Suffolk, VirginiaAugust 1961

On the evening of August 6, 1961, a married couple in Suffolk, Virginia, saw five to seven glowing orange objects moving through the night sky. The objects were about the size of a turkey buzzard held at arm's length and appeared to have two blades or wings that moved up and down in a wavering motion, though one witness could not see a body at all. The couple watched as the objects first appeared in a V-formation, then shifted into a line and circled clockwise over an area roughly half a city block. The circling lasted two or three minutes before the objects gradually faded and disappeared toward the northeast.

The Air Force investigated the sighting on August 12, sending an officer to interview the witnesses at their home. The officer also gathered accounts from other people in the neighborhood who had seen the objects. The witnesses described the objects' color as similar to the orange glow of moonlight at moonrise or the glow of a firefly. There was no sound, exhaust, or trails left behind, though the motion of the wings suggested some mechanical aspect.

In his investigation report, the Air Force officer noted that the witnesses' home sat about half a block from a brightly lit four-lane highway, and nearby were a large car dealership lot and a fruit market lit with neon signs, all operating late into the night. The officer concluded that the lights from these commercial areas, reflected upon some low-flying birds, could explain the sighting. The official Air Force evaluation marked the case as unknown, though the investigation file indicates the probable explanation was birds illuminated by ground lights.

The full case file is reproduced below as held by the National Archives, 14 pages.