While
watching that new UFO program known as Contact, I noticed that one of
the things the field investigators did, when they arrived in Waynesboro,
Virginia, was access the local archives. They wanted to learn the history of
the Waynesboro area, so they searched a bunch of old newspaper clippings. I’ve
done that myself, in locations where the newspapers have morgues that have
sorted their past articles by type or subject. That means I could ask the
librarian for the files about UFOs and not have to search through newspapers
using microfilm. A quick way to learn
some of the local UFO lore.
Sarah
Cruddas and Nick Karnaze, the field investigators in Contact, sorted
through the old sightings, commenting that there had been a number of them from
November 1964 to January 1965 and that there had been an official investigation.
First, let me point out that not every UFO sighting, even those reported in the
newspapers, made its way into the Blue Book system. If it was not officially
reported, then it was rare for an investigation to be made.
I
found no sightings in Blue Book reported in Virginia in November 1964. There
were only two in December. The first was from Falls Church on December 14. The
Air Force labeled it as the moon. The second, from Harrisonburg, was listed as
radar anomalies. Interestingly, the file contained five photographs that were
so faint as to be invisible. It almost looked as if they had microfilmed the
back of the photos rather than the front.
 |
| Project Blue Book sighting card. |
In
January, 1965, there were eight sightings reported and two that were just
listed as “news clippings,” which meant there was no investigation of them. Most
of the sightings were of the same sort of thing as had been reported earlier.
That is, mundane, terrestrial based objects and phenomena that were
misidentified by the observers. And, the sightings were scattered all over
Virginia, so there really wasn’t much of a cluster.
However,
the sighting in Williamsburg in January, 1965, stands out. It is listed as “unidentified.”
The object was seen at close range for enough time that the witness did get a
good look at it. But more importantly, the UFO, whatever it was, stalled his
car’s engine.
According
to the Project Blue Book file, the witness (who didn’t want to be identified in
the press and whose name was redacted throughout), T. F. Mains, said that his
car was stalled by a mushroom-shaped object as he approached it. According to
the file:
At
0830, 23 January 1965, observer first noted object after his car stalled and he
looked to his left. The object was first observed hovering with its bottom four
feet off the ground and on an azimuth of southwest from the observer… The
object which was observed for 25 seconds began moving horizontally to the west
prior to disappearing. The flight path was limited to a steady hover except for
the rapid vanishing maneuver.
Observer
stated that the object was shaped like a mushroom or light bulb, being 75 to 80
feet in height; 25 feet diameter at the top, and ten feet diameter at the
bottom. Color was metallic gray with red-orange glow on the close side and blue
glow on the far side. As object was hovering there was a sound similar to a
vacuum cleaner.
After
the object disappeared, first observer got out of his car and went and asked
the witness that was behind him if his car had stalled. Second witness said his
car had also stalled and he had also seen the object.
The
observer was prompted to report his sighting after hearing of many other UFO
sightings in the Virginia. First observer told investigating officer (Lt.
Dockum [Air Force officer investigating the UFO sighting]) that he thinks the
object was a solid object and thought it was an Air Vehicle that the Air Force
has.
The
document then commented on the observations. It was noted that the weather
bureau reported on a low altitude temperature inversion that could have
resulted in the “unusual phenomenon.” There were no weather balloons in the
area according to the documentation. And it said that Lt. Dockum, the Air Force
officer assigned to investigate, searched the sighting area but found nothing.
Another
possible explanation, offered by the weather bureau and Dockum, was that the
sun’s reflection on that inversion layer and low hanging clouds might have
caused a mirage. But it was also noted, “There is nothing to account for the
car stalling as observer so stated.”
The
final paragraph is the important one. It said, “Since no conclusive evidence can
establish the identity of the object, the case is carried as an unidentified by
the Air Force.” Then oddly, it noted, “Although the possibility exists that the
sighting was a descending weather balloon, this is not conclusive evidence to
substantiate the identity of such.”
Does
it really need to be repeated? The weather balloon explanation fails at the
point that two cars were stalled by close approach to the UFO. Because there
are two witnesses in two separate vehicles, most of the mundane explanations are
eliminated.
There
are several reports, memos and newspaper accounts that mentioned two Richmond
businessmen who had seen the UFO. This verifies that there was another man
involved, but nothing in the file nor in the newspapers identify the man, other
that he was older. Mains apparently didn’t ask for his name and could only
remember that he drove a Chevrolet. He only had asked about the object and if
his car engine had been stalled.
I
would never have found this case had they not mentioned, in passing, on Contact,
that there had been official investigation. It is just another in those
inexplicable sightings that have no terrestrial explanation. It is a multiple
witness case (well, sort of since we don’t have a clue as to the identity of
the second witness), with a close approach of the UFO that interacted with the
environment. This was just another opportunity to do some real investigation
that was passed to a lower-ranking officer who had no training for the task. It
is another missed opportunity.
