23857122-1369-508761-0003

STATEMENT FROM LEWIS L. CHANDLER, (CIV) This is Lewis L, Chandler, and I live at 610-B Park Place, Austin, Texas, My occupation is part time school patrolman, A brief description of the object: In shape it was the shape of a plate - not shaped as a ball -~ and appeared to be from 18 to 24 inches in diameter, about the same size as the full Moon; and the color was silvery, or rather it gave off a silvery reflectione Number: There was only one, and there was no trail or exhaust, The speed seemed to be about 500 and 750 miles per hour, There was no sound, and there was no maneuvering, and it was going in a straight, direct line. It disappeared, by moving out of sight, well above the horizon. The time of sighting was approximately 10:30 AM on Wednesday, the 14th day of January 1953, The observation was visual, The observer of this object was at Robert E. Lee School, which is located at Harris Avenue and Hampton Road in northeast Austin; and at the time I observed the object, 1 was throwing balls to a group of first grade students ~ boys and girls, A heavy type airplane appeared overhead; and when I looked up, it (the airplane) passed on going north; and I observed the silvery object which appeared to be very high; and I asked the chil- dren what the object was; and they all replied, "Flying Saucer", almost to a child. They were very excited over it. I watched the object almost constantly until it disappeared, which was probably about a minute. It once appeared to pass through very high, thin clouds, For the past sev- eral years I have been a very close observer of aircraft in flight, and I don't think. that there is a possibility of my being mistaken in the ap- | pearance of this object. Of course, as to what it actually is, I wouldn't care to venture a guess; but there were no wings on it, no broken lines;. and I firmly believe that it was some kind of a disk or round object - not as a ball, however. Inasmuch as my son was a Navy pilot and instruc~ tor for four years during World War II and I also have a son-in-law who was a navigation instructor at Ellington Field, I have always had an un- usual interest in aircraft. I couldn't estimate the height because I do not know the size of the object but think the object was ten or twelve or fifteen thousand feet or more and the cloud it appeared to pass through was very high, The clouds were thinly scattered all over the sky, and the sky was largely blue, The visibility was practically unlimited yesterday morning. I was out in an open space; there were no obstructions; there were very few trees and no houses at all, It was an open school yard where visibility in that direction was unlimited, I was facing almost due south, and the object was traveling a little east of south, The object, when I observed it, ~ it did not pass over me = was, I'd say, about a 60 angle above the horizon flying away from me, i we ik ¥ Of aud ls dy Signature oe Declassification Authority: NND 57565