UFO Sighting Report - Staunton, Virginia, 21 December 1964

This document compiles reports, correspondence, and analysis regarding an alleged UFO landing near Staunton, Virginia, on December 21, 1964. The primary witness, Horace Burns, a local gunsmith, reported that a large, metallic, beehive-shaped object crossed Route 250, causing his car engine to stall, before landing in a nearby meadow. Burns estimated the object to be 80-90 feet high and 125 feet in diameter. He observed the object for approximately 60-90 seconds before it rose vertically and departed at high speed. Professor Ernest C. Gehman of Eastern Mennonite College subsequently investigated the site and reported detecting high levels of radioactivity using a Geiger counter. The incident drew the attention of the Air Force's Aerial Phenomena Section, which dispatched investigators from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in January 1965. The Air Force report concluded that no landing had occurred, citing a lack of physical evidence, such as depressed vegetation, and the absence of corroborating witnesses. This conclusion was met with significant pushback from Gehman and other local researchers, who argued that the Air Force investigators failed to account for the four inches of snow covering the ground at the time of their visit, which would have obscured physical traces. Furthermore, the civilian investigators challenged the Air Force's dismissal of the radiation readings, arguing that the instruments used were inappropriate for the type of radiation present and that the investigation was perfunctory. The document includes extensive correspondence between Gehman, NICAP, and Air Force personnel, reflecting a deep conflict between official government findings and the accounts of local witnesses and researchers.