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Post by swamprat on Oct 11, 2013 6:43:13 GMT -6
Interesting that this made the Associated Press.....Man Says 1973 UFO Incident Turned Life Upside DownPosted: Fri 7:38 AM, Oct 11, 2013 Associated Press ReleaseBy JEFF AMY PASCAGOULA, Miss. (AP) -- Calvin Parker Jr. says he met an unidentified flying object and its occupants on the banks of a river in coastal Mississippi 40 years ago. Today, the 58-year-old man is still grappling with his encounter with what he says were gray, wrinkly-skinned, crab-clawed creatures. The Oct. 11, 1973, Pascagoula (PASS-kuh-GOO'-luh) incident made headlines, sparked UFO sightings nationwide and became one of the most widely examined cases on record. Parker's friend and fishing buddy that night, the late Charles Hickson, never tired of telling the story to anyone who listened until he died in 2011. But Parker says it turned his life upside down. He tried to dodge the spotlight for decades, moving frequently before returning to Mississippi's Gulf Coast in recent years. www.wctv.tv/news/headlines/Man-Says-1973-UFO-Incident-Turned-Life-Upside-Down-227365701.html
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Post by auntym on Oct 14, 2013 12:33:12 GMT -6
www.wtsp.com/news/watercooler/article/340001/58/Man-recalls-incident-with-UFO-its-creatures CHARLES HICKSON & CALVIN PARKER JR. ABDUCTIONCalvin Parker Jr. recalls incident with UFO, its creatures Oct 14, 2013 An incident involving Calvin Parker Jr. sparked a wave of UFO sightings nationwide and became one of the most widely examined cases on record. Associated Press PASCAGOULA, Mississippi - Charles Hickson never regretted the notoriety that came his way after he told authorities he encountered an unidentified flying object and its occupants 40 years ago on the banks of the Pascagoula River. Until his death in 2011, Hickson told his story to anyone who would listen. But Calvin Parker Jr., the other man present for one of the most high-profile UFO cases in American history, says his encounter with gray, crab-clawed creatures from somewhere else on Oct. 11, 1973, turned his life upside down. "This is something I really didn't want to happen," Parker told The Associated Press as the 40th anniversary of the encounter approached. Parker was unnerved by the initial crush of attention, with reporters and UFO enthusiasts overrunning Walker Shipyard, where he and Hickson worked. Parker tried to dodge the spotlight for decades. The incident sparked a wave of UFO sightings nationwide and became one of the most widely examined cases on record. Skeptics ranged from the deputies who first interviewed the men to an author who sought to poke holes in the story. Parker himself has had conflicting thoughts about whether he was visited by aliens or demons. There's no historical marker on the river bank noting the encounter, and stores don't sell UFO souvenirs. But local people remember - though often with skepticism and jokes. Parker was 18 when he went fishing with Hickson on a tranquil Thursday night after work. The two said a UFO with blue lights swooped down, making a zipping noise. Hickson, then 42, said three creatures with leathery gray skin and crab-like claws - he thought they were robots - took them by the forearms and levitated them aboard the craft. He said something that looked like a large floating eye appeared to examine him. Parker says he was conscious but paralyzed. "They gave a thorough, I mean a thorough, examination to me just like any doctor would," he said. And then they were back on the shore, where it all began. Hickson reported needing three shots of liquor from a bottle in his car to calm his nerves before reporting what happened. CONTINUE READING: www.wtsp.com/news/watercooler/article/340001/58/Man-recalls-incident-with-UFO-its-creatures
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Post by auntym on Jan 11, 2014 15:02:05 GMT -6
Pascagoula Abduction, 1973
Published on Jan 9, 2014
In the fall of 1973, two men fishing in Jackson County, Mississippi, were startled the appearance of a strange craft on the riverbank. Three humanoid creatures emerged from the craft, taking at least one of the men aboard. Some 20 minutes later, the creatures deposited both men back on the shore where they were taken, and together with their craft, disappeared into thin air. In the following weeks, the men underwent a series of investigations from police and UFO investigators, all of which served to confirm their story. The subsequent media coverage propelled the UFO issue onto the front pages, and popularized the previously unexplored phenomenon of alien abduction.
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Post by auntym on Oct 7, 2014 12:59:41 GMT -6
ufodigest.com/article/close-encounter-1004 CLOSE ENCOUNTER: MY INTERVIEW WITH CHARLES HICKSON/ PART 1By Richard Harkness October 4, 2014 Note: To convert my original 1983 manuscript to software format, I scanned the pages to a text file, resulting in oodles of “OCR typos” in the final output. Some may have slipped by my “catch and correct” efforts. If you detect any errors in the text, please let me know via the Comment form on my website. Description: Charles Hickson with artist’s rendering of UFO craft [image: Pat Sullivan, The Mississippi Press Published in the Mississippi Press, October 1983 (10th anniversary of event)
[This exclusive interview has not appeared elsewhere until now.] As the story goes, on the evening of October 11, 1973, Charles Hickson and buddy Calvin Parker were fishing on the banks of the Pascagoula River in Mississippi when a buzzing sound behind them turned their attention to an egg-shaped UFO hovering above the ground. Three creatures with gray, wrinkled skin and claw-like hands emerged and floated toward them. The two men were taken aboard the craft and examined by a “mechanical eye.” They were released apparently unharmed and the craft departed. [Mr. Hickson died at the age of 80 on September 9, 2011.] In the interview, I don’t dwell much on the events of the riverbank abduction. These details have been recounted many times in the local and global news media. My aim is to probe a little deeper inside the man and perhaps dig a bit more out of him than he’s divulged before. This is not easy–he’s given to speaking in generalities and becomes a stone wall when he feels you are probing too far (he attempts to explain why in the interview). Still, he discusses in some detail his belief in universes other than ours, reincarnation, his compulsion to spread the word, the telepathic messages from the other-worldlings, the 12 chosen harbingers of what’s coming; and he gives a definite time frame for when we’ll all realize what’s happening. Charles Hickson and his wife Blanche and daughter Tisha live in a modest home at the end of a cul-de-sac fringed on two sides by woods. Blanche’s touch is evident all around inside. Charlie and I settle in at a kitchen counter. The sound of wind chimes drifts in from the front porch. As I set up my tape recording equipment, I wonder if I’ll ask him a question he’s never heard before. Probably not. He’s given hundreds of interviews since that fateful night (the tenth anniversary of the riverbank abduction was October 11). No matter–my primary concern is getting some new answers. Charlie is fifty-two now. He puffs on a cigarette and drinks coffee while we talk, occasionally stroking his beard or clicking his cigarette lighter and gazing broodingly through a window toward the patch of woods out back where a train rambles by later and interrupts us briefly. Blanche sits in the den with the TV volume turned low. When Charlie’s coffee cup is empty, she’s there to refill it. About halfway through the interview, I’ll ask him to be thinking about anything special he might want to mention for his final comment. I begin by asking him about his recently published book, UFO Contact at Pascagoula . CONTINUE READING: ufodigest.com/article/close-encounter-1004 PART 2: ufodigest.com/article/close-encounter-1005 PART 3: ufodigest.com/article/close-encounter-1006PART 4: ufodigest.com/article/close-encounter-1007
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Post by paulette on Oct 7, 2014 22:52:59 GMT -6
Interesting. Charlies either couldn't give details due to some inner compulsion not-to, or he chose not to. It's a curious interview, but I understand that having been interviewed many times, there must a sense of weariness in giving another one. He knows that a lot of people don't believe him - even if they come to talk to him That's a weight to have carried through his life. The time discreptancy seems like the standard - I thought I was only gone for a minute or two but why is it 5am??? Passing time is difficult to measure - even if one looks at one's watch - is that an unadulterated memory? Or what didn't I look at my watch (phone now I guess).
Curious.
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Post by auntym on Sept 21, 2015 11:58:45 GMT -6
blog.gulflive.com/mississippi-press-news/2015/09/jimmy_buffett_pays_tribute_to.html Jimmy Buffett pays tribute to Pascagoula's other famous name, alien abductee Charles Hickson, with 'Mr. Spaceman'
Mr. Spaceman Jimmy Buffett performs an ad-libbed version of "Mr. Spaceman" in Pascagoulaby April M. Havens | ahavens@al.com / connect.gulflive.com/staff/April%20M.%20Havens/posts.htmlSeptember 19, 2015 PASCAGOULA, Mississippi -- Jimmy Buffett said a Pascagoula beachfront performance wouldn't be complete without recognizing the small town's other major media blitz. "This is quite a gathering in Pascagoula," he told the about 5,000 fans gathered on the beach for a Buffett Bridge dedication and mini-concert. Buffett said the Saturday event might get as much media attention as Charles Hickson did in October 1973, when he and a co-worker, then-19-year-old Calvin Parker, claimed they were abducted and examined by aliens while fishing on the west bank of the Pascagoula River. There's just one small difference between Hickson's and Buffett's experiences in Pascagoula, he said. "Charlie didn't get a bridge," Buffett said with a laugh. "We're going to do a little quick tribute for all you space fans out there," he said before launching into an ad-libbed version of "Mr. Spaceman" by The Byrds. Buffett changed part of the lyrics to say, "My window's open and something came in. It said, 'Boy, I'm back in Pascagoula again.'" Hickson's alien tale made international headlines in the '70s. He wrote a book, "UFO Contact at Pascagoula," and was known for selling it outside Jackson County businesses. He was also known for telling friends and family -- and sometimes total strangers -- that aliens continued to communicate with him via telepathic means. Hickson, of Gautier, died in 2011 when he was 80. blog.gulflive.com/mississippi-press-news/2015/09/jimmy_buffett_pays_tribute_to.html
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Post by swamprat on Aug 13, 2018 11:21:16 GMT -6
Alien abduction: 45 years after alleged UFO encounter, Mississippi man breaks his silencebob Broom | Mississippi Clarion Ledger | August 13, 2018
In this Oct. 9, 2013 file photo, Calvin Parker, Jr., stands in the area where he and fellow Mississippian Charles Hickson were allegedly abducted by aliens on Oct. 11, 1973, on the banks of the Pascagoula River in Pascagoula Miss. The incident made headlines, sparked UFO sightings nationwide and became one of the most widely examined cases on record. FILE/AP
On October 11, 1973, Calvin Parker, Jr and Charles Hickson reported being abducted by aliens in Pascagoula, Mississippi. Decades later, in a rare interview with the Associated Press, Parker breaks his silence and stands by his story.
It was an event he has been reluctant to speak about, yet it shaped much of his life. Calvin Parker, now of Moss Point, along with friend Charles Hickson, claimed they were abducted by aliens while fishing on the Pascagoula River and now Parker has written a book he hopes will set the record straight.
"Pascagoula — The Closest Encounter, My Story" was recently published. It contains the first full account of the event given by Parker along with how it affected his life. It includes photos, documents and newspaper articles written through the years. It also marks the first time a transcription of a hypnosis session with Parker has been published.
Parker hopes it will clear the air.
"It was Oct. 11, 1973," Parker said. "We'd gotten off work that day and a friend of mine, he and I went fishing.
"The old abandoned shipyard; they had a little pier out front and we were on that pier. I'm going to guess it was about six o'clock in the evening. It had just started getting dark, but it was kind of a bright moon."
Parker said he noticed blue light reflecting off the water and his initial thought was law enforcement officers had arrived to tell the two fishermen they needed to leave the property. However, when Parker looked up, he realized the light was coming from a craft like nothing he'd ever seen.
"A big light came out of the clouds," Parker said. "It was a blinding light.
"It was hard to tell with the lights so bright, but it looked like it was shaped like a football. I would say, just estimating, (it was) about 80-foot. (It made) very little sound. It was just a hissing noise."
Then the situation became more surreal. Parker said three legless creatures floated from the craft. One had no neck with gray wrinkled skin. Another had a neck and appeared more feminine. Parker described their hands as being shaped like mittens or crab claws.
When one of the creatures put one of its claws around his arm, Parker said he was terrified, but then another feeling came over his body.
"I think they injected us with something to calm us down," Parker said. "I was kind of numb and went along with the program."
Parker said the creatures floated he and Hickson into the craft and performed physical examinations on the two. Then they were taken back to the bank of the river.
Parker said he didn't want to tell anyone what happened, but Hickson convinced him otherwise. The two contacted Keesler Air Force Base, but were told they should call local authorities. So, they contacted the Jackson County Sheriff's Office.
According to Parker, the two passed sobriety tests as well as polygraph tests. Parker said he also passed a voice stress test.
The ordeal seemed like it was over, but for Parker, it was just beginning. The news spread worldwide and according to news reports, Hickson didn't shy away from the attention. Parker, on the other hand, didn't want it. In the years that followed, he said he changed jobs and relocated to other towns when people realized who he was. It was just something he didn't want to discuss.
"I've been going through this 45 years this October," Parker said. "I never talked about it or wanted to talk about it.
"I have very few friends, but they're true friends. They never asked about it and I never talked about it. My family never talks about it."
After decades of largely not discussing the event, Parker began to change his mind after attending a funeral where he came into contact with people he'd not seen in many years and he felt they focused more attention on him than the deceased.
"I signed the registry at the funeral and people recognized the name," Parker said. "Out of respect for the family, I just left. My wife told me on the way home, 'You need to write about it.'"
Parker considered what happened at the funeral, the years of speculation about what happened that night on the river, and his health. He eventually agreed.
"I felt like everyone deserved an explanation," Parker said. "Everyone has an expiration date and I wanted to get this out there before I die.
"I've had some near-death experiences and I'm in bad health. I just wanted to do it."
For Parker, the book is likely a weight lifted off his shoulders. For friends, family and others interested in his side of the story, it should be enlightening. However, Parker said there are some questions that may never be answered.
"I catch myself going fishing at night and look up and wonder where they came from and how far did they travel and why they had to get me."
Parker's book can be found at Amazon.com.
WATCH VIDEO: amp.clarionledger.com/amp/922706002?__twitter_impression=true
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Post by jojustjo on Aug 14, 2018 8:56:37 GMT -6
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Post by lois on Aug 15, 2018 23:06:37 GMT -6
Never forget this story Jo. As it was a very unusual looking alien. A robot with a spike coming out of its face. Very crazy.. May read it myself.
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Post by auntym on Aug 30, 2018 11:57:22 GMT -6
www.theufochronicles.com/2018/08/pascagoula-closest-encounter-my-story.htmlThursday, August 30, 2018 Pascagoula: The Closest Encounter, My Story – A REVIEWBy Robert Barrow The UFO Chronicles 8-28-18 Worst Fishing Experience EverPASCAGOULA-THE CLOSEST ENCOUNTER: MY STORY – Buy it – Click HERE: www.amazon.com/gp/product/198299584X/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=198299584X&linkCode=as2&tag=thufch-20&linkId=10ee9ae62de2dd1316745b60c67ea2ea One of the perks for an aging crackpot who spent a considerable number of years exploring the UFO issue is society's expectation that he'll be stubbornly set in his odd ways, staunchly dedicated to standing by outlandish opinions, no matter what. Not quite accurate -- but that's how I feel about the Pascagoula UFO abduction incident, highly impressed and willing to suggest, oh my god, put all the other abduction reports aside and concentrate on whatever may have happened to Charles Hickson and Calvin Parker in the late afternoon of October 11, 1973 as they anticipated a little quiet time, fishing on the Pascagoula River in Mississippi. Should the story be accurate, the only catch of the day was two fishermen abducted and physically examined by entities that emerged from a craft dropping in from the sky. In the pages of this blog, several times over the years, we've discussed with deep respect the Pascagoula case (check out the search engine on this page), and details of the incident abound on the Internet, so I'm not going to rehash what's already been rehashed to death. What IS new is a missing piece to the Pascagoula puzzle in the form of an unexpected but very welcome book written by Calvin Parker himself. Entitled, Pascagoula: The Closest Encounter, My Story, is a book that needed to be written, particularly because while Charlie Hickson was alive he wrote of the incident himself and gave multiple interviews, while Calvin Parker ran from publicity and spent years trying to get things right in his head after experiencing something incredible. Something overpowering and frightening, orchestrated by creatures appearing nothing whatsoever like the traditional variety plastered upon many a book and movie screen. Indeed, these entities reportedly appeared truly "alien." No, I have not seen the book yet. Maybe I never will, as I gave up reading and reviewing UFO-related books for print a long time ago, having realized that my meager contributions to UFO research had peaked and it was time to get out of the way. Still, I am intrigued, and I may latch on to a copy sooner or later. Why am I a Pascagoula abduction cheerleader? It's not just the involvement of Dr. J. Allen Hynek (who was impressed), nor the passed polygraphs, nor the secretly recorded conversation between Hickson and Parker in the sheriff's office, nor the obvious integrity of each man. For me, the whole thing blossomed particularly when the existence of multiple witnesses came up -- witnesses on the highway near the Pascagoula River who apparently watched a very strange-looking craft glide into the area where the two men were fishing, at approximately the same time. Among the witnesses, as we've noted previously, included three active duty Navy men watching in awe as they proceeded along the highway, and one of them came forward not only to describe what they saw in the sky, but to publicly identify himself and his buddies by name. The AP's Natalie Chambers wrote about the admirable witness aspect, prompting the late popular ABC Radio commentator Paul Harvey to spend an entire Saturday noon session laying out the Pascagoula mystery for his national audience years after it had occurred, powerfully making the point that Hickson and Parker weren't exactly alone that fateful late afternoon. Calvin Parker was reportedly encouraged by his wife to write his own account of the Pascagoula incident -- something he really had wanted to do anyway, knowing that the years were passing. Who among us knows how much time we have left on Earth to accomplish things we really feel must be done? With a foreword by Philip Mantle (who also published the story) and lots of assistance to Parker by well-known UFO researchers to give the book a nudge, Parker's book should rank among the most important regarding UFO abductions. Yes, the abduction phenomenon can be tricky to explore, and many a case has turned out to be pure nothing, but now and then along comes a story so bizarre, yet so persuasive, that it commands our attention. I'm in Calvin Parker's corner on this one, have never not been, but I sure as hell never plan to go fishing in Pascagoula.
www.theufochronicles.com/2018/08/pascagoula-closest-encounter-my-story.html
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Post by jojustjo on Aug 31, 2018 23:26:35 GMT -6
I feel as positive about Travis Walton's abduction. Both of these accounts absolutely give me chills.
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Post by jcurio on Sept 1, 2018 10:22:14 GMT -6
And, I’m sure there is more.
Some, we will never even hear of.
People can, and do, keep secrets.
“Witnesses” even silenced.
😉
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Post by jojustjo on Sept 2, 2018 0:12:27 GMT -6
No one really tried to silence these guys..but by now 'they' know most accounts won't be taken seriously and it won't amount to any panic. When my memories started coming around..there wasn't a soul I felt comfortable telling including and especially my family. My son's would have believed it..but they wouldn't have known what to say. Sometimes it's about the position you put another person in...at least for me...I think of those things. My father taught me it was very smart to anticipate what he might feel toward any given situation and mitigate damage before it occurred..mostly I avoided his proximity when I could. Until I found this group...I hadn't talked about it. That's sad.
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Post by auntym on Jul 1, 2019 15:55:46 GMT -6
www.washingtonpost.com/history/2019/06/26/i-floated-inside-man-returns-site-ufo-abduction-it-gets-historical-marker/?utm_term=.caf140819d14 The men claimed they were abducted by aliens. In Mississippi, police believed them.During an interview on Oct. 18, 1973, Charles Hickson, left, and Calvin Parker Jr. of Pascagoula, Miss., recount their alleged abduction by aliens from the banks of the Pascagoula River where they were fishing. (Gary Holland/AP)By Gillian Brockell / www.washingtonpost.com/people/gillian-brockell/?utm_term=.4a021c82292dJune 26, 2019 What is certain about the night of Oct. 11, 1973, is this: When Charles Hickson and Calvin Parker Jr. arrived at the sheriff’s department in Pascagoula, Miss., they were frantic. They told authorities they had just been abducted by aliens. Each had a puncture wound in one arm. Police tried to catch them in a lie, but it didn’t work. Both men later passed polygraph tests. On Saturday, the riverbank where the men said the close encounter happened got a historical marker, calling it one of the “best documented” cases of alien abduction. After decades of avoiding media attention, Parker was there for the dedication. Hickson died in 2011. Calvin Parker stands with family members at the historical marker in Pascagoula, Miss., that depicts the night he and Charles Hickson said they were abducted by aliens in 1973. (Courtesy of Pascagoula Mayor Dane Maxwell)In 1973, Hickson was Parker’s foreman at a shipyard. The two had gone fishing after work at an abandoned boat launch and were still there after the sun went down. “I was just getting ready to get some more bait,” Hickson told The Washington Post in 1975, “when I heard a kind of zipping sound. I looked up and saw a blue flashing light. Calvin turned around too. We saw a 30-foot-long object with a little dome on top.” As it hovered just above the ground, three small creatures emerged, also hovering, he said. The men were suddenly paralyzed. The creatures grabbed them with pincer-type claws and pulled them toward the object, he said. “I floated inside,” Parker told the Biloxi Sun Herald in 2018. www.sunherald.com/news/local/counties/jackson-county/article219679955.htmlHickson said they were subjected to a physical examination by something that looked like a “big eye,” a constant mechanical sound buzzing the whole time. And then, they were dropped off, right back in the dark delta where they started. Hickson found Parker standing up, arms raised to the sky and screaming, he told The Post. They ran for help. At first, sheriff’s investigators thought the men had been drunk. Or lying. After interviewing the men, they left the room with a recorder secretly taping, hoping to catch the pair dropping the act once they left. But they didn’t. They kept on talking about what they had seen and how scared they were. “We did everything we knew to try to break their stories,” Jackson County Sheriff’s Capt. Glen Ryder told The Post in 1975. “If they were lying to me, they should be in Hollywood.” Overnight, it was national news. There were news conferences and cameras thrust in their still-stunned faces. A “UFO investigator” from Northwestern University flew down and said their story checked out. Skeptics called them liars, or said Hickson had an episode of sleep paralysis with hypnagogic hallucinations, while Parker was “highly suggestible.” Believers flooded into Pascagoula by the thousands, wrapped in aluminum foil and sitting all night on the hoods of their cars, waiting for visitors from another world. [No, Buzz Aldrin didn’t see a UFO on his way to the moon] www.washingtonpost.com/Hickson was 42 at the time, and was well-known in the community, so perhaps he felt more able to handle the media crush. He recounted the experience to anyone who would listen. He went on Johnny Carson and Dick Cavett. He published a book in 1983. Parker, on the other hand, was 18 or 19 when it happened. He had just arrived in Pascagoula from an even smaller town and had planned to earn some extra money before returning home to get married. He told the media he had passed out at the beginning of the whole affair and couldn’t remember what happened. What we know — and don't know — about aliens and UFOs The Post's Cleve R. Wootson Jr. explains why a recent admission from the government is like pouring kerosene on UFO conspiracy theories. (Video: Monica Akhtar/Photo: Bill O'Leary/The Washington Post) That was the only lie he told, he said to the Sun Herald in 2018. In fact, he did remember what happened, and was so afraid that aliens had infected him with something that when he got home from the sheriff’s department he took a bath in bleach. Within a few weeks, he skipped town. He got married and picked up work in oil fields. If someone at a job recognized him, he would quit. If Hickson was trying to get rich from the story, it didn’t work. Parker told the Sun Herald that before Hickson’s death in 2011, he occasionally paid the older man’s electric bill. Parker, now in his 60s, slowly came out of hiding in recent years, and in 2018, published a book of his own. In March, as the city was discussing plans for the marker, new witnesses emerged, telling the Mississippi Clarion-Ledger that on the night in question, they saw an unidentified flying object with flashing blue lights going up and down the Pascagoula River. They said they kept it secret all these years because they were afraid of people’s reactions. One of them, Maria Blair, told the Clarion-Ledger: “The story is very true. That’s what has bothered me for 45 years. It’s been on my mind for 45 years.” www.washingtonpost.com/history/2019/06/26/i-floated-inside-man-returns-site-ufo-abduction-it-gets-historical-marker/?utm_term=.caf140819d14
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