Project 10073 Record Card — Valley City, N. Dakota, 1 December 1956

On 1 December 1956, at approximately 0720Z, a round object described as slightly larger than a baseball was observed near the Valley City Airport in North Dakota. The object, which displayed a red to orange color and occasionally exhibited a red streak, was seen hovering at an altitude of approximately 1,000 feet. It performed rapid movements, including vertical and lateral shifts. When a police car approached the object, it rapidly disappeared to the west. A significant aspect of the report involves the reported electromagnetic interference; as the police officers attempted to get closer to the object, they lost radio contact with the station at Valley City. Simultaneously, the Valley City station lost contact with Jamestown, South Dakota. This loss of communication was noted as highly unusual, as it had previously only occurred during severe weather conditions, despite the fact that the weather at the time of the sighting was reported as very clear with little wind or cloud cover. All radio contact was regained once the object left the area. The report, filed by the Commander of Detachment One, 4672nd GOS in Fargo, North Dakota, concludes that there was insufficient data for a full evaluation, noting that weather data was not submitted and specific positional information regarding the object was missing. The association between the object and the radio failure was not formally established.