2 February 1976
(The Journal, Okaloosa/West Florida , Florida
(according to the newspaper image)
Source: Newspapers.com
The whole article:
“EGLIN AIR
FORCE BASE – This mammoth Air Force installation sighted its first unidentified
flying object Saturday [31 January 1976], an object that officials say didn’t
show up either in more than 40 photographs or on Air Force radar screens.
The UFO
hovered over the east end of Duke Field for almost two hours, officials said, giving
off a blueish-green [sic] color and
trailing a light vapor exhaust.
A military
policeman was the first to report sighting the object while making his rounds
about 4:35 a.m. It was visible until the first light, about 7 a .m., according to Lt. Steve
Phalen of the Eglin Information Office.
An Air
Force policeman said the object appeared to be the size of a C-130 cargo plane
or a Boeing 707, the base said. About a half-dozen people reportedly saw the
object.
Phalen
said base radar operators tried to track it ‘but nothing ever visualized on our
screens.’
The base
called the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s office and the Federal Aeronautics
Administration in Crestview, but neither reported any sightings. Weather
conditions at the time were hazy, Phalen said.
Phalen
said, a ‘normal photographic gear’ was used in the futile picture-taking.”
Wikipedia article: “Eglin Air Force Base”:
Quote from the Wikipedia article:
“Eglin Air Force Base (AFB) (IATA: VPS,
ICAO: KVPS, FAA LID: VPS) is a United States Air Force base in
western Florida, located about three miles (5 km ) southwest of Valparaiso
in Okaloosa County.
The host unit at Eglin is the 96th Test Wing (formerly
the 96th Air Base Wing).[2][3] The 96 TW is the test and evaluation center for
Air Force air-delivered weapons, navigation and guidance systems, Command and
Control systems, and Air Force Special Operations Command systems.
Eglin AFB was established 84 years ago in 1935 as the Valparaiso
Bombing and Gunnery Base.”
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Falcon chase aircraft before landing at its new home at Eglin Air Force Base,
Fla., July 14. Its pilot, Lt. Col. Eric Smith, of the 58th Fighter Squadron, is
the first Air Force qualified JSF pilot.
(U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Joely Santiago)
(tageo.com photo)