Project 10073 Record Card and Associated Message — St. Louis, Missouri, July 1954

This document consists of a Project 10073 record card and a subsequent military message (JEDST 269) regarding an Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UFOB) sighting that occurred on July 18, 1954, in the vicinity of East St. Louis, Illinois. The primary report describes a star-like object, shaped like a disc, which was observed moving steadily in a southerly or southwesterly direction at an estimated altitude between 30,000 and 40,000 feet. The duration of the observation was reported as three to five minutes. The witness, a 33-year-old civilian member of the USNR attached to VF 924 USNAS, described the object as having a yellowish-gold color and a size comparable to a grapefruit. A second report included in the message details a separate observation by a 28-year-old civilian, formerly of the US Army, who described a greenish-white disc-shaped object that caught the observer's eye due to its brilliance. This second object was first sighted traveling west at approximately 20,000 feet before disappearing to the northwest. The military message notes that two F-86 aircraft were in the area at the time of the sightings. The official conclusion provided by the evaluating agency, ATIC, suggests that the sightings were likely aircraft, potentially caused by reflections on aircraft operating in the St. Louis area. The documentation includes detailed meteorological data, such as wind speeds and cloud cover, recorded at the time of the events to assist in the evaluation process.