Project Blue Book case file: Levelland, November 2-3, 1957 (81 pages)

Read from the scan by GLM-OCR; expect the odd misread word.

# Weird Thing To Be Probed

# By Air Force

WASHINGTON (AP) Reports of a huge, strangely lighted mystery object spotted over West Texas were being investigated by the Air Force. A bright, oval object was also reported over southern New Mexico. Several witnesses,

including a sheriff and one of his deputies, reported seeing the object over Texas. Although reports of strange flying objects have been popping up for years, the reported week-end sightings impressed the Air Force sufficiently to call for at least a preliminary investigation.

## 17 HOURS APART

Sighting of the object over the White Sands Proving Ground in New Mexico were made 17 hours apart by two different military police patrols. The sightings were near bunkers used in the first atomic bomb explosion.

One of the two-man patrols said the bright object spotted Sunday evening was about 200 or 300 feet long and disappeared into the sky after blinking on and off. Another patrol said a bright object spotted early Sunday morning descended until it was about 50 yards above the A-bomb bunkers, then faded.

Officials of the proving ground said the phenomena had nothing to do with any activity at the base. A Pentagon spokesman said no official report was received on the reported New Mexico sightings and no investigation was being made on those.

## ENGINES STOPPED

Witnesses who reported seeing the object over Texas said their car engines stopped and their lights went out when they drove near it. The military police who reported the object the proving grounds said they had no trouble with their jeeps.

Air Force and civilian scientists have refrained so far from speculating on what may have caused the autos to act up. Nor would they guess whether there was any connection between the phenomena reported from widely separated localities and recent large scale power failures like the one which hit the Grand Central area in New York City last week.

NO APPARENT RELATION Dr. Fred L. Whipple, director CONT.

# Sun-Like Mystery Object Hovers Near Atomic Bunkers

WHITE SANDS PROVING GROUND, N.M., Nov. 4 (AP The Army today reported that a huge, oval object "nearly as bright as the sun" was spotted Sunday hovering near bunkers used in the first atomic bomb explosion.

The sightings were made 17 hours apart by two military police patrols on this southern New Mexico missile testing range. The first atomic bomb was poured off on the northern edge of the area July 16, 1945. The commanding officer of the M.P. said none of the men had heard radio reports or seen new paper accounts of similar incidents in Texas

Both lightings were in the area of all ammonated bunkers used by technicians who carried the world's most accurate explosion The workers are of reinforced concrete and dirt and contain no equipment or personnel The explosion site levelled and thinned in several miles away.

First Lt Miles F. Penney of Port Jervis, N.Y., commanding officer of the stallion site camp about 90 miles north of WSPG headquarters said one sighting was made by a two man patrol at around 8 p.m. Sunday.

S.P. 3. Forest R. Oakes and S.P 3 Barlow reported that about that time their patrol saw a bright light. Oakes thought hanging about 50 feet above the old A-bomb bunker Oakes said the "large bright light" took off at a 45 degree angle and went up into the sky

## INQUIRY ON AIR OBJECT N.Y. TIMES-NOV. 5, 1957 Air Force Looking Into Reports of Texas Occurrence

WASHINGTON, Nov. 4 (AP) The Air Force began an investigation today of a lighted ob- ject reported to have flashed over West Texas Saturday and yesterday.

Reports of flying objects have been occurring for years, but this one had the support of several witnesses, including a sheriff and one of his deputies. Witnesses said their car engines had stopped and lights went out when they drove near the object. It was variously described as a burning mass, a big light and an egg-shaped object 200 feet long.

and started blinking on and off. Then it disappeared.

This patrol estimated the objects size as "200 or 300 feet long." "It was very bright." Oakes said. He said his patrol was about two or three miles west of the light."

## "Fell ... And Went Out"

The earlierighting came at 3 a.m. Sunday. Another two-man jeep patrol consisting of Cpl Glenn H. Toy and Pfc Wilbanks made the report.

Lt Penney quoted them as saying they noticed a "very bright object" high in the sky. The object descended until it was about 60 yards above the A-bomb bunkers when it went out.

A few minutes later, Toy said, the object became real bright. Like us, soon then tell in an angle in the ground and went out." He described the object as about 25 in. the words in diameter and about an egg. He said if it were near the old bunkers about three miles from where the M.P. tree was parked.

Penney said he had accompanied some of the M.P.s to the site today in an effort to find some physical evidence of the object's visit. but found nothing.

Neither patrol had motor trouble with their jeeps. Some drivers who saw similar phenomena in Texas reported engine trouble.

Officials at White Sands Prov ing Ground said the phenomena had nothing to do with any activity of the base.

## Seen in Fiji Islands

HONOLULU, Nov. 4 (UP)—The Fijl government, in a report received here today, said a white clergyman and four natives reported sighting a dazzling object in the South Pacific skies which generally matched the description of an unidentified object reported in Texas.

The report issued from Suva, capital of the island group, said three sightings of the strange flying object were reported last week.