By Charles Lear
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.
In 2002, Reme Baca and Jose Padilla were living in Washington State and California respectively. Padilla left San Antonio in 1954 and Baca left in 1955. According to Baca, there was no contact between them from 1955 to 2001. They renewed contact after coming across each other while searching their ancestry on the internet. In the course of their conversations, they revisited an unusual series of events from their childhood. They got in touch with an old schoolmate, Ben Moffett, who was a reporter for the Socorro newspaper, The Mountain Mail. They related the events to him in 2003 and he published their tale as a two-part series in the November 2 and November 6, 2003 editions.
On July 16, 1945, the world’s first atomic bomb was detonated at the Trinity site, which is approximately 40 miles from San Antonio. Jose Padilla and his mother were up early that day and when the bomb went off, his mother observed it through a crack in the door and lost her sight in one eye. Residents of the area were told that what they had witnessed was the accidental explosion of a munitions dump. A month later, on or near August 16th, Reme Baca, age 7, was with Padilla, age 9, helping out on the ranch owned by Padilla’s father, Faustino. They were tasked with finding a cow that had wandered off to give birth and they set out on horseback. That children that age would be helping out as ranch hands may seem extraordinary to us modern folks, but a picture of Baca on horseback confirms that he was, at least, able to ride at that age.
Occasionally, a good, solid, interesting UFO case will slip away from memory only to be rediscovered, years later by an alert researcher. A 1967 case involving a New York woman, Emma Funk, is a perfect example. This case was found recently by New York based researcher and author, Linda Zimmermann, and discussed on the Hudson River Radio show she hosts, 
When it comes to popular culture, the Japanese people seem to have as much of an appetite for science fiction and the paranormal as the people in the United States. With stories ranging from ghosts to Godzilla to aliens, Japanese media from film to comic book has not only entertained Japanese people, but people worldwide. Despite the popularity of otherworldly subjects in that country, the Japanese government and its people have a history of being conservative regarding the subject of UFOs. According to journalist and television producer Michi Saito, “to most of the Japanese, they’re accepted as more like a mysterious fantasy.” Japanese officials have only recently acknowledged a need to have some sort of official UFO policy. This comes in the aftermath of the U.S. Department of Defense’s recent release of official UFO videos. That’s not to say there haven’t been believers within official circles or that there have been no significant cases in the country. Japan’s UFO history goes back well before the 20th century and there are enough Japanese believers, researchers and enthusiasts to keep that history alive.
Another ancient episode brought up by UFOlogists is known as the “Utsuro-bune” incident, which, according to legend, took place on February 22, 1803. Utsuru-bune translates to “hollow boat” and it refers to a vessel that washed up on a beach in Hitachi province. Inside was a woman with red hair who spoke a strange language. No one was able to communicate with her so she was returned to the sea. The description of the boat mentions wood and tree resin, which seems to make it a poor candidate for a spaceship. 
As the internet was becoming more and more a part of everyone’s daily life, the mood of UFOlogy was becoming more and more paranoid. Growing numbers of people were reporting abductions and animal mutilations and the idea that our Earth based governments were collaborating with alien races was gaining acceptance beyond just a small fringe element of society. Little green men became little grey men (and large reptilians) and they were, reportedly, not very friendly. All of these elements converged in dark tales told about an area located in New Mexico. That area is near the town of Dulce and its history of strange activity goes back well before the internet.
In the 1970’s, the Dulce area was hit with a wave of reported cattle mutilations with accompanying black helicopters and strange lights. New Mexico State Police officer, Gabe Valdez, investigated many of the reports and became obsessed with the mystery for over 30 years. By 2005, Valdez had become 
Every so often, there are concentrations of UFO sightings reports, known as flaps or waves that receive a substantial amount of press coverage. This occurred in the U.S. in the early years of the modern UFO era and the press generated by one flap in 1952, which included 
At this point in time, most people interested in UFOs are probably used to being able to look at official government documents if they want to do some research. The C.I.A., F.B.I. and N.S.A. all have UFO related documents available online and there is, of course, the enormous collection amassed by John Greenewald Jr. on his site, 
Ground Saucer Watch was formed in 1957 and its members included scientists, engineers and technicians. William Spaulding, the group’s director, was an aerospace quality control engineer who worked at a company called AIResearch. GSW was based in Arizona and was one of the first groups to respond to the 1975 
There is a discussion among UFO enthusiasts as to whether or not the objects being reported are actually material in nature. Cases where there have been physical traces left behind after a sighting support the argument that some objects are indeed solid but there were times when those traces were left behind none-too-gently. Actual collisions have been reported between UFOs and aircraft, cars and, possibly, even a train according to a report referenced to in the forum section of 
What was the first civilian organization solely dedicated to research on the subject of UFOs and when did they form? After a little research, most should agree that it was the Los Angeles based 
It often occurs among UFO enthusiasts that people will form a belief in a case and find it difficult to let go of that belief in spite of evidence that the case was more than likely a hoax. The alleged 1948 crash and retrieval of a flying disk near Aztec, New Mexico is a classic example. This case has spawned the well-known 1950 book by Frank Scully, 
The April 24, 1964 sighting of a landed UFO with two beings standing next to it by Socorro, NM Police Sergeant, Lonnie Zamora has been written about extensively and remains a fascinating mystery to this day. What’s particularly interesting about this case is how many people investigated it. Representatives from the Socorro Police, New Mexico State Police the F.B.I. and Army were first on the scene followed by the Lorenzens from the Aerial Phenomena Research Organization, members of the Air Force and J. Allen Hynek as part of Project Blue Book, and Ray Stanford for the National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena. Besides the testimony of Zamora, there was trace evidence to examine, witnesses to a similar craft to interview, and reputed witnesses to the very craft Zamora reported who were searched for but never found. Despite the thoroughness of the inquiries and analyses by so many experienced investigators, no one was able to come up with an agreeable Earthly explanation.
According to Zamora’s written