Big Diomede Island: Light on the island’s southern tip seen from Little Diomede
In October 1953 a young resident of Little Diomede Island, Alaska, saw a light on the southern tip of Big Diomede Island, USSR, for several seconds; it looked as though it came from a large flashlight or spotlight and did not reappear. The report gives the date inconsistently as October 8 and October 6.
Background
An Air Intelligence Information Report of the U.S. Air Force’s 5004th Air Intelligence Service Squadron records that the source, who had kept watch on Big Diomede every night for a week on his own initiative, saw the light at an estimated 95 feet above sea level while standing in the center of Little Diomede Village. It lasted several seconds, was about the size of a nickel held at arm’s length and about the same color as a burning match or dim flashlight; the night was dark with no overcast, and the stars were clearly visible. A squadron member stationed on the island considered the source fairly reliable, and the preparing officer called the location somewhat unusual because people had never been observed on that part of Big Diomede and it is difficult to reach, particularly at night. He noted that the southern tip would be the best place from which to signal the Alaskan mainland, but added that there is no evidence that this was the purpose of the light. The date is contradictory: the sighting is timed at 081015Z (October 8, 10:15 UTC) and the date of information is October 8, 1953, while the report states that it was made on October 6, 1953, the date also given in the official description. The details are taken from records released by the U.S. Department of War in PURSUE Release 07 (record code DOW-UAP-D161) and do not represent an independent determination by From Beyond Space.