Regular readers of The Courant will know that each month I give readers an update on UFO reports in Alabama from the previous month, courtesy of the Mutual UFO Network. I’ve been writing these updates for several years, and this past August was the first time that an entire month passed without any UFO reports in the state. A search for UFO reports in Alabama between Aug. 1 and Aug. 30 on MUFON’s Web site, www.mufon.com, resulted in no reports from within our state during that time.
While the month of August was quiet across Alabama when it comes to UFO news, this past week was remarkable for a couple of UFO-related anniversaries. Last Thursday was the 51st anniversary of the famous Hill Abduction Incident and Wednesday of last week was the 40th anniversary of a UFO report filed by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter.
The Hill Abduction Incident, which is sometimes called the Zeta Reticuli Incident, occurred on the night of Sept. 19-20, 1961. On that night, Betty and Barney Hill of Portsmouth, New Hampshire experienced a close encounter with a UFO and “lost” two hours of time while driving south on Route 3 near Lincoln, N.H. They went on to file an official Air Force Project Blue Book report of a brightly-lit cigar-shaped craft the next day.
The Hills, who are both now deceased, did not go public with their story until it was reported in the Boston Traveler in 1965. Their story would become the first widely-reported UFO abduction report in the U.S. It was also the subject of a best-selling book, 1966’s “The Interrupted Journey: Two Lost Hours Aboard a Flying Saucer” by John G. Fuller.
On Sept. 18, 1973, Jimmy Carter, who was then serving as Georgia’s governor, filed a formal report with the National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena (NICAP), saying that he’d seen a UFO almost four years before. According to his report, in October 1969, while Carter was running for governor, he and about a dozen other people were standing outside of a Lion’s Club meeting in Leary, Ga. Between 7:15 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., they saw what Carter described as “the darndest thing I’ve ever seen” in the sky.
Carter, an amateur astronomer and a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, said the object was about 30 degrees above the horizon, west of where he was standing. The object was bright white and about as bright as the moon, he said. While watching the object, it appeared to change colors, going from white to blue to red and then back to white. Eventually, it disappeared into the distance.
The object appeared to come closer to the group before stopping just beyond a stand of pines. Carter would say later that he felt that the object wasn’t solid in nature. It was visible for about 10 minutes before it disappeared.
After the experience, Carter told a reporter that he’d vowed to himself never to ridicule anyone who claimed to have seen a UFO. Later, during his 1976 presidential campaign, he was very up front about his belief that he’d seen a UFO. He also promised that, if elected, he would encourage the government to release “every piece of information” about UFOs to the public and scientists.
Once elected though, Carter backed away from his promise, saying that the information’s release might have “defense implications” and pose a threat to national security. Carter would serve as U.S. President from 1977 to 1981.
Before closing out this week, I just want to put it out there again that I would be very interested to hear from any readers of The Courant who have witnessed a UFO in Conecuh County. I think a lot of other people would be interested in hearing your story too, and I’m willing to accept your report anonymously. You can contact me by e-mail at courantsports@earthlink.net or by phone at 578-1492.
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