Camp Hood, TexasApril 1949

On the night of April 28, 1949, soldiers stationed at Camp Hood, Texas spotted unusual lights in the sky. The sightings began around 8:30 p.m. and continued for several hours, with multiple observers at different guard posts reporting similar objects. What they saw would become one of Project Blue Book's most documented cases, with twelve separate incident reports filed.

The objects themselves were described remarkably consistently across all the witnesses. Soldiers saw lights that resembled baseballs or softballs, appearing white at first, then turning red, and sometimes shifting to green before fading from view. The objects typically moved slowly and stayed within sight for just a few minutes at a time, though some witnesses reported seeing the same object reappear multiple times. One observer noted the light changed colors "like a kerosene lantern." The objects traveled in generally southeasterly directions and seemed to move in low arcs across the sky. Most appeared only slightly above the treetops, though altitudes were difficult to judge precisely.

The soldiers who reported the sightings were described in the investigator's notes as reliable observers, many of them in good standing with the Army. They were questioned separately by Captain Samuel T. Cooper, who found their accounts credible. Several observers used binoculars to get a better look. Despite the number of sightings and witnesses, no photographs were obtained and no physical evidence was recovered.

Weather conditions at Camp Hood during the incidents were clear to partly cloudy. No radar confirmations of the objects were recorded, and no conventional aircraft were reported flying in the area at the time. The investigator noted that weather station reports, wind aloft data, and other meteorological information were not available for analysis.

The Air Force's official evaluation of the Camp Hood incidents was "unidentified." The file contains all 61 pages as held by the National Archives.