The article below was published in the daily newspaper L'Union, of Reims, France, page 3, on October 2, 1954.
|
Is there nowadays any subject that stimulates the imagination more than saucers, cigars, and other celestial apparitions which, every day, in all countries, pose a gigantic question mark? The entire press is filled with troubling reports, often accompanied by hypotheses of varying credibility.
Yet, logically, the subject of "flying saucers" demands conciseness and rigorous honesty in observations. It is through the precision and absolute authenticity of the accounts of those who have had the privilege of seeing the unknown objects that one may hope to one day learn what they really are.
Here we present, refraining from the slightest comment, three interviews, including that of the mayor of Saint-Dizier.
Indeed, on Wednesday evening, September 29, something passed through the sky of our region and, to our knowledge, three people saw this thing. Let us specify that Messrs. Laurent, Leclerc and Daunay did not consult one another and that they recorded their observations at the same time, dozens of kilometers apart. If we only learned of their accounts two days after the phenomenon, it is because these three people did not think it necessary to report their vision. One easily understands their fear of being accused of imagination or autosuggestion.
Only the comparison of the testimonies could firmly establish the fact. In this regard, in the interest of providing ample information on the subject of flying objects, we invite the public to communicate to us any observations they may have made, which can always be of great importance, sometimes even without the observers realizing it.
Mr. Laurent, mayor of Saint-Dizier, had left City Hall on Wednesday at about 8 p.m., give or take a few minutes. He carried two files under his arm and, alone, he walked along Rue de la Victoire toward Rue des Alliés and Rue Gambetta to return home. Let us let him speak:
- The sky was starry. I was walking down the middle of the street, whistling. Suddenly, my whistle literally stopped. On the portion of sky visible between the buildings of the street (itself oriented southwest"“northwest), I suddenly saw a bright light moving at great speed.
I clearly distinguished an elongated shape that I can compare to the cigar everyone talks about. This shape was yellow-green in color and was followed by a luminous trail longer than itself. At first, I thought it was the appearance of a large shooting star. But a meteor always describes a descending curve, whereas this cigar was climbing toward the top of the celestial vault, where it disappeared while diminishing as if it were going out.
The luminous object was moving at very high speed, at an altitude that I estimate at several thousand meters at the start, in an approximate southeast"“northwest direction. Given the ascending movement and the distance, I cannot affirm the exact accuracy of this direction. The appearance lasted barely a few seconds, but it was very clear and I have no doubt about its unusual character.
Mr. Gilbert Daunay, aged 31, an employee of the S.N.C.F. in Saint-Dizier, lives in Ancerville (6 km east of Saint-Dizier), where he was on Wednesday evening. He was standing with his father-in-law, Mr. Deschamps, on the threshold of his home, which is located along National Road No. 4, on the right-hand side in the direction Saint-Dizier"“Nancy. Let us allow him to describe what he saw.
- It was about 7:45 p.m. on Wednesday evening. Suddenly, a glow appeared in the sky to the east. Something whose shape I cannot specify, about the size of the moon, violet in color and followed by a red trail, was moving much faster than an airplane in the direction Chamouilley"“Bettancourt (southeast"“northwest). The weather was clear. I could clearly see the red lamp lit at the top of the derrick of the Z of La Houpette. I saw the thing almost directly above that red lamp at the altitude where airplanes normally fly. But I cannot say whether the thing flew over the derrick or passed much farther away.
My father-in-law, who is 58 years old, saw nothing because, in my surprise, I called him just as the thing was disappearing. It lasted only a few seconds. The apparition was then hidden from me by the houses facing mine.
Mr. Pierre Leclerc, 41 years old, is also an employee of the S.N.C.F. in Saint-Dizier. He lives in Voillecomte (7 km west of Wassy). He was walking alone through the center of this village when, also on Wednesday around 8 p.m., he saw something in the sky.
- I saw a kind of craft pass by, something like a big cigar, which was speeding along at tremendous velocity, much higher than the altitude of airplanes. The cigar was white, very luminous. It was followed by a trail three times as long as itself, with changing colors like a rainbow. It moved horizontally, very far away, in the direction Wassy"“Frampas (southeast"“northwest). I followed it with my eyes for about 5 seconds, which was enough time for it to travel from one end of the horizon to the other. Trees then caused me to lose sight of it.
We merely add that we questioned our interlocutors so as to obtain from them the complete truth. We have transcribed their answers in sequence, without including the questions, which are the same ones any of our readers might have asked them.
