heads skyward, the U.S. Air Force yesterday afternoon spent hours
etching vapor trails through the skies over the city.
The demonstration proved conclusively to the satisfaction of most
that the strange path of dark smoke blazed across the evening sky
at dusk Wednesday was no vapor trail and did not emanate from any
conventional airplane.
The Wednesday night spectacle was entirely dissimilar. Then, heavy
smoke boiled and swirled in a broad, dark ribbon fanning out at
least a mile in width and stretching across the sky in a straight
line. Since there was no proof as to what caused the strange
predark manifestation, and because even expert witnesses were
unable to explain the appearance, the matter remains a subject for
interesting speculation.

There is strong evidence that this story was deliberately kept off the
press wires. The Associated Press and other wire services in
Washington had no report. Requests for details by Frank Edwards,
Mutual newscaster, and other

{p. 12}

radio commentators ran into a blank wall. At the Pentagon I was told
that the Air Force had no knowledge of the sighting or the vapor-trail
maneuvers.

On February 22 two similar glowing objects were seen above Boca Chica
Naval Air Station at Key West. A plane sent tip to investigate was
hopelessly outdistanced; it was obvious the things were at a great
height. Back at the station, radarmen tracked the objects as they
hovered for a moment above Key West. They were found to be at least