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Military Shoots At A UFO,
Near Cherry Valley, IL in April 1955
- http://www.nicap.org/550408rockford_dir.htm
- http://www.nicap.org/bb/NARA-PBB1-125.jpg
- http://www.nicap.org/reports/550408rockford_FSR.htm
- http://www.nicap.org/reports/550408rockford_NICAP.htm
- http://www.stealthskater.com/Documents/Keyhoe_02.pdf
- http://www.nicap.org/reports/550408rockford_CRIFO.htm
- http://www.cufos.org/UFO_History_Gross/1955_01_06_History.pdf
UPDATE:
After I posted about this.
Michael Benjamin reached out to me via email and what Michael had to say, was pretty interesting.
I want to take a second and thank Michael for reaching out to me, Thank You!
I wanted to lead this page, with his report.
Michael sent us the follow:
” My father James Benjamin grew up in Cherry Valley. He was born in 1934 and is now deceased. But when I was growing up, I heard a story from him on many occasions regarding the Cherry Valley ufo incident. He did not recount the same details as your sources have asserted. But I am sure it is the same incident as seen from his local perspective.
There used to be a large, wooded area on Harrison Avenue directly across from where the main post office is now. That entire area back in the 1950s was farmland and forest. He told me that in 1955 the public was told that an airplane crashed in those woods. He always found it highly suspicious, as there were no direct witnesses to the crash (which is somewhat understandable, since that area was sparsely populated at the time). After this supposed crash happened, within hours the entire woods were cordoned off by the military. I’m pretty sure he told me it was the Air Force and Army that came in. He could never understand why the military would come in for a supposed commercial airplane crash.
The military was there for weeks, and they would not allow anyone into or near the alleged crash site. When they were done and had left, nothing was left of any plane crash or wreckage as my dad and his friends searched the area. My dad always asserted that he believed it was one of three possibilities. Some type of foreign satellite came down, thus necessitating military involvement to seize that technology (which would’ve been 2 years before the historically reported advent of the original Sputnik satellite by the USSR). Or, two, it was some type of meteor. But then why would the military be involved instead of saying a college or scientists? Or three…it was a UFO that came down. I heard this story many times from my dad growing up, and anytime we drove down Harrison passed the post office.
When this story finally broke on the Internet in recent years, I was intrigued and realized this had to be related to what my dad had seen with his own eyes.
-Mike Benjamin“
I posted the links that I was able to find online about the incident.
If you know of anything more, please let me know!
This incident has really piqued my interest. Even though it happened decades before I was even born.
After learning about this incident, I was hooked! I have been trying to research this incident for years now.
Sadly, I don’t have much to go on, right now… Just the information that is posted in the links above.
I would highly recommend you taking a few minutes of your time and reading each one of those links.
That way you can see the information directly and form your own opinions.
The Incident:
On April 8th, 1955, there were four businessmen who are GOC members that were on watch at their post.
At approx. 9:30 am they all saw a silver disc shaped object come from behind a jet interceptor and passed it at high speed. After witnessing the UFO, they contact the Filter center in Chicago.
Within minutes of the report,
Jets from the O’Hare Field in Park Ridge were sent on an intercept mission.
The object was located between Rockford and Cherry Valley.
It was described as a silver disc shape object that was 1/4 mile in diameter!
When they located the object they fired upon the UFO.
Missing the UFO and hitting a weather balloon. There was an explosion.
Just prior to the explosion a smaller round object shot out of the side of the parent device, then, in horizontal flight, passed up the jets, after which it was seen to turn on edge and disappear straight up into the sky, Going from Southeast to Northwest.
John C. Gregory, Civil Defense Director, Rockford, Illinois, reported the object was said to be 1/4 mile in diameter.
Gregory watched the show from atop the old city hall building
after he had received a report from a Rockford resident who saw the same display.
Air Force personnel moved in quickly and warned the G.O.C. members to say nothing about the incident
Civil Defense Chief of the area did report the ‘firing’ to the local press
who, in turn, explained away the affair by stating that jets had fired on a ‘balloon’
The Rockford Register editor was told that the pilots had fired on a weather balloon which
had been launched from Minneapolis. There was no mention of the mysterious object which had
streaked past the fighters. Nor was there any explanation for this amazing attack on a weather
balloon over a populated area.
Keyhoe said that “Captain White insisted that the Air Force had no knowledge of such an incident. And
that its jets would never endanger lives by firing on weather balloons. When I heard this answer, I
was positive that White had been ordered to deny attacks on saucers, for the evidence in the
Rockford case was impossible to dismiss.”
This brings many questions to mind. In the first place, we question the target being a balloon for the following reasons: (1) the jets were scrambled to intercept an unidentified flying object, thus ruling out any prearranged engagement; (2) jets are not permitted to fire on meteorological balloons; (3) jets are not permitted to fire on practice or random targets in or near residential areas.
John C. Gregory, Civil Defense Director claims the air force has movies of the entire operation.
