Unidentified Object Sighting Report — Detroit, Michigan, July 1950

This document consists of a formal report from the Headquarters Fifth Army to the Commanding General at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, dated 10 August 1950. It details a sighting of an unidentified object that occurred on 20 July 1950, at Camp Heap Squawking Squaw in Detroit, Michigan. The primary witnesses were a group of six Girl Scouts, aged 12 to 14, who were attending a campfire at approximately 10:00 p.m. They were accompanied by their scout leaders, Mrs. Lewis Whitmarsh and Mrs. Virginia Stutzman. The witnesses described an object with an 'awesome brilliance' that was shaped like a cigar or a zeppelin. According to the report, the object 'roared' toward the group, split into two pieces, and subsequently rejoined. The witnesses reported that they ran for cover, fearing the object was going to crash. The report also notes that other individuals in nearby Franklin Village, specifically Mrs. Dick Lewis and Mr. and Mrs. Russell Benton, observed the radiance but could not confirm the specific shape of the object. The document includes a clipping from the 'Detroit Free Press' dated 22 July 1950, which provides a journalistic account of the event. Additionally, the document contains a clipping from the 'Dayton Journal-Herald' dated 2 August 1950, which discusses a separate Air Force explanation regarding 'mock air attacks' involving F-86 jet fighters over Detroit, which were reportedly mistaken for flying saucers due to their swept-back wings. The official military stance provided in the document is that no further investigation into the Girl Scout sighting was contemplated by the Fifth Army headquarters.