Project Grudge Incident Report — Galveston, Texas, June 1948

This document contains a correspondence from a young man in Beaumont, Texas, dated March 4, 1948, reporting a sighting of an unidentified flying object that occurred in early June 1948. The witness, an 18-year-old, describes being at Gilchrist Beach near Galveston, Texas, on a clear night. Around midnight, he heard a loud roaring noise and observed an object flying over telephone poles along the highway. He estimated the object to be 12 to 13 feet in span and length. He claims the object descended, crashed into the water about 100 yards offshore, and sank. Upon swimming out, he reported seeing oil on the water and smelling kerosene or a burnt coating. He compared the object to a miniature jet engine similar to those used on the 'buzz-bomb' from the war. The witness provided a sketch of the object. The file includes a subsequent memorandum dated May 13, 1949, from Colonel W. R. Clingerman of the Intelligence Department, Analysis Division, requesting that the 5D OSI initiate an investigation into the reported sighting and crash. The final assessment recorded on the summary sheet for this incident is that the report was 'Proved to be hoax'.