Grand Rapids, MichiganOctober 1961

On the night of October 27, 1961, military personnel at Grand Rapids Air Force Station in Michigan observed unusual lights in the sky. Two or three large white lights appeared to flash or blink, hovering to the south before moving slowly eastward. The witnesses watched for about twenty minutes before the lights descended and disappeared behind trees.

The sighting took place around 10:25 p.m. local time. The lights were visible about 25 to 30 degrees above the horizon, first noticed to the south and then moving toward the east. According to the Air Force report, the lights appeared to rotate or blink separately, resembling "two huge bright headlights revolving or blinking separately."

The investigation noted that winds were blowing from the west at 25 to 30 knots. An Air Force captain who reviewed the case found that the object's movement matched the direction of the prevailing winds. Though the source and launch time of any balloon were not identified, the investigator concluded there was nothing in the report that contradicted evaluating the sighting as a probable balloon. The Air Force ultimately classified the case as "Probably Balloon."

The file also contains a separate sighting report from Dayton, Ohio on the same night, involving bluish-white lights that moved from northwest to southeast. In that case, investigators suggested the objects may have been high-flying military aircraft, noting that the absence of noise could be explained by the witnesses' car windows being closed and the considerable distance involved.

This case file, consisting of 13 pages as held by the National Archives, is reproduced below in full.