NUFORC Sighting 04493

Occurred: 1968-04-08 18:45 Local
Reported: 1998-10-04 00:00 Pacific
Duration: @ 20 minutes
No of observers: 5

Location: Walla Walla, WA, USA

Shape: Triangle
Characteristics: Lights on object

The object moved up, down, hovered, then left with extreme speed on a huge trajectory up into space. We followed it on a surveyor's transit, as did the other family about a mile away, whom dad had me call, as the man was also a surveyor.

This is a direct quote from a diary I kept at the time, which I just got back from mom a year ago after dad died. "April 8, 1968, Monday. {....I am skipping the first four paragraphs.....} After dinner I did the dishes and after that I went outside for a cigarette. At about five to seven I looked up at the sky and saw a strange sight. A huge, lighted object, quite noiseless, was hovering and swaying over the city to the SoutEast. I watched it go slowly across the sky, stopping here, going up there, and it moved very slowly. I was intrigued, thinking at first that it was helicopter, but then I became aware that there was no nise. I watched it and I went to the front of the house to have the folks come out. I had that silly egoistical feeling that the thing was there just for me to see and that it was watching me and reacting to me. Anyway, before I got too far, it had one large lighted sphere on the bottom and one small one on the top, aparently connected by some metal structure I could only get glimpses of (here I have an arrow pointing to a drawing I made of the object). It was the shape that intrigued me at first. As soon as the folks came out, it egan to pick up speed and travel up, and then after about five minutes, like a trajectory it went into "orbit" and disappeared. But, mind you, the thing was very close to ttown and earth at first and later went up, up, 'till it vanished. Here I want to inject the story Steve, my 12 year old brother, wrote about it. It's not quite right, but it inspired him to write and that pleases me very much. I copy even his spelling. 'Steven Smith and family April 8, 6:45-7:20 spotted a UFO At aprovamatly 6:45 Mr. Ken Smith (my brother) saw an oblong [here I edited with: not so, but he must not know it - K.L.S.] shaped object hovering over southern Walla Walla. It was a lumonus object oblong with a smaller light, a foot above it, at first he thought it was a helicopter. But as though someone in it saw him looking at it put on 'full speed'. It was th! en he notified us, [myu mother, father and me] it was now southwest and moving rapidly. My father then got his trancit and sighted it. It was now west and going up! It was passed the clouds and shining brightly. They were very thick. After changing poisition it looked like a 'cone'. The light on top sent rays and shaped a cone. But we soon lost it. Now turning from the transit it was found, but going higher, soonit dissappeared but to reapere and then leave for good. I hope . Later my broter phoned the FAA and they said no sattilite was scheduled now. Well, we know its UFO, funny. it was noiseless, I was expecting at least a beep." Written by Steven Smith. I hope he'll be inspired to do more writing. That is right - Dad and I called several government agencies, but they laughed us off." end of quote from my diary. I am writing to you with this sighting as it has haunted me for the past thirty years, I think of it often and before I die, I'd like it recorded somewhere besides my spiral college notebook that I used as a diary.

Posted 1998-11-01