23857122-1209-480825-0002

TRUE COPY OFFICER IN CHARGE OF FLARES SAMPSON AIR BASE SASPSO!} \ . i * Ge it~ would please me very much if you would tell me if a very large number of Dlares were dropped near Sampson, Sunday evening, November 23, 1952. Here is why: On that evening oy 5 pm, the writer, Rochester 9, N. Y., and stopped deer hunting with bow and arrow and came out of tne Ww the highest peak of Gannett Hill, west of Canandaigua Lake. No stars were visible. Jt was raining lightly and visibility was poor, but we could see the outline of South Hill on the Hast side of Canadaigua Lake. Above South Hill were four extremely bright white lights. By compass they were slightly north of east, or directly toward Sampson, or even north of Sampson. sia | looked like bright flares but did not appear to descend or move at ail while lighted. Hach light would last only a few seconds and haere oat te be replaced soon afterwards by another light displaced laterally and vertically. There were never more than 4 visible at once and never less than 1. other things about them did not resemble flares. It may have been an ical iilusion due to refraction of light rays, but as each bright e light disappeared, the after ih: ae which faded immediately like a on persistency 1) gia was not a single red light but a cluster of 7 red lights. Each cluster ap cared like a 3/64 inch diameter circle ax arm! B teneth: say 26 inches away. An actual circle of lights were displaced ertic aati up te 2 inches at arm's length, which would be a big difference iS altitude at 25 miles to Sampson, for flares to be dropped. Also there $ no apparent diffusion of light or reflection on clouds as you expect to see from flares, I would estimate that we observed over a thousand lights come and go before ft Gannett Hill. On descending we could not see the lights. On ending another hill near Canandaigua, we could see nothing unusual. Please advise if we were watching normal pheromena, because we have other iroressions obtained from the study which are useless and embarassing to el 2 if we were viewing a mere scattering of lares. A CERTIFIED TRUE COPY — Monabd. a gM Nut (A@ , DONALD L. MYERS, 24 Tie, USAF ~ AQ 2231652 Declassification Authority: NND 57565 SSeS es