UFOs - Leslie Kean [97]
My drawing of the symbols, based on my logbook entry and my recollection of their placement. Their texture was rough, like sandpaper. Collection of James Penniston
Two original logbook entries made while I observed the craft. Top: On one page I sketched the symbols. Bottom: When I watched the object take off, the speed was so shockingly fast that I wrote “Took off … unknown … Speed Impossible.” Collection of James Penniston
After returning to CSC headquarters, we were debriefed and then advised to return to the landing site in daylight to look for physical evidence. After turning in our weapons and signing off, Burroughs and I went back and discovered broken branches scattered at the landing site. It appeared they had been forced down to the ground when the craft landed. There were scorch marks on the trees facing the site. But most importantly, we discovered three indentations in the ground, marks left by the UFO landing gear in the three corners of a triangle. I was relieved to find proof that this had really happened. I took photos of the landing site and, along with the ones I had taken of the UFO, took the film to the base laboratory. After taking Burroughs home, I went back to the site alone and made plaster casts of the three indentations left on the ground by the object.
The information acquired during the investigation was reported through military channels, and my team and other witnesses were told to treat the investigation as Top Secret. No further discussion was allowed. We were debriefed by First Lieutenant Fred Buran, on-duty shift commander at CSC; Master Sergeant J. D. Chandler, flight chief; and day shift commander Captain Mike Verano. In the days following, additional interviews were conducted by Colonel Charles Halt and then the Air Force Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI). This was a very hard time for me, as I was in shock by what I had witnessed.
I went back to the base photo lab, since I was the one who filled out the work order for the development of the two rolls of 35 mm film taken of the craft and landing site. I was told that the photos were apparently overexposed or fogged, and that none of them had come out. However, Senior Master Sergeant Ray Gulyas took six photographs of the site forty-eight hours after the event, which he developed off base and which survived; two of them show a British police officer and Captain Verano examining the site, and the three indentations are clearly marked with upright sticks.
I am still not sure about everything that may have happened during that night back in 1980. This event and its implications still weigh heavily on me. When all pieces of the puzzle are finally put together, then, hopefully, we can put the whole thing to rest. Until then, I will keep trying to find answers to the many questions that remain.
II. Colonel Charles I. Halt
In 1980, I was the deputy base commander of RAF Bentwaters, the large twin-base complex in East Anglia, England. As such, my duty was to provide support and backup for the base commander and to act as commander in his absence.
In late December 1980, I was called upon to investigate a strange event that was distracting our security police from their primary duties. Just after midnight, very early on December 26, 1980, our police patrolmen discovered strange lights in the forest east of the back gate of RAF Woodbridge. Three patrolmen—Staff Sergeant James Penniston, Airman First Class John Burroughs, and Airman First Class Edward Cabansag—were dispatched into the forest to investigate. They reported discovering a strange triangular craft sitting on three legs. The craft was about ten feet on each side, with multiple lights. It rapidly maneuvered and quickly left the area.
I was not immediately aware of the details, only being told of strange lights, and assumed there was a reasonable explanation.