In the early 1960’s in events occurring in New Mexico near White Sands Proving grounds, the unknown came calling. Already the scene of some of the earliest militarily confirmed UFO sightings dating back to 1948 when Naval Commander R. B. McLaughlin admitted to Life Magazine that unidentified high altitude intelligently controlled objects were being detected by White Sands tracking radars. The first generation of US missile and rocket development came to fruition in White Sands beginning with Robert Goddard who with a little barely funded shop in Albuquerque, pioneered modern rocket development in the 1920’s.. While the US military ignored Goddard’s experiments and data, the Nazi’s under Werner Von Braun, welcomed Goddard’s work and the V-1 Buzz Bomb and V-2 rockets were invented!

Legacy of weapons development

The vast high deserts of New Mexico were host to the first atomic bomb test at the “Trinity” site. With this dubious history, there was plenty of room for the unknown to slither in between the cracks and new and disturbing incidents would eventually occur. With the first generation of targeting radars in the south central section of New Mexico built by the Atomic Energy Commission which was the forerunner of SAC (Strategic Air Command) Holloman Air Base, Cannon Air Base, and Walker Air Field formerly Roswell Army Air Field and home to the 509^th Bomb Group, the first atomic weapon delivery unit in the world, all stationed within New Mexico, the remoteness of New Mexico was perfect for their purpose.

The unexpected appears

As a backdrop for this story, an airman with the United States Air Force goes “AWOL” for several days, a not so unusual situation that the “Brig” or military jail is used as a detainment facility for. The USAF officer in charge of this particular “Noncom” was out on the proving ground in a jeep searching the area in the event that a body might show up if foul play were involved. As it turned out, foul play was involved as during sunset on this particular day, the superior officer witnessed something eerily out of place! A classic flying saucer was descending from an upper altitude upon the desert floor!

A horrific surprise

What was even more astonishing was that a body was either ejected by the strange unknown object or it had landed right on top of the body? He wasn’t sure! After a short period of time, the UFO lifted off the ground and the silvery appearing craft accelerates upward and out of sight in seconds! The USAF officer drives over to the corpse and finds that it’s his own enlisted subordinate who has supposedly been AWOL! The body has been mutilated much like the cattle that have also been surgically incised with the use of some type of cauterizing instrument as blood is absent from the bodies.

What the unknown leaves in its wake

After a coroner’s investigation once the body is recovered, a military court is held over the incident, and somehow charges of manslaughter are leveled against the dead man’s superior officer! A trial is held and the Air Force Commander is accused of being responsible for the death of his junior noncommissioned officer. Luckily, the USAF senior officer is acquitted so we must assume that the court was convinced of the eye witness account or that perhaps some corroborating radar sightings coincided with the grizzly event. There have been other discovered human mutilation cases that have gone unsolved, but it was assumed these murders were drug gang related torture. So, here in the midst of some of the most closely monitored military acreage in the world, White Sands Proving Ground the unknown left its mark with only death and unanswered questions as a calling card.