As the Cold war commenced and our nation stock piled nuclear weapons, there were strange encounters happening at Fort Hood. In 1949, over 100 service men witnessed strange sightings of unidentified flying objects (UFO’S), at Fort Hood, a U.S. military base in Killen, Texas (“Fort Hood Sightings” 1). There are several conspiracy theories that have developed about these sightings.
2. The objects being seen and described as green fireballs were Lunar Meteors.
3. Various government and political officials covered up documented UFO sightings.
Let’s examine the evidence in this case and its theories and uncover the truth that these service men did in fact see and experience strange encounters not of this world.
After reports of mysterious objects in the sky, Josef Allen Hynek, a renowned astronomer, is the perfect candidate, recruited to work for the U.S. Air Force as their personal astronomical consultant (“Daugherty” 1). Hynek, was a respected expert in the field of astronomy with a PHD in astrophysics from Yerkes Observatory. He had previously been employed by the government developing defense technologies like the first radio-controlled fuse and had a high security clearance (“Daugherty” 1). Despite his intelligence and professional background Hynek, was pragmatic. Daugherty conveys Hynek’s candid manner by quoting Hynek as stating:
One day I had a visit from several men from the technical center at Wright-Patterson Air Force base, which was only 60 miles away in Dayton,” Hynek later wrote. “With some obvious embarrassment, the men eventually brought up the subject of ‘flying saucers’ and asked me if I would care to serve as consultant to the Air Force on the matter… The job didn't seem as though it would take too much time, so I agreed. (“Daugherty” 1)
Hynek, continued his work as a professor at Ohio State University while he worked for the Air Force. His first investigative assignment was Project Sign which turned into Project Grudge and ultimately Project Blue Book (“Stacy” 1). He was a skeptic who became an outspoken believer that there were some things that could not be explained by science; therefore, they were not of this world. This made him controversial. Hynek, went from debunking unidentified flying objects to publicly confirming them (1). In Hynek’s interview by Stacy, he says “I stretched far to give something a natural explanation, sometimes when it may not have really had it” (1). Hynek adds “I was so anxious to find a natural explanation because I was convinced that it had to have one that, naturally, I did in fact, it wasn't until quite some time had passed that I began to change my mind” (1). Hynek was impertinent in his investigations. The negative attitude of the Air Force officials toward needing an explanation for every single case disturbed Hynek (1). He often felt that the cases presented to him needed more investigation. He was distressed with the lack of information given to him on most cases (1). Mostly, he was astonished by the quality of the witnesses. Trained Air Force Pilots were the primary witnesses, whom had either seen or engaged with the UFOs (1). Hynek, marveled at their community strong hold and lack of motive to orchestrate a hoax (“Hynek” 1). The Air Force Honor Code states the following: We will not lie, steal, or cheat, nor tolerate among us anyone who does (“Honor Code” 1). Integrity was embedded in these service men. He found them to be honest and credible. He was persistent in his investigative research. Over the course of twenty-two years Hynek, investigated hundreds of cases and preformed numerous experiments to find the truth behind the unexplained phenomenon of UFOs (1).
In the Project Blue Book Investigations of the Fort Hood service men and what they experienced, there are three conspiracy theories featured. The first theory suggests that the service men at Fort Hood were only seeing flares in the sky. The second theory suggests the objects being seen and described as green fireballs, were Lunar Meteors. The last theory states that the U.S. government colluded in a coverup to explain away what the service men at Fort Hood experienced.
The first conspiracy theory proposes that the service men whom reported or experienced UFO encounters had only seen flares. On March 6-8, 1949, the service men at Fort Hood saw a series of unexplained aerial sightings (“Attack on Camp Hood” 1). Some reported to have seen a blue-white, oblong object and an orange-colored, teardrop-shaped object (1). One soldier said he saw a whitish light, and another GI described a lemon-shaped, yellowish-red light (1). To prove that what these men saw on March 17, 1949, were flares an Army G-2 officer readied an experiment (1). The officer’s intension was to set off a series of flares to support his hypothesis. He stationed artillery observers at key points to report by radio what the flares looked like from various distances and angles (1). But before the experiment began, the observers reported a series of white, red, and green lights that appeared to be flying in straight lines (1). The captain reported, “flares had not yet been shot” (1). He then reported the incident, which included seven separate sightings, and continued with more witness interviews (1). The captain’s failed experiment proves this theory to be unsubstantial.
The second conspiracy theory suggests that the objects being seen and described as green fireballs were Lunar Meteors. In the spring of 1949, sightings of green fireballs in the sky were reported at Fort Hood (Clark 74). The green fire balls were described as more brilliant and bigger than a shooting star (73). The green fireballs flew parallel to the earth in a slow-moving manner with no sound (73). Lunar Meteors are fragments from the moon broken off by an asteroid or comet (“Lunar Meteorites” 1). The Lunar Meteor or rock then breaks through our atmosphere and falls onto the earth (1). In contrast, Lunar Meteors are fast moving objects much like comets and do not travel horizontally. Other Lunar Meteorite characteristics include a tail and meteorite fragments (74). La Paz confirms, “None of the green fireballs has a train of spark or a dust cloud...This contrast sharply with the behavior noted in cases of meteoritic fireballs” (74). There were no meteorite fragments found during the investigation. This theory cannot be proven.
The last conspiracy theory looks at the fact that various government and political officials covered up documented UFO sightings. Thousands of formal investigations were performed by the U.S. Airforce and its subcontracted committees such as Project Blue Book. Those investigating the sightings were not always genuine with their findings. Most investigators were afraid that if they did not do what the government ordered them to do that, they would lose their jobs. “The powers-that-be our anti-flying saucer and to stay in favor, it behooves one to follow suit,” Capt. E.J. Ruppelt (Hynek 33). Some case reports were immediately evaluated and closed without investigation (43). Other documented reports were evaluated and dismissed due to an “unreliable source” (43). However, there was no explanation of who the source was or why they were unreliable. Hynek reveals, “the findings were not publicly published” (11). Under the Freedom of Information Act, the Project Blue Book files were made available to the public (7). Project Blue Book itself was officially unclassified (7). This status should have made it easy for any individual to request and be able to examine the files (7). However, many of the reports were labeled confidential or secret (7). Citizens who tried to view the Blue Book files were given a polite runaround or outright refusal (7). In truth, the Blue Book files were not open to the public (7). A survey of twenty-five people from College of the Mainland, revealed that 84% agree that this theory best uncovers the truth about the events at Fort hood.
Currently, the phenomena of UFO’s around the world go unaddressed by our governments. Although there have been thousands of sightings and close encounters, we do not yet have a definitive or authoritative “yes” to the questions many already believe to have the answer to: Is there life beyond earth and are we being visited by extraterrestrials? On June 18, 2018, president Donald Trump signed a directive asking the Pentagon to establish a sixth military branch Space Force, to go along with the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard (“Trump signs directive”1). Giving rise to the question: What is there in outer space that we need military protection from?
Over 100 service men witnessed strange sightings of unidentified flying objects (UFO’S), at Fort Hood, a U.S. military base in Killen, Texas (“Fort Hood Sightings” 1). The investigations of these sightings lead to several conspiracy theories.
1. The service men whom reported or experienced UFO encounters had merely been seeing flares.
2. The objects being seen and described as green fireballs were Lunar Meteors.
3. Various government and political officials covered up documented UFO sightings.
After examination of evidence in this case and its theories the truth is that these service men did in fact see and experience strange encounters not of this world. Long after Project Blue Book was officially closed, Josef Allen Hynek continued to devote his life to proving that the sightings and encounters investigated were real.
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Works Cited
"Attack on Camp Hood." All About Texas Cities, Towns, Counties, History, Legends, Syndicated Columns, Trips, Photos, Vintage Maps, www.texasescapes.com/MikeCoxTexasTales/Bell-County-Postwar-Secrets-Part2-Attack-on-Camp-Hood.htm.
Clark, Jerome. Unexplained!: Strange Sightings, Incredible Occurrences, and Puzzling Physical Phenomena. Visible Ink P, 2012.
Daugherty, Greg. "Meet J. Allen Hynek, the Astronomer Who First Classified UFO 'Close Encounters'." HISTORY, 19 Nov. 2018, www.history.com/news/j-allen-hynek-ufos-project-blue-book.
"Fort Hood Sightings, 1949." RoswellBooks.com | Can You Handle the Truth? roswellbooks.com/museum/?page_id=594.
"Honor Code." Air Force Academy, www.academyadmissions.com/the-experience/character/honor-code/.
Hynek, J. A. The Hynek UFO Report. 1998.
"Lunar Meteorites." Meteorite Information, meteorites.wustl.edu/lunar/moon_meteorites.htm.
Stacy, Dennis. "Close encounter with DR. J. Allen Hynek - An Interview With The Dean, 1985." The Computer UFO Network, www.cufon.org/cufon/hynekint.htm#top.
"Trump Signs Directive to Create a Military Space Force." Space.com, 21 Feb. 2019, www.space.com/president-trump-space-force-directive.html.
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