Project 10073 Record Card — Vandalia, Illinois, 27 August 1951

This document details a UAP sighting that occurred on the evening of August 27, 1951, near Vandalia, Illinois. The primary witness, an airman named Ray Williams, reported observing a large, blindingly bright orange light with a red light on top while preparing for a flight at the local airport. Williams contacted a CAA official, Albert Draoklec, and Paul Reese to observe the object. After initially disappearing to the west, the object reappeared, approached Williams' aircraft, and circled it twice before heading toward Greenville. The object subsequently circled Greenville and returned to the vicinity of the Vandalia country club. A transport pilot flying over Vandalia at approximately 20,000 feet also reported seeing the object. The sighting was also reported by a witness in St. Elmo, Dwight Kerns. The object was described as having a 10 to 12-inch lens. The incident was documented in the Vandalia Leader on August 30, 1951. Official military evaluation of the incident, recorded on a Project 10073 record card, concluded that because the duration, speed, and other critical factors were unknown, the case was classified as having insufficient data for evaluation. A follow-up letter from the Air Materiel Command at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base acknowledged receipt of the report from a resident of Ramsey, Illinois, stating that the information would be forwarded to the appropriate office. Subsequent status reports reiterated that no further investigation was conducted and no conclusions were reached regarding the nature of the object, which was noted as being seen by both ground observers and commercial pilots.