Correspondence Regarding Unconventional Aircraft Sightings in Raleigh, N.C. and Los Angeles, California

This document consists of official correspondence from the Headquarters Third Army at Fort McPherson, Georgia, dated 11 July 1950, addressed to the Commanding General of the Air Materiel Command at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. The primary purpose of the memorandum is to forward a newspaper clipping from the Raleigh, North Carolina 'News and Observer' dated 3 July 1950, which details a sighting of 'flying saucers' over Raleigh. The report describes an incident occurring on the night of 2 July 1950, where a local architectural engineer named Louis Poller observed nine objects in a 'ragged' formation of threes. Poller noted that the objects glowed brightly but did not resemble airplanes, as they lacked windows and made no noise. The document also includes a separate, unrelated report from Los Angeles, California, dated 5 July 1950, regarding a sighting by William Grant, a former Marine Corps aerial photographer. Grant reported observing a brilliantly lighted circular object, approximately fifty feet in circumference, which was initially seen at 1,000 feet altitude. He estimated the object's speed increased from 100 miles per hour to 500 miles per hour before it disappeared behind the Hollywood Hills. Grant's account was corroborated by Gilbert Magill, a helicopter research company president. Grant noted that the object left no exhaust trail and made no sound, remaining in sight for approximately forty-five seconds.