Military now says planes flying in area of UFO reports (Stephenville "UFO")

Houston Chronicle ^

[mnehring]

FORT WORTH — So much for aliens in Texas dairy country.

At least that's what the military said today, reporting that 10 F-16 fighter jets were training in the Stephenville area the night dozens of residents reported seeing a UFO.

Although Air Force Reserve officials at the Joint Reserve Base Naval Air Station in Fort Worth initially said none of their planes were in the area Jan. 8, they said today that they had made a mistake and wanted to set the record straight "in the interest of public awareness."

Some residents aren't buying it, though, saying the military's revelation actually bolsters their claims because several reported seeing at least two fighter jets chasing an object.

"This supports our story that there was UFO activity in that area," said Kenneth Cherry, the Texas director of the Mutual UFO Network, which took more than 50 reports from locals at a meeting last weekend. "I find it curious that it took them two weeks to 'fess up. I think they're feeling the heat from the publicity."

From well-respected business owners to a county constable, several dozen people swear that what they saw was larger, quieter, faster and lower to the ground than an airplane. They also said the object's lights changed configuration, unlike those of a plane.

"I guarantee that what we saw was not a civilian aircraft," Steve Allen, a pilot and freight company owner, said today.

Allen said that the planes' training area in the Brownwood Military Operating Area that includes Stephenville's Erath County does not include the airspace where he saw the object. Also, Jan. 8 was not the only day sightings were reported.

Anne Frazor, who owns a fabric store in Stephenville, about 70 miles southwest of Fort Worth, said many in town have seen military aircraft zoom overhead from time to time as part of training operations. But she said that is different than what she saw Jan. 8.

"I couldn't begin to say what it was, but to me it wasn't planes," Frazor said.

Since the reported sightings two weeks ago, the 17,000-resident town has had some fun with the international publicity. Some high-schoolers made T-shirts that read "Stephenville: the new Roswell" on the front and "They're here for the milk!" on the back. A picture features flying saucer beaming up a cow.

This week Tarleton State University is even hosting a lecture by a UFO researcher on the U.S. government's secret response to UFOs, based on previously classified documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act.

The U.S. Air Force says it has not investigated UFO sightings since 1969 when it ended Project Blue Book, which examined more than 12,600 reported UFO sightings — including 700 that were never explained. That program started a few months after the 1947 crash near Roswell, N.M., which the government said it was a top-secret weather balloon but others involved later said was an alien spacecraft.

"What we want is the government to admit there are UFOs and what they know about them," Cherry said.

[Don Joe]

I think the guy was likely right about perhaps that particular craft not being ours.

I've never seen anything like his reaction. Went in a split second from Mr. Life of The Party, to total clam-up mode.

He wouldn't even say what he meant by "ours" -- he just spit out that one phrase, and refused to budge -- and was visibly VERY uncomfortable. It wasn't just my imagination -- everyone there was astounded by his reaction.

[Quix]

The Roswell farmer on who’s land the craft landed . . .

held naked in jail, IIRC . . . at least held for 3 days or so and his family was all threatened with termination, death as well . . . if he ever told the truth ever again etc.

The tales of lots of folks deaths are quite sufficient . . . especially if one is convinced that whole families can disappear off the face of the earth for one talking, saying much of anything.

Then there’s the people mutilations just like the cattle mutilations. Not pretty by any means.

And with their capacities to hear, observe, track, know what one is doing . . . can easily be quite frightening.

GOD ALONE IS OUR REFUGE.

[steve86]

Thanks for the report. I think you once told us that a UFO came and visited you in your garden. Trust you have recovered from the cardiac episode. Around 40 years ago I saw an F-104 (probably) chasing something that made a 90 degree no-radius turn in the sky, clearly visible to me. The intercepter and intercepted were too far away to definitely identify the jet, but a Starfighter would have been the overwhelming choice for that time, place, and mission.

[Quix]

Some claim that half the abductions are carried out by humans.

[Ditter]

You really need to read “The Little Green Men”, it is a riot!

[Quix]

Thanks.

I wonder . . . is it one of those fictions full of truth?

Humor to boot! Sounds good.

[Ditter]

When my husband gets home I can tell you the name of the author. He has written some other great funny books but Green Men is the best.

[Quix]

Thx. No sweat. Take your time.

but humor is good.

[Don Joe]

Nope, that wasn’t me (dunno who it was, don’t recall seeing that post). Closest I ever came to that was finding what I think *may* be a very small meteorite while digging potatoes. I need to remember to take some photos of it and contact that prof (at wash-u?) that evals them (for free, while insulting those who submit “meteorwrongs”).

Still wishing my late ex hadn’t hauled the *known* meteorite we had when she broke into my house and cleaned it out. That thing was probably 12 lbs or so, had the black crust and “thumbprints” and was verified by astronomy dep’t prof as being the real deal. Just about stepped on his tongue while fondling it and begging us to “donate” it to the university.

If only we’d known what it’d have been worth “sliced and diced”, argh. We were broke and a half, and hitting that kind of jackpot would have been unreal. Heck, it *was* unreal having it sitting there on the shelf, with no clue as to its value, while we struggled to make ends meet.

After she had a mental breakdown, walked out on me, and married a guy as equally nutty as her, she died. I have a feeling that he probably dumped it in some ditch (”Duh, whut du ah need thi’ dum ROCK fer?”)

Ah, life...

[IllumiNaughtyByNature]

Follow up article

MORE TX UFO STUFF

[Quix]

Thanks for your report.

Did you have any other subjective feelings or impressions at the time?

[Quix]

Thanks. Will check the link out.

[Quix]

Yes. That’s a very interesting and important article.

Clear harrassment by feds for his speaking out about the UFO observations he truly had.

I posted significan portions of the two articles on some thread hereon recently. I forget which one.

[geopyg]

Maybe you could write a country western song about it and get some of your money back?!

[geopyg]

Ya got me thinking. Internet said standard pricing is $1 per gram for a meteorite not counting beauty, history, etc.

1 lb = 453 grams x 12 lbs = $5220. :(

[Las Vegas Dave]

Pinging the list...

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1958871/posts?page=110#110

[mtbopfuyn]

Sounds very much like the stories from Roswell that people were told to keep quiet about what they saw or else. Everyone who is getting harrassed by men in black should go straight to the press rather than hide away with the rest of the sheeple. This is verrry interesting.

[dubyagee]

Now that’s funny...

[texas_mrs]

Have you read about Mr. Sorrells of Dublin, TX now claiming harrasment by the military? He was one of the first to come forward:

http://www.empiretribune.com/articles/2008/02/03/news/news02.txt

UFO witness claims harassment

By ANGELIA JOINER Staff Writer

Sunday, February 3, 2008 3:11 PM CST

Ricky Sorrells is frustrated and a little angry.
Since his interview with the Associated Press, Sorrells has stayed quiet regarding the daytime UFO sightings on his property near Dublin.
And, there is more than one reason for his silence.
Sorrells believes military officials have been harassing him by flying military aircraft over his property at low altitudes, at all hours of the day and night. Sorrells runs livestock on his place and said the cattle don’t react well to the disturbances. It’s also been hard to get any sleep.
Sorrells made international news along with other witnesses on Jan. 14 after the Associated Press contacted him for his story and took video of the exact spot the UFO was seen along with Sorrells’ description of the object.
Not just once, but four times, he claims to have seen the massive flying object he estimates to be the length of “three or four football fields.” He said he’s not sure about the size because the first time he saw it was the best view. At that time, the craft hovered directly over him in the woods about 300 feet above his head and his view was blocked by tree branches.
“I don’t know why it keeps coming back here,” Sorrells said.
He’s convinced that someone representing himself as a Lt. Colonel knows what it is — and Sorrells wants an explanation.
He said the man contacted him by telephone on Jan. 15, one day after his interview with the Associated Press.
“I didn’t worry about writing his name down or taking notes,” Sorrells said. “I didn’t know what was about to happen. But, I think he said he was with the Air Force.”
Sorrells said the conversation started out nice enough.
“He was sort of nice to me right off,” Sorrells said. “He asked to come and talk to me.”
Sorrells said he told the man that he needed time to think about it and then, “He (the man) became really arrogant.”
The caller told Sorrells he wasn’t taking “no” for an answer and would be out to talk to him. Sorrells again tried to politely tell the man he did not wish to have company.
After that, Sorrells said the conversation became heated and he told the man not to cross his cattle guard.
Sorrells said the man responded with, “ Son, we have the same caliber weapons as you do but a lot more of them.”
Looking back, Sorrells said he believes the man was in his area but not able to pinpoint exactly where he lived because he recently built a new home.
“I actually got up and looked out my window to see if I could see someone at the cattle guard. So I said if he was who he said he was, why didn’t he stop flying over my air space with all those helicopters,” Sorrells said. “And he informed me that it was not my air space — it was his. He told me if I’d quit talking about what I saw he would stop the helicopters.”
Sorrells said since that conversation, the helicopters have quit flying over his property but the F-16s haven’t slowed.
Before the conversation took place with the suspected military officer Sorrells related a late night experience with a large transport helicopter and three smaller helicopters.
“I get up at 2:30 a.m. to go to work and these helicopters kept flying over and I couldn’t sleep,” Sorrells said. “Because it was about time to get up and go to work, I just got up and went outside to see what I could.”
Sorrells said he has a spotlight on his pickup that he uses to look for coyotes.
“I went to my truck and turned on the spotlight and shined it up at them,” Sorrells said. “It was so close, I could see the pilot’s reaction. He threw up his arm to block the light. He was in one of the smaller helicopters.
“Then he turned toward me and I still have the light on. I started to feel uncomfortable so I turned off the light and waved and went back inside. I was thinking I had pushed the envelope.”
To top that off, Sorrells said an acquaintance, whom he would not name, and formerly a member of the military, told him, “You need to shut your mouth about what you saw.”
Sorrells said he tried to pull the man aside and asked him to explain his statement.
“He just kept saying the same thing and wouldn’t explain,” Sorrells said. “ Now he won’t speak to me.”
Sorrells said because the helicopters disappeared, he now feels the gentlemen was actually a member of the military, and was high enough in rank that he was able to stop that type of air traffic.
“If it is a military craft the American people need to know,” Sorrells said. “A lot of people have seen things around here. I know what I saw and so do they.”

[texas_mrs]

Sorry, Naughty. I posted the same link after you did.

I live in the area, so have followed fairly closely. What are your opinions of any of the videos?