Jimmy Carter UFO incident
1969 incident regarding the sighting of a UFO
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Key Takeaways
- Jimmy Carter, United States president from 1977 until 1981, reported seeing an unidentified flying object while at Leary, Georgia, in 1969.
- Since its writing, the report has been discussed several times by both ufologists and by members of the mainstream media.
- He reported that at about 7:15 pm, one of the guests called his attention to a strange bright white object, about as bright as the moon, that was about 30 degrees above the horizon to the west of where they were standing.
- The object then changed color, first to blue, then to red, then back to white, before appearing to recede into the distance.
- Carter's report indicates that it was witnessed by about 10 or 12 other people, and was in view for 10 to 12 minutes before it passed out of sight.
Jimmy Carter, United States president from 1977 until 1981, reported seeing an unidentified flying object while at Leary, Georgia, in 1969. While serving as governor of Georgia, Carter was asked (on September 14, 1973) by the International UFO Bureau in Oklahoma City to file a report of the sighting, and he filed a statement on September 18, mailed September 20. Since its writing, the report has been discussed several times by both ufologists and by members of the mainstream media.
Sighting
One evening in 1969, two years before he became Governor of Georgia, Carter was preparing to give a speech at a Lions Club meeting. He reported that at about 7:15 pm, one of the guests called his attention to a strange bright white object, about as bright as the moon, that was about 30 degrees above the horizon to the west of where they were standing. It moved toward their direction, but stopped beyond a stand of pine trees some distance from them. The object then changed color, first to blue, then to red, then back to white, before appearing to recede into the distance.
Carter felt that the object was self-illuminated, and not solid in nature. Carter's report indicates that it was witnessed by about 10 or 12 other people, and was in view for 10 to 12 minutes before it passed out of sight.
In 1973, Carter reiterated:
There were about twenty of us standing outside of a little restaurant, I believe, a high school lunch room, and a kind of green light appeared in the western sky. This was right after sundown. It got brighter and brighter. And then it eventually disappeared. It didn't have any solid substance to it, it was just a very peculiar-looking light. None of us could understand what it was.
Speaking in a 2005 interview, Carter said:
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