Somewhere in the Skies - 1967: The Year of the UFO

Episode Date: September 23, 2019

On episode 127 of SOMEWHERE IN THE SKIES, we take a look back at one of the strangest and most active years in UFO history; 1967. From running over an alien with a car, to actual car-jacking aliens. From the horrifying Maelstrom Nuclear missile shutdown by a UFO, to the crash of a craft in the waters of Shag Harbor. And lest we forget the highly documented close encounter at Falcon Lake. It's all here, and it's all thanks to the brilliant research of UFO investigators across the world. Special thanks to the National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena (NICAP), Billy Booth, Appalachian Ghost Walks, and the tireless work of countless contributors to The UFO Casebook.  Patreon: www.patreon.com/somewhereskies Website: www.somewhereintheskies.com YouTube Channel: CLICK HERE Official Store: CLICK HERE Order Ryan's Book by CLICKING HERE Twitter: @SomewhereSkies Instagram: @SomewhereSkiesPod Watch Mysteries Decoded for free at www.CWseed.com Shop SAUCER BRAND now and use the promo code: SKIES for an exclusive discount: www.TheSaucerBrand.com Opening Theme Song, "Ephemeral Reign" by Per Kiilstofte SOMEWHERE IN THE SKIES is part of the eOne podcast network. To learn more, CLICK HERE SOMEWHERE IN THE SKIES is sponsored by HelloFresh. To receive 50% off your first order, use promo code: SOMEWHERE50 at checkout by visiting www.HelloFresh.ca Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/somewhere-in-the-skies. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hey y'all, Ryan Spreck here. As you all know, the Somewhere in the Sky's podcast is always free to consume. But it isn't free to create. That's why I've started the Somewhere in the Sky's Patreon campaign. On a monthly basis, you give what you think the show is worth. You'll be helping the show continue, grow, and to be something truly communal. And remember, there are rewards for each level of contribution, and the list is only growing. So please, help Somewhere in the Skies now by becoming a page.

To contribute and to learn more, visit www.patriot.com backslash SomewhereSkies. Thank you for your support. And now on with the show. Welcome to Somewhere in the Skies. I'm your host Ryan Sprague. And today, we're going back to a year in history when a string of UFO events across the world made us truly think, what are these highly anomalous vehicles in our skies? And who or what is in control of them? This is 1967, the year of the UFO. This is somewhere in the skies with Ryan's bread. There are certain years in UFO history that conjure very specific images. 1947 makes us think of Kenneth Arnold in the beginning of the flying saucer craze.

That same year, presumably one of these saucers crashed in the vast desert outside Roswell, New Mexico. Headline edition July 8, 1947. The Army Air Forces has announced that a flying disk has been found and is now in the possession of the Army. Army officers say the missile found sometime last week, has been inspected at Walswell, New Mexico, and sent to Right Field, Ohio for further inspections. 1952 makes us remember the Washington, D.C. flap, where UFOs were cited over the Washington National Airport, and even over the nation's capital. In Washington, ghost-like objects dart across the radar screen at the CAA traffic control center at National Airport for several hours, traveling more than 100 miles an hour. Air Force jet fighters spend several hours chasing the objects plotted on the radar scope.

General Sanford, Air Force Intelligence Director, confirms that the objects are not secret American weapons and reiterates the Air Force's obligation to investigate. 1980 ushers in the famous Rendelsham Forest incident, where UFOs were reported in and around joint military bases in England. But one year really caught my attention recently while I was reading through old case reports, and I was astounded by the sheer amount of varying phenomena at play. The year was 1967, and it proved to be one of the strangest and most active years in UFO history.

Let's take a look back at some of the most pivotal cases brought to our attention by UFO researchers across the world. David Morris, 19, a factory worker in Kent, Ohio, was driving home to Monroe Falls from work early in the morning of March 28th. At about 2.30 a.m., while driving west along Little River Road, he topped a small hill and suddenly saw an orange glowing object ahead of him. It was in a field to his left on the south side of the road and was apparently hovering several feet above the ground.

He described it later as cone-shaped, about 25 feet tall and 12 feet wide, with a smaller sphere on top. As Morris slowed his car down for a better look, he saw four or five small figures skirting quickly back and forth across the road, about 50 feet ahead of him. They appeared between three and a half feet and four feet tall, and they gave off the same soft orange glow similar to the object. Morris quickly slammed on the brakes, but, unable to stop in time, struck one of the beings as it crossed the road. He heard a thump at the moment of impact and saw the beings raised hand as it was struck. The car traveled about another ten feet before it stopped. Morris turned and looked around his hand on the door. He saw a group of little figures standing as if clustered about something lying on the road,

and suddenly, frightened, he sped off. He did not report the incident to the police because he was convinced that whenever he struck had not been human. The next day, Morris found dense in his right front bumper that had not been there before. He mentioned the story to several of his coworkers, one of whom was acquainted with a reporter

for a local newspaper. The reporter alerted nightcap, the National Investigations Committee on aerial, phenomenon. The incident was carefully investigated by Charles E. Toner and Roy Wiley of the Pittsburgh Nightgap Subcommittee on several subsequent occasions. The case remains in unknown. Guy Tossie and Will Begay were driving south on Highway 26, just outside Rydry on November 2nd, 1967, in Idaho. It was about 9.30 p.m. There was a sudden, blinding, flashing flash. of light in front of their car, followed by the abrupt appearance of a small domed-shaped UFO.

The dome was transparent, and in it were two small, strange-looking occupants. The car was brought to a stop, Begay driving, did not have to apply the brakes, however, and the object hovered about five feet above the highway immediately ahead of them. It was about eight feet wide and flashed green and orange lights around the rim. The area was bathed in a vivid green light. The dome opened as if hinged and one creature emerged, apparently floating to the ground. It was about three and a half feet tall,

and on its back was a kind of pack that protruded above and behind its head. Its face was oval and heavily pitted and creased. Two small, round eyes and a straight slit-like mouth completed the facial features. Large ears stood high on the hairless head. Approaching the driver's side of the car, the alleged being opened the door and slid behind the wheel.

Horrified, the two witnesses pushed over to the right. The car began to move, whether driven by the being or towed by the UFO was uncertain. It was taken well out into a field of stubble wheat, and the UFO kept a fixed position a few feet in front of it. As the car stopped, Tossie, sitting next to the door, suddenly opened it and bolted, running for the nearby farmhouse of Willard Hammond about a quarter mile away. He later reported being followed by a bright light, presumably carried by the second occupant. Meanwhile, in the car, Begay cowered in the front seat, in a state of near shock,

while the first creature jabbered unintelligibly at him, making sounds that were were high and rapid, like a bird, he would say. The second being, who had apparently given up chasing Tossey, returned to the car. The first being then got out, and the two beings rose up and in to the UFO, which ascended in a zigzag path. Meanwhile, at the home of William Hammond,

Tossi could scarcely make himself understood by the astounded farmer and his family. After having calmed him down, They accompanied him back to the field, where they found the car. Begay was sitting nearly speechless with fright. His eyes tightly closed. The engine was running, and the lights were still on. About 15 minutes had elapsed from the moment the young men had seen this flash.

Hammond listened to their story, and then followed the frightened boys home in his car. Perplexed, he later stopped at a local bar and grill to see if he could learn. anything about this all. While there, a county deputy sheriff stopped in, and Hammond told him the story. Later, both witnesses also came by and voluntarily told the deputy sheriff, in their own words, what had happened. State police were summoned, and an investigation began. It was discovered that a number of local farmers had reported that their cattle had bolted during the evening for unknown reasons. Others claimed to have seen lights in the area. The report was investigated for Nycap by C.R. Ricks of Idaho Falls.

During his investigation, he learned of a man who claimed that on the same night, he had a similar encounter. Ricks eventually tracked this man down and confirmed the report, although the witness was emphatic about not revealing his name, and he was reluctant about discussing the details of his encounter. With very little else to go on in terms of investigation, Nycap decided that this case was also to remain unknown. In Central Montana, Thursday morning, March 16, 1967, the E-Flight Missile Combat Crew was below ground in the Echo Flight Launch Control Center.

During the early morning hours, more than one report came in from security patrols and maintenance crews that they had seen UFOs. The UFO was reported directly above one of the E-Flight launch facilities, or silos. It turned out that at least one security policeman was so frightened by this encounter that he never again returned to security duty. A short time later, the deputy crew commander, a first lieutenant, was briefing the crew commander, a captain, on the flight status when the alarm horn sounded. Over the next half minute, all ten of their missiles reported a, quote, no-go condition.

One by one across the board, each missile had become inoperable. From there on, all hell broke loose. The following is direct testimony by Robert Salas, who was on duty that day as deputy missile combat crew commander. Good afternoon. My name is Robert Salas. In 1967, I was a first lieutenant station at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Montana. I was a missile launch officer. My commander at the time was Lieutenant Fred Milwald. Sometime in the evening hours on March 24th,

I received a call from one of my top side guards, the flight security controller, stating that they had been observing strange lights in the sky, making odd maneuvers and wanted to report it. I thought it was kind of a strange report, but I took it seriously. We have to understand we were protecting nuclear weapons and the reports we generally got were very professional. At any rate, I kind of dismissed the call.

He called back about five minutes later. This time he was screaming into the phone saying they're looking at an object, a red glowing object, hovering just above our front gate. This object was about 30 feet in diameter. He couldn't make out too much of the details of the object, only that it was pulsating and he had all the guards out there. He was very frightened. Wanted me to give him direction. I think I said something like, make sure nothing comes inside the perimeter fence.

He immediately hung the phone up. I went to wake my commander, Fred Mywold, who was taking a rest break, started to tell him about the phone call. And just as I told him, our missiles began going into what's called a no-go condition or unlaunchable. Essentially, they were disabled while this object was still hovering over our site, our launch control facility. At that point, we went through our procedures. He reported back to the command post the incident. We also had some security lights, meaning security incursions that some of the lines. at some of the launch facilities.

So I called the guard back upstairs and directed that a security team be sent out. At this point, the guard told me the object had left at high speed. Again, silent, no noise. The security guards got out to the launch facility and reported back that they were seeing this object again. They also lost radio contact.

This incident terminated that point, we reset the security alarms, but the missiles themselves were still disabled. We had to call in for maintenance teams to come out and bring them back up on alert. The main indication we got from our equipment was this was guidance and control system failure. I want to emphasize that the security people upstairs had no control authority over, they had no equipment up there. They had no equipment up there, no ability to affect any kind of system shut down on our missiles. All the control systems were underground. We were relieved the next morning and reported back to the command post, I'm sorry, the base,

Malmstam, reported to our squadron commander. He was, why does the sheet, didn't know how to explain the event. I asked him specifically if it could have been an Air Force exercise and he assured me that it was not an Air Force exercise. was also a member of the Air Force Office of Special Investigations in the room. He ordered us to not ever talk about this. I even signed a non-disclosure statement to that effect. For many years, the Air Force has maintained that no reported UFO incident has ever affected national security.

It's established fact that a large number of Air Force personnel reported citing UFOs. At the time, many of our strategic... strategic missiles became unlaunchable. So you tell me, that's not a national security threat? There is clearly a great discrepancy between the United States Air Force's public position relative to UFOs and national security and the established facts of this case. October 24, 1967, this happened between Oakhampton and Halsworthy in Devon in the southwest of England. Two on-duty uniform police officers, Clifford Waycott and Roger Willie,

had spotted a pulsating flying cross while driving through Devon. It was seen at low altitude moving above the treetops of the surrounding countryside. Intrigued, they began to chase the flying cross. However, they were never able to significantly gain on it. At times, the object slowed to about 50 miles, per hour, and at one point came to a complete stop in mid-air. The pursuit involved speeds of up to 90 miles per hour and covered a distance of about 14 miles. Whenever they did gain a little ground on the object, it would simply accelerate away from them.

Eventually, they reduced their speed fearing an accident themselves. The closest distance that they reached the UFO was about 400 yards. At one point, they stopped at a farm to wake up the owner so they could gain some corroboration, that they were not mistaken in their sighting. At a later press conference, Wake-Hott said, quote, The light wasn't piercing, but it was very bright. It was star-spangled, just like looking through wet glass. And although we reached 90 miles per hour, it accelerated away from us, end quote.

Before the object disappeared from view, they saw a second UFO that was also cross-shaped, very bright and made no noise. Both officers were impressed by the relevant speeds of these objects as they quickly departed, especially the first one. Comptor Willie just said, here we go then, and we drove off after it, if you know what I mean? What kind of speed were you traveling? We're traveling very fast. was it... No sound that I heard at all. There was no outside noise apart from the noise of the car itself.

An acceleration, the acceleration away from this was terrific. So really we didn't get under it to hear any sound. But you were really close enough to be absolutely certain that your eyes weren't fooling. Oh yes, it was just in front of us. There was no question whatsoever that this was a pigment in the imagination. It was definitely there, it was definitely part of the... either manned by some sort of being or remotely controlled. It was definitely being controlled to view our car.

Inquiries at nearby RAF Schivenor proved negative. Within 48 hours, numerous other witnesses began to report sightings of similar objects. A, quote, fiery cross was witnessed above the skies of Glassop, Derbyshire, by six police officers. Whatever these flying crosses were, remains a mystery up until today. In this case, once again, remains an unknown. On the night of October 4, 1967, shortly after 11 p.m., a UFO, some 60 feet in diameter, was seen to hover above the water near the tiny fishing village of Shag Harbor, Nova Scotia.

The UFO, which displayed four bright lights that flashed in sequence, tilted to a 40, degree angle and descended rapidly towards the water's surface. Upon impact, there was a bright flash and an explosive roar. Concerned witnesses began calling the nearby Barrington Passage, RCMP Detachment. None of those witnesses mentioned anything about a UFO. Most believed that a large aircraft had ditched into the harbor and that there may be survivors. Eventually, three RCMP officers arrived at the shore near the impact site. Corporal V. Werbicki and Constable Ron O'Brien, dispatched from the Barrington Passage Detachment,

were approaching from east of the site. Constable Ron Pond, who was on highway patrol on highway number three, was heading toward Shag Harbor from a position west of the impact site, and his position allowed him to view the UFO while it was still in his. flight. When all three officers met at the impact site, they found that the UFO was still floating on the water, about a half mile from shore. It was glowing a pale yellow and was leaving a trail of dense yellow foam as it drifted in the epitide. Neither the rescue coordination center in Halifax nor the nearby NORAD radar facility at Baccaro, Nova Scotia, had any knowledge of missing

aircraft, either civilian or military. Pond reported that the object had, quote, changed during its descent to the water's surface, as in it changed shape, and that it appeared to be no known object. Later, other local witnesses described much to the same details of those of Pond. Also, a Coast Guard lifeboat from nearby Clark's Harbor and several local fishing boats were summoned, to investigate. But the UFO had submerged before they reached the site. The sulfurous-smelling yellow foam continued to well to the surface from the point where the UFO went down, and about a 300-foot slick developed.

Search efforts continued until about 3 a.m., and then resumed at first light the next day. Everybody involved was convinced that something, that is, something real, and unidentified had gone into the water. The next morning, a preliminary report was sent to Canadian Forces headquarters in Ottawa. After communicating with NORAD, Marotype Command was asked to conduct an underwater search as soon as possible for the object. Seven Navy divers from the HMCS Granby searched throughout the daylight hours until sundown of October 8th.

On Monday, October 9th, Maritime Command canceled the search effort, claiming no results. Outside of the local area, media attention quickly faded. The Shag Harbor crash retrieval became case number 34 in the infamous Condon Committee report, which would serve as Project Blue Books Swan Song. The case was brought to Dr. Condon's limited attention by the Lake Jim. Lorenzen of the aerial phenomena research organization. Dr. Levine, the investigator assigned to the case, allocated the grand total of two long-distance phone calls to this investigation. One call was to the watch officer at Maritime Command, and the other was to an RCMP spokesperson. Dr. Levine was assured

that there was nothing to this case, and that further investigation was futile. Thus, interest in the Shagg Harbor case withered away. Yeah, tell that to the locals in Nova Scotia, who are still investigating this case up until today. Me and a bunch of friends were in Barrington, and we were taking some of them home to Woods Harbor, and as we was coming up through Shag Harbor, roughly where the post office is,

we see a bunch of lights in the sky, and it was in over the land here, not out over the water. And we just thought it's an airplane, and if we were driving along, which was probably roughly two or three miles, we could see the light the whole time, and as we was coming up over the hill there, just before we got the top of the hill, the light went from flat to a 45-degree angle,

and we lost out of it, and as we made the top of the hill, we could see the light up off of there in the water, probably 100 to 150 yards from shore. You got to remember back then, there was no street lights, and none of these buildings or houses was here, and even back there on the hill where we walked. up. There's a lot of trees now. That was all barren land. But the light was up here roughly in the water, a couple hundred yards offshore. And they drafted the whole way down by here roughly

two to three hundred yards offshore. It was a yellowish half globe, probably 16, 18, 18 inches in diameter. This episode is brought to you by Netflix. Most valuable promotions in Netflix are hosting a blockbuster triple headliner Saturday, May 16th. Ronda Rousey returns to face fellow woman's MMA pioneer, Gina Carano, and the main event. Plus co-main's Nate Diaz versus Mike Perry. And the best heavyweight in the world, Frances Ngano versus Felipe Lins.

Watch Rhonda Rousey versus Gina Carano. Live only on Netflix. Saturday, May 16th at 9 p.m. Eastern Center Time, 6 p.m. Pacific time. The last case we're going to cover in 1967 is a very important UFO close encounter of the second kind

that comes to us from Canada. This amazing amazing account details the experience of Stephen Mickelak of Winnipeg. Mickelak earned his living as a mechanic, but was an amateur geologist, and while enjoying a few days off, he decided to do some prospecting. He tried his luck in the Whitechell Provincial Park. This area was by no means new to Mickelac. He'd spent considerable time in this vicinity of the lake near the park. Mickleck had followed reports of courts veins being found in the area around Falcon Lake. There were also reports of silver being found in

the area, and Mikalak was on the trail of this valuable medal on May 19, 1967. He traveled by bus from his hometown of Winnipeg to a motel on the Trans-Canada Highway the night before. Mikalak rose early that morning, heading into the vast beauty of the wilderness. Only a couple of hours had transpired before he found a courts vein by a small brook. After breaking for a quiet lunch, he resumed his hobby. At about 12.15 p.m., his attention was drawn away from his labors by the sound of geese passing overhead. Looking up to see them fly over, he was shocked to see two red, glowing, elongated objects descending from the skies. As they came even closer, their shape was to find more, as disc-shaped, as he stood mesmerized by the sight.

One of the craft abruptly stopped and hovered in mid-air. The other continued its downward flight until it landed on a big, smooth rock, only about 150 feet away from him. The hovering craft began to move away, and as it went, it changed colors from red to orange and finally gray. It disappeared into the clouds above him. The landed craft also began to change its color in the same pattern. Finally, the gray turned into what appeared to be hot stainless steel with a golden clove.

Mikkelak had been wearing his protective welding glasses earlier, and now they protected his eyes from the brilliant purple lights shining through openings in the front of this craft. He could now smell something like sulfur and hear a type of hissing sound. curiosity overcame him. He knew he was looking at something he thought he would never see, a craft from another world. The only emotion more powerful than his curiosity was the gripping fear that held him in his tracks.

He did, however, have the presence of mind to sketch the object, never moving a step. After approximately 30 minutes, he was frightened to see a door open from the side of the same. object. He could now see inside the craft. The interior was brilliantly lighted. Pulling all the courage together that he could, he moved closer to the craft. As he reached a point of about 60 feet from the mysterious flying object, he could hear two voices conversing above other sounds coming from inside the object. Being a multilingualist, McGalach tried several languages to communicate

with whoever or whatever was inside. First, he called out in English. No response. Then, Russian, German, Italian, French, Ukrainian, then English again. All of his efforts failed to draw a response from inside. Can we also note here, that is a ridiculous amount of languages to know. This dude's awesome. Undaunted, Mikalak moved even closer.

He reached the door and stuck his head inside. He saw a large panel of different colored lights and other light beams crossing in different directions. He later described the flashing lights as resembling lights on a computer. He saw no one in the craft and decided not to push his luck any further. He moved back away from the door, and suddenly three panels moved together, hiding the door completely. His attention was now on the exterior of the craft.

He later described the surface as highly polished colored glass with no brakes or seams in the surface. McIllack reached his hand to touch the polished surface, and his glove was melted. Suddenly, the object moved, and as it did, a vented opening was exposed like a type of exhaust port. He estimated its size at about nine inches, high by six inches wide.

Heat was vented through the opening, setting Mikalak's shirt and undershirt on fire. He was now in great pain. He quickly tore off his top garments and turned to see the craft descending back into the skies.

He felt a rush of air as it made its final departure. But he could still smell the craft after it disappeared. Knowing that he needed medical attention, he quickly tried to mark the spot, using rocks, pine coats, loose dirt, anything he could find to make a landmark. A severe headache now was complicated by a sick stomach. He broke into a cold sweat and began

to vomit. On his way back to the motel, he had to stop several times to ease the stomach pain. After being refused help by a passing police officer, yes, I'll say that again, refused help by a police officer, he finally reached the motel. It was now 4 p.m. He entered the coffee shop and asked someone to recommend a doctor. The nearest doctor was in Canora, 45 miles east of Falcon Lake. Because of the distance, he decided to return home instead of making the trip to Canora. The next bus would not arrive for about four hours, so he rested in his room and phoned his wife.

He told her only that he was in an accident. but that he was okay. He instructed her to have their son meet him at the bus terminal in Winnipeg. He arrived there at about 10.45 p.m. His son, Stan, took him to the hospital immediately. Mickelach was treated for his headache, nausea, and a grid-like burn pattern that appeared on his chest. Theorist came out of the woodwork, suggesting that his burns were from a barbecue pit.

Micklech made not a dime from this story. He paid all of his own medical expenses, including a trip to the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, for additional treatment. To defray these costs, he wrote a privately funded booklet on his experience, but again, no money was actually made. Ultimately, Micklech was seen by more than a dozen doctors

in the U.S. and Canada. The site of the experience was investigated by the, the RCMP, RCAF, other government officials, and civilian groups. America's Condon Committee also joined the investigation. Nothing conclusive was ever offered to debunk the fantastic account by Mikkelak. His story is unique in many ways and is accepted as genuine by many UFO groups and investigators. Many years later, Stan Mikalak, his son, would return to the site where his father had had this incredible experience.

In a brief interview with UFO investigator, Chris Rutkowski, this is what Stan Mikalak had to say. Oh, I think what happened was exactly how Dad described it as it happened. And being here and looking around and seeing the lay in the land, every explanation, and I heard him explain it over and over and over. every explanation when he talked about distances and trees and rocks and water and beaver dam and it's all clear it's all here it's exactly how he described it when you look at the drawing he made for the rcmp to come out here on their own the little sort of map it it follows the contours perfectly and directions perfectly so he was here I know that. It's clear that some of the most popular UFO sightings occurred in the year 1967.

The real question is, was this all just pure coincidence? If not, were there different intelligences behind each incident, or even different phenomena at play? Or was it just a slew of strange occurrences that will never truly know the answers to? No matter the case, 1967 will remain one of the most enigmatic, mysterious, and downrighted strangest years in UFO history, as we continue to experience these incredible sightings and encounters somewhere in the skies. Thank you as always to the E1 Podcast Network, KGRA Radio, and to you for listening. My special thanks goes out to Billy Booth, Nycap, and all these.

amazing contributors to the research done in this episode. We'll have links in the show notes for all of their work and proper accreditation. Please take a moment to rate and review Somewhere in the Skies on Apple Podcasts, your Android apps, or wherever you get the show. It helps find new listeners and gain visibility. We're on Twitter at Somewhere Skies and Instagram at Somewhere Skies Pod. All past episodes, articles, and contact info can be found at the official website somewhere in the skies.com. I'll see you here next week. And remember, keep your feet on the ground,

but never stop searching. Somewhere in the skies. Somewhere in the skies is produced by third-kind productions in association with the Entertainment One Podcast Network. To learn more, visit Entertainment Onepodcast.com.