
fireman.
They reported that their team had come within sixty meters of the object. They had seen
an object on the ground that had smashed its way through the trees. Mayes explained
how the military had cordoned off the woods and had established a temporary base,
complete
with
telecom
link.
Fire chief Robert Bitner would later confirm this story. He also said he had seen an object
that was about 6 feet high, 6 feet wide, and some 15 feet long, clearly not an aircraft. It
was resting at an angle on the ground as if it had impacted nearly horizontally. Another
fire officer, 'Pete', stated he had seen a ring of bumpers around it into which were
described some pictorial symbols. In 1990, researcher Stan Gordon from the
Pennsylvania Association for the Study of the Unexplained, traced an apparent first-hand
witness,
James
Romansky.
He recalled seeing the object on the ground some 25 years previously, when he was an
18 year old fire fighter. He had been called to duty that night following concerns that an
airplane had crashed. He described the object as bronze coloured and shaped like an
acorn-some 12 feet long and 25 feet in diameter; it had slightly raised "blunt" end and
strange markings "It had writing on it, not like your average writing, but more like
ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics. It had sort of a bumper on it, like a ribbon about six to 10
inches wide, and it stood out. It was elliptical the whole way around and the writing was
on this bumper.It's nothing like I've ever seen, and I'm an avid reader. I read a lot of
books on Egypt, the Incas, Peruvians, Russians and I've never to this day come across
anything that looked like that."
The Kecksburg crash, in many ways similar to the Roswell case, remains an extremely
interesting one, and is still considered an "unsolved" case.
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UFO Sightings
VALENSOLE, FRANCE LANDING (Masse) – 1965.
In July of 1965. In Valensole, France, a farmer named Maurice Masse claimed that he
saw two children standing in his field. Masse was attempting to find a solution to why his
lavender crop had bare spots of ground. As Masse approached the "children," he noticed
an unusual object close by. Now with a much closer view, the children were not children
at all, but "strange looking beings." Masse described them as having large, bald heads,
pasty faces, and huge, slanted eyes that stared out at him. He also related that they
were wearing coveralls of some sort, and one of them was holding a tube-like device,
standing by an odd-looking craft. Masse swore that as he approached the object, he was
hit by some sort of ray, which disabled him for a time. When he awoke, he saw the
object flying off into the sky. Fearing ridicule, he was reluctant at first to report his
incident, but in time, he came forward with the facts.
During an interview, Maurice was shown a drawing representative of an object that had
landed in Socorro, New Mexico, the previous year. The object had been seen by
policeman Lonnie Zamora, who later made a sketch of it. Masse remarked, "Someone
else has seen my UFO."
According to the farmer, he was not able to grow anything in
the area of the incident for years to come. Neither the Masse
nor Zamora case proves the existence of extraterrestrial life,
but especially in the Zamora case, there is no doubt that
some type of unusual craft with occupants did land, and take
off again. Dr. J. Allen Hynek, who interviewed Zamora on
more than one occasion, believes every word that Zamora
said, however, offers no explanation for his sighting. In
Hynek's own words; "There is much more evidence to indicate
that we are dealing with a most real phenomenon of
undetermined origin." If what Zamora saw was not of extraterrestrial origin, then where
did it come from ? Why did it land ? Who were the strange occupants ?
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UFO Sightings
PATROL CAR ILUMINATED BY UFO
Damon, Texas, September 3, 1965.
About 11 :00 p.m. on the night of Friday September 3, Deputy Sheriff Bob Goode, 50,
was driving his patrol car south out of Damon in Texas toward West Columbia on
Highway 36. Since he had suffered a bite on his left index finger earlier that day from a
baby alligator, he had asked Chief McCoy along in the event the pain flared up and
interfered with his driving. It was a sparkling clear moonlit Texas night, and Goode
rested his arm in the open window of the door as they drove through the prairie.
Suddenly McCoy spotted a bright purple light on the
horizon to the southwest which appeared to be
about five to six miles distant. At first they thought
it might be something in the nearby oil fields,
perhaps an oil-drilling rig. But then a blue light,
smaller in diameter than the purple light, emerged
from it and moved to the right before stopping.
Both lights remained in this orientation for a while
before beginning to drift upward. This upward
floating motion continued until the objects reached
an elevation of 5-10 degrees above the horizon.
Goode then studied the lights through a pair of
binoculars, but could not make out any additional features. As their curiosity mounted,
the officers began to look for back roads that might take them closer to the lights.
They stopped again, and this time the lights suddenly swooped toward them, covering
the intervening distance in 1-2 seconds, abruptly stopping practically overhead.
Their patrol car and the surrounding terrain were brightly illuminated in purple light.
They could now see that the purple and blue lights were attached to opposite ends of an
enormous object, hovering about 150 feet from them at about a 100-foot altitude.
In his later statement to the Air Force, McCoy described what he saw :
•
"The bulk of the object was plainly visible at this time and appeared to be
triangular shaped with a bright purple light on the left end and the smaller, less
bright, blue light on the right end. The bulk of the object appeared to be dark gray
in color with no other distinguishing features. It appeared to be about 200 feet
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UFO Sightings
wide and 40-50 feet thick in the middle, tapering off toward both ends. There was
no noise or any trail. The bright purple light illuminated the ground directly
underneath it and the area in front of it, including the highway and the interior of
our patrol car. The tall grass under the object did not appear to be disturbed.
There was a bright moon out and it cast a shadow of the object on the ground
immediately below it in the grass." To both men, the object seemed to be "as big
as a football field." Goode could feel strong heat emanating from the object onto
his left arm, through his shirt-sleeve.
The Damon, Texas sighting took a second seat to the more celebrated Exeter, New
Hampshire case which occurred on the same date... I could find no other UFO reports on
this date of any note. Could the unknown objects which were seen earlier on the same
day in New Hampshire have flown southwesterly down the Eastern coast of the United
States, and moved over the Texas town of Damon ?
After a few seconds, with the strange object hovering almost directly overhead, they fled
the scene and headed toward Damon "as fast as we could go," making speeds of up to
110 miles per hour. McCoy kept watching the object out the rear window of the car. For
10 to 15 seconds, the UFO continued to hover above the pasture. Then it abruptly shot
back in the direction from which it had come. "After arriving at approximately its original
position," McCoy reported, "it went straight up in the air and disappeared at 25-30
degrees above the horizon."
Back at Damon, the shaken officers calmed themselves, and then decided to go back and
investigate again. This time they drove down the Damon-West Columbia road, but saw
nothing. Finally they returned to the area where they had first seen the lights, and once
again spied the purple light on the horizon, and again saw the smaller blue light emerge
with a strange two-step motion and float upward. Fearing another close encounter, they
again fled the area.
Goode and McCoy continued on their shift until three or four in the morning, then
stopped for breakfast at a cafe. Goode noted that his alligator bite was no longer sore,
and when he unwrapped the bandage he discovered that the swelling had gone down and
that the wound was nearly healed. Next day, the wound showed virtually no scarring.
The deputies reported the sighting to Ellington Air Force Base, and Major Laurence Leach,
Jr., arrived on September 8, 1965, to interview McCoy and Goode and take a statement.
Leach's report to Project Blue Book headquarters at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base
reflected his puzzlement. "There is no doubt in my mind," he said, "that they definitely
saw some unusual object or phenomenon... Both officers appeared to be intelligent,
mature, level-headed persons capable of sound judgment and reasoning."
US Air Force put this case in the "unknown" category.
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UFO Sightings
THE TULLY SAUCER NEST
At 9:00 am on January 19, 1966. a calm sunny day, a 28 year old banana farmer named
George Pedley was driving a tractor near Horseshoe Lagoon on the property of Albert
Pennisi, near Tully, in tropical far north Queensland, Australia. When he was about
25 yards from the lagoon, he heard a loud hissing sound above the noise of the tractor.
Suddenly,
an object
rose
out
of
the
swamp.
When
I
glanced at
it, it was
already 30
feet above
the ground, and at about tree-top level. It was a large, grey, saucer-shaped object,
convex on the top and bottom and measured some 25 feet across and 9 feet high. While
I watched, it rose another 30 feet, spinning very fast, then it made a shallow dive and
took off with tremendous speed. Climbing at an angle of 45 degrees it disappeared within
seconds in a south-westerly direction...
Another surprise came when Pedley rounded the bend of the road and came to the spot
from which the object had risen. There in the lagoon was a large circular area that was
clear of reeds and in which the water was rotating slowly. It had not been like that three
hours earlier when he had passed the lagoon. After looking around, he got back on the
tractor and left.
A few hours later, at about noon, Pedley returned to the lagoon for a second look.
The scene had changed, because now the circular area was covered by a floating mass of
green reeds that were distributed in a clockwise radial pattern. The circular mass of reeds
was about 30 feet in diameter.
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UFO Sightings
Pedley was by now excited enough about what he was seeing to go and tell Albert
Pennisi, the owner of the sugar cane farm land on which the lagoon was located, and
another friend. Pennesi recalled that his dog had acted strangely that morning, barking
madly and heading off toward the lagoon at about 5 :30 am. Pennisi and the other man
were amazed by the circular mass of reeds. Wading out to the mass, they found that
they could swim under the mass of reeds and that the lagoon floor beneath it was
smooth and showed no traces of roots. Oddly, the outside edges of the mass of reeds
angled down, similar to the shape of a saucer placed face down. Pennisi went and got his
camera and took photographs of the mass of reeds, which was now beginning to turn
brown on its top surface. George Pedley reported his experience to the Tully police that
evening, and they in turn reported it to the RAAF after making a trip to the site the next
day, January 20.
Within days, the media had picked up the event and the area was filled with
investigators, many of whom were trying to prove theories as to the cause of the "nest"
such as helicopters, big birds, crocodiles, reed-eating grubs, and whirlwinds of one sort
or another. Pedley's UFO sighting was all but overlooked in the flurry of explanations.
During the course of the investigations, as many as five other "nests", all smaller
than the original, were discovered. In some of these, the reeds were rotated in a
counter-clockwise direction and a couple of them showed signs of burning in the center of
the nest. Samples of the original nest were sent to Brisbane for analysis, but nothing
unusual was detected. Other than being part of the "nest", the only unusual thing about
the reeds was that they turned brown in about 8 hours, whereas reeds uprooted by hand
in the lagoon took three days to turn brown.
In another unusual twist, Albert Pennisi told a reporter from the Sydney, Australia
newspaper The Sun that he had been dreaming about a UFO landing on his property for a
week :
•
I'd get them almost every night. And they were beginning to worry me. I couldn't
understand them. It was always the same. This thing like a giant dish would come
out of nowhere and land nearby. And I would watch it in my dream and get real
afraid before it went away. Then on Wednesday morning about 5 o'clock my dog
suddenly seemed to go out of its mind. It was howling like a mad thing and raced off
towards the lagoon.
What happened at Horseshoe Lagoon ? There was never any evidence that there were
any helicopters in the area nor any demonstrated reason for one to be over the lagoon.
There was no evidence that crocodiles made the nest and analysis of the reeds from the
nest showed no trace of "reed-eating grubs." There was no known bird that would or
could make such a nest in three hours.
The best explanation that the RAAF could offer was that the nest was created by a willy
willy, a type of small whirlwind known to occur in the area.
Although a conclusive determination could not be made, the most probable explatation
was that the sighting was of a "willy willy" or circular wind phenomenon which flattened
the reeds and sucked up debris to a height of about 30 feet, thus forming what appeared
to be a "flying saucer", before moving off and dissipating. Hissing noises are known to be
associated with "willy willies" and the theory is also substantiated by the clockwise
configuration of the depression.
However, such whirlwinds, except when they occur in the desert as dust devils, normally
accompany thunderstorms, and although the Tully event occurred during the rainy
season, January 19 was a sunny day with little or no wind. Pedley described what he saw
as a blue-grey object shaped like two saucers face to face. This description doesn't sound
like a whirling mass of swamp debris, and there was no fallen debris in the area where
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UFO Sightings
the dissipation would have occurred. Finally, how does the whirlwind explanation account
for the fact that the water was clear when Pedley looked the first time, yet was covered
by the mass of reeds when he looked again three hours later ?
UFO TRACKED ON RADAR – MICHIGAN, 1966.
March 14-20, 1966.
Southeastern Michigan. From about 3:50 a.m. on March
14 and for 2-1/2 hours thereafter, Washtenaw County
sheriffs and police in neighboring jurisdictions reported
disc-shaped objects moving at fantastic speeds and
making sharp turns, diving and climbing, and hovering.
At one point, four UFOs in straight-line formation were
observed. Selfridge AFB confirmed tracking UFOs over
Lake Erie at 4 :56 a.m. Following is the log of "Complaint No. 00967" signed by Cpl.
Broderick and Deputy Patterson of the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Department :
•
3:50 a.m. Received calls from Deputies Bushroe and Foster, car 19, stating that they
saw some suspicious objects in the sky, disc, star-like colors, red and green, moving
very fast, making sharp turns, having left to right movements, going in a Northwest
direction.
•
4:04 a.m. Livingston County [sheriff's department] called and stated that they also
saw the objects, and were sending car to the location.
•
4:05 a.m. Ypsilanti Police Dept. also called stated that the object was seen at the
location of US-12 and I-94 [intersection of a U.S. and an Interstate highway].
•
4:10. a.m. Monroe County [sheriff's department] called and stated that they also
saw the objects.
•
4:20 a.m. Car 19 stated that they just saw four more in the same location moving at
a high rate of speed.
•
4:30 a.m. Colonel Miller [county civil defense director] was called; he stated just to
keep an eye on the objects that he did not know what to do, and also check with
Willow Run Airport.
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UFO Sightings
•
4:54 a.m. Car 19 called and stated that two more were spotted coming from the
Southeast, over Monroe County. Also that they were side by side.
•
4:56 a.m. Monroe County [sheriff's department] stated that they just spotted the
object, and also that they are having calls from citizens. Called Selfridge Air Base
and they stated that they also had some objects [presumably on radar] over Lake
Erie and were unable to get any ID from the objects. The Air Base called Detroit
Operations and were to call this Dept. back as to the disposition.
•
5:30 a.m. Dep. Patterson and I [Cpl. Broderick] looked out of the office and saw a
bright light that appeared to be over the Ypsilanti area. It looked like a star but was
moving from North to East.
•
6:15 a.m. As of this time we have had no confirmation from the Air Base."
Washtenaw County deputies B. Bushroe and J. Foster formally stated : "This is the
strangest thing that [we] have ever witnessed. We would have not believed this story if
we hadn't seen it with our own eyes. These objects could move at fantastic speeds, and
make very sharp turns, dive and climb, and hover with great maneuverability. We have
no idea what these objects were, or where they could have come from. At 4:20 a.m.
there were four of these objects flying in a line formation, in a north westerly direction,
at 5:30 these objects went out of view, and were not seen again."
Deputy Bushroe told the press : "It would swing back and forth like a pendulum, then
shoot upward at tremendous speed, hover and then come down just as fast." Dexter
police and Livingston County sheriffs, contacted by Bushroe and Foster, "reported that
they saw the same objects engaging in the same maneuvers."
March 17, 1966, Milan, Michigan. 4:25 a.m. Sgt. Nuel Schneider and Deputy David
Fitzpatrick saw top-shaped objects making sharp maneuvers. They alternately hovered,
rose and fell quickly, darted around at jet-like speed, their light dimming and brightening
periodically. In a report to NICAP, the officers stated that two objects were operating
together, circling and flying in formation, while a third object hovered at lower altitude.
March 20, 1966, Dexter, Michigan. About 8:30 p.m. Frank Mannor and family, and
dozens of other witnesses, reported that a domed oval object with "quilted" or "waffled"
surface and lights in the center and on each end had landed in a swampy field. Deputies
David Fitzpatrick and Stanley McFadden parked car #34 adjacent to the area and began
a search with Frank Mannor. "While in the woods area," their report states, "a brilliant
light was observed from the far edge of the woods, and upon [our] approaching, the light
dimmed in brilliance....The brilliant light [then] again appeared, and then disappeared.
A continued search of the area was conducted, through swamp and high grass, with
negative results. Upon returning to the patrol vehicle, the undersigned officers were
informed that one of the objects had been hovering directly over the area where our
flashlight beams had been seen, and then [it] departed in a west direction of flight, at
high rate of speed."
As he and other officers were rushing to the scene, Officer Robert Hartwell of the Dexter
Police Department saw a luminous object buzz his car. Robert Taylor, Dexter Police Chief,
said he watched an object in the field from Frank Mannor's home on a knoll overlooking
the area. It appeared as a pulsating red, glowing object. Through binoculars he saw
"a light on each end of the thing."
Source
Sheriffs' statements in NICAP files. See The U.F.O. Investigator, March-April 1966, pp.
5-6; Detroit News, March 14, 1966; LIFE Magazine, Apr. 1, 1966; Newsweek, Apr. 4,
1966.
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THE BETTY ANDREASSON ENCOUNTER
In the city of South Ashburnham, Massachusetts on the night of January 25 1967, one of
the most celebrated cases of UFO abduction began. Betty Andreasson was working in her
kitchen while her seven children, mother, and father were in the living room. Shortly
after 6:30, the lights in the house briefly blinked. Immediately thereafter, a reddish light
began to beam through the kitchen window. The sudden darkness in the house set the
kids nerves on edge, and Betty ran to comfort them. Her father ran into the kitchen to
peer out the window, and find the source of the unusual light. To his utter shock, he saw
five odd-looking beings coming toward the house with a hopping motion !
Before he could regain his composure, he saw the beings walk right through the wooden
door ! What happened next would test the imagination and strength of even an
open-minded, adventurous person. The entire family was suddenly put into a state of
suspended animation. One of the creatures went to Betty's father, while one of the other
four began to make telepathic communication with Betty. One of the group seemed to be
a leader of sorts. He was about five-feet tall. The other four appeared to be about a foot
shorter. All of the beings had a pear-shaped head, with wide eyes, and small ears and
noses. Their mouths were only slits, and never moved, though they were able to
communicate through their minds.
The beings wore a type of coverall, blue in color, with a wide belt.
There also was a logo of a bird on their sleeves. The hands only had
three fingers, and they wore boots. The creatures did not move as
a human, but floated as they went. Betty would later relate
that, though she was frightened, she felt a sense of calm,
even friendship toward the beings. The aliens were holding Betty's
children in a frozen state of consciousness, but when Betty showed
concern for them, the aliens released her 11-year-old daughter, to
assure her the children were not being harmed. Betty was taken by
the aliens outside to a waiting craft which rested on the side of a
sloping back yard. The craft was estimated to be about 20 feet in
diameter, in the classic UFO shape. Betty believes that after she
was aboard the craft, it joined a "mother" craft, where she was underwent a physical
examination, and also was subjected to the effects of strange equipment. After this, she
was given a type of bizarre test, which caused her pain at first, but resulted in a kind of
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UFO Sightings
religious experience. Approximately four hours later, she was returned to her home by
two of her captors. When she arrived, her entire family was still in a state of suspended
animation. One of the beings had stayed in her house, evidently to watch the other
family members. After releasing the family from the trancelike state, the aliens left.
Betty would later state that the aliens had hypnotized her to not recall any of her
experience until a designated time to be determined later. She was able to recall only
certain things at the time of her experience; the power outage, the red light through the
kitchen window, and the aliens entering the house. Before this bizarre happening, Betty
had little or no knowledge of UFO folklore, and being a devoted Christian, she believed
that the abduction had a religious meaning. It would be later until she began to view the
abduction as alien in nature. Eight years later Betty answered an ad from Dr. J. Allen
Hynek, who was soliciting abduction experiences from the general public. Her letter was
dismissed at the time, because of it's unusual details, and it would be January 1977,
before her story would be fully investigated. The investigative team assigned to the
Andreasson case included a solar physicist, and electronics engineer, an aerospace
engineer, a telecommunications specialist, and a UFO investigator. The service of a
hypnotist, and a medical doctor trained in psychiatry were also used. Betty's case
involved twelve months of investigation. She was given a character-reference check,
two lie-detector tests, a psychiatric review, and an excruciating fourteen sessions of
regressive hypnosis. The results of this inquiry were startling. Betty, along with her
daughter, relived a detailed account of a UFO experience, agreeing on all basic aspects.
The results were published in a 528 page account, which stated that Betty and her
daughter were sane individuals, who sincerely believe all of the details given in their
statements. The Betty Andreasson abduction case is still unsolved to this day.
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THE FALCON LAKE LANDING, 1967.
An important UFO close encounter of the second kind comes to us from Canada.
This amazing account details the experiences of Stephen Michalak of Winnipeg. Michalak
earned his living as a mechanic, but was an amateur geologist, and while enjoying a few
days off, he decided to do some
prospecting. He tried his luck in the
Whiteshell Provincial Park. This area
was by no means new to Michalak. He
had spent considerable time in the
vicinity of the lake there. Michalak had
followed reports of quartz veins being
found in the area around Falcon lake.
There were also reports of silver being
found, and Michalak was on the trail of
the valuable metal on May 19, 1967.
He had traveled by bus from his home
town of Winnipeg to a motel on the
Trans-Canada Highway the night
before.
Stephen rose early that morning, heading into the vast beauty of the wilderness. Only a
couple of hours had transpired before he found a quartz vein by a small brook.
After breaking for a quiet lunch, he resumed his work. At about 12:15 P.M. his attention
was drawn away from his labors by the sound of geese passing overhead. Looking up to
see them fly over, he was shocked to see two red, glowing elongated objects descending
from the skies. As they came ever closer, their shape was defined more as disc-shaped.
As he stood mesmerized by the sight, one of the craft abruptly stopped and hovered in
midair. The other continued it's downward flight until it landed on a big, smooth rock only
about 150 feet from him. The hovering craft began to move away, and as it went, it
changed colors from red to orange, and finally gray. It disappeared into the clouds above
him. The landed craft also began to change it's color in the same pattern. Finally, the
gray turned into what appeared to be "hot stainless steel," with a golden glow.
Michalak had been wearing his protective welding glasses earlier, and now they protected
his eyes from the brilliant purple lights shining through openings in the front of the craft.
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UFO Sightings
He could now smell something..like sulfur, and hear a type of hissing sound. Curiosity
overcame him. He knew he was looking at something he thought he would never see, a
craft from another world. The only emotion more powerful than his curiosity was the
gripping fear that held him in his tracks. He did have the presence of mind to sketch the
object, never moving a step.
After approximately 30 minutes, he was frightened to see a door open from the side of
the object. He could now see inside the craft ! The interior was brilliantly lighted. Pulling
all the courage together that he possessed, he moved ever closer to the other worldly
craft. As he reached a point about 60 feet from the mysterious flying machine, he could
hear two voices conversing above other sounds coming from inside the object. Being a
multi-linguist, he tried several languages to communicate with whoever... or whatever
was inside. All of his efforts failed to draw a response from inside. Undaunted, he moved
even closer. He reached the door, and stuck his head inside. He saw a large panel of
different colored lights, and other light beams crossing in different directions. Michalak
would later describe the flashing lights as resembling lights on a computer. He saw no
one in the craft, and decided not to push his luck any farther. He moved back away from
the door. Suddenly, three panels moved together, hiding the door. His attention was now
on the exterior of the craft. He later described the surface as "highly polished colored
glass with no breaks or seams in its surface." He reached out his hand to touch the
polished surface, and his glove was melted. Suddenly the object suddenly moved, and as
it did, a vented opening was exposed, like a type of exhaust port. He estimated it's size
as about nine inches high by six inches wide. Heat was vented through the opening,
setting Michalak's shirt and undershirt on fire. He was now in great pain. He quickly tore
off his top garments, and turned to see the craft ascending back into the skies. He felt a
rush of air as it made it's departure. He could still smell the craft after it had
disappeared.
Knowing that he needed medical attention, he quickly tried to mark the spot. Using
rocks, pine cones, loose dirt, anything he could find, he made a landmark. A severe
headache now was complicated by a sick stomach. He broke into a cold sweat, and
vomited. On his way back to his motel, he had to stop several times to ease his stomach
pain. After being refused help from a passing police officer, he finally reached his motel.
It was now 4:00 P.M. He entered the coffee shop, and asked someone to recommend a
doctor. The nearest doctor was in Kenora, 45 miles east of Falcon Lake. Because of the
distance, he decided to return home instead of making the trip to Kenora. The next bus
would not arrive for about four hours, so he rested in his room, and phoned his wife.
He told her only that he was in an accident, but was OK. He instructed her to have their
son meet him at the bus terminal in Winnipeg. He arrived there at 10:45 P.M. His son
took him to the Misericordia Hospital immediately.
He was treated for his headache, nausea, and the grid-like burns on his chest. Theorists
came out of the woodwork suggesting that his burns were from a barbecue pit, or some
other common object. Stephen Michalak made not a cent from his story. He paid all of
his own medical expenses, including a trip to the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota for additional
treatment. To defray these costs, he wrote a privately funded booklet on his experience,
but it lost money. Ultimately, Michalak was seen by more than a dozen doctors in the
United States and Canada. The site of the experience was investigated by the RCMP,
RCAF, other government officials and civilian groups. America's Condon Committee also
joined the investigation. Nothing conclusive was every offered to debunk the fantastic
account of Stephen Michalak. His story is unique in many ways, and is accepted as
genuine by many UFO groups and investigators.
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UFO Sightings
UFO VISITS ONTARIO LAKE
What could be better than to be visiting Canada, a beautiful lake, night air, moonlit water
What a peaceful, relaxing idea that is. Unfortunately for two people, all of these nice
things turned into a frightening experience, and changed their lives forever. From the
notes of researcher Dr. Peter Millman comes this true story. At the time of this story,
Millman was working for the Nation Research Council of Canada. He received the facts of
the case from the Department of National Defense.
The two people, who gave their report to Canadian officials, have asked to remain
anonymous, for fear of ridicule. It was on June 18, 1967 that their case begins. Taking a
nice, peaceful boat right down a northern Ontario lake, Mr. and Mrs. G. were visiting
friends, and began their ride back to their cabin. As they are enjoying the moonlit night,
they were suddenly shocked to see a brilliant object of unknown object. This object was
simply hovering about 50 feet above tree level, and approximately one-quarter of a mile
away from them. Slowing their boat down, they make a turn to get a full view of this
strange object. As they sit in wonder, suddenly the object begins to pick up speed, racing
straight toward them ! Regaining his composure, Mr. G revs up his 75 horsepower motor,
and gives it all it's got, heading to the lake's shore.
The distance between themselves and the object allows them just enough time to arrive
on the bank. They quickly exit the boat. Looking back up into the sky, they see the
object has taken back it's original position. After a few minutes of time, Mr. and Mrs.
G. decide to try a return trip back down the river to their neighbors' house. Shortly after
launching into the water, the object again makes a move to descend upon the two
terrified witnesses. Again outracing the craft to the shore, the two ditch the boat, and run
to another house, loudly and excitedly rousing their acquaintances. Their friends would
later state that Mr. and Mrs. G were honestly and profoundly frightened to death by what
they had seen. Now there were several more witnesses to this unusual, brilliant
object..just hovering above the trees that surrounded
the quiet waters of the lake. They watch the object for
another 10-15 minutes until finally it races into the night
to the west-northwest. Knowing that they had seen
something quiet extraordinary, they make a full report of
the incident. This unusual occurrence was meticulously
detailed by Canada's National Defense team. Other details
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UFO Sightings
derived from a thorough questioning of the witnesses revealed several important facts.
The object, though it did not show a light of any kind, caused the trees to move below it,
as it hovered. The craft was distinguishable from the moon, as both objects could be
clearly detailed simultaneously. The object was a traditional oval shape with a dome on
top, estimated at 25-30 feet across, and 10-15 feet tall.
Though the object rapidly streaked through the sky, no sound was heard by the
witnesses, nor other guests at cabins in the vicinity. One guest did observe that at about
the time of the incident, he was listening to his radio, when it suddenly went dead. Later
in the evening, it was working fine again. The investigative team discovered a number of
broken, wilted limbs directly below where the object had hovered. An analysis was made
in Winnipeg, and the results of that examination was that no reasonable explanation
could be offered for the damage to the tree limbs. The report also stated that the limbs
showed signs of heat, and the samples contained no diseases or insect infestation. This is
a classic case of an encounter of the second kind. This case was very well documented,
and the object was listed as unexplained.
THE SHAG HARBOR CRASH
An extraordinary event in 1967 would practically put the small fishing village of Shag
Harbor on the map. Located at the southern tip of Nova Scotia, this rural community
would be host to one of the best documented UFO events of the past 30 years. Named
after the "shag," a bird of the comorant family, the harbor was literally left off most maps
of the time, but that would be changed once and for all. The tiny fishing community has
always had it's stories..stories of giant sea serpents, man-eating squid, and ghost ships.
The list of local color would see one more story added to it's lore, a story of a visit of a
mysterious craft of unknown origin. This craft would visit the waters of Shag Harbor,
permanently stamping the village's name in the public eye.
The first indication of this mysterious occurrence would come from local residents who
noticed strange orange lights in the sky on the night of October 4, 1967. Most witnesses
agreed that there four orange lights that evening. Five teenagers watched these lights
flash in sequence, and then suddenly dive in a 45 degree angle toward the water's
surface. The witnesses were surprised that the lights did not dive into the water, but
seemed to float on the water, approximately one-half mile from the shore. Witnesses at
first thought they were watching a tragic airplane crash, and quickly reported as much to
the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, which was located at Barrington Passage. Ironically,
RCMP Constable Ron Pound had already witnessed the strange lights himself as he drove
down Highway 3 in route to Shag Harbor. Pound felt that he was seeing 4 lights, all
attached to one flying craft. He estimated the craft to be about 60 feet long.
Constable Pound made his way to the shore to
get a closer look at the phenomenal sight.
He was accompanied by Police Corporal Victor
Werbieki, Contable Ron O'Brien, and other local
residents. Pound clearly saw a yellow light
slowly moving on the water, leaving a yellowish
foam in it's wake. All eyes were glued on the
light, as it slowly either moved too distant to be
seen, or dipped into the icy waters. Coast Guard
Cutter #101 and other local boats rushed to the
spot of the sighting, but by the time they arrived, the light itself was gone. However, the
crewmen could still see the yellow foam, indicating that something had possibly
submerged. Nothing else could be found that night, and the search was called off at 3:00
am. The RCMP ran a check with the Rescue Coordination Centre in Halifac, and NORAD
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UFO Sightings
radar at Baccaro, Nova Scotia. They were told that there were no missing aircraft
reported that evening, either civilian, or military.
The following day, the Rescue Coordination Center filed a report with Canadian Forces
Headquarters in Ottawa. This report stated that something had hit the water in Shag
Harbor, but the object was of "unknown origin." The HMCS Granby was ordered to Shag
Harbor, where divers searched the bottom of the ocean for several days, but without
results. The story of the mysterious crash at Shag Harbor had died as quickly as it had
begun. That is, until 1993. As the original story faded from papers and newscasts,
several theories were put forward. One explanation was that a Russian spacecraft had
crashed, which would explain the presence of a Russian submarine in the area.
There was also the rumor of American involvement in the follow-up investigation, but
there was no official statement from the United States.
The Shag Harbor incident would have new life breathed into it through the efforts of
MUFON investigator Chris Styles. The case intrigued him so much that he decided to
search for more details. Styles found the names of many of the original witnesses
through newspaper clippings, and was able to interview many of them. Styles was
assisted by MUFON investigator Doug Ledger. These two men would uncover some
extremely compelling evidence through their interviews. They discovered that when the
divers of the Granby finished their work, the case was not over after all. The divers,
along with other witnesses related these events; The object that dove into the waters of
the harbor had soon left the Shag area, traveling underwater for about 25 miles to a
place called Government Point, which was near a submarine detection base. The object
was spotted on sonar there, and Naval vessels were positioned over it. After a couple of
days, the military was planning a salvage operation, when a second UFO joined the first.
Common belief at the time was that the second craft had arrived to render aid to the
first.
At this time, the Navy decided to wait and watch. After about a week of monitoring the
two UFOs, some of the vessels were called to investigate a Russian submarine which had
entered Canadian waters. At this point, the two underwater craft made their move.
They made their way to the Gulf of Maine, and putting distance between themselves and
the chasing Navy boats, they broke the surface, and shot away into the skies. These
extraordinary events were corroborated by many witnesses, both civilian and military.
Unfortunately, the reports were given "off the record." Ex-military personnel feared the
loss of their pensions, and civilian witnesses feared ridicule, and their privacy being
invaded. The unusual events of Shag Harbor command an important place in the study of
UFOs. There is little doubt that something "unknown" crashed into the waters of Shag
Harbor on October 4, 1967.
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UFO Sightings
20. NOVEMBAR, 1968. HANBURY (ENGLAND)
Animal Reaction Feature.
Between 5:30 p.m. and 5:45 p.m. (dusk), the Milakovics and their son were driving
through an area with fields on both sides of the road. They noticed first one rabbit and
then several more scurry across the road from left to right. Looking left, they saw a
brilliant object in the field to the left.
Joan Woodward, Animal Reaction Specialist :
The Milakovics stopped their car and
got out as the object rose slowly and
flew over their car. Doris Milakovic
noticed the air temperature felt warmer
as the object flew over head. The
object continued flying over the field to
their right and hovered over a house
about 100 yards away, where it
quivered "like a jelly." It appeared as
wide as the house. The drawing of the
object shows a dark bowl-shaped
bottom, with a clear dome on top.
The dome was divided into vertical
thirds, one third showing white light, one third, amber light, and the final third, green
light. In the lit dome area, several humanoid figures were seen moving, sometimes
appearing to bend down as though looking at something below the rim (see sketch).
The object began moving in a jerky manner, its light become much more intense and
Mr. Milakovic felt his eyes burning. Now frightened, they got in their car and sped away.
No sound or EM effects were reported. Two physiological effects were reported : heat felt
as object passed over and burning of the eyes when its light intensity increased.
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UFO Sightings
THE PAPUA, NEW GUINEA SIGHTINGS
According to renowned UFO investigator, Dr. J. Allen Hynek, one of the most
well-documented "close encounters of the third kind" occurred in the Anglican mission
village at Boianai, Papua, New Guinea, which was, at the time of the incident, still a
territory of Australia. The Australian Anglican Church was very involved in missionary
work, and ardent in sending its heralds to the island nation. One of these was the Father
William Booth Gill. Gill was highly thought of by his co-hearts, and all those who knew
him. As far as the occurrence of extraordinary events was concerned, Gill was skeptical,
to say the least, especially being a devoted Church worker.
The first hint of the events to come, began on April
5, 1959. when Gill saw a light on the uninhabited
Mount Pudi. This light, Gill stated, moved faster
than anything he had ever seen. A month or so
later, his assistant, Stephen Moi, saw an "inverted
saucer-shaped object" in the sky above the
mission. Gill dismissed these sightings as some
sort of electrical or atmospheric phenomena.
Little did he know, that these events, whatever
they were, had drawn their attention to the sky
above them, and soon William Gill would have one
of the most celebrated UFO sightings to ever be
documented, which was validated by a whole group
of additional witnesses. This extraordinary event
would take place at 6:45 P.M., June 26, 1959.
Father Gill saw what he described as a bright white
light to the Northwest. Word of the sight spread quickly, and within a few moments, Gill
was joined by no less than thirty-eight additional witnesses, including Steven Moi,
Ananias Rarata, and Mrs Nessle Moi. According to sworn statements, these thirty-plus
individuals watched a four-legged, disc-shaped object approximately the size of 5 full
moons lined up end to end. This unbelievable craft was hovering over the mission ! To
their utter surprise, they saw four human-like figures that seemed to be performing a
kind of task. Now and then one of the figures would disappear, only to reappear in a
moment or two. A blue light would shine up from the craft at what seemed to be regular
intervals. The witness watched the craft and its activities for a full forty-five minutes,
until the shining ship rose into the sky, and disappeared at 7:30 P.M. Glued to the sky,
the witnesses would see several smaller objects appear at 8:30, and twenty minutes
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UFO Sightings
later, the first craft reappeared. This phenomenal occurrence would last an incredible
four hours, until cloud cover obscured the view at 10:50. Father Gill prepared a full
written report of this event, and 25 other observers signed the document.
This first sighting, a once in a lifetime occurrence, would incredibly be followed by
another sighting the very next night. At 6:00 P.M., the larger object appeared again, with
its occupants. It was shadowed by two of the smaller objects. In William Gill's own
words; "On the large one, two of the figures seemed to be doing something near the
center of the deck. They were occasionally bending over and raising their arms as though
adjusting or "setting up" something. One figure seemed to be standing, looking down at
us."
(In a moment of anticipation, Gill raised his arms and waved to the figure.)
•
"To our surprise the figure did the same. Ananias waved both arms over his head;
then the two outside figures did the same. Ananias and myself began waving our
arms, and all four seemed to wave back. There seemed no doubt that our
movements were answered...."
Gill and Ananias continued to occasionally wave, and their waves were returned. Another
witness, Eric Kodawara, waved a torch, and there were acknowledgments from the craft.
Gill went inside to eat, but when he came back, the craft was still there, only farther
away (smaller). After a Church service, at 7:45, Gill again came outside to look for the
craft, but clouds had appeared, and there was no sight of the object. The very next
evening, the shining craft would make one more appearance. Gill counted eight of them
at 6:45. At 11:20, Gill heard a loud bang on the roof of the mission. Going outside to see
what had happened, he spied four UFOs in a circle around the building. These four craft
were extremely high in the sky. The roof was checked for damage the next morning, but
none was found.
The aftermath of the event would bring unsubstantiated explanations. The noted UFO
debunker Dr. Donald H. Menzel offered his explanation thus: He claims that Father Gill,
who suffered from myopia (nearsightedness), had "probably" not been wearing his
corrective lenses, and misidentified the planet Venus, which was prevalent in the evening
skies during this period. This was NOT true; Gill WAS wearing his glasses, and in either
event, what about the other witnesses to the event. Menzel also asserted that the
Papuans were ignorant, native people who worshiped Gill, and believed anything he told
them. This was a surefire way to debunk the 30+ witnesses.
As to the Venus connection, Gill knew where Venus was during this sighting, and had
even pointed it out separately to the unknown craft. Gill would be criticized for "leaving
such an extraordinary sight" to go eat dinner, but his response is that he did not think of
the craft as extraterrestrial at the time. He believed that it was an American or Australian
craft, and that if it did land, that ordinary human beings would emerge. Gill was
scheduled to return to Australia soon, and it afforded an excellent opportunity to get his
documentation of the case to the appropriate authorities. All investigators found Gill to
be an intelligent, impressive individual. One of the most respected civilian groups, the
Victorian Flying Saucer Research Society stated: "Gill's reports constitute the most
remarkable testimony of intensive UFO activity ever reported to civilian investigators.
They were unique because for the first time credible witnesses had reported the presence
of humanoid beings associated with UFOs."
The sighting at Papua brought about an unlikely allegiance among UFO research groups
in Australia. The groups distributed copies of Reverend Gill's report to all of the members
of the House of Representatives of Australia's Federal Parliament. An accompanying letter
urged the leaders of government to request the Minister for Air to issue an opinion on the
subject, not being satisfied with their initial, negative reaction. This letter did exact a
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UFO Sightings
reply. On November 24, 1959, E.D. Cash, who was a Liberal member of Parliament,
asked the Minister for Air, F.M. Osborne, if they had even investigated the sightings at
Papua. Osborne's response was that they were still waiting for more evidence before
making an "official" report. In his own words; "Most sightings of UFOs are explained and
only a very small percentage-something like 3 per cent--of reported sightings of flying
objects cannot be explained."
The response of the Australian Minister for Air was to be taken lightly, considering the
fact that they had not even interview Gill, until the Minister of Defense requested an
investigation into the matter. The RAAF finally interviewed Gill in December 1959, some
six months after the sightings. Gill related that the interview consisted of two officers
who talked about stars and planets, and then left. He heard no more from the two.
The RAAF finally released an opinion on the case..and a negative one at that. Squadron
leader, F.A. Lang stated :
•
"Although the Reverend Gill could be regarded as a reliable observer, it is felt that
the June/July incidents could have been nothing more than natural phenomena
coloured by past events and subconscious influences of UFO enthusiasts. During the
period of the report the weather was cloudy and unsettled with light thunder storm.
Although it is not possible to draw firm conclusions, an analysis of rough bearings
and angles above the horizon does suggest that at least some of the lights observed
were the planets Jupiter, Saturn and Mars."
Since the unusual events of 1959, there have been many "explanations" of the event, all
by individuals who had not witnessed the event. Most of these are, as you would expect,
panaceas for the general reports of sightings. Among these are hoax, planets, stars,
astronomical misidentification, Gill's myopia, etc. None of these really address the event
as it happened. Dr. J. Allen Hynek investigated the sighting at great length, and gave
his usual well thought out conclusions. His "Center For UFO Studies" research included
well-respected Allen Hendry, who was, at the time, the Center's top investigator.
Their conclusions were as follows :
•
"Though the smaller UFOs seen by Gill could be attributable to bright stars and
planets, the primary object COULD NOT. "its size and absence of movement over
three hours ruled out an astronomical explanation."
The inclusion of the Boianai case in the well-known Australian book of fiction, Randolph
Stow's 1979, "Visitants," would become a double-edged sword. Although it brought the
details of the case to a larger audience, its inclusion in pure fiction lessened the appeal of
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the events as being REAL. Stow was a cadet patrol-officer in Papua, New Guinea, and an
assistant to the Government Anthropologist. His novel begins with this sentence, "On 26
June 1959, at Boianai in Papua, visitants appeared to the Reverend William Booth Gill,
himself a visitant of thirteen years standing, and to thirty-seven witnesses of another
colour."
The events of New Papua in 1959, at first glance, seem to be too unbelievable to be true.
It is just too good of a sighting, compared to hazy photographs, reports of abductions by
unreliable witnesses, and the designation of any undefined light in the sky as a "flying
saucer." To be respectable, open-minded individuals, we must NOT compare one report
to another. Each case must be viewed on its own merits. Many of the so-called
explanations are by those who never interviewed Reverend Gill, never visited the sight,
never read Gill's actual reports, but relied on third party explanations to draw their own
conclusions.
Dr. Hynek and his staff members actually interviewed Gill, they visited the sight, they
searched weather reports, they stood in the same spot that Gill stood. They interviewed
other witnesses of the events. They followed up initial inquiries with subsequent visits,
and interviews, allowing the passage of time to shed its light on the witnesses, and what
they saw. Fourteen years after the fantastic events at Papua, Dr. Hynek revisited Papua
New Guinea, Australia, and re-interviewed six of the initial witnesses. They all supported
William Gill's initial reports, and still believe what they saw to be a REAL craft of some
unknown origin. The Papua, New Guinea sighting is one of the best documented cases of
an unidentified craft of unknown origin in UFO annals.
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THE RUSSIAN CRASH OF 1969.
The details of a Russian Crash on or about 1969.
are sketchy and somewhat suspect. This case
comes from the so-called "Secret KGB Files," which
were reportedly smuggled out of the former Sovet
Union. Reportedly, $10,000 was paid for the
information. The details of these secret files were
first offered to the general public on 9-13-98 as
part of a TNT special titled "The Secret UFO Files of
the KGB." The show featured extraordinary film and
still photographs of the UFO recovery, and also a
portion of autopsy film on part of an alien body.
The event itself, according to the files, occurred in the state of Sverdlovsky, which was
formerly Yekatrinburg of the USSR. The crash story follows a familiar pattern normally
associated with this type of report. A fiery crash of an unknown object occurred in March
1969. The site was secured by the Russian military, and one dead alien was found in the
wreckage. The remains of the craft and alien were brought to a secure location, and the
alien body was autopsied. Both still and moving pictures were taken of the craft, its
retrieval, and the alien autopsy. The autopsy shows only an alien torso and arm. From
the size of the body parts, the alien would have been an extremely small being.
The TNT special features Roger Moore, veteran
actor and former James Bond, who discusses
other UFO events, along with interviews with
UFO experts, CIA agents, and other film.
Probably the most notable footage is from MIG
gun cameras of confrontations with UFOs.
There have been only a few still frames of this
footage in America, and I have not been able
as of this writing, 11-01-2002, to obtain the
videos. The show itself is mediocre, and its
only redeeming quality is the presentation of
the UFO crash story. Supposedly, the crash
story was validated by secret KGB documents.
The footage at the crash site does seem to be
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UFO Sightings
authentic
at
least
on
several
points.
The truck in the film is a circa 1950 model ZIS151, which has not been used by the
military for quite some time, and the truck would have been difficult to find to stage a
hoax with. Other elements of the film do not exhibit any obvious signs of a hoax, as to
the movement of the soldiers, the timing of the film as to the shadows, and the UFO
itself.
There are also several documents shown to verify the event itself, and an eyewitness to
the event who swears that the recovery mission did occur. The footage of the autopsy
film shows personnel without caps and gowns, which seemed odd to me at first, but after
some research I found that this was commonplace for that era in Russia.
The furnishings in the room are acceptable, and in Russia have probably not changed
much today. Three men in their 20s and 30s are performing the procedure, and
one woman is taking notes. The note taker is identified as KGB stenographer O. A.
Pshonikina. The alien's torso and arm are lying together on the table as the autopsy is
performed, and there are documents shown to support the autopsy. Although the
USA-Russia relationship is much improved over a few years ago, it still lacks.
Any information received is subject to translation, and often times there are problems
with interpretation. It is sad there is not more cooperation between the two countries.
The case of the 1969 retrieval and autopsy are difficult to assess. Until more information
is uncovered, it will remain unsubstantiated.
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UFO Sightings
RAF BINBROK - 8. SEPTEMBAR, 1970.
At six minutes past ten on the night of 8. September, 1970. a single Lighning Jet Fighter
took off from RAF Binbrook, the North Lincolnshire base near Grimsby. Ground crew on
the flight line were accustomed to Lighnings being scrambled in a hurry any time of day
or night. Binbrrok, after all, was a front-line fighter station and its aircraft shared
QRA - Quick Reaction Alert - duty with other East Coast airfields to provide cover should
any unidentifiable aircraft appear on the radar screens. The pilot was Captain William
Schaffner of the United States Air Force, who was on his second tour as an exchange
pilot with the RAF.
Schaffner was a vastly experienced jet fighter
pilot with combat experience behind him in
Vietnam. He had been at Binbrook for some
time and his wife was living on the base with
him. The aircraft, XS894, a Lightning F6 of
5 squadron, whose call-sign that night was
Foxtrot 94, turned out over the North Sea, and
disappeared into what became one of the true
aviation puzzles of recent times. Early the
following morning, XS894 ditched in the sea off Flamborough Head. The ditching was
witnessed by the crew of a Shackleton reconnaissance aircraft. Flares were also spotted
by the Grimsby trawler Ross Kestrel, but no trace of Captain Schaffner's plane could be
seen. More than a month later the wreckage of the aircraft was found on the sea-bed by
Royal Navy divers. Captain Schaffner had vanished from the cockpit..
The chain of events which led to the jet crash starts at Saxa Vord, one of the chain of
radar stations whose task it was to spot unidentified aircraft approaching the North sea,
or the sensitive Iceland Gap. The Cold war was at its height in 1970, and Russian aircraft
made regular sorties into the North Atlantic and along the British Coast to test the
reaction of NATO fighters.
On this particular night, a radar operator at Saxa Vord picked up the blip of an
unidentified aircraft over the North sea halfway between the Shetlands and Alesund in
Norway. The contact was monitered for several minutes at a steady speed of 630 mph, at
37,000 ft holding altitude and on a south-westerly heading. The Saxa Vord noted the
contact was turning through 30 degrees to head due south. It increased speed to
900mph and climbed to 44,000ft.
Radar contollers at Saxa Vord flashed a scramble message to the QRA Flight at the
nearest NATO airfield, RAF Leuchars on the east coast of Scotland, not far from Dundee.
There, two Lightning interceptors, ready for just an alert, scrambled and within minutes
were airborne and heading out over the North sea. After checking the position of their
tanker, a Victor K1A, the two fighters were guided north by Saxa Vord. But it was then
that the radar plotters on the Shetland Islands saw something on their screens which
they found impossible to believe.
The contact they had been tracking, at speeds and altitudes consistent with modern
Russian warplanes, turned through 180 degrees on a due north heading, and within
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UFO Sightings
seconds disappeared off their screens. Later they calculated that to do this its speed
must have been in the region of 17,400 mph. During the next hour, the mystery contact
reappeared several times, approaching from the north. Each time the Lightnings were
sent north to intercept, it turned and diappeared again.
By now two F4 Phantoms of the US Air Force had been scrambled from the American
base at Keflavik in Iceland. They had much more sophisticated radar than the British
Lightnings and were able to pick up the contact themselves. But when they tried to get
close enough to identify what was by now beginning to cause some alarm to NATO
commanders, they found they were just as impotent as the Lightnings.
The alert had reached such a level that the contact was being monitored at the Ballistic
Missile Earling Warning System at Fylingdales. The information they were collecting was
relayed to the North American Air Defence Command at Cheyenne Mountain and the US
Detection and Tracking Centre at Colorado Springs. RAF staff at Fylingdales heard
ominously that the Stategic Air Command HQ at Omaha, Nebraska, was ordering its B-52
bombers into the air. It was an order that could only have come from the highest level.
What had started as a routine sighting of what was believed to be a Russian aircraft had
nw reached the White House and, presumably, President Richard Nixon. At around 21.45
a request made from a high level within North American Air Defence, through Strike
Command's UK headquarters at High Wycombe, for RAF Binbrook to send Capt' Schaffner
to join the Lightnings looking for the mystery contact. NATO forces were being brought
up to full alert by a mystery object picked up by radar over the North Sea. At first it
appeared to be yet another Russian aircraft out to test the reflexes of Allied air forces.
But the object began behaving in a way which baffled radar controllers. At 22.06 Captain
Schaffner blasted off from Binbrook's main runway into the night sky.
By now the mystery contact which involved the five Lightnings, two Phantoms, three
tankers and a Shackleton being scrambled over the North sea was being tracked by the
radar controllers at Staxton Wold. The contact was flying parallel to the East Coast 90
miles east of Whitby at 530mph at 6,100ft - an ideal course for an interception by a
Binbrook Lightning. Whats follows next is drawn from what I have been told is the official
transcript of the conversation between Schaffner and the radar station at Staxton Wold :
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Schaffner : I have visual contact, repeat visual contact. Over.
Staxton : Can you identify aircraft type ?
Schaffner : Negative, nothing recognisable, no clear outlines. There is ... bluish light.
Hell that's bright ... very bright.
Staxton : Are your instruments functioning, 94 ? Check compass. Over.
Schaffner : Affirmative, GCI (ground control). I'm alongside it now, maybe 600ft off
my... Jeeze, that's bright, it hurts my eyes to look at it for more than a few seconds.
Staxton : How close are you now ? Schaffner : About 400ft, he's still in my three o'
clock. Hey wait ... there's something else. It's like a large soccer ball. It's like it's
made of glass.
Staxton : Is it part of the object or independant ? Over.
Schaffner : It ... no, it's separate from the main body ... the conical shape ... it's at
the back end, the sharp end of the shape. It's like bobbing up and down and going
from side to side slowly. It maybe the power source. There's no sign of ballistics.
Staxtion : Is there any sign of occupation ? Over.
Schaffner : Negative, nothing.
Staxton : Can you assess the rate ?
Schaffner : Contact in gentle descent. Am going with it...50...no about 70ft ... it's
levelled out again.
Staxton : Is the ball object still with it ? Over.
Schaffner : Affirmative. It's not actually connected ... maybe a magnetic attraction
to the conical shape. There's a haze of light. Ye'ow ... it's within heat haze. Wait a
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UFO Sightings
•
second, it's turning... coming straight for me... am taking evasive action...a few...I
can hardl...
Staxton : 94 ? Come in 94. Foxtrot 94, are you receiving ? Over. Come in 94. Over.
Radar controllers at Staxton Wold had guided the Lightning from Binbrook to the mystery
contact which had been eluding its NATO trackers for almost four hours. Just as the
controller lost contact with Captain Schaffner, a radar operator who had been tracking
the Lightning and the mystery object it had intercepted, watched in disbelief. The two
blips on the screen, representing the fighter and its quarry, slowly merged into one,
decelerating rapidly from over 500mph until they became stationary 6,000ft above the
North Sea 140 miles out of Alnwick. Two and a half minutes after the single blip came to
a halt it started to move again, accelerating to 600mph and climbing to 9,000ft, heading
south back towards Staxton. Shortly afterwards the single blip separated into two, one
maintaining its southerly heading, somewhat erratically, at between 600 and 630mph
and descending slowly, the other turning through 180 degrees to head north-westerly
and vanishing at a speed later calculkated to be around 20,400mph.While all this was
going on a Shackleton MR3, which had been on patrol off the Firth of Forth, was ordered
to hold station around Flamborough Head.
The Staxton Wold re-established contact with Captain Schaffner.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Schaffner : GCI ... are you receiving ? Over.
Staxton : Affirmative 94. What is your condition ? Over.Schaffner : Not too good. I
can't think what has happened... I feel kinda dizzy... I can see shooting stars.
Staxton : Can you see your instruments ? Over.
Schaffner : Affirmative, but er...the compass is useless .
Staxton : Foxtrot 94, turn 043 degrees. Over.
Schaffner : Er ... all directional instruments are out, repeat useless. Over.
Staxton : Roger 94, execute turn right, estimate quarter turn. Over.
Schaffner : Turning now.
Staxton : Come further 94. That's good. Is your altimeter functioning ? Over.
Schaffner : Affirmative GCI.
Staxton : Descend to 3,500ft. Over.
Schaffner : Roger GCI.
Staxton : What's your fuel state 94 ? Over.
Schaffner : About 30 per cent GCI.
Staxton : That's what we calculated. Can you tell us what happened 94 ? Over.
Schaffner : I don't know. It came in close ... I shut my eyes ... I figure I must've
blacked out for a few seconds. Staxton : OK 94. Standby.
At this stage the Shackleton arrived over Flamborough Head and began circling before
XS894 was vectored into the area by the Staxton controllers.
•
•
Schaffner : Can you bring me in GCI ? Over.
Staxton : Er... Hold Station, 94. Over.
Several minutes then elapsed as Schaffner was left to circle the Flamborough area along
with the Shackleton. In the meantime, Strike Command at High Wycombe had instructed
Staxton Wold to request Captain Schaffner to ditch his Lightning off Flamborough.
Although Captain Schaffner had plenty of fuel to reach either nearby Leconfield or his
home base of Binbrook, it appears the reason for the descision to ditch was a fear that
the Lightning had somehow become "contaminated" during its mystery interception over
the North Sea. It may well be the fear that the aircraft had suffered radiation
contamination, although some weeks later, when the wreckage was examined at
Binbrook, there was no trace of contamination of anything other than salt water.
•
Staxton : Foxtrot 94. Can you ditch aircraft ? Over.
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UFO Sightings
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Schaffner : She's handling fine. I can bring her in. Over.
Staxton : Negative 94. I repeat, can you ditch aircraft ? Over.
Schaffner : Yeah ... I guess.
Staxton : Standby 94. Over. Oscar 77. Over.
Shackleton : 77. Over.
Staxton : 94 is ditching. Can you maintain wide circuit. Over.
Shackleton : Affirmative GCI. Over.
Staxton : Thanks 77. Stanby 94, execute ditching proceedure at your discretion.
Over.
Schaffner : Descending now, GCI. Over.
Between six and seven minutes then elapsed.
•
•
•
Shackleton : He's down, GCI. Hell of a splash ... he's down in one piece though.
Over.
Staxton : Can you see the pilot yet ? Over.
Shackleton : Negative. We're going round again, pulling a tight one.
Two minutes later.
•
•
Shackleton : The canopy's up ... she's floating OK ... can't see the pilot. We need a
chopper out here, GCI. No, no sign of the pilot. Where the hell...
Staxton : You sure he's not in the water, 77. Check your SARBE receptions. Over.
(NOTE : SARBE was the Search and Rescue Beacon Equipment carried by all RAF
aircrew.)
•
Shackleton : No SARBE yet. No flares either. Hang on. We're going round again.
Another two minutes elapsed.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Shackleton : GCI. Over.
Staxton : Receiving you 77. Over.
Shackleton : This is odd, GCI. She's sinking fast but ... the canopy's closed up again.
Over.
Staxton : Can you confirm pilot clear of aircraft ? Over.
Shackleton : He's not in it, we can confirm that. He must be in the water
somewhere.
Staxton : Any distress signals or flares yet ? Over.
Shackleton : Negative GCI. Going round again. Over.
Ninety seconds later the crew of the Shackleton were back in contact with Staxton Wold.
•
•
•
•
•
Shackleton : She's sunk GCI. There's a slight wake where she was. Still no sign of
the pilot. I say again GCI, we need a chopper here fast. Over.
Staxton : A Whirlwind's on its way from Leconfield. Are you positive you saw no sign
of the pilot ?. Over.
Shackleton : Nothing GCI. The first pass we assumed he was unstrapping. He must
have got out as we went round for a second pass ... but why shut the canopy ?
Over.
Staxton : That's what we were thinking. Maintain patrol 77, he must be there
somewhere. Over.
Shackleton : Roger GCI. Over.
Shortly afterwards the search and rescue Whirlwind from nearby Leconfield arrived on
the scene and began a systematic search of the ditching area. The aircraft was shortly
joined by the lifeboats from Bridlington, Flamborough and Filey as the weather began to
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UFO Sightings
deteriorate. The search continued well into the next day but there were no transmissions
from the beacons carried by the pilot and on board the aircraft and the official reports
say no distress flares were seen. However, the following day flares had been seen about
ten miles offshore and the Grimsby trawler Ross Kestrel, which was passing the
Falmborough area, had gone to investigate but, even though more flares were seen, she
found nothing. Three weeks later it was reported that the fusalage of the aircraft had
been located on the seabed and the ejection seat was still intact, "giving rise to the belief
that the body of the pilot is still in the wreckage".
On 7 October, divers from HMS Keddleston had inspected the wreckage and said Captain
Schaffner's body was still in the cockpit. But what was the start of the biggest mystery of
all. When the aircraft was brought to the surface and returned to Binbrook there was no
trace of Captain Schaffner. Just an empty cockpit. When the wreckage of XS894 was
finally lifted from the seabed some five miles off Flamborough Head it was taken in
secrecy straight to RAF Binbrook.
Many of the cockpit instruments were missing. These included the E2B compass,
voltmeter, stand-by direction indicator, stand-by invertor indicator and the complete
auxilary warning panel from the starboard side of the cockpit below the voltmeter.
This was a serious breach of regulations and although the Mod's Crash Investigation
Team was promised the instruments would be returned shortly they never were.
The ejector seat also seemed to be "wrong" and there was a suspision later among the
investigators that it was not the one fitted to the aircraft when XS894 took off from
Binbrook on its final flight. They were even given and assurance by the commanding
officer of 5 Squadron that the seat had not been tampered with. But some of the
investigators were not convinced. At the end of the day the investigation team was told
curtly that as nothing useful had been discovered, their job was over.The following day
they were all called into the main office at Farnborough and told in no uncertain terms
they were not to discuss any aspect of the ditching of XS894, even with their own
families. The reason was simple - national security.
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UFO Sightings
UFO LEAVES GLOWING RING IN KANSAS
A very credible UFO encounter occurred in Delphos, Kansas in 1971. Sixteen year old Ron
Johnson, along with his dog, was tending the family sheep when his attention was
suddenly drawn to a mushroom-shaped UFO appearing in the night sky. It would be on
November 2 that Ron would encounter this craft, which was covered with multicolored
lights across it's metallic surface. Incredibly the UFO was only about 75 feet from him,
and it hovered only a few feet above the ground. Ron estimated the craft's diameter at
6-8 feet.
Stunned by what he was looking at, he tried to get a closer look, but the brilliant
luminance of the craft did not allow him to make out any additional details. Unlike many
other UFO reports, Ron described the craft as making a loud sound, "like an old washing
machine which vibrates." The glow of the object's bottom increased as it began to shoot
up into the sky. Ron would later state that he was temporarily blinded by the brightness
of the craft as it ascended. After he regained his sight and composure, he ran back to the
family house to alert the others. The bright glow was now high in the sky, as it began to
vanish from sight altogether.
Three family members came running around the side of the house to get a glimpse of the
unusual phenomena. They arrived at the location, and were shocked to see a glowing
ring in the ground, right below where the craft had hovered. Family members would later
relate that the ground around the glow. "felt strange, like a slick crust, as if the soil was
crystallized." Ron's mother's fingers went numb, like she had been given a local
anesthetic. Seeing nothing else of the craft, the family finally settled down for the night.
When dawn broke the next day, the family immediately returned to the sight of the
glowing ring, and to their surprise, it was still there ! The inside and outside of the ring
were damp from a rain shower, but the ring itself was amazingly dry. The ring had a
crusty appearance, as though the rain had simply ran off, leaving it bone dry. Slightly
over a month later, after a snow fall, the white ice had melted both inside and outside of
the ring, but the ring itself maintained the snow drift. Investigators experimented with
the ring by removing snow from a section of it, and pouring water on the exposed part.
The soil would not allow the water to pass through.
Further experimentation showed the ground under the ring to be dry to a depth of one
foot. The ring itself was composed of a whitish substance, which was sent to a laboratory
for analysis. The findings were as follows : [it was resolved into fibers which] were
vegetal in nature and belonged to an organism of the order of Actinomycetales, which is
an intermediate organism between bacteria and fungus... family actiniomycete, genus
Nocardia... [and is] often found together with a fungus of the order Basidomycetes,
which may flouresce under certain conditions... one possible interpretation is that high
energy stimulation triggered the spectacular growth of the Nocardia and of an existing
fungus, and caused the latter to flouresce. The experience of Ron Johnson is still
considered as one of the best documented "ground trace" UFO cases of the past century,
and is considered "unexplained."
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UFO Sightings
THE ALABAMA TINFOIL ALIEN
Aliens come in all shapes and sizes, from the little green men of Kelly, Kentucky to the
10 foot tall giants of Voronezh, Russia. There has always been discussion about the close
encounters of the third kind aliens. Some of these seem to be living, breathing beings,
and yet some appear to have characteristics of a robot. One theory readily accepted by
investigators is that many of the UFO sightings are of "scout" ships who take exploratory
journeys to our planet's surface, while a mother ship hovers some where out of sight.
Many propose that these scout ships are occupied by a robotic, mechanical being. These
would be expendable in carrying out experimentation on unwilling humans, and also on
our flora and animal kingdom.
Many of the earlier stories of alien sightings are "sensationalized," to say the least. But
sticking to my own rule of evaluating each case on it's own merits, one report which
seems to have merit occurred in Falkville, Alabama on October 17, 1973. This case is
unique in some respects, most notably the alien seems to have attributes of both of the
above descriptions : a robot looking creature with the running gait of our most talented
athletes.
Actual photograph taken by Greenhaw
This strange account began when Falkville, Alabama police chief Jeff
Greenhaw (that is correct, there is no s after the n) received a phone
call from an excited lady who said that she had witnessed a "spaceship"
land in an open field not far the town proper. Greenhaw took off like a
shot, taking along his trusty Polaroid camera. Dark had fallen several
hours earlier, and the police chief was armed for anything. It would be
about 10:00 P.M. when he made it to the location of the alleged
landing. After a cursory look around, he found no trace of a spaceship.
As Greenhaw continued his search of the area, he was taken aback by
the sight of an alien-like creature standing just off the side of the road.
The being appeared to be wrapped in aluminum foil as it began to walk
toward Greenhaw. "It looked like his head and neck were kind of made
together... he was real bright, something like rubbing mercury on
nickel, but just as smooth as glass-different angles give different lighting. I don't believe
it was aluminum foil." The tinfoil alien's movements were very "mechanical" like. An
antenna was attached to his head. Though in shock, he managed to snap off four
pictures of the odd looking alien. When he flicked on his headlights the alien was
obviously frightened, as it began to make its escape.
Greenhaw immediately took off in his truck in pursuit, but because of the rough terrain of
the field, he was only able to manage 35 MPH. The robotic movements of the alien were
now in high gear, and it raced across the open field. Greenhaw could not keep up, and
the tinfoil being escaped into the night. "He was running faster than any human I ever
saw," he stated.
Although Greenhaw was exhilarated by the strange encounter, he would soon regret the
whole affair. He was mocked and ridiculed by many of the town folk, and he received
threatening phone calls. A string of bad luck began to affect his life also. Whether related
to his report or not, his house burned down, and his wife left him. Approximately a
month after the incident, the town council fired him. So much for the theory that reports
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UFO Sightings
of many UFO encounters are made by individuals who are looking for notoriety or
financial gain. Greenhaw would eventually regain some semblance of a normal life, but
he would always regret the night he met the tin foil alien.
"ERRATIC LIGHTS" REPORTED IN HICKSVILLE, OHIO
The Crescent-News, Monday. October 22, 1973.
No one fainted, was taken aboard a "fish-like"space ship by creatures with wrinkled skin
and crab-claw hands, or examined by a large "eye-like" instrurnent. But the nocturnal
visit by colored lights in a clear sky over Hicksville Sunday evening was as real a U.F.O.
experience to several local residents as those reported by men and women in Mississippi
and other states throughout the week.
Several Hicksville residents - including Hicksville firemen answering a fire call just across
the Ohio- Indiana border, reported between 15 and 30 lights in the sky acting in an
"erratic" manner, while people in as far-flung areas as Defiance and Paulding Counties
and Goshen, Indiana, reported their nerves and windows shaken by a loud boom around
9 p.m.
The noise was presumed to be a "sonic boom" since military jet aircraft were observed in
the area, by more than one city resident at that time.
Law enforcement officials reported that local residents flooded their dispatchers with
telephone calls about the noise shortly after it had been heard. Defiance's Post 20 of the
Ohio State Highway Patrol received 28 calls on the matter, while a frustrated night
desk-man for the city police and county sheriff's department reported "100 calls"
concerning the boom. J.B. Pavender of the Office of Information for Wright-Patterson Air
Force Base, Dayton, stated this morning that, "We've had three such reports of loud
noises throughout the country in the last week." However, he added, nothing had been
determined thus far in his investigations. "We're still tracking," he said.
Hicksville firemen were at the scene of a fire on DeKalb County (Ind.) Road 75 at
7:45 p.m. Sunday when the rumors evidently began to fly. Officials at the scene stated
that one man reported a flying saucer had landed and started the blaze, and that other
saucers could be seen in the sky.
However, Mrs. James Snyder of Route 1, St. Joe, Ind., told the Crescent-News two hours
later that the fire was located in a woods a half-mile behind her house, and that it had
been going since 10 a.m. Sunday morning.
I saw smoke there on my way home from church, she said, "and called my neighbors
(William Ladd, also of Route 1) who own the woods there." Ladd's wife agreed, and said
that her family had put the fire out "two different times in the day" before Hicksville's two
pumpers and one tanker arrived on the scene. Neither the women nor Hicksville fire
officials knew the cause of the blaze, which destroyed four and a half acres.
The fire-fighters first noticed the U.F.O.'s varied-colored lights as they were putting out
the flames. They reported numbers ranging from 20 to 30 flitting about the clear night
sky between 7:45 and 9:15 p.m.
Stated one of the men :
"We got a report that there were three greenish-white lights up there, one in the east,
one in the northeast, and one in the southeast. As I watched it, the one toward the
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UFO Sightings
southeast circled around and shot out in a big hurry... disappeared. "There were 20 or 30
lights up in the sky, I suppose. Some you could hear engines on, and some of them you
couldn't hear anything. They might have been planes, but if they were, there were a hell
of a lot of planes up in that sky !"
Others described the lights as being a variety of colors, and either "blinking" or " circling
around." There was no pattern to their movements, and many were reported to shoot
across the sky at a faster speed than that at which airplanes would normally travel.
The talk of U.F.O.'s increased as the firemen joked between each other over radios and
the bantering was picked up by area residents and local law enforcement officials.
Calls from the frightened, the skeptical, and the curious were received by both the
Hicksville Police Department and the Defiance City Fire Department.
Adding to the fear and speculation that interplanetary visitors might be in the air was a
loud explosion heard in Hicksville, Defiance, and other parts of the county, and as far
away as Goshen, Ind., and Paulding County. Hicksville firemen, who placed the "boom"
at about 9 p.m., said that it was followed within five seconds by a "jet engine kind of
sound," and several people tied the two together as the takeoff of a U.F.O.
Robert Easley of Defiance, who has been studying the U.F.O. phenomenon for a number
of years, said he had been telephoned at home "by people from all over" following the
noise, with some callers asking him if it might have been the explosion of a space craft.
A Hicksville policeman stated that chatter over a radio monitor carried the news "from
some airport" that the noise was a sonic boom caused by conventional aircraft.
A Defiance College student told of sitting in the Anthony Wayne Library on campus when
the sound was heard. She described it as "similar to someone with a big foot jumping on
the roof," and said the windows rattled and other students in the building "noticed it,
too." Five minutes later, she added, there was a sound "like someone blowing out air"
between the library and the nearby Student Union.
One Hicksville man, who asked not to be identified "because of people laughing it off,"
described the aerial light show in detail. He had heard the town's fire department
broadcasts over a home monitor, and drove to the area just south of Ohio 18 and west of
the Ohio-Indiana line "to see what was going on." "There were a lot of lights up there in
the sky, I'd say at least 30. Some were whirling around and around, and would fly across
the sky really fast, too fast for an airplane. Others would cut straight across, and then
shoot upward." Some went straight up in the sky and disappeared, he added. "You could
look just about anywhere in the sky and see them. They'd jerk across," he continued,
using his hands to show the short, choppy pattern of flight, "and there would be flashes
of light in between bursts. You'd have to look quickly to see them move, though. "I don't
know what they were, but I don't think they were airplanes. You couldn't hear any
engines, for one thing. But I'll say this much, there was something up there !"
His wife, also riding in the car at the time, called the lights shapeless, and ranging in
color "from the shade of red in street flashers to green and blue. You couldn't tell how far
away they were, or how fast they were going. But it was really something, I'll tell you."
Asked if she believed in unidentified flying objects, the woman replied, "Sure, and I'd like
to be taken aboard one sometime and have some proof... so I'll know for sure."
Well, here's one person who would rather be ignorant.
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THE WALES UFO CRASH
The reports of UFO crashes are extremely rare, with the most notables being the alleged
Roswell crash, and the Shag Harbor incident in Nova Scotia. Some other cases, such as
several German crash reports, just don't allow us enough information to make a case for
them. One crash which seems to hold up well is the one that occurred in the Berwyn
Mountains in Wales. This incident took place in January 1974. On or about 8:30 P.M. on
January 23, an extremely large disc-shaped object was observed falling from the skies
over the city of Clwyd in Wales. Approximately two hours earlier, several dozen witnesses
across Lancashire and Chesshire had phoned in reports of a strange formation of bright
green lights, which flew in a haphazard pattern in a northwesterly direction.
After the unusual reports of 6:30, something crashed into the Berwyn Mountains, and
created a frightening tremor, which measured 4.5 on the Richter Scale. This tremendous
impact was felt in Chester, Wresham, Southport, Liverpool, and even in Greater
Manchester. Phone reports poured in to police, television, and radio stations all across
the affected area. Naturally, the force of the impact was initially assigned to a plane, a
large plane, probably a jet passenger. Police and other rescue units were immediately
sent to the Berwyns. The rescue crews were prepared for the worst; the unimaginable,
horrific carnage created by such a devastating impact.
What was found in the isolation of the mountains was not what was expected. But, what
was found ? There was no passenger plane crash, no fire, no smoke, no bodies. At least
that is what the general public was told. However, soon the Army was called in. Why ?
Residents of the city of Chester witnessed a convoy of Army trucks on the night of the
impact. Some brave individuals followed the flow of Army trucks out of curiosity. There
was no great surprise when the convoy headed straight to the sight of the earlier impact
! Upon the military's arrival, the area was immediately cordoned off. Civilian rescuers and
Police were not allowed into the area.
A nurse who lived fairly near the impact sight came forward with an amazing account.
She told a local newspaper that a UFO the "size of the Albert Hall," had crashed into the
Berwyn Mountains, and in the process, threw debris and bodies over a mile from the
epicenter. She had walked up to one of the bodies, and was completely taken back when
she realized that the body was not human, but alien ! Before she could offer an account
of her amazing find to others, the military took control. The nurse was taken to a secure
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UFO Sightings
area, and two Ministry of Defence officers ordered her to remain silent about her
experience. She was told that a statement "would constitute a threat to national security
and the defence of the realm".
Although the nurse was well known, she was never seen in the area again, and the news
reporter she had told her story to refused to discuss the case until his death in 1979.
Was the reporter also under military order ? Probably. There is an extremely interesting
aftermath to this incredible story. In 1990, electronics engineer Arthur Adams, still
enthralled by the Wales story, decided to make a trip to the alleged sight of the crash.
Amazingly, the Concorde employee found strange green colored pieces of metal which
were fused into rock. He took samples of his find to his laboratory, and was stunned to
find that a piece of the material the size of a cubic inch, emitted two kilowatts of
electricity when hooked up to a volt meter. He took his findings to the "Daily Express,"
which ran a series of articles on Adams' discovery.
The articles breathed new life into the Berwyn crash story, but soon the Ministry of
Defence stepped in and stopped the story from running. The compelling accounts of the
Wales crash leave us with many unanswered questions. What became of the nurse ?
Are there any fragments of the material left today ? What did cause the thundering
impact that night ? Many theories have been put forward. Some point to a prototype of
an experimental craft, others state that a UFO crashed into the Berwyns. What happened
to the bodies seen scattered over the area ? The Wales crash of January 23, 1974,
remains one of the best kept secrets in UFO history.
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THE LORING AIR FORCE BASE SIGHTINGS
In the 1970s, the Cold War was in full bloom. United States military installations that
stored weapons of mass destruction pulled out all stops to hide their location from enemy
spies and spy planes. Loring Air Force Base, located in the Northeastern part of Maine, fit
this pattern, housing their nuclear weapons under camouflaged huts, covered with dirt.
This fenced in area was under constant watch by the 42nd Security Police Squadron.
At precisely 7:45 P.M. on October 27, 1975, Staff Sergeant Danny K. Lewis was
performing his normal duties of keeping a watchful eye on the hidden weapons area.
His attention was diverted by the sudden appearance of an unidentified flying craft at an
altitude of about 300 feet. The craft was approaching from the North, with a bright red
navigation light, and a white strobe light. To Lewis' surprise, the craft entered the official
airspace of Loring.
At the same time, Staff Sergeant James P. Sampley of the 2192nd Communications
Squadron was on duty in the control tower of the base. Sampley received a radar return
from an unidentified craft, which he calculated from his radar screen as being 10-13
miles east-northeast of the base. As per his orders, he made calls via radio through all
available communication bands, both military and civilian, hailing the craft. He got no
response. As he kept an alert eye on his screen, the craft began to circle the base, and
finally came to within 300 yards of the highly restricted nuclear storage area. The craft's
altitude was now a mere 150 feet.
By this time, Sergeant Lewis was notifying his Command Post that the unknown craft had
penetrated the perimeter of the base, and was closing in on the nuclear storage area.
The base was instantaneously put on a Security 3 alert status. Security officials contacted
Sampley in the Control tower to verify the sighting via radar. Making his way to the
tower, Sergeant Grover K. Eggleston began studiously watching the craft on radar. It had
now began circling ten miles east-northeast of the base. The base's Wing Commander
ordered a search of the grounds, and requested air support from Hancock Field, New
York, and North Bay, Ontario. Neither of the bases would oblige his request at the time.
The Maine State Police and airport flight services were contacted in an attempt to identify
the unknown object. Again, no identification was forthcoming. The ground search also
came up empty handed.
For an additional 40 minutes, the unknown craft circled in the vicinity of the base. Finally
it left it's pattern, and headed toward Grand Falls, New Brunswick. Now about 12 miles
from Loring, it disappeared from the radar screen. The base was quiet for the rest of the
night, but the Stage 3 alert was kept until the next morning. SAC Headquarters was
notified of the details of the unknown craft. Unbelievably, the next night at exactly the
same time, the craft returned. Lewis was again on duty, along with Sergeants Blakeslee
and Long. The craft was approaching Loring from the North, this time at about 3,000
feet. The craft got as near as 3 miles from the base, again showing flashing lights of
orange, red, and white. All three of the men on duty witnessed the craft. Lewis reported
his sighting to Command, and this time the Wing Commander came to the storage area
to verify the sighting. He confirmed the findings of the three duty officers. Radar again
confirmed the unknown craft.
The appearance of an other worldly craft would also be confirmed by Sergeant Steven
Eickner, and others. A group of military witnesses reported an orange and red object
shaped like a stretched out football, which amazingly hovered in midair ! It's lights
suddenly were darkened, and then the craft reappeared over the runaway, hovering
about 150 feet off the ground. They also estimated the length of the craft at about 75-80
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UFO Sightings
feet, solid, with no visible doors or windows, no visible means of propulsion, and totally
silent. Again the base was put on full alert, and a security detail searched the
base, finding nothing. Finally, the craft turned off it's lights, and vanished from view.
Radar picked up the unknown craft heading in the direction of Grand Falls, New
Brunswick. A second report was sent to SAC headquarters. The unsettling events of
October 27 and 28 would finally get the attention of military personnel who were in a
position to give support to Loring. October 29 would bring a National Guard helicopter for
support, just in case. Canadian authorities were given permission to cross the border if
needed. Royal Canadian Mounted Police provided an officer to ride along in the
helicopter. Those who waited for another visit would not be disappointed. The helicopter
was called into action, and immediately responded. Accompanying the RCMP officer were
Loring Air Security officers, and an officer from the Maine State Police. The chopper
followed the leads sent from radar, but even when approaching within 100 yards, they
could see nothing in the skies. The next night brought an Air Force helicopter, and a crew
from Plattsburgh AFB. October 30 brought more sightings from the ground, and radar
confirmation. There would be more ground sightings of strange lights for the remainder
of 1975 in the same area, but investigations by the USA and Canada released no findings
for public knowledge. The sightings at Loring Air Force Base were only a part of a
full-fledged flap in the northern region of the United States, and southern area of
Canada. This sighting flap holds a credible place in UFO history.
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UFO’s INTRUDE INTO SAC BASE WEAPONS AREAS
Northern U.S., October-November, 1975.
Over a period of about three weeks in October and November of 1975, several Strategic
Air Command (SAC) bases in the northern tier states were placed on a high priority
(Security Option 3) alert because of repeated intrusions of unidentified aircraft flying at
low altitude over atomic weapons storage areas. The Commander-in-Chief of North
American Air Defense Command (NORAD) sent a four-part message to NORAD units on
November 11, 1975 summarizing the events. Some excerpts follow :
•
"Since 28 Oct 75 numerous reports of suspicious objects have been received at the
NORAD CU; reliable military personnel at Loring AFB, Maine, Wurtsmith AFB,
Michigan, Malmstrom AFB, Mt, Minot AFB, ND, and Canadian Forces Station,
Falconbridge, Ontario, Canada have visually sighted suspicious objects."
On October 27-28, 1975, Staff Sgt. Danny K. Lewis, 42nd Security Police Squadron,
while on duty at the munitions storage area of Loring AFB, Maine, at 7:45 p.m. saw an
apparent aircraft at low altitude along the northern perimeter of the base. Other
witnesses were Sgt. Clifton W. Blakeslee and Staff Sgt. William J. Long. The craft had a
red light and a pulsating white light.
A teletype message to the National Military Command Center in Washington, D.C., said :
•
"The A/C [aircraft] definitely penetrated the LAFB [Loring Air Force Base] northern
perimeter and on one occasion was within 300 yards of the munitions storage area
perimeter."
Staff Sgt. James P. Sampley, 2192nd Communications Squadron, was on duty in the
control tower when he picked up the craft on radar nearing the base. He tried to make
radio contact to warn the presumed aircraft that it was entering a restricted area. The
craft began to circle in the vicinity of the nuclear weapons storage area at about 150 feet
altitude. When it penetrated the nuclear weapons storage area at an estimated 300 feet
altitude, Lewis reported it to the command post.
The Commander of the 42nd Bomb Wing, Col. Richard E. Chapman, arrived at the
weapons storage area shortly before 8:00 a.m. and security police units were ordered
into the area. Security vehicles with flashing lights converged on the scene. Col.
Chapman implemented a Security Option 3 alert.
At 8:45 p.m. Sgt. Grover K. Eggleston was on duty in the control tower when a call came
from the command post requesting a radar track on the mysterious craft. For 40 minutes
he observed the object on radar circling around, then it abruptly vanished from the
screen as if it had either landed or dropped below the minimum level of radar coverage.
Witnesses observed the craft flying away toward New Brunswick. Radar tracked it again
as it receded from the base until contact was lost in the vicinity of Grand Falls, 12 miles
from Loring AFB.
Priority messages on the incident were sent to the National Military Command Center in
Washington, D.C., the Air Force Chief of Staff, SAC headquarters, and other major
commands. Loring remained on a high state of alert into the following morning. Efforts to
identify the "aircraft" through the Maine State Police, local police departments, and the
Federal Aviation Administration office in Houlton, Maine, were not successful.
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UFO Sightings
The next night at 7:45 p.m. a similar craft with body lights again approached the base,
tracked on radar, and maneuvered around in the vicinity for more than 30 minutes. Its
speed and motions were similar to those of a helicopter. The craft would appear and
disappear from view. Its lights went off and the craft reappeared over the weapons
storage area at 150 feet (45 meters). At about this time Sgt. Steven Eichner, a B-52
crew chief, Sgt. R. Jones, and other crew members spotted an unidentified red and
orange object over the flight line. It looked like a "stretched out football" (cigar-shaped)
and was hovering in mid-air.
As the B-52 crew watched, the lights on the object went out and it disappeared, but soon
reappeared over the north end of the runway, moving in a jerky, erratic fashion. When it
stopped and hovered, Eichner and the others jumped into a truck and drove toward the
object. As they turned onto the road that led to the weapons storage area, they
encountered the object about 300 feet ahead hovering about five feet off the ground. Its
length appeared to be equivalent to about four car lengths.
Sgt. Eichner said that it was like looking at a desert scene. "You see waves of heat rising
off the desert floor. This is what I saw. There were these waves in front of the object and
all the colors were blending together. The object was solid and we could not hear any
noise coming from it."
The object again was tracked on radar as it departed towards New Brunswick. And once
again priority messages about the intrusion were sent to higher commands. No
explanation was ever found.
On October 30, 1975, at Wurtsmith AFB, Michigan, about 10:10 p.m., base personnel
saw the running lights of a low-flying craft thought to be a helicopter, except that it
hovered and moved up and down erratically near the base perimeter. One white light
was pointed downward and two red lights were visible near the trailing edge. Airman
Michael J. Myers, an air policeman on duty near the main gate, saw several unidentified
lights near the western edge of the base. The object turned north and appeared to lose
altitude.
Between 10:15 and 10:25 p.m., base security police at the back gate of Wurtsmith
reported to the command post that an unidentified "helicopter" with no lights had come
over the back gate and hovered at low altitude over the weapons storage area. Radar
was also tracking low-flying objects intruding into the base, and an incoming KC-135
confirmed seeing two unidentified craft that sped away each time they attempted to close
in for identification.
A teletype message November 2nd from Loring Air Force Base, Maine, Office of Special
Investigations (OSI) detachment to the National Military Command Center and OSI
headquarters in Washington, D.C., reported another "unidentified helicopter sighted at
low level over Loring AFB" over the past two nights (October 31-November 1). It also
referred to the intruder as an "unknown entity."
Capt. Richard R. Fuhs, Operations Officer, 42nd Security Police Squadron (SPS),
"...advised that there had been three verified sightings of an unidentified A/C [aircraft]
flying at low level over and in the vicinity of LAFB [Loring Air Force Base]" during this
period. The initial sighting was made by Staff Sgt. Michael D. Scott, 42nd SPS, on duty at
11:14 p.m. Tech. Sgt. David E. Mott, Flight Chief, 42nd SPS, spotted the object from a
position near the East Gate just past midnight, flying from east to west.
At Malmstrom AFB, Montana, November 7, 1975, electronic sensors at the Minuteman
missile sites triggered an alarm indicating a breach of the K-7 site security at about 3:00
p.m. A Sabotage Alert Team headed toward the site, and from a distance of about a mile
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UFO Sightings
saw a glowing orange object over the area. As they came closer they could see that it
was an enormous disc, the size of a football field, whose light was illuminating the missile
site. They reported this to the launch control facility, and were ordered to proceed into
the site. But they refused to do so because they were fearful of the consequences.
The object then began to rise and was picked up on NORAD radar at about 1,000 feet.
Two F-106 interceptors were scrambled from Great Falls and sped toward the area, but
the object continued to rise and disappeared off the radar screen at about 200,000 feet.
As noted in the NORAD Commander-in-Chief's report cited above, the pilots were unable
to obtain a visual sighting. Later investigation established that computer codes in the
missile warhead had been altered. Several other UFO sightings at the missile sites later
that evening and next day were documented in military records.
During the same time period as the SAC base intrusions, civilians, police officers, military
officers, and NORAD radar saw and tracked UFOs that alternately hovered and darted
around at high speed at Falconbridge Air Force Station, a radar site near North Bay,
Ontario, Canada. The sightings occurred between 3:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. local time,
November 11, 1975. NORAD regional director logs obtained by Larry Fawcett and Barry
Greenwood gave some indication of the events, with times expressed in Greenwich Mean
Time (GMT) or "Zebra" (Z) time.
•
1205 GMT. "Unusual sighting report" made.
•
1840 GMT. Jet interceptors were scrambled, airborne at 1750Z "due to unusual
object sighting...UFO report from Falconbridge."
At 0202Z on November 15, 1975, "Report sent to NCOC Surveillance, referred to
Assistant Command Director Space Defense Center, and intelligence. These 3 individuals
considered the report a UFO report and not an unknown track report."
A detailed NORAD report on the incidents and a subsequent press release based on it
both have been made public. Raymond E. Fowler quotes the NORAD report :
•
"Falconbridge reported [at 4:05 a.m.] search and height finder paints [radar targets]
on an object 25 to 30 nautical miles south of the site ranging in altitude from 26,000
feet to 72,000 feet [appearing visually as like a bright star]. With binoculars, the
object appeared as a 100-ft. diameter sphere and appeared to have craters [sic]
around the outside...To date, efforts by Air Guard helicopters, SAC helicopters and
NORAD F-106s have failed to provide positive identification."
On November 13, NORAD issued a press release in Sudbury, Ontario, containing
essentially the same information. The press release added that, "Two F-106 aircraft of
the U.S. Air Force Air National Guard's 171st Fighter Interceptor Squadron at Selfridge
ANGB [Air National Guard Base], Michigan, were scrambled; but the pilots reported no
contact with the object."
Seven Ontario police officers were among the witnesses to the UFOs that were also
tracked on NORAD radar alternately hovering and darting around at high speed. Capt.
Gordon Hilchie, director of public affairs for the 22nd NORAD Region Control Center at
North Bay, Ontario, acknowledged : "Yes, we saw this so-called UFO at the same time
people outside were seeing it too." Lt. Col. Brian Wooding, Control Center Director, said :
"We get quite a few UFO reports, but to my knowledge this is about the only one we've
actually seen on radar, and the only time we've gone to the point of scrambling
interceptors. The jets were scrambled because the indications were there was something
very evident to a large number of people, and because we did manage to get some sort
of radar sighting." Del Kindschi, spokesman for NORAD headquarters in Colorado
Springs, said the UFO was tracked on radar intermittently for six hours, first spotted
25-30 miles south of the radar site. The object zoomed from 26,000 feet to 45,000 feet,
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UFO Sightings
"... stopped a while, and then moved up very quickly to 72,000 feet." The first visual
sightings were at 3:00 a.m. from Sudbury, Ontario, as brilliant lights that hovered low in
the sky, then suddenly shot straight up at tremendous speed.
TRAVIS WALTON ABDUCTION
The UFO phenomena is generally given little if any serious consideration by those
engaged in credible scientific studies. Without a doubt many so-called UFO sightings can
easily be dismissed as misidentified craft, stars, planets, or just plain hoaxes perpetrated
by thrill or money seeking individuals. Many books and studies have given us statistics on
UFO reports, and roughly about 95% of the sightings can easily be explained away.
Considering the great distances between stars, it is very easy to assume that the odds of
a visit from another intelligence are extremely low. These assumptions are based,
however, upon the extent of our knowledge, and should another race visit us, they would
most certainly possess a higher degree of intelligence than we do. We are trying to judge
a possibility while handicapped by the limits of what we know today.
The 1993 release of the movie "Fire In The Sky" was intriguing to many who had waited
for a screen presentation of Walton's book by the same name. D. B. Sweeny and James
Garner offered the film veteran actors. Those familiar with the actual story were less
than impressed with the film's inability to take the full account to the screen. Those who
were not privy to the actual story may have thought it only fiction. There are some great
sets, and special effects, but the story is not done justice. My goal during this series of
articles, is to present the facts behind the movie; the real story of the abduction of Travis
Walton. I ask only one thing of you the reader, reserve final judgment until you have
read all the facts.
This baffling UFO case began on November 5th, 1975, in
northeastern Arizona's Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest.
A logging crew of 7 men were working on a government
contract, clearing forest. The men loaded into a single
pickup truck leaving work for the day. As they started their
journey home, they saw, not far from the road, a "luminous
object, shaped like a flattened disc." All of the men agreed
that Travis Walton, captivated by the sight, left the truck to
get a closer look. While gazing up in awe at the object,
suddenly a brilliant bluish light struck him and threw him to
the ground some distance away. This event caused the
other crew members to flee the scene in fear for their lives.
After arguing among themselves, they decided to go back
and see if they could help Travis. Returning to the scene, they found no trace of the
craft, or Travis. A personal friend of Travis', Mike Rogers, was the crew foreman, and
driver of the truck. According to Rogers, as the men fled the scene, he looked back and
saw a "luminous object" lift out of the forest, and disappear toward the horizon. Rogers
and the other 5 workers eventually would take a lie detector test. The men passed the
examination, save for one inconclusive, and soon the case exploded into the national
spotlight. Walton reappeared five days later, confused and scared, with fleeting
memories of alien entities, and descriptions of the inside of their craft. He was also
subsequently subjected to a number of polygraph examinations. The Travis Walton event
would soon become the very first abduction case to be given serious consideration by
many credible scientists. His story would force the general public to reevaluate previously
close minded opinions on the subject.
The six witnesses (Allen Dalis, Dwayne Smith, John Goulette, Kenneth Peterson, Mike
Rogers, and Steve Pierce) of this controversial case, described the craft in personal, yet
similar terms. Rogers' description depicts the craft as a "large, glowing object hovering in
the air below the treetops about 100 feet away." Dwayne Smith described the craft as
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UFO Sightings
"smooth and giving off a yellowish-orange light." Additional eyewitness accounts added
the following : "unbelievably smooth," "a flattened disc" with "edges clearly defined."
Walton and Rogers both estimated that the craft was about 20 feet in overall diameter.
The details of the event quoted from the investigator's report are as follows : As Walton
approached on foot across the clearing, the "UFO began to wobble or rock slightly," and
then emitted a "bluish light from the machine...a blue ray shot out of the bottom of that
thing and hit him all over," "that ray was the brightest thing I've ever seen." This light
sent Walton "backward through the air ten feet," "hurled through the air in a backwards
motion, falling on the ground, on his back," "flying - like he'd touched a live wire."
"The horror was unreal."
Polygrapher Cy Gilson relates from his documents the
following : Testimony from Allen Dalis : "During the pretest
interview, Mr. Dalis related the following events that
occurred on that day. Mr. Dalis said they had finished work
for
the
day
and
were
heading
home.
It was almost dark. He saw a glow coming from among the
trees ahead of them. As they came to a clearing, he saw the
object he called a UFO. Mr. Rogers was slowing the truck
down to stop as Travis Walton exited the truck and began to
advance towards the UFO in a brisk walk... Mr. Dalis
described the UFO as being a yellowish white in color. He
said the light emitting from it was not bright but a glow that
gave off light all around itself. Mr. Dalis saw Walton reach
the UFO, stop and look up at it. He said it looked as if
Walton was standing there, slightly bent over, with his
hands in his pockets. Mr. Dalis said the UFO began to
wobble or rock slightly and he began to become afraid. He
put his head down towards his knees. As he did so, a bright
light flashed that lit up the area, even the inside of the
truck. He immediately looked towards the UFO. He saw a
silhouette of Walton. Mr. Walton had his arms up in the
air... Mr. Dalis turned towards Mr. Rogers who was in the
driver's seat and yelled for him to "get the hell out of
here..."
Sworn testimony concerning Mike Rogers states that : "...he
was on the opposite side of the truck from the UFO. He had
to bend over slightly to view it in its entirety through the
truck windows. He described the UFO to be glowing a
yellowish tan color. He could not say if the light emanated from within the UFO, or was a
lighting system outside, that lit up the UFO. He did say he could see the shadows of the
trees on the ground, around the UFO. He said it was round and about 20 feet in
diameter.
He
said
the
UFO
was
about
75 to 100 feet from the truck... As Mr. Rogers started to move the truck a brilliant flash
of light lit up the entire area, even inside the truck. It was described as a prolonged
strobe flash. He did not see a beam of light emit from the UFO and hit Walton. As the
flash occurred, Mr. Rogers turned around in his seat to look at the UFO again and saw
Mr. Walton being hurled through the air in a backwards motion, falling on the ground, on
his back. At this time, Mr. Dalis and someone else yelled to 'get the hell out of here'..."
Upon returning to the scene, the crewmen searched briefly through the woods, calling
Walton's name. They then proceeded down to the main road and, after some debate,
decided to call the police and ask for assistance. They were first met by a Deputy Ellison
and subsequently by Sheriff Marlin Gillespie, who would later describe the crewmen as
apparently sincerely distressed. The officers and crewmen went back up the hill and
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UFO Sightings
searched again with flashlights, eventually calling off the search and making plans for a
more thorough manhunt beginning early the next morning. The next several days were
marked by unsuccessful searches for the missing Walton, including some use of
helicopters and dogs. Temperatures dropped below zero the first two nights of the
search, creating fear that, if Walton was injured and disoriented, he may not survive .
Meanwhile, law enforcement officials were looking for alternate explanations of the event,
including the possibility that Walton had been murdered.
Law enforcement, looking for a more believable explanation than a flying saucer, began a
thorough investigation of the facts. All six remaining members of the crew were
questioned over and over again. Family members and friends were also interrogated.
One fact that colored this questioning was that all of the men were unlearned, everyday
working people noted to be a little "rough around the edges." This, of course, is a typical
assumption by some that those who have not been successful financially in this world are
all liars, cheats, and can't be trusted.
One common theory at the time was that Dalis and Walton had fought, and that Dalis
had either accidentally or purposely killed Walton, and hid his body. The problem with
this theory was that if a murder had taken place, why would the other 5 crewmen risk
the fires of justice to cover for Dalis. A second theory put forth at the onset was that
possibly all of the crewmen had been involved in some kind of brawl or argument, and
accidentally killed Travis, hiding his body somewhere in the vast forest. If this was true,
why concoct a story involving a UFO abduction ? being one of the most unbelievable
stories one could put forth. Another scenario offered by some was that since the crew
was behind on their government contract, they were looking for an excuse to get out of
it. Again, why this most bizarre story ?
Apache, Sitgreaves National Forest
In their initial reports, the 6 crewmen had indicated a
willingness to undergo any kind of lie detection test to
establish their truthfulness. After the second day of
searching, law enforcement officials brought in Cy
Gilson, a polygraph examiner from the Department of
Public Safety (associated with the state police), to
test all the crewman. Five of the witnesses passed
this polygraph examination, while for the sixth, Allen
Dalis, the test was ruled inconclusive (unable to
assign a reading). While the successful tests fueled
media interest in the case, the inconclusive result for
Dalis put some heat on him personally. While some of
the crew members, such as Rogers and Walton, had been friends long before the forest
service brush-clearing contract, the others were only acquaintances, and in the case of
Allen Dalis, he and Walton were said to have had some personal animosities between
them. If Walton had been involved somehow in a conspiracy to deceive authorities, he
certainly left his closest family members out of the loop. At approximately 1:30 A.M. on
the morning of Nov. 6, crew members Coplan and Rogers went to notify Walton's
mother, Mary Kellett, of her son's disappearance. Mrs. Kellett's calm response upon being
awakened and told her youngest son had been kidnapped by a UFO was "Well, that's the
way these things happen," and then she proceeded to described two instances when she
and her oldest son, Duane, had also seen UFOs. Later that morning (approximately 3:00
A.M.) when Mrs. Kellett told Walton's sister, Mrs. Grant Neff, that "a flying saucer got him
[Travis]," Mrs. Neff surprised Coplan with how calmly she also took the news. The rest of
that day was taken up by an extensive search of the area where Walton had disappeared.
Curiously absent from the site was any physical evidence of anything happening, in spite
of the "explosive" force of the blue-green beam. No blood, no shreds of clothing, no
evidence of the blast effects was found by any of the nearly fifty searchers involved.
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Neither was any evidence found of any violent confrontations among the crew members.
There was just no trace of Travis Walton.
For as many UFO proponents there are, there are that many and more debunkers.
The authorities tried to keep the scene of the incident for serious forensic examination,
but the mass influx of people, not only local, but world-wide, made this an impossibility.
The crewmen's stories were treated with mixed opinion. Some marveled to hear what
they had seen, and some called them "pranksters" and "liars." Some even went as far as
to suggest that the whole account was nothing more than a joke gone bad, and that
Travis was hiding somewhere and would suddenly reappear on cue. At this stage of the
investigation there was one question on the minds of all involved, whether friend or foe;
Where was Travis Walton ?
The last thing that Walton remembered about the incident in the woods was the feeling
of going backwards, and then nothing. Nothing that is, until he awoke in pain, frozen in
pain, with an overwhelming thirst. Slowly making out the image of some kind of light, he
comes to the realization that he is lying on a table of some kind. Still very weak, Walton
realizes "Oh, My God, the hospital, they brought me to the hospital." Sweating from the
moist humid air, he finds that he is uncomfortable because he is still in his work gear,
and his jacket is pushed up under his arms. "I wonder why the nurse didn't at least take
my jacket off ?" Feeling a strange looking device curved around his body, he tries to
focus his vision on the blurry figures of the doctors and nurses who certainly had come to
his aid. His vision clearing, he suddenly sees who is there; to his shock he is staring into
the face of a... horrible creature !
There were three of them, gazing right back at him with luminous brown pupils the size
of quarters. Travis attempts to push one of them away with what little strength he has at
the time. Strangely the creature shoots backward with ease. "It felt spongy and soft," he
would later relate. Bringing himself to his feet, Travis readied himself for a fight, like a
caged animal. Looking for something to defend himself with, he grabs an unfamiliar
looking tube and tries to scare his captors with it. Screaming to the three entities, "Keep
back, damn you !" they stopped in their tracks. The beings were a little under 5 ft. in
height, with a basic humanoid appearance. They were thin, puny, covered with
marshmallow looking skin. Their small hands were delicate and without nails. Totally
bald, their heads were disproportionately large for their little bodies.
The only facial features that didn't appear underdeveloped were those incredible eyes !
Those glistening orbs had brown irises twice the size of those of a normal human's eye,
nearly an inch in diameter ! The iris was so large that even parts of the pupils were
hidden by the lids, giving the eyes a certain catlike appearance. There was very little of
the white part of the eye showing. They had no lashes and no eyebrows. Their little
mouths never moved. Travis was ready for the fight of his life. Suddenly, inexplicably,
the aliens left the room through an open door. "I have to get out of here," he thought.
Looking through a curved hallway opening from the room, he saw no one in sight.
Frantically searching as he moved, he passed a doorway, and then thought; "Should I go
back, did I miss a chance to escape ?" Cautiously approaching the room, he looked in
and saw a circular room with a domed roof, and three rectangular doorways which were
shut. The room was empty except for one chair facing away from him. Could someone be
sitting in the chair, out of his view ? He circled the room, watching the chair, never
wanting to see one of those hideous creatures again. Finally convinced that the chair was
unoccupied, he began to move toward it. A strange thing began to happen ! The closer to
the center of the room he got, the darker the room became. Small points of light began
to appear on, or through, the wall of the room. He could see stars !
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UFO Sightings
Experimenting with strange looking controls on the
chair, he felt afraid that he might draw attention to
himself, so the got up, and left the chair. As he
walked to the edge of the room, the stars which were
once visible faded out, and the surfaces of the wall,
ceiling, and floor became visible. Approaching one of
the rectangular doors, he searched for some kind of
control to open it, but found none. Walking back to
the chair, Travis hears a faint sound, a door opens,
and standing before him is a human being ! This man
was over 6 ft tall, and muscularly built. Running up to
him, Travis starts asking questions. No sound came from the "man." The man took Travis
by the arm, leading him down a narrow hallway. Stopping in front of a door that
suddenly opened itself, they entered a small, bare room. Again Travis tried to get a
response from the man, but his efforts fell on deaf ears. Travis spent only a couple of
minutes in the small room, and then another doorway opened. From the opened
doorway, nice fresh air came in. Next Travis proceeded down a ramp to a floor. Looking
back he could see the craft that he had just exited. This craft was much larger than the
one he had seen in the woods. He estimated the diameter at about 60 feet. He had now
left the large craft, and entered a large room. Within this room he could see several other
smaller saucer-type crafts. Travis was now taken through a hallway to another set of
doors, which also automatically opened. Through this door he entered a totally white
room with a table and a chair. Travis' attention was immediately drawn to three other
humans in the room. This time there were two men and a woman. These three had
similar characteristics to the first human he had seen. All four of them had a family like
similarity. Travis again tried to initiate a conversation, but again to no avail. Travis asked
a couple of questions along the lines of; "Would somebody please tell me where I am ?"
"What in hell is going on ? What is this place ?" The woman and one of the men took
Travis by the arm and led him to a table. Travis became frightened wondering what they
were going to do. All three of the men gently pushed Travis back on the table.
The woman had an object that resembled an oxygen mask, yet no tubes were attached
to it, only a small black golfball sized sphere. Travis tried to push the mask away, but
suddenly felt weak, and next came nothing but blackness. One thought came to him
before consciousness left him; "What happens next ?"
Back in town, the investigation of the disappearance of Travis Walton was nothing short
of mass confusion. The town of Snowflake had been swamped by newspaper and
television reporters from all over the world. Everybody took a side. It seemed at the time
that opinions were equally split. One side thought; "This whole mess will be over as soon
as they find his body." The other side thought; "Where in the world is Travis hiding, and
when will he come back ?" Neither side had long to wait. The continuing search for Travis
turned up absolutely nothing except innuendo and theory. All speculation would be put to
the test, when 5 days after allegedly being hit with a beam from some sort of unusual
flying craft, Travis suddenly reappeared.
Travis stated; "Consciousness returned to me on the night I awoke to find myself on the
cold pavement west of Heber, Arizona. I was lying on my stomach, my head on my right
forearm. Cold air brought me instantly awake. I looked up in time to see a light turn off
on the bottom of a curved, gleaming hull. As I raised my
head up, a white light caught my eye just before it blinked
off. Either a light had been turned off or a hatch had
closed, cutting off the light from inside. I only caught a
glimpse as I raised my head; I could not be sure which it
was." Travis continued : "Then I saw the mirrored outline
of a rounded, silvery disc hovering four feet above the
paved surface of the road. It must have been about forty
feet in diameter because it extended several feet off the
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UFO Sightings
left side of the road. It was too large for the highway and it extended past the roadside
to my left to clear a cutaway rock embankment on the other side of the highway. It
appeared to be about fourteen feet high in the center". Travis continued; "For an instant
it floated silently above the road, a dozen yards away. I could see the night sky, the
surrounding trees, and the highway center line reflected in the curving mirror of its hull. I
noticed a faint warmth radiating onto my face. Then, abruptly, it shot vertically into the
sky, creating a strong breeze that stirred the nearby pine boughs and rustled the dry oak
leaves that lay in the dry grass beside the road. It gave off no light; and it was almost
instantly lost from sight. The most striking thing about its departure was its quietness. It
seemed impossible that something so large, moving through the atmosphere at such
speed, would not have shrieked through the air, or even broken the sound barrier with a
sonic boom. Yet it had been totally silent !" "I scrambled shakily to my feet. My legs felt
rubbery. I swayed, then caught my balance. I looked around and recognized the deserted
stretch of curving road as the highway that wound down the canyon into Heber from the
West. I ran wildly down the deserted highway, across the bridge into Heber, stopping at
the new building across from the Union 76 service station. No one answered my
desperate knocking. No cars passed by. I ran down the highway, over the second bridge,
to the row of telephone booths at the Exxon station. I dialed the operator (a dime was
not required to reach an operator in our part of the country) and panted
out the number of my sister. She was the only nearby relative with a telephone. My
brother-in-law Grant answered." "It was 12 :05 A.M. I was in an incredible mental state,
difficult to describe. As best I can remember, I shouted something like : 'They brought
me back !' Then I babbled, I'm out here in Heber, please get somebody to come and get
me ! My hand shook as I held the cold receiver. Grant was not amused. He took this call
to be another cruel joke. Uh, I think you have the wrong number, he replied
sarcastically, starting to hang up." "Wait ! It's me, Travis !" I screamed hysterically into
the receiver. "Where are you ?" he asked, still suspicious of a joke. "I'm at the Heber
Exxon station." "Okay," he replied, almost apologetically, yet still cautious of a prank.
"Stay right there. I'll come and get you. Just hang on."
Grant drove the three miles from Taylor over to Snowflake and found my brother Duane
at Mom's house. He told Duane about the call, and of his doubts it was really me. Duane,
too, thought the call might have been yet another example of someone's idiotic concept
of humor. But they decided they couldn't risk not investigating. They set out for Heber,
thirty-three miles away.
"Lights suddenly shone into the phone booth. Relief flooded over me when I raised my
head and saw the headlights of Duane's pickup. Duane and Grant got out and came to
where I was still slumped in the phone booth. Duane opened the glass door of the booth
and helped me to my feet. "Am I ever glad to see you !" Grant said. Duane helped me
into the warm truck and asked Grant to drive. On the way to Snowflake I tried to tell
them about what happened to me, but I just couldn't get it all out. "They were awful;
white skin; great big eyes... I sobbed in horror. Take it easy, Travis, you're all right now.
They didn't harm you, did they ? No... but those eyes, those horrible eyes ! They just
kept looking at me ! Just so you're okay, that's all that counts, Duane said. Everyone has
been worried sick about you. If it's already after midnight, I must have been unconscious
for a couple of hours, I replied shakily. Because I only remember about an hour or an
hour and a half inside that thing." Duane and Grant looked at me strangely. "Travis, feel
your face," Duane said. "Good heavens, I just shaved this morning and it feels like a
week's growth !" I exclaimed, still not comprehending. "Travis, Duane said gently, You've
been missing for five days !"
After Travis was found, the first consideration of family and friends was his health. Only a
few bruises and scrapes marred him physically. His mental condition ? That was a
different story. Travis' older brother Duane tried to protect him, and handle the
authorities, but was ill-equipped for what was to come. UFO research groups descended
on the family, local and state police were hungry for some answers. Profiteers,
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UFO Sightings
racketeers, freaks, debunkers, and skeptics all wanted a piece of Travis and his story.
Already angry at thinking they had been hoodwinked, they couldn't wait to say "I told
you so," "I knew it was a hoax," "They were all a bunch of loons." Was this another
fraudulent, stupid story of "little green men" ? The collusion of National Enquirer and
APRO would have an adverse effect on the case. Did they care whether or not the story
was real ? Or were they interested only in selling papers ? The research group APRO had
a reputation of being a fair and open-minded organization, but were not able to
investigate all UFO reports.They had to be choosy, and look into the most credible cases
only. Not especially overflowing with financial backing, they were put into the position of
having to rely on The National Enquirer bankrolling the investigation in exchange for the
exclusive rights to publishing it.
Rushing Travis to a lie-detector test was a mistake. Still in a state of mental confusion,
he was unsure exactly what had happened. He only recalled bits and pieces of
information at first, but in time his memory slowly returned. Travis' first lie-detector test
showed deception. Subsequently he would pass 12 others, one as late as 1993, some 18
years after the fact. It would seem incredibly strange that 5 witnesses of an event would
pass an examination, with 1 inconclusive, and the victim of the event itself fail. It should
be noted that all of the witnesses subsequently passed all lie-detector tests given them.
It was also reported that one of the crewmen was offered $10,000.00 to say the whole
case was fabricated. Though certainly tempted by the huge sum of money, he stuck to
his original assertion. The Dalis test was also tainted by the fact that he was allegedly
wanted for questioning relating to a crime, and also had some family problems
unresolved, like a fairly large sum of back child support. His name in the papers would
most assuredly alert searching family members and authorities to his whereabouts.
In my own research for these articles, I have searched through literally hundreds of
reports, both pro and con. It is amazing that even some of the larger, more reputable
movie and book review sites (not naming names), don't even have some of the basic
facts of the case correct. I have seen different numbers of crewmen listed, anywhere
from 3-7, when the actual police report lists all 7 men (including Walton) with their
names, addresses, etc. This is only one area of misinformation. Taking into account all of
the information available at this time, there are some facts of the case which are
irrefutable;
1. Despite allegations of a hoax by many, NO ONE has brought forth any proof to
substantiate their claims.
2. Despite a massive search by approximately 50 volunteers aided by dogs and
helicopters, NO physical trace of Travis Walton was found during the 5 days of his
disappearance.
3. During the 25 years since the case began, not ONE person has brought forth any
information indicating where Travis was, or even alleged a possible sighting of him
during the five days.
4. Law enforcement officials, though claiming hoax all the while, never presented ANY
evidence to put a dent in one of the crewmen's statements, which remain the same
to this day.
5. From a theoretical standpoint, it is highly unlikely that 7 men, common everyday
working men, could put together an elaborate hoax, pass lie-detector tests, stand up
to questioning, and stick to the same incredible story for a quarter of a century,
without a break. The stress of the investigation caused personal problems among
the men, yet they still stuck to their stories.
6. Though Walton did receive money for his story, it was not until many years later
that he gained financially from it. Reviewing all the facts presented to date, it is also
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advisable to mention that it is easier to prove that something happened, than to
prove that it didn't. It is also very easy to simply yell "Hoax," without tenable proof.
However, in the shadow of all of the crewmen's statements to date, it is fair to say
that something very extraordinary and unusual did happen on November 5th, 1975
in the remote forests of Arizona. The Travis Walton Story, "Fire In The Sky," remains
one of the most intriguing reports of UFO abduction today.
"It was many years ago that I got out of a crew truck in the national forest and ran
toward a large glowing UFO hovering in the darkening Arizona sky. But when I made that
fateful choice to leave the truck, I was leaving behind more than just my six fellow
workmen. I was leaving behind forever all semblance of a normal life, running headlong
toward an experience so overwhelmingly mind-rending in it's effects, so devastating in its
aftermath, that my life would never - could never - be the same again." (Travis Walton)
THE CANARY ISLAND ALIEN SPHERE
One of the most bizarre reports of unusual phenomena occurred in 1976. in the Spanish
Canary Islands. Although the case features a most extraordinary description of aliens and
their craft, the occurrence is extremely reliable in that it includes multiple witness reports
which agreed in all aspects of the case. The phenomenon began on the night of June 22,
1976, as residents of Tenerife, La Palma, and La Gomera began reporting the sighting of
unusual lights in the sky. These lights and their maneuvers were different from anything
residents of the area had seen before. Newspaper headlines the next morning proclaimed
that "thousands of people" had witnessed a "spectacular phenomena" which lasted
"twenty minutes." The most sensational aspect was the sighting of the aforementioned
"sphere" occupied by strange alien beings.
Three days later, the Commanding General of the Canary
Island Air Zone named an "Investigative Adjutant" to
make sense of the events. His findings were forwarded by
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a Spanish Air Force General to journalist J. J. Benitez in 1976, and the details of the case
quickly reached beyond the scope of the Islands to the outside world. Benitez's
investigation would be the basis of his book, "UFOs : Official Documents of the Spanish
Government." The case would regain momentum in 1994, when files of the investigation
were released as part of the unveiling of Spanish records, a type of "Freedom of
Information" act. The 1976 report was massive, containing over one hundred pages of
testimony, evaluations, drawings, and more. The official Air Force report of the incident
was headlined by depositions of fourteen witnesses. A type of standard was established
with witness reliability based on social status. A doctor's report was considered a high
priority, whereas a common laborer's report was given little, if any, weight. In this
particular case, this unfair standard did not take away from the acceptance of the facts,
since all involved were in full agreement as to what they saw. The report was very
detailed, and presented chronologically. The initial report of the Canary Island UFO came
from the Navy's armed escort ship, the "Atrevida." The ship was located off the coast of
Fuerteventura Island. The ship's captain gave a detailed report of what he and his crew
observed at 9:27 P.M. on June 22. The entire crew saw an extremely bright yellow-blue
light moving from the shore in the direction of the ship, located three and a half miles at
sea. Several of the crewmen at first thought they were seeing a conventional aircraft
with its landing lights on. The lights soon faded, and a type of beam began to rotate,
similar to a lighthouse effect. Afterwards, an intense halo of yellow and blue could be
seen from the fantastic craft. Amazingly, the crew watched the craft for a full forty
minutes. The craft seemed to be playing tricks with its lights, as they constantly changed
from one form to another. Even though the light show was observed for a long period of
time, no signature was evident on the ship's radar of any flying craft.
Actual transcript-Captain of Atrevida.
•
"At 21:27 (Z) hrs. on 22 June, we saw an intense yellowish-bluish light moving out
from the shore towards our position. At first we thought it was an aircraft with its
landing lights on. Then, when the light had attained a certain elevation (15-18
degrees), it became stationary. The original light went out and a luminous beam
from it began to rotate. It remained like this for approximately two minutes. Then an
intense great halo of yellowish and bluish light developed, and remained in the same
position for 40 minutes, even though the original phenomenon was no longer visible.
"Two minutes after the great halo, the light split into two parts, the smaller part
being beneath, in the center of the luminous halo, where a blue cloud appeared and
the part from which the bluish nucleus had come, vanished. The upper part began to
climb in a spiral, rapid and irregular, and finally vanished. None of these movements
affected the initial circular halo in any way, which remained just the same the whole
time, its glow lighting up parts of the land and the ocean, from which we could
deduce that the phenomenon was not very far away from us, but was close."
Only a few minutes later, this same object was seen by residents of Canary Island
proper. The bulk of the sightings were by citizens of three villages; Galdar, Las Rosas,
and Agaete. A cross section of professions were involved; medical doctor, schoolteacher,
farmer, taxi driver, and housewife, among others.
Acutal photo of unknown object filmed by tourist
A thorough search of records by the Investigator
Adjutant determined that there were no reports of
"aerial traffic or military exercises at the time of the
reports" that could possibly account for the sightings
of the unknown object . The Adjutant, for the sake of
clarity, divided the investigation into two different
categories. One was the larger craft observed by ship
crewmen and others, and the second the smaller globe
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with the aliens aboard. By his own admission, and consistent with human nature, the
Adjutant had no problem believing the reports of the larger craft, but had reservations
accepting the orb since occupants were observed which were not consistent with human
beings. The Investigator General's last word on the subject was : "The fact that a very
strange and peculiar aerial phenomena occurred on the night of 22 June is a true and
proven fact, as incredible as its behavior and conditions may seem."
The incredible account of the sphere was submitted by Doctor Francisco Padron Leon,
who lived in the city of Guia. His report is the most voluminous of the entire
investigation. His background was thoroughly investigated, and he was found to be an
upstanding, sane professional, whose word was considered truthful. Padron had been
summoned to make a house call, and commissioned a cab to take him to the location;
the town of Las Rosas. As they rode along, the doctor and cab driver were engaged in
light conversation. Suddenly, the car lights pointed out a slightly luminous object in the
shape of a sphere. The object was either landed, or hovering just above the ground.
The object was made of a totally transparent and crystalline-like material. The doctor and
driver both observed stars through the sphere. The object was bluish in color, with a
radius of about 100 feet. The lower part of the orb contained a platform of aluminum-like
material with three consoles. At each side of the center there were two huge figures from
eight to ten feet tall. They were dressed in red, and always faced each other.
The beings were humanoid in shape, with large heads covered with a type of helmet. The
doctor, hardly believing his own eyes, asked for confirmation from his cab driver. "Are
you seeing what I am ?" he asked. The driver exclaimed, "My God ! What is that ?"
The cab was only a short distance from the patient's house, and upon arriving, the doctor
observed a type of bluish smoke coming from a tube rising through the center of the
object.
The doctor stated :
•
"We were talking about hunting... as we entered the last part of the road, the car
lights pointed at a slightly luminous sphere that was stationary and very close to the
ground, although I can't say for sure if it was touching it; it was made of a totally
transparent and crystalline-like material, since it was possible to see through it the
stars in the sky; it had an electric blue color but tenuous, without dazzling; it had a
radius of about 30 m. [100 ft.], and in the lower third of the sphere you could see a
platform of aluminum-like color as if made of metal, and three large consoles. At
each side of the center there were two huge figures of 2.50 to 3 m. [8.5 to 10 ft.]
tall, but no taller than 3 m. [10 ft.], dressed entirely in red and facing each other in
such a way that I always saw their profile." "Then I observed that some kind of
bluish smoke was coming out from a semi-transparent central tube in the sphere,
covering the periphery of the sphere's interior without leaking outside at any
moment. Then the sphere began to grow and grow until it became huge like a
20-story house, but the platform and the crew remained the same size; it rose
slowly and majestically and it seems I heard a very tenuous whistling."
The sphere grew to an enormous size as it began to ascend into the sky. The doctor ran
into the house, and told the family about what he had seen. Running outside, they
observed the orb, which was now extremely high in the sky. It reached an enormous
speed, accelerating toward Tenerfie. Finally it dissolved into a smaller size, and
disappeared. Another witness, a lady who was a relative of the patient, was watching
television when suddenly the screen went blank, and her dogs began to bark outside.
Running to a window, she saw the doctor's cab, and the blue sphere above it. She also
noted that the sphere was transparent, with two beings inside. Shocked, she closed the
windows and doors, and began to pray.
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There were several other sightings of a similar nature throughout the year of 1976 on the
Island. The final "official" report was ambiguous at best. The observance of the craft by
all who saw it was accepted as genuine, although no "earthly" explanation was offered
for its unique look and behavior. On the other hand, although the witnesses of the
smaller orb with aliens were classified as totally reliable, the actual presence of the
beings was questioned. In other words, the witnesses were telling the truth, but what
they saw was too far fetched to believe. No other explanation was forthcoming on an
official level, and the Canary Island phenomenon remains today as an authentic, well
documented sighting of an unidentified flying craft with occupants.
BRAZILIAN ISLAND OF COLARES
In 1977. the Brazilian island of Colares was visited by flying objects of an unknown
nature. Nearly all kinds of UFOs were seen, some big, some small, saucer shaped, cigar
shaped, luminous or not, They arrived from the North every day, from the sky and also
sometimes from underwater, and it lasted for months. Regularly, some Island's
inhabitants were targeted by the objects, sending strange rays to them, and many were
badly hurt. The Army intervenes, the press follows. 35 people were hurt by the strange
rays, and all the civilian finally left the island. The events mainly concentrated on the city
of Colares, about 2000 inhabitants, on Colares Island, which
is in the region of Pará, the delta of the Amazon river on the
north-eastern coast of Brazil. But the whole region was
visited by the same phenomenon. Beginning in August of
1977, in the island of Colares, strange phenomenon begun
to occur, that the Brazilian call Chupa-chupa. Strange
luminous objects appeared over the few towns of the
region. These objects were often projecting thin rays,
seemingly of light, directed at the people. The touched
people fainted and woke up with a strange anemia.
They witnessed that they felt as if some of their blood was
removed by the strange rays. The fisherman Manoel João de Oliveira Filho, aged 44,
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married and residing at No. 64 rua Carneiro de Mendonça, was strolling towards the
beach early one morning with some companions, to spend a day at sea fishing. Before
they had got to their boats, they saw - above the Rio Novo beach - an object shaped
"like an umbrella" stationary at about 4m from the ground. From its under-part came a
vivid white light. No sound was detectable from it at where they were standing.
The object then moved away equally silently towards Machadinho, switching off the light
as it went.
A carpenter named João Dias Costa (aged 44) and a fisherman, João da Cruz Silva (aged
54), both of Colares town, saw the notorious "luminous spheres" so greatly feared on
account of their "low skimming swoops". Another man from Colares town, Sr. Zacarias
dos Santos Barata (74) saw the glowing balls on two nights. The first time, the object
came from the direction of the Bay of Marajó, and rapidly vanished towards the interior
of Colares Island. On the second night another ball, blue in color, flew over the local
football pitch. "It lit up all the trees around the field and then vanished towards the town
centre", said Sr. Zacarias. Sr. Sebastião Vernek "Zizi" Miranda described his experience
as follows :
•
"I was there with my wife, Palmira, in front of the church on the sea-front, when at
about 8.00pm, we saw an intensely vivid "orangish" light coming in from the sea
towards the town. As it approached, it climbed, and then, moving rapidly, vanished
towards the inner part of the Island."
The barber Carlos Cardoso de Paula (aged 49), living at Travessa Deodoro da Fonseca
No. 231, had a still closer encounter with the "lights", as he himself relates :
•
"Everybody else was asleep. I was just still having my last smoke when suddenly a
ball of fire entered our house up near the ridgepole of the gable. It started shooting
round and round the room and then finally came right close to my hammock. It ran
up my right leg as far as the knee (without touching my skin). I watched with much
curiosity as it then moved across to the other leg. Then I started to feel feeble and
sleepy. My cigarette fell from my hand and I came to and let out a yell. The fireball
quickly vanished and everybody woke up. I think it had been searching for a vein in
my body but didn’t manage to do so. As its brightness grew I felt a sort of heat
coming from it."
Worker Raimundo Costa Leite, very well known in the town of Colares for his skill in
making and repairing fishing-nets, described his own experience :
•
"At about 4.00 in the early morning, I went with my pal "Baixinho" (Orivaldo
Malaquias Pinheiro) to fish off the beach at Cajueiro. As I recall it, "Baixinho"
shouted "Look ! There it is !" and took to his heels, leaving me alone on the beach.
The craft was of the size and shape of a helicopter, made no noise, and was flying
very high. I could have taken a pot-shot at it if I had had a gun with me. I was
terrified when the machine shone a sort of searchlight down on the beach. That light
was sweeping the ground, illuminating everything ! It was a bluish light (sort of ‘cold
light’). It made it easier for me to see this because the craft had several small
reddish lights beneath its front part.. The craft seemed to be seeking something on
the ground. I was scared that it would touch me and, despite my poor physical
condition I managed to run quite a distance, and then "Baixinho" returned and
helped me. The object had come from the direction of the sea and it headed off into
the inner part of the Island."
Actually, so many more people reported being attacked by beams of light from small
UFOs in this area that only few of them are mentionned here.
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On October 20, three women were hit in the breast by the beams of light : "All three
were overcome by tremendous nervous tension and an unknown sort of lassitude "as
though they were receiving constant electric shocks" wrote a newspaper.
On the evening of October 29, Benedito Campos and his seventeen year old wife Silvia
Mara were at home when "they spotted an oval, silvery object emitting a greenish beam
like a searchlight towards the room where they were lying. Filled with curiosity, they
approached a small window and, as they did so, the beam shot in through and made
straight for Silvia, throwing her into a sort of benumbed trance-like state." Silvia, who
was pregnant at the time, then fainted whereupon two entities apparently entered the
house carrying something resembling a golden torch and "once again the beam struck
Silvia, this time hitting her in the left arm at the level of the wrist. Her veins seemed to
'rise up out of the body' so swollen were they by the beam striking them." Later, while at
a neighbour's house, Benedito was also briefly paralyzed by a light beam. Fearing a
miscarriage, husband and wife were taken at night by boat to the Mosqueiro Medical
Clinic, followed all the way by the UFO, which made no further attempt to harm them.
They remained there for three days where the wife recovered, but Benedito "was in a
state of severe depression for some days, his motor functions disturbed and, as his
mother reports, weeping frequently."
The UFO activity over Colares Island was so intense that the people began to think the
"Chupa-chupas" were trying to make some sort of contact with them. Such was the view
expressed by Sr. Raimundo Ferreira "Mimi" Monteiro. He still believes the craft were
coming up out of the sea or out of some under-water base located in the Bay of Marajó,
maybe in the region of the Caldeirão. Alfredo Bastos Filho, a former town mayor,
confirmed this and said : "Yes, indeed I can tell you, there wasn’t a moment of peace.
The populace were terrified by that "Chupa-chupa" affair. I even managed to see one of
the injured victims myself - Dona Mirota, a lady who was receiving medical treatment at
the Health Clinic."
The locals became so frightened that many of the women and children left town. The
men that remained lit bonfires to mount guard at night, letting off fireworks and banging
tins whenever they saw the Chupa-chupas approaching. Other locked in their homes for
fear of the phenomenon. It was mentioned later that the more din people made and the
more bonfires and fireworks, the closer the craft came. By November, 1977. doctor
Wellaide Cecim Carvalho,the physician in charge of the health unit on Colares Island,
took care of to some 35 people claiming to have been touched by the strange light.
She took blood samples, and concluded that the victims suffered from generalized
hypertermia, superficial chronic headache, burnings, intense heat, nauseas, tremors in
the body, giddiness, asthenia and presented very small orifices in the skin where they
were hit by the rays.
She wrote : "All of them had suffered lesions to the face or the
thoracic area." The lesions, looking like radiation injuries,
"began with intense reddening of the skin in the affected area.
Later the hair would fall out and the skin would turn black.
There was no pain, only a slight warmth. One also noticed
small puncture marks in the skin. The victims were men and
women of varying ages, without any pattern." In describing
their experiences with these light beams, most victims claimed
that "They were immediately immobilised, as if a heavy weight
pushed against their chest. The beam was about [seven or
eight centimetres] in diameter and white in color. It never
hunted for them but hit them suddenly. When they tried to
scream no sound would come out, but their eyes remained open. The beam felt hot,
"almost as hot as a cigarette burn," barely tolerable. After a few minutes the column of
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UFO Sightings
light would slowly retract and disappear." Most symptoms usually disappeared after
seven days.
At Agulhas Fincadas, Mrs. Maria Lopes, inhabitant of Vila Gorete, to the margins of Rio
Tapajós, in the neighborhoods of Santarém (Pará), tells her case involving " strange
devices " that absorb energy human being, known as Chupa-Chupa. "I saw an object to
settle quiet in the bushes here close... It they had left two men and a woman, who had
started to move with two fishing ", counts Maria. Other people gifts in the place had been
paralyzed when observing the scene. " When amanhecer, the men were died in identical
circumstances. In the heart of each one they had been fincadas sets of ten of needles ".
Many had hurt themselves when trying to escape one of the strange objects. In many
cases, the marks left by the rays on the victims skin were marks that could have up to
eight small holes. In these occurrences, the Chupa-Chupa term was proven right as
many of them had lost up to approximately 300 ml of blood, from these wounds.
This was the case of Claudomira, resident in the Island of Colares. She claims that her
family already did not sleep right with fear of the devices. "In one of these days, after
midnight, I woke up because of a strong flash, a sort of
focussed bright green light ray that came down from the top
roof to my left chest. I tried to shout, but my voice did not
function. I felt an esquisite heat... Later, that beam of light
diminished and I saw that I was burnt". Claudomira told that
she sighted a strange object, much similar to an umbrella, from
which a being of clear skin, oriental eyes and great ears.
According to her, the creature was dressed in tight green
clothes and had a sort of pistol in the hand, which emitted the
luminous beam. At this moment, Claudomira felt perforated as by needles on her breast.
"After this, I felt migraine and a great weakness, that left me collapsed for several days."
In the next day to the event, she had been directed to the Sanitary Unit of the town,
where she was taken care of by Doctor Wellaide Cecim Carvalho, who sent her to the
Medical Institute Renato Chaves, in Belém, for backup examinations. Her ill-being and
the constant migraines lasted many days, followed by fatigue and weakness. Years later,
Claudomira still did not feel cured. "My health never came back to be the same since that
night." She is not the only one to have passed for such situation. Some estimate that
thousands of people, also men, had suffered the attacks of the Chupa-Chupa in the years
between 1970. and 1980. and they still occur today, though less frequently.
"Emotional and physical sequels are very common in these cases," affirmed Dr. Wellaide
Cecim Carvalho, who took care of Claudomira. Although she was skeptical and she
believed that the occurrences of Chupa-Chupa were popular belief or some witchcraft, Dr.
Wellaide ended up convinced of the veracity of the cases when she was confronted with
their increasing frequency. "With the increase of hurt people, I started to give more
attention each time in the existing injuries. I saw things that do not exist in my medical
books," she said. According to her, the victims of Chupa-Chupa presented strangest
burnings, not as those provoked by fire or hot water, as she thought herself, but very
similar to ones produced by cobalt irradiation. "The injuries varied in extension. First it
started with an intense reddishness in the hit area, known as hiperemia. Later, the skin
of the affected region started to fall (alopecia) and days later the skin peeled off." In this
period of developpment, said Wellaide, it was possible to note holes, similar to
perforations by needles. One of the most interesting cases she took care of happened
with a lady who had cardiac problems. She arrived at the doctor's office very nervous
and immediately she showed her left breast, in which were two strange holes.
She complained of giddiness, shortness of breath and weakness, characteristic symptoms
already known by people hit by the phenomenon. The doctor tried to calm her and she
returned to her home. But at about 03:00 pm, however, Dr. Wellaide was called to urge
to the residence of the woman, who had become very sick. Her whole body was still and
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UFO Sightings
she gaped for air but she did not have fever and did not vomit. Seeing the seriousness of
the situation, the doctor took her to a hospital in Belém. Hours later, she received the
medical papers and the certificate of death forwarded by the Medical Institute Legal
Renato Chaves, which stated a heart stroke as cause of the death. The intriguing fact is
that at no time, doctors in Belém had mentioned something about the injuries on her
body and did not even say if they had effected backing examinations.
Regarding the possible effects of the UFOs on the supply of electricity, Sr. Geraldo
Aranha de Oliveira (aged 37) of the C.E.I.P.A. (Pará Electricity Plant) explained :
•
"In 1977. the
supplying light
UFO over the
conductor rods
C.E.I.P.A. sub-station consisted of three Scania 125 kw, engines
to the city from 6pm till midnight. I don’t recall having ever seen a
plant. I merely remember that, at that period, lots of lightning
were burnt out and, at times, some fuses too."
COMAR (Comando Aéreo Regional, the Regional Air Command of the Brazilian Air
Forces), arrived in Belém, and made a series of research in the region, under the project
name "Operation Plate." Captain Uyrangê Bolivar Soares Nogueira de Hollanda Lima,
head of information office, directed all the operations in the region. During the
investigations, the Air Forces obtained four films and hundreds of photographs of flying
disks in the basin of Marajó. They also were a great help to the population, providing
psychologists assistance, to eliminate the panic that sized the entire region.
The beams of light from the craft were described as being so bright that they resembled
those used to illuminate night sporting events. They were "always sharply defined,
directed with perfect precision towards any target – houses, people, boats, trees, even
the Brazilian Air Force's helicopters deployed over the island during the investigations.
On one occasion one of these powerful beams is reported to have obliged one of the
helicopters to land, although the exact technical reason is not given. (Giese, 1996)
According to a statement by Sr. Sebastião V. Miranda, former resident of Colares, "the
Brazilian Air Force spent more than 35 days in the town, and installed various devices
near the Bacurí beach.
Sra. Alba Câmara Vilhena, a married lady living at 683 rua 15 de Novembro, added : "At
the time of the "Chupa-chupa" everybody was scared to sleep at night, and so almost
every night we went away to be with relatives. On one occasion some people saw one of
the craft. It was round, and all luminous. Just at that moment a helicopter of the F.A.B.
(Brazilian Air Force) was flying quite near to our house. Then we saw the UFO direct a
very powerful beam on to the helicopter, obliging it to land on the São Pedro Airfield.
That happened at about 8.00 pm one evening."
Professor Raimundo Sebastião Aranha said : "At that period I was closely connected
with some of the Air Force's enquiries. They were seeking more information about the
"Chupa-chupa."
He said the Air Force had with them masses of equipment : cars, helicopters, radio
transmitters, cameras, powerful glasses, etc., etc., He recalls that, in addition to the rank
and file Air Force recruits, there was a whole group of officers and he had the impression
that there was a foreigner among them. The helicopters that appeared from time to time,
bringing materials and personnel, attempted to chase the UFOs but without much
success. Indeed, on the contrary, it was the UFOs that chased them !"
One night several months later, on May 24 1978, a journalist and photographer, who had
been sent to cover the local UFO encounters, were in their car when despite the heavy
rain they were woken up "by a powerful beam of light which – however unbelievable it
may seem – passed through the metallic structure of the roof of the vehicle." Not
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UFO Sightings
surprisingly they leapt out of the car to see that "a tube-shaped light beam, about
[twenty-five centimetres] in diameter, was coming down from above onto the roof of the
car and passing through the metal panelling." On this and other occasions they managed
to take numerous photographs which they claim that their newspaper later sold to "a
North-American group".
On another night while trying to use flash equipment to photograph one of these craft
"the UFO emitted such a vivid beam of light that it smashed the windscreen" of their car.
(Giese, 1996)
Several newspaper started to write that the alleged UFOs were weather balloons, or
secrets satellites, although there was no possible reason to think that. Local authorities
were of course extremely angry because of such articles. Elói Santos, councilman of the
old Enclosure for bullfighting stated : "It is not possible to deny that Belém is, today, a
frightened city. We are not technician nor do we argue with the conclusion of the
authorities. But we did surprise them with declarations of the witnesses who saw light
crossing their roofs to penetrate in their skin, removing a little of blood and leaving
visible marks of needles and burnings on their epidermis."
During the "Chupa-chupa" Wave many new "sighting zones" emerged, such as Pinheiro
and São Bento in the State of Maranhão, and Viseu and Bragança in the State of Pará.
Some areas indeed reached such a 'level of saturation' that rarely a single night passed
without UFO sightings. One of these "ufological epicentres" was over the bay called the
Baía do Sol (Bay of the Sun) and had a direct effect upon the Island of Mosqueiro.
Mosqueiro is one of the most important of the islands, and it is the biggest, belonging to
the municipality of Belém. Public concern was immense, all the men banding together at
night to organize watches, with bonfires and fireworks, thinking these would deter the
craft. But nothing seemed to stop the UFOs, not even the Air Force’s film men and their
cameras - and even less the journalists from the Estado do Pará ! There were frequent
and regular sightings of mother-ships and probes and flying saucers, all performing
incredible manoeuvers over the Bay. A 61-year-old widow, Elisa da Silva, residing on rua
do Bacari, was one of the witnesses in that year (1977). One night, from her house, she
saw a flying saucer appear. Vivid white light came from small windows or apertures on it.
Seen from below, she said, it seemed quite dark and quite flat. It vanished towards the
South, in total silence. In the opinion of some of the members of the GUA (Amazonian
Ufological Group) based in Belém, there exists, or there did exist for a considerable time,
at some point beneath the Baía do Sol ("Bay of the Sun") a concealed base for
extraterrestrial probe craft. Such an idea would account for the constant appearances, in
recent years, of unidentified flying objects over the region.
•
In 1981, one woman who had been exposed to the UFOs beam in Colares died,
although it is no clear that her death was clearly related to the attack.
•
In 1986, not far from Colares, two persons on Crab Island were discovered "badly
decomposed by heat" amid numerous sightings of balls of fire in the sky; cause of
death "not known" in either case. Same area, different time : a "ball of fire"
seriously burned three men out cutting wood on Crab Island; one of the
woodchoppers died. One of the two survivors, Edmundo, had a gaping electrical-type
burn injury on the side of his chest, an almost perfect replica of the chest burn
suffered by Jack Angel in Georgia in 1974.
•
In 1993, again in Colares, a 32-year-old missionary and a 40-year-old domestic
worker died, a month apart, as a result of close encounters with UFO; according to
ufologist Pratt, these women were "both burned on the throat and the chest, as were
most of the other people the doctor treated."
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UFO Sightings
Said Pratt : "I know of about ten deaths that have some connection with UFO close
encounters."
According to the USAF, there is not one proof of the reality of UFOs, and there are
no evidence that they can be a danger. According to the skeptics... According to the
skeptics ? To tell the truth, skeptics never express anything in such cases. And the larger
public does simply not know about such cases.
ALIEN BEING SHOT DEATH BY MPs
During the early morning hours of January 18, 1978, UFOs were sighted flying over Fort
Dix and McGuire AFB, adjacent military bases. Shortly afterward, an Air Force security
patrol was ordered to the back gate of McGuire AFB to allow entry to New Jersey State
Police who were searching for something. One of the airmen on duty was Sgt. Jeff Morse
(pseudonym). The state trooper told Morse that a Fort Dix MP was pursuing a low-flying
object that had hovered over his car; then a small being with large head and slender
body appeared in front of his car. The MP had panicked and shot the alien several times
with a .45 automatic. The being had fled over the fence between the two bases, before
falling and dying on the deserted runway.
Morse and his colleagues found the body lying on the runway. As they followed routine
procedure and roped off the area of the "crime scene," other "blue beret" forces
unfamiliar to Morse and his companion took over. Morse was relegated to a back-up role,
but could see from a slight distance what was happening. Later that day a team from
Wright-Patterson AFB arrived in a C-141 cargo aircraft, crated up the body, loaded it on
board, and took off. Morse and his companion were warned not to talk about the incident
or they would be court-martialled. Two days later Morse and other participants were
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UFO Sightings
taken to Wright- Patterson AFB, OH, where they underwent intimidating interrogation
and were again warned not to talk about the incident. (Morse supplied the names of the
interrogation team taken from their name badges, and their identities have been
verified.) Morse reported; "[They] told me about my duty to keep my mouth shut....
I signed a form and it is supposed to bind me for life." Shortly after returning to McGuire
AFB, Morse was debriefed by his commanding officer, a lieutenant colonel (name also
known), and heard no more about the incident. Shortly thereafter each of the airmen
who had been involved was transferred to a separate overseas base. Morse was shipped
to Okinawa.
The author has met with Morse face-to-face several times, talked with him on the
telephone numerous times, and considers him completely credible. He has cooperated
fully, answering all questions to the best of his ability and agreeing to meet and talk with
various colleagues. He has given a formal deposition on the incident in the presence of
several witnesses, and was subjected to questioning on specific details. As a direct
consequence of innocently being in the wrong place at the wrong time, Morse has been
harassed and threatened, and his reputation defamed to the point that he had difficulty
finding employment in the law enforcement field. Another witness of this extraordinary
event was George Filer (Major, USA, Ret.), who was stationed at McGuire AFB in 1978.
Serving as an intelligence officer; one of his duties was to brief the commanding general.
He was not on duty at the time of the incident, but the next morning he heard talk about
the "alien body" and saw a lot of unusual activity He is prepared to testify on what he
knows firsthand and what he has learned since about the incident.
FILERS STATEMENT
This section compiled by ABC NEWS Katelynn Raymer in Washington
and David Ruppe in New York. Former Air Force Maj. George Filer III
told reporters that when he was at McGuire Air Force Base in New
Jersey, an alien craft came down, and an alien got out and was shot
by a military policeman. "Our security police went out there and
found him at the end of the runway dead," Filer said. "They asked
me to brief the general staff," he said, but was later told not to. He
said he would tell the story in front of Congress. Filer is not new to
UFO sightings. He has his own Web site called Filer's Files, where he
says he also chased an alien ship over England when flying for the U.S. Air Force.
"I personally have observed a UFO both visually and on radar. I've been chasing them
ever since," he writes.
MORE INFORMATION
The additional information that follows is taken from the MUFON Symposium
Proceedings, "THE FATAL ENCOUNTER AT FT. DIX-McGUIRE : A CASE STUDY; Status
Report IV." Copyright ® 1985 by Leonard H. Springfield.
Additional details about the case came by phone conversation and letter exchange
between Springfield and Morse based on specific questions by Springfield.
Description of the Humanoid :
At varying times during his patrol duty, Morse was within 40 to 70 feet from the
prostrate body on the abandoned runway #5. Never close enough to observe details such
as facial features, or its hands and feet, he did recall that, under the glare of truck
headlights, the skin of the unclad, hairless body was wet, shiny, and snake-like.
As reported in his initial letter, the entity was about 4 feet in height with large head,
slender torso, thin arms and legs, and overall, of grayish-brown coloration.
Unquestionably not human, it was however of humanoid stature, fitting the anatomical
description so often heard from military sources who have made claim to having seen
entities at crash sites and as defined, coincidentally, by a medical source who allegedly
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UFO Sightings
performed an autopsy on a specimen in the early 1950's. Always pressing for more
detail, I once proffered the notion that the McGuire corpse could have been that of a wild
animal, a deer perhaps or an escaped ape from a military experimentation lab, or a zoo.
To this Morse replied, "No zoo nearby. We did have a problem with deer on the runway,
but no one ever made such a big fuss over a deer." The only other anomaly that Morse
attributed to the presence of the body was the strong smell of ammonia in the cold night
air, and, I note here that the same odor has been present at other crash sites.
THE RETRIEVAL OPERATION
It was maximum security, said Morse who, alone, in his patrol car, received word by
radio that a state of alert was in effect at McGuire as a result of the shooting incident.
He was ordered to Gate #5 to answer the request of a state police officer who had been
"running code" with the MP during his encounter at Ft. Dix and wanted admission to the
airbase. Morse was ordered to "comply," but when the trooper wanted to get closer to
the runway he was not allowed to do so, and he was angry. On orders by radio, Morse
was told that all personnel - including he and other members of his security police unit
were restricted from entry into the roped-off zone. Taking command was a new and
unfamiliar team of Blue Berets that suddenly descended onto the scene, just moments
after the runway had been cordoned off. With speed and efficiency "they took over" he
said, "and when asked who they were we were told nothing and ordered to stay outside
the ropes." Perplexed by this covert action, he noted that all of them were staff sergeants
and up, wearing fatigues without patches or insignia. And for headgear, he said, "they
wore blue berets just like mine."
In one letter Morse vaguely speculated they were "undercover cops" and, by phone, he
said he felt certain "they" were stationed somewhere at McGuire to account for their
quick deployment to the runway. In support of this, when asked if helicopters were seen
or heard overhead or landed on or near the scene, his reply was negative. This, it seems,
would rule out any notion that they had been transported from an outside base. It also
strengthened his belief, and mine, that a UFO had not crashed or been disabled nearby
requiring close tactical air support. But, what of a landed craft, perhaps one that
touch-landed earlier at Ft. Dix ? Could it have deployed one or more of its kind to
perform a duty, forever unknown, at one or both of the adjoining military installations ?
The book, "Clear Intent" by Lawrence Fawcett & Barry Greenwood (Prentice-Hall, 1984)
relates many reports of UFO surveillance over airbases in 1975-76 and I know of many
more hidden under the lid of secrecy. At McGuire, once the sensitive area had been roped
off and ECP (Entry Control Point) established, a generator unit was brought in for better
lighting. At least a dozen men, said Morse, armed with M-l6's were assigned to guard at
the ropes and no one was allowed to enter except the base commander, the security
police squadron commander, 1st Lt. WS of the security police squadron, and a base
photographer.
While on patrol, Morse watched the Blue Beret specialists spray the corpse from a
portable tank and cover it with a white sheet. Before daybreak the body was carefully
placed onto a platform and a wooden frame built around it. This was finally placed into a
large square silver metal container, about 10 x 10 feet with undistinguishable blue
markings. Before going off duty, Morse and others watched the silver box fork-lifted into
a C-141 which arrived about 7 a.m. from Wright-Patterson AFB (identified by special
markings) and, later, at a distance he said he watched the plane and its secret cargo
soar aloft into limbo, presumed destination, Dayton, Ohio. For Sgt. Morse and others of
the Blue Beret regulars at McGuire, it was far from over when the C-141, with corpse,
took off. Two days later he and three others he named were also on a C-141 on orders to
report to Wright-Patterson, the base of many sancta. The setting at Wright-Patterson
was like that of a court martial, a table and chairs in an unadorned room which Morse
describes as follows : "While there we were all together except for actual interrogations.
Mine had two men, one apparently a civilian with pipe and beard who never spoke.
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At one point there were three men. One played nice guy, one mean guy, and, of course,
the silent civilian. All they wanted to know was the nature of the incident, what I knew
and then told me about my duty to keep my mouth shut... I signed a form and it is
supposed to bind me for life."
Never once, as Morse recalls, did any of the interrogators offer information or an
explanation of the incident. Nor did anyone ever refer to the retrieved dead body or
suggest that it may have been of extraterrestrial origin. Said Morse, "they beat around
the bush, all references to it were indirect." The day after the interrogation, Morse
returned to McGuire, was debriefed by his Commanding Officer, Lt. Col. FM, and released
for normal duty. The incident, he said, was not discussed again by anyone as though it
never happened.
LATEST INFORMATION
This last section compiled by Springfield / Hall
The former Air Force security policeman who claims to have witnessed a UFO incident on
January 18, 1978, involving military police at McGuire AFB, New Jersey and adjacent Fort
Dix, and New Jersey State Police, recently visited the Washington, D.C., area from
overseas, where he is employed and met with the authors. The Fund for UFO Research
sponsored a mini-conference to bring Stringfield from Cincinnati, Ohio, and have
representatives of the Fund meet the witness to form their own impressions of his
credibility. The Fund-sponsored mini-conference took place on January 24, 1987, at a
large shopping mall in the Washington, D.C., area suburbs. In addition to the authors
and Morse, Dr. Bruce S. Maccabee (Chairman of the Fund) and William H. Hall
(electronics engineer and brother of Richard) were present. Dr. John B Carlson, Univ. of
Maryland astronomer and Fund Board Member, was to have been present, but a
postponement caused a schedule conflict and he was out of town on the date of the
conference. William Hall. a former technical consultant to the National Investigations
Committee an Aerial Phenomena (NICAP), substituted since he had a number of things in
common with Morse (including military police background and overseas duty stations)
and would be able to judge Morse's credibility as he talked about his activities. By prior
arrangement Morse remained incognito, using only his first name, but talked freely and
responded to questions by Maccabee and William Hall. (The authors know his full name,
employment status, past biography, etc.) During the questioning and review of the
alleged incident, Morse filled in details that were missing from his previous account, but
offered no startling new information. A number of questions were clarified, and some new
information (including claims that can be checked and proved or disproved) were offered.
However, the authors were again impressed by Morse's straight forwardness and lack of
embellishment.
The most significant new information related by Morse, briefly, was his claim that on a
trip to the United States to visit his family in October 1986 he had been "detained," while
in California, under obscure pretenses. Outraged, he filed a lawsuit against the California
based authority and notified Stringfleld by letter that he would return to the United
States in January 1987 for court appearances and, at that time would be willing to meet
him and Dick Hall and a couple other well-trusted friends to discuss the matter. But,
during Morse's layover in the States he could learn nothing about the cause or reason for
his detainment, nor the identity of the source who dictated the "pick up and hold" order.
His legal probes, for some inexplicable reason, had been stalled in a tangle of red tape.
Among other things discussed at the mini-conference was the entire question of alleged
harassment of UFO crash/retrieval witnesses, apparently in an attempt to intimidate
them into silence. If Morse's story is credible, he is potentially an important witness who
would tend to undermine the official cover-up. Unfortunately, this makes him vulnerable
to retaliation (which may account for his detainment) and inhibits his ability to lead a
normal life.
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Skepticism about crash/retrieval reports may be fully justified and entirely
understandable on the part of UFO "believers" and "disbelievers" alike unless they have
met Jeff Morse or one of his many counterparts face-to-face. Morse has now provided
many additional leads that we intend to check, and we will report our findings objectively
as new information is obtained. Meanwhile, the authenticity of the "Incident Report" form
Morse supplied to Stringfleld (reproduced in the MUFON 1985 UFO Symposium
Proceedings), obtained from a colleague still on active duty, has been disputed by the Air
Force Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI) on the grounds that the style and
terminology used "allegedly" does not follow proper Air Force style and is therefore
probably a hoax. One of the key statements made by AFOSI was that pay grades (E-2,
E-3...) were given instead of ranks (Corporal, Sergeant...) on the official form.
Aside from the fact that Morse has claimed all along that this was a rough draft "back
room" copy subject to review and revision, and that minor errors would be corrected by
responsible officials before the final report was filed, the AFOSI statement is inaccurate.
Pay grades, rather than ranks, are routinely filed in official Air Force reports. Participants
of the mini-conference discussed ways of obtaining additional confirmation of the
reported 1978 event, and various initiatives will be undertaken to do so. As a result of
the mini-conference, two additional persons (B. Maccabee and W. Hall) now have met
and talked with Morse and can confirm that he is not a "fairy tale" or a figment of the
imagination. They are also now in a position to help confirm or disconfirm his story.
THE NEW ZELAND UFO
In the late hours of 30th December, 1978, an Argosy freight plane left Wellington, New
Zealand - the pilot was Captain Bill Startup, a very experienced flyer and the co-pilot was
Bob Guard. The air crew were accompanied by an Australian T.V. unit from Channel 0-10
Network. The purpose of the flight was to try to capture a UFO on film - for some weeks
UFOs had been sighted over Cook Strait. When the aircraft was flying over the Pacific
Ocean, to the northeast of South Island, the pilots observed a strange object in the sky;
they endeavoured to verify their sighting with radar confirmation at Wellington air traffic
control. Quentin Fogarty, T.V. reporter, stated that he saw a row of five bright lights
which were pulsating and grew from the size of a pinpoint to that of a large balloon.
The whole sequence was then repeated, the lights now appearing over the town of
Kaikoura, between the aircraft and the ground.
Captain Bill Startup, and images taken during the flight
At this stage, David Crockett, cameraman,
was wearing the headphones and was
warned by Wellington control that an
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unknown object was following the Argosy - the pilot immediately turned the plane 360
degrees in order to ascertain what had been behind them. The people aboard the aircraft
saw nothing but yet once more Wellington control warned them: "Sierra Alpha Eagle, you
have a target in formation with you…… target has increased in size". At this, the crew
and passengers saw lights outside of the aircraft but were unable to film them because of
interference by the plane's navigation lights. When the navigation lights were turned off,
however, everyone aboard the aircraft saw a big, bright light which Crockett was able to
capture on his "hand-held" camera. In order to do this Crockett had to exchange seats
with Bob Guard, causing the resultant filming to suffer from the effects of camera shake.
However, he managed to obtain 30 seconds of decent footage.
Startup then turned the plane completely around once more and the object was not
visible but Wellington control maintained that its echo was still evident on radar. As the
Argosy approached Christchurch, the fuel gauge went haywire but apparently this was
not necessarily something unusual and they tuned in on the UFO off Banks Peninsular.
Wellington control now had the object on radar while the aircraft landed at Christchurch.
At 2:15 a.m. 31st December, the aircraft set off on a return flight and very quickly two
strange objects came into view. Crockett observed one of the objects through his camera
and described a spinning sphere with lateral lines around it and one of the objects
appeared on the aircraft's radar for four minutes. As the aircraft approached the end of
its flight, two pulsating lights were observed - one suddenly falling for about 1,000 feet
before eventually stopping in a series of jerky movements. The presence of this object
was confirmed by Wellington air traffic control. The resultant film taken during these two
flights was shown all over the world - the BBC giving it priority on the main evening news
programme. Despite the fact that the filmed events were also evident on ground based
radar, sceptics were driven to extreme and strange lengths to explain the filmed
evidence, including the lights from shrimp boats, top secret U.S. remote controlled
planes etc, etc, etc….. It should be noted that the Royal New Zealand Air Force was so
concerned about the event that Skyhawk jet fighters had been put on full alert in order
to intercept the UFOs. Following the broadcasting of the film by the B.B.C. and the
subsequent investigation, the Daily Telegraph (U.K. newspaper - noted for businesslike
and scientific observations) remarked : "The scientist who suggested that all (on the
aircraft) were seeing Venus on a particularly bright night can be safely consigned to
Bedlam (insane asylum) !!!
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SOVIET COSMONAUT SEES CLOSE-UP UFO
"It followed us during half of our orbit. We observed it on the light side, and when we
entered the shadow side, it disappeared completely. It was an engineered structure,
made from some type of metal, approximately 40 meters long with inner hulls. The
object was narrow here and wider here, and inside there were openings. Some places
had projections like small wings. The object stayed very close to us. We photographed it,
and our photos showed it to be 25 to 29 meters away." - Cosmonaut Victor Afanasyev
commenting on a UFO sighting that occurred while en route to the Solyut 6 space station
in April of 1979.
Cosmonaut Adanasyev made a drawing of the space ship he witnessed from aboard the Soviet orbital vessel.
(shown above)
Victor states, "I think we are not alone, something of extraterrestrial origin has visited
Earth." The alien craft turned toward ours, followed us and flew formation 25 to
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29 meters away. We photographed the metallic engineering structure that was around
40 meters long. The film was later confiscated.
THE TRANS-EN-PROVINCE, SOURCE LANDING
This image (from the excellent French journal Lumineres Dans La
Nuit ((LDLN)) shows the approximate appearance of the object
in the landing area (Monsieur Phillippe Planard created this
"croquis montage [ line drawing ] modeled after a photo of the
actual scene with the UFO drawn in.
The Trans-en-Provence UFO event was observed by
a single witness. Due to the French privacy laws,
the case was originally published with the witness
name replaced with the pseudonym Renato Collini;
however the witness name is by now well known to
the UFO community as Renato Nicolai. The witness
describes the event as follows :
Yesterday, January 8. 1981, I was busy around the house as I am practically every day.
I was behind the house, which is built over a restanque (raised level). I was building a
concrete shelter for a water pump. Behind my house on the same level is an expanse of
flat ground. It is reached through a path along the base of the house.
It was about 5PM. The weather was turning colder. My attention was attracted by a slight
noise, a sort of faint whistling. I turned around and saw a device in the air at the height
of a big pine tree at the edge of the property. This device, which was not spinning, was
coming lower toward the ground. I was only hearing a slight whistling sound. I was not
seeing any flames, either below or around this device.
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UFO Sightings
While it was continuing to come down, I went closer by walking towards the stone cabin
above my house.When I placed myself against the wall of the cabin, I could see very well
over the roof, since this cabin too is built over a raised level. I was on the higher level,
about 1.2 m from the roof. From that position, I clearly saw the device resting on the
ground. Right away it lifted off, still emitting a slight whistling sound. Reaching a point
above the trees, it left at high speed toward the forest of Trans, that is, towards the
northeast.
When the device lifted off, I saw four openings below, through which neither flame nor
smoke were escaping. The device kicked off a little dust when it left the ground. At that
instant, I was about 30 m away from the landing site. Later I went to the spot and
I noticed a circle about 2 m in in diameter. At certain places along the circumference of
the circle were traces like abrasions…
The device had the shape of two saucers, one inverted on top of the other. It must have
measured about 1.5 m in height. It was the color of lead. This device had a ridge all the
way around its circumference. Under the machine I saw two kinds of pieces as it was
lifting off. They could be reactors or feet. There were also two other circles which looked
like trapdoors. The two reactors, or feet, extended about 20 cm below the body of the
machine.
I have not felt any disturbance of the sense of vision or hearing.
Parts of the account obtained by a civilian investigator are also relevant :
There [the witness] discovers a sort of ovoid vehicle, with the general shape of two half
spheres of unequal volume, clearly separated by a flat ledge, extending at least 15 cm
and forming a ring around the metallic mass which has a… height of between 2 and
2.5 m… The machine lifts off, making a slight amount of dust and with a soft whistling.
Then itseems to tilt, exposing its underside, and it takes off at lightning speed, passing
exactly between the two tall trees, at the exact spot from which it had seemed to fall.
JAPANESE AIRLINE 1628, ENCOUNTERS UFO
November 17, 1986. Over Northeastern Alaska.
It was just a routine flight. Well, not exactly routine…. It was a special Japan Air Lines
747 cargo flight to carry a load of French wine from Paris to Tokyo. The flight plan would
carry flight 1628 from Paris to Reykjavik, Iceland, across the North Atlantic and
Greenland, then across Canada to Anchorage, Alaska, and finally across the Pacific to
Tokyo. The crew consisted of veteran Captain Kenju Terauchi, co-pilot Takanori Tamefuji,
and flight engineer Yoshio Tsukuba. On November 16, 1986, laden with wine, JAL1628
took off from Paris and flew the first leg of the trip, to Reykjavik. The next day, they
continued, flying over Greenland and then across northern Canada without event.
Just after they crossed into Alaska, at 5:09 PM local time, Anchorage Air Traffic Control
contacted them on the radio to report initial radar contact. The Anchorage flight
controller asked them to turn 15 degrees to the left and head for a point known as
Talkeetna on a heading of 215 degrees. They were at 35,000 feet and traveling at a
ground speed of about 600 mph. At about 5:11 PM local time, Captain Terauchi noticed
the lights of some sort of aircraft about 2000 feet below and 30 degrees to the left front
of them. He decided that the aircraft was probably an American jet fighter from nearby
Eielson or Elmendorf Air Force Bases patrolling Alaskan airspace, so he ignored them at
first. However, after a few minutes, he noticed that the lights were keeping pace with his
own aircraft, which would be an unusual thing for patrolling jets to do.
It was about seven or so minutes since we began paying attention to the lights (when),
most unexpectedly, two spaceships stopped in front of our face, shooting off lights.
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UFO Sightings
The inside cockpit shined brightly and I felt warm in the face. Terauchi said that it was
his impression that the two objects he had seen below them minutes before had
suddenly jumped in from of him. The craft, one above the other, kept pace with the 747
for several minutes, moving in unison with an odd rocking motion. After about seven
minutes, they changed to a side-by-side arrangement. Terauchi said that the "amber and
whitish" lights were like flames coming out of multiple rocket exhaust ports arranged in
two rectangular rows on the craft. He felt that they fired in a particular sequence to
stabilize the craft, much like the small maneuvering thrusters on the Space Shuttle.
He also reported seeing sparks like a fire when using gasoline or carbon fuel.
Co-pilot Tamefuji described the lights as "Christmas assorted" lights with a "salmon"
color. He said : I remember red or orange, and white landing light, just like a landing
light. And weak green, ah, blinking. He also described the lights as pulsating slowly. They
became stronger, became weaker., became stronger, became weaker, different from
strobe lights. The lights were "swinging" in unison as if there were "very good formation
flight…close" of two aircraft side by side. He described the appearance of the lights as
similar to seeing "night flight head-on traffic", where it is only possible to see the lights
on an approaching aircraft and "we can not see the total shape." He said, I’m sure I saw
something. It was clear enough to make me believe that there was an oncoming aircraft.
Flight engineer Tsukuba, who sat behind the copilot, did not have as good a view of the
lights. He first saw them "through the L1 window at the 11 o’clock position" and he saw
"clusters of lights undulating". These clusters were "made of two parts…shaped like
windows of an airplane". He emphasized that "the lights in front of us were different from
town lights." He described the colors as white or amber.
Tamefuji decided to call Anchorage Air Traffic Control, and for the next thirty minutes the
747 and AARTCC were in constant contact regarding the UFO. During this time, Captain
Terauchi asked Tskububa to hand him a camera so that he could attempt to take a
photograph of the lights. However, Terauchi was unfamiliar with the camera and could
not get it to operate. Tsukuba also could not get his camera to operate due to problems
with the auto-focus and finally gave up trying to take a photo. At this point they began
experiencing some radio interference and were asked by Anchorage to change
frequencies. Terauchi later said that Anchorage kept asking him about clouds in the
immediate area : They asked us several times if there were clouds near our altitude. We
saw thin and spotty clouds near the mountain below us, no clouds in mid-to-upper air,
and the air current was steady. Soon after the exchanges about clouds, the objects flew
off to the left. Terauchi said later : "There was a pale white flat light in the direction
where the ships flew away, moving in a line along with us, in the same direction and
same speed and at the same altitude as we were."
Terauchi decided to see whether they could see anything on the 747’s own radar :
•
"I thought it would be impossible to find anything on an aircraft radar if a large
ground radar did not show anything, but I judged the distance of the object visually
and it was not very far. I set the digital weather radar distance to 20 (nautical)
miles, radar angle to horizon (i.e., no depression angle). There it was on the screen.
A large green and round object had appeared at 7 or 8 miles (13 km to 15 km)
away, where the direction of the object was. We reported to Anchorage center that
our radar caught the object within 7 or 8 miles in the 10 o’clock position. We asked
them if they could catch it on ground radar but it did not seem they could catch it at
all " At 5:25:45, after spending two minutes looking, the military radar at Elmendorf
Regional Operational Control Center also picked up something. The ROCC radar
controller reported back to the AARTCC that he was getting some "surge primary
return."
By this he meant an occasional radar echo unaccompanied by a transponder signal.
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UFO Sightings
As the 747 neared Fairbanks :
•
"The lights (of the city) were extremely bright to eyes that were used to the dark.
(The cockpit lights had been turned off to eliminate window reflections of internal
lights.) We were just above the bright city lights and we checked the pale white light
behind us. Alas ! There was a silhouette of a gigantic spaceship. We must run away
quickly ! "Anchorage Center. The JAL1628 is requesting a change of course to right
45 degrees." It felt like a long time before we received permission Just after the
plane turned to the right, the AARTCC controller called the Fairbanks Approach Radar
controller to find out whether or not the short-range radar had a target near the JAL.
The approach radar reported no target other than JAL1628. "
The plane came out of the turn and flew toward Talkeetna at an altitude of 31,000 ft,
with the object still following. At about 5:40 a United Airlines passenger jet took off from
Anchorage and headed north to Fairbanks. The AARTCC controller decided to ask the UA
pilot to try to see the object that was following the JAL flight. The UA pilot said he would
look when he got closer. The controller asked the JAL flight to stay at 31,000 ft and the
UA flight to stay at 29,000 ft. He then directed the UA flight to turn some more so that
the planes would pass within five miles of one another.
As the United Airlines jet got closer, the UFO apparently dropped behind, allowing the JAL
plane to get far ahead. The United pilot asked the AARTCC to have the JAL pilot flash the
headlights on the JAL aircraft so he could locate the plane. At 5:49:45 the JAL pilot did
that. At this point the planes were about 25 miles apart. When the planes were about 12
miles apart, the UA plane reported seeing the JAL plane and nothing else. But by this
time the UFO had apparently disappeared, not being seen by JAL1628, either.
At about 5:51, the AARTCC requested that a military TOTEM flight in the area also fly
toward the JAL plane for a look. During the next several minutes TOTEM viewed the JAL
plane but couldn’t see any other traffic. JAL1628 proceeded to Anchorage and landed at
6:20 PM. The FAA conducted an investigation of the incident, and did not issue its final
report until March 5. CSICOP’s (Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of
the Paranormal)Phil Klass issued a premature statement on January 22 claiming that the
UFOs were the planets Jupiter and Mars – an impossible solution because the UFO was
seen in a part of the sky opposite the position of these planets and because the UFOs
moved from positions one above the other to side by side. CSICOP later issued a second
explanation that the UFO was light reflecting off of clouds of ice crystals – also unlikely
because the sky was clear at the reported altitude of the UFO. The FAA attributed the
radar images received by ground radar to a "split radar return from the JAL Boeing 747."
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HUGE UFO PASES OVER MAJOR HIGHWAY
Randy Etting, a resident of Newtown, Connecticut was taking a walk outside his home.
A commercial airline pilot with over 30 years experience, he always looked at the sky…
he saw a number of orange and red lights… approaching from the west… He… got his
binoculars and called his neighbors to come outside. The object by this time was a great
deal closer and seemed to be over I-84, just east of Etting’s home… the lights were
shimmering like distortion from engine heat, but he could hear no sound…
•
"As the UFO passed over I-84, cars in both the east and west bound lanes began
pulling over and stopping. The UFO displayed a semi-circular pattern of very bright
multicolored lights. Five motorists reported that, as the object became visible, a
number of cars lost power and had to pull off the highway.
A State Police officer [who wishes to remain anonymous] sent to investigate
photographed the object.
•
"… Dr. Bruce Maccabee… [analysed the photo]. His findings indicate the object was
huge, perhaps over a thousand feet across, and that the lights showed a definite
pattern. He also indicated the lights seemed to have been flashing very quickly in
some sort of sequence, giving the impression that some were out of focus while
others were sharp."
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Picture of large UFO
THE ALLAGASH ABDUCTION
The Allagash Waterway is a series of lakes and canals in the breathtaking mountains of
Maine. This lovely area would be the site of one of the most discussed and best
documented alien abduction cases on record. A dramatized version was featured on the
"Unsolved Mysteries" television show. The Allagash incident would involve multiple
witnesses, four to be exact, twin brothers Jack and Jim Weiner, along with their friends
Chuck Rak and Charlie Foltz. The four men had met while studying at the Massachusetts
College of Art, and they were all beginning their respective careers. The four artists
would turn into sportsmen for what they thought would be an enjoyable, relaxing trip.
Their trip to Allagash would be memorable, but not for the reasons they had hoped for.
It would be in August, 1976. that the four men began their vacation, and part way
through their canoeing, they reached Eagle Lake, padding to it's mouth to do some
fishing. Not having any luck, and running low on food, they decided to try some night
fishing. Before leaving the bank, they built an extremely large campfire to be a landmark
light from the water. After a time on the lake, the four suddenly saw a light.. a light that
seemed much brighter than a star. The glowing orb was hovering over the trees a couple
of hundred yards away. The object changed colors as it moved back and forth; red, then
green, then a whitish yellow. The massive object was estimated to be about 80 feet in
diameter. The object slowly moved across the tops of the trees along the bank, and as it
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came closer to the four fishermen, Charlie Foltz signaled an SOS with his flashlight.
Immediately, the object silently moved toward the canoe.
A guarded curiosity now turned into a frantic dash for the bank. As they paddled as fast
as they could, a hollow light came from the object, engulfing the men and their canoe.
The next thing the men knew, they were standing on the bank again. Charlie pointed his
flashlight toward the object again, but this time it rose up and out of their view, as it
showed it's beam once more before disappearing into the Allagash sky. Wondering what
had transpired, the men were shocked to see their once glowing fire to be nothing but
smoldering ashes. This should have taken several hours, and the four friends wondered,
"What happened to the last couple of hours ?"
Very little was said as the four men packed up their gear and went back to the everyday
grinds of their respective careers. In time the night of the UFO would begin to have a
profound effect on their lives. Jack Weiner was the first to start having nightmares.
In these dreams, he saw beings with long necks, and large heads. He saw the beings
examining his arm, while Jim, Chuck, and Charlie sat on a nearby bench, not able to
intervene. The beings had large metallic glowing eyes with no lids, and their hands were
insect-like, with four fingers. The other three men were experiencing very similar
dreams, with short, mental clips of that awful night on the lake. In 1988, out of curiosity,
Jim Weiner attended a UFO conference hosted by Raymond Fowler. Weiner met Fowler
afterwards, and related his strange encounter. The investigator was excited about Jim's
story, especially the fact that it was a multiple witness occurrence. Fowler suggested to
Jim that he and the others undergo regressive hypnosis. After the sessions, it was
revealed that all four of the men had been abducted, and subjected to humiliating
physical examinations, including the taking of skin and fluid samples.
The men's description of the aliens was consistent,
and being artists, they were able to make detailed
sketches of the entities, the craft, and the examining
instruments. Chuck Rak added that the aliens' test
area was similar to a vet's office, with a silvery
table. He also related a strange fact : he had much
difficulty in focusing on the aliens. When he tried, he
could not put an exact image to them. He compared
it to trying to tune in a fuzzy radio station. After the
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psychiatric examinations, all four of the men were deemed to be mentally stable, and
they all passed lie-detector tests. All of the information gleaned from the detailed
hypnotic sessions, and investigative reports provide strong evidence that something "not
of this world" was encountered by these four men on the Allagash Waterway in 1976.
This case is still considered unexplainable by conventional scientific means.
ALLAGASH THE EVENT, WRITTEN BY B. J. BOOTH
When you chat with Anthony Constantino, there's
always one inevitable question : "Do you believe
them ?" "Them" is a group of four friends who went
camping on the Allagash Waterway in northern Maine
in the summer of 1976. Maybe you saw them
recently on the Joan Rivers Show, where they
detailed an ordeal in which they claimed they had a
close encounter with a UFO. They are receiving
national attention with the release this summer of
"The Allagash Abductions" written by Raymond
Fowler of Wenham who is a director of investigations
for
the
Mutual
UFO
Network.
Those who are familiar with this case know that the full story, with all its mysterious and
harrowing details, wasn't revealed until Anthony Constantino of Beverly placed the four
men under hypnosis, and revealed events that had been pushed into their unconscious.
•
"It was the most intense experience I've had as a hypnotist," says Constantino.
The conscious part of the story begins on Thursday, August 26, 1976, when the four men
Chuck Rak, Charlie Foltz, and identical twins Jim and Jack Weiner, set up camp on Eagle
Lake in Maine, and decided to go fishing in the evening. They built a huge bonfire to act
as a beacon for their return to camp. Soon after they were out in their canoe, they saw
"a large bright sphere of colored light hovering motionless and soundless about 200 to
300 feet above the southeastern rim of the cove," according to Rak. Foltz blinked a
flashlight at the object. Maybe that was a bad idea. The UFO began to approach the
canoe, while a cone-shaped beam of light from the object struck the water and began
following the canoe. More inspired than any Olympic athletes, the four campers began
paddling for shore. But the beam engulfed them, and the next thing they remembered,
they were in the canoe, near the shore of the lake, watching the UFO ascend and
disappear. The bonfire was now nothing more than embers. Built with heavy logs, the fire
should have lasted hours. It was the first indication that more time had elapsed than
they could remember, but they had no conscious memory of what had happened.
It was years later before the four men explored that missing period of time. When Jim
Weiner suffered tempero-limbic epilepsy, his doctors asked him to report any unusual
experiences that might be symptomatic. Weiner described his UFO experience,
and various phenomena that had happened to him and his camping buddies since
then. His doctors suggested he contact a UFO researcher. Enter Anthony Constantino.
A professional hypnotist from Beverly, who also works as an English teacher at
Masconomet High School, Constantino had hypnotized Ray Fowler in 1988, helping him
to remember the details of Fowler's own alleged abduction in Danvers. Fowler was
leading the investigation of the Allagash abductions for the Mutual UFO Network, and he
wanted Constantino to hypnotize each of the four men separately. All four men were
willing to participate.
•
"It's natural," says Constantino. "They wanted to know if something had happened
to them, especially if it were something traumatic. They wanted to know for sure."
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In 1989, in the dark den of Constantino's Beverly home, each of the four men separately
recounted a tale of being beamed aboard the UFO that night on Eagle Lake. Under
hypnosis, they described the diffusely lit, sterile interior of the spacecraft, the spindly
fingered big-eyed bald-headed aliens that Whitley Strieber popularized with his
non-fiction book "Communion," and strange medical experiments conducted on each
man. Constantino says Fowler was cool and professional as he observed the 12 hours of
hypnosis sessions, but Constantino admits that at times he had difficulty repressing his
own astonishment.
•
"I'm the one who kept making faces at Ray, like, I can't believe this. I can't believe
what was done to these guys."
Which brings us back to The Question. Constantino conducted three-hour hypnosis
sessions with each of the four men. He heard their voices fill with fear as they explained
how medical instruments were inserted into their bodies, and how communication from
the aliens was telepathic. Constantino says he went into the session "with no
preconceived notions," nothing more than a healthy curiosity about an unexplained
phenomenon. But was he convinced ? "Do you believe them ?" Constantino is asked.
He pauses and rubs his chin, as if weighing the gravity of the question. He looks up and
nods solemnly. "I do," he says. After working with those guys, I was scared. I still am.
I think it's true. I think they were being tagged - the way we tag and study sharks and
bears and then release them. The men were highly indignant that they were taken
(aboard) and these things were done to them without their permission.
THE TEHRAN, IRAN/F-4 INCIDENT
THE DIA REPORT
The following is from a 3-page message, released on August 31, 1977, via the Defense
Intelligence Agency : This report forwards information concerning the sighting of a UFO
in Iran on 19. September, 1976.
•
At about 12:30 A.M. on 19 Sep.76 the (deleted) received four telephone calls
from citizens living in the Shemiran area of Tehran saying that they had seen
strange objects in the sky. Some reported a kind of bird-like object while others
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reported a helicopter with a light on. There were no helicopters airborne at that
time.
After he told the citizens it was only stars and had talked to Mehrabad Tower, he decided
to look for himself. He noticed an object in the sky similar to a star bigger and brighter.
He decided to scramble an F-4 from Shahrokhi AFB to investigate.
•
At 01:30 hrs on the 19th the F-4 took off and proceeded to a point about 40 NM
north of Tehran. Due to its brilliance, the object was easily visible from 70 miles
away. As the F-4 approached a range of 25 NM, he lost all instrumentation and
communications (UHF and intercom). He broke off the intercept and headed
back to Shahrokhi. When the F-4 turned away from the object and apparently
was no longer a threat to it, the aircraft regained all instrumentation and
communications. At 01:40 hrs a second F-4 was launched. The backseater
acquired a radar lock on at 27 NM 12 o'clock high position with the VC (rate of
closure) at 150 NMPH. As the range decreased to 25 NM the object moved away
at a speed that was visible on the radar scope and stayed at 25 NM.
•
The size of the radar return was comparable to that of a 707 tanker. The visual
size of the object was difficult to discern because of its intense brilliance.
The light that it gave off was that of flashing strobe lights arranged in a
rectangular pattern and alternating blue, green, red, and orange in color.
The sequence of the lights was so fast that all the colors could be seen at once.
The object and the pursuing F-4 continued on a course to the south of Tehran
when another brightly lighted object, estimated to be one-half to one-third the
apparent size of the moon, came out of the original object. This second object
headed straight toward the F-4 at a very fast rate of speed. The pilot attempted
to fire an AIM-9 missile at the object but at that instant his weapons control
panel went off and he lost all communications (UHF and interphone). At this point
the pilot initiated a turn and negative G dive to get away. As he turned the object
fell in trail at what appeared to be about 3-4 NM. As he continued in his turn
away from the primary object the second object went to the inside of his turn
then returned to the primary object for a perfect rejoin.
•
Shortly after the second object joined up with the primary object another object
appeared to come out of the other side of the primary object going straight down
at a great rate of speed. The F-4 crew had regained communications and the
weapons control panel and watched the object approach the ground anticipating
a large explosion. This object appeared to come to rest gently on the earth and
cast a very bright light over an area of about 2-3 kilometers. The crew
descended from their altitude of 25,000 to 15,000 and continued to observe and
mark the object's position. They had some difficulty in adjusting their night
visibility for landing, so after orbiting Mehrabad a few times they went out for a
straight in landing. There was a lot of interference on the UHF and each time
they passed through a mag. bearing of 150 degrees from Mehrabad they lost
their communications (UHF and interphone) and the INS fluctuated from
30 degrees to 50 degrees. The one civil airliner that was approaching Mehrabad
during this same time experienced communications failure in the same vicinity
(Kilo Zulu) but did not report seeing anything. While the F-4 was on a long final
approach the crew noticed another cylinder-shaped object (about the size of a
T-bird at 10 NM) with bright steady lights on each end and a flasher in the
middle. When queried the tower stated there was no other known traffic in the
area. During the time that the object passed over the F-4 the tower did not have
a visual on it but picked it up after the pilot told them to look between the
mountains and the refinery.
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UFO Sightings
•
During daylight the F-4 crew was taken out to the area in a helicopterwhere the
object apparently had landed. Nothing was noticed at the spot where they
thought the object landed (a dry lake bed) but as they circled off to the west of
the area they picked up a very noticeable beeper signal. At the point where the
return was the loudest was a small house with a garden. They landed and asked
the people within if they had noticed anything strange last night. The people
talked about a loud noise and a very bright light like lightning. The aircraft and
area where the object is believed to have landed are being checked for possible
radiation.
More information will be forwarded when it becomes available.
Equally as fascinating as the report itself was a form attached to the basic information
given in the message. Titled, "Defense Information Report Evaluation," it was an
assessment of the quality of the Iran sighting details as determined by the Defense
Intelligence Agency, a military version of the CIA which deals with foreign military
intelligence. The form indicated in checked boxes that the reliability of information was
"Confirmed by other sources," that the value of information was "High (Unique, Timely,
and of Major Significance)," and that the utility of information was "Potentially Useful."
The form added in the "Remarks" section :
An outstanding report. This case is a classic which meets all the criteria necessary for a
valid study of the UFO phenomenon :
•
The object was seen by multiple witnesses from different locations (i.e., Shamiran,
Mehrabad, and the dry lake bed) and viewpoints (both airborne and from the
ground).
•
The credibility of many of the witnesses was high (an Air Force general, qualified
aircrews, and experienced tower operators).
•
Visual sightings were confirmed by radar.
•
Similar electromagnetic effects (EME) were reported by three separate aircraft.
•
There were physiological effects on some crew members (i.e., loss of night vision
due to the brightness of the object).
•
An inordinate amount of maneuverability was displayed by the UFOs.
Judging from the comments by the DIA, the Iranian UFO chase was un doubtedly one
of the premier UFO encounters in the history of the subject. A highly advanced
vehicle, performing well beyond our present-day capabilities, created fits for the
American-equipped Iranian Air Force. That the blackouts of the missile firing control
panel, just before the pilot was about to launch his air-to-air missile, could be attributed
to a mechanical fault seems beyond what sheer odds would allow. That an
instrumentation blackout should occur on two separate F-4 aircraft as they were chasing
a UFO is even more unlikely. The incidents described are such that to merely dismiss the
report as unsupportive of UFO reality, which we anticipate will happen from some
quarters, borders on the absurd. Unfortunately, as in many other sightings we've
discussed, while it has been stated in the Iranian message that "more information will be
forwarded when it becomes available," such information has not been made available to
the public. Reliable sources within the government have told us that the Iranian case file
was about one and a half inches thick, yet absolutely no admission to having this file has
come from any government agency with a possible connection to the case.
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THE GULF BREEZE, FLORIDA UFO's
Of the many accounts of UFO sightings, photographs, and videos, the sensational reports
that originated in Gulf Breeze, Florida are some of the most controversial. Gulf Breeze
was a small city of approximately 6,000 at the time of the wave of sightings that began
in the winter of 1987. News of UFO photos par excellence spread rapidly and far,
becoming a world-wide sensation, and the subject of a plethora of newspaper and
magazine articles, and television talk and feature programs.
Though many sighted the elusive flying craft and snapped photographs of the glowing
lights, the majority of attention was on one Edward Walters, a local building contractor.
According to Walters, the sightings began on November 11, 1987. He was working late
that night when his attention was drawn to a light coming from his yard. As he went to
the window to get a better vantage point, he saw a glowing object partially obscured by a
30 foot tall pine tree in his front yard. Racing outside to get a clearer view of the object,
he was taken back by the sight before him. He was staring at an object with the shape of
a top. It had a row of dark squares which were separated with portals between them.
The craft seemed to hover just above the road, showing a glowing ring around its
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UFO Sightings
bottom. Ed ran into his house, and grabbed his Polaroid camera. He snapped off several
photos of the craft before deciding to get even closer. He headed into the road.
As he paused in the street to take more photos of the strange
object, it began to hover almost directly over his head. Walters
was then hit by a bright bluish beam which shot from the
object. He was literally lifted from the ground by its force.
It was then that he heard a voice say, "Don't worry, we will not
harm you." Images began to enter his mind. Ed stated the
images were revealed to him "as if they were turning the pages
of a book" The next thing Walters remembered was waking up.
The glowing UFO was nowhere to be seen. Only a few days
later, on November 17, Walters took his photographs and story to the local Gulf Breeze
Sentinel newspaper. Ed discussed the photographs with the paper's Editor, and began to
relate to him the details of the sighting.
At this time, for obvious reasons, Ed told the newspaper that he was given the photos
and story by a Mr. X. Part of this initial account was as follows :
•
"Bang ! Something hit me. All over my body, I tried to lift my arms, I couldn't move
them. They were blue, I was blue, everything was blue. I was in a blue light beam.
I was trying to breathe but my chest wouldn't expand. My feet lifted off the floor, a
voice groaned in my head, "We will not harm you." I screamed, the voice said "Calm
down." I screamed "Put me down !" No control, just a piercing smell, a little scent of
ammonia mixed with heavy cinnamon that scorched, then stuck to, the back of my
throat. A hum filled my head. Wham ! I hit the ground, the blue light was gone.
The hum was still in my head but quickly decreased and was gone."
Walters also gave the newspaper a letter from the Mr. X., but his anonymity would be
short-lived. The UFO account would grow like a Texas wild fire, as Ed began to claim
more visitations, and produce more and more graphic photographs of unusual flying
objects over the vicinity of Gulf Breeze. Ed's credibility came under fire, but all who knew
him described him as a trustworthy, honest man. His wife Frances was his most loyal and
unwavering partner.
On November 20, Ed could hear a hum and voices as if communications were being made
between individuals, and he was on the outside hearing part of it. Going outside, his
attention was drawn to a small dot of light which was falling from the sky. It pulled up,
and began to hover. Ed took a photo of it. This contact hum seemed to indicate to Ed
that there was a UFO near him. Ed received another visit on
December 2. Ed was awakened at about 3:30 am by the
sound of his dog barking. He proceeded to his French doors
and opened the blinds. He was looking at a creature about
4 foot in height with large black eyes. Ed was overcome with
fear and fell down from the shock. He asserts that the alien
being stared at him for just a moment, and then began to
walk away. He also said that :
•
"I gave chase. As my feet left the shelter of the back
porch I was hit by the blue beam and held immobile
while the creature fled into the vacant field at the back
of my house. As soon as I could move I retrieived my
camera and took a picture of the UFO shooting the blue
beam into the field. I believe that it was picking up the
creature I had seen."
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In the early morning hours of December 5th, a UFO hovered above the trees near the
high school not far from Ed's house. The UFO descended to hover just above the ground
or land. Ed photographed the object and the landing spot. This particular incident would
provide valuable support to Ed at a later date. He recalls :
•
"The UFO moved towards me, I heard the voice say 'Do not resist...Zehaas.'"
Ed would receive support from the UFO organization MUFON. They heard of Ed's account,
and launched an investigation into the Gulf Breeze Sightings. After an initial look into
Ed's evidence, MUFON was convinced that he was telling the truth, and his photos were
genuine. Walter Andrus, state director for the Mutual UFO Network, studied the case for
three years. His conclusions were :
•
"The overwhelming evidence is in. Gulf Breeze is indeed one of the most incredible
cases in modern UFO history."
Not everyone agreed with MUFON. Renown Ufologist J. Allen Hynek, founder of the
Center for UFO Studies (CUFOS) did not believe the Walters story.
The National Enquirer was initially interested in the Walters account,
but before committing to purchase the photos, it sent them to
NASA's Dr. Robert Nathan for analysis. Nathan was unable to certify
them as genuine, and the Enquirer passed on the option. William
Morrow & Co., publisher of Whitley Strieber's "Communion" and
"Transformation" showed a unique interest in the Gulf Breeze
mystery. Morrow reportedly advanced Walters $200,000 for a book,
originally to be titled "UFOs : Proof Positive." When Morrow had the
photos analyzed, he received a similar report to the Enquirer, and
changed the title to "The Gulf Breeze Sightings : The Most
Astounding Multiple Sightings of UFOs in U.S. History," which was
published in March 1990. They did not, however, change the
category of the effort, leaving it with a "non-fiction" stamp. Walters
reportedly paid 10% of his advance to Dr. Bruce Maccabee, a Navy
physicist and long-time pro-UFO researcher, to write a chapter
authenticating the photographs. ABC-TV reportedly paid Walters
$400,000 for the miniseries rights. The miniseries was never
produced. MUFON stuck to their guns and provided Walters with
special photograpic equipment in the hope of ruling out any type of
camera trickery. One of the items was a camera with four lens,
which was sealed with wax to eliminate film tampering. Also a stereo
Polaroid was provided which would provide investigators with a
distance of the object from the camera. He was also given a video camera. The
equipment would soon bring results as Walters brought forth even more dramatic
images.
Photo of school landing site
Many, however, remained unconvinced, and this
attitude was contagious. On February 18, and 23,
1988, Ed was given two polygraph tests by Harvey
W. McLaughlin Jr. Walters passed the two
polygraphs. He also underwent psychological
testing by Dan Overlade. These tests indicated that
Ed had no personality problems. Ed Walters was
not alone in his UFO reports as others began
reporting the unidentified objects flying over Gulf
Breeze. More than 30 residents of the community
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had come forward with sighting reports in a matter of weeks, some accompanied by
photographs. The media was also putting their reputation on the line, and the pressure
was on to take one side or the other. The frenzied reports kept coming in, the
geographical area of the sightings was expanding, and battle lines were being drawn.
The Associate Editor of the News Journal, Jackie Brooks, released this statement in the
press, and became a controversial figure herself :
•
"The accounts of what people say they have seen in the skies...have some of us
jeering, some cheering and some peering - hoping to catch a glimpse of an
unidentified flying object. But for those who have seen the objects, the question isn't
one of belief in UFOs or whether the sightings are real. They saw UFOs. The question
is : what did they see ?"
Two prominent residents of the area joined the UFO believers. One was Arthur Hufford, a
long time employee with Monsanto. Brooks responded thusly :
•
"Hufford is quiet, sober, involved, intelligent, not given to improbable visions,
Hufford is a man you would trust to tell the truth. He certainly isn't anyone you
would expect to make up a story simply to impress someone or to get on the
'bandwagon' of UFO sighters. And his wife shared his sighting - in Pensacola, not
Gulf Breeze."
Brooks also validated a sighting by local physician Dr. Fenner McConnell :
•
"He is a well-known pathologist, a mature, well-respected man in the community,
a physical fitness advocate and frequent runner, a devoted family man and a
quiet-spoken scientist not known for extreme views or exotic notions... in other
words not a person to immediately doubt when he says he saw something
unexplainable in the sky. His wife also saw it."
What were the people of Gulf Breeze and the surrounding communities seeing ?
Brooks believed that she had the answer :
•
"For me the conclusion is that there is something out there. We can speculate on
what it is, but beliefs and hypotheticals and maybes have little to do with the reality
of the phenomenon. The reality is that something observed, but so far unexplained,
is going on in our skies ... In the midst of all the speculations and investigation,
debunking and debate, we have reputable reports of UFO sightings in our area."
Photo from Walter’s back door
The reports of UFOs continued to grow, with the
numbers reaching into the hundreds. Despite this
fact, a large contingency of disbelievers expressed
their contempt, stating that the whole affair was
a hoax and a money scam. The first crack in Walters'
reputation came with the compliments of Zan
Overall, who had discovered that Walters did possess
knowledge of double exposure techniques, which
could account for the sensational photographs.
Though the debunkers continued their onslaught, Walters' public mystique did not lose
any of its magic. He had quickly become a local celebrity, and expanded his notoriety to
the national and global scene. He made welcome appearances on such well know
television programs as "Unsolved Mysteries," and "Hard Copy."
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UFO Sightings
Because his residence at Silverthorn Road was constantly manned by members of the
media, and curiosity seekers, Ed escaped by buying a new home. His previous residence
was vacant just under a year before being bought by Robert Menzer. Ed, it seems, had
left a few things behind in his old home, one of which was a model of a UFO ! which was
found by the new residents. This information was quickly made the subject of a breaking
news story by the Pensacola News Journal on June 10, 1990. In the newspaper account,
Menzer was quoted as stating :
•
"I was going to install an icemaker, and I needed to turn off the water. I was fooling
around in the attic, and I was moving insulation aside when I saw it. I never would
have found it if I hadn't been looking for the pipe." "The model was 9 inches long
across the top and 5 inches deep. Made of "two nine-inch foam plates attached to
two six-inch foam plates; a six inch square blue-color gel (plastic film) and on six
inch round orange paper ring, a 3.5 inch long tube, and a 2 inch wide paper ring
between the 2 nine inch plates. There were windows drawn on the model which was
covered with drafting paper. "
June 10, 1990 Pensacola News Journal
The material that accompanied the UFO model was easily identified as being Walters'.
He was contacted about the find, and when confronted with the story, rebuked the
evidence.
•
"Only a fool would leave behind such a piece of evidence."
Walters further slammed the story by stating that the evidence was "planted" at his old
home by one of the jealous skeptics who wished to discredit and embarrass him publicly.
The plans surrounding the model were his, but were from a house deal which had fallen
through two years after the first UFO photos were taken. Walters went as far as to
implicate Menzer in the conspiracy, pointing out that Menzer had not shown the model
until three months after finding it. Only when a reporter had visited the residence to see
Walters, (not knowing he had moved) did Menzer tell the story of the model. Walters also
claimed that he had thwarted several attempts at rummaging through his garbage, and
felt that the plans themselves could have been stolen and wrapped around the model.
Walters had managed to momentarily avoid a total collapse of his UFO story with these
statements. This would not be the end, however, of damaging testimony.
Only a week after the Pensacola News Journal article, they followed up their first
damaging story with another. One Tom Smith Jr., a teenager came forward and claimed
that he could destroy Walters completely. Smith had found his way to Mayor Ed Gray and
Police Chief Jerry Brown and disclosed his story. Gray and Brown were hard-core skeptics
of the Walters UFO story.
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Walter’s UFO Photos
Smith claimed that he had helped Walters in 1987 with the placing of a UFO model, and
faking photographs. He said that Walters had taken photographs of the model and then
double exposed them with pictures of the sky and background landscape shots, taking
both pictures with the same frame. Smith was also urged to take the photos to local
newspapers in hope of getting them published. This would ultimately give more credence
to Walters' photos which he would then come forward with.
Smith was quoted as saying :
•
"He wanted me as another witness. I had about a day to think about it, and I talked
it over with Ed, and I just said it was a fraud, it wasn't real smart. I do understand a
practical joke, but when I realized that he was going to go all the way through with
it, I just didn't want to hurt my father's reputation, and I didn't want to get in the
middle of a court case."
As Smith's credibility was questioned, he was backed up by his father and mother who
stated that they were privy to the fraudulent attempt from its inception. They had urged
their son to go to the authorities with the truth, and were proud when he finally did.
Another point of interest was how he described Walters' photos of the UFO landing. He
claimed that Walters turned a trampoline upside down, and jumped on it, thus creating a
hardened, depressed area.
This was not however, the end of the story, nor the collapse of Walters' credibility.
The believers in Walters' story claimed that Smith himself was trying to gain notoriety by
discrediting Walters. They pointed out that the landing area had physical trace effects.
The grass at the site had not shown any growth for 18 months. A soil analysis was done
which showed no natural reason for the lack of lawn growth. Smith also claimed that
Walters had created the blue beam effect by peeling back the photo paper and exposing
a small streak to light. Photographic experts disputed this claim by stating that it was
impossible to produce such a fine line utilizing the method described by Smith. The same
experts had also tried, without success, to double expose a shot using an identical
camera to Walters', a Sun 600 Polaroid. Smith countered these attacks by bring forth his
own photographs. He then said that Walters had taken the UFO photos with Smith's
camera, and not his own. These photos were the ones that Walters had urged Smith to
take to the press, and when Smith declined, Walters allowed him to keep the photos.
In a strange turn of events, photo experts examined Smith's UFO pictures, and ironically,
could find no evidence of double exposure methods. By their own standards, this would
prove that Smith's UFOs were also genuine, yet by his own admission they were faked.
The bulk of the heated discussions continued to center on the photographs. Although
deemed genuine by some so-called experts, others found fault in them. After Walters
released a self-published book with many of his photos included, other experts joined the
parade of discredit. One photo was the object of much of the controversy. In this
photograph, the hovering object casts a reflection on the road below. (See photo at top
of page) One physicist claimed that the reflections were many times taller than they
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UFO Sightings
should have been. This would indicate that the reflections were suspended in the air, and
not coming from the road itself. He also stated that the reflection was an incorrect one
considering the shape of the bottom of the craft. Additionally, there was too much light
on the surface of the road. It should be pointed out that this conclusion depends entirely
on the object being perfectly perpendicular to the road itself, and not tilted to any
degree.
For several years, the MUFON group had stood behind Walters along with Navy physicist
Dr. Bruce Maccabee. The large amount of criticism and controversy finally broke the
resolve of MUFON, and they withdrew their support in 1990. MUFON investigators Rex
and Carol Salisberry released this statement :
•
"We believe that UFOs exist. We entered this investigation with a natural and
favorable bias toward the Walters case, but our investigation and analysis lend to
the conclusion that several, if not all of the photos are probable hoaxes."
Although Ed Walters was the hub of the Gulf Breeze sightings, he was not alone by any
means. It is estimated that over 200 other citizens came forward with sightings and / or
photographs during a three year period. Were they simply caught in the frenzy of the
Walters photos, or were they acting independently ? We will never know the answer to
this question, but each case should be independently judged. Below find other photos
taken during this UFO sighting wave.
Art Hufford (MUFON) caught this
image on film in 1991, witnessed
by dozens of people.
This photograph was taken by
Bland Pugh in 1993. The photo has
been enhanced.
Bland Pugh took this photo in
1996. The ring of light is very
similar to Walters' UFO.
In an effort to find the answer to the controversy of the Gulf Breeze UFO mysteries, a
group of locals banded together in 1990. Within the first month of operation, the group
had already reported a sighting of a glowing UFO with red lights, moving in an erratic
fashion through the skies until it finally disappeared. The group would also report other
UFOs in the months to come. Although the still images of Ed Walters were the highlight
of the UFO wave of 1987-1990, there was also video film taken of unknown objects, and
not all of these came from Walters.
Ann/Bruce Morrison, 1991.
Ed Walters, 1995.
The Gulf Breeze sightings are still discussed today, though most investigators view the
Walters' photos as hoaxes. This does not, however, explain all the photographs, videos,
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UFO Sightings
and sightings. This area in Florida is still considered a hot spot for UFO activity today, as
the controversy continues.
•
"I was visited by officials from the Air Force, from a department which they later
denied existed. There will always be people who choose not to believe, whatever the
evidence suggests. Some simply refuse to accept that UFOs exist, so ultimately they
brand me as a hoaxer."
THE ILKLEY MOOR ALIEN
One of the most unique accounts of alien abduction comes to us from the Ilkley Moor in
Yorkshire, England. The witness and subject of this case is a former policeman named
Alan Godfrey. Godfrey claims that in the early morning of December 1, 1987, he was
taken aboard an unidentified flying craft, and after his release managed to snap a picture
of one of the alien beings.
The Ilkley Moor is very much as you would picture it. Reminiscent of the setting of the
moors of Baskerville Hall in Conan Doyle's "Hound of the Baskervilles." it is an eerie
place. It has been said that "The Ilkley Moor can scare you to death during daylight, and
at night it's even worse." It is a place of mystery. There is the Swaztika stone; boulders
etched with strange markings; the Badger Stone; and the Twelve Apostles stone circle.
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UFO Sightings
Many times the only living creatures on the moor are the sheep. Ilkley has other legends
too, like the hovering lights at night, which bring occasional reports of UFOs. Strange,
swirling lights that are filtered through the fog which seems to have a mind of its own.
Possibly some of the mysterious sights can be attributed to the not too distant Menwith
Hill Military Base, or the nearby Leeds Bradford Airport. The activities of these two
facilities will not, however, explain what happened to Alan Godfrey. There were also
stories of strange creatures that roam across the moor at times.
After four years of being a policeman in another city, Alan had moved his wife and child
to the Yorkshire area to be closer to her family. Godfrey was walking across the moor on
this December morning heading for his father-in-law's house, and on the way was hoping
to get some photographs of the strange light tricks of the moor. To be able to get the
images he desired, he was using a high ASA rated film to compensate for the poor light
in the area. Unfortunately, the picture that he took was somewhat blurred, but there is
no doubt that the creature in the photo is a one of a kind being which basically
resembled the small grays.
Along with his camera, Godfrey also took a compass to navigate through the fog before
sufficient daylight shone through the moor. As he was searching for some photo angles,
suddenly he caught the sight of a strange looking being in the slopes ahead of him. He
aimed and snapped a picture of the creature which seemed to be gesturing for him to
stay away. It then ran away. Godfrey gathered his wits and took off in pursuit of the
being. Today he says he doesn't know why. It was just an impulse reaction. He arrived
just in time to get a glimpse of a flying craft with a domed top rise up from the moor and
disappear into the sky. Atop the dome was a whitish square. He was not able to get a
photograph of the object.
Original photograph of alien
There was silence now. When he saw
nothing else of the being or its craft,
he began to walk to the nearest
village. This walk took about 30
minutes, and during this time, a
couple of things became apparent to
him. First of all, his compass now
pointed south instead of north, and
secondly, the village clock showed
the time an hour ahead of his..
Godfrey was confused now. Did he
see what he thought he saw ? To
answer this burning question, he headed by bus to the nearest town with instant film
development. Sure enough, he had a picture of the creature ! It looked to be about 4
foot tall, and had a blue-green tint to it's skin. Godfrey knew he had something of
importance, or at least, he thought he did. He found the proper channels to contact UFO
investigator Peter Hough.
Hough knew what he was hearing was a "too good to be true" case, and it worried him,
but after meeting Godrey, he was convinced that he was a man of integrity and was not
seeking fame or fortune for his picture. There was no reason to not believe what Godfrey
had told him. Hough began a thorough investigation. The film with the alien picture
would be the first thing to undergo professional scrutiny. The alien picture was first
looked at by a wildlife photography expert. The object in the image was not an animal of
any known kind. It could not be determined either way if the figure was animate or
static. A reconstruction of the original site did establish the alien's height at or near 4 and
one half feet. The photograph was next sent to Kodak laboratories in Hemel, Hempstead.
An analysis showed that the object was indeed part of the original photo, and not
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superimposed. This conclusion did not, of course, determine what the creature was.
Next, the picture was sent to the United States for computer enhancement and analysis.
Dr. Bruce Maccabee, optical physicist with the United States Navy rendered his expert
opinion;
He stated that the slow film speed used for the low light conditions made the film too
grainy for proper testing. "I had great hopes that this case would prove definitive. Sadly
circumstances prevent it from being so," Maccabee stated. Something strange was
noticed in the picture. Appearing on the hill at exactly the spot where Godfrey says the
UFO was, is a white square. Could it be that Godfrey had gotten a part of the UFO in the
shot unknowingly ? Godfrey was not sure.
The final outcome of the investigation of the alien picture ?
There is not a way to prove hoax. There is also no way to prove
that the strange creature on the moor is alien. I must state here
that opinion on the authenticity of the picture is pretty much
split among interested parties. Some UFO enthusiasts are
hopeful that more evidence will emerge to substantiate the
claims of Alan Godrrey. There are those who do not believe that
the figure is alien. Why...since there is not definitive proof
either way. ? Because they don't want to. Hough's next step in
his investigation was to look at Godfrey's compass. There was
no doubt that it would have had to be subjected to a strong
magnetic field to alter its direction from north to south. Hough
discovered that a magnetic resonance scanner would duplicate
the effect. There was also the fact that there was no way to
prove that the reversed polarity of the compass was
accomplished at the alleged scene of the event. To perpetuate a
hoax, Godfrey may have affected the magnetic change before
going into the moor. Hough was not done yet. He utilized a
University to do radiation tests at the scene. No radiation was found. He also had
Godfrey tested by a psychologist. In his opinion, Godfrey was telling the truth, as he
knew it. Godfrey had begun to have strange dreams of starry skies, and was still puzzled
by the missing time he experienced, so the final test would be subjecting him to
regressive hypnosis. The session was conducted by Dr. Jim Singleton, at Arthur
Tomlinson's home, on March 16, 1988. Also there were Peter Hough, and Mathew Hill, a
journalist friend of Hough who was to operate the three tape recorders.
Here is a transcript of the session :
•
I want you to cast your mind back to the 1st December last year when you set off
across the moor. I want you to clear your mind back to that and I want you to
re-experience that. I want you to tell me what you experienced.
I'm walking along the moor, oh ! its quite windy. There is a lot of clouds. Walking up
towards some trees. I see this little something, can't tell, but he's green it's moving up
towards me. (We later found out that Jon had took the photo after his abduction and the
creature was waving goodbye) Oh ! I'm stuck I can't move and the creature still coming
towards me. I'm stuck and everything gone fuzzy. I'm, I'm floating along in the air I
want to get down ! (He later told us he was levitated 2 feet off the ground and the
creature was in front of him like a child pulling a balloon on a string). I still can't get
down and I don't like it. I'm going round this corner and this green thing is in front of
me. Oh God ! I want to get down ! (long pause) (breathing faster) There's a there is a
big silver saucer thing there's a door in it. And I don't want to go in there. (worried sound
in his voice) (sigh) Everything gone black now. (pause).
•
You say everything gone black ?
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Mmm ! I can't see anything like I'm asleep, can't hear anything. (short pause) There's a
bright light now. Can't see where it's coming from ? I'm in a funny sort of room I can
hear this voice saying don't be afraid. I don't feel afraid anymore. I can still see this
green thing but I'm not afraid anymore of it. I'm being put on a table. I can move now if
I want to, but I don't feel frightened any more and there's a beam like a pole it's above
me it's moving up toward me. It's got a light in it like a fluorescent tube. It's coming up
from my feet I can hear that voice again saying "we don't mean to harm you and don't
be afraid." Makes me feel warm as it moves up me it's coming up over my stomach
towards my head. Close my eyes I don't want to look at it in case it hurts my eyes. It's
gone ! (pause) there is something my nose feels funny (shows movement of nose) that's
gone as well, I'm standing up now I don't know how I got stood up ? I can see a door
there is one of these green creatures motioning for me to come with him. Don't really
want to go with him. I'd rather stay here I don't feel afraid in here (pause).
•
Can you tell me what's happening now ?
I'm walking towards a door there is still a bright light there is light all around want to
know where its coming from its just bright all around. Walking down a corridor there is a
window. Oh ! God !(sounds shocked)is that real ? (deep sigh) (pause) (sounds afraid)
don't want to be up here want to be down there ? I can hear that voice again saying
you've got nothing to fear. Its pretty though didn't realize it looked so pretty. (What Jon
was looking at through the window was the earth seen from high in space just like the
Apollo astronauts saw. Iv gone past the window now I'm walking down a corridor. (long
pause)
•
What's happening now ?
Come to the end of the corridor. There's a hole opened in it so I can walk through. I'm in
a big room-a big round room, I'm on a raised platform against the wall. My camera and
compass are trying to get away from me. Going towards the ball. It's difficult to pull
them back down again, and this balls moved round with strange its got some blocks on it
he says we cant stay in here to long he wants us to go out again the holes closed in the
wall its gone strange he says I've got nothing to fear but Id still like to go home (pause)
its got such big hands.
•
What's happening now ?
Going down a corridor again. its very bright still I wish I knew where the light was
coming from. And there is another door, going through a door it's an empty room two of
those green creatures have come with me. there's a picture ,it's starting to move on the
wall wonder how they get the pictures ?
• Can you tell me what's happening at this point ?
I'm looking at the pictures on the wall. (long pause)
•
Pictures on the wall ?
Mmmm. Creatures seem concerned at the damage that its doing. Picture changing now
there's another picture, another film he's asking me a question he says do you
understand ? I said yes. It's time to go. Everything gone black. I'm walking up the moor
again, I'm walking near some trees. Some movement - I can see something. A green
creature. I've shouted to it. It's turned round. I don't know what it is. I'll photograph it
it's turned around now. It's moving quick want to know what it is. I'm running after it,
it's gone round a corner, I can't see it now. There's ... There is a saucer (laughingly), big
silver saucer ! It's disappeared ? I'm walking on down gone past the trees.
•
What's happening now ?
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I’m going home. It's ten o'clock on the town hall clock. Can't really understand it was
only eight o'clock.
•
You mentioned some green creatures. Would you try to describe them to me ?
It's quite small. He's got big pointed ears, it's got big eyes. They're quite dark, he hasn't
got a nose he's only got a little mouth. And his hands are enormous. And his arms are
long. He's got funny feet.
•
Funny feet ?
They're like a V shape like two big toes. Must be difficult to walk like that. He shuffles
rather than walks. I don't feel afraid of him although he looks odd.
•
You mentioned big hands ? Can you say anymore about the hands ?
It's got three big fingers, like sausages. Big sausages. They're just very big. Bigger than
my hands.
•
About how tall would you say these creatures are ?
It's about four foot. Comes to the lump on my stomach. He's about as high as - just a bit
bigger than my stomach is.
•
Okay. Now I wonder if I can ask you another question ? you mentioned a film ?
There were two films.
•
Two films ?
One was lots of scenes of destruction like on the news. Can see lots of waste going into
the river, and people like Ethiopians who are starving. It's not very good, it's not very
nice.
•
Want to say anything more about that film ?
It's much of the same thing, only different.
•
What about the other film then ? Do you want to tell me about it ?
I'm not supposed to.
•
I'll leave that up to you entirely, do you want to say anything about that ?
I'm not supposed to tell anyone about the other film, it's not for them to know.
•
Is there any thing more ?
No.
End of transkript…
As Alan Godfrey regained his missing memories, he gave us a fascinating tale of alien
abduction. He was taken aboard the craft that he had seen lifting up from the Ilkley
Moor. He was given medical-type examinations before being released. He could now
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remember that it was after his release from the UFO that he took the picture. This one
fact would be extremely important :
Hough had dealt with a lingering problem with the picture, the time element. Climatic
information gathered about the conditions of December 1, 1987, made it almost
impossible for Spencer to have taken his picture at the time he had stated. However, and
this is extremely important, if the regressive memories are accurate, the conditions
would be right to duplicate the lighting conditions of the photograph, which was taken at
least an hour after Godfrey thought.
The witness of a UFO/alien event is as important as the report itself. The case of Ilkley
Moor rides high on the character of Alan Godfrey. Through the years, Godfrey and Hough
became good friends, and still see each other from time to time. There has been no
change in Godfrey's account of what he saw that day.
He has sought no money from the case, and signed over all copyright privileges to Hough
in early 1988. Godfrey desires no fame from his account. Is the picture of the Ilkley Moor
alien real ? There is no way to say. It could be some type of mannequin or doll staged
for the photograph, or it could be the picture of the century. Time will be the judge.
Until that time, the search for more information continues.
HUDSON VALLEY ABDUCTIONS
Over the past five years the New York, New Jersey and Connecticut area have been the
scene of a massive number of UFO sightings. The numbers of reports are so great that
I believe this area has the highest number of raw UFO sighting reports in the entire
world. These reports are documented in my book NIGHT SIEGE THE HUDSON VALLEY
UFO SIGHTS which I co-authored with the late Dr. J. Allen Hynek and Mr. Bob Pratt.
I have been asked over the years by many UFO researchers if there have been any close
encounter-abduction type cases in the Hudson Valley. My answer to most was no. Only to
few did I admit that there were abduction cases and plenty of them. This denial of such
cases was at the request of Dr. Hynek since he wanted NIGHT SIEGE to be a
documentation of the many UFO reports in the Hudson Valley. Hynek also wanted to
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keep these cases quiet until we had more data about the sightings in the area. With so
many reports over the years and with the sighting still continuing it was only a matter of
time before the growing number of Abduction cases in the Hudson Valley had to be dealt
with.
To this date I have been contacted by at least 75 people who feel as if they had more
than a sighting. Of the 75 there are 25 that would be suitable for further study. Of these
twenty five ten come from professional backgrounds. All do not want any type of
publicity. I will explore two of these cases in this article. At the witnesses request, I have
changed their names to protect them. I would also like to inform the reader that Whitley
Strieber, author of the best selling book COMMUNION experiences took place in the
Hudson Valley area. Since the publication of his book many people have come forward
with incredible stories, people who would otherwise would have kept silent.
On July 2, 1987. I received a call from a 36 year old woman from Toms River New Jersey
who I shall call Gail. Gail was very troubled on the phone and insisted that she talk to me
about a UFO related experience that she had. During the last part of June (1987) as she
was lying down on her bed, she felt some what uneasy as if someone was watching her.
The time was Ten PM. She then heard a voice say, "We have come for you..You will not
be hurt." She then realized that her entire body was paralyzed and that she could only
move her eyes. Gail was lying on her back. She was alone in the house at the time, but
does live there with her seventeen year old daughter who was away visiting her father in
Croton Falls N.Y. Gail is divorced. Three beings were dressed in something that looked
like tightly fitting jumpsuits and stood in a single row, one behind the other. The light in
the hall was dim, and she could not see their features. She noticed they were about five
feet tall with very long arms. The leader, according to Gail seemed to have a problem
getting into the room. It was as if some type of invisible shield was blocking his way.
He lifted up his hand and pressed them against the invisible shield. The leader then took
some type of rod out from a side pocket and turned the bottom of it. The rod then
glowed with a green light and he passed it over the doorway area. They then walked into
the room without any effort. As they entered the room still in a single file she noticed
that they had large heads and eyes that looked like a cats which wrapped around their
heads. She never heard them talk but heard all kinds on buzzing noises in her head when
the leader communicated with the others. Gail tried to scream but could not, she could
only move her eyes. The leader placed himself on her right side and then one of them
went to the foot of the bed and the other on the left side of the bed. The beings on each
side of her then placed their hands under her head and raised it up. She then noticed
that the one on her left took a tube of what looked like a narrow roll of white cotton and
started pushing it up her left nostril. At that moment she felt extreme pain in her head
and then started to lose consciousness. She felt as if she was falling from a great height,
then she does not remember anymore. The next thing she recalls is waking up at 8am
with a very bad headache. As she walked to the bathroom her nose (both nostrils started
to bleed. She felt as if something was stuck up her nose, but nothing was there. She
looked in the bathroom mirror and noticed her nose was swollen and puffy. She noticed a
rash on her neck, legs and slightly on her arms. She had hoped that the experience from
that last night was a dream and tried to block it out of her head. When her daughter
arrived home that night she told her about what happened. Gail told me that before she
even finished with her story her daughter started shaking and then told her that on the
same night, about the same time she and her father were followed by a UFO on route
116 near Croton Falls New York. She described to her mother a large dark craft triangular
in shape that paced the car for five m minutes above tree top level. I found this report
very interesting since Croton falls is near the border of Westchester and Putnam Counties
in New York and that lonely route has been the site of more than one Close Encounter
over the past five years. I also found it interesting that both mother and daughter had a
experience with the paranormal at the same time. There is more to this case than meets
the eye. The daughter and father according to my findings may have had as much as
thirty minutes missing time. I plan to have Gail undergo hypnosis in the near future by a
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certified psychologist. The story does not end here. Several weeks latter I received a call
from Gail telling me that it happened again. She said "Those creatures came back the
same time and they did the same thing". She continued: "It was as if I was watching a
movie of the first time they came, they did exactly the same thing. Including having
trouble getting into the doorway to the bedroom. My daughter was once again away
visiting her father."
This case is still under study, but initial findings indicate that both Gail and her daughter
may have a history of interactions with the intelligence behind the UFO phenomenon.
THE "PHOBOS II" INCIDENT
On July 12, 1988 the USSR launched Phobos II, an unmanned satellite to Mars. It arrived
in January 1989 and entered an orbit around Mars as the first phase towards its real
destination, a small Martian moon called Phobos. The mission was flawless until the craft
aligned itself with the moon. On March 28, 1989 an elliptical object was detected moving
towards the satellite seconds before it failed. All indications were that the elliptical object
had attacked the satellite which was now dead and left spinning out of control. On March
28, 1989. Tass, the official Soviet news agency stated :
•
"Phobos II failed to communicate with Earth as scheduled after completing an
operation yesterday around the Martian moon Phobos. Scientists at mission control
have been unable to establish stable radio contact."
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But the next day a top official of the Soviet Space Agency (Glavkosmos) said :
•
"Phobos II is 99% lost for good."
It is important to note that he stated the entire satellite was gone and not just contact
with it.
On March 31, 1989. Headlines dispatched by the Moscow correspondents of the European
News Agency (EFE) stated :
•
"Phobos 2 Captured Strange Photos of Mars Before Losing Contact With It's Base."
Vremya revealed yesterday that the space probe Phobos II, which was orbiting
above Mars when Soviet scientists lost contact with it on Monday, had photographed
an UNIDENTIFIED OBJECT on the Martian surface seconds before losing contact."
Scientists described the UNIDENTIFIED OBJECT as a thin
ellipse 20 KILOMETERS LONG ! It was further stated that
the photos could not be an illusion because it was captured
by 2 different color cameras as well as cameras taking
infrared shots. One controller at the Kaliningrad control
center concluded that the probe was now spinning out of
control. It would seem that something struck or shot the
Phobos II Probe. In the October 19, 1989 issue of Nature
Magazine, Soviet scientists concluded that the craft could
be spinning because it was impacted. It has long been
rumored that Mars and its moon Phobos are alien colonies.
The surface of Mars is covered with strange
shapes/buildings that do not appear to be natural such
as the pyramids, square buildings, runways, etc. One
structure shows the face of a man with a helmet
looking into space. It can be seen at the National Space
Science Data Center, Viking photo with catalog
number 76-A-593/17384 Titled "HEAD" . Another photo is
070-A-13. There are now eleven Viking photographs (and
growing) of this obviously intelligently constructed
monument on the surface of Mars. The "HEAD" and other
artificial features such as the pyramids were combined by
electrical engineer and imaging specialist Vincent DiPietro
and a Lockheed computer scientist. The composite images
seemed to show that the features on the surface of Mars
had been artificially sculpted...
Just maybe, WE ARE NOT ALONE !!!
THE VORONEZH, RUSSIA ALIENS
One of the most bizarre accounts of UFO folklore involves an incident that allegedly
occurred in Voronezh, Russia. This case was reported in the United States by the St.
Louis Dispatch. The story was originally published on October 11, 1989. in America, but
its origin was the Russian newspaper TASS.
The report recounts the adventures of several young children who claimed to have seen a
three-eyed alien with a robot escort. The alien was said to be about nine foot tall.
The craft, according to eye witness testimony, landed on the outskirts of the city. Shortly
thereafter, the tall alien appeared, and upon seeing the young lad, shot a type of weapon
at him, causing him to vanish before the eyes of the other people around him.
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There are several important elements one must keep in mind regarding this extremely
strange case of a close encounter. The original details of the case were brought forward
by Genrikh Silanov, head of the Voronezh Geophysical Laboratory, who gave details to
the TASS agency. Silanov stated that the media took an enormous amount of creative
freedom with his report.
•
"Don't believe all you hear from Tass," he stated." We never gave them part of what
they published."
I take this statement to mean that only a part of the news agency's report was based on
the facts obtained from Silanov. The agency had informed the entire world that Russian
scientists had confirmed that an alien spaceship carrying giants with tiny heads had
landed in Voronezh, a city of over 800,000 people located about 300 miles southeast of
Moscow. They stated that as many as three of these giant creatures had emerged from
the alien ship. The ship was described as a large, shining ball. These strange creatures
were said to have walked in a nearby park, accompanied by a menacing robot. Ironically,
TASS was the only media member to print the story in Russia. The newspaper Pravda
declined to print, or comment on the strange tale.
In defense of the TASS account, Soviet reporter Skaya Kultura said that the agency was
following the ''the golden rule of journalism." "The reader must know everything.''
The TASS account stated that the UFO landed in Voronezh on September 27, 1989. at
6:30 P.M. Young boys playing soccer witnessed the event, stating that a pinkish glow
preceded the descent of the unusual flying craft. The pink glow became a deep red as it
touched down. Most witnesses described the object as a flattened, disc shape. A crowd
quickly gathered, and peered through a hatch that opened. They saw a ''three-eyed
alien'' about 10 feet tall, clad in silvery overalls and bronze-colored boots and wearing a
disk on his chest. "
The TASS account also stated : "A boy screamed with fear, but when the alien gazed at
him, with eyes shining, he fell silent, unable to move. Onlookers screamed, and the UFO
and the creatures disappeared."
According to the report, about five minutes later, they reappeared. The alien had an
object similar to a pistol - a tube about 20 inches long, which it pointed at an unidentified
16-year-old boy, making him disappear. The alien went inside the sphere, which then
took off. At the same time, the boy reappeared.
•
•
"Children and eyewitnesses of the abnormal phenomenon have been questioned by
police workers and journalists," wrote E. Efremov, the Voronezh correspondent for
Soviet Skaya Kultura."
"There are no discrepancies in the description of the sphere itself or the actions of
the aliens. Moreover, all the children who became witnesses to this event are still
afraid, even now."
Several drawings were made by some of the children
who supposedly witnessed the events of Voronezh.
A couple of these are included here. One of the drawings
showed the Cyrillic alphabet character "zhe" on the side
of the UFO. TASS listed three witnesses' names, all of
whom were youngsters. They also stated that a group of
international researchers would be investigating the
claims of the witnesses. Voronezh residents interviewed
later claimed they had observed this UFO not just
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during the above incident but also many times on September 21, 23, 29 and October 2,
between 6 and 9 PM. Some of these incidents involved a different entity : small, with
grayish-green face and blue overcoat resembling a loose raincoat.
This phenomenal account is still in need of more eye witness testimony and research.
The Voronezh landing remains an unsolved mystery.
DNA SAMPLE FROM KHOURY ABDUCTION,
RAISES BIG QUESTION
Mystery Blonde Leaves Hair Behind - But Who Was She ?
An abduction case from Australia has resulted in what may be the world's first DNA test
of abduction-related biological material. The intriguing results raise many questions
about the physical nature of abduction and also illustrate the need for more intensive
scientific research on this worldwide mystery. The full case report by leading Australian
researcher Bill Chalker was published in the Spring 1999 edition of International UFO
Reporter, the quarterly journal of the Chicago-based J. Allen Hynek Center for UFO
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Studies (CUFOS). The following summary is published with Chalker's permission and
assistance.
Peter Khoury, the subject of this case, was born in Lebanon in 1964. and moved to
Australia in 1973. There he met his future wife Vivian at school in 1981. Peter and Vivian
were married in 1990. and now have two children. They live in Sydney. Peter works in
the building trades and has owned his own business in cement rendering.
Peter and Vivian had their first UFO experience
in February 1988, a simple sighting of unusual moving
lights. But in July of that year, Peter had a
deeply disturbing, consciously remembered contact
experience that, he says, changed his life. While lying
on his bed, he felt something grab his ankles. He
suddenly felt numb and paralyzed, but remained
conscious. Then he noticed three or four small hooded
figures alongside the bed. He experienced telepathic
communication with one or more of these beings; he
was told to relax and not be afraid because "it would
be like last time." He then saw that they were about to insert a long needle into the side
of his head, whereupon he blacked out. He jolted awake some time later, leaped out of
bed and ran into the living room where he found his father and brother apparently
dozing. Both he and his brother felt that only 10 minutes had passed since they had last
been awake, but they soon realized that an hour or more had passed. The next morning,
Peter and Vivian noticed that there was an obvious puncture mark on the side of his
head, with a trace of dried blood. At this time, Peter had never heard of alien abduction.
His memories were vivid and alarming, but he could find neither answers nor comfort
from friends and acquaintances. Then, some months later, he and Vivian drove by a
roadside billboard with an image of Whitley Strieber's book "Communion," and they
immediately got the book. Peter found numerous details in Strieber's account that
matched his own strange experience.
Peter's subsequent attempts to connect with local UFO groups and experiencers proved
frustrating. Eventually, in April 1993, he resolved to found a new group in Sydney, the
UFO Experience Support Association (UFOESA), dedicated to helping people understand
and cope with their unusual encounters. He remains the coordinator of that group today.
In July 1992, Peter had the experience that became the focus of this case study. Because
the experience had disturbing sexual aspects, Peter was very reticent to talk about it.
He first mentioned it to Bill Chalker, one of Australia's leading researchers, in 1996.
He showed Chalker that he had recovered an unusual strand of hair from the encounter.
At the time, Chalker felt he could not do anything with the physical evidence, but over
the next several years, he assembled a group of scientists and forensic investigators
willing to work on UFO-related cases. With his "invisible college" associates, Chalker
discussed the possibility of doing polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification and
sequencing of mitochondrial DNA that might be recovered from Peter Khoury's hair
sample. In early 1998, these researchers -- now calling themselves the Anomaly Physical
Evidence Group -- agreed to do the DNA testing on the hair sample. Chalker points out
that "alien" beings are most often described by experiencers as having no visible hair.
But one type -- sometimes called "Nordic" -- is described fairly often as having distinctly
human-like features including hair, often (though not always) blond in color. A number of
well-known abduction cases have involved human-looking beings with hair, including the
1975 abduction reported by Travis Walton in Arizona, and the 1957. Brazilian abduction
reported by Antonio Villas Boas. Peter Khoury's case has some similarity to that of Villas
Boas, who said he was forced to have sex with an aggressive humanoid female aboard a
landed UFO. Khoury told Chalker that his encounter of July 23, 1992. began at 7:30 in
the morning while he was in bed. He had recently been injured at work and was taking
pain medication. Earlier that morning, he had driven his wife to work, then returned
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home and went back to bed for a short while. Suddenly, he bolted wide awake and sat
up. There were two humanoid females sitting on the bed, both entirely naked.
These two women looked human in nearly every way. They had well proportioned adult
bodies. One looked somewhat Asian, with straight dark shoulder-length hair and dark
eyes. The other looked perhaps Scandinavian, with light-colored ("maybe bluish") eyes
and long blond hair that fell half-way down her back. Her hair was especially notable to
Peter Khoury. "I had never seen a hair style like that. It was curled something like Farrah
Fawcett, but to an extreme... It just looked really exotic in a way," he told Chalker.
But Khoury felt that these women were not exactly human. Their faces were somewhat
odd -- not unattractive, but too chiseled, with very high cheekbones and eyes that were
two or three times larger than normal. Khoury took special notice of the blonde. Her face
was too long, he felt. "I have never seen a human looking like that," he said.
The blonde, who was sitting in a kneeling position on the bed, seemed to be in charge.
Khoury thought she was communicating telepathically with the dark-haired woman, who
was sitting with her legs partly folded under her. There was something stiff, almost
blank, in the expressions of the women, Khoury thought.
Though stunned by the sudden appearance of the women, Khoury had only a few
moments to consider how they could possibly have arrived in his bedroom before the
blonde reached out with both her hands and cupped the back of his head, drawing his
face toward her chest. He resisted. She pulled harder. He kept pulling back. "She was
pretty strong," he told Chalker. "She pulled me over and my mouth was basically on her
nipple. And I bit."
Khoury said he doesn't know why he bit the woman, but even though he felt a small
piece of her nipple come away in his teeth, she did not cry out. But "the expression on
her face was like, 'this isn't the way.' In a way it was shock or confusion... She looked at
the Asian one... and looked at me like, this isn't the way it's supposed to happen. You've
done this wrong." Involuntarily, Khoury swallowed the small fragment in his mouth, and
it caught in his throat. He went into a coughing fit. Suddenly, the two women simply
disappeared.
Once he realized the women were gone, he tried to clear his throat by drinking water.
It didn't work. Then he had an urge to go to the bathroom. He realized that his penis felt
very painful. Standing in the bathroom, he pulled back the foreskin and found two thin
blond strands of hair wrapped tightly around. He struggled to unravel the pieces of hair
as the pain became an intense burning sensation. Finally he managed to removed the
two pieces of hair and immediately put them in a small sealable plastic bag. "The reason
I did that was because I knew that there was no way, no way at all, that a hair that size
and wrapped around the way it was should have been there.... Thinking of these women,
the thing in my throat, the hair, something bizarre had just happened." Khoury resolved
to keep the hair sample in case it should ever prove useful in shedding light on his
experiences. The thing in Khoury's throat stayed there for three days. He coughed
constantly. He tried clearing his throat with water, bread, anything he could think of, but
nothing helped. On the third day, the feeling in his throat just went away. He did
not want to tell his wife how his coughing fit had come about, but two weeks later he
decided to tell her. "I was shocked," he told Chalker. "She accepted it better than I did."
The pieces of hair, carefully stored away since the encounter, became the subject of
the first openly-reported scientific DNA test on a possible abduction-related sample.
The blond hairs were extremely thin and almost clear in color. It was determined that the
hair was not chemically treated, because if it had been, little or no mitochondrial DNA
could have been recovered. However, using the PCR (polymerase chain reaction)
process, good quality DNA was recovered.
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For comparison, samples were also taken of Peter Khoury's hair and that of his wife
Vivian. DNA was successfully extracted from Peter's hair, but no usable DNA was
recovered from Vivian's hair, possibly because of chemical treatment. After thorough
testing of the hair samples, the scientists of the Anomaly Physical Evidence Group arrived
at a startling conclusion. The thin blond hair, which appeared to have come from a
light-skinned caucasian-type woman, could not have come from a normal human of that
racial type. Instead, though human, the hair showed five distinctive DNA markers that
are characteristic of a rare sub-group of the Chinese Mongoloid racial type. A detailed
survey of the literature on variations in mitochondrial DNA, comprising tens of thousands
of samples, showed only four other people on record with all five of the distinctive
markers in the blond hair. All four were Chinese, with black hair. Mitochondrial DNA is
passed only from mother to child and therefore offers a means of tracing ancient
ancestry on the mother's side. The findings suggest that all four of the Chinese subjects
share a common female ancestor with the blonde woman. But there is no easy
explanation for how this could be. Testing for nuclear DNA, if such could be recovered
from the blond hair, would be more complex and expensive than the tests run so far, but
might show that the lineage of the blonde's father was even stranger than that of her
mother. But such testing must await funding that has yet to be found. So far, the
members of the Anomaly Physical Evidence Group have financed all their work
themselves.
Without the blond hair sample, the story told by Peter Khoury is but one more in an
almost endless sequence of wrenching, but unprovable, abduction accounts. The hair,
however, changes everything. It undeniably exists, and thorough forensic testing shows
that it is anomalous. It seems likely that no person with blond hair and an exact DNA
match to Khoury's blonde could be found in the city of Sydney, nor on the continent of
Australia, nor -- probably -- anywhere in the world. Who then was the being whose blond
hair inexplicably became wrapped around Peter Khoury's penis ?
"Are we dealing with 'humans' from elsewhere, namely those with human DNA, albeit
very rare and somewhat anomolous ?" asks Bill Chalker. "This case raises all sorts of
issues, such as human 'panspermia'" -- the theory that human-like beings may have
migrated to Earth in the fairly recent past from elsewhere in the galaxy, perhaps giving
rise to the sudden appearance of modern homo sapiens sapiens, a species not directly
descended from their immediate predecessors, the Neanderthals.
"Also, given the Asian mongoloid connection, we looked at the problem of European-like
rare Asian types in the past," Chalker says. "The controversial saga of the Taklamakan
mummies in remote Western China is turning the early history of China on its head.
These mummies include people who are quite tall, some 6 feet or so, and some are
blond. I'm not suggesting a connection here, but you can understand this investigation
has opened up all sorts of interesting possibilities about the biological nature of some of
the beings implicated in abduction cases."
These questions will not be easy to answer.
UFO CRASH INVESTIGATION,
LANDS RESEARCHER IN JAIL
Local investigative group that has been researching accounts of unidentified objects on
Long Island for the past five years released a report (with photos and a video tape)
yeaterday that claims an alien space craft crashed into a remote area of Southaven Park
in Shirley just before Thanksgiving last year. The incident
happened just after 7:00 P.M. on the night of November
24, according to John Ford, chairman of the Long Island
U.F.O. Network, who said that it has taken his group six
months to do a thorough investigation. It was just
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recently, though, that his group was able to acquire the video and the photos. "We knew
that something crashed into the park that night and we have, bit by bit," said Ford,
"been able to finally put the picture together." Several motorists who were traveling
along Sunrise Highway that night, according to Ford, contacted his organization and
described what they thought was a plane that was going down into the park. And many
local residents whose homes border Southaven report that they heard loud rumbling
sounds and saw strange lights. "Eyewitness accounts have confirmed that a fire was
reported immediately after," noted Ford. "In addition, the roads around the park were
blocked off to travel by county and park police. The next day, and for a few days after,
the park was closed to the public."
One local resident who lives near the park said that for a five to six day period after the
incident, his house experienced numerous power surges and the phone would ring
strangely without anyone on the other end.
•
"I ride horses in the park so I'm pretty familiar with the activities there," said the
45- year-old man who requested anonymity because of the sensitive nature of his
job ("they would fire me if they thought I believed in flying saucers").
•
"For the next few days there were a lot of military helicopters going over the park,
and I couldn't get in."
Records show that Southaven Park was closed between November 25 and 28. According
to park officials, the park was closed to the general public that week because it was
reserved for duck hunting. Although some of the area fire departments were initially
called, they were turned back and the fire was handled by the federally controlled
Brookhaven National Laboratory Fire Department, said Ford. Ford's group finally gained
admittance into the park a week later. "We found an area that was burned out and some
trees were bent over," Ford recalled. "A section looked like it had been plowed over by
machinery." But two things were of particular interest to Ford. "We were getting a higher
than normal radiation reading in the area, higher than regular background radiation, and
the fence line in that area," said Ford, "had no magnetic reading."
Ford explained that metal fences maintain a magnetic charge from the Earth.
•
"Something had stripped away the magnetic charge of the fence."
Last week Ford received what he had been waiting and hoping for : a video film of the
crash.
•
"I can't say where I got it from because these people who supplied the tape are
afraid that the government will go after them."
Because of the poor quality of the tape, Ford has been working with video specialists to
try and enhance the quality of the picture and to produce stills. The video, a copy of
which was given to South Shore Press, shows people examining a bright reddish,
metallic-type object about four-square feet that appears to be emitting a white, cloudy
gas, and a hissing sound can be heard, a sight and sound that resembles dry ice that has
been exposed to warmer temperatures.
The next shot shows what appears to be a person trying to lift up a body near a tree, but
the poor quality of the film makes positive identification impossible. In a final scene,
three uniformed men (wearing dark jackets and rounded caps similar to federal swat
teams) are seen placing a large shiny spread (similar to mylar) over something on the
ground. Ford makes no apologies for the poor quality of the video :
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UFO Sightings
•
"Things are happening fast and the guy who took the shots doesn't want to be too
obvious." And he confesses that it is hard to get people to come forward and admit
what they've seen.
•
"One of the major problems in researching UFOs is that people are afraid of
sounding like lunatics when describing strange, unexplained events."
But an even greater fear, notes Ford, is the government.
•
"You get involved with things that the government doesn't want people to know and
they can make life pretty tough for you."
What are Ford's conclusions about the Southaven incident ? "We are still very actively
investigating this event. We believe that an extraterrestrial craft, with aliens, crashed
that night in the park, and we are out to prove it."
The Long Island U.F.O. Network has a 24-hour hotline number (286-3212) to which Ford
encourages people to call if they have any information on the (Southaven) incident or
any other (unexplainable) phenomenon.
Skeptics UFO Newsletter, 7. January, 1998.
UFO Group Leader, Accused Of Plan To Kill Local Government Officials, Sent To Mental
Institution After His Two Partners Plead Guilty.
John Ford, the 49-year-old founder of the Long Island (N.Y.)
UFO Network (LIUFON), who in mid-1996 was charged with
plotting to kill several local government officials because he
believed they were covering up three crashed-saucer incidents
on Long Island, has been found to be "delusional" and has been
sent to a New York state psychiatric center. If/when Ford is
judged competent to stand trial, he faces the prospect of a
25-75 year jail term. Two of Ford's partners in the plot to
poison Suffolk county officials by inserting radium into their
food and toothpaste earlier pleaded guilty to participating in the
plan. Joseph Mazzuchelli was sentenced to 3-9 years. Edward
Zabo, a Defense Dept. employee who obtained the radium, is
slated to be sentenced in early March [SUN #40/July 1996].
The evidence included a tape recording of Ford and associates discussing their plan which
was covertly recorded by a person who had been asked to participate but who instead
gave the tape to law enforcement officials. Ford claimed that in 1989, the U.S. had forced
down and recovered an ET craft near Moriches Bay, L.I., that in 1992 an alien craft had
crashed in Southaven Park, and that a third had crashed later near the Pine Barrens
area. He publicly accused local government officials of collaborating with the federal
government to cover up the incidents.
In an article in the November 1996 issue of the MUFON UFO Journal, Ms. Elaine Douglas
charged that Ford was the "first UFO investigator to be seriously persecuted by the
authorities." (Douglas is MUFON's state director for the District of Columbia and
co-director of "Operation Right To Know." The latter, which periodically stages public
demonstrations, describes itself as "the only UFO organization with guts." It has
scheduled a march on the White House to "End UFO Secrecy" for July 5, 1999.) In her
MUFON article, Douglas announced the formation of the John Ford Defense Committee
and sought contributions. SUN eagerly awaits the reactions of Douglas and MUFON to
recent events.
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Some of Ford's own comments, contained in a 102-page handwritten "Statement to the
Media," were quoted in a lengthy feature article recently published in the Jan. 11 issue of
The Washington Post. Ford claims he had been a CIA agent for the last 30 years, but was
not paid so there would be no record of his employment in the agency's files. Further,
that Mazzuchelli was an officer of Israel's Mossad intelligence agency. Another Ford claim
is that the AIDS and Ebola viruses were brought by ETs to kill off peoples of sub-Sahara
Africa. In a letter to LIUFON vice president Steve Iavarone, Ford predicted that after a
few months at the Mid-Hudson Psychiatric Center he would return and that all charges
against him would be dropped. Ford concluded his letter with UFOlogy's popular slogan :
"THE TRUTH IS OUT THERE...."
In June 1996. Ford was arrested on charges of conspiracy to murder local Republican
officials John Powell, Fred Towle and Anthony Gazzola by doctoring their toothpaste and
their cars with radium. Ford was right about his phone being tapped - the main evidence
against him was a taped phone call to a police informant. People who have heard the
recording say that Ford and the informant discuss the radium poisoning scheme and then
laugh heartily as if it were a joke. Arrested with Ford was Joseph Mazzachelli, and the
next day a third suspect, Edward Zabo, was arrested in Medford, New York. Zabo was an
electrical inspector at military contractor Northrop Grumman. The three men were all
members of the Long Island UFO Network. The group has accused the government of
covering up sightings of extraterrestrials. Zabo, a former Defense Department employee,
had provided the radium, and Ford was supposed to plant it. The intended victims of the
plot could not say why the three wanted to kill them. Mazzachelli was a convicted
burglar, and Zabo had been arrested twice for driving while intoxicated and may have
had some tax troubles. In the raid on Ford's home in Bellport, police seized dozens of
weapons and thousands of rounds of ammunition. Friends said Ford was a gun collector.
Police also found what they and the media described as "militia" literature. However,
actual militia ties are dubious. In 1997, a Suffolk County Court judge ordered that Ford
be sent to an upstate New York mental hospital, where he remains today. Three
psychiatrists and a psychologist, two hired by District Attorney James M. Catterson Jr.'s
office, examined Ford and all four concluded that he was not competent to stand trial.
Robert H. Berger, director of Forensic Psychiatry at Bellevue Hospital Center, said that
while Ford seemed to understand his legal predicament, he thought the criminal case
against him was in reality an intelligence operation being run by the CIA together with
the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad.
Responding to an article about himself in Saucer Smear, Ford wrote :
My case is a frame-up and a smear tactic to destroy my UFO organization and to
neutralize my effectiveness. The main reason I'm sitting here is due to the fact that I had
information indicating that the 1995 East End Forest Fires had been deliberately set to
cover up the crash of a large disc near Suffolk Community College, south of Riverhead
(Long Island). The County was asked to set fires near the crash site, to keep people out
of the area; but dirty politics being the case, the Republican leadership, in an effort to
gain control of Pine Barrens properties, set Forest Fires South of Sunrise Highway in
populated areas near the coveted land. I was able to document some of this. While doing
so, I was targeted for elimination by the politicians. I had several attempts on my
life fail, due to the intervention of Israeli intelligence, which protected me for some
3 1/2 months.
Yes, it's true what I said. There is a heavy intelligence presence involved in my case.
The man to talk to about it all is Preston Nichols. ... He can give you a briefing on the
various aspects of the case ...
Preston Nichols, also a LIUFON member, is the same Preston Nichols of Montauk Project
fame.
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What happened here ? Was Ford getting too close to something he shouldn't have, or
had he been delusional for years ?
THE KELLY CAHILL ENCOUNTER
In August, 1993. 27 yearold Kelly Cahill, her husband and three children were driving
home after a visit to a friend's house. Their routine journey would soon become a
harrowing trip into an unknown world of strange beings that occupied space but were
void of color as we know it. The Dandenong foothills, near Belgrave, Victoria, Australia
would have its location forever linked to one of the most unusual sightings of a strange
creature in Ufology archives. Records from the town of Leicester, England in the year of
1928. give an account of another being without color. The Cahill family would witness
either more of the same, or very similar beings in the wee morning hours of August 8.
After midnight the Cahills were on their journey home when they first noticed the lights
of a rounded craft with windows around it. It silently hovered above the road. Different
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UFO Sightings
colored lights were clearly visible on the bottom of the object. The UFO was so close to
the ground that Kelly thought she could see people through the window openings. As she
began screaming to her husband what she was seeing, the craft zoomed off to their left,
disappearing as quickly as it had made itself known. Continuing their drive home with a
renewed interest in the sky, they suddenly came upon a light ... a light so bright they
were practically blinded. Shading her eyes from the intense light with her hands over her
eyes, Kelly begged of her husband, "What are you going to do ?" Her husband now
frightened to death by the glowing presence before them, replied, "I am going to keep on
driving." Within what seemed only a second or two, Kelly was now very relaxed,
suddenly calmed by the disappearance of the intense, glowing light that had turned night
into day for a brief few moments. The first words out of Kelly's mouth were, "What
happened, did I blackout ?" Her husband said nothing, as he had no answer to give his
wife. He cautiously drove his family home. Upon their safe arrival Kelly could smell a foul
odor, like vomit, and she suddenly felt as though something was missing from their drive
home. Something was missing...an hour or so of time had vanished from her and her
family's life.
That night as Kelly undressed for bed, she noticed a
strange triangular mark on her navel, a mark she
had never seen before. It must have been created
early this every night. But how ? And why ? And
most importantly, by whom ? Kelly suffered from
general malaise for the next two weeks, and was
taken to the hospital on two occasions, one for
severe stomach pain, and another for a uterine
infection. Kelly would soon begin to remember details
of that fearful night, and without any outside aid
such as regressive hypnosis, or counseling. She
recalled the object they had seen in a slightly different place than she first remembered.
It was hovering in a gully, and the UFO was big. She estimated it at 150 feet in diameter.
She could also recall that when the object was first spotted, her husband had stopped
the car, and both her and her husband had gotten out of the vehicle, and walked in the
direction of the massive craft, without fear. It was if they were being subconsciously
drawn to the enigmatic, otherworldly creation. To their surprise, they noticed another car
stopped on the side of the road. As they walked down toward the craft, they saw a
creature unlike either of them had ever seen before. It was black, not a black color but
black as if all matter was removed where its presence was. Kelly would later describe it
as "not having a soul." Kelly's words for the alien were "void of color," yet its shape was
clearly discernible. The black alien entity was taller than an average man, about 7 feet
tall, according to Kelly, and its eyes were large like a fly's, glowing red. After being
mesmerized by the sight of the being, she saw more of them. "Heaps of them" is how
Kelly described them as she stared into the open field.
Kelly Cahill Today
The aliens were out there in the field, beneath the immense
flying craft. The beings seemed to congregate in small groups,
and one group glided toward Kelly and her husband, covering
a hundred yards in a mere few seconds. Another group was
approaching the other car which sat motionless near the
hovering craft. Kelly had a sense that the creatures were evil.
She clung to her husband, fighting the feeling of blacking out.
Her great fear and dread would cause her to scream at the
alien-looking entities to leave them alone. She remembered
going unconscious, and then she was back in their car. As
strange as this encounter seems, it was not without
corroboration. The occupants in the other car would come
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forward and tell almost an exact story, a story of abduction, mind control, and
embarrassing procedures. Kelly recalled through dreams the black alien stooping over
her helpless, nude body like he was kissing her navel. From all indications of the
descriptions of the aliens, they were intruding into our dimension, taking space in our
universe, yet without solid form, though shapes, heads, eyes, and arms could be
distinguished. Could these strange and eerie beings simply slip from a parallel existence
into ours ? Or were they from a not too distant future ?
The account of Kelly Cahill has been examined and reexamined by many researchers.
Many theories have been put forward, but nothing new has been uncovered. Nothing has
been proven, or disproved. Kelly Cahill was considered a reliable, honest person by those
who knew her at the time of this strange sighting. Her case is considered legitimate by
many UFO investigators.
THE UFO SIGHTINGS, HOLLAND, MICHIGAN…
On the evening of March 8, 1994, residents of Southwest Michigan began seeing strange
things in the skies over Lake Michigan to the south of Holland. Blue, white, red, and
green lights, sometimes attached to cylindrical objects, and sometimes performing
unusual maneuvers, were reported.
911 operators began receiving calls at around 9:30 p.m. about something that looked
like "a string of Christmas lights way up in the sky." It wasn't just a few people reporting
these things; it was counties all up and down Lake Michigan. Some sources said 300
witnesses, including several police officers, saw the lights.
There were so many reports that one of the Ottawa County 911 operators decided to call
the National Weather Service radar operator at Muskegon. The conversations that 911
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had with the NWS operator were taped and later made their way into the media. The
radar operator's voice could be heard describing abrupt movements of the object and
multiple objects appearing on the radar screen. He said that what he was seeing could
not be precipitation, especially at that height. One object was tracked moving twenty
miles in ten seconds.
Holland police officer Jeff Vellhouse spoke to the operator of the Muskegon radar that
picked up the radar tracks : "He said he had three things on his radar, and they were in a
triangular shape. He said they hovered over Holland and moved southwest. He said that
one would move out of the triangular pattern, then move back in."
The radar operator also reported :
•
"There were three and sometimes four blips, and they weren't planes. Planes show
as pinpoints on the scope, these were the size of half a thumbnail. They were from 5
to 12,000 feet at times, moving all over the place. Three were moving toward
Chicago. I never saw anything like it before, not even when I'm doing severe
weather."
It was said that there was no NWS written or taped records of the radar contacts
themselves, but Dave Reinhart of BIMUP( Bureau of Investigators of Mysteries & Unusual
Phenomena) claimed to have received copies of the NWS radar operator's report in late
1994. He also said that he had talked to an individual referred to as "Fred", who worked
at Area 51 and who had knowledge that what occurred on the night of March 8, 1994.
was some sort of rendezvous of ufos from the east, west, north, and south. Scott Ruiter
of Grand Haven saw the lights in Grand Haven Township at 10:30 p.m. March 7 : "It
looked like about five airplanes following each other fairly closely. One would blink, then
the other, other and other, right to left,"
The National Weather Service later tried to downplay the radar trackings : "There is no
relation between the UFOs and the radar tracks," said Dean Gulezian, the weather
service's area manager for Michigan. Gulezian said that although the radar did show
some echoes, "One key thing is the eyewitnesses saw these things at tree-top level,"
while the radar echoes were from an altitude of 10,000 feet or higher. (Right... Note
above where the first witnesses reported seeing something like a string of Christmas
lights "way up in the sky") Randee Murphy and her husband, of Ada Township, observed
a "huge" shape for about two minutes as it flew slowly about 100 feet over the woods
outside their home. "It had four lights," she said, and "made a soft, whirring noise.
It sounded like a single jet engine."
The Michigan flap continued for several days, presumably ending on the 10th. The
sightings were never adequately explained.
THE MONGO PHOTO CASE, INDIANA
Mongo, IN, is located approximately 40 miles NNW of Fort Wayne, approximately 5 miles
from the Michigan border. The prime witness (referred to as JK) was an area fire
supervisor for the Forest Management Division, Michigan Department of Natural
Resources, residing in Jackson, MI. DB was the firefighter from Howell, MI who took the
pictures. FB : Cass City, MI, retired, Michigan Department of Natural Resources. One of
the witnesses was a retired Michigan State Trooper
from Carroll, MI. Another was a retiree from the U.S.
Postal Service. The latter did not think the object was a
UFO. There was one other witness, six in all. The
sighting was brief, estimated at 1-3 minutes. Six men,
all retirees from age 45 on up, were sitting around a
campfire at the Trading Post Campgrounds at Mongo,
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IN, on Wednesday, August 31st, 1994. The time was approximately 8:30 PM, Indiana
time; 9:30 PM Michigan time (EDT).
REPORT
The UFO Filter Center at Mt. Vernon, IN (also HQ for the Indiana Group, MUFON)
received the initial report on 10/07/94, by phone. FIT Linda Dahlkemper had called me
(State Director) at 11:00 AM. On the 21st, UFOFC received blow-ups of two photos, #8
and #9, drawings by the prime witness, and some news clippings. The photos were
impressive. Although the images were small and taken at night, one photo looked very
much like the famous Trindade Island photo. I attempted contact with Jeff Sainio, Photo
Analyst, left message on his recorder.
At approximately 10:00 AM, on 10/22, I conducted a taped telephone interview with the
prime witness (JK). A letter and six Form 1's were sent to the prime witness. I requested
witness send copy of photos to me AND Jeff Sainio. The following are notes taken from
the phone conversation :
JK :
•
"Off to the southwest it looked like the moon, glowing through the treetops, and it
was low. I said, 'that can't be the moon', 'cause we are in the last phase. (Moon not
visible anyway). Then it started moving. Then it moved right out from behind the
trees into an open area near a road and hovered toward us. And it was clear as can
be. It was a flying saucer, just that vivid. The object glided into our area at a shallow
angle, turned toward us and began to hover. Standing still, the white glow turned
transparent. It looked like a white strobe light on the top of the dome. A bright red
flash of light under the bottom flashed 3 or 4 times like a strobe and it disappeared
to the south and east very quickly, within 2 seconds."
Before it had gone they got at least four good pictures. One of the individuals who was
taking pictures around the campfire that night had a Vivitar fully automatic 35 mm
camera, loaded with 400 ASA color film. He was instructed to grab his camera and shoot.
He had been out West with a fire crew, fighting fires and had taken pictures out there.
The lens was standard, not telephoto. Prime witness met and talked with two hunters the
following day at 10:30 AM EDT. They had been enroute to the campground from Ft.
Wayne, IN, and when they were 1/2 mile south of Mongo they spotted a white object
move in front and to the east at low level at a high rate of speed. This was at the same
time of 2130 EDT.
Newspaper accounts show at least two other good witnesses (the Martins) testifying that
this was no blimp. Reports of a blimp (Family Channel) in area. Finally, a man, his wife,
and two daughters saw the same or similar object at Hamilton, IN, and took videos.
Their sighting was at 8:45 PM and a little over 20 miles SE of Mongo. The object was less
than 100' up and there was no sound. Although some of video was erased, the object in
one scene is large, pear shaped, and definitely not a conventional object.
Blow-up of Mongo Frame #4
The blow-ups of the Mongo object were received
on October 21st and were cropped negatives #8
& #9. JK had another pair of negatives at the
time of the interview, #4 & #5. After making
prints from #8 & #9 a few days prior to this
interview, he had swapped negatives with the
camera owner. The witness says the first photos
are more distinct. "You are going to be more
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impressed with the ones I just got yesterday," he said. Negatives #6 & #7 reportedly did
not show the UFO. The blow-ups and prints were made on a department store customeroperated Kodak machine called "Create-A-Print". Photo #8 shows object (moving west to
east in downward course) with illuminated leaves in the foreground due to camera flash.
Photo #9 is similar, w/o flash, object still moving west to east and downward. Camera
flash had been turned off for #9. In the first two photos the object had come closer and
reportedly looked like a "fried egg".
I requested that he fill out a Form 1 and try to get the others (5) to do the same. Six
Form 1's were provided.
A drawing was supplied with the blow-ups of negatives #8 & #9, and witness states that
this is what the UFO looked like, as it was very bright and coming in, first like the moon.
Object had panels that could be seen when the object was due south. He says
drawing/photos don't do justice to the actual event. There was absolutely no noise. Three
dogs did not react in any way. He was out hunting the next day and actually saw the
Family Channel Blimp that others had reported. "There is no way in hell (that) we saw a
blimp that night." The object they saw and photographed on the 31st was no further than
1/4 mile away, and from 500' high to as low as 100' at one point. Witness then states
the object was more vivid when first coming in. Apparently the object was receding on
subsequent shots. At first he thought the object to be a bright meteor. It didn't take long
for them to realize that the object was not a meteor. In negative #4 & #5 you "can see a
distinct line right around the center", he said.
PRELIMINARY EVALUATION
Source Test, Natural : All natural sources were eliminated. An EZC Skyplot for Mongo
coordinates during time slot shows three planets as conspicuous targets. Jupiter and
Venus were in the SW, Saturn was in the SE. Description of object, movement, and
number of witnesses precludes a misidentification of an astronomical object. Also, an
on-site investigation by John Timmerman of CUFOS failed to show any other natural
source that might explain the sighting. Source Test, Man-Made: Advertising, commercial,
military, and private aircraft eliminated. A blimp seemed possible. Witness testimony
appeared to rule this out. Later analysis by Dr. Richard Haines effectively ruled out any
type of blimp or any other source. We had already eliminated a balloon, fixed structure,
hoax (on witness or by witnesses). Twelve witnesses were reliable, object was real,
description and photos (and a video) indicate an unidentified craft was in the area, along
with a possible blimp.
Evaluation: Unidentified craft. Berliner Strangeness Scale: 2 (Night object); Berliner
Credibility Scale : 7 (Still photo(s) by professional). Speiser Strangeness Factor : S5
(Highly strange; suggests intelligent guidance); Speiser Credibility Scale: P5 (Highly
credible, leaving almost no doubt).
CONCLUSIONS
The self-luminous aerial object seen and photographed at Mongo, Indiana on August 31,
1994, has remained unidentified after the various evaluations cited above. On the one
hand, its overall shape and flight characteristics are not unlike many scores of other UFO
reported for more than fifty years from around the world, many of which were captured
on photographs. On the other hand, a blimp definitely was seen during the night of
August 31, 1994 in the Mongo area. The aerial object photographed cannot be positively
identified at this time. It remains a UFO.
Comments By The State Director
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We have been unable to obtain any official flight records for any blimp flights explaining
the Mongo event. Two different blimp companies were "identified" (Family Channel
& Virgin Lightship) by "authorities". A current and separate investigation is underway
involving a video taken the same evening at Hamilton, Indiana just a few miles SE of
Mongo ! The witnesses also claim the object at one point was less than 100' over them,
was as big as a football field, and made no noise !
ISRAELI UFO CRASH
Yet another landmark event in the eleven year long Israeli UFO wave has taken place.
In what appears to be a historical first, a mid-air crash between two UFOs has been
video-taped.
On 28th September, 1995. Spasso Maximovitch noticed an unexplainable object in the
skies over Rosh Haayin in central Israel. He grabbed his video camera and captured a
silvery, glowing object become, two, three and then four fiery orbs, in a near square
formation, over a wide expanse of the northwestern sky. After this incident, Mr.
Maximovitch became a constant skywatcher. His dilgence was rewarded on 24/6/96
when a similar silvery orb appeared in the lower western sky.
He trained his video camera on the orb...
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And then a glowing white oval-shaped object appeared some 20 degrees west of the
object and streaked toward it at high speed. Within three seconds it struck the stationary
orb, causing a huge explosion in the sky which must have destroyed both objects.
Stunned, Maximovitch stopped filming immediately after capturing the explosion.
He privately turned over the two films to journalist David Ronen and I acquired copies.
Ronen, who for three years had his own UFO column in a weekend magazine owned by
the newspaper Maariv, got the ax two months ago. People with UFO experiences still
seek him out and he is free to utilize their material, some of it he hopes will be included
in a film project he is involved with. However, the vast bulk of the videotapes, photos
and testimonies are the property of Maariv and are being stored in a safe within the
newspaper's headquarters. To his utter frustration, Ronen has, so far, not been given
free access to the invaluable documentation. If the Maximovitch tapes are any indication
of what Maariv is holding back, the full story of Israel's UFO wave is far more dramatic
than currently believed. I have sent the two Maximovitch tapes to Union Skyline Pictures
of London for examination and possible inclusion in their upcoming three part series
Riddle Of The Skies, which will be broadcast by Channel Four in the UK and RTL in
Germany. A stumbling block has been encountered, however : Maximovitch cannot
be located for permission to release his tapes for the series. Nonetheless, numerous
Israeli videotapers of UFOs have agreed to allow their films to appear in the series.
They include, Ehud Baraban, who taped a stunning triangular formation over Tel Aviv,
Adrian Gvir, who captured a colorful triangular craft over Rishon Letzion, Gil Bar, who
taped an F-16 chasing a UFO over the daylight skies of Rishon Letzion, Rafi Malka,
responsible for Israel's first UFO videotape in 1988, of a large craft with numerous lights
over Haifa, the Shuah family, who caught a closeup of what appears to be a multi-vent
UFO energy system over Kibbutz Hatzor and Nahum Shomroni, who, in November '97,
recorded on tape an invasion of black, sponge-shaped craft over Tel Aviv in mid-day.
With or without the explosion over Rosh Haayin, the Israeli segment of the series will be
exciting. Whether included by Union Skyline or not, I will present the Rosh Haayin
mid-air crash (or possibly deliberate destruction) of the two unidentified objects to
experts in our field or at conferences. It is my opinion that this tape is an invaluable
record of a most mysterious event.
UFO PHOTOGRAPH TAKEN - VALLEY, ALABAMA
An ISUR NEWS Special : a local radio station and newspaper received six different photos
from an anonymous source that show a capsule-shape UFO hovering over a farm
pasture. In a letter accompanying the photos, the source claims to have taken the
remarkable UFO photographs on the 16th of September, 1996, in Valley, Alabama, USA.
According to the phototaker, he was repairing a fence on his property when his dog
started barking loudly. Going over to where his dog was he looked up to see a low-flying
capsule-shape UFO hovering and moving slowly over one of his cow pastures. The UFO
captured in each of the photos resembles the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo space capsules
that the United States launched in the early years of its space program. Black to dark
green, the cone-shaped capsule, when blown-up, shows a black teflon-like covered
bottom and a flange or rim that goes around near the top of the unknown object. In each
photo the UFO is shown at a slightly different position and elevation, making it more
difficult to hoax, according to researchers who have examined the photographs.
The photos and a copy of the letter were aired
publicly for the first time on TV-33 in Lagrange,
Georgia on 26 September 1996. On the "Heston &
Steve" show, the two hosts, Heston Yates and Steve
Smoots, along with John C. Thompson and Jimmy
Smith, field investigators for the International Society
for Ufo Research (ISUR), speculated about whether
the UFO photos are real. All of them agreed that if the
photos were part of a hoax, it was a most strange
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and clever one. Mr. Thompson said on the program that he was "most favorably
impressed by the photos." He also has stated since then that he has two witnesses who
saw similar shaped UFOs in May and July in the LaGrange area which is only 20 miles
from Valley. Another witness that he has located, says he and others saw the exact craft,
incredibly, 25 years earlier in Atlanta. Mr. Smith, a long-time investigator and actual
sightee of UFOs, said the photos appeared genuine. He also said that he himself, in 1971,
had seen a UFO with a likeness of what the photos depict. He then went on to relate that
the 1971 UFO had cut off power to his pickup while he observed it.
The photos, along with a copy of the letter from the alleged phototaker, have now been
sent to Jeff Sainio, a photography expert who specializes in analyzing UFO video and
photos. Mr. Sainio, who often does photo analysis for the popular TV Sightings program,
will determine if the photos really show a UFO. In the meantime, it is hoped that the
person who took these amazing photos will step forward and allow access to the
negatives that the photos were made from. All persons involved in investigating the
photos are assuring the phototaker over TV and radio that if he wishes, his anonymity
will be kept.
Editor's Note : This case has good detail and a nice, clear photograph. I rarely ever add
my own opinion into articles that are kept on the UFO Casebook. In this case, however,
I must say that there is something just not quite right about the photograph. It has the
look of a wooden water bucket turned upside down. In all fairness, I have NO proof to
back up this statement, and I am keeping an open mind. Does anyone else agree with
me on this ?
THE VARGIHNA, BRAZIL ENTITY
About 12:00 A.M. January 20, 1996 : NORAD (North American Air Defense Command)
contacts their Brazilian counterpart CINDACTA (I Centro INtegrado de Defesa Aerea e
Controle de Trafego Aereo or Integrated Center on Air Defense and Air Traffic Control)
and warns them of a UFO coming down over southern parts of the state. This information
is leaked by both a Brazilian Air Force soldier, and an employee at the radar facility at Air
Force Base VI Comar. Farmers Augusta and Eurico Rodrigues' sleep is rudely interrupted
by the frightened sounds of their farm animals. Attempting to find the cause, they peek
out the window, seeing the animals running from one side of the field to the other.
Peering into the night sky, they see a silent UFO without lights.
When emergency departments receive a call that
someone has seen a "strange creature," usually a
good laugh is had by all. At first, that is exactly what
happened at a Varginha, Brazil Fire Department on
the morning of January 20, 1996. This case of the
unknown began early that morning with a frantic
phone call stating that a "strange creature" had been
seen in the area of Jardim Andere. Thinking that the
reporter was probably someone who was drunk, or
been up too long partying, this first call was in the
process of being reluctantly responded to when a
second call came in stating the same thing. The Fire Department personnel in Brazil are
part of the Military, and must respond to all calls. What could this be, a couple of
pranksters perpetuating a hoax ? If so, the group was growing, as several more calls
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came in also reporting this unusual monster. Firemen followed the civilians' instructions
to the site.
To the utter surprise of the men, they found the source of the strange reports. The entity
was seemingly in a dazed condition, and was easily captured by the search party. Three
protrusions stood atop of it's head, which glowed with red eyes. It also had long arms,
short legs, and big feet. The monster sounded off with a buzz as it was taken into a net
approximately 2 and one-half hours after the first call was received. Was this some type
of "one of kind" alien who was visiting our world ? Whatever it was, it was not alone.
Later that very day, three girls, Lilliane Fatima, Valquira Fatima, and Andrade Xavier,
were walking home after work. Taking a short-cut through a wooded area, they stumbled
upon another one of these strange alien creatures. Their description of the entity was
almost identical to the one nabbed earlier.
Picking up their pace, they raced home. One of the girls' mothers immediately went back
to the spot of the sighting, saw foot prints, and smelled a strong scent of ammonia in the
air. This was not the end of the creatures by any means. There were reports of as many
as seven being captured that day. One was supposedly taken to a small regional hospital
before being transferred to the larger Humanitas facility. Reports stated that the creature
was escorted by military personnel. At least one of the creatures expired, and was taken
for an autopsy to the University of Campinas. Reportedly, two others were taken to the
University of Sao Paulo for examination.
During the autopsy process, certainly many photographs and videos were taken, but so
far, nothing has been released to the public save for an artist's rendition of the creature.
Only a few weeks after the events of January 20, Marco Eli Cherese, a 23 year old
military policeman who was involved in the investigation, died. Supposedly he fell ill from
the effects of contact with one of the creatures. The press began a relentless search for
more details of the case, and two of the girls involved began to ask for monetary
compensation for their testimony. The mother of the girls, Mrs. Luiza Helena, states that
she was offered a fair sum of money by four unknown men dressed in cream-colored
Armani suits. This time, however, the money was to silence the testimony, not solicit it.
"They also said they would come back, but we can't hide the truth," she said.
When questioned by the press, Military and Fire Department members denied any
knowledge of a captured alien. This response did not come as a surprise. There were
reports of an unusual amount of troop movement on the day of the monsters, indicating
a cover-up. Officially speaking, all personnel at the hospitals involved denied any
knowledge of the events involving the capture of any alien being. It would be only
natural for those involved to be under an oath of silence, but there is one indication that
the strange stories may have credibility. Pathologist Badan Palhares, who reportedly was
the physician who autopsied one of the creatures, officially denied any involvement in the
events, but did state that he may have more to say at a later time. Could this be a hint
of an announcement to come ?
Several reports of UFOs were also made during the period in question, and it is surmised
that the strange beings were occupants of the flying craft. There is also a possible
connection to the Chupacabra monster, who has been reported many times in the South
American area. The story of the Varginha entities are largely a product of Ufologist
Vitorio Pacaccini, who claims to have received firsthand reports from military and hospital
personnel who spoke "off the record." The Varginha, Brazil accounts are still in need of
more "official" confirmation, but such is the case of many reports of this type. Hopefully,
we will receive information to shed new light on this tantalizing case. Besides the
drawings of the entity, there is also a UFO video taken on the same night over Varginha.
THE VARGIHNA CASE : NEW REVELATIONS
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New revelations about the capture and medical treatment of alien creatures in Brazil,
January 1996.
After eight years from the principal episodes of the Varginha Case, predictions that the
volume of information would substantially increase with time are confirmed. However, as
with all similar episodes, the volume of information turns difficult the establishment of
certainties. We know that facts are proved with witnesses, but the complications arising
from human reports turns any investigation into a real challenge in the quest for the
truth. Among the many aspects involved in this process we should mention the emotional
one, which may produce a series of statements uncommitted with the objectivity
required to lead us to the truth.
Considering that an uncommon occurrence make people offer their own interpretation
influenced by personal beliefs and trends from their own social environment, only the
research carried out directly in the places and situations in question allows us to have
some confirmation. Among the reliable statements - even though depending on analysis
grounded on a wider set of data or rare evidence - we should point those from individuals
from the environment where the facts supposedly occurred.
Military Witnesses
In the beginning of 2003 Varginha was visited by Roger Leir, US ufologist and
acknowledged physician, whose experience of more than 50 years as a UFO researcher
lead him to different kinds of occurrences, such as the cases of implants supposedly
made by alien surgical intervention. This visit was an opportunity to verify the effective
existence of some secret witnesses of the Varginha Case, which since 1996 was always
affirmed by researchers. This was already shown in 1997 when representatives of local
and national press were selected to watch - upon ethical commitment of absolute
secrecy, two video-recorded interviews with military witnesses who took part in the
event.
At the same time we may not consider as evidence statements given in secrecy,
therefore of restricted or none value -, it is crucial to prove to the population and
scholars in general that these statements really exist. With this objective Roger Leir was
taken to the office of a colleague - an acknowledged doctor in Varginha with more than
30 years of work who belongs to one of the most traditional families of that region.
Called by the US ufologist as "Doctor", he agreed to receive Roger Leir, after a natural
hesitation, to confirm what he had seen in January, 1996 inside an appropriate room at
the Regional Hospital, south of Minas Gerais. During more than three hours of talk, Roger
Leir heard from his Brazilian colleague the confirmation that a second creature of
uncommon physical appearance was captured. The "Doctor" revealed a new detail
unknown to researchers till that time.
Injured Creature
According to the "Doctor", who refuses to reveal his real name, the body presented
injuries of different kinds and grades. He said he was urgently called by the military staff
responsible for keeping the creature and described his astonishment in front of
something never seen or reported before. His statement regarding the appearance of the
creature is not different from many other descriptions of other witnesses, but he said the
creature was surely alive when he saw it.
This declaration is part of an ever increasing pile of witnesses including military, police
officers, doctors, hospital officers, civil witnesses etc. We should not forget, however, the
necessity to select the gathered information, which sometimes may receive the direct
influence of the investigator. Here is one example especially chosen to emphasize the
neutrality of arguments, so important for the discussion of UFO or similar occurrences.
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One of the procedures preferred by ufologists of the so-called objective line - not
mystical - is to focus their attention to statements free of personal impressions,
especially those where witnesses talk about their own emotional alteration at the
moment of their experience.
The "Doctor" - initially insisting that it was a colleague who was called by the military to
the referred hospital - eventually admitted that he was the doctor in question and
decided to trust his US colleague telling everything. The "Doctor" was touched and giving
us a new detail about the case with a serious expression on his face he said that when he
was trying to examine the injuries of the being he felt suddenly "as if my hands were
automatically driven" and "it was as if the lights suddenly became yellowish", and "my
perception was somewhat enhanced". These are transcriptions of what he said.
The "Doctor" also said that he could not understand the physiological constitution of the
body we was examining even though it was an anthropomorphic being, with head, trunk
and members. The "Doctor" did not hear any sound made by the creature neither
mentioned the famous "thin, bifurcated tongue", reported by other medic and military
witnesses. He said he had seen its slow movements, proving it was still alive, but refused
to say if it was breathing.
Here is the example of the difficulties found in statements like this. We don't know to
which extent the psychological impact and emotional alterations of a professional before
the unknown would influence him to the point of causing uncommon sensations. For
obvious reasons such alterations may occur much more in persons with technical
knowledge and refined culture. The contact with a situation not explicable by academic
assumptions means increased sensitivity to such shocks. Therefore, the reported
impressions could be a simple result of this. It would be absurd to take the detail of a
supposedly psychic interaction between the creature and the doctor as an effective signal
of intelligence of the being or - even more absurd - that the "Doctor" was in contact with
something with telepathic or similar powers. These kinds of assertions, however, are not
uncommon.
Complications in the Research
With time, hopes of new information and other confirmations about the Varginha Case
are partially satisfied. But there is the risk that they come each time more characterized
by complications. For now, the most significant of these complications is the denial of the
institutions involved from the beginning, such as the Army, hospitals and others. Even if
we had access to a detailed report composed by examinations, analyses and full data
about the material resulting from the episode, the effective existence of the said
creatures of Varginha could only be confirmed if officially admitted. While this does not
happen, ufologists, researchers, skeptics, and curious and interested people can only
keep on the further discussion about the case.
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THE PHOENIX LIGHTS, ARIZONA
UFO researchers and writers today are tantalized by the increasing reports of alien
abduction, photographs of alien beings, UFO crashes, possible debris, and implant
removals. In a way we have become spoiled; expecting the sensational. This desire for
ultimate proof has caused us to overlook the seemingly mundane, everyday reports of
night lights, which were at one time sensational in their own right. With the ever growing
technology of our era, pictures and video are often times called into question because of
the ease of manipulation and creation afforded computer graphics experts. Called into
question, that is, by those who are waiting
in the wings to debunk any and all visible
proof of UFOs as suspect of being hoaxed.
This is especially true in cases with one or
two photos taken by one witness. This has
always been a pitfall to researchers who
scratch and claw for authentication of a
particular photograph or video. There are,
however, those cases which have multiple
photographs of the same object, taken by
many witnesses. This type of case carries
the heaviest weight to those who remain on neutral ground. One of the best of these is
the Phoenix, Arizona lights case of 1997. Accompanied by many photographs and videos,
this fantastic event is still discussed and analyzed today.
Evidence points to March 13, 1997. as the onset of this extremely compelling account of
various and sundry phenomenal lights which moved over the state of Arizona. These
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lights, though referred to as the "Phoenix Lights," were actually witnessed in at least five
other cities. Phoenix has the distinction as the first Arizona city to report the unknown
light sources, which were initially spotted over Superstition Mountains, east of the city, at
about 7:30 PM. The first reports indicated an object of six points of light, immediately
followed by a report of eight connected lights, with a separate ninth, which moved in
unison with the eight. The formation was seen again over the Gila River just before
10:00 PM. In a matter of minutes, the enormous, lighted structure had made its way
over the southern part of the city of Phoenix. At this time, literally thousands of people
witnessed the object or objects. It was at this time, that the first photographs and videos
were taken. The final sightings of the night were in Rainbow Valley. Witnesses there
reported a distinct "V" formation. This sighting occurred at about 2:00 AM on March 14.
It is important to note that there are various descriptions of the lights from the Nevada
border throughout Arizona. Some witnesses described a very clear "V" shape, while
others said that the lights were circular or cresent shaped. It is only common in night
light cases for these differences to come to light. Many factors can attribute to these
sundry descriptions. One specific object can be seen from different angles, the angle of
the object may only reflect part of its light system, depending on atmospheric or weather
conditions, or the very way a witness looks at the object can make this difference. It is
very possible that two witnesses can see the same object at the same time, and give two
completely different accounts. This fact has been proven in scientific studies of eye
witnesses accounts in crime cases. Another possibility in the case in point is that there
may have been several different objects of different shapes and sizes. In my own
research into this case over the years, I have come to the personal conclusion that the
main object over Arizona was of a circular shape, and this is corroborated by the various
still and video film taken. There were other shapes observed, but it appears that the
"mother-ship" was circular.
Though the huge lighted formation seemed to move in a tauntingly slow speed over
Arizona, it was reported that strange lights had sped from the Henderson-Las Vegas,
Nevada area toward Arizona, and seemed to slow down as it entered the Arizona area.
Initial reports described anywhere from 5-7 points of light, and ultimately 8 with a
trailing ninth. The enormous object was extremely low, and mountainous area could be
seen behind the craft in pictures, therefore giving photographic experts scale to
approximate the elevation from the ground, and the distance from the camera.
This would enable an estimate of the craft being a whopping one mile or more in length !
The color of its lights were described as "blue-white," to "yellow-white," to "amber."
Again, these differences of description do not necessitate there being more than one
object. During the crafts fast moving period, it was estimated to be moving at Mach 2-3.
As it slowed down as if posing to be filmed, the speed dropped to an estimated 10-15
MPH. At one point over Sky Harbor, it reportedly hovered for several minutes.The object
was also reported to change shapes, speeds, and colors, as it made its way across the
skies of Arizona.
Various photos of the Phoenix Lights
Between 9:00 and 9:30 PM on the
13th, one extraordinary description was
made by a family in Mesa. They said
that an enormous craft with a
distinctive structure flew over their
area. They described a triangle-shaped
object with lights at three corners, and
another larger light in
its center. Amazingly, they could clearly
see panels on the craft which were in a grid pattern. There were also, about this same
time, several reports of two round objects which seemed to detach from the larger "V"
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shaped object, only to later rejoin the mother-ship. One witness described the "V"
shaped mother-ship dividing itself into two separate craft as it moved toward the city of
Tucson. Another dramatic description of the mother-ship was made by a group of real
estate agents who had subdivided property over the north part of Phoenix. They would
also get a close-up view of the gigantic disc. They estimated the craft to be a staggering
two miles wide as it flew at a low altitude near Phoenix. They could see dozens of bright
lights along the leading edges, and also a row of windows with "silhouettes of people." It
also seems highly probably that for some reason, the giant craft turned off its lights, as
observers could see only the windows with what appeared to be people shadowed in the
glow of the inside. Another family got a brightly lit view of the unknown object, and
described its color as "flat blue-black, like the color of a shotgun barrel."
Among the most reliable witnesses of the craft's movements that first night were two
airplane pilots, one retired from an airline, and another from Vietnam, who was also a U.
S. Marshall. Though seeing the object at different times and places, both men described
a craft of "immense size," measuring up to a mile long. The Marshall could also see the
city lights of Phoenix reflecting from the bottom of the massive object, while it "blocked
out the stars." One of the pilots also videotaped the UFO, but had the tape confiscated in
a "men in black" encounter. In a completely separate incident, a group of witnesses had
reported a "huge discoid" craft which was "larger than Sun Devil Stadium at Arizona
State University." This object was hovering just above tree tops at the west end of Sky
Harbor runway between 2:00 and 3:00 AM about two weeks prior to March 13. It is
almost inevitable that the United States Air Force would become involved in an event
case of this magnitude, and the Phoenix lights mystery would be no exception. While
driving down Interstate-I-17 from Camp Verde, a truck driver had been seeing two
amber colored UFOs moving ahead of him southward for two whole hours. His destination
was a materials plant near Luke Air Force Base. Upon arriving there, the two UFOs
hovered nearby. While his truck was being loaded, the driver walked upon a pile of
materials to get a better look at the two UFOs. He could make out two identical "toy,
top-like amber orbs" with a white glow to them. A band of red lights pulsated on the craft
as it hovered near the Luke AFB runway. Suddenly, two F-16s "blasted out of Luke with
their afterburners on full." Soon, a third plane followed, and all three made a direct run
toward the hovering UFOs. As the first two jets were about to reach the UFOs, the
unknowns shot straight upward, and disappeared "in an instant." The two jets flew right
through the exact spot the UFOs had previously occupied. A Luke ground crewman later
confirmed to NUFORC that the driver's account was true. He also stated that upon
returning to the base runway, one of the pilots had to be helped from his cockpit. He was
visibly shaken from what had just happened.
(excerpt from a report made by Peter Davenport of the NUFORC)
•
One of the more intriguing reports was submitted by a young man who claimed to
be an Airman in the Air Force, stationed at Luke Air Force Base, located to the west
of Phoenix in Litchfield Park. He telephoned the National UFO Reporting Center at
3:20 a.m. on Friday, some eight hours after the sightings on the previous night, and
reported that two USAF F-15c fighters had been "scrambled" from Luke AFB, and
had intercepted one of the objects. Although the presence of F-15’s could never be
confirmed, the airman provided detailed information which proved to be highly
accurate, based on what investigators would reconstruct from witnesses over
subsequent weeks and months. Two days after his first telephone call, the airman
called to report that he had just been informed by his commander that he was being
transferred to an assignment in Greenland. He has never been heard from again
since that telephone call.
The Phoenix lights case is not without its controversy, much of which originated from the
Air Force. In May of 1997, Luke AFB Public Affairs Office stated that Air Force personnel
had investigated the so-called "UFOs," and had solved the case. They claimed that flares
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dropped from an A-10 "Warthog" had caused the numerous reports of night lights.
This explanation is totally unfounded for several reasons. First of all, flares do not move
in unison, fall toward the ground, and then fly back up into the air, and move across
many miles without changing their relativepositions. Secondly, many witnesses had made
reports of the giant lights hours before the reported time of the launch of the flares.
Article From The Arizona Republic (11. May, 1997)
X-Files is Opened Into Phoenix "UFO", BarWood asks staff to investigate lights By Susie
Steckner and Chris Fiscus.
It's not exactly the kind of made-for-tv case those X-files agents would investigate. But,
says Frances Emma Barwood, those strange lights in the Phoenix sky should be checked
out by city staff, at the very least.
"I asked them to find out if it's a hoax or what," the Phoenix councilwoman said Friday. "I
did not see it. I wish someone would have called me.
"Apparently, people all over the city got video of it. They all said it was as big as a
football field."
So Sculley -Sheryl, the assistant city manager, not X-files FBI Agent Dana Scully - has
asked police to look into the sightings, at Barwoods request.
"I guess they'll ask Sky Harbor, ask the military, look at videos, I'd love to see all the
videos," Barwood said.
In March, callers from Prescott Valley to Tucson flooded the National UFO Reporting
Center in Seattle to report the appearance of a boomerang-shaped, lighted object.
The center called it "the most dramatic sighting" reported in the past two or three years.
In the following weeks, it drew hundreds of calls - even one from Las Vegas - and
resulted in an inch-thick stack of written reports, center Director Peter Davenport said.
Then, in April, the sighting was featured on the out-of-this world radio program called
The Edge of Reality, which is produced in New York City.
"Personally, I think it's something the Air Force is working on, some sort of large
transport," Barwood said.
Does she believe in UFOS ? "That's a good question," she said. "I guess I have an open
mind." Since God created the universe, she said, "Why couldn't he have created others ?"
UFO researchers so far say they have no explanation, despite asking questions around
Luke Air Force Base and local airports. Davenport, meanwhile, is thrilled to hear that a
public official is taking the sightings seriously.
"As far as I know, this is the first time I've ever heard of a local or state body taking an
official stand," he said. "I'm encouraged. I'm heartened by that."
At a City Council meeting this week, Barwood said she was "a little curious" about the
recent sightings. She said a television news crew asked her about the lights, and piqued
her curiosity. The crew was from the show Extra, which aired a segment Thursday about
the "Phoenix UFO mystery." Barwood said the main reason she asked the city to look into
the matter is because the TV crew asked why no one was investigating the reports.
"I said, 'I'll ask.'"
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"I don't know why they (the government) don't check it out and if it was nothing, say it
was nothing," Barwood said. "Being there were videos of it, it has people's curiosity. Why
not check it out and see if it's a hoax ?"
Article From The Arizona Republic (11. Mart, 1998)
Steve Wilson - Republic Columnist
'Phoenix Lights' witnesses credible, hard to dismiss : When the "Phoenix Lights" were
reported last year, I yawned. I didn't see them, and breathless TV broadcasts were
underwhelming. It seemed easy enough to dismiss the lights as flares or military aircraft.
UFOs ? You've got to be kidding. Still, as the March 13 anniversary of the sightings
approached, I was curious enough to seek out some witnesses. I suspected most would
turn out to be UFO devotees. My skepticism was heightened by a New Times story last
week that debunked the extraterrestrial theorizing and discredited a leading local
theorist, Jim Dilettoso, as a "quack scientist."
I found several people with credible credentials who witnessed the lights. At the least,
their stories are interesting. Even if you regard their accounts dubiously, as I do, they
raise legitimate questions.
Enough questions, says Peter Davenport, director of the National UFO Reporting Center
in Seattle, that what happened that night "may rank as the most dramatic UFO event in
the past 50 years."
First, a little background. The lights were spotted between 7:30 and 10:30 in the evening
over a 300-mile corridor from the Nevada line through Prescott Valley and Phoenix to the
northern edge of Tucson. Some reports indicate that a single "V" formation traveled
across the state, while others suggest multiple UFO events. The lights were seen by
hundreds of people.
Here are four : Dr. Bradley Evans, 47, is a clinical psychiatrist from Tucson. He and his
wife, Kris, were driving north on Interstate 10 to a swimming meet in Tempe. They
watched the lights for 20 minutes or so move slowly south in a diamond formation and
pass over them at an estimated 1,500 feet. Even then, with the car's moon roof open,
they heard not a sound from the sky. He was "awed" by the experience and has no idea
what he saw. Kris said she couldn't explain it either and guesses it was "something
military."
Trig Johnston, 50, is a retired commercial airline pilot who lives in north Scottsdale.
His 22-year-old son was looking for Comet Hale-Bopp that night when he noticed the
lights and told his dad. "I looked up and remember saying out loud, "I'm going to chalk
this up to an illusion.' It was the size of 25 airliners, moving at about 100 knots at maybe
5,000 feet, and it didn't make a sound. I've flown 747s across oceans and not seen
anything like I saw that night," Johnston said. "I don't expect anybody to take my word
for it," he added. "This was something you had to see for yourself to believe."
Max Saracen, 34, is a real estate consultant who lives in north Phoenix. He and his wife,
Shahla, were driving west on Deer Valley Road when they saw a huge triangular craft.
They pulled off the road, got out and watched it pass overhead. "It was very spooky, this
gigantic ship blocking out the stars and silently creeping across the sky. I don't know of
any aircraft with silent engines."
Dr. X is a physician who lives near Squaw Peak in Phoenix and asked to remain
anonymous for fear of ridicule. Her home has an elevated, panoramic view of the Valley,
and she has some of the best known videotape and photographs of the lights. Though
she had no prior interest in UFOs, the episode prompted her to begin her own
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investigation. "I think what happened is mind-boggling," she said. "I'm trying to be as
scientific as I can, and a number of things just don't compute." I'm not given to an
otherworldly answer. But neither do I think these four people and so many others who
saw the lights are all exaggerating or delusional.
Of all the explanations, a U.S. military operation of some sort, maybe testing
experimental aircraft, seems most likely. Mitch Stanley of Scottsdale said he could clearly
see several planes when he pointed his telescope at the lights. But if it was a classified
operation, why conduct it directly over the nation's sixth-biggest city ? And if it wasn't,
why hasn't the military simply acknowledged it ? You don't have to be a ufologist to be
puzzled about what lit the sky that night.
SOUTH AFRICA UFO ENCOUNTER
This sighting took place in September, 1997. while travelling home from windsurfing on
an inland lake in South Africa. The journey took us past the CSIR (Council for Scientific
and Industrial Research) buildings on the periphery of the city of Pretoria which we
passed on our left. It was dusk and we were travelling in a southerly direction home
towards Johannesburg. My son (who is now a military instructor pilot and captain in the
air force) and my wife were present while I was driving, with my son sitting on my left.
My attention was drawn to what appeared a very tall tower of stacked disks ahead of us,
slightly off to the right of the road, this tower conically tapered towards the bottom disk,
i.e. the diameter of the top disk was largest and bottom smallest. The time taken from
first sighting to passing the tower orthogonally to our right was approximately five
minutes at a driving speed of some 120 km/h, resulting in a distance estimate of about
10 km.
Each disk was dimly glowing with a reddish evenly distributed light and its equatorial
circumference contained several bright orange light sources, about six or seven of these
visible on each disk. We mentioned the phenomenon to each other and began to discuss
possible explanations. In order to test that this was not due to some internally reflective
optical effect (I was reasonably convinced that it could not be, anyway, but wanted to be
as objectively scientific in the observation as possible) I opened the driver's window and
looked at the "tower" from outside - confirming that it was an external, "real"
phenomenon - this was further supported by seeing our progressive approach to it and
its growing apparent dimensions in our perspective. We observed that "disks" would
periodically, at regular intervals, detach from the bottom of the tower and "fly," move
off, in different directions - some would take approximately parallel courses, others
would vary radically in their relative direction to previous disks. Although we followed the
flight of these departing disks in some direct, and thereafter peripheral vision, our
primary attention stayed with the "tower".
We observed somewhere between ten to fifteen disks depart this way but did not feel
motivated to make an accurate count - continually we had to balance our sense of
"reality" against what we were seeing and it was to say the least, an unsettling and
surely disturbing phenomenon - it was not easily intellectually digestible. Although the
"tower" remained apparently stationary, the disks that flew off certainly appeared to be
under intelligent, if not pre-programmed, stochastically robotic control. Knowing that four
parallel fingers of one hand at arm's reach span about ten degrees I measured the
apparent height of the tower shortly after sighting at about thirty-five degrees at the
estimated ten kilometers - resulting in an estimated height of 7 km - this result did not
surprise me due to the enormity of the "tower" and the time taken to approach and pass
it. The top disk easily spanned four parallel, vertically held fingers, which after some
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rough trig. works out to an estimated diameter of at least 1,7 km. The bottom disk of the
"tower" was some ten degrees above ground, which would put it at 1,8 km altitude - and
a resulting "total tower height of approximately 5,2 km. These are of course estimates
but I would guarantee them as being within 20% of the true dimensions.
No unusual sound was heard that would have apparently emitted from the "tower" or
individual disks during the entire event. No electronic / electromechanical or physiological
disturbance was noted, beyond the induced emotional effects of the sighting.
The orthogonal distance to our right as we passed the tower was difficult to judge due to
the effect of it seeming to "float" and the near-to-medium foreground under the apparent
position of the "tower" drifting in the opposite direction of our travel underneath it.
There was no clear relating landmark or beacon that I could later use as distance
reference. We mutually confirmed that we were seeing what we apparently were seeing,
during this time the road was quite busy and we could tell from sideways glances, that
the occupants of passing cars, and those we passed, were also all looking, and some
pointing to the phenomenon - this, believe it or not, was an important objective
confirmation to us. I reported this sighting the next day to personnel at the
Johannesburg Planetarium (some of whom I knew personally, having done a course in
Astronomy and also having bought a 4" Newtonian reflector telescope from them years
earlier) There was little and if any, skeptical interest - further, I did not hear of any
follow up, either privately or via the media. I am not interested in publicity at all - but
think that responsible reporting and thorough follow-up investigation is vital in such
cases. My personal opinion is that reporting subjects should be willing to voluntarily
submit to polygraph testing with regard to the reported content of sightings - such not
only to support the verity and facticity of their reports, but more importantly to support a
body of reliable evidence. I would certainly be willing to submit to any verification
supporting procedures. In conclusion it may appear strange that we did not drastically
slow our speed or even stop - this was however a high-speed freeway and stopping is not
allowed except in emergency; further we wanted to remain in the right-hand lane,
incidentally the fastest, as the "tower" was clearly going to pass on our right.
The apparantly slow speed of our approach to the phenomenon was another reason
motivating the maintenance of our road-speed.
One emphatically expressed opinion that I will eternally remember being uttered as we
passed the tower and we observed another disk departing was : "My God, it's a
mothership and those are 'daughter-disks'..." Whether that sentiment was anywhere
near an accurate assessment we may of course never know. I would be interested if any
party who witnessed this specific event as well, or has seen a similar phenomenon, would
supply their view and sighting report.
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FAMILY ABDUCTED BY ALIEN CRUISER
One of the weirdest cases reported to the Welsh Federation of Independent Ufologists is
the multiple sighting of UFOs on the same night - except one family got too close for
comfort and were apparently abducted. The strange and disturbing events began to
unfold when for several nights an elderly man living in Little Orme, Conwy, was troubled
by what he called "frightening" beams of light over the Great Orme. Unfortunately for
one family travelling by car to the area at the same time on November 10 1997, that was
the night they had an unexplained encounter. They could not account for several 'lost'
hours when they suddenly became aware of resuming their journey, according to
investigator Margaret Fry.
She was told of their account by a friend of the family who were said to have been
advised by officials not to come forward. Margaret says the couple and their children
where driving on the Bodfair/Landernog road when they found their car engulfed by a
purple triangular craft. The next thing they remember is that the purple craft had gone.
•
"But they could not account for considerable hours of time lost," said Margaret.
•
"The male was having trouble afterwards with a top molar tooth and he had to go to
the denist's," she said.
•
"A black unknown object fell out while he was at the dentist's - but he had no
fillings," she said.
Margaret says that the man reported the family's encounter to the authorities and he was
said to have been visited twice by air force personnel and requested not to speak publicly
about the matter. Despite the sketchy details, Margaret is interested in the witness
account because of the sightings in the same area and on the same night by the elderly
man - and that of a local businessman who also had a close encounter with a craft
described as an alien cruise ship. The third sighting was by the businessman who says he
saw a huge craft the shape of a "child's spinning top" while he was driving along the
same road as the family who claim to have been abducted. Margaret says the man, who
sketched an outline of what he saw (classic saucer shape), told her he stopped his
vehicle to look at the craft which he described as being as big a football pitch and
hovering above buildings in the village of Llandernog. The man says the craft had a
"myriad of lit windows", almost making him believe it was a cruiser-craft capable of
carrying hundreds of people - or beings...
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THE ILINOIS SIGHTINGS
Southeastern Illinois, January 5, 2000, about 4:00 a.m.
Anyone who has been in Illinois in January knows that when the sun goes down, it gets
cold... real cold. The night of January 5, 2000, was no exception. Everyone who could
was staying warm inside, but all did not have this luxury. Melvin Knoll's livelihood was his
miniature golf course, and worried that something may have frozen there, he braved the
cold night to make sure everything was OK. When he arrived at his business, he noticed
what he thought was a very bright star on the northeastern horizon. He thought nothing
of it at the time, and finished checking out the golf course. After satisfying himself that
all was well, he jumped back into his warm truck to head home. As he did, he could not
help but notice that the light was still there, and even more visible than before.
He watched it for a moment, and it suddenly seemed to be coming straight toward him !
As it came nearer, he could see red lights shining toward the ground. As it came even
closer, the object appeared to be as tall as a two-story building, and as long as a football
field. He could now clearly see windows, and a brightly lit inside. He could not hear a
sound from the unknown object as it continued to slowly make its way through the chilly
night in a southwesterly direction.
Fearing that he would be laughed at if he could not provide corroboration, he quickly
made his way to the local police in Highland. He related his story to the dispatcher, and
she agreed to pass the information to the next town in the object's path, which was
Central Communications in St. Clair County. They again relayed the report to the
Lebanon police department. At approximately 4:10 a.m. a Lebanon police officer, hearing
the radio report, spotted a bright object, which seemed to be suspended in the sky.
He could clearly make out two lights, very close to one another. The policeman, with
lights flashing, raced to the southeast, hoping for a better vantage point to view the
strange sight. He watched the unknown object as he drove, and after a few moments,
noticed that the two lights had merged into one. The object seemed to be changing
course, and moving directly toward him. At this point, he stopped his patrol car, and
rolled his window down. To his amazement, he could very clearly see a triangular shaped
UFO pass over him, at an altitude of 1,000 to 1,500 feet. Then, the UFO quickly changed
its course, moving in a westerly direction. This sighting was corroborated by a policeman
from Shiloh, who described the object as being shaped like a black arrowhead.
As the giant triangular UFO moved from his view, the Lebanon policeman radioed St.
Clair County Emergency Dispatch with his report, advised them of the object's direction,
and requested that law enforcement officers be notified in Millstadt, and Dupo. Officer
Craig A. Stevens would be the next person to see the UFO in Millstadt. His report is as
follows :
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•
On January 5, 2000 at approximately 4:28am 1, Officer Craig A. Stevens was on
Patrol in the Village of Millstadt. I was monitoring radio traffic when I heard a report
via CENCOM, that the Highland Police Department had a report of a large object
flying in the air. CENCOM dispatched Lebanon P.D. to respond. I heard Lebanon
state, is the guy 10-55. Later I heard Lebanon state that he observed the object,
and that it headed in the direction of Shiloh, and to have Shiloh P.D. be on the look
out for it. I then heard that Shiloh had spotted the object. I drove to the east end of
town to see if I could observe the object. Then I drove to the north end of town, in
the Liederkranz Park parking lot. While I was sitting there I observed a very large
flying object coming from a southward direction. The object was flying very low from
500 to 1000 ft., and was flying very slowly. The object was making no noise. I could
only hear a very low decibel buzzing sound. Then the object began banking to the
north east direction, and continued to cruise away from me toward the area of Dupo.
I contacted dispatch, and advised them that I had spotted the object. I exited the
patrol car, and took the Polaroid camera from the trunk, and attempted to take a
picture. The camera was very cold. The temp was only approximately 18 to 20
degrees outside, and the picture did not seem to exit the camera properly. I heard
Dupo P.D. advise CENCOM that they quite possibly observed the object, but it was at
a very high altitude.I returned to the station, and drew a rough sketch of the object,
and typed a report of my observations.
Note : This sighting was the subject of a television program by the Discovery Channel.
A large part of this program was a reconstruction video of the events by the National
Institute of Discovery Science (NISD). This program was shown twice on Discovery,
11/30/00 and 12/2/00. The reconstruction was based on the following criteria.
•
A survey crew was hired to take physical measurements of all locations from the
different eyewitnesses. In this way an exact series of measurements regarding the
location, direction, and distance of the flying object from the observers was possible.
•
A professional interviewer was hired who conducted face-to-face interviews with
each witness at all locations. Photographs were taken of each location.
•
A 40 watt Argon laser with steering optics was used at each location with the help of
each eyewitness to take the exact flight path of the object as determined from the
perspective of each eyewitness. The eyewitnesses each determined the specific
placement of the laser beams.
•
The reconstructed testimony was used to construct a series of 3D aerial grids for
each location. Then a 3D CAD package was used to create a rough model of the
object as seen by the different eyewitnesses. A second animation modeling software
package was used to fine-tune the details. Each eyewitness was consulted on a
regular basis to verify the accuracy of the computer modeling process. With multiple
iterations, the modeling tools fine-tuned the recreation into a final animation.
The computer-generated models were then merged with live footage so that the
exact scale, size, and flight path of the object was precisely reconstructed to the
satisfaction of each eyewitness.
Below are excerpts from a seven-minute recording of the St. Clair County police
dispatcher talking to officers :
•
•
•
Dupo officer : 6004, this is 3923 on County (radio channel) 2.
Millstadt officer : 6004, go ahead.
Dupo officer : I'm not sure what you're seeing. It appears to be pretty high in the
area. When I could first see it with binoculars, you could see it was different colors.
Now it appears to be white.
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•
•
•
•
Millstadt officer : Is it very large ?
Dupo officer : It's hard to tell. It's pretty far off in the distance.
Millstadt officer : This object was above me about 500 feet. And it was huge.
Dupo officer : This thing appears.... it's probably 20 or 30,000. It about where
planes usually are. It's not low at all.
The intriguing case of the Illinois sightings of January 5, 2000, is still being investigated
and discussed. If more information comes to light, I will include it here in this article.
The NISD is still active in this case.
STINSON LAKE UFO PHOTO
February 2000 - Strangely Shaped UFO Photographed.
Stinson Lake, proximate to a U.S. army training area, may be an alien or government
UFO base, or a focus of investigation or travel by aliens, one reason being possible
mining as the area is rich in precious minerals. A Mirror ship was photographed directing
a beam of light at the hillside. Two questions that come to mind are: What was it ? And
Why was it at an army operations area ?
I was given a photo last night of an object above the snow covered evergreens in the
soupy late afternoon February sky of 2000 at Stinson Lake. It is not a painted object
such as blue underneath and white on top, or black, or part metal and paint... It is like a
mirror reflecting the milky white sky above and
the forest below color for color, tone for tone,
hue for hue with intensity above surrounding
fields at nearest equator and diminishing below
surrounding fields (slightly faded at outer or left
and right edges) undeniably displaying a round
or roundish shape. There are no wings and no
engines noise according to the photographer.
There is a shadow outlining its shape in a
clearing below it and the same shadow is on the
underside reflection. There's more.
After closely examining the object utilizing digital enhancement techniques, globes are
seen underneath with hints of green and white lights, a possible dome on top which
almost completely blends in with the sky and globular energy field where there are color
shifts in the pixel spectrum where there are no added colors but a reorganization of
existing colors suggesting a mirage effect also seen with the Mexico videos. The shifted
field forms a perfect globe around the object exactly touching is outer edge no matter the
attitude of the craft. Sitting back a little from a 600% enlargement on the monitor
screen, a field 'net' effect is obvious. The field appears webbed like a fish net formed into
a globe and transparent white. Further, there is evidence of a beam of light pointing at a
dark round spot also in a clearing on a nearby hill. Above the object is a mushroom
shape distortion similar to the globular energy field but larger, which raises the question
of the portal of origin or a second ship. It was so sudden, the photographer never had
any indication of what was about to transpire as he shot landscape photographs in the
otherwise peaceful environs around him. The photographer happened to be at the site
near where the U.S. Army has historically conducted paratrooper and other training. The
Army's conventional presence may well have been replaced by something extremely
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advanced. But the sightings have not diminished in that remote and tranquil location
unlikely to be stumbled upon by any tourist.
TRIANGULAR UFO VISITS IDAHO MOUNTAIN
The following recent UFO case comes from Skywatch International, and the National UFO
Reporting Center. A very detailed investigation was done on the experiences of four
hunters camping out in the state of Idaho. These four men would encounter a huge UFO,
turning a restful, enjoyable hunting trip into a night of terror.. a kind of terror that still
haunts them to this day. This unusually frightening experience occurred on September
27, 2000 in the central part of Idaho. The four hunters were old friends, who had visited
the same region for over twenty years, and always looked forward to their Autumn trips.
The actual event began at 9:45 P.M. on a cold evening, as one of the hunters made a
short walk from camp to his pick-up truck to get some food from his storage chest. As he
approached the truck, he was overcome with a strange feeling… a feeling from above like
something was just not right. Only a few moments would pass before his realized that his
strange feeling had a basis. As he reached into the bed of his truck, his flashlight
illuminated the night sky above him. He was startled to see something extremely large
right above him, where it should not have been. He fell to his knees from the shock of
the sight of the bottom of an immense, triangular shaped object. The object was filling
the dark sky above..silently and motionless.
His first estimation of the object was that it was at least the size of a football field,
several hundred feet on all sides. The corners were slightly rounded, and its exterior
exhibited a distinct texture. The size of the object was so immense that it seemed to hide
the entire sky above him. The frightened 43 year old hunter began to yell for the other
three to come outside, and verify that he was not seeing things. The other three would
vividly remember the sound of his voice, a hysterical, scared voice, calling for help.
At first, they thought that a bear was upon their camp, and was attacking their mules, or
worse, their friend. They rushed to the door of the camper. Nothing could prepare them
for what they were about to see. Two of the hunters were able to reach outside in time to
see the object overhead, as it slowly began to move away. It moved without a sound
toward a nearby mountain. The two remembered a faint whining sound, which occurred
simultaneously with the glow of lights on the underneath of the craft. They would then
observe a white light, which was visible at each of its three corners. A red light strobed
from the middle of the belly. Two of the hunters grabbed their binoculars to get a closer
look. They were almost transfixed as they watched the unworldly object for at least
60 seconds. As the object began to ascend and move up a narrow canyon in the nearby
mountain, the men stated that the craft moved "like a hockey puck gliding over ice, very
smooth and unwavering," according to the NUFORC investigative reports.
After the event, one of the hunters who was a pilot would remark that the craft was "not
moving through the atmosphere the way an aerodynamic body would." Totally stunned
by their experience, and frightened to the point of moving to a motel, three hours away
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from their campsite. The NUFORC report would state, "One of the two, the first to
witness the object, spent a very uncomfortable night, lying awake and thinking about the
object he had witnessed hours earlier. He felt keenly on edge, and startled dramatically
on one occasion, for example, when the electric heater in their room suddenly came on,"
said NUFORC. The next morning, the hunters contacted local government authorities, and
the NUFORC offices. They gave all the details of their experience, including the
coordinates of their campsite. As to be expected, nothing was forthcoming from local
government, but NUFORC was on the scene immediately, and made a full and detailed
report. The triangular shape of the object has been reported many times during UFO
sightings, and has been captured on photo and video. What was the source of this
strange, eerie object which moved across the mountains of Idaho that night ? The case is
still listed in the "unexplained" category.
POLICE OFFICERS ENCOUNTER UFO
On Tuesday, April 25, 2001, a very strange object is reported by civilians and law
enforcement officers in the evening skies near Waynesville, Ohio in Warren County. From
their residence near the 4600 Block of Wilkerson Road, a husband and wife are the first
to report a circular lighted object hovering silently in the sky to the south of their
location. The big light of the UFO, pulsating or changing in both color and brightness, was
said to be encased within a structure that resembled gridwork or cabling. The couple
advised the Lebanon City Police Department of the object around 10:15 p.m. and the
Warren County Communications Center dispatched a Waynesville police officer to the
location.
Upon arrival at the scene, the Waynesville officer confirmed the unidentifiable nature of
the object and also reported that a second UFO was also in the area.
•
•
•
•
•
•
LOCAL : WHAT IS IT !
Unit #2W30 : I have NO IDEA, and you wouldn't believe it if you came out and saw
it ! There's two of them, just sitting stationary and blinking, I mean about five
different colors, right here on Wilkerson, just off of South Main Street...
FEMALE OFFICER : This is 480-16
Unit #2W30 : I'm not kidding ! Go ahead.
FEMALE OFFICER : Okay, we're on the backside of that, here in the lot because
I couldn't stand it no more. Where is it at, is it in the air ?
Unit #2W30 : In the air ! Okay ? He's got the owner of the house has some
binoculars and we're looking at these things and uh, it's just I don't know what they
are ! They're high up, they look like uh, they're up there but with our binoculars
though, the ones he's got here, you can see them pretty clearly. There's probably
five different colors, there's two of them and they've stayed in the exact same spot
the whole time. They're not stars, I can tell you that.
As other officers respond to the location and continue to view the abnormalities,
dispatchers at the Warren County Communications Center telephone a base operator at
Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton/Fairborne, Ohio and also places a call to
Airborne Express at the Wilmington Airport in Clinton County, Ohio. Both flight control
facilities deny any knowledge of or responsibility for air traffic in the Waynesville, Ohio
vicinity during the incident. While the Waynesville police officers view the object from
Wilkerson Road looking south, a police dispatcher also observes the same object from
her position at the Warren County Communications Center in Lebanon, Ohio, looking
north toward Waynesville. From review of the police tapes, it can be estimated that the
primary object may have been in a general location between Waynesville and Lebanon
near the intersections of Pekin Road and Route 42. An officer with the Caesar's Creek
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State Police also notes the UFO from his location to the east of Waynesville. A third UFO
is sighted in the area during the event, and the police witnesses repeatedly affirm a
cogent distinction between the suspected UFOs and routine stars and airplanes.
The objects move off by receding further into the distance as other officers from the Ohio
State Patrol arrive on the scene.
Dispatchers at the Ohio State Patrol and the Warren County Communications Center
express frustration at having to handle this situation and their inability to address the
reports and eyewitness confirmation from their officers. The next evening, Wednesday,
April 25, UFOs are again reported in the same area at 9:48 p.m., viewed from Wilkerson
Road and also by officers observing from a location near the Waynesville Airport.
Disturbingly, another unusual object is seen in the area seven hours later and reportedly
pursues a motorist near Genntown, Ohio (about 5-miles from Waynesville). A female
complainant advises the Ohio State Patrol of her 'extreme concern' regarding a triangular
object with "super bright lights" that pursued her automobile while traveling on Route
122 at 5:00 a.m., April 26.
These and other details were acquired from eyewitness interviews, analysis of various
police reports and evaluation of police tapes acquired through the Warren County
Director of Emergency Services. Additional data was gathered through field investigation
conducted on April 27th and April 28th. Consideration has been given to the possibility
that this situation was engendered by a misperception of routine stars and planets by
both civilians and police officers on both evenings. This theory was first advanced by
Peter Davenport of the National UFO Reporting Center, who was advised of the incident
by the Ohio State Patrol while the sighting was in progress. The star 'Sirius' was
identified by Davenport as a likely candidate for misperception, but after sober review of
the police tapes acquired from the Warren County Department of Emergency Services,
this attempt at explanation is not looked upon favorably.
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ROSWELL SMOKING GUN, THE RAMEY MEMO
Barely noticeable in one of the 1947 photos and clutched in Gen. Ramey's left hand is a
slip of paper (boxed in red). Probably unwittingly, Gen. Ramey had the text side facing
towards the camera, allowing the text on this paper to be photographed. When blown up
and analyzed, it tells a remarkably different story of events from the one Ramey or
contemporary Air Force counter-intelligence wants you to believe.
The message turns out to be a telegram from Gen. Ramey to
the Pentagon and Gen. Hoyt Vandenberg, the acting AAF
Chief of Staff at the time. Ramey is providing Vandenberg an
update on the very fluid situation in-the-field at Roswell.
The first paragraph describes what had been found. Ramey
starts by acknowledging "THAT A 'DISK' IS NEXT NEW FIND."
He then adds that "THE VICTIMS OF THE WRECK" and
something else (possibly just "A WRECK") had also been
found near the recovery "OPERATION AT THE 'RANCH'."
At the end it states that "YOU" (i.e. Gen. Vandenberg) had
ordered the "victims" and/or the wreckage "FORWARDED" to
"FORT WORTH, TEX."
In the second paragraph, Ramey describes how the situation was being handled. Ramey
first states that something "IN THE 'DISC'", probably the bodies of the "forwarded"
"victims" (and possibly termed "AVIATORS") would be flown by a B-29 Special Transport
or C-47 to the "A1" (personnel director) of some "8TH ARMY****" division, most likely
the head flight surgeon at Fort Worth given the context. Wright Field, Ohio, home of the
AAF's aeronautical labs, was to assess the Roswell crash object (possibly referred to as
an "AIRFOIL").
Finally Ramey outlines how the situation was being treated publicly and how they were
going to cover it up. First he assures Vandenberg that the earlier highly inflammatory
Roswell base press release (referred to as the "MISSTATE MEANING OF STORY") was the
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work of an Army counter-intelligence team ("CIC/TEAM"), but that the "NEXT SENT OUT
PR" (Press Release) would be "OF WEATHER BALLOONS."
Ramey finishes with the statement that the weather balloon story might be better
accepted if they also added weather balloon radar target demonstrations. This apparently
was the impetus for the national debunking campaign using the devices that followed
over the next few days. There is no question that Ramey's message, even when greatly
enlarged and then enhanced by computer, is a very difficult read because of fuzziness,
film grain noise, uneven development, photo defects, paper folds and tilt, shadows, and
text obscured at the left margin by Gen. Ramey's thumb. This will inevitably prompt
comments from die-hard skeptics that a full "take" on the Ramey message is strictly
one's own interpretation. However, there are various keywords and phrases that can be
readily seen by anyone, even in lower resolution scans of the message first analyzed in
1999 by a number of people. These keywords and phrases unambiguously prove that
there is no truth whatsoever to the various Air Force "explanations," be they the original
1947 "weather balloon" story, or the Air Forces updated "Mogul balloon" and "crash
dummies."
Far and away the most important word of the
entire message is "VICTIMS" on the third line
(part of phrase "THE VICTIMS OF THE
WRECK"). If there were "VICTIMS", then this
was no Mogul balloon crash. As the Air Force
Roswell report itself noted (using splendid
circular reasoning) reports of bodies being
recovered couldn't be true because the crash
was of a Mogul balloon, which had "no 'alien'
passengers therein." Of course Ramey's
mention of "VICTIMS" in 1947 also disproves the already preposterous "crash dummies"
theory. The only way these 1950's crash dummies could be "victims" is if they also
time-warped back to 1947.
Another easily seen keyword and phrase is "DISC" and "IN THE 'DISC" on the fifth line.
Ramey is clearly describing the crash object as a "DISC", not as a "weather balloon", or a
"Mogul" or a "radar target" or a "RAWIN" (jargon term for a radar wind target), or any
other word or phase that in any way suggests some sort of balloon or balloon
paraphenalia. In fact, the only mention of "weather balloons" and "RAWIN" targets comes
at the very end of the message in the context of issued public statements and damage
control.
(The word "DISK" is also used on the first line in reference to what had been found, but
this instance of the word is not so easily seen.)
Furthermore, the message refers to the subsequent shipment of something "IN the disc."
Neither balloons nor the two-dimensional, flimsy radar kites had anything "inside" that
could be shipped. If Ramey had been referring to some piece of balloon payload
equipment, then the phrase should have begun with "attached to" or "suspended from",
or "with", etc. In speaking of "THE VICTIMS OF THE WRECK",, using the word "DISC" for
the crash object, and shipping something "IN THE DISC", Ramey is clearly referring to
something other than a balloon crash. The simplest interpretation is to take the words
literally. There is no reason for Gen. Ramey to be describing events abstractly in a secret
communication to his superiors. This was the actually crash of a so-called "flying disk"
craft with a dead crew found on the inside, as corroborated by the testimony of military
and civilian witnesses.
Ramey is quite explicit about the existence of bodies and the crash object being a "disc."
The only thing not made explicit in the message is the exact nature of the bodies or
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"disc." Ramey probably does not refer to the bodies as "nonhuman," "alien," or some
similar term. Nor does he use terms like "spaceship," "craft of unknown origin," etc. to
describe the "disc."
Among the theories about the Roswell incident is that this was the crash of some highly
secretive government experimental craft piloted by a human crew. However, nobody has
ever presented evidence that such an experimental disk-like craft ever existed or was
tested in New Mexico at that time. It also seems highly unlikely that even a highly secret
craft but with half-century-old technology would still be kept secret.
Further, it makes no sense that the government would be completely unaware of the
crash of one of their own craft until some sheep rancher came into town to report it.
The same logic applies to the crash of something more conventional, such as a bomber
carrying nuclear weapons (another theory sometimes proposed). The military would not
wait for a local rancher to tell them about it nor would there be any need for continued
secrecy into the present day. (Similar nuclear accidents have been declassified and are
now in the public record.) And why would Gen. Ramey call it a "disc" ?
Finally, both the Air Force and General Accounting Office (investigating on behalf of
Congressman Schiff) in 1995 reported that air crash records revealed no plane crashes in
that area during that time frame that could possibly explain the Roswell incident. In brief,
there is simply no evidence for the crash of any conventional or experimental aircraft.
Telegram held in General Ramey's hand provides smoking gun proof of a "disk" crash and the recovery of "the
victims of the wreck"
Copyright ©2001 by David Rudiak
GEN. RAMEY'S MEMO
The Air Force claimed in their 1994/95. Roswell Report that a government photoanalysis
lab which they refused to identify ("a national level organization") was unable to
"visualize" any "details" in the Ramey memo from first generation prints and negative
copies even after digitizing (computer scanning) supposedly because of "insufficient
quality." As you look at higher resolution scans readily available to civilians from similar
prints, how much "truth" do you suspect was in the Air Force statement ?
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ROSWELL, 50 YEARS AND COUNTING
It was a snow-covered December in 1995 when President Bill Clinton, visiting Northern
Ireland in support of the country's new and fragile peace process, spoke to a large
gathering that had arrived for a Christmas tree lighting ceremony. The president opted to
dismiss politics and keep the mood of his speech light. At one point, he drew laughter as
he referred to a letter he'd recently received from a 13-year-old boy in Belfast. "Ryan,"
the president said, "in case you're out there, here is your answer : No. As far as I know,
no spaceship crashed at Roswell, New Mexico, in 1947. And if the Air Force recovered
any extraterrestrial bodies, they did not tell me."
Such is the widespread and ongoing fascination attached to a legendary event that many
believe actually took place on the late J.B. Foster's sheep ranch more than a half-century
ago. What has transpired since that Independence Day weekend when a "flying saucer"
was allegedly recovered by military personnel from Roswell Army Air Field has fueled a
debate that continues 56 years later. Is it possible that such an unearthly event really
occurred ? The question has spawned an industry of books--well more than 100 at last
count--and documentary films, inspired popular television shows and sci-fi movies, a
prospering museum business in Roswell and insistence by many researchers that an
ongoing government cover-up of the historic discovery puts Watergate to shame.
Perhaps Clinton should have visited with Midland's Anne Robbins before giving his
answer. The widow of a career military man stationed in Roswell at the time, she might
have changed his mind. She would probably have shared the description of the saucer
that her husband, Technical Sergeant Ernest Robert Robbins, told her he helped recover
long ago and the three small "men"--one dead, one near death and another very much
alive--found outside the spaceship.
But we're getting ahead of the story.
Was the arid Lincoln County region actually visited by inhabitants of another world ?
If so, why has the government refused to admit it ? And could it be true, as some now
claim, that many modern-day technical advancements--from lasers to fiber optics,
integrated circuit chips to Velcro--have evolved from scientific examination and reverse
engineering studies of a now hidden spacecraft ?
As the story goes, William "Mac" Brazel, who leased the Foster Ranch at the time, was on
horseback herding sheep when he happened onto a large field of strewn debris unlike
anything he'd ever seen. He would later tell neighbors Floyd and Loretta Proctor it
was clearly something that had fallen from the sky; perhaps the cause of the too-loud-tobe-thunder boom he'd heard during the previous night's rainstorm.
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Brazel allegedly showed the Proctors some of the pieces he'd collected, metallic but thin
as tinfoil. They watched in amazement as he wrinkled one, laid it on a table and saw it
immediately smooth to its original shape. And there were the pieces of stick-like
material, no heavier than balsa wood, bendable but impossible to break or cut with a
knife. On some were what he later compared to Indian petroglyphs, series of strange
symbols and pastel-colored drawings. The neighbors, aware of the flying-saucer mania
then sweeping the nation, suggested he tell authorities. Thus, two days later, on the
morning of July 7, 1947, Brazel made the 60-mile drive to Roswell and told Chaves
County Sheriff George Wilcox of his discovery, showing him several pieces of the strange
debris he had collected. Wilcox phoned Major Jesse Marcel at the nearby air base and
suggested he might want to speak with the 48-year-old rancher. After examining the
material and hearing Brazel's description of the size of the debris field--three-quarters of
a mile long and 200 to 300 feet wide, with a lengthy "gouge" in the ground at its north
end--Marcel arranged to meet Brazel at the ranch. Thereafter the story becomes a blur
that historians are still attempting to sort out. According to evidence gathered by
numerous researchers--both scientists and laymen collectively calling themselves
UFOlogists--a small, elite group of military personnel was assigned to guard the area,
collect the debris and take it to the base. There, orders had already been received from
Brigadier General Roger Ramey, commanding officer of the 8th Air Force, that everything
recovered was to be flown immediately to what would later become Carswell Air Force
Base in Fort Worth. Still, the story might never have created a worldwide frenzy had the
base public information officer, Lieutenant Walter Haut, not issued a startling press
release that appeared beneath a banner headline in the next day's edition of the Roswell
Daily Record : "RAAF Captures Flying Saucer On Ranch in Roswell Region."
Haut's press release, ordered by Colonel William Blanchard, the base commanding
officer, made it clear that something more than pieces of scattered debris had been
found. "The intelligence office of the 509th Bombardment group at Roswell Army Air Field
announced at noon today that the field has come into possession of a flying saucer," it
read. The release went on to explain that "Major Marcel and a detail from his department
went to the ranch and discovered the disc."
Soon, calls were coming to Haut from news agencies throughout the world.
Now 80 and co-founder of the International UFO Museum and Research Center in
Roswell, Haut says, "After meeting with Colonel Blanchard in his office and getting the
information for the press release, I wrote it and went to town around five that afternoon
to deliver it to the radio and newspaper people. "That done, I went on home and was
having dinner when people from all over the world started calling. Finally, about
midnight, my wife, who was getting a little unhappy with the flood of calls, just took the
phone off the hook and told me we were going to bed."
Then, just as quickly as the excitement had developed, it came to a crashing end with a
Fort Worth news conference called by General Ramey the following day. Despite claims
by Marcel to investigators years later that the amount of debris loaded onto the B-29
that was flown from Roswell to Fort Worth "was enormous," half filling the huge plane,
reporters and photographers who gathered in the general's office were shown only
tattered remnants of a weather balloon and given a smiling apology for all the
unwarranted excitement. In attendance was Major Marcel, admitting he had been
mistaken. The official version of the Roswell incident thus became that a military weather
balloon launched to detect wind velocity and direction at high altitudes had come
crashing down on Foster Ranch. End of story. The headline in the next day's Roswell
paper was as definitive but not nearly as exciting as the one published the day before :
"Gen. Ramey Empties Roswell Saucer." In a more innocent and patriotic time, with World
War II still fresh in the public's mind and trust in the government blindly indisputable, the
explanation was good enough. For most. For a time.
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Anne Robbins, who until now has never spoken publicly on the matter, says what her late
husband saw 56 years ago was hardly a downed weather balloon. Seated in a meeting
room at the newly opened Odessa Meteor Crater Museum, the 84-year-old Robbins
clearly recalls a July night when her husband received a call to report to the base. She
would not see or hear from him for 18 hours. And when she did, he told her bits and
pieces of a bizarre story that has puzzled her for a lifetime. "We had been to a dinner
party at the NCO [non-commissioned officers] club on
the base," she says, "and didn't get home until 10 :30
or 11. We'd already gone to bed but weren't yet asleep
when everything outside lit up like it was daylight. It
was like that for what seemed like several minutes, and
we both assumed that it was probably helicopters from
the base with searchlights on." Soon thereafter, the
phone call came to their home and her husband told her
he had to report to the base. "I just assumed that there
had been a plane crash somewhere nearby," she says.
"But I couldn't figure why my husband, a sheet-metal man who repaired planes, was
called in." She was even more puzzled when he returned home the following evening, his
uniform wrinkled and damp. "I asked him what had happened to him, why he was so
wet, and he told me he'd had to go through the decontamination tank at the base. I
asked, 'In your clothes ?' and he said, 'They were what I was wearing when I was out
there.'" Still assuming that he'd been called to the site of a plane crash, she quizzed him
further. "He told me, 'Well, I guess you might as well know; it's going to be in the
papers. A UFO crashed outside of Roswell." Her response ? "I told him he was crazy."
"No," Sergeant Robbins replied, "I'm not." Then he showered and went to bed. "I don't
remember him being particularly shocked or very emotional about it," she says. "In fact,
he seemed cool as a cucumber. He just made it clear to me that he wasn't going to talk
about it." The following morning she continued to press for details. "I asked him again if
it was really true and he said, yes, it was." When she asked what the UFO looked like, he
explained that "if you took two saucers and put them together, that's what it looked
like." On the top layer, he told her, there were oblong-shaped windows all the way
around the craft. And, no, he said, he had not looked inside the crashed ship.
"I asked him if there was anybody on it. He said, 'I can tell you this much : There were
three people. One was dead and two were still alive. I can't tell you anything more.'"
It was not until several days later that Sergeant Robbins finally agreed to drive his wife
out to the crash site. By then, all debris had been cleared away and neither a spaceship
nor signs of military personnel was evident. "He didn't say much of anything until we got
to a place where there was this big burned spot, a perfect circle so black that it was
shiny. No normal fire could have made something like that." It was, she says, as if the
sand had been melted and turned into a sheet of black glass. "This," Sergeant Robbins
said, "is where I was for 18 hours." "On the drive home," she says, "I asked him what
happened to the spaceship, what happened to the people who were on it. Her husband's
reply : "I can't tell you that; don't ask me any more." It was the last time her husband
spoke of "the Roswell incident" until long after he'd retired from the service. Until his
death of a heart attack two years ago, he never told his wife who was with him that night
or what role he had played. Following his retirement from the Air Force in 1961, they
moved to Saginaw, near Fort Worth, and he worked first for General Dynamics, then LTV,
as an aircraft repairman.
"It was years later, when our kids were in high school, that our son Ronald was working
on some kind of report on unidentified flying objects and asked his father to tell him
about what happened back in Roswell. He didn't say much, basically just what he'd told
me years earlier," she says. "But you know how kids are. Ronald kept asking questions,
like what the men found at the crash looked like.
Finally, Papa [as she referred to her husband throughout their 57-year marriage] got a
pencil and drew this pear-shaped head with large black eyes. Their skin, he said, was
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brown and they had no nose, no mouth. "When Ronald asked him what their bodies
looked like, all he would say was, 'Son, you don't want to know about that.'"
The Robbins' son, now living in Arizona, could not be reached by the Dallas Observer.
"He wouldn't talk to you about it, anyway," his mother insists. Neither of her children, in
fact, has ever spoken publicly of their father's alleged involvement in the Roswell
incident. "Barbara, my daughter, tells me, 'Daddy's dead, don't bring it up." "All I
remember," says Barbara Wattlington, "was Dad saying he was stationed in Roswell and
that a UFO crashed there."
The last time Anne Robbins remembers any conversation about the matter was a few
years before her husband's death in January 2000, when they sat in their Saginaw living
room one evening, watching television. A show whose title she can't recall was on,
re-creating the Roswell event and posing the question of whether it was an ageless hoax
or the well-hidden truth. "I asked him, 'Was it a hoax ?' and all he said was, 'It's the
truth. It did land.' "I asked him, 'Well, if it did, where is it ?' He again said he couldn't tell
me that." Her husband, she says, was never one to embellish or lie; neither prankster
nor teller of tall tales. "He was a good, Christian man. He loved the military and his
country and never spoke bad about either." No, she says, he would never have made up
such a story. Nor, if ordered not to, would he have ever talked of matters he was told to
keep secret. "That's just the way he was," she says. "On the day he died, the last thing
he told me was that he wanted me to promise to fly the flag in front of our house until
I drew my last breath."
Though she insists she has never researched the numerous theories of the Roswell crash
presented in the countless books or documentaries, she does admit that she has
lingering questions she hopes will one day be answered. "That UFO they found didn't just
fly away," she says. "So where is it ? And what happened to the people on it ? I still say
the Air Force knows what happened. Someday, I hope, we might find out the truth."
Two years ago she did get an answer to one question that had long bothered her.
"I could never figure out why an airplane repairman would be called out in the middle of
the night to participate in the investigation of a crashed UFO," she says. Only after filing
her husband's death certificate with military officials in Washington, D.C., did she learn
that he had intelligence clearance during his Roswell tenure. Still, if Anne Robbins had
embarked on a thorough study of the massive collection of research done on the fabled
Roswell crash, she would not find her husband's name among any of the "witnesses" who
have come forward over the years. Yet the sketchy details he gave her generally mesh
with most of the reconstructed stories found in the ever-growing volume of literature
devoted to the crash investigation. It was not until 1978, three decades after the brief
flurry of interest in the crashed UFO-turned-weather balloon, that Jesse Marcel, the
intelligence officer who had been at the center of the original event, came forward with a
story far different from the one told attendees of the Carswell news conference.
The material flown from Roswell to Fort Worth was never actually shown to the media, he
confided to nuclear physicist-turned-UFO investigator Stanton Friedman. It was, instead,
quietly delivered to a research laboratory at Wright-Patterson Army Air Force Base in
Dayton, Ohio.
Marcel's revised recollections of the 1947 event, along with those of others who had
finally chosen to speak out, ultimately appeared in the 1980 book The Roswell Incident
co-authored by William Moore and Charles Berlitz, setting off a renewed appetite for
information. Soon it came in a virtual flood of eyewitness reports and recollections of
family members who, like Anne Robbins, began revealing secrets they had long been told
to keep. The Roswell story exploded into the best-known alleged UFO encounter in
history. According to the story now told by researchers, ranging from the serious to those
writing for the supermarket tabloids, things far more bizarre had already occurred before
Mac Brazel discovered the debris field. Those who have written about the event in the
years since suggest a fascinating sequence of events that occurred in the early days of
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that July. For several nights, Roswell residents had reportedly seen a strange flying
object in the night sky. Though no one would know about it for 30 years, two Franciscan
Catholic nuns, working at the local St. Mary's Hospital, even made notations in their
diaries that at some time after 11 p.m. on July 4, 1947, they had seen a large flash in
the night sky, assuming that it was a plane in distress.
What Roswell AAF radar operator Frank Kaufmann said he saw was even more
remarkable. On that same evening he was tracking the strange movement of a
mysterious object flying at an incredible rate of speed. Suddenly it began losing altitude
and the blip on the radar screen enlarged into a large starburst pattern that suggested
an explosion had occurred. It was estimated that the event had occurred somewhere
within a 100-mile range northwest of the base and a search team was immediately
dispatched.
Jim Ragsdale would later tell of seeing what occurred at much closer range. He and his
girlfriend, on a rock-hunting trip, were parked at a secluded campsite on what was
known as Boy Scout Mountain, when they saw a flash, then heard a thundering
explosion. Within seconds, Ragsdale would later tell researchers, the UFO skipped along
the desert not far away, then came to rest at the base of a nearby bluff. Grabbing
flashlights, he and his girlfriend made their way to the crash site where he says a saucershaped vehicle had come to rest. Not only did he eventually tell of seeing the crashed
UFO but the bodies of several "childlike" passengers. After picking up a few pieces of
debris from the wreckage, the young couple decided to return to their pickup and wait
until daylight for a better look. When they did return, Ragsdale later wrote in a sworn
affidavit, they saw a military convoy arriving and briefly hid to watch before deciding to
leave (taking with them pieces of the debris he says they later showed to numerous
people in a nearby bar). Had they remained, the story goes, they would have eventually
seen the UFO hoisted by crane onto the bed of a flatbed truck and the bodies placed in
another military vehicle that was ordered to quickly return to the Roswell base hospital.
The actual crash site, then, had been swept clear by military personnel hours before Mac
Brazel rode up on the debris field several miles away. Later, researchers would assume
that the craft had apparently first hit on the Foster Ranch, sliding along for a distance,
then had briefly managed to become airborne again before crashing. If the material
found in such books as The Truth About the UFO Crash at Roswell, Crash at Corona,
Beyond Roswell, and Alien Contact : Top Secret UFO Files Revealed is to be believed, the
interplanetary visit was, in many respects, a pretty poorly kept secret from the get-go.
The only problem is, it was years before folks would talk about it. Yet, before their
deaths, numerous people or their descendants recounted anecdotes of involvement in
and observations made during the strange event.
For instance, long after his father's death in 1986, Dr. Jesse Marcel Jr., 66, still tells of
Major Marcel stopping by the house on an early July morning in 1947 to show him and
his mother pieces of the crash debris that he had collected. Eleven years old at the time,
Dr. Marcel recalled his father bringing pieces of the downed "flying disc" from his car and
spreading them on the kitchen floor. He recalled handling the aluminum foil-like material
and seeing the unusual symbols on what he said looked like pieces of black plastic.
Now living in Helena, Montana, Dr. Marcel says the most remarkable memory he has of
the pieces his father showed him was of the geometric-like symbols on some of them.
"I've always referred to them as I-beams," he says, "though I have no idea what they
really were. "My father was very excited about what they had found," Dr. Marcel says,
"and since our house was on the way to the base, he just decided to stop by and show it
to us. Then he took it on out to the base." Major Marcel's excitement, however, was
quickly muted. "The next day," his son remembers, "he sat down with my mother and
me and told us we were never to talk about what he'd shown us. He said, 'Don't think
about it. It didn't happen.'" Today, Dr. Marcel remains convinced that the material his
father showed him came from another world.
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Then there is the story that the late Sergeant Melvin Brown waited until 1970. to tell his
daughters. Retired and living in England, he said that he had been at the crash site in '47
and was assigned to guard the alien bodies as they were being transported back to the
base. Though sworn to secrecy, he finally told of being ordered to ride in an "ice-filled
truck" that was to take the bodies to a hangar. On the trip, Brown told his daughter
Beverly Bean, he had lifted a tarp and seen "two, possibly three bodies." And there were
others who would eventually tell of seeing the alien bodies, including Roswell AAF radar
operator Kaufmann, who would later claim to have been among those ordered to the
crash site where, he later told researchers Don Schmitt and Kevin Randle, authors of UFO
Crash at Roswell, he saw five small aliens, all clearly dead. Oliver "Pappy" Henderson, a
World War II pilot assigned to the Roswell Army Air Field at the time, allegedly told friend
Dr. John Kromschroeder during a fishing trip in 1978 that he had flown much of
the debris--and the bodies of what he only described as "those little guys"--to
Wright-Patterson aboard a C-47. Shortly before his death in 1986, Henderson also told
the story to his wife. In his book, The Day After Roswell, retired Colonel Philip Corso is
far more graphic as he writes of a night a sentry urged him to enter an off-limits
Wright-Patterson building where more than 30 crates of Henderson's cargo had been
stacked against a wall, draped by large tarps. When the sentry pointed to a particular
crate he'd already looked in--in clear violation of orders he'd been given --Corso opened
it and shined a flashlight on its contents. "My stomach rolled right up into my throat, and
I almost became sick," he writes. "[Inside] was a coffin, but not like any coffin I'd ever
seen before. The contents, enclosed in a thick glass container, were submerged in a thick
light blue liquid... "At first I thought it was a dead child they were shipping somewhere.
But it was no child. It was a 4-foot human-shaped figure with arms, bizarre-looking
four-fingered hands--I didn't see a thumb--thin legs and feet and an oversized
incandescent light bulb-shaped head...the eyesockets were oversized and almondshaped..."
Perhaps the most provocative story came not from a member of the military but, instead,
a Roswell mortician named Glenn Dennis. Twenty-two at the time and director of the
local Ballard Funeral Home, he told of receiving a telephone call from the base on the
afternoon of July 5, 1947, asking if he could provide several "small," hermetically sealed
caskets. Thirty minutes later, he would eventually recall to numerous researchers and
journalists, he answered a second call, this time with a series of questions about the
techniques of embalming and preserving dead bodies and if such processes would alter
the chemical contents of blood and tissue. Finally, he reported, he was asked what
happened to body tissue after it had been exposed to the elements. Curious, Dennis says
he asked if there was something he could help with and was told the questions were only
"for future reference." Later that day, Dennis recalled, he had driven an injured airman to
the base infirmary. While there, he noticed an unusual amount of activity at the base
hospital. Encountering a nurse named Naomi Selff in the hallway, she was clearly
surprised to see him and warned that "he wasn't supposed to be there and had better
leave immediately." Minutes later, his story went, he was escorted by two military police
all the way back to the funeral home. It was not until the following day that he learned
what had been happening. He phoned nurse Selff and they agreed to meet for lunch.
Obviously distraught, she told him of seeing three small bodies, two of which were badly
mutilated, and of being ordered by attending military doctors to take notes while they
conducted their examinations. The stench of the corpses, she allegedly told him, had
been almost more than she could stand. Before he returned her to her barrack, Dennis
recalled, she drew sketches of the aliens on a prescription pad and gave them to him
with a warning that he should "show them to no one." That, the mortician says, was the
last time he ever saw her. After numerous unsuccessful attempts to reach her by phone,
he learned several days later that she had suddenly been reassigned to duty in England.
Shortly thereafter, he was told that she had died there in a plane crash. Co-founder of
the Roswell museum with Haut, Dennis is currently in poor health and was unable to
speak with the Observer about his well-chronicled story.
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But for every true believer there are skeptics, researchers who have picked away at the
colorful, unimaginable stories in search of their flaws. And they have found many. Among
the debunkers is Kal K. Korff, author of The Roswell UFO Crash : What They Don't Want
You to Know. He not only questions why so many waited so long to come forward
with the stories but points out that many of them are, like that of Anne Robbins,
hand-me-down tales allegedly kept secret until the firsthand witnesses were dead.
Korff's questions are valid : Why have some of the reported witness accounts described
the downed UFO as "saucer-shaped" while others remember it being "triangular-shaped
with small wings ?" While most who claimed to have seen the bodies recall there being
three, others say they saw as many as five. Some say all were dead, others that one or
more was still alive. Descriptions of the color of the small bodies range from gray to
brown. How could mortician Haut have "lost" something as important as the drawings he
says his nurse friend made and gave to him ? And if, in fact, so many civilians collected
pieces of the strange-looking debris, why has not a single piece of it ever surfaced ?
It was not until 1994. that an Air Force investigation into the aging Roswell affair resulted
in an announcement that the material found on the Foster Ranch was, in fact, a crashed
high-altitude test balloon that would eventually be able to monitor Soviet nuclear testing.
Actually a chain of radar-equipped balloons, it had been launched on July 4, 1947, and
was tracked to within 17 miles of the Foster Ranch before disappearing. When the
explanation failed to satisfy many "believers," the Air Force released yet another report
in '97, this one titled The Roswell Report--Case Closed, in which it attempted to answer
the lingering question of the "bodies" allegedly seen at the crash site. What the so-called
witnesses had seen, according to the report, were nothing more than crash-test dummies
that were part of a military experiment in parachute and ejector seat designs. That, too,
failed to satisfy those determined that the governmental cover-up continued. Such tests,
several military researchers argued, had not even begun until the mid-'50s. "The reason
the interest in the Roswell case remains and, in fact, seems to grow," says Mark
Rodeghier, scientific director of the Chicago-based Center for UFO Studies, "is the fact
the government has never given a reasonable explanation of what occurred that summer
of 1947."
Thus it continues, an unexplained event that has turned into an industry. What happened
or didn't happen 56 years ago has lured 1.3 million to the International UFO Museum and
Research Center since it opened in 1992. A guided tour of the desolate "crash site" is
now available. Then, there was the long-lost film of the "autopsy" of one of the Roswell
aliens that was shown on television worldwide before being discounted as fake, and a
stream of new books and articles that continues to flow. Clearly, the public loves the
mystery. According to a recent poll, a large percentage of the U.S. population continues
to believe something unworldly occurred that July on the Foster Ranch.
Walter Haut, one of the few major figures in the long-ago story still living, is among
them. "I'm sure," he says, "that over the years much of the story has been exaggerated.
But, yes, I believe that something happened out there in 1947." And he's not speaking of
a weather balloon crash.
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UFO INCIDENT – OHIO, INDIANA
On August 9, 2002, persons in Butler County, Ohio and Franklin County, Indiana reported
a UFO in the evening skies. The object was seen from several vantage points across state
lines and was a police concern for an extended duration. In the days to follow, an
investigation of the incident was launched by Donnie Blessing, Southern Ohio section
director for M.U.F.O.N., and researcher Kenny Young.
When investigating such occurrences, it is routine to analyze police 9-1-1 tapes when
available. While officials at the Butler County, Ohio dispatch agency were swift and
professional in getting the police tapes from their agency to UFO researchers, a
communications director at the neighboring Franklin County 9-1-1 office advised
researcher Donnie Blessing that they would not release their 9-1-1 data without a 'court
order.' Knowing that all such 9-1-1 material is 'public record,' UFO researchers again
approached the Franklin County 9-1-1 Center with a written request and after a 6-month
delay, the tapes would finally be released.
UFO Confusion near Oxford, Ohio (Butler County) Around 11:00 p.m. I received a
voice-message telephone call from someone reporting a UFO over the Oxford airport.
The caller left a phone number that did not work as I tried to redial. The call sounded
credible, and the man said he had received the information from a Ham radio operator.
I then called the Miami University Police Dispatch office at 513-529-2222 with hopes
of getting more information. When the dispatcher answered the phone, I point-blank
asked : "what had happened over the airport tonight ?" at which point the dispatcher
said : "Oh, I think that was a helicopter." Intrigued, I then went on to ask for some
details about the event. He said that the Oxford police department took the first reports
from people who thought they saw a UFO. He said the airport is unmanned and there is
no radar or air traffic control tower at the airport, which is a fairly small runway. He felt
that the object was identified as a helicopter by a police officer. He then recommended
that I call the Oxford police department. I then called the Oxford Police Department at
513-524-5240 and an Officer Blevins said that their department had been advised of the
event by the Butler County Sheriff's department. Citizen calls reporting a UFO were
received by the Butler County dispatch before 10:00 p.m. on Friday evening. While the
Oxford police dispatcher was unaware of any sighting over the Oxford airport, she did
advise of an object that was seen to the west, over the city of Franklin. She said that a
Franklin police officer had identified the object as a helicopter.
A third phone call was placed to the Butler County Sheriff Department at 513-785-1300.
The dispatcher handling the call, Officer Metzger, was not fully aware of the event but
said it had been explained as "Possibly a star cluster." Coming on for the 3rd shift duty,
she was not aware of the witness descriptions or the nature of the calls.
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The Franklin police department was contacted at 937-746-2882 and the dispatcher
taking the call was surprised when I had asked about UFO sightings in the area and she
said : "not through our police department." The call was then handled by a second officer
at the Franklin City Police Department who also knew nothing of any such reports.
I informed that Butler County had said calls began around 10:00 p.m. and that the object
was seen over Franklin. The officer said she knew nothing of such a report. I also said
the suspected object was possibly identified as a helicopter by a Franklin officer and she
said that there was no Franklin officer involved in any such sighting, further saying that
she had been on duty all night and 'would have known about it.' I then called the Warren
County police dispatch headquarters at 513-420-4289 and the officer taking the call,
identifying himself as Jason, said that he had not heard of any UFO sighting reports and
their office had not taken any incoming calls of such.
Another phone call was placed to the Miamisburgh police headquarters at 937-866-3344,
and they also were unaware of any UFO sighting reports.
COMMENTS
Four separate sources advise of reported UFO activity near Oxford, Ohio :
•
An informant leaving a telephone message whose return phone number does not
work,
•
The Miami University Police Dispatch Office confirms reports of suspected UFO seen
near airport and adds that it was identified as 'helicopter' and
•
Oxford Police Department confirms of notification by Butler County Dispatch due to
citizen complaints of UFO seen over Franklin and
•
Butler County confirms citizen complaints of UFO sighting around 10:00 p.m. but
suggests the reports are due to a 'star cluster.'
This is a most curious episode. Exact details of what was reported are still not available.
Conflicting information is present in that officers at Miami University police dispatch
presumed that "an" object was explained as a helicopter by a Franklin police officer while
neither the Franklin police department nor the Butler County or Warren County sheriff
headquarters can shed any light on 1). reports of a UFO, 2). helicopter identification
claim or 3) Franklin police officer. More puzzling is that Oxford police headquarters
directly advised that a UFO was reported over the city of Franklin while Franklin police
officers deny any knowledge of such reports.
This general area is around 25-miles southwest of Wright Patterson Air Force Base.
BUTLER COUNTY UFO CLAIMANT
This afternoon I spoke with Mrs. Stephenson (named changed, on-file), a resident of
Wayne Madison Road near Trenton, Ohio. Mrs. Stephenson reported a UFO sighting to
the Butler County Sheriff's Department on Friday evening, August 9, 2002. Her telephone
number was listed on that police report. Mrs. Stephenson spoke freely of the occurrence
and said that around dusk on Friday evening, she observed a star-like object to the west
of her residence. She estimated the object was localized over the vicinity of Oxford, Ohio
and also said this object was visible on 3 consecutive evenings previous to her call to the
Butler County Sheriff's Office.
She informed that her residence on Wayne Madison Road, near Route 73, is situated on a
hill and affords her a good view of the western sky, and that in her 11-years of living at
this location, she has never seen anything like this previously. "It was an unusual
object," she said, "very bright and changing colors from red to green."
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Mrs. Stephenson said she thought it would be best to report the object to the Butler
County Sheriff's Department, and contacted them at their non-emergency telephone
number. According to a CAD Operations Report released to researcher Donnie Blessing
by the Butler County Sheriff's Office, Mrs. Stephenson placed the call at 9:30 p.m. on
Friday, August 9. The officer arrived on the scene at 9:43 p.m. "The officer was taken
back by this object," she said, "he had no explanation for it. "He had no idea what this
was, and said that even though he doesn't believe in UFOs, it may have been an alien."
Mrs. Stephenson said both she and the officer observed the object through her binoculars
(hand-held). She said the object appeared like an 'umbrella of light' that she compared
to the spread of exploding fireworks receding downward, changing colors from red to
green. Mrs. Stephenson said the object was still visible as the officer left at 9:55 p.m.
(according to the CAD operations report). "When my husband arrived home from work
around 10:15 p.m., the object was barely visible and much lower on the horizon," she
said. Before his departure, the officer recommended that Mrs. Stephenson report the
sighting to a radio station. She did so around 10:30 p.m., calling a local Middletown,
Ohio area radio station. But to the best of her knowledge, the call was not particularly
productive in any way. The following evening, Mrs. Stephenson told her neighbors
(5-acres away) about the sighting, but they were unaware of the occurrence.
When asked if there were any particular flight characteristics that would rule out this
object being a star, Mrs. Stephenson said: "I don't know. It could have been a star."
Although Mrs. Stephenson says that she has not seen anything quite like this in the
11-years of residing on Wayne Madison Road, she does report an interesting event taking
place in May of '93. She said that she went to her window to see why dogs were barking
furiously outside her home and saw a large area of light illuminating the ground near the
dogs. This was described as a soft, diffused area of light that seemed to have been
caused by a beam shone from above. She could see the beam through the air but could
not discern its source in the sky (Note: the time-frame of this sighting was during a spate
of UFO activity reported near Trenton, Monroe, Waynesville and Lebanon, Ohio.
Most notable during the activity reported during the spring of '93 was the UFO Incident at
the Lebanon Correctional Institute happening on April 8, 1993).
INVESTIGATOR COMMENTS
It is my suspicion was simply observing a routine star or planet. It should be firmly noted
that Mrs. Stephenson could not describe any flight characteristic incompatible with the
track of a routine star or planet in the western sky as it descended low to the horizon.
Further, hand-held binocular observation of celestial objects often results in
misperception due to autokinetic optical issues. The Butler County officer responding to
the call may have also been flummoxed by the star and binocular observation.
What makes this report terribly curious is the activity reported around 10:10 p.m. in
Oxford, Ohio mere moments after Mrs. Stephenson reported her sighting, and also in the
very same direction she viewed the alleged object. Compounding this situation further
still is additional activity also taking place in that same direction near Brookville Lake in
which a Department of Natural Resources employee advised of 'havoc' taking place at a
campground in which a silent, low flying object came directly overhead at treetop
elevation.
According to this witness, the object was comprised of 3-red non-strobing lights in a
triangular formation and no larger than 12-feet in diameter.
Interview with Franklin County (Indiana) EMT officer regarding incident of Aug. 9, 2002.
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UFO Sightings
This evening I reached Thomas (name changed, on-file), a volunteer Emergency Service
Technician with the Franklin County Emergency Medical Service Unit 2 at 15 West 5th
Street in Brookville, Indiana (765-647-1265). Thomas spoke freely regarding the unusual
event from Friday, August 9, but requested his name not be released in any report.
Thomas, also a security guard for Dept. of Natural resources, was on nightly patrol of the
Brookville Lake campground when he heard notification over his police radio that Butler
Cty., Ohio police units were informing of a low flying unidentified flying object (UFO) near
the Bath, IN vicinity (a small town west of the campground near the state line, situated
east of Brookville Lake). "I was standing outside so I began looking for what they were
reporting," he said, "when I then observed an object due west from my vantage point."
The emergency technician with the Franklin County volunteer agency said that the object
flew right over his head at an extremely low elevation, yet he heard absolutely no noise.
He described the object as comprised of red lights situated in a triangle formation,
spaced about 6-feet apart. "This was like nothing I've ever seen," Thomas said, "it was
all red lights, no strobes, "I looked up to see the object, it flew right over my head," the
witness informed, "and it was completely undetectable by ear." Thomas said the object
was so low that it had barely missed powerlines and was flying at treetop level. When
pressed further on this, Thomas said the object flew at an estimated 25-feet above the
height of a standard telephone pole and 'barely missing' treetops.
The witness said that there was no visible moon during the event and no backlit skies to
see by. When asked more about the objects appearance, he explained that the solid red
lights were not extremely bright and probably would not be seen if at a higher elevation
and positioned one in the front and two in the rear. He could ascertain no physical
structure to the object. "I don't believe it was very large," he said, "and if I had to
estimate its length by the light spacing, I wouldn't say this object was no more than
12-feet long." He then went on to remark about the silent operation of the object.
"I absolutely didn't hear a thing," he said, "I'm honestly not sure what it was. After some
time when it got some distance away I could hear some kind of noise but it's hard to
describe." "When it was off in the distance I could almost hear something that sounded
like a rotor strut that pounded the air, but this was not heard when it was right
overhead." He feels positive that the distant thumping noise was from the object.
The object apparently undertook a course change over the lake and headed off in a
southwest direction. "Whatever this object was, it generated havoc throughout the
campground," said the officer. "People were coming to the gate asking what it was."
When asked if there were any animal reaction to the object, he said that all kinds of dogs
were around the area but they did not behave unusual during the episode. Thomas said
the staff in the area had been 'on edge' due to a helicopter crash around three weeks
earlier Thomas acknowledges that he is the source for the 'helicopter' speculation. "As far
as a a helicopter explanation was concerned, that was an assumption made by me
because I was the only emergency personnel to see this," he said. not confident that this
was a helicopter "But I'm honestly not sure what it was, I would not put any money on
this being a helicopter."
He said that he would not surprised if there were other reports on this object. He was
aware of reports generated near the Oxford airport, which is directly due east of the
campground. "Our dispatch was calling for an officer to investigate area for low flying
unidentified flying object," he said, "and I think it was called in from Butler County,
Ohio." When told that another police agency offered the possibility that this was a star
cluster, he said : "this absolutely represented nothing of a star cluster."
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UFO Sightings
WISCONSIN, DISC WITH LIGHTS PHOTOGRAPHED
February, 2003. Wisconsin - Disc With Lights Photographed Above Trees.
My son and I were visiting a friend of mine in Weyauwega. I am reluctant to reveal the
exact location out of concern for my friend's privacy as well as my own. However the
general location is just North of Main street on the East side of 110 and South of the train
tracks. My boy was sledding in the snow and I was taking pictures. It was in the evening
and was starting to get dark pretty quickly. My son pointed up to the sky and we noticed
some lights coming in from what I believe is the south west. At that point I just pointed
the camera up and took the shots. The object really gave me the impression of a balloon
except for the lights. They seemed to cycle all different patterns. The object passed
almost directly overhead (picture 1) and then headed south towards the train tracks
(picture 2). As the object passed I could make out more of a disk shape than a balloon
shape. I just remember my son asking me over and over what it was and I didn't have a
clue.
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