Représentants publics

Case 38: June 24, Boise, Idaho

Lt. Governor Donald S. Whitehead and Boise Justice of the Peace J. M. Lampert were in the latter's downtown office at 3:30 p.m. MST when they saw an object, through the office windows, to the west. With the two men at the time were Mrs. Lampert and the Justice's secretary. Whitehead described the object as being apparently motionless. It had "a brilliant head and a filmy smoke for a tail," and he added that had it been viewed at night, it would have looked, with its tail, "just like a comet." The object "dipped from view after about 20 minutes," sinking below the line of sight to the west "apparently with the rotation of the earth." At first the witnesses thought the object may have been a sky-writing pilot, because of the tail, but "we quickly changed our minds," according to Whitehead.

In the Air Force files the sighting is explained as "astronomical," and according to the 1949 Project "Saucer" Summary (p. 11), "Dr. Hynek said it seemed likely Lt. Governor Whitehead observed either the planet Saturn or Mercury." Neither Saturn nor Mercury have ever been known to be observed with the naked eye at mid-afternoon; however, the only information on this case in the official files at the time they were examined was a brief wire service account of the report; this did not include the time of day the sighting had been made. Unless more pertinent data have been removed from the folder, the astronomical assignment was probably based solely on Whitehead's remark that the object seemed to disappear with "the rotation of the earth."

Case 59: June 25, Glens Falls, New York

Warren County Deputy Treasurer Louis Stebbins, reporting his sighting of June 25 almost two weeks later, said that he had seen "a bright object" that he believed to be one of the discs. With him at the time was a neighbor, Mrs. John G. Caffrey, who also saw it. From the description given, the observation seems to have been made at night; no time is mentioned in the available sources. Mr. Stebbins said the object, "about the size of an auto headlight," emitted "red fire in front and was trailing blue fire in its wake."

Case 131: July 1, near Chandler, Arizona

Pima County Juvenile Probation Officer Robert E. Johnson reported on July 7 that six days earlier he had seen "a lone disc hurtling through the sky" over the Pima Indian Reservation at 9:30 a.m. MST. The object was described as "silver-colored and discus-shaped," and Johnson said it was traveling at "a great rate of speed" in a fairly direct path to the north. He estimated its altitude at between 5,000 and 10,000 feet and said it was in view for two or three minutes.

Case 152: July 1, Albuquerque, New Mexico

Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce official Max Hood reported that while he was driving on Candelaria Road, in the northern section of the city, he had seen a "disc-like, bluish object following a zig­zag path in the northwestern sky." He said that the object disappeared from sight in the vicinity of Volcano Peak after he had observed it for about 30 seconds. The observation was made at night, although no specific time was mentioned.

Case 176: About July 3, north of Alturas, California

Modoc County District Attorney Charles Leaderer and Dale Williams, Secretary of the Alturas Chamber of Commerce, reported that they had seen seven swift-moving, disc-like objects while driving through the Warner Mountains, near the Oregon state line, at an unspecified time. Both men, certain they had seen objects similar to those reported elsewhere, said that the discs were at an estimated height of 2,000 feet and were traveling at a tremendous rate of speed.

While the abbreviated wire service account of this sighting was the only available source of information, it is always possible that the primary sources might provide some of the basic facts regarding this observation -- i.e., the exact date, the time of the sighting, the exact location of the witnesses, the direction the objects were flying, their manner of flight, their formation, and the duration of the sighting.

Case 452: July 6, Sioux Falls, South Dakota

Assistant County Treasurer Gregory Zimmer's report of an object with a rigid tail (see II-15).

Case 444: July 6, Darlington, South Carolina

State Senator's Attorney J. V. Watts reports a V-formation of wing-shaped objects (II-18).

Case 515: July 6, near Covington, Kentucky

Covington Commissioner William Rolfes reported he had seen one of the discs while motoring along Dudley Pike in Kenton County at night. The object was red-colored, but Rolfes suggested that it may have been a searchlight.