Is any one here from kecksburg, westmoreland county? are you old enough to know what happened there around 1965? or maybe you have an eye witness account of the incident.
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Is any one here from kecksburg, westmoreland county? are you old enough to know what happened there around 1965? or maybe you have an eye witness account of the incident.
Have always thought that the so-called "Kecksburg Incident" was on a level slightly higher in credibility than the "Philadelphia Experiment" Hollywood fiction story. Then too, if something fell from the sky and was retrieved by the military or government, it may have been an early satellite or something else with a mundane story. A more romantic explanation was that the thing in Kecksburg was the legendary quasi-scientific NAZI Bell experiment. As figured, the Bell somehow broke loose during an American parallel universe or time travel experiment and dropped to earth into the sleepy town of Kecksberg, PA. Then too . . . it could have been a chunk of Russian satellite space junk that the government types had been tracking and of course wanted. There is suppose to be some form of acorn shaped monument located in the town of Kecksburg to commemorate the alleged event.
Back in the same year of 1965, I was working for the Associated Press news service. For a time during that period, there were tons of UFO related stories coming in over the wire every week. A particular series of "incidents" supposedly happened up in the region of Exeter, New Hampshire over the course of about a week in 1965 when at night a large "flying saucer" shaped object buzzed both pedestrians and people in motor vehicles. Supposedly the local cops fired at the thing as it hovered over a field along route 111 in Exeter. As the saga goes, there were ricochet sounds heard but the bullets had no effect . . etc . . etc. This crap supposedly happened off-n-on for over a week's time but direct witnesses were invisible then and appear to be non-existent today, 47-years later. Most of these stories are never reported in "real time" but are published in pulp magazines years after the fact.
I was only about 7 years old at the time, but do have some recollection of that supposed incident. My memory is pretty clear, and was set up at the time, thanks to my older sister who was a somewhat paranoid/conspiracy theorist/UFO/sci-fi fan, who really made a big deal out of it at the time. We did not live in Kecksburg, but lived very close to the old Nike missile site in Herminie and also there was a Nike site in Irwin too. I used to ride my bicycle about 3 or 4 miles to the Herminie site just to look at those missiles sticking up out of the ground, and to see all of the military vehicles thru the highly secured fence. I sometimes talked to the guards at the gate, who were usually very friendly, and tried to convince them to shoot one off.
One guard gave me a canteen full of water, with a shoulder strap, and let me keep it.
Just a couple days before the Kecksburg incident, an older neighbor lady claimed to see a UFO over a cornfield behind our house. The police came to investigate it. Everyone said she was just an eccentric older lady who was imagining things. Also, there was a little prejudice towards her from the other younger moms, because she always carried a snubby .38 revolver in her dress or apron pocket. That and the fact that she gave us cookies and told us funny stories made her the coolest mom in the neighborhood!
But the police were out there in the cornfield for a long time, and forbid anyone else to enter the field. I remember them shining their flashlights at something for a long time. Then a couple Army jeeps showed up, but left after a couple minutes. Most likely the soldiers were neighbors who lived there in Park Meadows. Again, this was closer to Herminie than to Kecksburg.
Later, the rumors from the older kids in the neighborhood was that a motorcycle was found in the field, and that it had to have fallen or been dropped from a UFO or an airplane, because there were no tracks leading to it, and no broken cornstalks, and it was not there the previous day. :rolleyes:
Some of our neighbors were military families, stationed mostly at the Herminie site, and some at the Irwin Nike sites.
When the Kecksburg "incident" supposedly happened, I remember seeing lots of activity going on at the military family's houses, dads coming and going at all hours of the day and night, not at all a normal routine. Also, much much more traffic and convoys of military vehicles up and down the main road. Me and the other kids thought it was really strange that the drivers and passengers were all wearing helmets and did not wave back to us as often like they usually did.
Not sure what actually went on in Kecksburg at that time. But I clearly remember an unusually high amount of military activity near the Nike sites at that time, because that was probably the only time I noticed them doing anything other than normal traffic patterns.
As I got older, I just figured it was probably some type of 'Cold War' scenario excercise, but who really knows?
My ultimate fantasy at that time was for the Army to launch one of those giant missiles and blow up a "flying saucer". :D
You're in possession of US Military Property, stop posting and consult an attorney. ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by Irwin Inhabitant
Haha good one! I was not in possesion of that canteen for very long. I had my bicycle parked on the side of the road while I was standing in line at the 'Good Humor' ice cream truck. The canteen was hanging on my handlebars. When I was not looking, some older kids thought it would be funny to put it under the truck's tire. When the truck pulled away it flattenned it and dragged it underneath. I ran and chased the truck, then ran back to get my bike. Too late, I never saw it again.Quote:
Originally Posted by streaker69
On the bright side, my wrath of vengeance towards the guilty perpetrators was swift and thorough, and constant, even into high school. :) They never messed with me again.
Back on topic; I will talk to my sister, and try to find some of the old original newspaper clippings and stories regarding the Kecksburg "incident". I think she had a scrapbook dedicated to those types of incidents that were local.
I live pretty close to Kecksburg. I have even worked there a bunch over the years (being a HVAC guy, I went into more than a few homes there). I don't know where the UFO supposedly landed. I never saw any kind of a marker for it. It would be intresting to actually go and see the spot where it happened, tho...
thanks a lot! i am waiting!!Quote:
Originally Posted by Irwin Inhabitant
I feel bad for you! Terrible what kids do to other kids sometimes.Quote:
Originally Posted by Irwin Inhabitant
Okay, not feeling bad anymore :D For some people, that's the only way they ever learn about treating others with respect!Quote:
Originally Posted by Irwin Inhabitant
My Great Uncle was said to be like the 1st on site of the "ACORN" he was about 20 feet from it from what i have heard.