MANITOU BEACH, MICH., August 1952August 1952

On August 3, 1952, at approximately 8:15 a.m., Airman Third Class Gary L. Damon was driving east on Manitou Beach Road near Rome Center, Michigan, when he saw a brilliant white light flash past his car. The object appeared circular, roughly twenty feet in diameter, traveling about three hundred feet south of the road at an altitude of twenty-five to thirty feet. Damon watched it for about two seconds as it moved roughly two hundred feet eastward before vanishing suddenly with no sound, trail, or visible smoke. He stopped his car and checked the area for heat damage to vegetation but found none.

About forty seconds later, a second identical light appeared four hundred feet ahead on the road. This one seemed to dive lower, travel horizontally for four to five hundred feet, and then disappear the same way as the first, like a light being switched off. Damon observed the second object for five to six seconds. He confirmed there were no hills, trees, or farm buildings nearby that could have hidden the objects, and he saw no other witnesses.

The Tenth Air Force investigated the sighting and noted that Damon was a reliable draftsman with a good reputation. No local aircraft were operating in the area at the time. The 661st Air Control and Warning Squadron at nearby Selfridge Air Force Base reported no unusual radar observations. Weather conditions showed visibility between four and five miles with patchy ground fog, calm surface winds, and various upper atmosphere wind patterns recorded for that date.

The investigating officer, Lieutenant George H. Janczewski, concluded that Damon had likely witnessed reflections of man-made light that was suddenly turned on and off twice. However, the case file shows no final determination marked as confirmed or definitive.

The full case file, spanning 19 pages, is reproduced below as held by the National Archives.