What People See, part 2

1952 - A Map of the track of weather / test balloons sent up in a narrow window of time.

 1951 - this communications balloon may have been mis identified as a silver, cigar shaped object moving silently and slowly.  Unfortunately, it is harder to locate records of where, when, and what regarding these babies. One source indicated they were basically stationary and served as a means to extend radio signals in pre satellite years.

U.S. Navy was just one entity that utilized huge weather balloons for tracking currents. collecting samples and tracking activities. The famous weather balloon debunking of Roswell often ignores the fact they were sending up balloons almost weekly. It SOP for anyplace planes were flying.  As the rubber was replaced by plastics and new materials, the 'loons got bigger and by the late 1960's they were be lofted into space as 'sate-loons' for use in communications.

The early investigators and debunkers of witnesses of aerial unidentified phenomena loved to present the majority of  "slack-jawed yokels"...those tipplers scorned by General Ramey in 1947...but the larger percentage of witnesses were trained military personnel, pilots, professionals, educators, amateur astronomers, scientists, police, and intelligent people who knew enough about the world, the sky, flight and the like, to recognize when something was different. So, the slack jawed yokel may remain  - as it does for anyone in the maligned 'flyover' lands - the truth is tipped more in the lines of qualified observers reporting things to the proper authorities. The sign could also read that anything can be debunked when you discard all the evidence, statements, and selectively design your tools to record preestablished results.