Going Public with UFO Accounts Garnered Ridicule for Air Force Officers

Public attitudes toward UFOs were much different when retired Air Force Capt. Robert Salas took the stage at the National Press Club in Washington nearly 11 years ago. Far from the white-hot interest in the phenomenon that is

By Ben Wolfgang The Washington Times 6-7-21

spreading across the country today, Mr. Salas and six fellow Air Force veterans, accompanied by UFO researcher and author Robert Hastings, detailed their personal experiences with unidentified craft at a time when the subject was mocked, dismissed and written off as tinfoil-hat conspiracy lore.

[...]



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See Also:

	The UFOs-Nukes Connection Press Conference: Witness Affidavits and Declassified Documents
	Researcher Urges U.S. Military Veterans to Divulge Their UFO Sightings at Nuclear Weapons Sites
	UFOs Disabling Nuclear Missiles: Former Senator Says Veterans’ Testimony is the “Smoking Gun” Confirming a U.S. Government Cover-up

REPORT YOUR UFO EXPERIENCE

Pascagoula UFO Incident: Navy Retiree Says He Also Saw Spaceship 28 Years Ago

PASCAGOULA - When Charles Hickson and Calvin Parker told the world in 1973 they were abducted by aliens while fishing on the Pascagoula River, few people believed them. Now after 28 years, it appears they weren't alone in their experience on that Oct. 11 night.

By Natalie Chambers The Mississippi Press 10-21-01

A retired Navy chief petty officer recently contacted The Mississippi Press about the sighting that he can't forget.

Mike Cataldo of Rotonda West, Fla., said he was on the pre-commissioning crew of the USS Tunney under construction at Ingalls Shipyard. Dusk was setting in as he and crew mates Ted Peralta and Mack Hanna were on U.S. 90 heading to Ocean Springs. Peralta was driving, Hanna was in the front passenger seat and Cataldo was in the back seat.

"We saw a very strange object in the horizon going from northwest across Highway 90. It was going pretty fast. It went down into a wood area and into the marsh. It hovered over the tree line, I guess, maybe a minute. We actually pulled off the road and watched it. We said, 'My God, what is that."' Cataldo said.

"We saw it, no question about it. We talked about it. Was it a shooting star, a meteorite? This was very different," he said.

Cataldo said the object looked like a large tambourine with little lights flashing on it.

"As quickly as we saw it, it just vanished," he said.

Cataldo said he had a second sighting minutes later, this time in St. Andrews as he neared his home.

"It wasn't as high up as we saw the first time. It was real," he said.

Cataldo said he rushed and told his wife what happened.

"I was almost hyperventilating. I wasn't shook up, but I was excited I saw this thing," he said.

The next morning, Cataldo contacted his executive officer on the submarine and made a report.

The following Monday, he contacted Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi and left his telephone number, he said.

"My executive officer and crew members thought we were just lunatics, just whacked out," he said.

"It never came up again. Keesler never called or did anything," he said.

"It was the strangest thing. It was kind of scary," Cataldo said.

Cataldo retired from the Navy 19 years ago. He was last in Jackson County in 1974.

Cataldo said he has never met or talked to Hickson.

Hickson said neither he nor Parker wanted their story given to the media. Their only objective was to notify the proper authorities, the sheriff's department.

"I've had a few people who said they didn't believe it, but I've never had any ridicule and my family never had. That's one reason when this thing first happened to Calvin and I didn't want to talk about it because I didn't want to be called crazy. But it seemed to me we had to tell the proper authorities," said Hickson, 70, who lives in Gautier.

The rest is history.

Hickson said he knows other people saw the space craft but wouldn't come forward.

"They would have sure helped us if they would have said something," he said.

Hickson penned a book about the encounter, was interviewed numerous times by the scientific community and made the circuit at seminars on extraterrestrial. In 28 years, he never deviated from his claim of the occurrence behind the old Shaupeter Shipyard building on the Pascagoula River - even under hypnosis.

Parker, who was 19 then, had trouble dealing with what happened. He is now living in Louisiana.

"He's not the same man as before. It just ruined him," Hickson said.

Hickson described the three creatures that floated out to them as pale, ghostlike and about 5-feet high. They had crab-like claws or pinchers and rounded feet. He said they appeared to glide rather than walk.

Hickson said he was taken aboard the oval-shaped, well-lit space craft and examined with some type of "eye."

"Some kind of way they examined me. I've had a feeling ever since it happened that they know where I'm at all times and what I'm doing," he said.

"These things are robots. I didn't see any eyes. They had no indication of breathing. They didn't have a mouth. It was a straight slit. It seems they had something to do and they just actually done it. Took us back out there, put us down and they left," he said.

Hickson said he does not know how long they were with the aliens but he would like another encounter with them.

"When it first happened, I wouldn't go in the night by myself. I would have nightmares. My wife really helped me get through this thing," he said. "Now the fear is all gone. I want to meet them again and see if they will take me to their world. I believe if they do, they'd bring me back. Our whole world here is getting into a terrible shape."

Glenn Ryder, sheriff's department shift captain that night the call came in from Hickson, said it was a busy night, around 11 p.m. when Hickson called from a pay phone and was insistent on talking to then-Sheriff Fred Diamond, who happened to be in bed.

Ryder said Hickson then asked for the second person in charge. That happened to be Ryder. Hickson told Ryder he had something to tell but feared Ryder would laugh.

Ryder told him to go ahead and when Hickson finished, he did laugh.

"I told him to wait there and I would come and talk to him. He said he was going back to his house and gave me the address so I could come there," Ryder said.

"Calvin Parker was just hysterical. He was having fits. I took them in the patrol car to the sheriff's office," Ryder said.

Hickson and Parker were questioned extensively apart and then put in a secluded room together where a tape recorder had been planted to catch them in a lie.

"That boy (Parker) was really shook up. Charles was composed. The boy had just come down here from Jones County had always lived out in the country. He kept telling Charles on the tape not to talk to us. He said if (Charles) told them anything about what happened they would come back and get them," Ryder said.

"One thing led to another. We went to the site at Shaupeter, where Colley Towing is now. He showed me where it landed and picked him up."

Ryder said no physical evidence of a landing - burn marks or footprints - were found.

He said after the story broke calls came in from across the United States, England and Canada.

"They were pretty well convincing something did happen to them," he said.

Ryder said there were other calls fielded about sighting of a streak of light that night, but only Parker and Hickson reported being taken aboard the space craft.

See Also:

The Pascagoula UFO Incident: There Were More Witnesses

South Mississippi has History of UFO Sightings

Charles Hickson Recounts UFO Abduction of 1973

Chaos Consumed Jackson County After Charles Hickson's Alleged Alien Abduction

UFO NEWS | Claimed Alien Abductee, Charles E. Hickson Sr Passes Away at Age 80

VIDCAST | Charles Hickson Recounts His Alien Abduction with Dr J Allen Hynek

Charles Hickson Recounts UFO Abduction of 1973

Alien Abductee, Calvin Parker Breaks Silence – Gives Rare Interview | VIDEO

REPORT YOUR UFO EXPERIENCE

Roswell - What's Next?



Let’s look at it this way. If there is a first-hand witness still alive who saw anything, if he or she has not come forward and we all who have been searching for every possible witness hasn’t found that person, I would bet that person simply didn’t see much at all or is long past providing us with any useful information. Certainly nothing that would break the case open and provide the smoking gun. Everyone at the top levels of the Roswell command structure, whether officer or NCO, is dead. Some of the lower ranking and therefore younger members might still be out there, but the odds are that they are deep into their nineties with the 70th anniversary looming. There has been an effort to find papers,

By Kevin Randle A Different Perspective 1-20-17

documents, diaries, journals, letters, anything that mentions the crash and recovery and written prior to 1978 when Jesse Marcel first burst onto the scene. To this point there is simply nothing of value found, certainly nothing that can be properly dated and nothing that leads us into the realm of the alien.

So, witnesses can no longer be interviewed, unless you resort to talking to the children or the grandchildren of those stationed at Roswell. This is something that I don’t think bears much fruit. Those former service members certainly could have been spinning a tale or two, the listeners could have misinterpreted what was said, or thought they heard things that weren’t said. If someone had written it down in one of those seemingly nonexistent diaries or journals at the time the tale was uttered, then we might have something interesting or something that would provide a lead, but none of that has borne fruit either.

There really isn’t a next step, except for the search for documents, and that hasn’t gone all that well. Personally, I’ve made dozens of FOIA requests and I’m not alone in that. Hundreds, if not thousands, have been made, and I’m still waiting for responses on some of them. (Or I get snide letters such as the one from the CIA… I had asked about the analysis of the Ramey Memo done in the mid-1990s by an organization that was, at that time, part of the CIA… I mentioned that the photo had been taken in 1947 and they told me that the CIA didn’t exist in 1947. I didn’t bother telling that the Central Intelligence Group did but my question dealt with the Air Force inquiry that came in the 1990s not something from 1947).

We can review the information already collected. Many, if not most, of the interviews were conducted on audio and videotape so that a record of them exists that might provide some clues. These can be reviewed. As I was doing that, I did find some interesting tidbits overlooked at the time. Oh, nothing that would alter anyone’s view, but interesting tidbits that helped complete an overall picture. And, of course, we can compare later statements with earlier ones to see if any, or rather how much, those statements have changed. Sometimes it’s just little things and other times it is a major alteration. That also can provide information but that sort of data won’t lead us to the extraterrestrial, or any other answer for that matter.

We can continue the onslaught of FOIA, but the records sought, if they even exist, would be so highly classified that national security would come into play and the records would be withheld. We would be told that the specific agency under FOIA could neither confirm nor deny the existence of the records sought. And that’s if they even bother to look for them. We just might just be told that they have no records that are responsive to our requests. I once FOIAed a document, giving the title, the date it was written, the author, and the overall topic and was told that my request hadn’t been specific enough. I’m not sure that if I have even given them the first page or two that would have been specific enough. I just don’t know what else I could have included to make it clearer to them and there seemed to be nowhere to go with the next request.

Thinking about this carefully, I just can’t seem to think of anything more to be done except another “cold case” review of the information. The testimony has been collected, the documentation has been sought, and archives have been searched. A review might suggest something to someone who has not been immersed in the case for decades, or he or she might think of an avenue of research that hasn’t been explored, but I don’t know what it would be. We are now dead in the water, waiting for inspiration.

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See Also:

For All Who Want To Prove That Roswell Was an Alien Event – A Challenge Issued By James Carrion

Roswell Information is Slowly Fading Away

Concealing the Truth About Roswell

REPORT YOUR UFO EXPERIENCE

The Westall 'UFO' Incident 50th Anniversary; Witnesses Speak Out | VIDEO

The Westall UFO Incident occurred in a suburb of Melbourne in 1966 and is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. It’s one of the best documented and corroborated UFO cases in Australia with over 200 witnesses including school children and teachers. This segment aired on the Studio Ten TV show hosted by Channel 10 on Australian TV on the 21st January 2016 and included an interview with three of the witnesses and UFO investigator Shane Ryan.

UFO Research Queensland YouTube 4-8-16

There are some very important elements to this case that point to a dramatic event that was covered up. eg The craft described by witnesses landed for a few minutes, then took off at great speed. The object was metallic and silver in colour and round in shape, with lights around the perimeter. The military arrived within 30 minutes and were heavy handed in silencing the children and this caused trauma to some which they still recall vividly. Tania, a Yugoslavian girl ran up to the craft and then screamed hysterically. She was then taken away in an ambulance NEVER TO BE SEEN AGAIN at the school. She and her parents were moved out of the town that day. A friend of hers went to visit her the next day and was told by the new owner of the home that no-one by that name had lived there. The area where the craft landed was combed and burnt afterwards by the military. [...]

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See Also:

Has The Westall UFO Incident Been Solved?

VIDCAST | Westall 1966: A Suburban UFO Mystery –The Documentary

Flying Saucer Mystery: School Went Silent | UFO CHRONICLE – 1966

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The Massive UFO Flyover of Arizona – Phoenix Lights 19th Anniversary

I have always preferred “The Massive UFO Flyover of Arizona, March 13, 1997,” over the term, “The Phoenix Lights” as the former is by far the most descriptive title regarding the true events state-wide, not just lights at or near the city. The term, “Phoenix Lights” is simply not accurate. The name came into being as 2 of the 5, “10 pm videos” (Rairdon & Kitei) of "mysterious lights" that slowly appeared and then disappeared, were aired on local news stations beginning the following day (Friday March 14th) and were erroneously depicted as being over Phoenix proper. These night-time video’s were shot by residents living in mountain-side homes; the respective cameras were pointed in a southwest direction with the Phoenix metro area in the

By Mike Fortson The UFO Chronicles © 2-13-12

foreground and the Estrella Mountain Range as the backdrop. The lights recorded were later proven to be flares dropped at (unusually) high altitude some 45-60 miles away by the Maryland Air National Guard. Thus, the name “Phoenix Lights” was born and by the same token confusion (which still exists today) between the flare drop footage and the “real, remarkable UFO events” which occurred on that date.

Speaking as a witness, it’s safe to say that those of you who were privileged to have observed the massive UFO—did tell someone! If not, how did you do it?! How did you vent the emotion? How could you keep it to yourself?! Having gone through the experience (myself) . . . seeing something that does not compute; that goes against the grain of how one was raised, and or what falls outside of that which society dictates is normal—the natural desire is to share the experience with folks, or seek out others who experienced the same phenomenon.

After 15 years we now know, given the area the UFO(s) traversed; the weather conditions, as well as the fact that people were sky-watching for the Hale Bopp comet that evening—only a fraction of the actual witnesses went public. So what did you do? Did you write about your sighting in a log, or sketch what you saw on paper and keep it private? Do you still see it in your memories? Do you still think about it and what it possibly was or where it was from? Did you take a snapshot or record a video? If you did, would you share it now? Would you be willing to tell your story now? It’s been 15 years . . . isn’t it time to talk? [...]

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See Also:

Phoenix Lights 19th Anniversary: Vintage Interview with Tim Ley, Mike Fortson, Frances Barwood and Richard Motzer | VIDEO

THE PHOENIX LIGHTS: THE (ORIGINAL) REAL INVESTIGATION | 19th Anniversary of The Phoenix Lights

Original, Eyewitness Account of The 'Phoenix Lights,’ by Mike Fortson | 19th Anniversary

Kingman Witness Breaks Silence! – EXCLUSIVE | 18th Anniversary of The Phoenix Lights

Phoenix Lights Phenomenon –18 Years Ago, Today | VIDEO

Veteran Airline Pilot – Eyewitness To The Phoenix Lights | 18th Anniversary

The Arizona UFO Controversy | 18th Anniversary of The Phoenix Lights

Phoenix Lights:
Vintage Interview with Tim Ley, Mike Fortson, Frances Barwood and Richard Motzer

The Phoenix Lights:
After 12 Years, Original Photographic Expert, Jim Dilettoso Reverses Position - Says Famed Video 'Could Be Flares!'

The Non-Investigation of the Phoenix Lights - My View (Redux) | 17th Anniversary of The Phoenix Lights

REPORT YOUR UFO EXPERIENCE

UFO Activity at Nuclear Weapons Sites: Military Veterans’ Testimony Sought

By Robert Hastings The UFO Chronicles 2-6-16

     Since 1973, I have interviewed more than 150 U.S. military veterans regarding their nuclear weapons-related UFO experiences while in the service. Seven of those individuals participated in my UFOs and Nukes press conference in Washington D.C., on September 27, 2010. CNN live-streamed the event and the video is below:

Other veterans have appeared in my soon-to-be released documentary film, UFOs and Nukes: The Secret Link Revealed. Two short excerpts may be viewed below:

These persons’ testimony makes clear that UFOs have exhibited a longstanding and ongoing interest in American nuclear weapons sites—missile silos, bomb/warhead storage depots, ICBM and bomb-detonation test areas—extending from the late 1940s to the present day. Indeed, thousands of declassified U.S. Air Force, FBI and CIA documents confirm the reality of the situation.

Most of the veterans I have spoken with were involved in incidents in the 1960s, ‘70s, ‘80s, and ‘90s. However, a few of them were in the service after the year 2000. Based on the accounts provided by the last group, it becomes obvious that UFOs still visit nuclear weapons sites well into the 21st Century. I am very interested in hearing from those veterans who experienced such an incident during the past 10 years. I am creating an oral history and want to update it. (Any veteran’s account is of course welcomed. No contacts from active duty personnel please.)

The importance of these incidents is self-evident and, in my view, the American people—and the rest of humanity—have a right to know the facts. If you have an account to share, please contact me at ufohastings@aol.com or robertufohastings@gmail.com. You will be asked to provide your DD214 before the interview takes place. While I prefer that you allow me to use your name in any future article I might publish about your case, I assure you that you will remain anonymous if that is your preference. One example of the latter may be read here:

Former U.S. Air Force Missile Launch Officer Says a UFO Activated One of His ICBMs—Twice!

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See Also:

New “UFOs and Nukes” Film Trailer: The Amazing Big Sur Incident

"More BS from CSI on Big Sur"

UFOs and Nukes: The Secret Link Revealed | VIDEO

Deep Denial or Disinformation?

REPORT YOUR UFO EXPERIENCE

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The Socorro [UFO] Landing and Corroborating Witnesses

By Kevin Randle A Different Perspective 1o-24-14

      The problem with the Lonnie Zamora, Socorro, UFO sighting was that it was single witness. There were hints that others might have seen something, but the names never seemed to surface. Opal Grinder, who managed a gas station in Socorro, told Dr. J. Allen Hynek that a family had stopped for gas and the father had said something about the aircraft flying low over the town. Grinder didn’t understand the significance of the statement at the time and he didn’t know who the man was. There was no credit card receipt so there was no way to track them and they have never come forward to tell their tale, if they had one to tell.

On April 29, 1964, just days after the sighting, two men who lived in Dubuque, Iowa, told the local newspaper that they had seen the UFO. Paul Kies and Larry Kratzer, who had been in New Mexico to retrieve a boat that had been left behind, when they drove through Socorro. The story that appeared in the newspaper was fairly inaccurate. Since no one had actually talked to them since that initial report, Iowa UFO researcher, Ralph DeGraw decided he would some fourteen years later. According to an article that he published in The UFO Examiner in September 1978 and republished in The MUFON UFO Journal in October 1978, DeGraw recounted what he had learned.

He wrote, “Although the circumstances such as the time, location, etc. were described the same by both men, descriptions of what they saw were entirely different!”

Kies, according to DeGraw, said that he had seen a cloud of dust followed by black smoke. He thought they were about a mile away, and that it was coming up, from the ground. There seemed to be something bright and shiny in the smoke. He wasn’t sure if the reflection, as he called it, had been from the low hanging sun, if it was reflecting from something on the ground or if an object was emitting the light. At that time, he didn’t think about having seen a UFO.

Kratzer told DeGraw that they were about a mile west of Socorro when he saw a cloud of black smoke coming from the ground ahead of them. Kratzer said that he pointed it out to Kies and watched as a saucer or egg-shaped object lifted off vertically, from the black smoke. He wasn’t sure how far away they had been, especially since it had been so long (fourteen years) ago. He thought it was about one-half to a mile away and might have been a thousand feet in the air.

He said that after it had climbed vertically out of the smoke, it leveled off and then disappeared behind the black smoke that was coming out of the rear. He said that the object itself was shiny silver with a row of darker, mirror-like windows that he assumed wrapped around the craft. There was a red Z toward the right end of the object. It made no noise and when DeGraw asked what he thought it was Kratzer said that it might have been a vertical lift aircraft.

They drove on into Socorro and stopped for gas. He thought that Kratzer might have mentioned the sighting to the attendant but he wasn’t sure. There might have been an attempt by some, certainly not DeGraw, to suggest that these were the people that Opal Grinder had seen, but Grinder was sure that it had been a man and woman and their three children.

Kies said they were listening to the radio late that night, as they headed back to Iowa, when he heard about the Zamora sighting. They realized that they might have seen the same object after it had taken off but said nothing about it to others until they arrived back in Dubuque.

DeGraw wasn’t impressed with the testimonies. He noted that the stories differed from one another and that neither matched very closely that given by Zamora. It suggested that they had made up the story, and while that certainly is a possibility, it would seem that had that been the case, one or the other might have said that to DeGraw, especially since it have been nearly a decade and a half since they had talked to the newspaper reporters.

I’m not sure that these discrepancies found in the stories after so long are all that significant. They did agree on the general descriptions and it is only some of the details that are different which could be explained by the time elapsed and the different perspective of the witnesses. I’ve always worried about two guys from Dubuque, Iowa, being in a position to see this but their explanation of that seems reasonable. They called the newspaper when they got home, so it was all recorded, however inaccurately by the newspaper, at the end of April 1964.

If the two men did see something outside of Socorro on April 24, 1964, then it suggests that something unusual was seen by Zamora. This would seem to reduce the possibility of a hoax. It makes the case stronger, and sometimes, after all these years, that’s about the best that can be hoped for.

Continue Reading . . .

See Also:

New Revelations Re Socorro UFO Incident
– Pt 2 –

New Information Surfaces Re Famous Socorro UFO Case

Artist's Rendering of Symbol on UFO Craft (Redux) | SOCORRO UFO INCIDENT – 50th ANNIVERSARY

Socorro UFO Landing; 50 Years Ago Today (4-24-14)

What Zamora Really Saw And Reported To His Co-Workers And To Captain Richard T. Holder

Hoax Theory for The Socorro UFO is Quashed; Interview with Dr Kevin Randle | VIDCAST (Redux) – SOCORRO UFO INCIDENT – 50th ANNIVERSARY

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Researcher Urges U.S. Military Veterans to Divulge Their UFO Sightings at Nuclear Weapons Sites

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By www.reuters.com
1-30-13

WASHINGTON, Jan. 30, 2013 – Noted UFO researcher Robert Hastings is asking U.S. military veterans to contact him regarding their UFO-related experiences at nuclear missile sites, weapons storage areas, and atomic/thermonuclear bomb test sites during the Cold War era and beyond.

On September 27, 2010, Hastings co-sponsored the UFOs and Nukes press conference at the National Press Club in Washington D.C., which CNN streamed live. See below:

During the press conference, seven U.S. Air Force veterans discussed UFO incursions at ICBM sites at Malmstrom AFB, Montana, F.E. Warren AFB, Wyoming, and Walker AFB, New Mexico, as well as the Weapons Storage Area at RAF Bentwaters, England.

The incident at Malmstrom, on March 24, 1967, involved several missiles inexplicably malfunctioning moments after security personnel reported observing a glowing, disc-shaped craft hovering over the Oscar Flight Launch Control Facility. (Other UFO sightings by civilians living near the facility have been reported as recently as September 2012.)

Similar incidents have occurred at various ICBM bases over the years, according to other veterans interviewed by Hastings. UFOs also reportedly hovered over nuclear bomb storage areas and B-52 bomber alert pads. Declassified documents relating to some of these incidents may be read at www.ufohastings.com/documents.

Currently, Hastings is chiefly interested in sightings occurring during the October 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, as well as those that took place over the past decade. However, he is also seeking information relating to any UFO sighting involving nuclear weapons. Hastings hopes to publish as many reports as possible, once they have been vetted, but requests for confidentiality will be honored.

Hastings notes that Soviet Army veterans have revealed cases of UFO activity at nuclear weapons sites in the former U.S.S.R. Those events have been confirmed by KGB and/or Ministry of Defense documents, including one occurring on October 4, 1982, during which nuclear missiles temporarily activated just as a disc-shaped craft hovered above them. Elsewhere, on July 28/29, 1989, another UFO hovered over a Soviet nuclear missile warhead depot and directed laser-like beams onto it.

Hastings believes that the American people, and citizens of all nations, deserve to know the facts regarding the reality of UFOs and the ongoing situation involving our nuclear weapons. Military veteran testimony will greatly contribute to this objective. He may be contacted at ufohastings@aol.com.

Continue Reading . . .


See Also:

Investigation of UFO Reported Landing on 24 March 1967 Near Malmstrom AFB

Malmstrom Air Force Base Picks Up UFO on Radar; "Sabotage Alert Team Located Another UFO Directly Over The Base"

Air Force Staff Message: Malmstrom AFB Receives Multiple Reports of UFOs in The Great Falls, Montana Area

My Evidence: The Account of Minute-Man Missiles Being Disabled, While UFOs Hovered Over The Launch Facilities

One UFO at RAF Bentwaters Appeared on Radar: Skeptics Claim Witnesses Mistook a Lighthouse for a UFO but Two Air Traffic Controllers Say They Tracked an Otherworldly Craft

UFOs & NUKES | The Rendlesham - Bentwaters Incident | Report TO RAF By Lt Colonel Charles Halt, Deputy Base Commander

Military UFO Sightings During the Cuban Missile Crisis

SHARE YOUR UFO EXPERIENCE

New Revelations: Two Ex-U.S. Air Force Security Policemen Discuss UFO Activity at Nuclear Weapons Sites

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By Robert Hastings www.ufohastings.com 11-28-12

     On November 18, 2012, I was invited to appear on the Coast to Coast AM radio show, to discuss my research relating to UFO incursions at nuclear weapons facilities, as confirmed in declassified documents and the testimony of U.S. military veterans. Since 1973, I have interviewed more than 130 of those individuals, ranging from retired USAF colonels, who were ICBM launch and targeting officers, to former airmen who had guarded those missiles, or nuclear bombers.

During the program, I asked for other veterans to contact me with their experiences and, to date, two of them have done so. I have secured these persons’ DD214 military files and thereby confirmed that they were indeed stationed at the bases indicated, during the years indicated, and had been assigned to guard nuclear weapons.

Former U.S. Air Force Security Policeman Sgt. Richard E. Walker told me:

“I was stationed at K.I. Sawyer AFB in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan from March 1973 to November 1976, and was assigned to the 410th Security Police Squadron. One night in October 1975, while on security duty on the flight line, a UFO was spotted over the base. It flew from the south to the north.

At first, no one suspected anything because the object appeared just like an approaching aircraft with its landing lights on, but soon we noticed that the runway lights were not turned on. That’s when the radio chatter began on the security radios. We were asking, ‘Why aren’t the runway lights on?’

The object continued its slow approach and then hovered over the flight line and the Weapon Storage Area. At the time, K.I. Sawyer had nuclear weapons in there and on the B-52 bombers that were on alert on the flight line.

As the object continued to hover over the base, the radio chatter from all of the security personnel increased. I remember that several of them began to say something to the effect, ‘Do you see that?’, as the object began to get brighter and brighter. It hovered for about one or two minutes, over the bomber alert area, when it suddenly split into five separate objects, which departed in several different directions at an incredible rate of speed.

The strangest thing of all was that there was never any official mention of what happened that night. Those of us who were working on the flight line just could not believe what we were seeing and were wondering why there was no security alert called. The first time we discussed it as a group was when we were on the bus leaving the flight line after being relieved from our posts. We thought it must have been some sort of new aircraft test.

We expected that when we arrived at the armory, to turn in our weapons, our flight leader, MSgt. --------, would ask us what happened, as it was his custom to talk with us when we arrived at the Central Security Office. That night he never said a word; he just sat in his office. The next day the 410 SPS commander had nothing to say about the incident and there was no explanation as to why there had been no official debriefing.”

I asked Walker how he knew that the incident had occurred in October of 1975. He responded, “I'm pretty sure that this happened in October because it was around the time I received notice that I was scheduled to go to the range for my yearly qualifying with my M-16 rifle. The notice was given at the daily briefing and it was usually about two weeks before our visit to the range. Qualifying was always done in the month in which we enlisted and my enlistment month was November.”

This report is particularly interesting to me for two reasons: First, although declassified documents secured via the Freedom of Information Act confirm UFO activity at Weapons Storage Areas at Loring AFB, Maine and Wurtsmith AFB, Michigan in October 1975, this is the first indication that such an incursion also occurred at K.I. Sawyer AFB during the same time-frame.

Secondly, the description provided by Walker, of the larger UFO breaking into five smaller objects, is identical to one reported by former RAF Bentwaters deputy base commander, now-retired USAF Col. Charles Halt, relating to the famous Rendlesham Forest UFO incidents of December 1980. Halt and a team of Security Policemen observed the same dramatic display while trudging through the woods, investigating strange lights there. At the same time, Halt heard on his two-way radio that one of the smaller UFOs had subsequently moved toward the base Weapons Storage Area, where it directed laser-like beams down into it.

Meanwhile, at Ellsworth AFB, Two Decades Later

Retired U.S. Air Force Security Policeman TSgt. Anthony W. Keel told me:

“While at Ellsworth [AFB, South Dakota] I was assigned to the 44th Security Police Group. One night around September 1991, at approximately 2245 hrs, while working as an Alert Response Team leader in the Oscar Flight area, we were dispatched to a [missile] site with multiple alarms. We arrived and cleared the site and reset the alarms.

But before the site was set-up, we received another dispatch for a different site, with the same alarm pattern. We arrived and cleared the site, then got good set-up. On way back to the Launch Control Facility (LCF), we received another set of alarms and could see that site off in distance. We both saw and verified a blue, pulsating light near the site and called it in.

Out in that open country, distance and size are very distorted. We couldn’t tell if it was hovering or on the ground, or if it was a single vehicle light, or some sort of large hand-held spotlight, or an aircraft light, given our distance to it. As we got closer and were able to place it in perspective with the surroundings, we could see that the light was hovering near the site, but had moved away as we got closer. The light then went over a knoll and just disappeared. After we knew it was gone, we ran normal procedures at the site, cleared the alarms and got a good set-up.

The light was about the size of a large helicopter, was semi-circular and oblong, and made not the faintest of noise. The closest we were able to get was about one-quarter to one-half mile from it.

Upon arrival at the LCF that evening, we were debriefed by the Flight Security Controller and Flight Chief and were told not to make written statements. The FSC did take notes and then I believe he made a call to Missile Security Control.

There was a second incident that I believe occurred in December 1996. I was engaged in a Field Training Exercise about one mile from the Weapons Storage Area (WSA) and was positioned on a steep slope. Around 2300 hrs, as I was checking on the personnel I was responsible for, I happened to look back towards the top of the hill and saw a light bobbing along, moving west-to-east. I assumed that it was a flashlight and thought, ‘Oh great, SSgt. -----, the squad leader, was coming down to check on us.’

We went back to talking and, after about five-to-ten minutes, I looked back up the road to see where ----- was. The ‘flashlight’ was now traveling east-to-west in the same manner. I made a comment to the kid I was with and we both started observing this light and the movement it made. We watched it bob up and down east-to-west, and then back, several times. The last time it went west-to-east, it kept going and was [clearly visible] in the sky as it went past the edge of the hill.

By then, we both knew this was an aircraft, and that it had to be much farther away than we initially thought when it appeared to be a flashlight. The distance it was from us would have put the craft near the WSA, which was fairly close to the runway. I was wondering what one of our helicopters was doing and why it didn’t have its running lights on.

We observed the craft’s movement which was now straight-line and not out of the ordinary. It headed away from Ellsworth in an easterly direction and gained some altitude. We did not hear any aircraft engine noise, which was a little odd, but didn’t think about that until after-the-fact.

The light stopped and hovered when it was about 2-3 miles from the base, then started moving as I know a helicopter or fixed-wing aircraft would not. It made several short darts in different directions and would stop on a dime and hover, then dart in another direction. The kid and I discussed this while observing it and I called the FTX (Field Training Exercise) command post to verify if we had any craft in the air.

After five minutes the radio/telephone operator at our command post stated that all base craft were grounded, including choppers, and nothing was flying at that time out of Rapid City Regional Airport as well. Shortly after receiving that transmission on the radio, the craft we were observing did a ‘Star Trek’. One second it was there, we saw a streak of light, and it was gone.”

I had previously received a number of other reports relating to UFO activity at Ellsworth AFB’s missile sites—from ICBM launch officers, targeting and maintenance personnel, and guards—from the 1960s onward, so these two accounts only added to the database.

I am asking other USAF veterans to contact me with their accounts of UFO incursions at nuclear weapons sites, whatever the year or the location. Witnesses’ names will be kept confidential unless I am given permission to publicize them. My email address is ufohastings@aol.com.

Continue Reading . . .


See Also:

New Reports of UFO Activity Near F.E. Warren AFB’s Nuclear Missile Sites
At Least Two More Sightings During the Last Half of 2011

UFO Aims Light Beam at USAF Security Policeman Guarding Nuclear Weapons: Another Guard Witnessed the Bizarre Incident at Loring AFB

UFOs Reported Near Malmstrom AFB’s Nuclear Missile Sites in September 2012: Two V-Shaped Craft Sighted Southeast of Oscar Flight Launch Facility O-03

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The Massive UFO Flyover of Arizona, March 13, 1997 (AKA The Phoenix Lights): For Those of You Who Did Not Come Forward

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By Mike Fortson The UFO Chronicles © 2-13-12

This is being written for those in mind who may have witnessed something “unusual at the very least” and or “life-changing” at the top of the WOW! meter, on Thursday, March 13, 1997. (This could have been anytime from about 5:00 pm March 13, 1997 through 4 am., March 14, 1997). This is for you if you saw something and decided to keep it to yourself.

     I have always preferred “The Massive UFO Flyover of Arizona, March 13, 1997,” over the term, “The Phoenix Lights” as the former is by far the most descriptive title regarding the true events state-wide, not just lights at or near the city. The term, “Phoenix Lights” is simply not accurate. The name came into being as 2 of the 5, “10 pm videos” (Rairdon & Kitei) of "mysterious lights" that slowly appeared and then disappeared, were aired on local news stations beginning the following day (Friday March 14th) and were erroneously depicted as being over Phoenix proper. These night-time video’s were shot by residents living in mountain-side homes; the respective cameras were

pointed in a southwest direction with the Phoenix metro area in the foreground and the Estrella Mountain Range as the backdrop. The lights recorded were later proven to be flares dropped at (unusually) high altitude some 45-60 miles away by the Maryland Air National Guard. Thus, the name “Phoenix Lights” was born and by the same token confusion (which still exists today) between the flare drop footage and the “real, remarkable UFO events” which occurred on that date.

Speaking as a witness, it’s safe to say that those of you who were privileged to have observed the massive UFO—did tell someone! If not, how did you do it?! How did you vent the emotion? How could you keep it to yourself?! Having gone through the experience (myself) . . . seeing something that does not compute; that goes against the grain of how one was raised, and or what falls outside of that which society dictates is normal—the natural desire is to share the experience with folks, or seek out others who experienced the same phenomenon.

After 15 years we now know, given the area the UFO(s) traversed; the weather conditions, as well as the fact that people were sky-watching for the Hale Bopp comet that evening—only a fraction of the actual witnesses went public. So what did you do? Did you write about your sighting in a log, or sketch what you saw on paper and keep it private? Do you still see it in your memories? Do you still think about it and what it possibly was or where it was from? Did you take a snapshot or record a video? If you did, would you share it now? Would you be willing to tell your story now? It’s been 15 years . . . isn’t it time to talk?

If you still don’t want to do this, I do understand.

I really don’t pass blame on anyone who failed to come forward. All too many of you have said over and over, “I don’t like the way the media is treating witnesses”—and you are right! The media did their best to simplify the sighting and belittle the witnesses. I don’t blame you for not coming forward.

It still occurs today! That is when a witness is recounting seeing the massive craft in the 8 o’clock hour; they (the media) will show the 10 pm flare videos in the background, thus confusing everyone. This is done intentionally, not just because of the lack of videos in the 8 o’clock hour. The media and the “medium” they employ to present the news is forever evolving; however, the emphasis then (in ’97) as it is today is centered on the “visual”; seemingly, news organizations feel obligated to show “something” that is illustrative (if “actual” images aren’t in hand) along with their respective topics even if it’s detrimental to the facts of the matter—the reporting of the “so-called” Phoenix Lights is the prime example of this confusing practice.

I Chose To Talk.

Our sighting (my wife and I) was at 8:30 pm Thursday evening, March 13, 1997 from our home in Chandler, AZ. It was intense to say the least. Total sighting in duration was approximately 2-3 minutes. We were looking to our northwest horizon from the western edge of our patio. The lights from the Phoenix-metro area gave us a grey background looking low to the northwest sky. And in that grey background light was a solid black chevron shaped craft of unbelievable length. We watched this massive craft pass by in front of us. It was incredibly low to the surface and it made no noise. From nose to the end of the left wing was over 30” at arm’s length. I’ve always said, “that-son-of-a-bitch is a mile long!”

I also remember telling myself not to blink. We wondered then, if anyone else had seen this massive, silent V-shaped craft as it passed through the area. (The term chevron, V-shaped or boomerang would all be accurate as to the shape of the craft). We never considered fetching a camera or yelling for a neighbor; we were truly “frozen” in our tracks! We were doing our best to take it all in. It was as if we knew immediately that this was indeed a very special event that was slowly passing in front of us.

Please keep in mind this was in 1997. There were very few cell phones and none with a camera feature. Very few video cameras worked in the dark night sky. Sony was the only one with a "0 LUX" feature. So, please give witnesses a break for not running to get a camera. I think it would be fair to say that most, if not all who did not film their sighting are satisfied by staying with the sighting and not leaving the once-in-a-lifetime-experience to get said camera.

I’ve been involved now for almost 15 years. Not as an investigator, but as a very active witness. I still enjoy meeting or reading reports from new witnesses coming forward to tell their story. I know there are still hundreds and maybe even thousands more who have yet to tell their respective stories. There has to be!

What If

Just think how much the “Phoenix Lights” case would have been better investigated if former Governor Fife Symington had come forward on March 14th, and told publicly what he had seen on March 13, 1997, instead of coming out of the closet some 10 years after the fact. As Governor, he had contacts with civilian and military leaders. He could have made a difference; however, I understand why he waited—it’s called political suicide!

There were at least two other Arizona politicians involved that also chose not to speak up; both were state legislators. Each saw the massive craft in the 8 o’clock hour, and sadly decided not to speak openly and publicly about their respective experiences.

The only politician to do anything about the mass sightings was Frances Emma Barwood. She was not a witness to the mass sighting, but an active Phoenix city councilwoman who had the common sense to ask during a city council meeting, “why aren’t we investigating reported violations in our protected airspace (Sky Harbor International Airport)?” She was immediately attacked by the media. She lost her next election. Now, here’s some good news about this wonderful lady. Because she did come forward . . . hundreds of witnesses called her office to report their sighting on March 13—thank you Frances for your valuable contribution!

Then we have the police and firefighters who were practicing search and rescue drills in the north valley near Cave Creek. They witnessed the massive V shaped craft as it passed over their location. They chose to remain silent as well. One very interesting fact was that—there was also a helicopter and pilot present. The pilot refused to go up and get a better look.

What a difference that would have been if he had chosen to approach the craft and film it from his helicopter! I understand why they did not come forward. They all knew reporting something of this nature would have negative results on their careers. For this fact . . . I do understand.

Consider what might have transpired to the investigation if the above groups and or individuals would have come forward and revealed their sightings. The governor of Arizona, two state legislators and a group of mountain rescue police and firefighters, with an operational helicopter! What a difference this would have added to the investigation had they chosen to step up and take action! Yet, they all chose not to do so. Admittedly, I do understand why . . . it’s the media, and the powers-that-be controlling the media.

Since coming forward, I have encountered many types of media coverage. Live talk radio is by far the best: uninterrupted, uncut, and unedited; live discussion is the unbeatable way to communicate. Cable network documentaries have yet to get it right; they (also) deem it necessary to use “visual aids” (i.e., flare footage) in their videos; acting as if it’s a possible UFO, already knowing it’s flares.

Because of the actions or inactions of the media, the true story of what happened on the evening of March 13, 1997, throughout the great state of Arizona, will not be told . . . not completely.

There are still too many missing pieces to this grand puzzle. These pieces are those of you who failed to report your sighting. It is still very important. Where were you? What time was it? What direction were you looking? How long did it last? Did you feel threatened by the experience? Did you feel the craft you were observing was not of this Earth?

It’s still not too late to open up and tell your story. But, if you chose not to…it’s ok. I truly do understand.

See Also:

PHOENIX LIGHTS: Project SNOWBIRD and the Flare Drop
An Interview By Kenny Young

Phoenix Lights:
The Massive UFO Flyover of Arizona-March 13, 1997
12th Years of Retrospect

Phoenix Lights: Vintage Interview with Tim Ley, Mike Fortson, Frances Barwood and Richard Motzer

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