Truk Atoll, July 1960July 1960

On July 24, 1960, three men in a fishing boat near Patta Island in Truk Atoll spotted an unusual object in the sky. The witnesses were Pentam Wale, age 19, Alfred Afechuong, age 37, and a boy of nine named Iliota. The object was drum-shaped, roughly the size of a drum, with a flat top, rounded sides, and a narrower bottom. One half was painted red, the other half white. The men thought at first it might be a balloon and wanted to catch it for the young boy.

As the witnesses watched from about 240 meters (roughly 260 yards) away, the object moved slowly upward over the water in a straight line. When it reached the height of a tall coconut tree, it stopped. The sky was cloudy at the time, and the sun was not shining. The witnesses heard no sounds. When the object disappeared, the men's canoe suddenly began to rock side to side, though they did not see it depart.

A District Attorney named Alfred I. Darguly traveled to Patta on July 27 to investigate. He interviewed Pentam Wale and collected a statement, which he attached to his report along with a sketch Wale drew of the object. Darguly noted that while the men had limited formal education, they appeared reasonable, intelligent, sincere, and sober, and were considered reliable and trustworthy in their community.

The U.S. Air Force's official evaluation concluded the object was probably a balloon. The file states that there was "no evidence which indicates that the object was not a balloon" and that "the description of the object tends to fit that of a balloon and the motion tends to bear out this conclusion." The full case file, as held by the National Archives, consists of 8 pages.