Gerald Mo, April 1951April 1951

On April 23, 1951, near Gerald, Missouri, a civilian reported a strange object between about 8:30 and 9:00 a.m. The witness, an elderly retired farmer, asked the local newspaper to report what he had seen. He described a bright, shining object that moved slowly across the sky from south to north, leaving a white trail behind it.

He could not estimate the object's altitude or speed but said the trail was about two miles long. The newspaper editor figured the object left a contrail that slowly dissipated. The editor noted that the same man had reported seeing what he thought was a meteor or comet the week before.

The report was forwarded through Army channels to the Air Force. The Air Force recorded the case in Project 10073, its official file for unidentified flying object reports. The conclusion was aircraft contrails.