ENCOUNTERS IN KANSAS: UFO'S AND THE SUNFLOWER STATE, THE 1960'S CONT. MARILYN A. HUDSON

 In contrast to those prosaic events, in January 1961 sightings popped up across several states (Texas to Nebraska) that covered several days. Passing though the southwest town of Roosevelt, Oklahoma on his way home with his wife, a television programmer from Wichita Falls, Texas observed ‘objects.’ The summary sheet for the January 14-15, 1961 sighting classed the objects as meteors. Inside the witnesses, however, described them much differently. The three objects had been shaped like footballs with smashed centers. The sighting was one of many from that month.

In Eastern Kansas (Location identified as 3855 N – 9540 E) January 20, 1961 came a military witness report. Viewed for all of 10-12 seconds with course of SW-NE this one was quickly labeled a Meteor and probably one of the impressive Bolide variety. It was noted the descriptions used keywords “burn out” and “explode”.  The investigators had checked the sighting against satellite reentries and had found none. A similar report from 9 January 1961, Altus AFB, Altus, Oklahoma shared the information that UFO’s had been reported in the area of Shepherd Field, Wichita Falls, Texas on January 9,10,11,14,15. Two key witnesses had been Major Warren R. Aiken and Major Donald P. Taylor. These events had been classed with the phrase “cause and identity remain unknown). The Shepherd Field cluster was significant because of several witnesses, including staff of a local television station, the KFDX-TV station programmer on his way home who sees objects in Roosevelt, a local woman whose account of a cigar shaped object (similar to the squashed in football shape of another witness) was discredited for some reason, and the military witnesses.

In August of 1961 the strangeness continued with a sighting by two civilians, students from Drake University, of an object in Kansas City, Kansas. The object was circular, one-half a football field in length, and lighted around the edge with whitish yellow lights. They were too nervous to note color of the object, it had a high tail running vertically from center to end and what looked like sled like running boards. There was no sound. They were in a car stopped underneath the object and could not see around the object. It was first sighted from three blocks away and they estimated it to be 50 feet off the ground. It was stationary for some 3-5 minutes.

Comments from the summary coversheet included a note that no weather inversions, wind, or clouds reported as weather was clear and dry. This sighting was classed as “unknown…Description…would indicate a possible balloon except for altitude of 50 feet off ground and sudden rising. Completeness of description and details given by the two observers gives little information upon which to class object into known categories and explain sighting.”  Inside the report the witnesses had stated that the object moved up and sharply away toward the east. The object, although color escaped them, looked metallic and had depth to it. (1961-8-829915-Kansas City, KS 12 August 1961, PBB)

[Note: Project Blue Book records indicate that in July of 1962 reports came in from Hutchinson and Wichita of objects or object seen.  In the skies north of Sherman, Texas July 2 Blue Book noted a report of a sighting. The file contained computer printouts, very faded, and the entire file was hard to read and seemed incomplete. July 3, a witness in Hutchinson, Kansas reported seeing something ….the file  noted the object showed up and was also recorded as an Echo at 1124 pm North of Wichita.  There was a notation of it being “Echo I”.  Remember this was an early satellite merged with balloon technology and Echo 1 went up in August of 1960 and was used until 1964 before being replaced by Echo II until 1968.  [See https://www.nasa.gov/centers/langley/about/project-echo.html. Circular orbit at 1,000 miles and the ‘sateloon’ was used in early triangulation. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Echo-satellite Britannica indicated. “The satellite remained in orbit for almost eight years and was visible as a rapidly moving “star” in the evening skies.”  This might explain high altitude fast moving objects but only those.]