Sighting Report — Moscow, Idaho, 9 August 1953

This document consists of a military cable dated 13 August 1953, originating from the Commander of the 25th Air Division at McChord Air Force Base, Washington. It details a sighting report from Moscow, Idaho, involving a single, disk-shaped, pinkish object observed over a period of six hours and thirty-five minutes, from 2142 PST on 9 August 1953 to 0415 PST on 10 August 1953. The observer reported that the object, estimated to be 200 feet in size, traveled and stopped, leaving a trail, but made no maneuvers and produced no sound. The sighting occurred under clear weather conditions with scattered clouds and a haze layer at 5,000 feet. The military investigation, conducted by the 25th Air Division, concluded that the phenomenon was a light reflection on the clouds. Specifically, pilots involved in the investigation believed the object was a reflection of lights from the town of Potlatch, Idaho. Two separate flights were scrambled to investigate the sighting, but they returned with negative results. The document also contains a brief, unrelated fragment regarding a separate report from Wilmington, North Carolina, dated 12 August 1953, concerning a brilliant light moving across the horizon, which was also evaluated by the office.