Incident Report: Unidentified Aerial Phenomena - Stillwater, Oklahoma, July 6, 1953

This document collection contains reports and correspondence regarding two distinct incidents investigated by the U.S. Air Force in July 1953. The first incident, occurring on July 6, 1953, in Stillwater, Oklahoma, involved a sighting of two elliptical white lights by a 1st Lieutenant from the 47th Communication Squadron. The witness, who had experience as a control tower operator, observed the objects moving back and forth in an arc of approximately 10 degrees for two and a half minutes. The official conclusion reached by the Air Technical Intelligence Center (ATIC) was that the lights were likely reflections of searchlights on the base of clouds. The second, more extensive set of documents details a reported 'flying saucer' encounter near Atlanta, Georgia, on July 7-8, 1953. Three men claimed to have encountered a flying object on a highway and observed 'three living objects' or 'little men' in the road. One of the men hit a creature with his car, which was later identified as a hairless monkey. The incident received significant media attention, but subsequent investigation by the Office of Special Investigations (OSI) and the FBI confirmed the story was a hoax. The individual involved confessed to the Cobb County Police Chief that the story was fabricated to gain publicity after failing to get a picture in the newspaper. The monkey was identified by anatomists at Emory University as a common monkey with its hair removed. The documents include official Air Intelligence Information Reports, correspondence between Air Force commands, and internal OSI investigation reports. The files emphasize the Air Force's commitment to investigating such reports while also documenting the identification of hoaxes. The collection concludes with the formal closing of the Atlanta case, noting that no further investigative action was contemplated.