By Erika Tejada & Betzy Antonio
The concept of aliens has been around for a millennia. Depictions of UFOs have been found in plenty of historical art pieces and carvings. Many people have found evidence of alien existence but reliability is always doubtful and authenticity can never be confirmed. June 24, 1947 was the date that started the mass sightings of UFOs, abductions, and an increase in secrets in government affairs. 1945 was the year that nuclear testing began, explaining the secrecy in government affairs. Non-believers use nuclear testing and developments in military weapons as an explanation for strange occurrences dubbed to be aliens. But are the stories of nuclear tests, weather balloons, and military aircraft really a cover up to deny the existence of beings from outer space?
Kenneth Arnold:
Kenneth Arnold was the first man whose case of a UFO sighting would make an impact on the American Nation. On June 24, 1947, Arnold was flying his aircraft near Mount Rainier in Washington, where he claims to have seen nine blue glowing objects flying in a V formation. Arnold thought they were fighter jets due to their incredible speed. Being an expert in aircraft he estimated their speed at 2000 kilometers per hour. Arnold took the story to the Oregonian newspaper where he described the motion of UFOs as saucers skipping across the water starting the new nickname, “flying saucers”. The military confirmed that there were no aircraft test on that day and seemed to be thoroughly convinced of UFO existence. Later on during the investigation, the government claimed that Arnold was hallucinating at the time of the incident and denied all existence of UFOs. Kenneth Arnold’s sighting forever changed the way society saw objects in the sky. For instance, people no longer turned to mythology or supernatural phenomena, but questioned it as proof of extraterrestrial existence.
Roswell: In the same year of 1947, rancher William Brazer discovered scrap metal and unidentifiable materials on his New Mexico Pastures. Brazer thought the materials might be from a UFO crash, so he reported the materials. Soldiers from the Roswell Army Air Force Base were sent to pick up the materials. Because of the ongoing alien interest, the story was the headline of most newspapers. The government refused to admit to extraterrestrial involvement and claimed the materials belonged to a weather balloon. It was at this time when evidence began to get contaminated by the public who would release fake videos of alien dissections or crash landings. Although the weather balloon mentioned by the Air Force was in fact real, it is believed to be a coverup for the true contents of the crash, in order to keep the country calm. The government has classified and the case as debunked, but there is compelling evidence that states otherwise. For example a memo sent just after Roswell, by Lt. Gen. Nathan Twining said, “The phenomenon is something real and not visionary or fictitious. There are objects probably approximating the shape of a disc, of such appreciable size as to appear to be as large as man-made aircraft.” We will never know what really happened at Roswell, but the government secrecy and dramatic change of the government from believers to non believers sure gives us a hint as to what is happening.
Levelland:
Just ten years after the Arnold and Roswell cases, an astonishing phenomenon which caused confusing electronic interference, took place. Carl Iwasaki was one of those who witnessed this unknown experience in Levelland, Texas. He claimed to have seen a rocket-like vehicle with lights that practically blinded him. Carl asserted that when this strange vehicle appeared it caused an electrical shortage by draining fully charged batteries. The state police, whom he revealed this encounter with did not believe these allegations could be true. That is until they themselves came upon these enticing bright lights. The investigation continued but was handed over to an Air Force group to study. This research group eventually concluded that what was seen was not at all any form of extraterrestrial activity, but rather just a hectic electrical storm. Today, some still remain hesitant to believe this story due to the fact that there was no actual storm on that day. Could it be possible that the Air Force group used their story as a cover up to avoid exposing classified information relating to their findings regarding the extraterrestrial phenomenon?
Throughout the years these have been some of the most notorious UFO sightings people have spoken up about. Even after reading the evidence and becoming aware that there might be something other than us out there, some people still find it hard to believe there are other “aliens” who are not like them. But with secret files like “The CIA’s Guide To Taking Pictures of UFOs”, it is hard not to take interest in the subject. Here at our APB campus, most students have confidence in aliens roaming around the billions of other galaxies and vortexes. Even school president, Mr.Reed said that he believes there must be something out there. Now that you are informed, what do you want to believe in?
