Jimmy Carter, former President of the USA, nominated 5 (?) times for the Nobel Peace Prize. In October of '69 Jimmy Carter witnessed a UFO.Thirty years ago, Jimmy Carter risked being labeled a crackpot when he said he saw a UFO. Now, other prominent Americans join him.
It was just another fun night at the Lion's Club for Jimmy Carter when suddenly from the sky a UFO "as bright as the moon" flashed before his eyes.
A red and green glowing orb radiated as it hurtled across the southwestern Georgia skies that January 1969 evening. Ten minutes later, it vanished. That was Jimmy Carter's story and he's sticking to it. Carter, then Georgia's governor, became the first major politician to risk achieving "crackpot" status by claiming he had seen a UFO.
"I don't laugh at people any more when they say they've seen UFOs, Carter said at a Southern Governors Conference a few years later. "I've seen one myself."
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From "Above Top Secret" (book): During his election campaign of 1976 he told the following to reporters:
"It was the darndest thing I've ever seen. It was big, it was very bright, it changed colors and it was about the size of the moon.. We watched it for ten minutes, but none of us could figure out what it was. One thing's for sure, I'll never make fun of people who say they've seen unidentified objects in the sky. If I become President, I'll make every piece of information this country has about UFO sightings available to the public and the scientists."
Following is the form Jimmy Carter filed with NICAP on Sep. 18, 1973. Only the questions that were responded to are listed. Carter's responses are in quotation marks.
1. Name: "Jimmy Carter"
Address: "State Capitol Atlanta"
Occupation: "Governor"
2. Date of Observation: "October 1969"
3. Location of Observation: "Leary, Georgia"
4. How long did you see the object?: "10-12 minutes."
5. Please describe weather conditions and the type of sky; i.e., bright daylight, nighttime, dusk, etc: "Shortly after dark."
6. Position of the Sun or Moon in relation to the object and to you: "Not in sight."
7. If seen at night, twilight, or dawn, were the stars or moon visible?: "Stars."
8. Were there more than one object?: "No."
10. Was the object(s) brighter than the background of the sky?: "Yes."
11. If so, compare the brightness with the Sun, Moon, headlights, etc: "At one time, as bright as the moon."
12. Did the object(s)-:
13. Did object(s) at any time pass in front of, or behind of anything? If so, Please elaborate giving distance, size, etc, if possible: "No."
14. Was there any wind?: "No."
15. Did you observe the object(s) through an optical instrument or other aid, windshield, window pane, storm window, screening, etc.? What?: "No."
17. Please tell if the object(s) was (were)- c. Sharply outlined: "Yes."
18. Was the object- b. Self-luminous?: "Yes."
19. Did the object)s_ rise or fall while in motion?: "Came close, moved away, came close and then moved away."
20. Or, if easier, give apparent size in inches on a ruler held at arm's length: "About the same as moon, maybe a little smaller. Varied from brighter/larger than planet to apparent size of moon."
21. How did you happen to notice the object(s)?: "10-12 men all watched it. Brightness attracted us."
22. Where were you and what were you doing at the time?: "Outdoors waiting for a meeting to begin at 7:30 pm."
23. How did the object(s) disappear from view?: "Moved to distance then disappeared."
26. Please estimate the distance of the object(s): "Difficult. Maybe 300-1000 yards."
27. What was the elevation of the object(s) in the sky?: "About 30 degrees above horizon."
28. Names and addresses of other witnesses, if any: "Ten members of Leary Georgia Lions Club."
31. Please draw a map of the locality of the observation showing North; your position; the direction from which the object(s) appeared and disappeared from view; the direction of its course over the area; roads, towns, villages, railroads, and other landmarks within a mile: "Appeared from west about 30 degrees up."
32. Is there an airport, military, governmental, or research installation in the area?: "No."
In a released audio tape of a 1976 interview by the National Enquirer's (a US tabloid) reporter Jim McCandlish, Carter answered:
Q: Governor, you once saw a UFO. If you were President would you reopen inquiries into UFOs?
Carter: Well, no. What I would do is make information we have about those sightings available to the public (three words unclear). I have never tried to identify what I saw. You know, it was a light in the western sky that was very unique. I had never seen it before. There were about 20 of us who saw it. None of us could figure out what it was. I don't think it was anything solid. It was just like a light. It was a curious aberration, so I don't make fun of people who say they've see unidentified objects in the sky.
Q: The United States used to have a body that investigated UFOs, but that's been discontinued. Would you reopen it?
Carter: I don't know yet.
As Presidential candidate in Appleton, Wisconsin on the morning of March 31, 1976, was asked by Thomas Heiman, Associate Director of the UFO Education Center in Appleton Wisconsin whether he would as President, "air what's behind closed doors today in regards to UFOs?"
Carter replied, "Yes, I would make these kinds of data available to the public, as President, to help resolve the mystery about it."
"On a public basis?" asked Heiman. "Yes," replied Carter, "on a public basis."
Although when elected, his office was innundated with mail asking him to keep this promise, he never made anything to organize an active UFO public investigation effort. However, during the Carter administration literally thousands of UFO documents were released through FOIA requests by various government entities such as the FBI, NSA, NASA, State, Air Force, Navy, and Army.
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