If the cases are separated, then it might be conceivable that Chiles and Whitted saw a meteor. But there seems to be no indications that someone confronted with a bright light that streaks past them would "manufacture" a double row of windows and a cigar shape. No one has conducted the experimentation to learn if this is something the mind does when confronted with the sudden appearance of a "streak of light."
And, an examination of the case file reveals no persuasive evidence to suggest that a meteor is, in fact, responsible for the sighting. If, as Sneider, one of the Air Force investigators on the case suggested, we take the sighting at face value, then contrary to the Air Force opinion, there is no solution for the sighting. It should have stayed as unknown or unidentified.
In this case we see clear cut evidence that the Air Force was interested in solving cases regardless of the circumstances. Hynek said that if you reject the evidence and consider even the most far-fetched explanations, then this could be a meteor. But that idea is predicated on the assumption that there were no flying saucers and therefore anything seen must be explainable as a common object.
If we do not separate the cases, and we accept Massey's timing of his sighting, then the meteor explanation fails completely. And, we must remember that Massey was standing fire guard for an aircraft that took off shortly after the sighting. In other words, there was a written record to corroborate his timing of the event. We are, therefore, left with two sightings of a single object that has no solid explanation.
We come back to the original point. There is no solution for this case. That does not mean that Chiles and Whitted saw a craft built on another planet. Witness testimony, by itself, is never going to be sufficient to prove that theory. However, given their description of the object, their credibility, and that both men had been pilots during the Second World War, and had hundreds if not thousands of flying hours, it is reasonable to believe they reported accurately what they saw. Those are the facts. Everything else is speculation.
August 19, 1952: The Best Hoax in UFO History?
Captain Edward Ruppelt wrote in his book, The Report on Unidentified Flying Objects, about his UFO investigations into this case for the Air Force, "We wrote off the incident as a hoax. The best hoax in UFO history."
It all started about 9:30 p.m. on August 19, 1952. Scoutmaster D.S. "Sonny" Desvergers of West Palm Beach, Florida, was taking three boy scouts home after the regular meeting. They were traveling south, on Military Trail, when, according to Desvergers, he "caught a flash of light out of the corner of my eye. I looked around and saw a series of fuzzy lights like the cabin windows of an airliner."
He stopped the car momentarily, but started on again and then thought about it. If it was an airliner that was crashing, or in some other kind of trouble, he wanted to help. He turned around and headed back. He stopped at the side of the road and told the boys to wait about ten minutes. If he wasn't back by the time a radio program ended, he wanted them to go for help.
Desvergers believed the lights were about two miles into the palmettos off to the side of the road. He kept his path straight by reference to the stars and was shining his light across the ground, searching for an easy path through the thicket. He glanced at his watch, found that he had been walking for only four minutes, and then noticed an open area in front of him.
He stopped, thinking he might have reached a lake or a marsh, but realized that it was just a clearing. Later, he told Air Force investigators, "I carefully stepped forward with the light pointing toward the ground. I had a second two-cell flashlight in my back pocket."
As he entered the clearing, he noticed a peculiar odor. He also had the feeling that someone or something was watching him. And, he began to feel heat, as if he was approaching a hot oven or fireplace. He glanced up but could no longer see the stars. The sky above him was black. Something was hovering just overhead, blocking a portion of the sky.
Now, according to the statement he provided to Air Force officers, "I stood frozen in my tracks. I wanted to throw something or hit it with my machete."
At that point, he had not told the investigators that he was looking up at some kind of object only that a portion of the sky had been blocked. He finally described it for them, saying, "The bottom of the object was dull black with no seams, joints or rivet lines. It was dirty streaks running straight across as if oil or dust had blown back. I tried to run but froze, I was so scared. The object was 6 inches to 8 inches above the pine trees."
Still feeling the heat, Desvergers backed out from under the edge of the ship which he could see silhouetted against the black night sky. He said that the ship was "round, with a dome shape top and with holes and fins running around the edge. The bottom edge seemed to glow with a spot of phosphorescent glow…"
Desvergers heard a metal against metal noise that reminded him of a hatch opening. He told the Air Force investigators that he said a million prayers and kept emphasizing how scared he was by the craft and his feelings of being watched by something. He finally saw "a red flare which appeared slowly to move toward me. It came out of the side, I couldn't yell I was so scared."
As the red glow came toward him, Desvergers put his hands up, over his face with his fists closed. He could see that the red glow that he now described as mist had engulfed him. That was the last thing that he remembered for a moment.
When he woke up, he was standing next to a tree. He couldn't see at first and his eyes burned. As his sight returned, he could see lights in the distance and began to run toward them. According to his statement, "I thought I might be dead. Next I met the deputies and we went back to get my light." The deputies had apparently been summoned by the boys after their scoutmaster had been engulfed by the red mist.
There were three boy scouts who had been involved in the sighting. The boys, Charles Stevens, David Rowan and the unofficial leader, Robert Ruffing were interviewed by Air Force officers including Ruppelt on September 9, 1952 at the regular meeting of the boy scout troop in West Palm Beach.
In the official report it was noted that, "In general, the boy scouts were rather difficult to talk to. They were rather excited and nervous about the whole thing and in many cases their answers did not make a lot of sense. It is not believed that this was because they weren't telling the truth, but they were just youngsters and were a little bit nervous."
According to the boys, after the regular meeting, Desvergers took four boy scouts out to his car to give them a ride home. They first drove to the Wagon Wheel, a drive-in restaurant. They had a cold drink and then headed out toward a drive-in theatre, but something happened and they decided not to go. Air Force investigators noted that none of the boys would explain what had happened and that they didn't answer questions about that.
Instead, they drove toward a stock car speedway to see how much water was on the track from recent rains. Although the track was closed and dark, they stayed there for several minutes before driving down Military Trail. One of the boys was taken home so that only three remained in the car.
Now driving south on Military Trail, Desvergers saw something out of the corner of his eye, but the boys didn't see it. Desvergers told them, at that time, he thought it might be an aircraft in trouble or a flying saucer. He then got out of the car, giving the boys his instructions, and then walked into the palmettos.