Project Blue Book Site Visitations: 2020 - Current

This series is comprised of an ongoing endeavor to research and then visit sites that were originally documented in the declassified files of Project Blue Book. At each location, I take a photo of the sky and combine that image with the documentation from the Blue Book files about that location.

Location: Ewa Beach, Oahu, Hawaii
Project Bluebook Case # Unknown
Original Case File Date: September 20, 1968
Visitation Date: June 24, 2023
Notes: Sky was mostly clear on the day of visitation; anomaly spotted when looking through documentation, unnoticed on day of image capture.

There’s several aspects about this case that are funny: one, the sighting was reported by a 12 year old, and ultimately dismissed as unreliable due to the age of the witness; two, the 12 year old witness said they saw this object at 3:55am - why they were outside alone at that time remains unclear, as well as how they saw a grey object in the dark. (I also find the loopy pre-adolescent cursive writing endearing.)
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It should also be noted that, as is not uncommon in these cases, there is a military base right near Ewa Beach; in this instance, Hickman Air Force Base and, of course, Pearl Harbor.
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When I was looking through my photos from this visit, I did notice an anomaly. Granted, it’s non-definitive and could be any number of things. But, now that folks are taking UFO/UAP studies more seriously, there’s thought that a viewer’s intention of wanting to see the object can help them appear, as it can perhaps be tied to the witness’ consciousness. Does it show up because I want it to be there? Where’s the line between coincidence and intention?
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I know it frustrates most, but I kinda love that “the phenomenon” lives in pixelization, where representational reality breaks down. It seems appropriate, despite our best efforts to report them in HD.

Location: New York, New York
Project Bluebook Case # Unknown
Original Case File Date: March 20, 1950
Visitation Date: December 16, 2022
Notes: No observed aerial phenomena on date of visitation.

Project Blue Book Site Visitation: New York, New York.
Blue Book file number number 670. (Unknown if “file numbers” and “case numbers” are the same organizational classification.) Visitation/documentation date December 16, 2022; original sighting date: March 20, 1950.
Sky was heavily overcast on the day of visitation with no observed aerial phenomena.
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Folks are often surprised to find that UFO/UAP reports come in from not only from heavily rural areas, but also from our major cities. New York City/State is no exception - in fact, one of the largest UAP sightings of all time happened in the Hudson Valley through out the mid-1980s. This particular case file, number 670, has no other context to it aside from ten photographs that appear to be taken either from the ground looking up, or on the same aerial plane as whatever is being photographed as it approaches New York City. I haven’t been able to determine if the point of view is coming on approach from one of the boroughs, the bay, or from New Jersey? The photos look to be of two types of phenomena, I am assuming multiple shots of each - one perhaps a classic “cigar” shape UFO/UAP, but the other a more ephemeral body that lacks clear definition. I’ve done a bit of research to get more context on this particular case, but so far nothing substantial has come up. I also don’t know if “AFSC” has to do with the Air Force’s Specialty Codes (which determine what area of expertise an officer or assigned to), or the Air Force Sustainment Center, which has to do with air defense. I do however really love the high contrast, ambiguous photos that sometimes accompany these files - it an aesthetic I sometimes emulate in my own work. In a world where high definition holds no secrets, I find the mystery of a lack of clarity sometimes refreshing for my imagination.

Location: Chickasaw, Alabama
Project Bluebook Case # Unknown
Original Case File Date: August 28, 1952
Visitation Date: January 06, 2022
Notes: No observed aerial phenomena on date of visitation.

Project Blue Book Site Visitation: various sites in Chickasaw, Alabama as well as (former) Brookley Air Force Base (now the Mobile Aeroplex at Brookley).
No known Blue Book case number.
Visitation/documentation date January 06, 2022; original sighting date: August 28, 1952.
Sky had scattered clouds on the day of visitation with no observed aerial phenomena.
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This is a really interesting Blue Book case, with over 40 pages of documents in the file. It seems the sightings spread across the Mobile, Alabama area, stemming from the former Brookley AFB, up to Chickasaw, roughly 12 miles to the northeast. Multiple military personnel, with names attached, submitted sighting reports along with civilian witnesses with the names redacted. Overall, six unidentified flying objects were observed between 9:30pm and 10:45pm, emitting a range of colors from “fiery red” to “sparkling diamond”. They also ranged in size, with one of the objects doing a “hopping” motion over others. One of the officers, Sgt. Robert E. Calkins, stated his saw similar lights while stationed in Alaska. One of the objects was picked up by radar at Brookley. The sightings were tied to possible weather balloons coming out of the Eglin or Pensacola areas, though no definite explanation remains. Of particular note is a report that one of the objects stayed stationary for 15 minutes, then came down to a tree-line level, seemingly explored something, then vertically shot back up into the sky.

Location: Arlington, Virginia
Project Bluebook Case # Unknown
Original Case File Date: June 28, 1969
Visitation Date: January 01, 2022
Notes: No observed aerial phenomena on date of visitation.

Project Blue Book Site Visitation: Fort Meyer Army Base (now Joint Base Meyer - Henderson Hall), Arlington, Virginia.
No known Blue Book case number.
Visitation/documentation date January 01, 2022; original sighting date, June 28, 1969.
Sky was heavily overcast on the day of visitation. No observed aerial phenomena.
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An army engineer and a pilot were lying in the grass by the swimming pool area of Fort Meyer around 8pm, when they noticed a missile or rocket shaped aircraft. The engineer says that he tried to report the sighting on the day of, but that all phone lines to reach the appropriate channels were busy. A note on a page not included in this collection (due to space) states that object could have been a meteor or a satellite re-entry.

Location: Lafayette, Louisiana
Project Bluebook Case # Unknown
Original Case File Date: September 27, 1954
Visitation Date: February 21, 2022
Notes: No observed aerial phenomena on date of visitation.

Project Blue Book Site Visitation: Lafayette, Louisiana.
No known Blue Book case number.
Visitation/documentation date February 21, 2021; original sighting date: September 27, 1954.
Sky was heavily overcast on the day of visitation with no observed aerial phenomena.
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This is honestly a kinda “meh” Blue Book case that got chalked up to being a meteor. The most interesting aspect may be the fact that I was in Lafayette because of the Texas freeze, when the power grid failed in 2021 - after three days of no power and no water in sub-freezing temperatures, I packed myself and my dog and drove four hours to the closest hotel I could find that would allow pets and wasn’t price gouging. I actually pass through Lafayette often on my way to the east coast and despite the circumstance, it was a nice excuse to check out more of the town.

Location: Montgomery, Alabama
Project Bluebook Case #91
Original Case File Date: June 23, 1947
Visitation Date: January, 2021
Notes: No observed aerial phenomena on date of visitation.

Project Blue Book Site Visitation: Montgomery, Alabama.
Blue Book case number number 91.
Visitation/documentation date February 07, 2021; original sighting date: June 28, 1947.
Sky was perfectly clear on the day of visitation with no observed aerial phenomena.
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This is one of the first of a series of sightings in and around the Montgomery area, starting with Project Sign before it evolved into Project Blue Book. There’s nothing overly peculiar about this case, aside from the fact that a “star like object moved east to south with bursts of speed while zigzagging.” Blue Book ultimately chalked the sighting up to being a pesky weather balloon - but, on the 5th slide, something I always take note of is at the bottom where Blue Book lists case numbers with no explanation, openly. It’s important to remember that Blue Book’s purpose was not to necessarily document UFO cases, but to essentially debunk them - swamp gas, weather balloons, etc. J. Allen Hynek said later in life that he regretted providing what he felt were false identifications of perhaps even more unexplained aerial phenomena. Those cases that Blue Book specifically states as unexplained are sites I hope to get to one day. Also, as an artist, I really love the drawings that sometimes accompany these files, like on slide 9; I think sometimes, whether artistically trained or not, we’re all just trying to describe and make sense out of the weird and perplexing things we observe everyday.

Location: Chamblee, Georgia
Original Case File Date: July 26, 1948
Project Bluebook Case #165
Visitation Date: January, 2021
Notes: No observed phenomena on date of visitation except for clouds.

Location: Belmont, North Carolina
Original Case File Date: March 8, 1948
Project Bluebook Case #105
Visitation Date: January, 2021
Notes: No observed aerial phenomena on date of visitation except for clouds.

Location: Montgomery, Alabama
Original Case File Date: April 9, 1948
Project Bluebook Case #113
Visitation Date: January, 2021
Notes: No observed aerial phenomena on date of visitation except for moon in sky.