Fort Sumner, NM: Sgt. Lease sees hovering gray object
On March 1945, Army Air Force Sgt. James L. Lease and E. E. Dickey spotted a motionless grayish metallic object hovering low over the ground near Fort Sumner, New Mexico. It suddenly accelerated away at high speed and vanished.
Background
Witnesses and Event
At 15:00, Sgt. James L. Lease and E. E. Dickey of the Army Air Force were driving south on the Santa Rosa Highway north of Fort Sumner, New Mexico. They noticed the metallic gleam of a flying object to the west, hovering roughly 12–14 feet above the ground and appearing grey.
Observation and Departure
The object remained motionless before abruptly racing away at enormous speed and disappearing within seconds. The witnesses were military personnel, which has been cited as lending the sighting credibility.
Sources and Significance
Reported in Eberhart's UFOs and Intelligence: A Timeline (p. 119), citing Strange Company (142–143) and Powell, Scientist (65). This early post-war account of a hovering, metallic object with sudden acceleration matches classic UAP characteristics and is among the military encounters predating the Roswell era.