Project 10073 Record Card and Related Correspondence — Okinawa, 25 October 1960

This document comprises a series of military communications and a Project 10073 record card detailing an Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon (UAP) sighting on October 25, 1960, in Okinawa. Three Marine Corps officers—Major Charles R. Burroughs, Major Otto I. Svenson Jr., and Major Howard A. Westphall—observed a round, orange object at approximately 1915 GMT. The witnesses, stationed at Camp Hague, reported that the object followed a circular flight path and appeared to move in a manner similar to satellites like Echo One or Sputnik. The observers were adamant that the object was not a weather balloon, and they were noted by the reporting officer, Captain Johnny W. Shanks, as being mature and intelligent individuals who provided their accounts without hesitation. Despite the clarity of the night and unlimited visibility, the object's speed could not be definitively estimated due to the lack of a horizon reference, though it was speculated to be in the supersonic range. The report includes detailed meteorological data provided by the 10th Weather Group to rule out atmospheric phenomena. Subsequent correspondence between the 313th Air Division and ATIC (Air Technical Intelligence Center) shows an attempt to clarify the object's trajectory and elevation, with the observers reiterating their confidence in their initial report. The official conclusion noted that there was no evidence to suggest the object was not an aircraft, yet the nature of the object remained unidentified, with suggestions that it might have been a satellite or a missile, for which no firing data was available to the reporting office.