UNCLASSIFIED // PUBLIC RELEASERELEASE 07 · OCTOBER 23, 2026
PENTAGON UFO FILE · DOCUMENT · DOW-UAP-D164Flying Object Report, Indiana, 1953
This five-page letter report from the 2466th Air Force Reserve Combat Training Center at Atterbury Air Force Base, Columbus, Indiana, is dated 13 January 1954 and was filed under AFR 200-2 in place of the usual form. No officer was available, so the preparing NCO was a staff sergeant from the reserve information office; the base adjutant, 2nd Lt. Marvin S. Satin, signed it for the commander. An information copy went to the Air Technical Intelligence Center. A sixth page is a faded reverse with a dispatch stamp.
The sighting
The witnesses were a Seymour, Indiana, couple, a local druggist described as truthful and not given to exaggeration, and his wife. Driving east between dusk and night, they were drawn by a brilliant moving light to the north at about 20° elevation. They describe two large, white, cloudy rings in a tight staggered formation, each with four bright points of light slowly rotating clockwise, and a bluish-white vapor trail like a jet taking off at night. They heard nothing even after stepping out of the car. The objects tilted down as they approached, hung level, then tilted up and left toward the southwest at “incredible speed.” They watched for three to four minutes, five to six counting about two minutes spent moving the car twice and turning it once.
How it came in, and its limits
The time is given as 0002 to 0008Z, but the couple could not remember the date, so the report attaches weather for 8–15 December 1953 from the base weather detachment. With no date, air traffic could not be checked. The report says the story surfaced only by chance: the couple had told just three friends, fearing ridicule, until a local doctor mentioned his son’s own saucer letter and the husband opened up. No evaluation or conclusion is offered.
The official description
From war.gov/UFO, released October 23, 2026, quoted in full
This document is a Flying Objects Report prepared in accordance with Air Force Regulation 200-2, which established guidance for reporting unidentified flying objects. The report records an incident near Seymour, Indiana, in which two civilian reporters stated that they observed two airborne objects while traveling by car. The report does not identify an exact event date; its weather assessment addresses conditions during the period December 8–15, 1953.
The report describes the incident as consisting of a “brilliant moving light” and two large, white, cloudy or gaseous objects in a staggered formation. It further describes four bright points of light within each object and a bluish-white, vapor-like trail. The report describes the object kinematics as an in-line approach with a steady descent, a stationary interval of unreported duration, and a rapid departure along an abrupt upward angle toward the southwest. It records an estimated direct observation period of three to four minutes, with a total elapsed period of five to six minutes that included changes in the vehicle’s route.
All descriptive and estimative language contained in this report reflects the reporter’s subjective interpretation at the time of the event. Such characterizations should not be interpreted as a conclusive indication of the presence or absence of any intrinsic object features or performance characteristics.