Mack Maloney's 'UFOs in Wartime' describes two unusual Alabama incidents

Regular visitors to this space will know that I have a healthy interest in Alabama UFO reports, and I recently finished reading an intriguing new book that contains information about two unusual UFO incidents in the state. The book’s called “UFOs in Wartime: What They Didn’t Want You to Know” by Mack Maloney.

Published by Berkley Books in December, this 304-page book talks about how UFO incidents are most often documented during times of military conflict. The book discusses reports from as far back as Roman times up through the American Revolution, World War I, World War II, Vietnam and even during our most recent conflicts in the Middle East.

Before I go any further, I want to make it clear that I am about the most skeptical person you’ll ever meet when it comes to UFOs, but Maloney’s book with definitely make you stop and think. When you consider that many of these incidents have been witnessed by soldiers and airmen of all ranks as well as by respected members of the media, you’ll come to consider that maybe there’s more to the story in the world of UFOs.

I was especially interested in two Alabama incidents that Maloney mentioned in his book. The first incident occurred on June 28, 1947 and involved four Army officers at Maxwell airfield in Montgomery. These officers claimed that they saw “an unusual circular object perform inconceivable midair maneuvers for more than 20 minutes.”

That same day, an Army F-51 Mustang pilot near Lake Meade, Nevada claimed to have seen five circular objects pass him off his right wing. In Wisconsin on that same day, two farmers said that they saw 10 “saucer-shaped objects” fly over at high speed.

According to Maloney’s book, just over a year later, on the night of July 24, 1948 Capt. Clarence Chiles and copilot John Whitted were flying an Eastern Airlines DC-3 from Houston to Atlanta. Over Montgomery, Ala. they saw a “dull red glowing object” appear out of nowhere. The object was headed right for the plane, but before the pilots could react, the object zipped by their starboard side, nearly colliding with the plane. The object then climbed quickly and disappeared from sight.

Chiles and Whitted said that the object was about the size of a B-29 bomber and noted that it didn’t have wings or a tail. When it passed the plane, the pilots saw that a row of windows ran down the side of the object.

Adding credibility to their story, witnesses at Robbins Air Force Base near Macon, Ga. also claimed that they saw an unusual object that matched the description of the object seen by Chiles and Whitted. Investigators later determined that there weren’t any other planes in the area when the sighting took place.

In the end, I really enjoyed reading “UFOs in Wartime” and recommend it to anyone with an interest in UFO reports and eyewitness accounts from men and women in uniform. How many of you have had the chance to read this book? What did you think about it? Let us know in the comments section below.