The following is a compilation of over 100 UFO reports for June/July 1947, primarily for Texas, but also including neighboring Oklahoma and parts of Arkansas. This is based primarily on a partial survey of newspapers from these states. No doubt many other local reports would emerge if a more complete survey of newspapers were undertaken.
For a graphic summarizing these reports, click here.
For companion New Mexico area UFO reports click here
About 70% of these reports are from Texas, as befits its size and population, but a surprising number of good-quality sightings can be found in Oklahoma and Arkansas, including a number from engineers, pilots, and military personnel. A ground saucer sighting from an engineer/pilot in Oklahoma City, actually dating back to May 1947, was considered one of the best national reports by AAF intelligence when they secretly started an investigation into the new phenomenon on July 9, while the official story in the newspapers was that people were seeing weather balloons.
Fully half of these reports date to only three days: July 6, 7, and 8. About a third pre-date July 6. The remainder post-date the military debunking that began on July 8 with General Ramey's weather balloon story for Roswell. In contrast, about a third of the reports for New Mexico/Arizona concentrated on July 6-8, whereas nearly half predated July 6, with a heavy concentration in late June.
As in the companion New Mexico UFO Report section, there are several clusterings of sightings that emerge when reports from many newspapers are brought together. E.g., there were about 20 multiple object sightings in this collection. Half of these occurred on July 6.
In Texas, far and away the largest number of sightings were from the Dallas/Fort Worth area, particularly Fort Worth. El Paso, Austin, Wichita Falls, and Texarkana/western Arkansas areas were also "hot spots." (See summary graphic) It is interesting to note that with the exception of Texarkana, all these areas had military air bases. It should also be noted that Wichita Falls was host to the national soaring contest starting July 4 and lasting for 2 weeks. It is conceivable this may have triggered some reports from the area.
Oddly, there was very little activity in the more southern parts of Texas, This collection has only 2 reports from the heavily populated Houston area, and none from San Antonio, despite it having several major military installations.
One very interesting cluster of sightings occurred in Austin on the afternoon and evening of July 7. There were five independent sightings of high-speed objects passing over the city, one of these from an military plane crew in flight. The crew estimated the object passed them at over 1400 mph. This sighting is also noteworthy for its mention of electromagnetic interference with the plane's radio. Another one of these sightings was interesting because the witness had also had a sighting in 1890 when he was a boy, and still had the newspaper clipping to prove it.
In Oklahoma, the Tulsa, Oklahoma City, and Lawton areas dominated the sightings. One very interesting report came from the Dean of Engineering of the Univ. of Oklahoma at Norman (just south of Oklahoma City) who saw three strange circular objects pass over his home on July 6. Shortly before this on the same day, two engineers reported seeing 9 shiny saucers while they were flying near the Kansas/Colorado border in northwestern Oklahoma. This was very similar to the original Kenneth Arnold pilot sighting of 9 shiny objects on June 24. There were six post-July 8 sightings from the Tulsa area, three of these being by pilots or former military personnel. One of them snapped a controversial photo of eight objects passing over Tulsa, published in the newspapers. (photo)
Arkansas also had several very interesting reports. A few reports came from southwestern Arkansas that correlated well in time and location with similar reports from nearby Texarkana, Texas dating to the first few days of July. In two letters to the Arkansas Gazette, two residents of the tiny town of Hazen, east of Little Rock, independently reported seeing objects flying in formation in the late evening and early night of July 6. Perhaps the most interesting report was from an elderly person living in the mountains north of Little Rock. In another letter to the Arkansas Gazette, the witness reported seeing an object fly silently at high speed looking exactly in size, shape and color to a crescent moon in its first quarter. The mention of the crescent shape was highly unusual and went against the grain of the typical flying disk report. Kenneth Arnold was also later to report that one of the nine objects he saw was similarly crescent-shaped. Over in Phoenix, Arizona, on July 7, William Rhodes was also to photograph a crescent-shaped object passing overhead. Another photographic case with "flying wing" objects occurred over Tulsa on July 11. But such reports were extremely rare.
Perhaps the most unusual report was from the Palestine, Texas area on the night of July 8, that received widespread coverage. A dozen or so orange balls of fire were reported changing formation and flying over the area, were seen by hundreds, and terrified many. One citizen was reported to have emptied a box of bullets into the sky shooting at the objects. Apparently there were reports from over 100 east Texas cities that night of objects in the sky, which were debunked as advertising spotlights in Tyler, Texas reflecting from the clouds. But the local sheriff completely discounted the idea that spotlights could explain the incident (Tyler, for one thing, was 50 miles away).
NOTE: Reports with an asterisk * in front of them denote unusual cases, such as the one in Palestine, photographic cases, or reports from pilots, military personnel, police officers, or scientists/engineers.
Around May 19
* Oklahoma City, dusk [Nationally reported story; important air intelligence case]
--After reading of Kenneth Arnold's sighting of 9 objects near Mt.. Rainier on June 24, Brian Savage, a field engineer for RCA and also a pilot, reported on June 25 that he had also seen a saucer back in May near his home. He had told his wife at the time and some skeptical pilot friends, but nobody believed him. Mrs. Savage said she was now convinced that her husband had seen the object after he got very worked up reading about Arnold's sighting and felt he had to back him up. The object was.flat, oval-shaped, about ten times longer than it was wide. "The machine, or whatever it was, was a shiny silvery color -- very big -- and was moving at a terrific rate of speed. The funny thing about it was that it made no noise. I don't think it had any type of internal combustion engine." The object was "high up in the air," around 10,000 - 18,000 feet, but he wasn't sure. He first saw it to the south. It was headed north, left no trail, and disappeared in 4 or 5 seconds. (AP story, many newspapers, e.g. Portland Oregon Journal, 6/26 & Longview (WA) Daily News, 6/26; described in 1948 Top Secret air intelligence report ; mentioned in Donald Keyhoe's 1950 book "Flying Saucer's Are Real" ) [Savage's sighting was also the first of 16 "most reliable" UFO sightings (mainly by pilots or military personnel) studied in a 7/30/47 classified Air Force intelligence inquiry. The study concluded that "something was really flying around."]
Saturday, June 21
Yukon, OK (about 10 miles west of Oklahoma City), dusk
--A salesman passing through Yukon reported seeing six strange objects in the sky. "They appeared as large as washtubs, and were very high up, flying in formation and at an incredible speed." (original source not found)
Sunday, June 22
El Paso, TX, 3:30 p.m .
-- Dr. Oliver Dickson, an optometrist, his daughter, and W. A. Beck saw an object shaped somewhat like a blimp but pointed at both ends, like two pie-pans face to face, very bright and shiny like chrome but not reflecting the sun's rays and traveling south in an absolutely straight line over Mt. Hamilton. It disappeared in about 15 seconds over Mexico. Dickson estimated it traveled about 5 or 6 miles in this time period (or 1200+ mph). There was no smoke or noise. Comparing it to aircraft at the same distance, he estimated that it was about 30-40 feet across, 5 feet thick, and 3000 feet above the mountain top. (El Paso Herald-Post, 6/28; El Paso Times, 6/29; Gallup N.M. Independent, 6/28; Carlsbad Daily Current-Argus, 6/29; Hobbs N.M. Daily News-Sun, 6/28, Albuquerque Journal, 6/29) Photo
Wednesday, June 25
Alvarado, TX (about 10 miles south of Dallas/Fort Worth), between 5 and 6 p.m.
--An Alvarado woman wrote that she saw a bright, moonlike disk. No other details. (Dallas Morning News, 7/1; Austin Statesman, 7/1; Wichita Falls Daily Times, 7/1)
Walters, OK (about 20 miles south of Lawton & Fort Sill), about 10:00 p.m.
--According to C. E. Holman, 67, of Walters, he observed two "flying saucers" that "were playing in the air, passing each other and going back and forth. They went back and forth in a sort of flattened-out circle manner, with the circle having a diameter at the long end of 30 feet." He said they glowed and "were quite a ways up in the air." After 30 minutes of watching them, he grew tired of seeing them "flying around and around each other" and went to bed. He decided against waking his neighbors, thinking that if it were the end of the world, they would be happier sleeping. (Lawton Morning Press, 7/6; Oklahoma City Daily Oklahoman, 7/6)
Thursday, June 26
Near Madisonville, TX, (80 miles north of Houston) unspecified time
--G. B. Garrett of Corsicana reported on July 8 that he saw a disk headed south in the direction of Houston at an undetermined speed and altitude. It looked like a huge, shiny mirror, silvery in color. He said he saw it long enough to know it was not an airplane. (Denton Record- Chronicle, 7/8; El Paso Times, 7/8; Roswell Morning Dispatch, 7/8)
Houston, TX, midnight
-- Mrs. Isa Veta Davidson saw a "white disc" in the eastern sky at first looking the size of a 50-cent piece, but shrinking to the size of a dime as it went higher. It was going faster than anything she had ever seen except for "one of those jet planes." (El Paso Herald-Post, 6/28)
Friday, June 27
12 to 15 miles east of Van Horn, TX, between Pecos and El Paso, unspecified time
-- J. E. Shelton, Jr. of El Paso said he saw a silver disc that was "so bright it blinded you." (El Paso Times, 6/29)
Saturday, June 28
Dallas, TX, 5 p.m.
--Mrs. Ramsey C. Johnson said she saw something "large and white, shaped somewhat like an airplane, and going very fast." She said her housekeeper saw something similar later in the evening. (Dallas Morning News, 7/1; Austin Statesman, 7/1; Wichita Falls Daily Times, 7/1)
Sunday, June 29
Between Corsicana and Dallas (south of Dallas), Highway 75, 7 p.m.
--Mrs. L. W. Wagoner, a newsstand operator in Sherman, said that she and her 8-year-old son, Eddie, saw a disk the size of a man's hat and traveling very fast toward Dallas. It disappeared in a few seconds. (Austin American, 7/3; Paris (TX) News, 7/2)
San Angelo (west Texas), daytime
--Mrs. Victor L. Salter (or Sailer) said she was sunbathing on her back lawn when she saw a disc-shaped object revolving very slowly and descending. It looked the size of a washtub. At first she thought it was a weather instrument released from Goodfellow Field nearby. But suddenly it shot upward at "an unbelievable speed." Her 13-year-old son saw it too. (San Angelo Standard-Times, 7/2; El Paso Times, 7/2/47, Roswell Morning Dispatch, 7/2; Lubbock Morning Avalanche, 7/2)
Smyer, TX (about 15 miles west of Lubbock, near Lubbock AAF), unspecified time
-- A Lubbock couple, who would not give their names for fear of ridicule, said they saw a disc "about the size of the moon" moving in a southwest direction. (El Paso Times, 7/1)
El Paso, soon after 4:00 p.m.
-- Mr. and Mrs. R. C. Burgess said they saw a silver-colored, top-shaped object, something like a balloon, and blindingly bright. It traveled north at high speed and seemed to "melt into the sky" in about 10 minutes. (El Paso Herald-Post, 6/30)
Early July (unspecified dates)
Ciudada Juarez (across the Rio Grande from El Paso, Texas), unspecified times
--In a July 7 AP story out of Mexico City, it was reported that 7 flying disk-shaped objects had been sighted over northwestern Mexican border cities in "recent days." Five were seen over Mexacali and two over Ciudad Juarez. No other details. The source was Ernesto Ruran, announcer for radio station NEFI of Chihuaha City, who reported this Monday, July 7. (Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 7/8)
Tuesday, July 1
Highway 183 enroute to Fort Worth (from Dallas?), unspecified time
Dallas resident Tom Dean and his wife and daughter when they saw a disc-like object "going like blue blazes from NE to SW at cloud level. It resembled a flattened-out balloon and was in sight 12 or 14 secondss before disappearing. (Mexia (TX) Daily News, 7/3)
Texarkana (Texas/Arkansas border), afternoon
--Mrs. S. G. Nicols, 82, said she saw something "looking like a shiny cloud" heading in a westerly direction at a tremendous speed. (Dallas Morning News, 7/4; Austin American, 7/4)
DeKalb, TX (33 miles west of Texarkana), afternoon
--Farmer Wendell L. Carson, 32, along with his 7-year-old son, said he also saw an object headed west as it whizzed over his tomato patch at only 100 feet. It was soundless and fit newspaper descriptions. At first "we thought we were seeing things." He hesitated to report it until he read newspaper accounts of other people seeing similar things. (Dallas Morning News, 7/4; Austin American, 7/4)
Arkadelphia, Arkansas (about halfway between Texarkana and Little Rock), date not specific but "early in the week" before July 7 when reported, unspecified time
--A young man working for a dairy said he saw three discs pass over the dairy barn. They were only a few hundred feet high, shaped like phonograph records, and going southwest. (Little Rock Arkansas Gazette, 7/8)
Wednesday, July 2
Texarkana, unspecified time
--Mr. and Mrs. W. O. Robertson reported definitely seeing a saucer-shaped object speeding noiselessly directly over their home while they were sitting in their back yard. (Dallas Morning News, 7/4)
Hillsboro, TX (60 miles south of Dallas/Fort Worth), unspecified time
--Tracy Curry reported he saw one of the "disks" from the roof of the cotton mill where he was employed. It looked like "bright tinfoil," and was a half mile away. (Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 7
Thursday, July 3
Texarkana, dawn
--A Texarkana fireman and a city bus driver said they viewed a saucer-shaped object, but it was higher than other recently reported Texarkana objects and disappeared too quickly for close observation. (Dallas Morning News, 7/4)
* Tumbling Shoals, Arkansas (about 50 miles NNE of Little Rock), 3:00 p.m.
--In a letter to the editor, J. C. Lynch said that he/she had just gotten home, noticed the chickens were excited, and so looked skyward. Lynch saw "something unusual in the northwest sky. It was coming from the northwest and disappeared on the horizon in the southeast." Lynch didn't know how big it was, but "it looked like the new moon, near the first quarter, both in size, shape and color, with the points of the crescent pointing back. It was traveling at a high rate of speed, much faster than any plane I ever have seen." It made no noise, but Lynch noted being 83 and a little deaf. "It may be that the earth has another satellite. I do not believe it was one of man's contraptions, nor do I care, so far as I am concerned." (Little Rock Arkansas Gazette, 7/10)
Between England and Humoke, Arkansas (about 30 miles SE of Little Rock), unspecified time
--J. L. Hampton was on his porch when he said suddenly a flying missile appeared "going very fast." He said it looked more like a kite to him and about as big as his hat. He had no idea how high it was. (New Orleans Times-Picayune, 7/7)
Little Rock, Arkansas (date not specified but before July 7), unspecified time
A. J. Parsel (sp?) of Little Rock reported seeing a "disc" that was circular and appeared to be about four feet in diameter at an altitude of 5000 feet. It was going rather slow. (New Orleans Times-Picayune, 7/7)
Friday, July 4
El Paso, Texas, noon
-- E. E. Polk said he saw a disc about a thousand feet high and traveling very fast in a westward direction. It was visible for less than 15 seconds. He described it as "the size of a pie plate with ragged edges." It was an off-white color. (El Paso Herald-Post, 7/9)
Decatur, TX (30 miles north of Fort Worth), 1:30 p.m.
--Mrs. Mattie Cole said she saw an aluminum-colored object shooting at tremendous speed across the sky while she was driving north towards Decatur from a farm 9 miles to the south. The "disk" was very high, "as high as you can see an airplane," and at that altitude, "It looked like the top of a tub--it was as round as a wheel." She couldn't estimate the speed, but it disappeared before she could point it out to her companion and was "going like everything." It traveled on a straight course from the northeast and she last saw it to the southwest. (Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 7/6)
Hillsboro, TX (60 miles south of Dallas/Fort Worth), unspecified time
--Farmer Bob Scott claimed a disc fell on his place Friday and that it resembled a saucer. He said it was so bright he couldn't look at it very long. He was afraid people would think he was imagining things and told only his family. On Monday he notified O. F. Kissick and Joe Gerick of Hillsboro, who went to the field and investigated. Most of it had melted, they said. Gerick said one piece looked like tin foil, but when he picked it up, it appeared to be celluloid. (Austin American, 7/8; Wichita Falls Record-News, 7/8; San Antonio Express, 7/8)
Arkadelphia, Arkansas (halfway between Texarkana and Little Rock) , unspecified time
--Mrs. Al Stephens said she saw several "flying saucers" over Arkadelphia, along with Mrs. John Webb. She described them as oval in shape and a color "like the silver on maple leaves." (Little Rock Arkansas Gazette, 7/9)
Ashdown, Arkansas (Texas border, 20 miles north of Texarkana), unspecified time
--J. L. Stinson, Ashdown merchant and farmer, said he saw a "flying disc" while returning to his farm near Ashdown. It was very bright and disappeared behind trees near the road. (Little Rock Arkansas Gazette, 7/8)
Texarkana, 9:36 p.m.
--Sisters Betty Stone, 18, and Mary Stone, 14, said they watched a flying saucer from the Bramble Park swimming pool. They said the disk had a very bright light, was going very fast, and was approximately 300 feet high. (Dallas Morning News, 7/6)
Texarkana, early night
--Two Texarkana restaurant operators, Charles Pappas and J. C. Jackson, said they saw disks flying at a height of 400 feet as they returned from a ball game. The disks had a continuous light and whizzed out of sight in an easterly direction. (Dallas Morning News, 7/6)
2 miles north of Fayettesville, Arkansas, night
--Farmer Henry Seay said he saw six of the discs Friday night while driving his cows and horses to his home. They frightened his livestock. They were "yellow, about the size of pancakes, and whirling around." He estimated most of them to be from 500 to 1000 feet up, but one he said swooped down to about 300 feet above him and "dropped sparks, which were like dust to me." He thought it fell to earth somewhere near his home. He said he also saw one on Sunday, July 6, just before dark. ((New Orleans Times-Picayune, 7/7))
Saturday, July 5
San Angelo (west Texas), 2:10 p.m.
--Mrs. R. F. Shank, a resident for 41 years, said she saw something shaped like a wash pan flying north over her house at high speed, disappearing before she could call anyone else. It was silver colored and appeared to be very high. (San Angelo Standard-Times, 7/6)
Amarillo (north Texas panhandle), early afternoon
--C. D. Hoover and C. P. Hutchings independently reported seeing discs moving through the air at a high rate of speed. (Amarillo Daily News, 7/7; Denton Record-Chronicle, 7/8)
El Dorado, Arkansas (southern Arkansas, near Louisanna), just before dark
--E. E. Boyland claimed he saw an "object the color of smoke, shaped like a saucer." It was about five feet in diameter, but he was unable to estimate its speed since he "saw it only a moment." However, in another article, he said it was traveling "very fast." (New Orleans Times-Picayune, 7/7; Little Rock Arkansas Gazette, 7/9)
Dallas, dusk
--J. A. Reeder said he sighted a single disk moving over Preston Road. No other details. (Dallas Morning News, 7/7)
Dallas, 11 p.m.
--Dexter McEwen declared he saw a covey of three flying disks. "They were moving horizontally but very high in the sky, like falling stars, only they left no streaks. They seemed to be moving in a V-formation." (Dallas Morning News, 7/7)
Sunday, July 6
Enid, OK, unspecified time (might also be July 7)
--Ed Herbig reported seeing a saucer, which "looked very much like an aluminum pancake," "flying south over the east edge of the city at an altitude from 10,000 to 12,000 feet. No other details. (Lawton Morning Press, 7/8; Tulsa Daily World, 7/8)
Fort Worth, between 9:00 and 10:00 a.m.
--R. D. Johnson said he saw a bright disk about the size of a big steel plate, moving slowly over his home at low altitude. (Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 7/8)
* Austin, noon
--Harold E. Jessen, a local architect and private pilot, reported seeing a single round silver disc from his residence. He reported the object to both the Ragsdale Flying Service, where he flew, and the CAA control tower at Austin Municipal Airport. The control tower said they had received no other calls. Jessen was unavailable for comment. According to Ragsdale Flying Service, Jessen said the disc was flying due east at a very fast rate of speed. It was bright and round, but not shiny. It went gradually out of sight. He couldn't estimate the speed or height, but kept the disc in sight for almost a full minute. (Austin American, 7/7)
* Lubbock, TX, 1:30 p.m.
-- Jim Purdy, a former pilot with the Royal Air Force and U.S. Army Air Forces, said he saw a "silvery disc-shaped object" flying above Lubbock that fit the description of the flying saucers. The object did not have any of the characteristics of a plane. For one thing, it gained speed much more rapidly than any plane he had ever seen. He said he saw it first at about 1000 feet altitude, moving in a slow, tumbling motion that exposed a bright side and a dull side. After about 20 seconds, it gained speed rapidly and began flying in a direct line to the northeast. (El Paso Times, 7/8; Roswell Morning Dispatch, 7/8)
Fort Worth, 2:30 p.m.
--Sammy Delong, 14, thought people were imagining things, but changed his mind when he saw two saucers himself. They were headed eastward, looked about the size of a person's head, were aluminum in color, and shifted from one cloud to another. Thirty minutes later, he and his brother Douglas spied another. "It was like a little mirror floating in the sky" and moving faster than a jet plane. (Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 7/7)
Throckmorton, TX (120 miles west of Fort Worth), 4:00 p.m.
--Six "flying discs", traveling at a terrific rate of speed and shining brilliantly were seen by over a dozen witnesses, as reported by Luther Roberts, editor and publisher of the Throckmorton Tribune. The witnesses included Roberts' family. The first object, he said, was traveling directly west but veered to the southwest. The second appeared about 5 minutes later a little further southwest, but was moving west also. The sixth object skipped around a bit seemed to "spin" around and play out. Among other witnesses were Felic Talley and his family, Lyndon Dunlap, Frank King and his daughters Carolyn and Dorothy, and Wanell Daws, all of Throckmorton. (Wichita Falls Record-News, 7/7)
Texas City (40 miles SE of Houston near Galveston), 4:05 p.m.
--Mrs. Sadie McCauley of Houston said she saw seven flying saucers in a single line flying over Texas City. She said that she and several other passengers on a bus saw them from they Alvin highway. (Austin American, 7/8)
* Northwestern Oklahoma (?), near Colorado/Kansas state line, afternoon
--Two Bartlesville OK men, John Phillips Jr., of Phillips petroleum aviation department, and Henry Barbarick, reported sighting discs while flying at 10,000 to 12,000 feet. Phillips said he saw about 9 discs and that they appeared to be metallic saucers flying with the front edges tilted. (Lawton Daily World, 7/8; Tulsa Daily World, 7/8)
Amarillo, 4:30 p.m.
--George Mouerner, an employee of International Harvester Co., was watching an airplane when he said he saw two bright discs speeding through the air at a high rate of speed in a southeasterly direction. Another man standing next to him also reportedly saw them. Mourner said "they appeared to be a dull aluminum color." (Amarillo Daily News, 7/7; Denton Record-Chronicle, 7/8) [Probably related to the next sighting]
Amarillo, 4:30 p.m.
--Bill Louden reported seeing three discs going southeast at a high rate of speed. They were "round and shiny." (Amarillo Daily News, 7/7; Denton Record-Chronicle, 7/8)
Oklahoma City, late afternoon
--W. E. Marshall of Oklahoma City said he saw a saucer-shaped object, bright like aluminum, darting in a southeasterly direction high over Tinker Field (present-day Tinker AFB). (Lawton Morning Press, 7/8; Tulsa Daily World, 7/8)
* Norman, OK (about 15 miles south of Oklahoma City), 6:00 p.m.
--W. H. Carson, Dean of the College of Engineering at the University of Oklahoma, said he saw 3 shiny, silver-looking, "ball-shaped" objects appear in the eastern sky and then fly westward over Norman. At first he saw one, followed by 2 others a few minutes later. The "strange objects" flew over Norman at an altitude between 15,000 and 20,000 feet and disappeared from sight within a minute and a half to two minutes. "There was no smoke or noise and at first I thought they might be gliders, but they were moving too fast for a glider." He added that his wife and two neighbors saw them as well. (Oklahoma City Daily Oklahoman, 7/8; Tulsa Tribune, 7/8)
Anadarko, OK (about 30 miles north of Lawton, 50 miles SW of Oklahoma City), late Sunday, perhaps around sunset
--Several residents gave varying descriptions of an object that zoomed westward over the town. J. L. Armistead said the object resembled a balloon. Charlie Hill said it appeared to be a plate or saucer, tinged slightly red by the rays of the sun. Mr. and Mrs. Barnie Smith said the object was round and black and moved at great speed. (Lawton Morning Press, 7/8; Tulsa Daily World, 7/8)
Bonham, TX (50 miles north of Dallas), 6:10 p.m.
--Mrs. R. R. Whitlock of Bonham said she saw a disk fitting the "usual description" heading south. No other details (Austin American, 7/8)
Edgewood, TX, Van Zandt County (50 miles east of Dallas), evening
--E. C. Sneed called the Dallas Morning News to report that he and 10 guests were sitting on the front porch when an object which they took for a disk came flying along the northern skyline just below a cloud bank. Sneed said the saucer wasn't luminous but light in color and judged it about 40 feet in diameter. It was going northwest and soon disappeared into a cloud bank. A plane passed over a few minutes later and Sneed thought the disk was going twice as fast as the plane. (Dallas Morning News, 7/7)
Dallas, 8:56 p.m.
--Joe Lovelace said that he and his brother-in-low, Paul Wiseman of Borger, were lying on the lawn when a round object illuminated around the rim flashed across the sky from north to south. Lovelace estimated the altitude at 15,000 feet and the speed at 2,000 to 3,000 mph. (Dallas Morning News, 7/7)
Pampa, TX, (60 miles ENE of Amarillo), just before dark
--50 dull-looking round objects passed over the city in a southwesterly direction. No other details (Amarillo Daily News, 7/7)
Hazen, Arkansas (about 40 miles E of Little Rock), about 8:00 p.m.
--Henry Reid of Hazen wrote a letter to the editor saying that he had seen four saucers along with Bayard Earheart in the park. They looked about the size of washtubs, were traveling "at a great rate of speed but making no noise at all. They were in a nearly perfect formation and I know that they are man-controlled because they changed formation in the short time that we saw them. They were aluminum in color and very shiny." He added, "They say that there is no flying saucer, but I know that there is." (Little Rock Arkansas Gazette, 7/10)
Hazen, Arkansas, about 10:00 p.m.
--In another, independent letter to the editor, J. R. Haywood of Hazen wrote that he/she had seen flying saucers for the second time over Hazen. "They seem to be about the size of a car and in a flat shape like a saucer. They are luminous and can be seen at night like a watch dial. They travel very fast but you can hear no noise whatsoever from them. Haywood said there were three of them, they gained altitude as they left and were going southeast. Haywood pointed them out to some friends, who glimpsed them just before they were out of sight. (Little Rock Arkansas Gazette, 7/10)
Monday, July 7
Lawton, OK, 10:30 a.m.
--Mrs. Joe Kriss said she saw a saucer appear out of the east from her bedroom window. She rushed to the back porch to get a better look. "It was flying straight west, just as if it were floating, only very fast." It was "quite high." She "watched it until it disappeared in the clouds west of town." She described it as looking "exactly like a bright aluminum plate or saucer." She said she got a good look at it and saw it plainly. It appeared perfectly circular. "It wasn't round like a ball, but it looked as if it had some depth." She couldn't tell how big it was. She added that she called her 3 grandchildren to watch. None of the neighbors reported seeing it. (Lawton Constitution, 7/8)
Brownsville, TX, unspecified time
--Jack Watson was driving his car and said he thought he was seeing an airplane until he noticed it "was shaped something like a dishpan." Then it disappeared behind a cloud. (San Antonio Express, 7/8)
Fort Worth, morning
--Sammy Delong said he saw a third saucer headed west and "flashing like a pocket mirror." (Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 7/7)
Fort Worth, noon
--Dick Rhea, 16, saw a saucer shining brightly, speeding high overhead from east to west, and appeared about plate-size. It went out of sight so quickly he couldn't point it out to his mother. (Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 7/8)
Fort Worth, noon
--Bechie Ezell, 24, and Norman Morrell, 27, said they saw something "bumping along" over the TCU campus, the "size of a good-sized notebook." It was flying faster than a jet plane cruises. (Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 7/8)
Fort Worth, unspecified time
--John Loos was in his yard when he saw a disk moving easterly behind an airplane at about the plane's speed. It bobbed up and down. (Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 7/8)
McAlester, OK (southeastern Oklahoma), afternoon
--Mrs. John Alexander said she was lying on a divan at her home when she noted a flash of light outside. She ran outdoors and saw an object "resembling a dinner plate, with a tail of fire." (Lawton Morning Press, 7/8; Tulsa Daily World, 7/8)
* Austin, 4:30 p.m. [Military plane sighting with electromagnetic interference]
--Sgt. C. F. Clifton, an aerial radioman, and other members of his plane crew, saw one of the "flying saucers" headed in the direction of San Antonio (southwest) as his plane was leaving Bergstrom Field (near Austin). Clifton said that the crew figured that it must have been flying 1440 miles an hour because it overtook and passed their plane in such a short time. Lt.. Charles O. Anderson was piloting the plane when the disc passed it. It was round and flying at a slightly tilted angle. "It seemed to be spinning as it flew," Clifton reported. "It blurred radio reception slightly." He added that, "I think it was about 18 feet in diameter and looked as thought it was made of glass. It was extremely bright and kept flashing." (Austin American, 7/8)
Austin, unspecified time
--Ben White, a resident of Orange, called to say that he had seen one "silvery round object flying in a swift up-and-down motion in the vicinity of the Capitol." He said he couldn't judge the speed or size of the object. (Austin American, 7/8)
* Austin, unspecified time [includes 1897 sighting]
--John Caldwell of Reed's Music Store said he saw a flying disc going north near the University of Texas. It was white, near the color of the moon, but not nearly as big. It was traveling at a rapid speed, but he could not estimate how fast. He said he saw the object while lying in his bed thinking about a strange flying object he had seen in 1890 [sic, see immediately below] when he was a boy, and had an old clipping from the Austin Statesman to prove it. [Actual date of sighting April 24, 1897] The article read, "The airship made its appearance again early yesterday morning. ... At least three young men who were camping up on Bull Creek at Huddle's Point say they saw it. About 3 o'clock yesterday morning it began to rain and the young men were compelled to get up and fasten their tent. It was at this time they saw the mysterious aircraft. ...At intervals of every few seconds it would throw its searchlights, and the boys say the light looked as big as four ordinary arc lights. It made its appearance from behind Mount Bonnell and traveled north." Despite this, Caldwell was skeptical of his own sightings, saying he thought they were illusions and he was just seeing things in both cases. (Austin Statesman, 7/8; for full article click here)
Austin, sunset
--Oscar Watson reported seeing "4 or 5 spots in the sky flying south faster than any airplane." Watson said the discs were tinted red by the setting sun. (Austin American, 7/8)
Austin, unspecified time
--Joe Metze, a University of Texas student, reported seeing "several discs flying southeast about 600 miles an hour." He described them as dark gray and not as large as an airplane, estimating them to be 20 to 30 feet across. (Austin American, 7/8)
Fort Worth, 8:00 p.m.
John Loos and Tom Stephenson said they viewed a flying saucer from the home of Dr. G. L. Guthrie, along with four other young men. (Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 7/8)
El Paso, Texas, 8:45 p.m.
-- An unidentified woman reported seeing something that was more grayish in color than silver going from south to north across the sky. (El Paso Times, 7/ 8)
El Paso, Texas, shortly before 9:00 p.m.
-- Four residents from two different parts of the city independently reported seeing flying discs. Mrs. Walter Turner and her husband first saw a bright shiny light over Mt. Franklin that "zipped along" and disappeared in the east. She said she heard no noise and it was unlike anything she had seen before. At the same time, David Hunt and John Jordan said they saw "four round, flat, saucer-shaped objects shooting across the sky west and south over Mt. Franklin." They appeared to be about 15 feet in diameter and about a thousand feet above the mountain. They glowed and disappeared in about 20 seconds. Hunt was sure he hadn't seen a searchlight or airway beacon beam. (El Paso Herald-Express, 7/8)
Fort Worth, 9:10 p.m.
--A "ball of fire" was reported by Mr. and Mrs. D. E. Windon, falling east of Riverside, shooting off bright "stars" in all directions before the light extinguished. It was also reported seen by A. J. Knarr, U. S. Weather Bureau meteorologist, who said it was very bright and burned out in the northeast. Fort Worth amateur astronomer Oscar Monnig (a noted meteorite collector) said it was a meteor and said it seemed to fall nearly straight down to the horizon and to extinguish itself in a burst of "sparks." Later Monnig triangulated from another sighting in Little Rock, Ark. and said the meteor probably came down near McAlester, Oklahoma, about 140 miles from Fort Worth (Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 7/8, 7/11) [Note: On July 1, Monnig had been debunking the saucers along with FWAAF head intelligence officer Col. Alfred Kalberer. The day before Kalberer had been debunking with Gen. Ramey, 8th AAF head.]
De Queen, Arkansas (SW Arkansas near Oklahoma) nighttime
--Farmer J. G. Groves said he had seen a "flying saucer" "shaped like a dog." The bright object passed over his house during the night moving northeast to southwest at high speed. (Little Rock Arkansas Gazette, 7/9)
Tuesday, July 8
Wichita Falls, unspecified time
--Five discs were reported over Wichita Falls, three by J. B. Bentley, a carpenter, and two boys who said they saw two others. Bentley said they were speeding "as fast as an airplane. (Wichita Falls Daily Times, 7/9; Denton Record-Chronicle, 7/)
* Fort Worth, shortly before noon
--Something unusual was reported seen by city policemen and others. In one account, Clifton Bowen, a University student and former navigator in the Army Air Forces, called the Austin Statesman to say that he was previously a skeptic but was converted to a believer in the flying discs. He said his attention was called to the disc by a young Latin-American youth. Bowen described the object as round with a metallic luster. It was traveling west on a straight course and disappeared behind some clouds at about 6000-8000 feet. He had it in sight for 15 to 20 seconds. (Austin Statesman, 7/8; Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 7/9)
El Paso, Texas, 12:30 p.m.
-- Dorsey White, assistant city building inspector, said he saw a disc approach from the north than veer eastward. He described the object as very shiny and resembling a flattened egg. (El Paso Herald-Post, 7/9)
Fort Worth, 1:30 p.m.
--Kenneth Hill, of 3001 Ave. E., saw a disk, "round, high, and traveling fast." (Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 7/9)
Fort Worth, 1:50 p.m.
--Edwin Jones saw something while on Vicke Blvd., moving south, shapeless, shiny and high in the sky. (Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 7/9)
Fort Worth, afternoon
--Mrs. G. F. Mason saw a plate-size disk at Henderson and 7th St., bright, bobbing up and down, and traveling east to west. It just went away. (Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 7/9)
Sand Springs, OK (7 miles west of Tulsa), 6:45 p.m.
--Five unidentified workers saw a saucer up at about 4000 feet and flying east passing over the Eleventh Street bridge across the Arkansas River. (Tulsa Daily World, 7/9)
Sherman, TX (60 miles north of Dallas), late
--Charles Calhoun and his father, W. J. Calhoun, prominent Grayson County farmers, said they saw a disc late yesterday near Sherman. No other details. (Wichita Falls Daily Times, 7/9)
Mellisa, TX, Collin County, (30 miles north of Dallas), 8:40 p.m.
--Mrs. Marie Killian and Mrs. Kay Craft reported seeing a strange object. No other details. (Wichita Falls Daily Times, 7/9; Houston Chronicle, 7/9)
Big Sandy, TX, Upshur County (120 miles east of Dallas), night
--J. M. Mings said he saw an object stop dead still while its running mate caught up with it. Then said Mings in a phone report to the Dallas Morning News, the pair darted off together. Ming said that while passing over the city, the two disks traveled in circles approximately one mile in diameter. "The whole town is excited," he said. (Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 7/9; Wichita Falls Daily Times, 7/9; Denton Record-Chronicle, 7/9)
Henderson, TX, early night
--Four flying disks almost broke up a ball game. Four of the objects were seen flying west of the ball park and the 800 persons at the game rushed to the top of the stands to see them. The local telephone office was swamped with calls. C. H. Page of the Henderson said the objects looked like flying geese to him, had no lights visible, but might have had a faint internal light. One or two more were also seen in the vicinity. However, shortly afterwards it was explained that people had seen the reflection on clouds of searchlight beams being used as an advertisement at Tyler. Reportedly 100 other East Texas towns, including Kilgore, reported the same illusion. (Kilgore and Henderson are both about 30-35 miles east of Tyler) (Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 7/9)
* Palestine, TX, (90 miles SE of Dallas) 8:30-11:00 p.m. [widely reported incident]
--Flying balls of fire were reported by many residents over a wide area. Sheriff Paul Stanford of Anderson County described them as orange basketballs of fire. He completely discounted the theory that the balls were caused by advertising spotlights in Tyler (about 50 miles to the north). Residents of Brush Creek, 15 miles NE of Palestine, first called Stanford around 8:30 p.m., saying 12 balls were flying in a straight line over the town. Then they reported the balls formed a circle which began moving west toward Palestine. By 9:00 p.m., hundreds of Palestine spectators reported seeing as many as three balls in the sky at once moving in a circle. Mrs. Horace Valentine said she saw two perfectly round balls that "nearly scared me to death" when they appeared over her home. They seemed to be playing with each other, the way they jumped around. Her husband, Lee Chavers, shot up a box of .22 rifle bullets without any effect. Bud Everett, druggist, said he chased them for a better view before they disappeared around 11 p.m. Negroes in the area were said to have prayed, thinking it the end of the world. (Houston Chronicle, 7/9; Wichita Falls Daily Times, 7/9 San Antonio Express, 7/9; Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 7/9; San Angelo Standard-Times, 7/10)
Austin, 9:15 p.m.
--Several Austinites reported seeing an apparent meteor flashing over Austin and disintegrating in a burst of fiery sparks. It was seen south of the city traveling east to west. One witness said it was "about a fifth of the size of a full moon," moving swiftly, and leaving a bluish trail behind it. Another similar report was received from Smithville, about 30 miles SE of Austin. (Austin Statesman, 7/9)
Big Spring (west Texas), night
--Mrs. Lorens Shrader reported seeing a fiery red ball streaking overhead (Houston Chronicle, 7/9; Wichita Falls Daily Times, 7/9)
El Paso, Texas, 9:30 p.m.
-- Ottive Magill, U.S. Reclamation employee, said a "flying disc" came at his car while he was in the Lower Valley. Magill said he ducked down with his dog as the object went overhead. He heard a buzzing noise. He said it glittered and appeared about 20 feet wide and four inches thick. (El Paso Herald-Post, 7/9)
El Paso, Texas, 9:40 p.m.
-- A "flying disc" was reported by 3 residents from two widely separated points in the city. Neighbors Miss Dorothy Gillaspie and Mrs. Willy Mae Henderson saw a silver and then yellow-colored round object overhead. Within a few seconds, the object faded out of sight over Franklin Mountain. Independently and at the same time, Miss Ruth Miller reported seeing an object shaped like a silver dollar and having a grayish light pass overhead and then move out of sight over the Franklin Mountains within a few seconds. (El Paso Times, 7/9)
Rison, Arkansas (about 50 miles south of Little Rock), 10:30 p.m.
-- J. B. Morgan of Rison reported that he and three others saw four "flying discs" while standing in front of a café They were about the size of a wash tub. He was unable to estimate the height, but they were "moving very fast." Other witnesses were Herbert R. Wilson, I. E. Moore and Joe Bob Glover (Little Rock Arkansas Gazette, 7/ 9)
Wednesday, July 9
Llano (50 miles west of Austin), 8 p.m.
--T. A. Smith of Llano reported seeing a flying disc overhead, reporting it going in a southeast direction and finally disappearing. He described it as being the size of an ordinary wash pan and appeared to be whirling as it traveled. It seemed to be throwing off sparks. A neighbor, Frank Owen, who saw the disc at the same time, was of the opinion that it dipped to the ground when it disappeared. (Austin American, 7/11)
* Fort Worth, night
--An ex-pilot of the Army Air Forces said he saw something in the sky while in a motor boat on Eagle Mountain lake NW of town. It "took off rapidly toward the east" and he wasn't able to figure out what it was. (Fort Worth Star-Telegram , 7/11)
Fort Worth, night
--Four Fort Worth residents reported an orange-colored, bright, round object traveling westward across the sky. No further details (Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 7/11)
Thursday, July 10
Sulphur Springs, TX, (75 miles ENE of Dallas), 3:00 a.m.
--Miss Irene Carpenter got up for a drink of water and said she heard a roaring sound. She said she saw "something" funnel-shaped and illuminated between 20 and 30 feet long. As it passed overhead, it exploded, showering a couple dozen "disks" which floated aimlessly about for a half hour before disappearing. (Denton Record-Chronicle, 7/11)
Malvern, Arkansas (about 60 miles SW of Little Rock), 8:30 a.m.
--Edgar Gorham, who operated a clothing store, said he and another man saw "something that was making excessive speed" in the sky. "It looked like aluminum and was about 3 feet in diameter." It was traveling north and was so high, they could not hear it. (Malvern Daily Record)
* Tulsa/Muskogee, OK area, unspecified time
--Robert E. Lee Jr., a pilot for Geophysical Research Company of CISCO and a veteran of 4-1/2 years in the AAF, was scanning the sky at Tulsa and saw a shining object at about 6000 feet, going "much too fast for an airplane" at an estimated 600 mph (Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 7/11)
* Muskogee, OK, unspecified time
--J. C. Penniton, Muskogee farmer and AAF vet, also saw the same object or similar one, a ring of light, about 7000 feet high, moving in a northeasterly direction at about 800 mph on a steady course. It did not resemble an airplane. He followed it for about 1 minute. (Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 7/11)
Commerce, TX, (50 miles NE of Dallas), unspecified time
--Louis Smith, business manager of East Texas State College, said he and his wife saw a formation of 15 to 20 "shining white disks" flying west over Commerce at a high rate of speed, which they watched for four or five minutes. He thought they might be advertising circulars dropped from a plane, "but there was no plane in sight." (Denton Record-Chronicle, 7/11)
Cooper, TX, (14 miles from Commerce) unspecified time
--A flying disk interrupted an open-air revival after a man attending it said "Look" and pointed up. Several others said they believed they saw a flying saucer. (Denton Record-Chronicle; first reported in The Commerce Journal, 7/11)
Wichita Falls, TX, 8:45 p.m.
--Mrs. Donald E. Moore saw what looked like a bright star to the southeast while she sat on her porch. But when she saw it advance northward, she called in her neighbors, Mr./Mrs. E. D. Harell, to reassure herself she wasn't seeing an illusion. They reported seeing "funny lights" that were traveling silently northward at considerable speed. The objects were very high. The first object seemed to disappear to the north while the second appeared to disintegrate directly overhead. (Wichita Falls Daily Times, 7/11; Wichita Falls Record-News, 7/11)
Friday, July 11
Wichita Falls, TX, afternoon
--Previously skeptical C. W. Winans of Wichita Falls declared "seeing is believing." En route with his son from Archer City (20 miles south), they spotted a bright silver disc at a height of several thousand feet just south of Wichita Falls. He stopped the car and got his sun glasses for a better look. It sped northward, disappearing into the horizon. (Wichita Falls Daily Times, 7/12; Wichita Falls Record-News, 7/12)
Saturday, July 12
Tulsa, OK, shortly after midnight
--Tulsan Bob Hall of Skelly Oil Co., said he saw one of the discs, complete with blazing tail, streaking across the city. He was awakened by his dog and stepped out on his porch. He saw the object pass over the Mid-Continent refinery in West Tulsa and head east. "It was silvery and was pushing a flame ahead of it, as well as having a long blazing flame trailing it. It went in jerks--my eye had to catch up with it each time--and it was traveling very fast." (Tulsa Daily World, 7/13)
* Tulsa, OK, about 4:00 p.m. [photographic case]
--Freelance photographer Enlo Gilmore, 23, formerly a Navy navigator during the war, photographed 8 objects flying at high speed over Tulsa. He was alerted by someone else, and just had time to grab his telephoto lens, snap it into place, and take one picture. According to the AP, Gilmore said the objects were not round but somewhat oval in shape, similar to the shape of a catcher's baseball mitt. In contrast, the Tulsa Daily World had Gilmore saying, "They looked more like flying wings." Later he made enlargements, that he said confirmed the flying wing shape, and added, "My theory of the thing is that the army has a fleet of flying wing airplanes, but they are trying to keep it secret." Gilmore said they glistened in the sunlight and had a silvery color. They were flying at an elevation of about 22 degrees above the horizon in a westerly direction. Gilmore said another witness, veteran James Holt, clocked the discs between two landmark Tulsa buildings about 7 blocks distant north of his position and 4 blocks apart and [about 30 degrees apart), and said it took about 2-1/2 seconds to pass between the buildings [about 12 degrees per second]. He estimated they were about 2000 feet high. Gilmore added, "I was a gunnery officer in the Navy, but those things moved twice as fast as anything I ever saw." Later using triangulation and closely measuring his enlargements, he claimed he had determined the objects were about 64 feet across and traveling at approximately 1740 miles an hour. One of the blow-ups showed an aperture abut 6 feet across in one of the objects which Gilmore said indicated they were jet propelled, but added he didn't see any vapor or hear any noise. Skeptics claimed the photo could have been made by superimposing spots on a negative. But Gilmore said there had been multiple witnesses besides himself and Holt. Envoy R. Miller, in charge of the Salvation Army unit at Sand Springs, later came forward to corroborate the sighting, saying his son, Melvin Miller, 14, had also related seeing the saucers and a photographer swing his camera around to make the picture. (Tulsa Daily World, 7/13, 7/15; Lawton Constitution, 7/13; Lawton Morning Press, 7/13)
July 13 or July 14
Sand Springs/ Tulsa, OK, 11:30 p.m. - 12:20 a.m.
--Mrs. Maud Kelly of Tulsa said she was waiting for the bus, looked up, and saw a "very bright light." "It just jumped around now and then, but I could see it for a long time." Finally she got a taxi and the light was still there. (Tulsa Daily World, 7/15)
Monday, July 14
Tulsa, OK, unspecified time
--An unidentified women called the newspaper and said there were "about a dozen flying saucers ... in plain sight out by my house. She said she had been watching them for about 20 minutes and they seemed to be landing southeast of town. She added she didn't have spots before her eyes and knew an airplane when she saw it. "They're flying saucers, I tell you." (Tulsa Daily World, 7/15)
Arlington, TX, (between Dallas and Fort Worth), 5:05 a.m.
--R. D. Elder said he saw a saucer heading northwest and observed it for about 5 minutes. He said it looked like a silver dollar, glowed like an incandescent light or appeared like a white heat flash, and flew across the sky at an altitude of about 1000 feet. (Arlington Journal, 7/18)
Thursday, July 17
Lawton, OK, shortly before midnight
--Mr. and Mrs. Roy Ranes said they saw a saucer travelling at "a terrific speed" over Lawton at great height, and making no noise. "It's impossible to imagine any mechanism traveling that fast," Mrs. Ranes said. It was extremely brilliant, she added, and reflected brightly against the overcast sky. It seemed to be surrounded by a "halo" which she speculated might be the trail of gas that propelled it. Mr. Ranes saw it first from their yard. It approached the city from the north following a zig-zag path, said Mrs. Ranes. After coming over the city, it swung in a wide arc to the northwest and vanished in the distance. They observed the object for at least 10 seconds. Mrs. Ranes said she was previously skeptical about the flying saucers and thought people were just imagining things. Now she was convinced they were real. (Lawton Constitution, 7/18)
