large ufo reported · of ufo landing in augusta richmond (ap)—the air force said wednesday it has...
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Large UFO ReportedSighted in AugustaBy Dallas M. Kersey
Times-Dispatch News BureauFISHERSVILLE, Jan. 12—
The reported sighting of a 80-to-90 foot unidentified flying object near here brought a two-man air force investigatingteam here Tuesday to the sitewhere the object is believed tohave landed. But there was no
indications that the object hadbeen there.
The unidentified flying object(UFO) was reportedly seen byHorace Burns a gunsmith who'lives at Grottoes, on December21 while driving to Waynesboro.No one else has reported seeingthe object.
After a field inspection witha Geiger counter, air force Sgt.David Moody said only thatthere is ho radioactivity now inthe area where Bums said the
craft landed. He did not rule
out the possibility that therecould have been radiation ear
lier.
Bums' sighting of the UFOwas reported to the air force ina letter from a resident of this
area of the Shenandoah valley.Sergeant Moody said he couldnot disclose the name of the
person. Reports of sightingshave to be filed with the air
force before they are investigated, he said.
Open MeadowSergeant Moody headed the
two-man team from Wsight-Pat-terson Air Force Base, Dayton,Ohio, who investigated the reported sighting along U. S. Rt.250 east of here in an openmeadow near the entrance tothe Woodrow Wilson Rehabilitation Center in Augusta county.
"This is an unusual sighting," said Sergeant Moody, whohas had four years experiencechecking out similar reports."It's not routine. If it was routine we wouldn't be here." All
reports to the air force on'UFO'sare checked at Wright-Patterson under what is called Project Blue Book.
During his four years withiProject Blue Book, SergeantMoody said he has never runacross an object of the shape.idescribed by Bums. j
Burns said he was driving to- \ward Waynesboro about 5 p.m.on Monday, December 21, whemhe s*>w p. ].• ':n m" <?".''£ ^\L'"'"t
(\ coming but of the sky north of'.'the highway.
Auto's Engine StalledAs it crossed Rt. 250 about
200 feet ahead of him, his car'sengine cut off "just as if I'drun out of gas." The UFO landedin the field about 100 yardsfrom him. He got out of his carto look at the craft which re
sembled an upside-down icecream cone. "It was 125 feet
in diameter, at least, and 80 to90 feet high," said Bums.
He is not sure of what ma-,terial the object was made although it looked like spun aluminum, he said. Around the perimeter of the base of the machine there was a band of blu
ish glow about a foot wide. Ithad no visible windows ordoors, he said.
The UFO rested in the meadow about one to one and one-half minutes, Bums said, thenit suddenly rose perpendicular-
]ly for several hundred feet andtook off in a northeasterly direction at a very fast speed. Itmade only a soft "whooshingsound," he said.
He was then able to restarthis car. Bums said he was stillso shocked at seeing the objecthe cannot recall whether anyother cars came by while ?heobject was on the ground.
••/y.*To Report" ~]Sergeant Moody said that al-i
though his office had 16.out of!500 reports last year for which;they could not find answers,!Project Blue Book has had"zero reports like this. It doesjnot conform with any known |aircraft."
Ernest Gehman, professor ofGerman at Eastern MennoniteCollege at Harrisonburg whosponsors a UFO investigatorsclub at the school, said he wascontacted about Bums' sighting several days after the occurence.
He vijited the site on EfefenVher 30 to lake a radiation reading wit^b a Geiger counter. Hehad heard that in other areasof the country where similar objects have been sighted theIground was found radio active.I"It knocked the thing (needle)off the dial," Gehman said in-'dicating a high concentration ofradiation. He said his meterregistered over 60,000 counts perminute.
Sergeant Moody said it is possible that the radiation, if therewas any, could have worn offby now. This rules out the existence of certain types of radiation, he said.
The two servicemen, Burns,Gehman and a student at Eastern Mennonite spent, about one-half hour Tuesday walking overthe area where Bums said hesaw the aircraft land. The fieldis covered with snow.
After Bums saw the UFO he' lold his wife about it but defended not to mention it to any-lone because "they'd think I'm >j'crazy." However, six days later!by coincidence, The Times-Dis
.>! patch carried an article aboutiGehman's UFO club, Burns'Iheard about it indirectly andtold Gehman the entire story.
Sergeant Moody said he hasno explanation for the strangehappenings. "I wish I did.nltwould certainly ease Mr.Bums," he said.
Normally all such reports arefirst investigated by officialsfrom the nearest air force base,but Moody said this was of suchlaaan unusul nature that it wasdecided to check it directly.Once he has, completed his investigation here, he will returnto Wright-Patterson to report onhis findings.
. The investigators said that'during Project Blue Book's 17-;(year history, only 7 7 per centof the reported cases remainunidentified.
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THE ROANOKE TIMES, Thursday, January «, 196J. j*^5i
AF Says No Evidence FoundOf UFO Landing in Augusta
RICHMOND (AP)—The Air Force saidWednesday it has found no evidence of the allegedlanding of an unidentified flying object (UFO) ina field near Fishersville.
A spokesman said, however, that their reportson the sightings do not mean that the cases areclosed. "Our cases are never closed until the reported objects are sufficiently identified," he said.
A spokesman for Projept Blue Book, the AirForce's UFO investigation unit, said in a telephoneinterview that the .Air Force currently is receiving no UFO reports from anywhere except Virginia.
The spokesman said it has received two other
reports of Virginia sightings—one from the Williamsburg area and another from Bedford.
In the Fishersville report, the Air Force saidHorace Burns, a gunsmith, said he saw a largeobject descend in a field beside U.S. 250 Dec. 21.
The Air Force investigators said they couldfind no other witnesses to the object. They feltthat since Burns estimated the object to be 125feet in diameter and 80 to 90 feet high, it wouldhave been seen by other people.
Also, the investigators said they found noradioactivity in the area of the alleged landing,
and that there were no depressions in the"groundor other indications that a vehicle had landed inthe field.
The Williamsburg report came last Saturdayfrom two motorists. They said they saw a tall.'aluminum colored object about five miles east ofWilliamsburg.
The Bedford reports, which the Air Force received Wednesday, stemmed from sightings onMonday. A couple reported seeing a cigar-shapedobject and a round object in the sky. Five minuteslater, and 15 miles away, a man reported seeinga square object in the sky.
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UFO Site
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Radiation' FISHERVTLLE (AP) - If ahuge unidentified flying objectreally did land in a field beside,U.S. 250 in Augusta" County,there's no trace of it now. .'
Horace Burns, -a Grottoesgunsmith, reported sighting" the.object JDec^ljyhile driving between Staunton and Waynesboro. "It was 125 feet in diameter, at least, and 80 to 90 feethigh," Burns said.
A two-man Air Force team.from Wright-Patterson 'AirForce Base, Dayton, ' Ohio,checked the reported landingsite with a geiger counter Tuesday and could .find no indicationof any unusual radiation count.
But Sgt. David Moody, whoheaded the team, did not ruleout the possibility there had'been radiation, there earlier:
Ernest Gehman, a professor'at Eastern Mennonite ^College,who heads a UFO investigators'club, said he checked the siteDec. 30 with a geiger counter."It knocked the thing (needle)off the dial," Gehman said, indicating a high concentration ofradiation. He said his meterregistered over 60,000 counts perminute.
_Burns said the object made a -,"whooshing sound" and . was 'shaped like an.upside down icecream cone. He'' said when it appeared in the sky (bis' automobile engine quit running. Hesaid he. did. not see any otherautomobiles on the highway.
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fWace Burns LiW'ivif \lt0sr^j t-MAohosh^ Co^A-ty •\JlRG\U\fr
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"My mother let me'cainRis-evening (Thursday) becauseshe thought maybe what I saw ,would verify Mr. Burns' story," .'young Norton said.
Norton dr^w-a "picture of the <UFO he hadVs'een before he sawa sketch ofTwhat Burns sayshe saw. Both estimated thediameter offthe UFO at 125 [feet. However; Bines' said theUFO he s^vv resembled anupside-down spinning top, 80 to90 feet high.
The UFO Norton claims tohave seen was Agar-shaped, hesaid, but the angle from .whichhe saw it could nave distortedthe view of the object.
"I know what the boy/Jellsis the truth," said his mother."We wouldn't let him tell thisuntil now because my husband ,holds a -responsible .position,"she' said. "
Norton, a member of the Civil <Air Patrol Cadets, said that in !the five seconds he saw theUFO he could tell it wasmetallic and "it didn't have anywings or tail structure. I don'tthink there's a plane that 'would go at such a tremendous -speed," he said.
His SightingAlso Was Dec. 21
By Dallas KerseyTimes-Dispatch .Neivs BureauSTAUNTON, Jan. 14' — The
story of a Grottoes' man wnosaid he saw a large unidentifiedflying object . (UFO') lastmonth has brought a sir^lwreport from a Staunton HighSchool student who said he sawa strange flying object aboutthe same time.
• Kenneth Norton Jr., 14, saidThursday that at about 4:50p.m. on December ?1 hp saw a
large cigar-shaped UFO fromhis' bedroom window similar tothe one Horace Burns said hesaw from lus car about 10 min
east of here
Burns' sighting was reported to air 'force authorities
•at Wright-Patterson Air ForceBase in Dayton, Ohio, whokeep track of such reportedsightings. They sent two investigators to the Fishersville siteTuesday to take radiation readings-
No Radiation Reading- .No radiation was detected by
their Geiger counter."I gathered the impression
they (the air force men) didn'thave anything ,to tell me,"Burns said. "They told me verylittle:", Young Norton immediatelytold his mother what he hadseen but the family decidednot to report it because "Wedidn't want anybody to thinkhe was nuts," his mother said.Norton's sighting went unreported until Burns' incident was
[made public.
utes later along: tj. S. Rt. 250 L Bur-ns- experience resulted innear Fishersville, eight miles fla- Public meeting attended by
Iabout 250 persons Thursday atEastern Mennonite College atHarrisonburg wli|i* he related
!his experience omlfle afternoonof December 21. '• ?,
Ernest Gehman,v.$rofessor of|German at the Mtlege andsponsor of. a group;-af; the college known as UFGvJJnvestiga-tors, said that on December 30he visited the site where Burnssaid he saw 'the UFO and tooka radiation reading which in- ,dicated a- liigh concentration.
This conflicts with the airforce _team's negative finding.
But Gehman r.aid Thursdaynight that.he had two witnessesto his Geiger counter readingat the reported landing site.He said one of the men, anengineer with an area industry,knows of a few other personswho said they alsdi saw theUFO but are afraid to disclosetheir findings.
The air force investigatorsJlsaid they will write a report on;l their findings later. .
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Sightings in Rockingham
Club to Study UFO ReportsBy Dallas Kersey
Times-Dispatch News BureavHARRISONBURG, Dec. 26
—A group of students and aprofessor at Eastern Mennonite College here have organized a club to look into reports of sightings of objectsresembling flying saucers inRockingham county.
Sponsor of the 30-memberclub is Ernest Gehman professor of German at the college.The group in called the UFO(Unidentified Flying Objects)Investigators.
The club's objectives are toinvestigate known sightingsfor information of unidentified flying objects in the areaand to record these events.
Gehman said the club istape recording interviewswith persons who have reported the sightings and willsubmit its findings, probablyby the end of the school year,to the air force and NationalInvestigations Committee onAerial Phenomena.
Skepticism NotedHe said he had to go
through "quite a bit of red' tape" before the college san-
tioned the club because ofskepticism over what theseobjects are that persons report seeing. The activity isstill frowned upon by manyof his fellow faculty members, he added.
The club has reports of
several sightings in Rockingham county but so far hasrecorded only four accounts.
The most recent sightingwas by the Elmer Carr familyof the Bergton area whereother objects are said to havebeen seen. Carr's two sonssaid that on the night of November 5 they saw threeglowing objects in the skynear their home which"looked like they could make90-degree turns."
The family has been seeingthese objects since earlyspring. The latest sightingwas this month. "I'm surethey aren't airplanes," explains Mrs. Carr, "becausethey hover in one spot for along time."
"Red Flashing Light"The most unusual instance,
Gehman said, was reportedby a Rockingham countydeputy sheriff who saw twoyears ago a "red flashinglight" which looked as thoughit was coming down a moun
tain. The deputy said itlooked like "a piece of burning aircraft."
He got within a half-mile of
the circular object which washovering about 50 feet above
-the ground, he said. It wasabout 75 to 100 feet in diameter, and resembled a redlight flashing twice as fastas a light on a police car,he said'.
When the deputy turned hiscar ignition off to listen better, "it struck out at a veryhigh rate of speed diagonally." It made a soft hummingsound but had no exhaustvapor, he said. "The onlything I've ever seen travelthat fast was a tracer bullet."
One man in the BrocksGap aera near Bergton sawan odd object during the daywhile putting up storm windows on his house. "I've seenmirages, but I'm a verydubious person," said RobertSchuler. It was a "silvery
VIRGINIANEWS,
2-B Sunday, Dec. 27, 1964
looking, cigar shaped, verylong thing," he said. Hiswife also saw it It disappeared straight up into the;sky, he added.
Feels a Need
These reports and othersjhave made Gehman feel there*is a need to investigate theoccurrences further and tocompile a report.
The flying saucer phenomena has been reported formany years throughout theworld. There are many notedscientists on record who pro-fess to believe that the objects come from anotherplanet.
What impresses Gehman*who is also a minister, is thatthe people he has talked with:"would have no reason tomake up a story like this.
Meaning Sought"It's a naive thing for people
not to believe responsibletestimony," he says. Thequestion Gehman and his clubis pursuing is "what is the]meaning of all this to us?" j
The sightings thus far hav?:centered around the Bergton-'Brocks Gap area of Rocking-'ham county within a 20-mile:radius in the vicinity ofLittle!North mountain. i
Gehman noted that the ob-ijects have been seen from!""both sides of the mountain"and seem to disappear rightinto the mountain."
400 HEAR OF SIGHTING ^-^tf^-Si-,7
Unidentified Flying Ob|ecf£^>Apparently Are Here To Stay]
The professor said that twopassing motorists, one of whomhe knew personally, saw himwork the geiger counter andcould substantiate his story.
One of the witnesses said thathe knew of three reluctant witnesses who had seen the same iUFO.
Mr. Burns, who said, "I amnot looking for notoriety or pub-
It flew off in a northeasterlydirection, Mr. Burns said. Hehad reported it coming in toland from a due northerncourse.
Mr. Burns' story has beenpartially corroborated by thestory of a 14-year-old Stauntonboy. Theboy, (also unidentified)
„ ,-.... was reported to have seen anlicity, or anything like that," UFO from his bedroom win-said that he was "astonished" dow.at the thing.
When asked if he saw any . Amember of last night's aud-cars pass while the UFO was Ience said that the boy, whowithin sight, he replied, "I don't, was not present, estimated theknow if any cars went past- \ *lving object <*> be 125-feet inI wasn't looking at cars then." pameter. However, he saidthat
By W. H. ASHENFELTERNiews-Record Staff Writer
Like the fabled city of Atlantis and the unanswered questionof the abominable snowman, Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs)are apparently here to stay.
However, "Unless an awfullylot of intelligent people havegone off the deep end,.UFOs doexist" stated & man at Thursday night's meeting at EasternMennonite College to hear a report on the area's latest sighting,
Nearly 400 persons turned outfor the report by Horace Burns,of Grottoes. Mr. Burns, 54, reported seeing a large UFO Dec.21. •
The sighting, Mr. Burns said,
took place a few miles east ofStaunton while he was on hisway to Waynesboro. The UFO,he continued, "was 125-feet atthe base and 75-feet high."
According to Mr. Burns, whooperates a small gunshop inHarrisonburg, the object was solarge thai; he could not see allof it while looking through hiscar windshield.
As it crossed the road aheadof him, "some sort of force wasexerted on the car because ofthe way it slowed down," hesaid.
His car stopped dead as theUFO crossed U.S. 250 and cameto rest in a meadow about 100yards from the highway.
It was cone-shaped, and its
circular sloping sides rose inabout six large rings that diminished in diameter to a domeat the top, Mr. Burns said.
He said that all around theperimeter at the base of the machine there was a bluish glowin a band about a foot wide.
There were no windows or»doors in the machine, Mr. Burnssaid, and no evidence of seams.The object had settled gentlyto the ground.
"I stood beside the car forperhaps 1% minutes before itrose up and took off," Mr. Burnssaid.' "But when it went, itwent and it went real fast. Ittook off at a perfectly squareangle," he added.
Mr. Burns said that he wascalm and relaxed before sighting the flying object.
When asked what the AirForce investigators found outconcerning his report, Mr
it was cigar-shaped.His mother immediately call
ed him a "nut" and told him notto tell anyone else about it, thespokesman said. j
It was finally decided to reveal his sighting in order to
Burns said, "Frankly they told substantiate Mr. Burns' storyme very little. I gatheredthe im- Professor Ernest G. Gehmanpression that they didn't have sponsor of Eastern Mennonite Ianything to tell me. College's UFO Club, has been
Prof. Gehman said that when active in seeking answers to'going over the area with his Mr. Burns' sighting,geiger counter, he could trace' On Dec. 30 he took a geigerthe outline of the UFO. "I know! counter to the spot where thethe area was fully as large as; UFO was reported to have land-j
, Mr. Burns described it," he ed. A large amount of radio-1said. K active material was encounter-1
ed, he said. ;
"The needle shot off^KfrProf. Gehman»reported."'&$ed off the flld but the heellewould not£ome back tonormal.I realizedlf'Bad picked up somehighly radioactive material."
Later in the evening, Prof.Gehman also reported that thetwo Air Force investigators haddetected radioactive materialoh Mr. Burns* car this pastTuesday.
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T-D News Bureau Photo by Dallas Kersey
No UFO There NowAs Horace Burns watches, Sgt. David Moodyuses a Geiger counter to determine whether theground is radioactive where Burns said he sawan unidentified flying object land. The site is afield, near Fishersville in Augusta county, alongside U. S. Rt. 250. Sgt. Moody and another airforce man were sent from Wright Patterson AirForce Base, Dayton, Ohio, to examine the siteTuesday. They said there was no evidence thatthe UFO had been there, although an earlierGeiger counter reading, taken shortly after thereported sighting, registered a high concentrationof radiation. Burns said he saw a craft measuring80 to 90 feet in height land briefly in the field onthe afternoon of December 21. (Another Picture
on Page 1.) ' . -
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UFOReportedSighted in AugmtaBy Dallas M. Kersey
Times-Dispatch News BureauFISHERSVILLE, Jan. 12—
rhe reported sighting of a 80-o-90 foot unidentified flying ob-ect near here brought a twonan air force investigatingearn here Tuesday lo the siteMere the object is believed tolave landed. But there was nondicalion that ihe object hadeen there.
The unidentified flying objectUFO) was reportedly seen bvforace Burns a gunsmitli whoives at Grottoes, on December1 while driving to Waynesboro,fo one else has reported seeingie object.
After a field inspection withGeiger counter, air force Sgt.
'avid Moody said only thatlere is no radioactivity now inie area where Burns said the
craft landed. He did not ruleout the possibility that therecould have been radiation earlier.
Burns' sighting of the UFO;was reported to the air force in[a letter from a resident of thisarea of the Shenandoah valley.Sergeant Moody said he could,jnot disclose the name of the;person. Reports of sightings |have to be filed with the airforce before they are investigated, he said.j "This is an unusual sight-ling," said Sergeant Moody, ofWright Patterson Air Force
|Base, Dayton, Ohio, who hasbad four years experiencechecking out similar reports."It's not routine. If it was routing we wouldn't be here." Aliireports to the air force on UFO's Iare checked at Wright-Patter-!
Ison under what is called Project Blue Book.
I Burns said he was driving toward Waynesboro about 5 p.m.on Monday, December 21, whenhe saw a large metallic objectcoming out of the sky north ofthe highway.
Auto's Engine Stalled! As it crossed Rt. 250 about1200 feet ahead of him, his car'sengine cut off "just as if I'd|run out of gas." The UFO landedjin the field about 100 yardsfrom him. He got out of his car
,to look at the craft which re-jsembled an upside-down icejcream cone. "It was 125 feetin diameter, at least, and 80 to90 feet high," said Burns.I The UFO rested in the meadow about one to one and one-half minutes, Burns said, thenit suddenly rose perpendicularly for several hundred feet and
took off in a northeasterly direction at a very fast speed. Itmade only a soft "whooshingsound," he said.
Ernest Gehman, professor ofGerman at Eastern MennoniteCollege at Harrisonburg whosponsors a UFO investigatorsclub at the school, said he wascontacted about Burns' sighting several days after the occurence.
He visited the site on December 30 to take a radiation reading with a Geiger counter. Hehad heard that in other vareasof the country where similar objects have been sighted theground was found radioactive."It knocked the thing (needle)off the dial," Gehman said indicating a high concentration ofradiation. He said his meterregistered over 60,000 counts perminute.
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UFO in August®On December 2t
By Dallas KerseyTimes-Dispatch News BureauSTAUNTON, Jan. 14 — The
story of a Grottoes man whosaid he saw a large unidentifiedflying object (UFO) lastmonth has brought a similarreport from a Staunton HighSchool student who said he saw'a strange flying object about!the same time. j
Kenneth Norton Jr., 14, said'Thursday that at about'4:50'
. p.m. on December 21 he. saw a,large cigar-shaped UFO'from-his bedroom window similar tothe one Horace Burns said hesaw from his car about 10 minutes later along U. S. Rt. 250<near Fishersville, eight miles
• east of here.
', Burns' sighting was re-,' ported to air force authoritiesjat Wright-Patterson Air ForcejBa'se in Dayton, Ohio, whokeep track of such reported
; sightings. They sent two investigators to the Fishersville siteTuesday to take radiation readings.
No radiation was detected by" their Geiger counter.
"I gathered the impressioner- Jthey (the air force men) didn't
jhave anything to tell me,"Burns said. "They told me very
1 little ">, little." I
Jj
f Young "Norton immediately.'told' his mother what he had[seen but the family decidedinot to report it because "WeI, didn't want anybody to thinkhe was nuts," his mother said.Norton's sighting went unreported until Burns' incident wasmade public.
"My mother let me call thisevening (Thursday) becauseshe thought maybe what I sawwould verify Mr. Burns' story,"young Norton said.
Norton drew a picture of theUFO he had seen before he sawa sketch of what Burns sayshe' saw. Both estimated thediameter of the UFO at 125feet. However, Burns said theUFO he saw -resembled anupside-down spinning top, 80 to90 feet high.
The UFO Norton claims tohave seen was cigar-shaped, hesaid, but the angle from whichhe. saw it could nave distorted
the view of the object.'T know what the boy tells
is. the truth," said his mother."We wouldn't let him tell thisuntil now' because my husbandholds a responsible .position,"she said.
Norton, a member of the CivilAir Patrol Cadets, said that inthe five seconds he saw theUFO he could tell it wasmetallic and '^jt didn't have anywings or tail structure. I don't
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think there's a plane thatwould go at such a tremendousspeed." he said.
Burns' experience resulted ina public meeting attended byabout 250 persons Thursday atEastern Mennonite College atHarrisonburg where he relatedhis experience on the afternoonof December 21.
Ernest Gehman, professor ofGerman at the college, andsponsor of a group at the college known as UFO Investigators, said that on December 30he visited the site where Bumssaid he saw the UFO and tooka radiation reading which indicated a high concentration.
This conflicts with the air'force team's negative finding.! But Geh'man said Thursdaynight that he had tws witnesses]to his Geiger counter readingat the reported landing site.He said one of the men, an[engineer with an area industry,;knows of a few other personsiwho said they ttlso saw the|UFO but are afraid to disclosetheir findings. 'i The air force Investigatorsjsaid they'will write a report onjtheir findings later.'
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)ome Believe?Some Doubt UFO StorjBy Dallas M. Kersey
Times-Dispatch News Bureau
STAUNTON, Jan. 16-A short,stout middle-aged man was at a'hardware store in Staunton-fourdays before Christmas buyingsupplies for the gunshop heowns in Harrisonburg. At 4:30p.m. he left the city headed easton U. S. Rt. 250 on the way tohis home at Grottoes.
About eight miles out of Staunton one-half hour later, HoraceBurns said he noticed a giganticdark object floating in from thenorth, cross Rt. 250 about 200feet ahead of him and landgently in a field "like a bubble"for several seconds before takingoff at a tremendous rate ofspeed.
Burns said the object apparently caused the engine of hiscar to stop.
Burns -was "astonished" at
the time. He told his wife aboutit but the family decided to Ikeep the story a secret "be-cause I thought people would jthink I'm crazy." But after hear- /ing of other similar sightings iof unidentified flying objects(UFO's) in the Shenandoah val
ley he. decided to tell his. story [publicly.
Since the episode was toldin The Times-Dispatch Wednesday, Burns has been called"crazy" and "nuts" many timesBut he also has believers, manyof wE6m~JHifiM§3"" the 'existence of .WFQ's in the past.
.J? tTO ClubOne, of his most ardent be
lievers, for good reason, is Ernest Gehman, professor of German at Eastern Mennonite College . in Harrisonburg _ Ho to,
_sponsor of a recently - formed
(UFO club at the college which'investigates stories similar toBurns."
Nine days after Burns said!he saw the 80 to 90-foot object,
|Gehman took a Geiger counterj to the site to check for radiationJHe knew' that other reportedUFO's have given off -radiation.
Gehman got a "tremendouslyhigh reading" of radiation, andhis finding has been verified byH. M. Cook of Staunton, a research engineer at Waynes
boro's Du Pont plant. Gehman"was having a tizzy because{he needle was all the way offthe dial," said Cook, who hashad considerable experience withGeiger counters in his work.
"It was a hoi area," Cooksaid. "We spent 45 minutes inthe field trying to tone this reading down. We checked the radium dials on our watches, evenwent over a small hill from thefield, but this was definitely, anaccurate reading. The onlything I can say is that it washot (radioactive)."
To Test Soil
Gehman said he plans to takesamples of the soil in the fieldiii the next few days for laboratory tests. . J
Last Tuesdy, 22 days' after jBurns' sighting, the air force,sent two men here from Wright-1Patterson Air Force Base, atiDayton, Ohio, to investigate a;report they had gotten of theUFO in a letter from a valleyresident The air base "is head-1quarters for project Blue Bookwhich investigates sightings ofUFO's reported to the air force.,
alter a" 30-miriute investiga-tion in the field with air forceGeiger counters, the servicemenreached the conclusion that
there is no radiation in the field.They could give Burns no explanation for what he saw, butSgt. David Moody, head of theteam, -•said Jie would, rule out inhis final report any possibilityof it being an airplane or heli-jcopter because of the nature ofBums' report. - '
It was nearing dusk on December 21 when Burns said he
jsaw the UFO. Only one visibleJlight shone from it—a foot-widejblue band around the base, hesaid. The vehicle made no noiseexcept for a slight "whooshingpound" when it left. It had novisible doors or windows, hejsaid.! Not Routine SightingI Until Sergeant Moody files'ibis report his findings will notjbe known, but he admitted thatj"this is an unusual sighting.It's not routine. If it was routineWe wouldn't be here."i1 When the question was .raisedast week whether Burns waselling- a true story or one helad fabricated for publicity," a'oung boy came to his aid.- Ken
neth Norton Jr., 14, said he .hadfeen a similar object about the j•ame time on the same day'rom a bedroom window of histaunton home. He told hisnother about the object on thatsame day—December 21.
Urged by Profes"$*r Gehmano notify him -if^thers hadklso seen the object ;three persons have said fhey also noticedfen unusual object about the
• same time. A research engineer
and his son who live near
Waynesboro" airport were out
side and also saw a strange ef-jfeet. Another man who lives in
jWaynesboro reiKJrfed seeing •a .jUFO.I Although xesidents of thisIarea have responded with interest to Burns' account, many
'[ are still skeptical and, point tothe loopholes in his stoty. ;
i Most Frequent Question
The question most pften raisedlis why weren't- other * 'carsIstopped by the flying vehicle asjBurns says his was; also!, Rt.1250 is a heavily traveled .'road
. Major KeytSe's main concern in" the entir^ subject ofUFO's'is Jhe attitude of the air
r —— ; T
[force toward the field of these[•Unexplained vehicles.' i
"The high level policy of theair force is to play this tiling!(UFO^ reports) down,'' MajoriKeyhoe said; "The policy is toldeny everything until they_ havemore answers." !
.The air force maintains in a
publication on Project Blue
Book that "to date, no unidentified aerial phenomena has given
Iany indication of threat to the'i national security; there has-
in this area, yet he doesn't re- been ^evidence'submitted tocall any other cars passing thescene nor have any reportedbein|\there.
Professor Gehman has prepared a report of the entire incident to be filed with the National Invstigations Committee
or discovered by the air forcethat unidentified; sightings represented technological developments or principles beyond therange of our ptSsertt day scientific " knowledge:.', and finally,there ha^ been nothing in the
on Aerial Phenomena (NICAP) j way of .^aence, 0r other datalat Washington. NICAP receives (t0 iftdicate that these unidentVall reports of UFO's, checksthem and catalogues its findings.
Professor Gehman; who alsois a minister, thinks there ispossible sorhe •.connection be-jtween the'UF(5's and a passage)in the New Testament's book of;St. Luke .referring to the see-'ond coming ofChrist: ' . |
"And there shall be signs injthe sun, and in the" moon,, andin the stars; and upon theearth distress of nations, withperplexity; §,rtd the sea and thewaves roaring ..." -
Gehman also said he feels
that possibly the word "worlds"in Hebrews 11 is> meant to indicate-God created more than oneplanet 'with' living beings-;
"Through faith'we understandthat the worlds were framed
by the word of God . . .""Keyhoe's .View
A similar view—that thereare other planets with life- onthem—is shared .by Maj. DonaldKeyhoe of Luray, a retired marine corps pilot who is now director of NICAP. He is a notedauthority and author on UFO's.
Major Keyhoe said "it wouldbe narrow-minded of us, to be-tlieve that we are the only living -.•f'ycreatures in a galaxie with H\-'^rlions of stars and several'million Jthought to have planets."
It is very possible that anotherplanet, possibly not in our solars-ystem, has life on it developedhundreds, or even millions, ofyears ahead of us enablingthem to travel great distancesthrough space, pointed out themajor.
fied sightings were extra terrestrial vehicles under intelligent control.'1
Major Kfeyhoe counters with:"I think the same as'the airforce secretly does—these ve-|hides are from another planet:with far supei-ior intelligence tolours." j
Regardless of'what the futurehas in store for this.planet andUFO's, Keyhoe is concerned
that presently an accidental nuclear war could be triggered byRussia, or the United States."The air force secrecy is dangerous because these UFO'scould be mistaken for an enemyattack," he said. Many have
jbeen pickedup on radar screens,J he added.
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AFFiffib. I
No UFO
EvidenceRICHMOND (AP) - The Air
Force said Wednesday it hasfound no evidence of the allegedlanding of an unidentified flyingobject in a field near Fishersville.
A spokesman for Project BlueBook, the Air Force's UFO investigation unit, said in a tele-phone interview that the AirForce- is receiving no UFO reports from anywhere except Virginia.
The spokesman said it has received two other reports of Virginia sightings — one from theWilliamsburg area and anotherfrom Bedford.
In the Fishersville report, theAir Force said Horace Burns, agunsmith, said he saw a largeobject descend in a field besideU.S. 250 Dec. 21.
The Air Force investigators<siid it could find no other wit
nesses to the object. They feltthat since Burns estimated theobject to be 125 feet in diameterand 80 to 9j) feet high, it wouldhave been seen by other people.
The investigators said t'heyfound no radioactivity in thearea of the alleged landing, andthat there were no depressionsin the ground or other indications that a;vehicle 'had landedin the fieU3v.'
The Williamsburg .report cameSaturday from tvw^ motorists.They said they saw a tall, aluminum-colored object about fivemiles east of Williamsburg.
The Bedford reports, which theAir Force received Wednesday,stemmed from sightings Monday. A couple reported seeing acigar-shaped object and a roundobject in the sky. Five minuteslater, and 15 miles away, a manreported seeing a square objectin the sky.
The spokesman said their reports on the sightings do notmean the cases are closed. "Ota-oases are never closed until thereported objects are sufficientlyaction programs, he said.
; j
i
*
^IJ^
No Trace Found ,/f&</
UFO landing Site1Given Geiger CountFISHERVILLE (AP) - If a
huge unidentiifed flying objectreally did land in a field besideU.S. 250 in Augusta County,there's no trace of it now.
Horace Burns, a Grottoes gunsmith,, repwed sighting the object (bec/_21^while driving between Staunton and Waynesboro."It was 125 feet in diameter,at least, and 80 to 90 feet high,"Burns said.
A two-man Air Force teamFrom Wright-Patterson Air ForceBase, Dayton, Ohio, checked thereported landing site with ageiger counter Tuesday andcould find no indication of anyunusual radiation count.
appeared in the sky his automobile engine quit running. Hesaid he did not see any otherautomobiles on the highway.
^ * *
Burns reported the object appeared to be made of spunaluminum or a similar material.Around the base was a bluish,glow about a foot wide. It hadno visible windows or doors, hesaid.
The object was on the groundfor about a minute and a half,Burns reported. Then it suddenly rose perpendicularly .for several hundred feet, -and took offin a northeaster!"-direction ata veryfast speed.
But Sgt. David Moody, whoheaded the team, did not ruleout the possibility there had
! been radiation there earlier.Ernest Gehman, a professor
at Eastern Mennonite College,who heads a UFO investigators'
iclub, said he checked the siteDec. 30 with a geiger. "Itknocked the thing (needle) offthe dial," Gehman said, indicating a high concentration of radiation. He said his meter registeredover 60,000 counts per minute.. ,
Burns said- the object made' a"whooshing sound" and wasshaped like an upside down icecream cone. He said when it
'jiMf*^
p?jj^—y>
400 HEAR OF SIGHTING
Unidentified Flying ObjectsApparently Are Here To Stay
By W. H. ASHENFELTERNews-Record Staff Writer
Like the fabled city of Atlantis and the unanswered questionof the abominable snowman, Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs)are apparently here to stay.
However, "Unless an awfullylot of intelligent people havegone off the deep end, UFOs doexist" stated a man at Thursday night's meeting at EasternMennonite College to hear a report on the area's latest sighting.
Nearly 400 persons turned outfor the report by Horace Burns,of Grottoes. Mr. Burns, 54, reported seeing a large UFO Dec.21.
The sighting, Mr. Burns said,
took place a few miles east ofStaunton while he was on hisway to Waynesboro. The UFO,he continued, "was 125-feet atthe base and 75-feet high."
According to Mr. Burns, whooperates a small gunshop inHarrisonburg, the object was solarge that he could not see allof it while looking through hiscar windshield.
As it crossed the road aheadof him, "some sort of force wasexerted on the car because ofthe way it slowed down," hesaid.
His car stopped dead as theUFO crossed U.S. 250 and cameto rest in a meadow about 100yards from the- highway.
It was cone-shaped, and its
SAW ANOTHER UFO
STAragsr&N - .Kenneth Norton, Ji&i jJLfft'Mi&n.&ign schoolstudent, repotted yesterday thathe had seen an unidentified flying object Similar to one sighted by Horace Burns at Fishersville. Norton said that he sawthe cigar-shaped object from hisbedroom window at 4:50 p.m. onDec. 21, about 10 minutes beforeBurns saw a UFO near Fishersville, eight miles east of Staunton. Norton told his mother whathe had seen, but they decidednot to report it because "Wedidn't^ wan$ anybody &. 'think hewas- niftjS,,?/. his mother said.Young Norifdh is a member ofthe Civil Air Cadets.
circular sloping sides rose inabout six large rings that diminished in diameter to a domeat the top, Mr. Burns said.
He said that all around theperimeter at the base of the machine there was a bluish glowin a band about a foot wide.
There were no windows ordoors in the machine, Mr. Burnssaid, and no evidence of seams.The object had settled gentlyto the ground.
"I stood beside the car forperhaps 1% minutes before itrose up and took off," Mr. Burnssaid. "But when it went, itwent and it went real fast. It'took off at a perfectly square iangle," he added. I
(Continued On Page 2 Col 1) J
UFOs AppearHere To Stay
(Continued from Page 1)
It flew off in a northeasterlydirection, Mr. Burns said. Hehad reported it coming in toland from a due northerncourse.
Mr. Burns' story has beenpartially corroborated by thestory of a 14-year-old Stauntonboy. The boy, (also unidentified)was reported to have seen anUFO from his bedroom window.
A member of last night's audience said that the boy, whowas not present, estimated theflying object to be 125-feet indiameter. However, he said thatit was cigar-shaped.
His mother immediately called him a "nut" and told him notto tell anyone else about it, thespokesman said.
It was finally decided to reveal his sighting in order tosubstantiate Mr. Burns' story.
Professor Ernest G. Gehman,sponsor of Eastern MennoniteCollege's UFO Club, has beenactive in seeking answers toMr. Burns' sighting.
On Dec. 30 he took a geigercounter to the spot where theUFO was reported to have landed. A large amount of radioactive material was encountered, he said.
"The needle shot off the dial,"Prof. Gehmanreported. "I walked off the field but the needlewouldnot come back to normal.I realized I had picked up somehighly radioactive material."
Later in the evening, Prof.Gehman also reported that thetwo Air Force investigators haddetected radioactive materialon Mr. Burns' car this pastTuesday.
The professor said that twopassing motorists, one of whomhe knew personally, saw himwork the geiger counter andcould substantiate his story.
One of the witnesses said thathe .knew of three reluctant witnesses who had seen the sameUFO.
Mr. Burns, who said, "I amnot looking for notoriety or publicity, or anything like that,"said that he was "astonished"at the thing.
When asked if he saw anycars pass while the UFO waswithin sight, he replied, "I don'tknow if any cars went past—I wasn't looking at cars then."
Mr. Burns said that he wascalm and relaxed before sighting the flying object.
When asked what the AirForce investigators found outconcerning his report, Mr.Burns said, "Frankly they toldme very little. I gathered the impression that they didn't haveanything to tell me.
Prof. Gehman said that whengoing over the area with hisgeiger counter, he could tracethe outline of the UFO. "I knowthe area was fully as large asMr. Burns described it," hesaid.
\<\G\ VEC. 2-1
Va.-Man Describes 'Sauce a*
-li
FISHERVTLLE (/P) — If a huge-unidentified flying object really•did land in a field beside U. S..250 in Augusta County, there's' no trace of it now.
Horace Burns, a Grottoes gunsmith, reported sighting the ob-•ject Dec. 21 while driving be-'tween Staunton and Waynesboro."It was 125 feet in diameter, atleast, and 80 to 90 feet high,"Burns said.
A two-man Air Force team fromWright-Patterson Air Force Base,Dayton, Ohio, checked the reported landing site with a Geigercounter and could find no indi
cation of any unusual radiationcount.
But Sgt. David Moody, whoheaded the tea'm, did not ruleout the possibility there had beenradiation Ijhere earlier.
Ernest Gehman, a professor aitEastern Mennonite College, whoheads a UFO investigators' club,said he checked the site Dec. 30with a Geiger counter. "It knocked the, thing (needle) off the
Fdial," Gehman said, indicating athigh concentration of radition. He'said his meter registered over60,000 counts per minute.
Burns said the object made a""whooshing sound" and Was shapedlike an upside down ice creamcone. He said when it appearedin the sky his automobile enginequit running. He said he did not
see any other automobiles on thehighway.
Burns reported the object appeared to be made of spun aluminum or a similar material. Aroundthe base was a bluish glow abouta foot wide. It had no visiblewindows or doors, he said.
The object was on the groundfor about a minute and a half,Burns reported. Then it suddenly rose perpendicularly for several hundred feet and took offin a northeasterly direction at a jvery fast speed.
THE ALEXANDRIA (Va.1 GAZETTE FKTPAT.JANVARl 13. 19*5
VA.
,*
/%f
-:6-THE WASHINGTON DAILY .NEWS^TURDAY. F^BRUARX ,^19^
-Photo by National Investigations Committee on Aerial P*™™3
UFO IN VIRGINIA - Horace Burns, aGrottoes, Va S™™*™*1™^ zoUe'd to Sm theStaunton last Dec. 21 when be saw this object land in ane«*y M*.*|«J~^ Jn UF0s*y, JE. Burns said his car engine stalled - a common reP»rt by motor.sts tovorveaStings. Mr. Bums said the UFO was 125 feet •» d.ameter and about 80£*»%*£^ ,grofnd for about 90 seconds, he reported, then abruptly darted straight W°ZT CoHege, Har-fpeed. Prof. Ernest Gehman, head of the German Departmen . Easta*JJ^Jg^to*riUbuig, Va., checked the site Dec. 30 with age.ger counter ^M^f*^Jp^rJ weebsover 60,000 counts a minute and the radiation "knocked the needle of%^^™delater Air Force investigators visited the site but found no unusual radiation. Prot. Gehman mthe above sketch after interviewing Mr. Burns.
M.
/••
It Made Only a Soft 'Whooshing Sound9A gunsmith who lives at Grottoessays he saw an unidentified flying object (UFO), similar to the object depicted above, late one afternoon lastmonth. He said the UFO landed in afield alongside U. S. Rt. 250 nearFishersville in Augusta county,stayed for 60 to 90 seconds and thensuddenly took off. It made only a soft'whooshing sound,' said HoraceBurns. It appeared to him to havebeen 80 to 90 feet high and about 125feet in diameter. Burns' report was
r. 4.
relayed to Ernest Gehman, an Eastern Mennonite College professor whosponsors a UFO investigators' clubthere. Gehman made this drawingfrom descriptions given him byBurns. The sketch was prepared forreproduction by. The Times-Dispatchstaff artist. The sighting report wasbelieved so unusual that a two-maninvestigation team from the air forceplodded over the site Tuesday. Theairmen found no indication thata UFO had been there.
"THE NEWS-V!RGINIAN, iVoyresboro, VirginiaSaturday, January 23, 1965
Billy's Bi-LineBy Billy Williams, Ago 14
UFO's, Exams, Snow
I imagine the talk of the town these days is the UFO (Unidentified Flying Object). Many reports were turned in aboutthem. Our study hall teacher, Mr. Fitzgerald, says that hedoesn't rule out visitors from other planets, because, althoughwe can't live on Venus due to the atmosphere, doesn't meanthat other beings couldn't. I don't think the reports were false,because not that many people would have reported the samething. Everyone says they saw it in the same general direction.They also say it landed in Fishersville. It is said to have around bottom and cone-like nose — in other words like an upside down ice cream cone. The very tip of it would most likely be where the pilot sat. The back, or round part, •would holdthe fuel.
The major question is where did it come from? Was Itfrom Venus, Mars, Pluto, or where? We may never learnthe answer until one of our ships is a UFO on anotherplanet.
NATION AL INVESTIGATIONS GOMKITTEE ON AERIAL PHENOMENA1536 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C.
Additional Information: Richard Sailm 7-9434
NEWS RELEASE; October 29, 1964 . FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NEW SUPPORT FOR UFO HEARINGS
A group of Senators and Congressmen have stated they will support am
investigation of unidentified flying objects (UFOs), it was announced,
today.
The National Investigations Committee oru Aerial Phenomena (NICAP), a
private Washington agency whieh analyzes "flying saucer" reports, quotes
several prominent Members of Gong-ress- in the current issue of- it-s- news
letter "The U.F.O, Investigator," just released. The statements came in
response to a documentary report detailing results of the Committee*•
seven year investigation, submitted to the legislators this summer.
Senator Paul H, Douglas (D,«I1I.) said, ",,.I an entouraged to see the
concent-Fated e£f®*t« of NICAP to have all of the facts abc>ufe }JFOs brought
out to the. public. I will tertainly offer my contribu.t.i<tn $£ time and
effort to get to the bottoa of the#e> reports*"
Senator Harrison A, Williams, Jr, (D,-NrJ,); "The UFO Evidence Report
is indeed an impressive document and should be given the most tareful ton-
sideration,"
Congressman Fred B, Rooney (D.-Pa.): "I find that a number of my coll
eagues in the Mouse are also increasingly disturbed by efforts to close
off a reasoned inquiry on this, subject."
A MTCAP spokesman said the support is non-partisan, and has »o comneet-
ion with the elections. Senator Everett Dirk sen (R,-I11,), Minority Lead-
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JOHN E. MOSS, CAUF., CHAIRMAN ROBERT P. GRIFFIN. MICH.OGDEN R. REID, N.Y.PORTER HARDY. JR., VA. ^^^ RUMSFELD| 1LI_.
^ ItSESTET EIGHTY-NINTH CONGRESSTORBERT H. MAC DONALD, MASS. CAPITOL 5-3741
——'• Congress of fte ®ntteb StatesJfyou&t of Eepreaentattoe*
FOREIGN OPERATIONS AND GOVERNMENT INFORMATION SUBCOMMITTEEOF THE
COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS
Rayburn House Office Building, Room B371-BWASHINGTON, D.C. 20515
RECEIVEDJUL : ^
July 2, 1965
Mr. Richard Hall, Acting DirectorNational Investigations Committee
on Aerial Phenomena
Washington 6, D. C.
Dear Mr. Hall:
This acknowledges your letter of recent date regardingthe difficulty you are having in obtaining the Air Forcedocument on an unidentified flying object.
I have requested the Subcommit)tee staff to look intothe situation, and will keep you advised; on developments.
JEM:mb
JOI
Chairman
/'/% if•- £?<"/••JJ //?,
2 Richmond Times-Dispatch, Sat., Jan. 30, 1935
Official Air Force Report
No Sign of Augusta UFO FoundTimes-Dispatch News Bureau
STAUNTON, Jan. 29 — Theofficial air force report of aninvestigation of an unidentifiedflying object (UFO) reportedlysighted in Augusta county December 21 concludes that the
"available information "fails to
l"eveal any evidence of an alleged landing."
The report, released Friday,resulted from a field investigation on January 12 by a two-manair force team from Wright-Patterson Air Force base, Dayton,Ohio, of a reported sighting ofa UFO by Horace Burns ofGrottoes.
\ '•
1 Burns' report that he saw a'wrote, "but there were no addilarge object resembling an up- tional witnesses." The sightingside down ice cream cone land was along U. S. Rt. 230 nearin a meadow across from the Fishersville about 5 p.m.entrance to the Woodrow Wilson On the question of evidenceRehabilitafion' Center was sub- of radioactivity at the site, thesequently investigated by the air official report was at odds withforce's UFO report center at a finding reported by Dr. ErnestWright-Patterson. iGehman of Eastern Mennonitej "There was a total lack of College, Harrisonburg. He hasany indication that a vehicle had said he took a radiation read-landed in the field," wrote Sgt. ing with a Geiger counter nineDavid N. Moody, who headed days after the sighting andthe investigation and prepared found a high concentration.;the final report. | The air force team said it
"It is believed that a vehicle found none 22 days after theof this size would be observed sighting. And Moody's reportbv additional witnesses," he said Maj. James Sproul, an air
t : • Space Man9 Elongated Style'„••' Donald Cash of Augusta county poses^ in the.-: getup he wore earlier this week to spoof reports>' of UFO's, he said, by masquerading as a spaceI *man. Meanwhile, three youths passed by, he said,I '• and decided he was one, touching off an armedL- manhunt.
Iforce radiation specialist, was.consulted on Dr. Gehman's finding. :
1 "Major Sproul stated that radioactive isotopes deposited on21 Dec. '64 and yielding returnswith a strength indicated ; . .would yield a positive returnon 12 Jan.", stated the report.
Sergeant Moody concludedalso that Burns' reliability asa witness "is not questioned."
The air force report also ruledout the possibilities that thesighting could have been a prankor a hoax'.
There was no attempt to offerany further explanation.
/
Horace Burns and Sgt. David Moody...... Find NoTraces of Radiation Tuesday
Augusta Saucer Called'Typical' of UFOs
By BKN BliAGLKTimes Staff Writer
An Augusta County man who said he saw a90-foot, flying saucer in a field near Fishersville was reporting "a pretty tjpical UFOsighting,'1 a spokesman for a national investigative organization said Thursday.
Richard Hall, acting director of the National Investigating Committee on Aerial Phenomenon, said in Washington that his agencyholds to the theory that fljing saucers "areextra-terrestrial objects which appear to operate intelligently."
In the Augusta i.ounty case the sighter.Horace Burns ot Gi^Uoes. said his car enginestopped when the saucer crossed in front ofhim on U.S. 250 on Dec 21
Hall said "this electro-magnetic clfcct hasbeen reported several times'' in cases ot UFOsightings. Hall said that the electro-magneticeffect—which would cut off an engine's ignition- was first reported in 1957 sightings.
Hall said UFO reports are becoming morenumerous. He said there was one reportedlyseen over Washington by six persons Monday.On Dec. 29, he said, the Patuxent Naval AirStation tracked an object by radar. It wasmaking 4 800 miles an hour.
/'/J"-/.J e/9"0
Hall said that Burns' description of the object he saw as being 90-feet tall, 125 feet indiameter, with six rings around it and a domeon top was a common report.
Prof. Ernest Gehman of Eastern MennoniteCollege at Harrisonburg—a member of the investigative agency—has filed a report, Hallsaid.
Gehman reported thai he took a radiationcounter to the site nine days after the sightingand detected strong radiation. An Air Forceinvestigative team, on the scene Tuesday,found no evidence of radiation.
But Hall said the site has to be gone overquickly. The radiation disappears "unlessthev detect it right away," he said.
The "dome shape" type is often reported tothe agency, Hall said, and that such sightingsare common.
The Air Force and other services, he said,"don't say anymore than they have to" andthat sightings "get hot" when reports get intothe newspapers.
The electro-magnetic field effect, Hall said,was first noticed when a number of sighting!,were reported in New Mexico in 1957.
'Saucer' Reported Seen by Others in Ait'gusto. Page 75.
•S9t&$j Yd'
J
March 8, 1965
Major Maston M. JacksProject Bluebook Information OfficerDepartment of the Air ForcePentagon,Washington 25, D.C.
Dear Major Jacks:
During our investigations of the Staunton andWaynesboro, Va., area UFO sightings in Decemberand January we learned that the Air Force hasprinted an information sheet on a specific case.I refer to the Dejtnber 21, 1964 report by HoraceBurns, Grottoes, va., of a UFO landing betweenStaunton and Waynesboro. Will you please send usa copy of this information sheet?
We would also like to have copies of any similarinformation sheets on other specific UFO caseswhich occurred since November 1964.
Since the March 2, 1965 landing report at Brooks-ville, Fla., has been highly publicized and physicalsamples obtained by the Air Force, we assume therewill be an information sheet on it when the analyseshave been conducted. Please send us a copy of it whenit is available.
Sincerely yours,
Richard HallRH:h Acting Director
1 0
Dear Mr. Ball:
2bis is in reply to your letter of April 19, 1965.
The Air Force did not issue an information sheeton the sighting made "by Horace Burns of Staunton, Virginia.The information we furnished you in our letter of April 7is the aaae information that we have used in answer toall other inquiries from the public relative to thisparticular sighting.
Sincerely,
Mr. Richard HaH
BXCAP
1536 Connecticut Avenue, SWWashington 6, DC
MORNING SUNDAY EST. 1830
RICHMOND II,VIRGINIA
Shenandoah Valley News BureauP.O. Box 846
Staunton, Virginia 24401
July 23, 1965
Mr. Richard Hall, Assistant DirectorNational Investigations Committee on Aerial
Phenomena
1536 Connecticut Avenue, N.W.Washington, D.C. 20036
Dear Mr. Hall:
Here is the Air Force report you requested. Justanother reminder - this is only on loan as I shall beneeding it soon to work with Dr. Gehman on another article,and the Tiraes-Dispatch must not be connected with the report.
1Dallas M. Kersey,Bureau Chief
r
July 26, 1965
Mr. Jack Matteson xGovernment Informationand Foreign OperationsSubcommittee, Rm. B371-BRayburn House Office Bldg.Washington, D.C. 20515
Dear Mr. Matteson:
Enclosed is a copy of the Air Force reportdiscussed in our phone conversation today, includinga copy of the note from Mr. Kersey identifying thedocument.
As Mr. Kersey mentions in his note, he does notwant the report connected with his paper. Unfortunately,Mr. Hall had written to Congressman Moss before Mr.Kersey expressed a wish to remain aloof in the matter.
I mentioned briefly that the document displayedno letterhead as was the case with past reports ofthis nature. If necessary, we can provide copies ofother reports similar to this one, all lacking anyletterhead identification.
If further information is needed, please give mea call at NO-7-9434 or NO-7-9435.
Sincerely yours,
Harold H. Deneault, Jr.Assistant Editor
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oosibly tha uoat roaaricabl©Wr<ortodjetvhtIt^ o£ art midantifled
flyiu^ object ever to ta£c^'g£sS~in tha dtt*rc&*£osb /aXley occurred at
S .->ns« on onday, .^c. 21, 1>«4. **. tlorocaa Dums« livlog at <^£ej&e«afsi
/** * aa& oeocteetiag a a^all goptohop toyainaoa on Bortk •aln Sfcreat ia
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250 toward JagmaabowOr. ***©» h* aaw a large v-»talUc efejoet seeing out
of the el:y north of the lii;3itwey. As it aroa**4 Hotsta 250 about two
hundred feat ahoad of Hix-i, hi* taotor stopped doad and hie oar ancwed to
coae to aa xiaaatuirally qsiiok, atop*
-ha. U/O laadeC ^aecCully ia a mestfov «fc a «oot about 100 yards
from tho hi^ .uixy, m* Bum* atood baaide his car and atarod in aaase»
wmt at th* owusocui gpeetaeLt* utiat he'sew r«4agib&6d £a ah&a aa «&>»-toy
aid**^kwti .top^ !*it the aise of it wao astounding* "it vos 125 foot in
dlanei&r, at least, mul SO to 90 feet high! • &» daclarua- ./*•*& fceeidaa
being. jonearfilXy eofMHahoptd.. ita circulate aloviag sidca roia ia cikoaf' olargo* eanefcnferic cw^iutioMdiainlehi?^ i& <3l#aater to a doma at the
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sure o£ the oKaet status* o£ the taaterial of *h&eh it woo node* ifc «ft»-
yaarod to bo mfcallio and reaac&lad ddblsk aluoiiiura* lie 'ncytoC that all
arouad clw.pericttter at ti*a baao of tii* aorui-trous siacttim ther* i*&a &
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doors* -o* ;Jor&ioliMMff)ywlusra on the obiect* ;-£»r Jid titer* aeam to tm.
sort cȣ lft^incj ...oerj tha wfliicle !iad .^entlf settled Clat cm ita
visitor from outer apaoe r&mtc^k oa t;^ fl->ar o£ tl>a cxj&dov for
.nute or a -£nute arda half md fc^ion witfe a ^ "tohooah," Ctl« eoia*a
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After it waa ©»«-» ;*- Bums £ot into hia ear again, andt *hea he
pressed S5*e etarter buttottptha motor atartea off taiediately, Aa be
drove away be *?aa evidently Tory sauoh eoecsltea and engrossed in bisthou^ts on the apparition (aa who wouldn't bel), for he eannet reeallseeing any other vehicles coming ov goings for poaaibly a «ile. tetno doisbt other oara wuat have been baited by toe U?QH tremendoua mag
netic fj^ld, and other drivers tanst have witnessed the ei#itf we hopeamy such \d2X ftake the feet known*
*.*• Sums wnt home and told **s* Duma the atory ©2 what he had
dean, but declareu bft would not tall anyone alee. T,rhey*d thiok i*a
crasy,'* be said* Hat aix daye later, when/Jim &iipp &£ >iVA announcedoft the 6 n.n. newscast about the exiatsace of the UFO Investigators aa
m extra-curricular club at Sastern iteimonite Oelle-e, rs. *»«ib con* Ivinced her husband that he ahould report bio story, lie told it $4 <*»jSS%/i to V. Jhi:>o, who informed the Investigators, who ta^ed the'^ aa :*. florae told it.atory on *\*esday/ ax /odneeaey a ^raliiainary t^stin^ with a oei^cr
ecamter revealed radi^-activity of over 60,0o0 counta per eainute in tl*
area where the -J«i had mated briefly nine daye before* -lane ore
un^erwny f-r tooting t*ua ©oil thia weaL vith the help of a specialistand inetrttaente which will determine which >t the three j& t&>ea of
nuclear raya (alpha, beta, sawaa) were emitted by the wo'b reactors.
co^iee o£ this re(Mrt .-,c it to: ^ES^--^^.tuESraiSie national investigations Ooasdttea ^fZ °L^£f?£?t?
on serial ."hm wta. '.feehlmston, i>.cA £22^35^5 Siiwd/A isdio station, Harrisonburg, va. y*«™***wSt »irclinxa3a£ljy .;je«o»Racord« ^iart^aonburij, .'a.ffi,Wfc# J£&i££» 'tauntoa, Virginia.naynesboro i^va*^/i^irJLan. wayoacboro, vir-jisuLa.
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an to Tell
Of ViewingFlyingSaucer
STAUNTON-A Grottoes manwill describe tonight how, he
.'watched a "flying saucer" land"{at Fishersville last month., Horace Bums, will teir:the''story at Mennonite College in{Harrisonburg of how the' objectpassed, in front, of him as hewas driving from Staunton to
IWaynesboro on U.S. 250 lastjDec. 21.1 Burns said the object lookedlike an "old-fashioned beehive " u.
jwith six concentric rings.; He ^jdescribed the object as beingabout 125 feet in diameter and80 to 90 feet high, with a domeon top. .;
It was metallic, resemblingspun aluminum, Burns said, and
,had no obvious doors or windows.
i * *
According to Burns, the "unidentified flying object (UFO)passed about 200 yards in frontof him and his car engine stopped running as if it had Tunout of gasoline.
. Burns said the object thenshot straight up for several hundred feet and then went at afast pace to the northeast, making a soft whooshing sound
Prof. Ernest G. Gehman,- ofEastern Mennonite College, whorecently organized a group- tostudy such UFO sightings, made •a Geiger counter reading at thealleged landing site Dec 30,'
"It knocked the needle.off'thedial," Gehmen said. The read
ying was more than 600;000counts, indicating a very high
.concentration of radiation.] The report brought a team ofjAir Force investigators from.Wright-Patterson Base in Day-Uon, Ohio to study the case.