The Kecksburg, Pennsylvania UFO Recovery 58 Years Ago Today And Still No Answers-December 9, 2023
From: Researcher Stan Gordon www.stangordon.info
December 9, 1965. It was a date that many Pennsylvania residents will never forget. It was about 4:47 PM when witnesses were ringing the phones at police departments, radio and TV stations, and newspaper offices in the greater Pittsburgh area to report seeing a bright fiery object passing through the sky. During the late afternoon and throughout Thursday evening, that news was breaking around Pittsburgh. I was sixteen years old at the time of the occurrence, and I began to document the information as it was breaking on radio and television.
Television, radio, and newspaper reporters from many localities that evening rushed to the small rural community of Kecksburg located in Westmoreland county. They had received information that the object that had been seen in the sky around Pittsburgh had reportedly fallen into a heavily wooded area outside of that town. By the time many of the news media arrived that evening, they found the rural roads jammed with curious people who wanted to get a look at whatever it was that had reportedly fallen into the woods. They also encountered volunteer firemen, state police, and military personnel.
Surprising to many who were in the area that day was the quick arrival of the military. There is no doubt that the military was there. Area residents and other visitors who went to Kecksburg that day, as well as firemen, law enforcement officers, and numerous reporters confirmed this to me. Several types of military vehicles were seen in the area where the object had fallen and was later reportedly recovered. Witnesses said they saw Air Force and Army personnel. There are other witnesses that stated that they either saw or interacted with NASA personnel.
Over the years since the incident took place, I tracked down hundreds of people who had knowledge of what had occurred. Many witnesses to that 1965 incident have now passed away. Others are indeed elderly, and many are in poor health. There are others, however, who are still alive and will never forget what they saw and experienced that day so many years ago.
In past years I filed numerous (FOIA) requests with many agencies for information pertaining to the Kecksburg incident. It was in the mid-1980s that researcher Ray Boeche obtained the Air Force Project Blue Book report on the occurrence. The location was listed as Acme, rather than Kecksburg. Years ago, I interviewed a family who had been involved with the incident. They had been visited by an Air Force officer at that time in 1965. They lived close to where the object had reportedly fallen, however they had an Acme mailing address. I believe that is why the location is listed as Acme.
During my investigation, I learned that some local residents who saw the object fall from the sky into the nearby woods that afternoon, soon after, went down into those woods to find out what had fallen. That is when they came across that large metallic acorn shaped object with odd symbols on its surface, partially buried in the ground. No weld marks, rivets, or seams were observed on the object. One witness who stood only a few feet away from the landed object stated that it looked like someone poured liquid metal into an acorn shaped mold. Because of his family background, that witness was certain that the symbols on the raised up section on the back of the object were not of Soviet origin. Late that evening, numerous witnesses observed an acorn shaped object covered with a tarp being transported out of the area on a military flatbed tractor trailer truck.
I later learned from independent sources that the object was transported during the early morning hours of December 10, 1965, from the Kecksburg area to Lockbourne Air Force Base near Columbus, Ohio. The flatbed tractor trailer and its cargo were backed into a hanger on the base. An armed security team guarded that hanger while that truck remained on that base for a brief time. The truck and its cargo continued onto Wright Patterson Air Force base where the object was later placed inside of an existing building. It was not Hangar 18 that we have heard about over the years.
Since the time the incident occurred, there have been numerous theories proposed as to what that object was that fell near Kecksburg 58 years ago. Was this object a very secretive and advanced man-made space device or could it have been of non-human origin? I keep an open mind to both possibilities and so did many of the witnesses that saw that object long ago.
There is one detail that is not widely known concerning the description of the object. There were some witnesses who had a close view of the object. They reported that there was a raised protuberance that extended out from the front section of the object.
This is the sketch of the object drawn by a witness who observed it pass low overhead moments before impact.
(Stan Gordon Files)
Whatever that object was, it performed some interesting maneuvers along its path. The object was moving roughly SE from Allegheny county into Westmoreland county and over the city of Greensburg. It moved toward Route 30 east near what was then the Gee Bee department store and made a turn to the south. The object was observed from such areas as Margurite, Norvelt, Mammoth, over the outskirts of Kecksburg, and continued to move toward the mountains of Laurelville about 3.5 miles away. The object seemed to hesitate over the mountain, then began to travel back toward the outskirts of Kecksburg, then turned again and dropped down into the woods. Area residents who saw the object fall said that it was moving quite slowly and went down as though it was making a controlled landing. There were no parachutes reported at the site during or after the landing.
For years, I had information from witnesses who told me that the next day (Friday) after the incident had taken place, that a smaller group of personnel returned to the location and were observed entering the woods where the object had fallen. For example, Two boys walking in those woods the next morning were stopped by a man with an instrument, possibly a metal detector or Geiger counter, and were told that they better leave the woods since there was the chance of radiation.
Additionally, independent newspaper stories confirmed that there was another search of the area the next day where the object had fallen. They also mentioned the military being there. However, in some other Friday newspapers, the officials indicated that the search was over, and that nothing was found, and that the object was Likely a meteor observed in the sky.
What was the object that fell into the woods outside of Kecksburg that afternoon in 1965? What was so important about that object that armed military personnel reportedly responded so quickly to recover it?
I learned various details over the years that concerned the incident that were quite fascinating. This is an example of what I came across.
*On the day of the occurrence, more than one reporter on the scene who was taking pictures, reportedly had the film confiscated from their camera by authorities in that area.
*I was told many years ago by a witness who is now deceased, that he and another family member were transported from a location near the impact site to their home in a military jeep. While riding in the vehicle, they overheard radio transmissions that there was someone down in the woods with a camera. He said the voices sounded extremely excited and concerned until the photographer was located.
*News crews from Pittsburgh area TV stations were on the scene that evening. There were news stories about the occurrence that aired on Thursday evening and Friday. I recall watching the TV broadcast of the incident the next day that was in black and white on one of the stations. Over the years I requested the TV stations to attempt to locate the archival news reels for that day in 1965. None of that footage has ever been found after various attempts were conducted to locate what had been broadcast and should have been in the station’s news library archives.
*Over the years, various Kecksburg fire department officials confirmed to me that the records for December of 1965, such as the incident report logs for fire vehicles were all missing. All other records were accounted for.
*Independent witnesses who were in the area near where the object fell that evening, confirmed that there was not just one, but two military flatbed tractor trailer trucks on the scene along with other military vehicles.
*Independent witnesses reported seeing men in what they referred to as “moon suits (hazmat) around the area where the object had reportedly fallen.
On July 26, 2023, whistleblower, David Grusch, A former military intelligence officer testified before congress under oath that he had information that the government has had a secret program that involved the recovery of UFOs or UAP. I believe David Grusch is telling the truth.
It is quite likely that there was already a quick response government UFO recovery program in operation in 1965 and was involved with the Kecksburg incident. It is interesting that within the Project Blue Book report was an entry on this case that stated, “A three man team has been dispatched to Acme, Pa to investigate and pick up an object that started a fire.”
Some of the locals were certain that they began to see a small military presence around the Kecksburg area within the hour after the object had reportedly fallen. It was during the next few hours, however, when a considerable number of military vehicles and personnel would arrive in the area from various directions. Local and national newspaper stories mentioned the military activity in the Kecksburg area.
I am still hopeful that photos that were reportedly taken that evening of not only the military trucks but also of the object will still show up. I crossed paths with various individuals who told me they saw black and white photos that were taken at that time. I talked with a person whom I believe was at the scene that night who told me that he took photos of the object on the military truck. He lent the pictures to some friends and the pictures have since been lost. It is possible that some families might have such pictures in some old scrapbooks.
(Stan Gordon Files)
The government now has an office that is telling the public that it is taking the UFO subject seriously. There are many individuals who were involved with the Kecksburg incident in 1965 that are hopeful that some information will be uncovered and revealed to the public that will provide some answers as to what the object was that fell near Kecksburg 58 years ago.
If you have any information on the 1965 incident, I can be reached at 724-838-7768, or via email at: sightings@stangordon.info.