Mankind
had reached a threshold in the forth decade of the twentieth century.
There were unprecedented scientific and technological achievements, but
despite such progress, humanity was entering one of its darkest
chapters. World War II would grip the world with terror for six years.
During
that time military personnel reported seeing numerous highly
unconventional aircraft in all theaters of operation. These objects had
extraordinary flight performance capabilities, came in a variety of
shapes, sizes, and colors, and were able to travel at extraordinary
speeds and avoid radar detection.
Strange
Company is
the first in-depth account of unconventional aircraft observed and
reported by the military during World War II. It includes the reactions
by military commands, their viewpoints, and theories as they struggled
to make sense of the observations. Strange
Company presents one of the greatest wartime mysteries,
one that has been shrouded in ignorance for more than sixty years. And
it suggests that while an immense twentieth century war was raging on
Earth, there appeared to be someone, or something, from somewhere else,
watching us.
EXCERPT
(from Chapter 16)
New Guinea was an early prize for the Japanese army during the
early war years, but by July 1944, after brutal to-the-last-man
fighting, U.S. Marines recaptured it. By mid-March 1945,
New Guinea was under Allied control and considered fairly safe. Close
by,
after suffering from its intense battle at Iwo Jima, the USS New York was
returning to combat duty. Escorted by two destroyers, it set sail to
join up
with the Seventh Fleet.
The weather that day was sunny and clear. Around 1300 hours general
quarters sounded, electrifying the calming nature of the warm sea air.
Alert, Corporal Donald Pratt and his crewmembers prepared for an attack
by Japanese forces, possibly suicide aircraft. Pratt was a 40mm gunner.
He
was ready, waiting for the order to fire. Nerves tense, he watched, but
the
sky was clear. No Japanese planes appeared.
On the New York’s
radar, things were different. The radar screen was
picking up a single blip. It had appeared out of thin air. Just seconds
later,
the blip was in view. Cpl. Pratt watched as the object hovered
motionless,
almost directly over the battleship. Captain K.C. Christian was
watching
through his binoculars, as were approximately 2,000 other navy crewmen,
some with their own binoculars.
The object was “silver in color,” “very shiny” and “did not change
colors,” Pratt said. “It was much larger than the brightest star would
be,
but smaller than a full moon.” Quietly, it continued hovering above
them,
just matching the New York’s speed and course.
For thirty minutes, the New York and her two escorts anxiously braced
themselves for something to happen. The strange object did nothing, but
its presence was too much for the naval vessels to stand by and do
nothing.
Was this a Japanese secret weapon waiting for the right time to strike?
Or
was it waiting for more of them to show up and attack in number?
Captain
Christian did not wait to find out. There was no need to receive damage
first and then respond, so he ordered a first strike.
Two of the New York’s three-inch antiaircraft guns cut loose on the
object,
sending a hail of lead arching high into the air. But the object did
not move or appear affected by the gunfire. Since it was useless and a
waste
of ammo, Captain Christian ordered his guns silent. Within seconds of
their cease-fire, the object “climbed up at a fantastic rate of speed
until it
was out of sight, and off the radar scope.” Corporal Pratt said
“everyone
aboard the ship was stunned by this; they had never seen anything like
it.”
The general quarters sounded, and the ships were again alone at sea.
The
men discussed the incident for days, trying to make sense of what they
saw.
“Anyhow, we knew, after watching it for a few minutes that it was not
any
type of plane because our ship was only traveling at around twelve
knots,”
Pratt explained. “A plane could not travel that slowly without stalling
the
engine and dropping into the ocean. It was too sunny and bright that
day
to be a star, and it was not a balloon...not in the middle of the
Pacific. We
didn’t know what it was...."
*
* *
Listen to an in-depth interview with Keith Chester at Binnall of America.
|
What
they are saying...
“In this eye-opening, thoroughly
researched book, bristling with surprising revelations, Keith Chester
challenges decades of conventional wisdom about
the UFO
phenomenon.” – Jerome Clark
"It's a huge contribution to the field." – Tim Binnall, Binnall
of America
"I was reading a new book the other day, Strange Company
by Keith Chester, and realized a couple of things. First, we’re going
to have to change the history of the UFO phenomenon. Until this book
came out, we all dated the 'modern' era from the Kenneth Arnold
sighting of June 24, 1947. It is now clear that the modern era began
during the Second World War." – Kevin Randle, A Different Perspective
"Strange Company
makes clear for the first time,just how frequent the wartime sightings
were and the concern they created within Allied military, who seriously
feared they could be advanced secret weapons developed by the Axis
forces. This gave rise to the persistent myth that foo-fighters were
highly advanced flying saucers created by Nazi scientists, whose
designs were later captured and developed in secrecy by the Americans.
The proponents of this bizarre theory will find little to support their
claims in this sensible, sober book which largely sticks to primary
source material… Possibly the most intriguing revelation in this book
are the results of Keith Chester’s inquiries at the US National
Archives, which threw up references to a joint US and British
foo-fighter investigation later in the war, and a direct link with
post-war UFO studies by the intelligence services. Most important of
all was the involvement in wartime investigations of Bob Robertson, the
US physicist who presided over a scientific panel which reviewed the
UFO evidence for the CIA in 1953...A must-read for ufologists of all
persuasions.” –Dr. David Clarke, Fortean Times
"...an
extensive, exceptionally documented, and in-depth account of UFOs
observed and reported by the military during World War II...Chester has
indeed produced a ufological gem.” – John Zupansic, Fate
“Packed with never-before-seen documentation, witness testimony, and
reams of new data, Strange
Company is likely to be one of the most talked about UFO
books of this year…" – UFO
Magazine
"As I began reading Strange Company,
I wondered whether we would be treated with a series of stories of
indistinct lights, which, I confess, was my concept of the foo fighters
of World War II...But we read of solid objects with sharply defined
edges moving the foo fighters from the realm of ionized air and other
natural phenomena into something that is solid and probably
extraterrestrial....Chester gives us the documents created at the time
by intelligence officers trained in interrogation techniques and whose
job it was to understand all that the flight crews were telling them
because lives hung in the balance...this book is a unique history of
the Second World War...What Strange Company
does quite well is move the modern era of the UFO from June 1947 when
Kenneth Arnold's report hit the newspaper to World War II. It is clear
that these sightings, considered at the time to be classified
information and therefore weren't widely discussed, are the beginning
of the modern [UFO] era." – Kevin Randle, Journal of
Scientific Exploration |
