1. May, 1923, CLOSE ENCOUNTER IN ILLINOIS
The December 1995 issue of "UFO Newsclipping Service" contained an interesting story by Ms. Esther Fay Hungate of
McLeansboro, Illinois. Ms. Hungate saw her first--and only--UFO as a nine-year-old girl...way back in 1923!
Here's Mrs. Hungate's story in her own words:
"We moved to Benton (Illinois) in 1923...Everett (her twin brother) and I went to the Webster School in the fourth grade.
(Older brother) Logan was a freshman at BTHS."
"One evening after supper (May 1923) we went out in front of our house to play, when we noticed something like a small
cloud in the cloudless sky, looking away and then back again. The cloud was getting closer, and I said, 'There's something in
the sky.'"
"My twin ran around the house to hide from it--but me, I wanted to see what the flying object would do. I was curious. It was
coming from the north, not very high in the sky. It slowed down like a top and flew low around the old fairground, then came
back by the Grant School west to the electrical poles, stopping before crossing the railroad tracks. It came to a stop about the
height of the treetops, when the lights came on around the bottom edge--red, blue, green and ecru."
"The ecru light or spotlight was very bright. I put my hands over my closed eyes. It seemed like a few minutes before the
spotlight was turned off. When I looked, it had moved nearer the electric poles. Then it rose up high in the sky, then began to
descend slowly until it landed across the railroad tracks."
"It was about as high as a telephone pole when the bottom moved, and four lights came on, then a pillar of light came out of it.
I looked away a minute and, when I looked back to it, it was gone. No one believed me, and it was years before I saw in the
Sunday paper (June 1947) a picture of a UFO, and then I knew the mystery object I had seen was a UFO."
"I have not seen another one since."
All in all, this sounds like a typical close encounter of the first kind. However, please note that Ms. Hungate was one of a pair
of twins. Perhaps the UFO crew was intrigued by the sight of identical human children, one male, one female.
2. February 25, 1942, 2:25am, PWT Los Angeles
At approximately 2:25 a.m. Pacific War Time (PWT), air raid sirens sounded in Los Angeles. All electric lights in the city
were turned off as Army gun crews readied their antiaircraft cannons. At 3:16 a.m., the crews began firing at "unidentifieds"
coming in over Long Beach. Crewmen described the speedy UFOs as red and silver in color. They dodged searchlights and
antiaircraft shells at speeds of up to 18,000 mph. A large cigar-shaped object was caught by two searchlight beams over
Culver City, drifting along at an estimated 60 mph. Army crews scored many direct hits on this UFO, but it continued on
undamaged. The Army ceased fire at 4:14 a.m.
They had hurled 1,430 shells at the UFO formation--to no avail. The next day, General George C. Marshall met with
President Roosevelt and told him that radar crews had picked up 15 "unidentifieds" on their screen, including the cigar-shaped
UFO.
Not until 1988 did Uncle Sam admit that the government had old War Department records dealing with this "Battle of Los
Angeles." The war ended 50 years ago, but Army battle reports on this caper are still classified.
3. September 1943, Himalayas, China
Pilots flying C-47 transport planes "over the Hump," i.e. the Himalayas from Burma to China reported being buzzed by "glittering silver objects" whose origin was unknown.
4. October 14, 1943, Germany
During a raid over Schweinfurt, Germany, B-17 bombers of the 348th Bomb Group ran into a formation of tiny silver saucers. The saucers measured one inch thick and four inches in diameter. The pilot of No. 26 plane said one passed right through his wing as if it were a ghost. Flight leader Major E.R. Holmes reported that another struck the tail of his B-17 but bounced off with no harmful effect.
5. August 10, 1944, South China Sea
While flying from Kharagapur, India to the island of Palembang in the South China Sea, a B-29 flown by Capt. Alvah M. Reida was approached by a bright red or orange UFO. The object flew parallel to Reida's B-29 at an altitude of 12,500 feet. Reida's airspeed was 210 mph. Reida took evasive action, trying to lose the UFO, but it stayed right with him, pacing him off the starboard wing. After 8 minutes, Reida reported, the UFO "made an abrupt 90 degree turn and accelerated rapidly, disappearing into the overcast."
6. December 22, 1944, 6am, Germany
Lt. David McFalls of the 415th Night Fighter Squadron was flying a combat air patrol in his P-61 twin-engined Black Widow. At 6 a.m., while returning to base from Hagenau, Germany, McFalls spied two huge bright orange lights coming at him from the ground. He dived the P-61, banked to the right and turned back on them, but the UFOs matched his every maneuver. After two minutes of "dogfighting," the UFOs tired of the match and zipped away. Their lights blinked out as they headed for the darkened western horizon.
7. November 22, 1944, 6:54 a.m., Playa del Ray, California
Playa Del Ray, CA. Observers spotted "an unusual meteor," a fireball "the size of a full moon."
8. August 3, 1944, 3:30 a.m. Los Angeles County, CA.
"A flaming fireball" flew over Pasadena and Flintridge in Los Angeles County "in slow motion." The newspapers described the object as "blinding light...bright as day...at the zenith it left a broad zigzag band. The trail remained there for some time, gradually fading out." The UFO was flying from east to west.
9. April 17, 1945, 11 p.m., Jefferstown, Kentucky
James L. Hendry of Jefferstown, Kentucky spotted a UFO in the eastern night sky over Fisherville. Hendry described the object as "the most beautiful light I have ever seen," about the size of a large canteloupe, glowing and receding in brilliance "like a heart throb. It cast a light downward, like a lamp shade over the earth...After about ten minutes, it went out like a snuffed candle." Mrs. Hendry and another Jefferstown man saw it, too. UFO fans--You'll find Hendry's letter in the letter column of the Louisville Courier-Journal.
10. August 1, 1945, 1:45 a.m., Waterville, Maine
A vacationer saw a "terrific explosion in the sky, followed by a bright light" south of Great Pond, which is 12 miles southwest of Waterville, Maine. The explosion's sound rocked the earth.
11. NEW INFORMATION IN THE 1948 MANTELL CASE
Former Army sergeant Quinton A. Blackwell, was in the tower at Godman Field, Fort Knox, Kentucky the afternoon of
January 7, 1948, when Captain Thomas F. Mantell had his fatal encounter with a UFO.
During his meeting with Capt. Mantell's two sons and sister, Blackwell made a startling statement. He said that once Capt.
Mantell had the large metallic saucer in sight, the pilot remarked, "We're going to need hot guns."
"Hot guns" is Air Force slang for aircraft weaponry loaded with live ammunition. The five F-51 Mustang fighter planes were
on a routine ferry flight from Georgia to Godman Field that day and were not armed with .50 caliber machine guns.
Right after Capt. Mantell said it, Lt. Clements flew his Mustang, NG800, back to the field. Here it was loaded with machine
guns, hardball and tracer ammo and took off again at 3:30 p.m., hoping to rendezvous with Capt. Mantell and the UFO.
However, by the time Lt. Clements reached the town of Franklin, Capt. Mantell's Mustang, NG869, had crashed.
There is no mention of "hot guns" in Sgt. Blackwell's original January 7, 1948 report, which was included in Project Blue
Book and declassified in 1975. Blackwell also told Mantell's relatives that an unnamed brigadier general was present in the
tower during the pursuit of the UFO. Possibly this was the commanding general (CG) at Fort Knox.
For readers unfamiliar with the case, here is a chronology of the events that day.
1:45 p.m. - The Kentucky State Police barracks at Elizabethtown phones the M.P.s at Fort Knox, reporting the presence of
the UFO.
1:50 p.m. - Sgt. Blackwell and PFC Stanley Oliver spot the UFO on the tower's radar set. Taking a pair of binoculars, Sgt.
Blackwell looks out the tower's south window. He sees a silvery saucer with a small dome on top flying slowly past the
airfield.
2:00 p.m. - Lt. Orner arrives at the tower, looks through the binoculars, confirms the visual sightings of Blackwell and Oliver,
and gets on the hot phone.
2:20 p.m. - Capt. Gary W. Carter, operations officer, and Colonel Guy F. Hix, commanding officer at Godman Field, arrive
at the tower and confirm the sighting.
2:30 p.m. - Unaware of what's going on at the field, Tommy Mantell and his flight arrive over Fort Knox. Mantell asks for
permission to land. Col. Hix tells Sgt. Blackwell to send the five-man flight after the UFO.
2:35 p.m. - Mantell begins his powered climb, heading southwest. One man in the squadron complains, "Where are we off to
now?" Mantell replies, "New mission, gentlemen. Observation and report. This won't take too long."
2:40 p.m. - Mantell reports visual sighting of the UFO. He engages in a running dialogue with Blackwell back at the tower.
2:45 p.m. - Mantell reports, "It's ahead and above me...still climbing." (About this time "hot guns" were mentioned, and Lt.
Clements turned back to Godman Field.)
3:00 p.m. - The flight reaches 15,000 feet. Lacking oxygen equipment, Lt. Hendricks in NG336 and Lt. Hammond in NG737
break off pursuit. Describing the UFO, Mantell says, "It appears metallic and of tremendous size."
3:15 p.m. - Mantell says, "It's still climbing...object is above and ahead about my speed (345 mph) or faster...I'm trying to
close in for a better look."
3:20 p.m. - The two planes reach 20,000 feet. Mantell's wingman breaks off the pursuit. The UFO is heading for the
Tennessee state line. Still in hot pursuit, Mantell radios the tower..."it appears like the reflection of sunlight on a canopy."
3:30 p.m. - Godman Field tower loses radio contact with NG869.
3:35 p.m. - While waiting for her school bus, Barbara Mayes, age 9, a student at Franklin Grade School, sees a "bright
explosion" in the sky.
3:45 p.m. - Mrs. Philips hears the crash at her home on the farm of Joseph Philips in Franklin. Mantell's plane crashed in a
field 200 yards from the house.
3:50 p.m. - Eyewitness Addie Wilson saw the UFO leaving the area. "It seemed to be at a high altitude and having an
aluminum-like surface. It didn't look like any balloon I've ever seen."
Now that Sgt. Blackwell has come forward, let's use the Freedom of Information Act to declassify Colonel Guy F. Hix's
report to the commanding general at Fort Knox and the general's report to the Air Defense Command at Mitchell Field,
Hempstead, Long Island, N.Y. We want full disclosure in the Mantell case.
12. February 6, 1996,10 p.m. PST, UFO LANDS IN LOMA PRIETA, CALIFORNIA
--At about 10 p.m. PST, a UFO described by seven eyewitnesses as "a white ball of light" that was "10 to 20 times larger than Venus" landed in Loma Prieta, Cal. near San Francisco. The UFO landed right behind the Channel 11 television tower on top of Morgan Hill. As the object touched down, the eyewitnesses noticed two bright red lights fore and aft on the vehicle, aligned in a north-south direction. The UFO remained on the ground for several minutes, as the people ran toward the top of the hill. At 10:08 p.m., it rose into the air and zipped away, heading in the direction of Sacramento. It was last seen over the Cal Expo center in that city and was moving swiftly toward San Francisco Bay.
13. March 3, 1996, 9:15 pm, UFOs RENDEZVOUS IN DALLAS SUBURB
At about 9:15 p.m. on Sunday, March 3, 1996, two teenaged boys in Cedar Hill, Texas looked out an upstairs window and saw a triangular UFO hovering above the prairie a mile away. Cedar Hill is a suburb of Dallas, located southwest of the city, just south of Duncanville. The UFO was seen northwest of Cedar Hill, well beyond the intersection of Love Freeway (Highway 67) and Belt Line Road (Highway 1382). Just beyond the site lies a man-made reservoir called Joe Pool Lake. According to the eyewitnesses, the UFO was joined by two other triangular objects. Each of the triangular UFOs had bright lights on the stern. The trio floated around in the air about twenty degrees above the horizon. At 9:20 or so, they were joined by six dark gray spherical UFOs. These objects had blue and white lights at the "equators" of their globes. The nine UFOs hovered there for another few minutes. Then the triangular UFOs ascended one by one, rising in the direction of the moon, while the circular UFOs scattered in all directions.
14. Feb. 25, 1996, 7:04pm,PMT, UFO FILMED WHILE FLYING PAST THE SPACE SHUTTLE
The shuttle Columbia landed yesterday morning following a spaceflight marred by bad luck. NASA kept the shuttle in orbit an extra day because of bad weather at the field at Cape Canaveral. The shuttle attempted to deploy a $442 million U.S./Italian satellite at the end of a 12-mile tether in order to generate inflight electricity from Earth's magnetic field. But the experiment flopped when the tether broke on February 25. The night of February 25, CNN had its camera trained on the broken end of the tether while the anchorman chatted with the Italian scientist who created it. At precisely 7:04 p.m. Pacific time (11:04 p.m. Eastern time), a mysterious object darted into the camera's field of view, moving from the upper right corner to the center of the screen. One UFO buff had his VCR running at the time and captured two minutes of video. That's 3,600 frames showing the UFO. The clearest view of the UFO takes place during the 7:05 p.m. minute. Using screen freeze and blowup features, our UFO buff has found an image of a top-shaped light yellow UFO, quite similar to the object videotaped in Mexico City in 1994.
15. Jan. 27, 1996, 10pm, GIGANTIC UFO SIGHTED IN MEXICO
A gigantic rectangular UFO was seen by hundreds of people the night of January 27, 1996 near Vera Cruz, Mexico. At around 10 p.m., during a thunderstorm, the UFO approached the city's harbor from the northeast. Witnesses said they saw two bright flashes in the night sky before the UFO crossed the beach. The object might have been taking advantage of the lightning bolts, using their electromagnetic pulse to duck the NORAD and Mexican radar systems. One eyewitness who saw the huge object was Pedro Alaniz, a cropdusting pilot from Texas who has 20/20 vision. Alaniz was driving a semi on Camino (Highway) 180, heading south to Alvarado, when he saw the UFO. He said the object was flying from the northeast to the southwest at a speed of 200 miles per hour. He estimated that its altitude was 600 feet. Alaniz gave a very detailed description of the UFO, reporting that the object's front end was as flat and square as a box. The UFO was approximately 100 yards long, with bright white lights along the underside running from the front to the stern. The tail took up about one-third of the whole object and had five finger-like projections jutting out from it. A pale blue light was on the left side of the object near the tail. Dozens of Mexicans saw the UFO as it flew toward Cosamaloapan. It was reportedly videotaped by several witnesses. There are two sites in the area that may have interested the UFO's crew. The Mexican Air Force has an air station at Minatitlan, 118 miles south of Alvarado. Also, there are mysterious pre-Toltec ruins at Zempoala 20 miles north of Vera Cruz.
16. Jan.25, 1996, 6:00pm, MORE FROM CANADA'S X-FILES
Last week our paper listed recent UFO sightings taken from Canada's National Archives. Here's more on the UFO situation north of the border. At 6 p.m. on the night of January 5, 1996, a highway maintenance work crew, led by supervisor Robert Beaulieu, spotted a bright UFO in the night sky about 54 miles from Fort Resolution, Northwest Territories. Fort Resolution is on the south shore of the Great Slave Lake, across from Yellowknife. According to Beaulieu, he "saw a strange light on a hill at 6:10 p.m. and sat there and watched it. It kept changing colors." He then phoned his brother in town. "I had all my lights shut off when I was talking to him on the mobile, and as I turned on my two orange beacons on the cab of the truck, whatever that object was let off a big red flash and took off west."
Workman Arthur Sanderson also saw the object. "I noticed it was to the south, just sitting above the trees. And it wasn't moving at all--it stayed in one position, and it was just quiet, there was no noise or nothing. It was a big bright red light and a white light, right beside one another. They would take turns, one would go bright and then die down and then the other. At the bottom of it were just blue lights flickering off and on and moving in a circle."
A few nights later, caribou trappers Raymond Giroux and Colin King spied the same UFO hovering above a frozen lake. When the object appeared, their snowmobile engine sputtered out.
On January 14, Beaulieu again saw the UFO. But this time he had a video camera with him. "My shot is better than the one the military had, which showed no colors or lights spinning in the sky," he said. In his video, "You see it where it even explodes into a big red flash. It was just above the treetops, and it was sitting there, flashing bright white flashes, blue flashes, and whenever it was going to take off, it let out a big red flash and it would be gone."
17. July 21, 1995 "MISSING TIME" AT TAHARTI LAKE
Five people had a strange experience at Taharti Lake in British Columbia last summer. The lake is located near Quesnel, B.C. A father and son were hiking around the remote lake when they spied "an oval-shaped object about the size of a car." It hovered above the water for three minutes and then zipped away. The father and son returned to their cabin and told the three people who were camping with them. The sighting took place on July 21, 1995.
The father and son left the cabin the following morning. On their way home, they stopped at a gas station/convenience store on Highway 97. The boy was startled when he saw the front page of the Quesnel newspaper. The date read "July 23" instead of "July 22," as he expected. He and his father had somehow lost 24 hours.
The same thing happened to the other three people at the cabin. They stayed an extra night and left on what they thought was July 22. As they drove home, they turned on the car radio and were stunned when the news announcer said the date was July 24.
The "Taharti Lake Five" reported their strange experience to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and the report ended up in the RCMP's X-Files.