UFO Research Newsletter - 1973 10 11 - Vol 03 No 06

Magazine Overview

Title: UFO RESEARCH NEWSLETTER
Issue: Vol. III, No. 6
Date: October - November 1973
Publisher: UFO Research Associates (UFOR)
Country: USA
Price: $.60 (U.S., Canada and Mexico; $.80 (foreign) for single copies.

This issue of the UFO Research Newsletter focuses on a potential "Possible UFO Flap in Progress," detailing a significant increase in unidentified flying object sightings reported across the United States and internationally since March 1973. The reports come from a diverse range of witnesses, including police officers, military personnel, scientists, engineers, journalists, and ordinary citizens.

Possible UFO Flap in Progress

The lead article highlights a wave of sightings characterized by objects that temporarily blinded a truck driver, caused eyeglasses to be internally heated, emitted electromagnetic (E-M) effects, left physical evidence, swooped down on vehicles, were photographed, and responded to signals. These reports originated from at least nine states and three foreign countries. The newsletter notes that the increasing number of press accounts suggests a major flap or at least a significant wave of activity.

Missouri Incident: Heated Eyeglasses

One of the more startling reports occurred near Greenville, Missouri. On October 3, 1973, truck driver Eddie D. Webb and his wife reported seeing a brilliant light or aluminum UFO. Webb stated that a ball of fire struck him in the face, causing his glasses to fall off and blinding him temporarily. His glasses were later examined by Dr. Harley D. Rutledge, chairman of Southeast Missouri State University's physics department. Rutledge found that the glasses appeared to have been heated internally and contained residue that was to be chemically tested.

UFOs Blanket Georgia

A significant number of sightings emanated from the southeastern U.S., particularly Georgia, with some reports from Tennessee and Florida. These sightings ranged from possible planetary illusions to an object that allegedly crash-landed, leaving the soil hot. The invasion of Georgia by these objects began on August 31, with police reporting sightings in numerous towns, including Adel, Albany, Americus, Ashburn, Camilla, Cordele, Daugherty County, Dawson, Doerun, Leary, Leesburg, Macon, Moultrie, Pelham, Vienna, and Whigham. Robins Air Force Base, the Naval Air Station in Albany, and Elgin AF Base in Florida were alerted.

Police were actively tracking the UFOs, which reportedly changed colors and flashed blue, yellow, and green lights. Ray Smith of WSNT Radio described seeing "about 10 or 12 of these things," generally blue but changing to red and green, resembling "a kid's top." In Camilla, Chester A. Tatum, publisher of the Sowega Free Press, photographed an object on September 1, and another publisher, Tom Bursun, and his son photographed a UFO on August 31.

Object Frightens Motorist

On Labor Day evening, September 3, a motorist in Albany, Georgia, reported a UFO with a bright light and four flashing lights swooped close to his car before ascending. In Nashville, Tennessee, Mrs. Nancy Harrison reported seeing two objects that changed colors and shapes. Witnesses in Georgia included police officers, a military policeman, and newsmen.

Dr. Ralph Buice, an astronomer at the Fernbank Science Center, initially suggested the UFOs might be satellites or space junk. However, sightings continued. On September 9, residents in Griffin, Georgia, reported seeing objects with "two red lights descending slowly." Mrs. Hugh D. Beall described an "upside down cup and saucer-shaped object" with gold, red, and green lights. On September 10, Ress Clanton observed a golden, egg-shaped object that "fall[s] to earth in a cloud of smoke," burning a hole in the ground approximately a foot long and four to five inches deep.

UFO Heats Soil

Dr. O.E. Anderson, a soil chemist for the Georgia Experiment Station, examined the site of the Griffin crash. He found the soil temperature was around 200° F, and the heat persisted for an extended period. Anderson's analysis of the soil revealed higher concentrations of metals, particularly chromium (almost 200 times greater) and copper (2,000 times greater), than in nearby soils. He concluded the object was likely "something in the nature of a small meteorite or a piece of space hardware."

Another incident near Griffin involved farmer Roy Lawhorn and his daughter, who saw a gold, lighted UFO. Lawhorn reported hearing a sound like locusts and a bright light. He shot at the object when it appeared to be coming towards his house, and it disappeared into the ground, leaving a charred spot. Anderson described this incident as "unlike anything in my experience."

Craft Emits Light Beams

On September 23, Deputy Sheriff P.L. Pilalas and his partner, J.O. Davis, reported seeing a UFO hovering above them east of Memphis, Tennessee. The object emitted two beams of light forward and had two red lights at its extremities. They observed it traveling at about 15 m.p.h., and it made a whirring-type noise before disappearing.

UFOs in Pennsylvania, Indiana, and other states

Reports also came from Pennsylvania during the spring and summer. On April 15, witnesses saw a large disc between 35 and 60 feet in diameter. On June 13, a blimp-like UFO with fins hovered near Penns Woods before ascending vertically. On June 14, observers in Sunbury saw a silver-blue, cone-shaped UFO described as "about 10 times brighter than a star," which flashed blue and turned erratically.

On July 18, a nuclear instrumentation engineer took color photographs of a UFO near Jeannette, Pennsylvania, which he described as looking like a "bee-bee, with the sun reflecting off the two corners." An analysis of these photographs was reportedly underway.

Missouri Investigation Progress

The scientific team from Southeast Missouri State University, including Drs. Rutledge, Ueleke, Hodges, and Sage, was making progress. They observed and photographed orange objects traveling as fast as 1,200 m.p.h. using sophisticated equipment, reflector telescopes, and infrared film. Trained observers were stationed at Brushy Creek, a location of many sightings. On May 11, Dr. Rutledge and three others spotted six or seven bright objects while flying near Clearwater Lake.

Analyzer Detects E-M Effects

Dr. Sage used a Techtronic spectrum analyzer to monitor E-M effects from hovering lights. While one setup did not detect unusual patterns, another with a high gain beam antenna showed a spiked pattern of E-M disturbance in the 80 megacycle range when the light blinked out, suggesting a possible UFO-generated disturbance.

Michigan Sightings

From July 4th to 11th, residents in and around Mt. Pleasant, Michigan, observed strange objects. Rudolph Lueder reported seeing eight objects on Independence Day that sped across the sky erratically, with some overtaking each other and others appearing in formations. Lueder described the objects as "about the color of the moon."

Objects Follow Truck in Kansas

On June 26, Mrs. Phillip Whitehead and her children reported spotting three UFOs near Peabody, Kansas. The objects, each with two red lights, swooped down close to their pickup truck, followed it, ascended, and disappeared.

UFO Follows Witness in Oklahoma

On June 24, J.C. Huckaby reported a bright light near Buffalo, Oklahoma, that followed him home, speeding up when he did, turning when he turned, and hovering over his vehicle and a granary. His family also witnessed the light.

Australian and New Zealand Sightings

Australia also reported good sighting accounts. Osborne Davis and Robert McGregor saw an orange, saucer-shaped UFO with a ball of light above it off Kingscliff Beach, Queensland. R.R. Zadow in Kalyan, South Australia, reported a "very bright glowing object" that appeared to be about 18 inches across at a 40-foot altitude. As the object flew overhead, his truck's engine and lights ceased functioning.

Six people, including Mrs. C.H. Korn, saw a flashing object over Gladstone, Queensland, on May 8. A small light dropped from the main object and shot off. Ron McLennan in Laurieton, New South Wales, saw a "blood-red, winking light" that moved very slowly then shot off at "incredibly rapid" speed. He later saw it again, moving from east to west with a "slight zig-zag course," its color varying from blood red to vermilion, then to orange.

Three young members of the Sherlock family in Mount Gambier, South Australia, were unnerved by a large, round object with red, green, and blue lights that appeared to be undulating and sped toward their car.

Near Junee, New South Wales, Mr. and Mrs. Wayne Bayliss saw "a row of shimmering yellowy orange colored lights." Investigating further, they found a circular indentation in the ground, approximately 15 feet in diameter, with six plod marks and scorched grass.

New Zealand also reported sightings. Harold H. Fulton reported two incidents in Palmerston North. One involved two pulsing lights with a "dark, cylindrical form" hovering over a building. The second involved an object that hovered and then "sped away, climbing steeply without a sound." Martin Wilkie in Picton saw a UFO with an intense white center, described as "about 10 times stronger than a bright star," surrounded by a field of radiating bright light.

Graham Gill and Gary Burden saw a UFO near Kaikoura, Marlborough Province, that hovered with a flashing green light and revolving white lights.

Canadian Sightings

Between March 5 and midnight, three separate sightings were reported near Vermilion, Alberta, Canada. Witnesses described objects that looked like "an oil rig with about six staggered and alternating yellowish-orange lights on it," emitting a low humming sound.

White Sands Revisited

The newsletter revisits reports of sightings over White Sands Proving Grounds, N.M., in the late 1940s. Newsmen investigating these reports described objects as "spaceships" traveling at incredible speeds. One officer believed flying discs had been observed and photographed, though the film was ruined. Brig. Gen. Philip G. Blackmore, the White Sands commander at the time, dismissed these reports as untrue.

Sighting Capsules

• Additional brief reports are included:
• May 28, 1973: Ben Lomond, Calif. - Objects "very similar to box kites, with red markings on them" ascended and descended.
• June 2, 1973: Divernon, Ill. - Bright lights lit up the landscape.
• June 5, 1973: Johnstown and Milliken, Colo. - Four objects with a red glow brightened and dimmed.
• June 7, 1973: Greeley, Colo. - Three red objects traveling from east to west.
• June 9, 1973: McComb, Miss. - An object "similar to a plane on fire."

Recurring Themes and Editorial Stance

The recurring themes in this issue are the widespread nature of UFO sightings, the variety of reported object shapes, colors, and behaviors, and the persistent efforts to investigate these phenomena scientifically. The newsletter highlights instances where physical evidence was found or where scientific instruments detected unusual phenomena. The editorial stance appears to be one of serious reporting and investigation of UFO activity, presenting witness accounts and scientific findings without overt skepticism, while also noting official dismissals in some historical cases (e.g., White Sands).

Notice: The newsletter indicates that due to the volume of reports, many could not be included in this issue, and the next edition would be ready around November 15, 1973.