Slagle Lake, La., August 1952August 1952

# Sighting at Slagle Lake, Louisiana, August 1952

On the evening of August 19, 1952, around 2100 hours (9 p.m.), a military officer and a companion sat on a pier at Slagle Lake near Camp Polk, Louisiana. They observed two unidentified objects in the sky that appeared as white lights from a distance. The two witnesses watched the lights move through several complex maneuvers over the course of approximately ten to fifteen minutes. The objects appeared to be roughly the size of a baseball held at arm's length, and they shone steady white light initially. As the objects moved to different positions, they seemed to emit red and green flashes that appeared to pulse on and off.

The objects performed what the witnesses described as deliberate movements, changing direction and appearing to hold position at various points. One object moved in a wide arc while the second remained stationary, then reversed the pattern. Both objects eventually changed colors repeatedly, flashing red and green before returning to white. The witnesses noted no sound, no vapor trail, and no exhaust. The objects finally disappeared by moving away from the observers until they faded from view.

A third witness, stationed at Camp Polk, filed a separate report on August 23, 1952. This observer had also seen unexplained lights in the night sky in the same period. He described objects that produced what he believed could be aircraft engine noise, though only when the objects were quite close. He observed red and green navigation lights on these objects. His report suggested the lights might be conventional aircraft moving slowly at night, which could make them appear stationary to a distant observer.

An Army intelligence officer reviewed all three accounts and recommended that nearby airfields be checked for any aircraft operations on the night in question. Camp Polk Airstrip reported no aircraft flights that evening. The officer concluded that the objects might have been aircraft under specific viewing conditions, though the case file notes the official Air Force evaluation as unknown. The full case file, comprising 17 pages as held by the National Archives, is reproduced below.