This article was published in the daily newspaper Oklahoma Journal, USA, on August 3, 1965.
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By JIM KROUSE
Tonight from the Oklahoma Journal Publishing Company
A trained Air Force weather observer using high powered binoculars and a 40-power spotting scope, saw over Norman Sunday night an object he described as a "flying saucer."
Despite an official statement by the Secretary of the Air Force Office of Information, the veteran weather officer backed up his contention with a thorough physical description of the UFO - the only one received from hundreds of Oklahomans who made similar sightings from Shawnee to the greater Oklahoma city area.
The observer, who preferred to remain anonymous due to Air Force's position, said he spotted the UFO about 9:33 p.m. Sunday, approaching from the northeast and "arcing" in a direct line to the southwest. He alerted a neighbor (another Tinker Air Force Base employee), who provided the field glasses and telescope.
The thing was moving quite rapidly. We observed it a little less than five minutes before it went out of sight. It was about 22,000 feet up, plitched at about a 45-degree angle.
"It was shaped like a flying saucer, and through the 10-power binocular took on the appearance of being quite large. There were two sets of revolving, pulsating lights on its perimeter. They were surrounded by a bluish halo, but were bright enough so the saucer shape was easy to distinguish," he said.
To guard against the possibility of letting their imaginations run away, they set up the 40-power telescope and "took a fix" on several planets and stars.
"The planets and stars when magnified would change color an appear to be bouncing a little. But they certainly were not moving - not like that thing. As a matter of fact, the saucer passed several stars we had taken a fixed reading on.
"There also was a jet aircraft in the area flying about the same altitude - either a KC135 or Boeing 707 [*]. It was emitting a flickering white light. There was no comparison between it and the UFO.
"The saucer was illuminated by its red lights, much like a floodlight on the Washington
See OBSERVER page 2
[Drawing caption:]
Shown above is refined drawing of "flying saucer" made from rough sketch drawn Sunday night by trained observer at Norman. The observer, an air force weather expert, said he saw the object through a 40-power spotting scope over Norman. (Copyright 1965 by the Oklahoma Journal Publishing Co.)
[*]: The Boeing 707 is the civilian version dreived from the military KC135; this is why the observer indicates that it might have been one or the other since in the distance it is not really possible to distinguish the one from the other.
