UFO Report — Richmond, Missouri, 15 July 1965

This document is an incoming Air Force message dated 19 July 1965, reporting a sighting of an unidentified aerial phenomenon that occurred on 15 July 1965 near Richmond, Missouri. A local farmer observed a single, white, star-like object at 0310Z. The witness reported that the object appeared to brighten and fade, and it moved in a generally straight path from the northwest to the southeast before disappearing into the distance. The observation lasted approximately ten minutes. The report includes standard meteorological data for the area, noting clear skies. Capt E L Wiegel, a wing intelligence officer, provided the initial assessment, stating that with the information available at his level, no definitive analysis could be made regarding the cause of the sighting. However, the document also contains a conclusion identifying the object as the ECHO I satellite. The message was distributed to various military commands, including the Foreign Technology Division at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, and an advance copy was delivered to the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Defense Intelligence Agency.