By Charles Lear
In 1955, UFO investigation methods that could provide data appropriate for scientific scrutiny were still being developed and refined. The U.S. Air Force investigators for Project Blue Book had made major progress in terms of gathering data and organizing it thanks to the efforts of Captain Edward J. Ruppelt during his oversight in 1952 and investigators from private organizations would later have a model they could follow thanks to Donald Keyhoe and his group, the National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena, formed in 1956. The Air Force and N.I.C.A.P. focused on witness accounts backed up by photos, films, trace evidence and radar confirmations of tangible objects in an attempt to prove or disprove the extraterrestrial hypothesis. Because the Kelly-Hopkinsville case (described in part 1 of this blog) only had witness testimony of a very bizarre nature, neither organization saw fit to undertake a detailed investigation.
There were, at least, three serving members of the Air Force, from nearby Fort Campbell, who visited the Kelly farm in an unofficial capacity. One of them, Major John E. Albert, issued a report to Project Blue Book, more than two years after the events, in response to a written request from CWO William T. Thomas USAF at Air Technical Intelligence Center. The request is dated August 29, 1957 and, in paragraph 2, Thomas expressed concern that there was a magazine article about the case soon to be published and that the Air Force would be asked to comment. Thomas emphasized, in paragraph 3, that “no credence can be given this almost fantastic report” and that it was never officially reported to the Air Force. N.I.C.A.P. received a report from Albert Andre of Green Briar, Tennessee, but it was based on an interview with Glennie Lankford that he conducted in 1959. If future researchers only had the above sources to reference, many details of the case might have never come to light. Fortunately, a local man with an interest in the Kelly happenings, took it upon himself to interview the witnesses with an inspired approach on August 22, 1955, the morning after their reported encounter.
In November of 1957, there was a major flying saucer flap that began with a case that remains a favorite among UFOlogists. Starting on the night of November 2, and going into the early morning hours of November 3, there were a series of extraordinary encounters in and around the small farming community of Levelland, Texas. Besides the quantity and quality of the witnesses, there were reports from other areas in the Southwest that supported the Levelland accounts. The Air Force conducted an investigation that was cursory at best and offered explanations that could have been pulled out of a hat. The National Investigations Committee On Aerial Phenomena had their own man on the case. That he might have been biased towards an unearthly explanation for the reports is an understatement. Whether one was biased or not, based on the witness reports, what was seen was not easily explainable in terms of natural phenomena or the technology of the day.
In late 1957, Americans’ minds were on space. On October 4th of that year, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1, the very first satellite to achieve a successful orbit. This was followed by Sputnik 2 on November 3rd. This satellite carried a dog, Laika, who tragically died on the fourth orbit. This was due to overheating after the air conditioner unit malfunctioned. The Soviets were pulling ahead of the United States in the space race and American anxiety was high.
Reported police encounters with UFOs have been a common occurrence throughout modern history. Records show that police have seen them in the sky, hovering above the ground and landed. They’ve chased them, been hit by them and been taken aboard them. As police officers are usually the first responders to citizen UFO reports, the frequency of their involvement makes sense. For an officer to go on the record with his or her encounter takes courage in light of the fact that fellow officers are quite likely going to have a few laughs at their expense. Quite often, however, they are supported by their fellows and superiors when facing public scrutiny. Public reaction can be brutal and in the case of Patrolman Herbert Schirmer, it was particularly so.
There was a period from the early 1950s into the 1960s when more than a few people (more than one of which were named, George) came forward saying that they’d been in direct communication with humanoid beings who were not of this earth. They are referred to as, “The Contactees” and they were individuals who claimed they were chosen by our space friends to deliver a message to humankind. In other words, contact with single individuals was the norm. Then, in 2007, a man in Italy, engineer and university professor, Stefano Breccia, came out with a story of alien interaction with a large group of Italians that began in 1956 and continued until 1978. This became known as, “The Friendship Case” and, in spite of its dubious nature, the case attracted a lot of press and people came forward to support the story.
According to Breccia, his friend, writer, theologian and psychologist, Bruno Sammaciccia, asked him to listen to a story he’d been keeping secret and to write it down. As Sammaciccia died in 2003, this could be said to have been the confession of a dying man. Breccia said that he spent a month at his friend’s house and granted his wish. According to Breccia, in 1956, Sammaciccia and two friends were visiting the Pia Fortress overlooking Ascoli Piceno, when they were approached by two beings that appeared human but one was a little more than one meter tall, and the other was almost three meters tall. Speaking perfect Italian, the two beings told them they were extraterrestrials and that they were here to help humankind. The men were later taken to an underground base to meet others like them, all of varying heights. They revealed that there were representatives from six different civilizations from our galaxy and others, that there had been an e.t. presence for over two centuries and that there were over 200 of them in underground and undersea bases throughout the world. These bases were made with “a particular mechanism” which would compress the surrounding earth as a space opened up. When they were done using the base, “all you had to do is flip a switch” (apologies if this is too technical) and the earth would return to normal. One base under the Adriatic Sea was described as being so big, it had its own climate. The e.t.s were concerned that humans were destroying the planet, which was precious as a place that produced life, and they were also concerned about atomic weapons. They described love as a powerful source of energy and promoted moral, as opposed to technological development.
Some are born to it, some achieve it, and some have it thrust upon them. If one is talking about a life devoted to UFO research, Leonard Stringfield was in the last category. He was a prominent figure in the early days of UFO investigation and remained highly active until his death in 1994. Most notably, Stringfield was the only private investigator ever to have a direct line to the Air Force during their Project Blue Book investigation.
A lot of people are familiar with the mysterious airship wave over the United States that began in 1896. Beginning in California and continuing throughout the rest of the country, people reported seeing large ships in the sky, often described as cigar-shaped and with bright lights when seen at night. There were reports of landings and meetings with human-looking occupants and most thought they were seeing the results of some great inventor’s work. The sightings were reported in many newspapers of the day and they remain an intriguing part of American history. What many people are not aware of is that, in 1909, New Zealand experienced a similar wave of sightings.
The history of UFO reports in Finland is much like that of other countries except that it starts earlier than most, dating back to the early 20th century. As was the case for much of Scandinavia, Finland had reports in the 1930s and 1940s of mystery lights, aircraft and rockets but, unlike its neighbors and much of Europe, the government of Finland has been quite secretive regarding official UFO investigations. Despite the government’s secrecy, documents have been released and were examined by private researchers. These documents revealed that Finnish defense organizations were actively investigating UFO reports from the very beginning and some intriguing cases have been brought to light.
When it comes to reported UFO crash locations in New Mexico, everyone has heard of Roswell, many have heard of Aztec but few have heard of San Antonio. San Antonio is a small village, 12 miles south of Socorro just northeast of White Sands Missile Range. It was the childhood home of two men, Reme Baca and Jose Padilla who, in 2003, came forward with the story that they had discovered a crashed UFO there in 1945.