The Great UFO Wave:
October, 1973

UFO Sightings Investigated in Georgia, Alabama Areas

The Cincinnati Enquirer, page 1
September 10, 1973

By United Press International

Authorities Sunday checked out more reported sightings of unidentified flying objects in the Southeast, but quickly dispelled a fear that something from another world had fallen in a Georgia field.

The Georgia State Patrol said a glowing green cylinder found near Manchester Saturday night, shortly after several persons said they saw UFOs buzzing the area, turned out to be only a commonly used automobile trouble flare.

But reports continued to pour in, from police and civilians. Two military policeman said something dived at their car near Hunter Army Air Base south of Savannah and forced them off the road. A state patrol trooper based in Manchester said a UFO whisked pass his car, going so fast there was "no way" he could get a close look.

A cameraman for WAGA-TV in Atlanta recorded 90-seconds of film of a UFO near Manchester early Sunday. It showed a hovering, glowing light changing colors rapidly.

Reports of the objects continued Sunday night, centered around Griffin, Ga., south of Atlanta. The sightings were similar to all those of the past several weeks, consisting of multi-colored lights moving eratically.

Police in five east central Alabama cities reported sightings early Sunday.

Officer Keith Broach of Auburn, Ala., said he saw something the size of an airplane, which appeared red and white, changed to green and then to white before flying away.

A policeman at Lanett, Ala., said he saw an object about the size of a car, coming to within 150 feet of the ground.

There also were sightings reported by police in Carrville, Notasulga and Tuskegee, Ala.

Military policeman Bert Burns and Randy Shade said in Sabannah that an airborn object dived toward their car as they were making a routine patrol near Hunter Air Base. They said it hovered near the car and pursued them as they raced to headquarters.

They said at first they saw "quick flashing lights, traveling at a high rate of speed from east to west, about 2000 feet above ground level" and then dived on them, forcing them off the road before disappearing into the darkness.

A Georgia police spokesman said a trooper assigned to the Manchester headquarters had seen a UFO hovering at tree-top level.

"It went over the unit (patrol car) and was going so fast there was no way he could even get close enough to identify it," he said.