HIGH POINT CONFIDENTIAL: Extraterrestrial incursion - Was there truly a UFO sighting in High Point in 1947?

High Point, a city known for its furniture and textile industries, became part of the nationwide flying saucer frenzy during the summer of 1947. That year, numerous reports of unidentified flying objectsthen popularly called flying saucers due to their disc-like shapeswept across the United States.

Locally, the spotlight fell on two men, Ed Lewis and Dick Milsaps, who claimed to have seen an unusual object in the skies above High Point. Whether it was an alien spacecraft, a military experiment, a meteorite, or simply mass imagination is still up for debate.

The craze had begun on June 24, 1947, when pilot Kenneth Arnold reported spotting nine unidentified aircraft flying near Mount Rainier at extraordinary speeds, capturing nationwide attention. Reports multiplied rapidly, culminating in the famous Roswell incident on July 8, when the U.S. military allegedly recovered a crashed extraterrestrial craft, which they later insisted was just a weather balloon.

High Points encounter occurred on the evening of July 12, 1947. According to the High Point Enterprise the next day, Lewis and Milsaps were flying about 10 miles south of the city in Lewis private two-seater plane at roughly 1,000 feet. They reported seeing a rotating, cylindrical object described as a huge red ball of fire, with a black band encircling its center and a flat bottom. The object reportedly emitted periodic bursts of fire from below, resembling exhaust, while spinning clockwise.

Lewis attempted to follow the object in his plane, but it quickly accelerated and vanished toward Winston-Salem, emitting a bluish glow. Milsaps noted that it crossed directly in front of them at an estimated 300400 mph, far faster than their plane, which was moving at about 115 mph. Lewis emphasized that the object was larger than a conventional airplane.

Both men were considered credible witnesses. Lewis, 32, was an Army veteran and journalist, writing for the Mount Airy Times and the High Point Enterprise, where he also maintained a weekly aviation column titled In the Air. At the time, he was founding editor of the aviation magazine Southern Wings, with Milsaps as a staff writer. The incident was widely covered in local and state newspapers, marking High Points first reported flying saucer sighting.

Decades later, the mystery endures. Was the object an extraterrestrial craft, a meteorite, a weather balloon, or simply a hoax? Regardless, the story remains a fascinating piece of High Point historyan unforgettable glimpse into the summer when the world looked to the skies and wondered what might be out there.

Author: Sophia Brooks