I was playing black jack with my buddies and holding my own. Unfortunately I was runway watch. Me and Dye were the lucky ones. He won the coin flip and was driving I had the turret.
We got the words stand-by two on runway 25. That meant an aircraft was approaching for a landing on that runway. We drove out to the runway and the blistering cold and sat until the plane touched down safely. This aircraft coming in looked like a UF a seaplane but looked a little weird. The hull on the plane seemed very round to me. Dye noticed it too. However we both dismissed it as one of the Air Force's new aircrafts.

As the plane approached it was coming in on a slant. I had seen jets do that landing on an aircraft carrier. But not a prop plane landing on solid ground. It began to be getting dangerously close to our small truck.
The aircraft was only about 100 yards from our truck, and closing fast. Before Dye could get the truck in reverse an extremely strong air current hit us. Our truck was literally being pulled upward at an alarming rate of speed.

I blacked out off and on but I remember someone I thought with a mask standing over me probing my body. He had the head of the size of a basketball. His eyes were the size of a baseball. He continued to probe me with some sort devise that had a very strong odor.

I thought of Dye, and where he was. But then I lost consciousness,

I awoke sitting next to Dye in our truck. He was just waking also.

We talked about it because a Navy UF was sitting on runway 25 safely.

We agreed not to ever say anything about it because we might get accused of drinking while on duty.
To this day 52 years later, I wonder what the hell happened that night on runway 25?

Tony Mike Nerone

04-01-10