UFO Report — Forbes AFB, Kansas, 22 July 1965

On July 22, 1965, at 1400Z, two United States Air Force officers, Major William W. Cory and Major Joseph M. McQuaid, observed an unidentified object while at Forbes Air Force Base in Kansas. The witnesses, both of whom were noted as being thoroughly familiar with celestial bodies and aircraft, had stopped to allow a fire truck to pass when they observed an object while looking eastward toward the flight line. The object was described as being elongated and flat, appearing to be about one-half the size of a dime from their vantage point, approximately 10 to 15 miles away. The object was stationary, positioned at 7 degrees above the horizon at approximately 090 degrees. It was described as shiny silver, with the left side appearing brighter than the right, despite the sun shining on the right side. The observation lasted for five minutes before the object was obscured by a cloud bank. No movement was observed during the sighting. An investigation conducted by 1LT James E. Walling of the 313 Intelligence Section confirmed that no weather balloons or aircraft were reported in the area by either Topeka FAA or Forbes Base Operations. While there were small rain showers west of Kansas City extending into Missouri, these did not appear on Topeka radar. The final conclusion reached by the Air Force was that the sighting was astronomical in nature, specifically a parhelion (sun dog), as the position of the sun in relation to the object was consistent with such a phenomenon.