UFO Sightings in the 1960s

While processing the WHDH stories that have been digitized so far, I came across a real gem. Reporter Vin Maloney interviews passersby about their views on UFOs.

[caption id="attachment2187" align="alignright" width="300"] Vin Maloney interviews a young man about UFOs. Find the full video <a href="http://bostonlocaltv.org/catalog/BPLZWGMPZS3MZKLL7Z">here.[/caption]

The designation "UFO" was officially created by the U.S. Air Force in 1953, although people have been reporting sightings since the beginning of history. 1965 had one of the highest number of UFO sightings ever, which could certainly account for the increased interest of the media. As you'll be able to tell from the interview answers, there was a wide range of opinions about the existence of aliens and the believability of people's accounts of UFO encounter and sightings. Some people completely believe, while one older woman thinks "it's just not right."

Coincidentally, this news story predates a huge event in UFO sighting history by only a few months. In early September 1965, a teenager and two police officers, saw a large flying object with red blinking lights near Exeter, NH, which could not be explained. The sighting, which garnered a lot of media attention, is now known as the "Exeter Incident." While this event, occurring several months later, could not have been the impetus for the WHDH news story; it is a great example  of the UFO craze of the 1960s.

If you're interested in more about media coverage of UFOs, check out these other news stories we have in our collections. If you'd like to see any of them digitized and streaming, contact us to sponsor their digitization.

References:

Ridge, Fran. "The 1965 UFO Chronology." National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena. Accessed December 30, 2013. http://www.nicap.org/waves/1965fullrep.htm

Booth, B.J. "1965, The Exeter, New Hampshire Encounters." UFO Casebook. Accessed December 30, 2013. http://www.ufocasebook.com/Exeter.html