The following story appeared
on the front page of The Daily Ardmoreite

Invasion of Southern Oklahoma

THE DAILY ARDMOREITE
Monday, August 2, 1965
Ardmore, Oklahoma

Ardmoreites Spot Flying Objects in Sky Flashing

multi-colored objects invaded the skies

Sunday night to hover over Ardmore

 and other Southern Oklahoma cities.

The weird-shaped hovering objects, most of which threw off a greenish metallic glow, emitted red, white and blue lights. The first of the unidentified flying objects (UFO) were sighted about 10:30 p.m. Sunday south and west of Ardmore but soon filled the sky over the area. Jack Thompson, Ardmore businessman, was one of the first persons to spot the strange flying objects and reported he saw as many as eight in what appeared to be the immediate Ardmore vicinity. The objects, visible to the naked eye and often appearing saucer-shaped, could also be seen north and east of the city within a few minutes while residents crowded highways to watch the flashing, cone-shaped oddities. “They’re hard to describe,” Thompson said. “They appear to be cone-shaped, like a spinning top, and have a green cast to them. “They slip and fall away for a few seconds and then turn, circle and move back in,” he said.

Thompson set up a 60-power telescope at his cabin 10 miles east of Ardmore on Tater Hill and he, his wife Helen, and several curious on-lookers studied the strange flying objects several hours Sunday night and Monday morning. One of the objects appeared to hover almost motionless in the north sky and looked as if it were between Springer and the Airpark while another was sighted southwest of the city and a third northwest.

Desk Sgt. Lem England at the Ardmore Police Department first reported the strange objects to The Daily Ardmoreite and said citizen-band and ham radio operators had been watching them for some two hours.

Witnesses west of town watched while the one in the southwest sky dipped toward the horizon, below tree-top level and then finally disappeared. A second northwest of Ardmore was clearly visible with the naked eye for some two hours or more, however, and provided on-lookers with a weird feeling while its red, white and blue lights flashed off and on. The unidentified objects would appear to be spinning like a top, then suddenly lie parallel with the horizon only to turn again suddenly and throw off their strange lights in a diagonal pattern. The objects appeared to be almost motionless, but clearly could be seen moving through the telescope and with binoculars. The flying objects moved not only up and down, but left and right with enough speed to make it necessary to adjust both the telescopes and field glasses. An unconfirmed report from the northern part of the state said one of the objects made a jet “appear as if it were standing still.” Witnesses watched the plane approach, only to see the strange lights dash off at a tremendous speed.

The objects were sighted around Ardmore in the vicinity of Lake Murray Lodge, near Dickson, Springer, Durant, Marietta, Madill and Kingston. Confirmed reports of sightings also came in from Chandler, Shawnee, Norman, Purcell and the states of Kansas, Texas and New Mexico.

The Highway Patrol said a jet and helicopter were sent up from Perrin Air Force Base, Sherman, Tex., but said no report was ever received to confirm that the crafts had intercepted the UFO.  Another report was received which said a plane flew directly by one of the objects in the south sky, but did not appear to make the object change course. The flying cone was said to appear red on one side while emitting a blue glow from the other. Three of the strange objects were sighted about 1:30 a.m. Monday south of Ardmore. One then disappeared only to be seen again in the east while another hovered at close range in the northeast and a third in the north sky. Witnesses said the flying cones were still in the area around Ardmore as early as 2:30 or 3:00 a.m. Monday and then disappeared before daylight.

The Sedgwick County Sheriffs Office at Wichita, Kan., said the Weather Bureau tracked “several of them at altitudes of 6,000 to 9,000 feet.” The Oklahoma Highway Patrol reported Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma City, had as many as four of the strange objects sighted on its radar screen at one time but Air Force officials have declined to offer any comment. The objects were reportedly seen at estimated altitudes of 22,000 feet by Tinker officials. Air Force officials at Sherman, Fort Worth and Wichita Falls reported earlier Sunday evening they had been unable to pick up the objects with radar although Tinker had them on its screen. One on-looker was overheard to say Sunday night, “It sure gives you a weird feeling to stand here and watch those things just play around up there. Sorta makes you wonder if they’re watching us.”

Objects Are Seen Over Three States

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – Residents of three southwestern states – including several police officers – reported a series of flashing, multi-colored objects flying across the area Sunday night. The Oklahoma Highway Patrol said Tinker Air Force Base here had as many as four of the unidentified objects on its radar screen at one time, estimating their height at about 22,000 feet. However, a Tinker spokesman refused to confirm or deny the radar blips. “The reported sightings this evening will be investigated by Air Force personnel,” said Lt. John Walmsley of Tinker’s information office, “and additional information will be available from headquarters, U.S. Air Force, office of information, when all aspects of the investigation have been completed.”

Most of the flying objects reported seen in Oklahoma were over the central section of the state.  Reports of similar sightings came from police in New Mexico and Texas. Police in Hobbs, N.M., near the Texas border, said a round, white object with an orange tail was seen there, moving west. A police dispatcher at Carlsbad, N.M., about 69 miles west of Hobbs, said she saw a similar object, and Artesia City, N.M., police, 36 miles northwest of Carlsbad, received four reports of a bright red trail passing overhead to the northeast. Police at Amarillo, Borger and Dalhart, Tex., received hundreds of telephone calls from persons who said they saw flashes in the sky. The Oklahoma Highway Patrol said it received 25 to 30 reports of sightings, many by police officers and patrol troopers. The flying objects were reported over Purcell, Norman, Chandler, Shawnee and Meeker areas, all in central Oklahoma.

Descriptions of the flying objects varied. Some reports said the objects were reddish in color, others said they were white or blue. One report from Shawnee said four of the objects appeared to be flying in a diamond shaped formation. A Liberal, Kan., man reported to the Oklahoma Highway Patrol headquarters in Guymon, in the Oklahoma Panhandle, that he saw what looked like a large comet shooting across the sky over the area of Forgan, east of Guymon. Melton Smith of Bartlesville in north central Oklahoma saw what he first thought was a burning plane about to crash near Bartlesville. No trace of a plane crash could be found in the area and Smith said later it could have been either a plane or a large meteor.

Sunday night’s reports followed a sighing near Wynnewood in southern Oklahoma early Saturday which was verified by Tinker and Carswell Aur Firce Base at Fort Worth, Tex. Lewis Sikes, night watchman at Wynnewood, said he watched the flying objects for 45 minutes. He said it had flashing red, white and blue lights and hovered northeast of Wynnewood at about 10,000 feet.