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In 1948, they were having quite a round of UFO sightings at that time.

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And at the time I was back in North Carolina flying in reserve, we had 407s there.

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Changed the designation now to F-47s, fighter.

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The old jugs we used to call it.

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And we were going out to do some flying one Saturday morning.

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And there was really this taking off on this particular flight.

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We were going to look over the countryside, do a little formation work.

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And that was about it.

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So the boys lined up.

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I was number two in takeoff position.

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The other ship took off ahead of me.

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This was approximately nine o'clock in the morning.

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And the ship took off and I cleared the deck.

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And we were to join up somewhere around 8 to 10,000 feet.

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I had taken off and climbed up to approximately 5 or 6,000 feet.

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I'm not exactly sure right now, the altitude.

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And the tower called me, or not necessarily called me,

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called to the three fighters just clearing the area.

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If they saw anything in the air, such a position from the field,

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with that I looked up and to my right.

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At approximately, or I would say about a clock,

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probably around 1 o'clock or 2 o'clock in position,

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1 or 2 o'clock position, I saw a large ball of fire.

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That's what it looked like to me anyway.

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As I say, I got the call.

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With that, of course, I immediately started looking around.

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I looked up to the right, saw this ball of fire at approximately 2 o'clock.

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And with that, I shoved the throttle to the firewall

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and pulled up in its direction.

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I wasn't sure at the moment.

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I sort of blinked my eyes.

32
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I turned my head for a second.

33
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Then possibly it was the sun reflecting off the canopy of the aircraft.

34
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It was a normal, sunshiney morning.

35
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Visibility was unlimited.

36
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Very few scattered clouds.

37
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I imagine the ceiling at that time was probably somewhere around,

38
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oh, 20, 25,000 feet.

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I say ceiling, any clouds that were in the area were approximately that altitude.

40
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And I pulled up and to my right,

41
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climbing up in the direction.

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As I pulled up on the nose of the aircraft,

43
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this object or ball of fire as it appeared to me

44
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moved across in front of me.

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Not necessarily at any rapid rate of speed,

46
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nor was it slow, but it moved to my eyesight anyway,

47
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moved across in front of me.

48
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I then sort of over on left wing, still climbing,

49
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and pulled up toward it.

50
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And with that, as I made my turn to the left and still climbing,

51
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I was then approximately, I would say, at about 15,000 feet.

52
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Exactly sure the altitude right now.

53
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I know when I started it, I believe I was around 6 or 7,000 feet.

54
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And I had climbed almost that much more, another 7 or 8,000 feet,

55
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as I started making my turn to the left with that,

56
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the object in a very rapid rate of speed

57
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pulled directly up, straight up, and disappeared from view.

58
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I mean, it just, it didn't abruptly fade from view,

59
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it just disappeared.

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I mean, gradually just, sure, you know,

61
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I was, something in your line of vision just goes out of sight.

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By that time, as I pulled up then,

63
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I know that my last altitude check was around,

64
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I believe, 16,000, 17,000 feet, something were in there.

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And of course, I didn't have any oxygen.

66
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I immediately over on a wing and down again, I called the tower.

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I had made no contact with the tower whatsoever until this point.

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I called the tower to tell them that I had seen this object.

69
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They themselves said that they, the man on the tower,

70
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spotted the object and called the aircraft in the area

71
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to see whether anyone was having any trouble

72
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or just what they might have seen.

73
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I then came down and called the other aircraft

74
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and asked them if they had seen them.

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One of the other pilots said he thought he saw something.

76
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He wasn't sure, but he did see me

77
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pull the cord with my aircraft and started climbing

78
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and he couldn't figure out why.

79
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We were supposed to meet in a certain area

80
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and I was going in the opposite direction.

81
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I told them what I had seen just briefly,

82
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I said I spotted something

83
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and with that the tower operator cut in

84
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and wanted to come down and make a report.

85
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So I immediately landed and went into operations

86
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and filed my report.

87
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Oh, I imagine it was some two or three weeks later,

88
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so the people from Washington,

89
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I guess they were from Washington where they came from,

90
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came down to talk to me.

91
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As far as any more elaboration on this particular UFO sighting,

92
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and I would have to say that it is UFO,

93
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it certainly was unidentified.

94
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Another thing is that I did not see any shape whatsoever

95
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to this object.

96
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I mean, I've heard reports,

97
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I had heard reports prior to this one,

98
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I've heard them since,

99
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but they said that the people seeing them

100
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had actually seen a definite shape to the object

101
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with possibly a blurred outline of light to it.

102
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But in my sighting, there was absolutely no shape to it whatsoever,

103
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other than just a ball.

104
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I would have to say it was round,

105
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a round ball of fire,

106
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not necessarily any brighter in the center

107
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than it was on the outer edge.

108
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It did fade off on the outer edge.

109
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The outer edge was not clearly defined.

110
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It was hazy as fire, as you know when you see fire burning,

111
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it's not that clearly outlined flame,

112
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it's jagged edges or fuzzy edges,

113
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and that's what there was to this.

114
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There was absolutely no definite outline to it whatsoever.

115
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And as far as moving, when it moved,

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it moved in the same shape, it did not leave a tail behind it,

117
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nor did it change in shape or size or color

118
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in any manner, shape or form.

119
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And I was fairly sure in my own estimation

120
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that possible runs of the sun reflecting off of the canopy.

121
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I don't know, I've had in various maneuvers in an aircraft

122
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with a plexiglass canopy on it.

123
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I've had the sun glare off of it,

124
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and I always wear sunglasses when I fly,

125
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except of course in real cloudy rainy weather,

126
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where you naturally wouldn't need it,

127
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but on both suns and those,

128
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I always wear sunglasses,

129
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and even that I have made turns where the sun, we say, is behind me,

130
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and I would make a turn which would cause the sun to reflect off of the canopy of the aircraft,

131
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and I've had it reflect in a streak,

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or just a fly-ish or ball of the sun.

133
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My sunglasses would be diffusing the bright, direct portion of the sunlight,

134
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and I've used polar glasses,

135
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but I don't know.

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I say I'm not going to sit here and try to say that I know what it was because I don't.