Brief Introduction Greetings r/UFos! The body of work you are about to embark upon is the beginning of what I have personally begun to call "Project 47'," my personal academic attempt and exercise in recording and documenting the UFO Phenomenon across history. As someone who is currently working towards a history degree, as well as someone just interested in the subject matter, this topic is one that I had no idea resided so close to home! Rather than starting remote and far away as some studies might, I decided to center the first dataset in and around the Quad Cities area. Having first dug through old newspaper articles in the Rock Island Argus and Geneseo Republic, I began to untangle something of a local mystery that I've heard very few people discuss. Not only was there a string of sightings across our community, but the U.S. Government found the sightings to be credible enough to dispatch the USAF's Project Blue Book from Wright-Patterson. For those up to date on their ufology studies, the Wright-Patterson base is said to be the location where crashed material from Roswell was transported, and in recent news Neil McCasland, a former General and operator on that base, went missing by walking out of his house without his glasses, phone, and a new change of clothes. Within this research, I discovered that not only was Project Blue Book involved in the initial investigation, but so too were many other high profile individuals. Illinois's very own J. Allen Hynek had investigated claims made in our region through Northwestern University, likely overlooking the same material that the USAF did. What makes this story so special to me is the sheer amount of witnesses that stretch across our area, and the credibility of their reports on the matter. As with all eyewitness testimony, this does not confirm the existence of UFOs and Aliens activity in our community, as eyewitness testimony is often the most unreliable. Luckily for us, many of those reported have solid credentials, and more importantly... there is a film... though I don't have it. What I do have, however, will be the lead in to this broader look at UFOs and their strange history across the Quad Cities... Project Blue Book: Galesburg and Moline, Illinois https://preview.redd.it/y8tsbwpuw7tg1.png?width=776&format=png&auto=webp&s=e5e2bfce94f5c4262f74ddbbfb426dbea588140d On the morning of March 6th, 1967, a Galesburg Deputy Sheriff was parked atop an overpass one mile east of Henderson; having conducted night patrols alone and throughout the surrounding area, this overpass served as a perfect lookout point on the surrounding roads. At 4:25 AM, looking out through his window to the Southeast, the Officer described seeing what he initially thought was a meteor or fireball of some sort. Flying at least 15 miles away from the Deputy's position, the color of the object appeared to be a pulsating red as it neared closer to his vehicle. Likely stunned by what he was seeing, the Deputy would quickly reach into his backseat and pull out a pair of binoculars; having briefly considered leaving from the shock of everything, the Deputy would get out of his car and would look at the flying object through the binoculars. Within just a few short seconds the deputy would understand what he was looking at: far from the flaming meteor he had initially perceived, flying towards him was what the deputy could only describe later as a UFO. To quote the interview through Project Blue Book, "He said that if one imagined the bottom part to be like one of the rubber cups placed under furniture legs, and a dome set down into the cup, the appearance would be exactly the same" (Report on Galesburg and Moline, Project Blue Book, pg. 7). According to the Deputy, the whole bottom part of object was spinning rapidly, what he estimated was 4 to 500 RPM (or 4500 RPM); the rim-section pulsated red all over at irregular intervals, averaging a second or more between intervals. https://preview.redd.it/e92fmwqww7tg1.png?width=783&format=png&auto=webp&s=9a336947bf5b8222435c6029be3e54c43446f5e7 Where this story really gets crazy are the claims made next; while viewing the object, the deputy described that the UFO flew directly overhead at a low altitude. While passing over, the Deputy described seeing a circular plane view of the bottom, of which was also rotating, and appeared to have closely spaced-strips around them that also rotated. The sound emanated as it flew seemingly had no tone to the sound, of which was described as a hissing sound, like air under high pressure escaping. Having finally charted over towards the northwest, the deputy described something straight out of a Sci-Fi story, "When the object had passed over and had travelled on its straight course toward the northwest for perhaps one minute, a brilliant column of light shone straight down from the bottom of the object, for two or three seconds, and then shut off again" (Report on Galesburg and Moline, Project Blue Book, pg. 7 - 8). Likened to a ray of sunshine shining through the clouds, after the light was shutoff, the object would head off towards the horizon, eventually disappearing by 4:36 AM, making for a total of 10 minutes between the overhead pass and disappearance. The deputy further described the top of the object as white, sparkling like salt crystals on a road when headlights are shined on them. At the top of the object was a circular area that was a dome of transparent material set into it, but inverted, going inward rather than outward. Making this truly extraordinary was the speed, "The speed would be proportional to the square root of the height above the ground, so that at a 100 foot altitude, the speed would be 85 mph, and at 1000 feet it would be 265 mph" (Report on Galesburg and Moline, Project Blue Book, pg. 8 - 9). The deputy was described as positive of what he saw, unwavering in his belief that it wasn't an airplane, helicopter, or weather ballon. According to the deputy, "He's says he saw what he saw: he is certain it is some kind of piloted craft, that it is nothing conventional, and that he could not have mistaken anything else for such an object." Furthermore, the deputy stated that his eyesight was perfect and that he is not given to hallucinations or telling lies; within his conviction his fellow officers found a subject to poke fun at, though he remained unwavering none the less. What makes this interesting even more is that the Deputy claims to the interviewers that he had once seen a similar object when he was a deputy in Humbolt, Iowa. He claims to have watched another object dart back and forth across the sky, suddenly halt, and this lasted for half an hour; in order to make himself not look crazy, he called another skeptical officer in to see the craft, who described the sight as impressive. While the Project Blue Book report attempts to dismiss this sighting, I have found evidence that there was in fact sightings in correlation with this date. Diving into the Humboldt Preserved Newspaper archives (thank god for midwestern archives!), a key search between 1950 and 1959 revealed a case exactly 15 years from when the interview was conducted... matching the story of the Deputy. https://preview.redd.it/ce5aw1bzw7tg1.png?width=291&format=png&auto=webp&s=df131d4c74b3901a2fe18c0d5af174773a7575d7 The anonymous resident who reported this incident candidly recalled it as nightmarish, and his description of the craft matches many reports of UFOs seen across the years. Across the field of ufology, we are often faced with the claim that our witnesses are "uncredible," yet if we look at the Deputy Sheriff from Galesburg and Humboldt, we see someone who has more than an A-Tier record. Not only was he a 15-year veteran in the force, he was also a private pilot and was able to give accurate and detailed characteristics of the craft. His experience both as an officer and as a pilot make his claims credible in my eyes, and he has very little reason to lie, especially with social pressures at both jobs likely always ribbing him on his beliefs. Later in the Blue Book report, the Deputy would explain that he believed in intelligent civilizations after what he had seen. I would be if I were him. In fact, so were the Blue Book interviewers. The final excerpt of this particular report reads, "This witness’ story is unshakable; he is positive of what he saw, he appears to be entirely in his right mind, and his description is clear. I must classify this report as dealing with an unconventional object. Thais is the only conclusion possible on the basis of the presented information and the apparent character of the witness" (Report on Galesburg and Moline, Project Blue Book, pg. 10). Beyond the report made by this Deputy Sheriff, there is also quite an incredible incident that occurred within the region, though I can't identify what particular city... I'll let everyone be the judge! The Farm Housewives https://preview.redd.it/9t3dg6a2x7tg1.png?width=577&format=png&auto=webp&s=e045d6619c5a15926510bf8a481bcb4d7cb5172a Living within what I can only assume to be either rural Illinois or rural Iowa, we are introduced to two ladies, of which are next-door neighbors, both of which living on individual farms. According to the interview, both women claimed to have been watching UFOs together (how adorable) since last August (would be of 1966). To address the credibility question, I do find it affordable to mention that both were more than willing to accept that a lot of their observations over the months had been celestial objects; however, there were a few distinct instances that the interviewers took down. In August of the year prior, the two women claimed to have seen a large oval red object that flew through the air whilst emitting a high-pitched whine. The next sighting occurred on the Friday night following a great snowstorm, likely around the date of January 28th, 1966; according to one of the housewives, they were going to tell their neighbor that something was flying towards their house. According to the report, the craft was very large, oval, and carried red, green, and yellow lights; it flew low over the house and then seemed to drop suddenly behind the trees in a field north of the house. The Housewives, having seen this, were quite unwilling to go check that field... and who can blame them? Witnesses to this incident include her son and two daughters, of which saw the craft through the window. Both of these sightings sparked a curiosity within the women that caused them to look out at night in hopes of seeing one again. The sight that stimulated the report occurred on March 9, 1967 and 7:10 PM; having gone out to look at night as they always did, the pair would notice that just over the horizon, a little south of west, a bright pulsating red object hanging in the air, just over the trees. One of the housewives screamed to the other to get their attention, with both coming to describe the object as a pancake with a rim of red lights that pulsated irregularly. As the object approached closer to the ladies, they described that it seemingly exploded, with a brilliant white cone of light fanning out from the object. The light was so bright that the witnesses were forced to cover their eyes; the report reads, "That white light - I don*t know what it was, I've never seen anything like it." The ladies were visibly upset during this initial recounting the incident; [REDACTED NAME] tears in her eyes" (Report on Galesburg and Moline, Project Blue Book, pg. 11). According to the women, this white light lasted 10 seconds before it turned off; after the lights had dimmed, the red pulsating lights returned before acceleratingly rapidly off to the north, disappearing behind trees in the northwest. It should also be noted that apparently that same night, further south, radio stations in the area were reporting seeing "hanging lights" in the sky. Many other reports were made in the area as well, though I have not officially tracked these down. The Project Blue Book report actually goes a good job of hyping the credibility of these claims for me, despite some off-handed remarks, "However, they gave the impression of being quite ordinary witnesses; their many sightings are typical of other sightings of planets and stars by people who are ignorant of astronomical objects or technology in general; their interest seemed quite adequately explained by their initial experience last August, and carried no overtones of mysticism. Indeed they had never paid attention to objects in the sky before the August sighting. One would expect that witnesses like these would see many things which they could not explain if they observed the sky regularly; there is no reason to think that they are lying about having seen something, or that they are halicuinating. It was evident from their talk that while they suspected many objects of being UFO's, the sight of the object on the 9/22 of March was a real shock: they recognized immediately that they were dealing with something quite different from the "UFO's" they had been seeing previously" (Report on Galesburg and Moline, Project Blue Book, pg. 13). Much like the Galesburg Sheriff Deputy, the interviewers from the USAF were unable to determine what the object was, and thus classified it as unknown. This places another UFO within a three day time window of the Sheriff Deputy, both of which having somewhat similar details. https://preview.redd.it/ptvhgrx6x7tg1.png?width=1003&format=png&auto=webp&s=ddaad1ee13c15c2fabcde87b443b0e908a2f3afa Most fascinating about this incident is also the fact that it bares resemblance to another UFO report made within Midwest a few years prior in Michigan. Early in the Moline/Galesburg report, it reads that the USAF had files pertaining to a case in the month of may that resembled the report. That is the image of what is above, or at least the intro card. The police report extract details four sightings alone; on May 21st, an eyewitness reports hearing so-called "elephant noises" in Logan Shopping Center at 3:02 AM; later that day, at 9:55 PM, a 15 year-old witness claims to have seen a flying saucer at Prospect and Clifford that was bright with a fifteen-foot diameter; two more similar reports were made at 3:00 AM and 12:38 AM on May 23rd. A newspaper article headline from the town reads, "Whining Object in the Sky Mystifies Locals." The investigation into this report began when J. Allen Hynek had reported two individual and verifiable cases of sightings in Marion, Indiana and Lansing, Michigan, both of which drew striking resemblance to one another. What makes this case especially convincing is that it's mentioned that eyewitnesses extend across multiple surrounding towns as well, including other officers and local citizens. For those who wish to read deeper into this case, the link is tagged within this brief little description here. Cigar over Moline https://preview.redd.it/72wyyme9x7tg1.png?width=1033&format=png&auto=webp&s=0b9009a43bf2702cb1013803451a7a8f3e924694 In March of 1967, several eyewitnesses would report seeing another UFO, this time in Moline, Illinois; seen by 40 students, 2 nuns, and an unknown number of fellow police officers and neighbors, the object was described in local newspapers as an oblong and cigar shaped flying saucer. The key eyewitness to this report, of whom unfortunately passed away in 2015, was former patrol officer William Fisher. In an article by John Greenewald titled "Retired Moline officer recalls the day the UFO paid a call," Mr. Fisher describes parking his three-wheel patrol motorcycle on 16th Avenue across from Sacred Heart School, where his son William Jr. was a student. Seeing this amazing craft, Fisher whipped out his 8mm camera and began recording, though unfortunately by then the craft had gotten quite a far ways away. According to another article by the Rock Island Argus, a local resident who was 9 at the time recall seeing cigar shaped craft that was all white with almost a peppered glass window with three viewing areas. He described the coloring of the glass as the same blue you'd see on a Cardinal jersey. Interestingly, while the details are sparse in regards to this specific sighting, other sightings were made in the surrounding Henry County and Knox County, one of which was viewed by another sheriff deputy who gave their testimony at a Kiwanee Event in Geneseo. Another interesting detail made by Mr. Fisher was that it appeared as though the object may have been above the Rock Island Arsenal, a famous arsenal in the region for a whole array of fun things... well... Dred Scott wasn't fun so never mind. This is consistent with reports widely made across the U.S. that shows UFOs around military bases and arsenals, which is quite a strange thing. Double this with the Galesburg sighting that saw what can only be described as a tractor beam, what reason would UFOs have to be in our region? Furthermore, while the footage is described as inconclusive by the interviewers, they also readily admit that, just like the previous two cases, they cannot identify the object... thus making it a UFO. The fact it was witnessed by forty students, two nuns, and multiple police officers AND caught on camera shows me that there was something to the report. According to the Blue Book report and the online article, William was contacted by Northwestern University, countless ufologists, and the USAF; most interestingly from the Black Vault article is the claim that Fisher was confronted by a trio dressed in black who sought him at the police station regarding the footage. The below articles are further evidence of these events I found. https://preview.redd.it/8ro91nudx7tg1.png?width=386&format=png&auto=webp&s=1375dcc147b6d35b2ce0e44d111c2d41db90ff58 https://preview.redd.it/de3re6jex7tg1.png?width=467&format=png&auto=webp&s=d84d0fd4502b61638ba73c893d766a3e62d6fde3 submitted by /u/OfficerBlazeIt420 [link] [comments]