Camp Hood, TexasJune 1949

On June 13, 1949, military observers at Camp Hood, Texas reported seeing an unusual bright light moving through the night sky. The Air Force investigated this sighting along with eleven other aerial phenomena reported in the area over a six-week period from May through July 1949.

The best documented sighting occurred on the evening of June 13. Two Army officers observed a brilliant light from the patio behind the Camp Hood Officers Club between 10:45 p.m. and 11 p.m. One observer described it as having a main body that was green in color, with red, dark red, and purple colors trailing behind it. The object was round with a tail, extremely bright (described as three times brighter than a meteorite), and left a trail of sodium-yellow and green colors that persisted for about three-quarters of a second. The observers estimated the object was between 70 and 75 miles away and calculated its speed at roughly 3,000 feet per second, or about 2,000 miles per hour. The entire sighting lasted between 5 and 10 seconds as the object moved west to southwest, losing altitude in level flight before fading out completely.

A second observer at the same location provided similar details. This officer, who had studied geology and paleontology at the University of Oklahoma, stated firmly that the object was not a meteorite. Based on the color of its trail, he believed it was burning a hydrocarbon-based fuel. He observed the object for approximately 30 seconds as it moved in a downward spiraling arc, covering about half a mile before fading out of sight while still in flight.

An earlier sighting that same day at 8:15 p.m. was reported by another Army officer near the intersection of 162nd Street and Headquarters Avenue. He observed a bright white light with a pink trail, roughly the size of a flare, traveling very fast from west to east in level, downward flight before disappearing completely. He described the light as brighter than any star and faster than a jet plane.

The investigation file also documents ten earlier or concurrent observations of unusual lights at Camp Hood between May 7 and June 6, 1949. These included a stationary light visible for 35 minutes on May 7, multiple sightings on May 23 of lights that changed color and sometimes vanished and reappeared, and observations on June 6 by artillery spotters using optical instruments who tracked a round, glowing object that disintegrated into smaller pieces before fading away.

The Office of Special Investigations conducted formal interviews with military observers and collected written reports on standardized forms. Most witnesses were Army officers. Weather conditions on the night of June 13 were clear with light south winds. No photographs or physical evidence were obtained. The investigators noted that no radar was operating in the area, so no independent confirmation of the sightings was possible. The file indicates that the Fourth Army requested assistance from the Air Technical Intelligence Team at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base to help determine what was causing these aerial phenomena.

The Air Force concluded that the June 13 incident involving the bright green and red light with the trailing colors was unidentified. The complete case file, reproduced below as held by the National Archives, contains 26 pages of documents including formal investigation reports, witness statements, sketches, and correspondence.