A spectacular UFO crash witnessed by locals and the military, an alien’s small body recovered and then a fantastic cover-up. Roswell, N.M., in 1947, right? Nope. Aurora, Texas. In 1897. The compelling story was first reported by the Dallas Morning News on April 17 of that year and is all the more intriguing because there was little aloft in the skies over Texas in these years before the Wright Brothers’ initial 1903 flight.Reporter S.E. Hayden wrote:“Aurora, Wise County, Texas, — About 6 o’clock this morning the early risers of Aurora were astonished at the sudden appearance of the airship which has been sailing throughout the country.“It sailed directly over the public square, and when it reached the north part of town, collided with the tower of Judge Proctor’s windmill and went to pieces with a terrific explosion, scattering debris over several acres of ground, wrecking the windmill and water tank and destroying the judge’s flower garden.“The pilot of the ship is supposed to have been the only one aboard, and while his remains are badly disfigured, enough of the original has been picked up to show that he was not an inhabitant of this world.”More than a century later, this dramatic story brought a TV crew from The History Channel to Texas, led by producer-writer John Greenewald Jr., who produced the show “UFO Files: Texas’ Roswell.”Greenewald, a former on-the-air interviewer, went behind the camera to direct interviews of UFO experts and Aurora residents.“It is a town legend, but I’m curious if there is any truth to it,” Greenewald said. “We talked to the experts — some very intelligent people who are convinced that it happened.”He added that Aurorians were more forthcoming about their belief in the early UFO on the phone, but that they often softened their stories once the camera lights were on.He noted that there were many reported sightings of mysterious airships across the Midwest in 1897.
View: Full Article | Source: Galveston Daily News
