UFO Observation Report — Dayton, Ohio, 22 June 1968

This document contains a collection of reports and internal correspondence regarding a series of UFO sightings reported in the Dayton, Ohio area on the night of 22 June 1968. Multiple witnesses described seeing a disc-shaped or parallelogram-shaped object with blinking white lights, which they initially could not identify. The reports include completed Air Force 'Sighting of Unidentified Phenomena' questionnaires from several observers, detailing their observations, the duration of the sightings, and their impressions of the object's movement and appearance. One witness described the object as having a 'series of lights, like windows, moving round as if spinning,' while others compared it to a 'flat bar of soap' or a 'Goodyear blimp.' Following these reports, an investigation was conducted by the Air Force, specifically by Lt. Col. Hector Quintanilla, Jr. of the Aerospace Technologies Division at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. A 'Memo for the Record' dated 24 June 1968 documents a conversation with the owner of an aerial advertising plane. The investigation concluded that the reported 'UFO' was, in fact, a Cessna 172 aircraft towing an electrical advertising sign for Stueve Ford of Miamisburg. The plane was operating in the vicinity of Miamisburg, Franklin, West Carrollton, and Kettering during the time of the sightings. The Air Force determined that the sign, when lighted, could be visible from up to 15 miles away, which accounted for the descriptions provided by the witnesses. The document concludes with a formal letter to the witnesses identifying the stimulus for their sighting and thanking them for their report.