The Kecksburg UFO Case

On December 9, 1965, a large, brilliant fireball was seen by thousands in at least six U.S. states and Ontario, Canada. It streaked over the Detroit, Michigan/Windsor, Ontario area, reportedly dropped hot metal debris over Michigan and northern Ohio, starting some grass fires, and caused sonic booms in western Pennsylvania. It was generally assumed and reported by press to be a meteor. On that night, dozens of people in Kecksburg watched the meteor apparently slow down, make a gradual turn, and crash in the forest just outside of town. Instantly, calls poured into the local police station reporting a crash. Some thought it was a meteor. Others, however, were sure that it was some type of aircraft. As with Roswell, several of the firsthand witnesses claimed they were ordered or threatened by unnamed military officials not to speak about what they saw. And so, like Roswell, the events that occurred in Kecksburg remained hidden for years.

Policemen, firemen, and concerned citizens converged on the scene. When they arrived, they saw an incredible sight. A few people who managed to get close to the crash site said that they observed a twelve-foot-tall, acorn-shaped object. The object was metallic and had a band of hieroglyphic-type writing around its circumference. It was also reportedly glowing. As dozens of people began to surround the area, the United States military suddenly arrived. They ordered everybody away from the crash site at gunpoint, and quickly cordoned off the area. The object was then allegedly lifted up by crane onto a large flatbed truck, covered with a large tarp, and driven out of Kecksburg.

UFO Crash Site at Kecksburg

Then, in the early 1980s, a few witnesses began to come forward. Investigators then began the long search for more firsthand witnesses. It took a while, but eventually more than 50 people came forward with firsthand knowledge about the events. Jim Romanowski said he observed the crashed UFO before being forcefully removed from the scene by military officials. Truck driver, “Myron X,” told investigators that he not only saw the object, he also saw what appeared to be an alien body. Although it was covered with a sheet, he could tell it was about four to five feet tall. He could see a hand sticking out from underneath. The hand looked “lizard-like” and had only three fingers. Another witness, “Joel X,” also watched as the Army surrounded the object and actually opened a hatch. Inside he saw “two fingers and an unusually long arm.” The witness is certain it was not human. Kecksburg resident Don Sebastian heard about the crash on the radio. He drove to the site but was stopped by a roadblock. Sneaking past the roadblock, he saw rows of soldiers marching through the field, searching the area.

Many more witnesses reported similar stories. Clearly, something unusual crashed outside of Kecksburg. Kecksburg resident Bill Bulebush was also there and saw the object carted away by the military. A reporter, the director of WHJB radio in Greensburg, John Murphy, was the first reporter to have arrived on the scene. He also said that he had went down into the wood and saw the object. He took several photographs and conducted interviews with witnesses. His former wife Bonnie Milslagle later reported that all but one roll of the film were confiscated by military personnel. WHJB office manager Mabel Mazza described one of the pictures: "It was very dark and it was with a lot of trees around and everything. And I don't know how far away from the site he was. But I did see a picture of a sort of a cone-like thing. It's the only time I ever saw it."

In the following weeks, Murphy became enveloped with the incident and wrote a radio documentary called Object in the Woods, featuring his experiences and interviews he had conducted that night. Shortly before the documentary would have aired, he received an unexpected visit at the station from two men in black suits identifying themselves as government officials. They requested to speak with him in a back room behind closed doors. The meeting lasted about 30 minutes. A WHJB employee, Linda Foschia, recalled the men confiscated some of Murphy's audio tapes from that night, and that no one knows what happened to the remaining photographs.

A week after the visit, an agitated Murphy aired a censored version of the documentary, which he claimed in its introduction had to be edited due to some interviewees requesting their statements be removed from the broadcast in fear of getting in trouble with the police and Army. After the airing, Murphy became uncharacteristically despondent and completely stopped all investigation on the case and refused to talk to anyone about it again, and never gave clear reasons why. In 1969, Murphy was struck and killed by an unidentified car in an apparent hit-and-run while crossing a road. The hit-and-run occurred in California, while Murphy was on vacation.

From what eye witnesses have said, the object appeared to have been slowing down miles before the impact. During it's flight, it appeared to have made several turns and when the object did drop from the sky, it was moving very slowly towards the woods. This may account for its good condition. What ever this object was, it created a lot of stir between the civilizians and the military. Various witnesses said there were armed soldiers around their town and were preventing anyone from going near the crash site. Jerry Betters, a popular jazz musician from Pittsburg said that soldiers had actually threatened him and his friends with the soldiers rifles aimed at them. Another report came in from a now prominent businessman of the area, that when this ocurred him and his friends were just teenagers they went into to sealed off area and was stopped by military personnel and frightened, thinking that the soldier was actually going to shoot him.

The public demanded answers. The meteor theory had already fallen apart because the speed of the object was much too slow, and several witnesses saw it turn in mid-flight. The military explained their presence in Kecksburg by saying they were recovering a Russian satellite. However, research showed that the satellite had actually fallen to earth more than 13 hours earlier. The controversy continued in 2002 when the Sci-Fi Channel funded a new investigation, locating the actual crash site and bringing several more witnesses to light. In May 2003, researchers used the Freedom of Information Act to force NASA to release any documents they might have about the incident. As of 2006, the lawsuit against NASA remains unresolved. Today, research into the incident continues.

(Sources : Mysteries, Legends And Unexplained Phenomena : “UFO and Aliens” by Preston Dennet; http://www.burlingtonnews.net/kerksburgufo.html, and Wikipedia)

(Pics sources : Mysteries, Legends And Unexplained Phenomena : “UFO and Aliens” by Preston Dennet page 90;
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