Project 10073 Record Card — Sardis Lake, Mississippi, 8 June 1954

This collection of documents details the investigation and identification of an object that fell into Sardis Lake, Mississippi, on 8 June 1954. A local fisherman, J. P. Phillips, observed the object descending and falling into the water. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which manages the reservoir, monitored the site for several months. As the water levels in the reservoir were lowered during the summer, the object was eventually recovered on 20 September 1954. The recovered item was described as a plastic case measuring 4 by 10 by 8 inches, containing a metal radio tube, wires, and a parachute harness. It bore the identification number LU-2450-AN-AL. Captain Virgil Kuns, an assistant flying safety officer from Greenville Air Force Base, examined the object and identified it as a Signal Corps radio transmitting device. Air Force officials concluded that the device was likely a signal transmitter dropped from a troop carrier plane to mark a location for parachutists, which had fallen into the lake by accident. The Corps of Engineers formally reported these findings to the U.S. Air Force Intelligence Officer in Washington, D.C., in October 1954, noting that the information might be useful in clearing up unconfirmed reports regarding unidentified objects.