Ocean Springs, MississippiJuly 1962

On the night of July 30, 1962, a family near Ocean Springs, Mississippi observed a bright red object maneuvering silently over their home for about ten minutes. The witness, a salesman, his wife, daughter (age 9), and niece (age 15) watched from their bedroom as the diamond or round-shaped object performed intricate movements above trees roughly 300 feet away.

The object appeared about the size of a half dollar held at arm's length, or roughly the size of a T-29 aircraft's red nose cone at 1,500 feet altitude. It moved slowly and deliberately at first, sometimes appearing stationary. As it continued, the family reported it made half loops very quickly, then switched to square wave patterns, moving up, across, and down in less than a second. The object reversed direction after moving 20 to 25 degrees in azimuth, repeating its geometric movements. At one point it flashed back and forth at tremendous speed between 95 and 100 degrees azimuth. Throughout the sighting, the object varied in brightness as it maneuvered. When an airliner passed overhead and a jet followed, the bright object suddenly disappeared without reappearing.

Captain Charles O. Williams of Keesler Air Force Base investigated the sighting. He measured distances to nearby trees and elevation angles by compass. The observers used binoculars, which made the object appear more distinct and bright but rectangular rather than round. Weather conditions were clear with calm winds, visibility of 12 miles, and scattered clouds at 8,000 feet. No aircraft were reported in the area from several hours before the sighting until the next morning.

The witness reported previous sightings going back several years, including an orange object that passed at tremendous speed, and two moon-like objects observed about 130 miles north of Biloxi in February 1962. Captain Williams concluded he could not determine any probable cause for the July sighting. The Air Force designated the case as unidentified.

The full case file spans 36 pages as held by the National Archives.