They say there is no proof. “They” Include many scientists. Some laypersons, and even fewer scientists, are naïve enough to think it is part of the scientific method to investigate strange occurrences and phenomena even if the subject is UFOs.  We sometimes even expect that scientists will make no judgment until they do. But, it seems, most of them are determined to either avoid that subject altogether, or to react with ridicule,  and unseemly emotion. 

Their interest is obviously  not piqued by the recurring loss of function of electrical equipment in the presence of UFOs.  But one might think that physical injury from radiation, often confirmed by physicians, would be sufficient to stimulate their curiosity. As always, the major problem is picking out, among hundreds, the most obvious and persuasive examples. Some incidents are accidental, some result from careless or risky behavior on the part of the human victims, some are clearly self defense on the part of the UFOs, but some few could admittedly be unprovoked attacks, something at odds with the usual propensity of the visitors to avoid hostility. Many of the examples here are reported by Donald E. Keyhoe, a retired US Army major, and by Carol and Jim Lorenzen. All are experienced UFO investigators and authors. 

On July 1, 1954, an F-94, a jet fighter, with pilot and radar operator, was ordered to intercept an unidentified object in the vicinity of Walesville, New York. The pilot spotted a disk-shaped machine and climbed toward it. As he did, a scorching heat filled the cockpits of both crewmen. Through waves of heat, the pilot saw the radar crewman bail out. Stunned, and, he later explained, without even thinking, he ejected himself. Apparently, his head was cleared by the cool air, and he was horrified to see the jet diving toward the center of the town. 

The burning machine struck a building, then a car, killing a man, his wife and two infant children. Five others persons were injured. An Air Force car arrived and quickly hustled the two crewmen to Griffiss  AFB, even as the pilot was beginning to tell a newsman of the sudden heat.  The pilot claimed that there was some effect separate from the heat that made his mind black out. He sought,  but was refused permission from the AF to talk privately to the relatives of the victims. A local newsman’s report of sudden heat was denied by the Air Force: It was, they said, merely engine trouble. 

On November 4, 1957, at Fort  Itaipu, in the city of Praia Grande, São Paulo, Brazil, at about 2:00 A.M, two sentries saw a brilliant light descending at a frightening speed. About a thousand feet above them, its descent slowed. There was no flame or beam, but a searing heat struck the soldiers. One of them fell to his knees and collapsed. The other, screaming with pain, sought shelter under a cannon. The fort was thrown into total darkness. Both sentries were in serious condition but were able to be interviewed, and the attempt at secrecy, did not stop a flood of publicity. Help in the investigation was sought and obtained from the United States. The secret report on the case ultimately reached Washington, whereupon, though taken quite seriously, the publicity was scotched by the Air Force response terming the witnesses, by implication or otherwise,  fools or incompetents. 

There is the case of James W. Flynn, a rancher living at Fort Meyers , Florida. On March 19, 1965, shortly after midnight, camped in the everglades, he saw a bright light descending about a mile away. By swamp buggy and by foot he approached it and saw a large cone shaped machine silently hovering a few feet from the ground. Through four rows of ports shone yellow lights, and Flynn could see a panel behind them, but no occupants. He neared the UFO, stepping into the circle of lights and raised his hand in a gesture of friendship. As he did, a beam of light flashed out from a window and struck him on the forehead, knocking him unconscious. 

Hours later he regained consciousness and found he was partially blind and suffering from a painful bruise where the beam had struck, but noted the charred circular area where the craft had hovered and the burned condition of the tops of nearby trees. He spent five days in a hospital and was diagnosed, in addition to the other symptoms, an impairment of deep muscle and tendon reflexes. At the Pentagon, reporters were told by the AF officials that the story was a hoax. But the National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena (NICAP) confirmed the physical conditions at the scene reported by Flynn, stressing the absence of footprints around the tree.

The treating physician pointed out that self infliction of the physical injuries would be highly improbable, and that the impairment of deep muscle and tendon reflexes, in particular, absolutely impossible. 

On may 20, 1967, Steve Michalak, on a prospecting trip near Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, saw a UFO land and thought he heard voices from within. When the door closed, he touched the machine with his gloved hand the glove melted and slipped off. The machine began to rotate and took off. A blast of hot air left him with his clothes afire, minor burns on his face, and 2nd or 3rd degree burns on his chest. He subsequently suffered nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, weight loss and a drop in lymphocyte count. The Chief of Radioisotope Laboratory, at the U.S. Naval Hospital, St. Albans, New York, found the symptoms to be “a classical picture of severe whole body radiation with x-rays or gamma-rays. “ He estimated the dosage at 100-200 roentgens, and added that with little more, the dose would certainly have been lethal. 

It is not only civilians who are at risk. 

In early Spring 1951, Private Francis P. Wall was with the 25th Division near Chorwon, South Korea. In the midst of an intense artillery exchange, a glowing disk appeared, and seemed impervious to damage even in the midst of exploding airbursts of shells. When the disk seemed heading for Wall’s unit, he requested and received permission from his commander to fire at it, which he did with armor piercing rounds.  Wall believes that he hit it, and that from the sound, it was metallic. As he described it, “After that the thing went wild… we opened up with everything we had, but nothing would affect it. We…  were swept with some form of ray that was emitted in pulses.” When aimed directly at you, said Wall, “you could feel a burning, tingling sensation all over your body.” So the commander ordered the men into their bunkers. The disk hovered for a while, lit up the whole area with its light, then shot off at a 45 degree angle. 

Three days later the entire company had to be evacuated by ambulance. Roads were cut through as the men were too weak to walk. They had dysentery and a high white cell count that baffled the doctors.  Wall and his comrades continued to suffer severe headaches,, dysentery, nausea, and loss of appetite. He also complained of disorientation, memory loss and severe weight loss. 

It was not only ‘our side’ who suffered from these dangerous attributes.

Stanton T. Friedman, a seasoned UFO investigator, reports that in 1967, American monitors in Florida, listening to Cuban radio traffic, heard radar reports to Havana of an approaching unidentified craft. All attempts to get a response having failed, two Mig fighters were dispatched to “shoot it down.”  The flight leader soon reported the craft in sight and radar gun locked on target. The next voice was the horrified voice of the wingman: “Flight leader’s plane has just disintegrated.” 

On May 25, 1990, four Russian pilots were sacrificed to the disobedience of standing orders by Colonel Anatoli Kurkchy in Turkmenistan, Russia. When a UFO easily dodged ground to air missiles, Kurkchy ordered two 2-seat interceptors to bring it down. At about 1000 meters from the disk, both planes were thrown to the ground killing all four pilots. 

These few modern examples considered, and with the understanding that they are representative of so many more, it is a legitimate matter of wonder that we hear, even from scientists of considerable repute, that “There is no proof.” Does it not seem that there is something deeper than pure logic that underlies this refusal to face facts? 

The author’s website is www.ourinterplanetaryfuture.com   His book is “Our Interplanetary Future: A UFO Primer for Skeptics.”