Rendlesham Forest Notes
So I had to do a book report in 8th grade. It had to be nonfiction, and something that interests me, so I picked aliens. The book I read was “Encounter in Rendlesham Forest” by Nick Pope, with John Burroughs and Jim Penniston. These are my notes! If you have any questions, please tell me. I love space, aliens, and all things like this and I’d love to clear up any confusion! Also, if anyone has anything to add please share! I love learning new things about space!
Rendlesham Forest is the “best documented UFO sighting”
UFO-Unidentified Flying Object, which does not mean spaceships or anything.
The encounter lasted 3 nights long, between two USAF bases in England
Many skeptics witnessed it, and began to believe in aliens afterwards.
This mainly focuses on John Burroughs (27 years USAF Airmen, first class), and Jim Penniston (Senior NCO)
Both had the first encounter, and suffered from time loss and health issues afterwards. Medical files became classified when they needed them, and threats involved
Burroughs saw red and blue lights while patrolling, the thing was believed to have crashed.
No military flying activity was going on then.
Burroughs alerted his superior (Staff Sergeant Bud Steffens)
A white light was then added and as the 2 men came over, it seemed as if it was heading toward them.
LE duty desk sergeant, Sergeant “Crash” McCabe was then alerted. He then passed it on to the Central Security Control, which was Staff Sergeant John Coffey, who then spoke to the on-duty flight chief at RAF Woodbridge,Staff Sergeant James W. Penniston.
He was not briefed on situation, but headed over with driver. Was simply told to “rendezvous with Burroughs and Steffens at East Gate, where he’d be told the nature of the situation.
This raises the possibility of some people in the “chain of command” knew more than they were saying or were not supposed to say over communications systems.
Occurred after midnight, on Christmas, no military flight, no explosions, no civilian aircraft
Steffens said “It didn’t crash, it landed”
Penniston called Master Sergeant J.D. Chandler
15 minutes previous,a bogey (a radar or visual air contact whose identity is unknown) had been tracked but lost over Woodbridge base.
Chandler came out to meet them
Penniston, Burroughs, and Cabansag drove into the forest until it was too rough, and they had to continue on foot.
They advanced, and saw lights.Cabansag said they were “blue, red , white, and yellow.”
Chandler arrived. All four radios malfunctioned simultaneously.
Air was full of static electricity, they were struggling to go forward, describing it as akin to wading in deep water.
They reached a clearing, where an “explosion, silent, full of light” hit them.
They eventually proceeded. Penniston looked over to Burroughs and saw him covered in “light from above”
Penniston saw in the clearing a “small metallic craft, about three meters high, three meters across. Roughly triangular and appeared to hover, or rest on three legs, one on each corner.”
Bank of blue lights on the side, white light on top.
No sound whatsoever.
Penniston approached, seeing strange symbols on the side, earest match was Egyptian Hieroglyphics.
He touched it, the side was smooth.
When he touched the symbols, however, they were rough.
When the symbols were touched, white light flared so brightly that Penniston was temporarily blinded. It rose and left soon afterwards.
Penniston wrote down “Speed-impossible”
Burroughs has no memories, yet drew the craft.
The radios weren’t working, they had been missing for 45 minutes, watches were frozen
Blotters were stolen, all evidence taken.
During the investigation, Gulyas took photos and plaster casts of indentations of the ground. Penniston also took plaster casts of his own record, and did not tell anyone of them.