The final dwelling witness
Colby Landrum: ‘If I might get some closure . . .’
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We have been each on the entrance finish of issues, again then – me in newspapers, Colby Landrum as a reluctant younger media superstar. Possibly I ought to’ve paid extra consideration to his demeanor than to his phrases. It wasn’t like he was going to say something he hadn’t already advised hundreds of thousands earlier than on nationwide TV. His grandmother and authorized guardian, Vickie, stayed in the lounge, no want to educate the boy at this level. I wrote that he twiddled a flyswatter between his  |
 By Billy Cox |
sat on the sting of the mattress within the room he shared along with his cousin. I seen the
rims of his eyes have been barely pink, as if he’d “been swimming in chlorine.”
9 years previous, possibly a tad small for his age – Vickie stated she’d had bother
getting meals in him currently.
I pressed the file button. His model of the occasions that without end rocked his
world alongside a rural stretch of freeway exterior Houston on Dec. 29, 1980,
spooled onto Aspect A of the audiocassette. Colby talked dispassionately about
the heat-spewing UFO, the flanking navy helicopters, and the quick
aftermath, the nightmares that woke him up crying. “Each night time, I’d vomit a
entire buncha instances,” he recalled in a monotone, “and so they’d must hold a pan
in my room.”
His eyes narrowed after I requested if he thought he’d ever study the reality. “We’re
gonna discover out what it’s,” Colby vowed. “I don’t care how lengthy it takes – we
ain’t giving up ‘til we discover out what it’s.”
I puzzled, as we wrapped it up, if possibly I might get a number of photographs. I wasn’t a
shooter, the paper was getting this story on a budget, as normal. However by now,
Colby was a professional – “You need me to carry my soccer or one thing?” I
interpreted his dutiful however unsmiling lodging as poise. A couple of clicks and
we have been finished. September 1983.
I awoke one morning and I used to be 39 years older. The adults who have been within the automotive
with Colby — grandma and driver Betty Money — have been lengthy gone. However American
historical past had develop into unmoored from its traditions; impulsively, Congress was
appearing severe about UFOs and nationwide safety. And I wished to know if Colby
had any hope left.
The voice on the telephone agreed to satisfy, however advised me to decrease my expectations,
that issues had gone “sideways” for him currently. “It may very well be raining vaginas,”
he muttered, “and I’m gonna get hit with one dick proper between the eyes.”
No matter I used to be swallowing got here spraying out my nostril. However Colby wasn’t
laughing.
I rummaged by means of some submitting cupboards and found the negatives from
1983. I obtained them developed and studied the black-and-white prints as if for
the primary time. Staring again was one thing I’d short-shrifted again then; the
face of a child who’d been by means of the wringer was — for higher or worse —
already toughening up. And for all the pieces he’d stated within the twentieth century, his
expression again then signaled that he was additionally holding again.
Easter weekend, two weeks in the past: In the lounge at his newest deal with, in
Clinton, west Oklahoma, inhabitants 9,000, Colby Landrum pulled up a chair,
contemplated the picture of the bullied little one he as soon as was, and commenced filling in
the again story.
“I didn’t inform no one about it as a result of everyone was saying, effectively, if we stated
one thing it’d go dangerous on us, so I didn’t wanna be telling all the youngsters at
college. However then,” he continued in his Lone Star drawl, “all of it got here out on
TV, and naturally all the youngsters took it nevertheless their dad and mom rolled, y’know?
Folks began messing with me and I took a lotta warmth and finally it simply
obtained to the purpose the place, after they embarrassed me, I’d bounce on ‘em. I used to be
getting in fights left and proper – I’d struggle on the drop of a dime.
“Folks stated look, it’s that alien child, he obtained kidnapped by aliens or no matter.
They mechanically went to the alien shit as a result of the tabloids had loaded up
on it.”
Bullied at school following the 1980 UFO encounter that made worldwide
headlines, a 9-year-old Colby Landrum vowed to find what occurred again
then, “I don’t care how lengthy it takes.”
We have been practically a month into spring, however on this present day, winter held on for expensive
life, leaden skies whipping uncooked winds into “looks like” temps within the 40s. Down
and out, Colby had moved into this home two years in the past to be with kinfolk.
After highschool, he realized welding, grew to become a pipefitting a supervisor, and
was pulling in $100k a 12 months exterior Houston; at present, in Oklahoma, the curler
coaster was parked and he was incomes subsistence wages by “laying asphalt.”
He talked about possibly sometime returning to his roots in east Texas, the place
suburban sprawl is swallowing the scene of the accident, or crime, or no matter
it was. For now, stability is its personal reward.
I requested if he had heard concerning the roughly 1,500 pages of paperwork simply
launched by the Protection Intelligence Company, or the key AAWSAP/AATIP
initiatives within the Pentagon, or the brand new congressional language legislating UFO
accountability from an insulting Protection Division acronym referred to as AOIMSG
(Airborne Object Identification and Administration Synchronization Group). It was
all information to Colby. I requested if he’d learn the landmark New York Instances story in
2017, or if he’d seen the accompanying F-18 jet fighter movies.
“I’m virtually embarrassed I ain’t adopted this shit,” he stated. “It’s virtually
like I’m afraid to, like if I do, issues may begin coming again up on me.
It’s like – OK, I been right here for 2 years now, realizing these individuals, and also you
don’t need ‘em to look you up on the Web and … ? The individuals I
kinda like and belief, I say, hey, simply so ? When you search for my title,
you may kinda freak out.”
I confirmed him the prolonged Protection Intelligence Reference Doc (DIRD) titled
“Anomalous Acute and Subacute Subject Results on Human Organic Tissues,”
produced in 2009 however solely now launched by means of FOIA. It was commissioned to
analyze “proof of unintended harm to human observers by anomalous
superior aerospace programs.” It argued that continued work on such accidents
“can inform (e.g., reverse engineer), by means of scientific diagnoses, sure
bodily traits of attainable future superior aerospace programs from
unknown provenance which may be a risk to the USA pursuits.”
In different phrases, in line with the 31-page report ready by former CIA
forensic scientist Dr. Christopher “Equipment” Inexperienced, an entire evaluation of these
accidents may yield sufficient particulars to supply the schematics for replicating
no matter it was that created these accidents within the first place. Colby didn’t
say a lot. “I’m listening,” he stated.
I identified the DIRD’s particular references to the “Money-Landrum Incident,”
in addition to the report’s point out of the 1996 “Schuessler Catalog of UFO-Associated
Human Physiological Results.” John Schuessler, co-founder of the Mutual UFO
Community, had compiled a listing of 356 worldwide close-encounter circumstances, relationship
again to 1873, through which observers’ well being had been altered by publicity to excessive
strangeness. And Schuessler was a reputation Colby knew effectively.
An aerospace engineer at Johnson House Heart, John Schuessler was the primary
researcher to take the story critically again in early 1981. Because of the
excellent archival work of Curt Collins, a digital library of what occurred
is
obtainable at Blue Blurry Traces. It’s filled with primary-source materials, handwritten notes, niche-journal
articles and a blended bag of medical opinions, a few of which blamed radiation
for the accidents, others citing publicity to chemical compounds.
On file are photocopies of Betty Money’s scalp seen by means of clusters of
ragged hair that hadn’t but fallen out, Vickie’s ghastly pores and skin lesions, letters
from Texas senators John Tower and Lloyd Bentsen directing the victims to
contact the Decide Advocate Claims Officer at Bergstrom AFB. Additionally included are
hyperlinks to contemporaneous media protection, from the lowbrow Weekly World Information
(“3 Survive UFO Assault”) and The Nationwide Enquirer (“UFO Terrorizes and Burns
Three in Automobile”) to native splashes within the Monroe Courier, the Houston Chronicle,
KHOU-TV.
Bits and items of the thriller – ABC’s “That’s Unbelievable!” and “Good Morning
America,” HBO’s Undercover America, “Sightings” on Fox, NBC’s “Unsolved
Mysteries” – have been closely popularized throughout the Reagan years. Betty’s story
was essentially the most ugly. She advised of being sequestered in a room at Houston’s
Parkway Hospital the place attendants initially wore hazmat gear. Her daughter
described seeing her unrecognizable mom within the hospital for the primary time,
uncooked pores and skin peeling from her swollen face and arms, boils and bursting watery
blisters, in every single place, inside her nostrils, inside mother’s eyelids. Betty by no means
recovered. She gave up the diner she owned, moved again to Alabama to be with
kinfolk, and spent the remainder of her life getting dangerous medical information. She died
in 1998 at 69.
By 1982, the story had generated sufficient buzz to prod an investigation from the
Division of the Military’s Inspector Basic. That’s as a result of the witnesses
reported the UFO was accompanied by double-rotor helicopters, CH-47 Chinooks,
possessed solely by the Military.
The paper path features a buzz-off notice from the DAIG to then-freshman
congressman Ron Wyden – now on the Senate Choose Committee on Intelligence –
assuring him that no Military property have been concerned within the incident. The three-page
outcomes of the IG’s official question (with redactions) state the witnesses have been
“credible,” and that there was “no notion that anybody was making an attempt to
exaggerate the reality.” Moreover, “the medical proof of decay of
well being appears virtually irrefutable.”
However the IG’s job was to get the Military off the hook, to not establish the UFO or
the reason for the accidents, which included “blackened fingernails, fixed
diarrhea, and diminished eyesight.” Concluded IG Lt. Col. George Sarran,
“There was no proof offered that will point out that Military, Nationwide
Guard, or Military Reserve helicopters have been concerned.” In 1985, a federal choose
tossed a Money-Landrum bid to sue Uncle Sam for damages, citing lack of
proof.
There’s a outstanding hyperlink to a UFO Hunters episode from 2009, two years after
Vickie died at 84. The producers organized for the primary face-to-face assembly
between Sarran and the only survivor, Colby Landrum.
On the present, the retired Sarran restated the findings from his ‘82 verdict.
“Twenty-three helicopters could be an actual logistical operation, being so shut
to a serious worldwide airport,” he advised UFO Hunters. Houston Worldwide,
situated lower than 30 miles from the Dayton space, might provide no corroborating
radar proof of the occasion. Nor did flight information from any regional
Military-connected amenities point out that they had birds within the air that night.
When UFO Hunters confronted Sarran along with his personal handwritten notes, acquired
by means of FOIA, which acknowledged “100 helicopters – Robert Gray (sic) airfield, got here
in, for impact,” Sarran had no reply. “I …” he paused. “I don’t know why I
might need wrote that down.”
13 years after that Historical past channel episode aired, Colby nonetheless chafes at
the colonel’s response: “I wished to whip (Sarran’s) ass.”
Robert Grey Military Airfield is adjoining to Fort Hood, residence to the Military’s 1st Air
Cavalry Division, just below 200 miles from Houston Intercontinental.
Researchers agreed that solely Fort Hood might’ve mobilized sufficient {hardware} to
stage an operation of the magnitude described by Money-Landrum. However they
weren’t the one ones reporting navy helos within the neighborhood on the night
of 12/29/80. A handful of Dayton-area residents, together with a police officer,
acknowledged they’d seen double-rotor helicopters within the combine as effectively, lights
blinking, flying low, as if looking for one thing.
On a front room wall rests a small shrine to Colby’s late grandfather Ernest.
The shelf hosts a folded American flag, a portrait of the getting older Military veteran,
an previous watch, and a Purple Coronary heart from World Conflict II. “That man up there, he
virtually give his life for this nation,” Colby says. “But, he needed to sit there
and watch my grandmother undergo all the pieces she went by means of. And the
authorities he fought for calls us liars.”
Particulars dim within the fog of reminiscence, however the spectacle lingers: Round 9 p.m. on
12/29/80, Colby was wedged between Betty and Vickie within the entrance seat of
Betty’s new Cutlass Supreme. Vickie labored for Betty as a waitress at Betty’s
diner, and the 2 have been in futile search of a bingo sport within the shuttered
house between Christmas and New Yr’s. As they headed for residence on two-lane
1465 chopping by means of a pine forest, Colby was the primary to see it.
“It regarded like only a large ball of fireplace coming over the bushes, and the bushes
on either side of the highway have been about 100 foot tall, so it was clearing that
after which some, possibly 80 toes, I don’t know.”
Betty hit the brakes because the factor started to cross above the opening within the
straightaway forward, illuminating the woods beneath. However Colby had his eyes on
the helicopters.
“As a child, I used to be obsessive about Military-type issues, in order that’s what I’m focusing
on. Betty and grandma have been speaking concerning the object, however I didn’t assume it was
scary as a result of the helicopters have been there. And after they seen the helicopters
they pulled up a bit bit farther.”
Betty nudged the Olds possibly 100 yards forward earlier than stopping the automotive once more amid
a blaze of warmth. Betty stated she needed to activate the air conditioner “to maintain
from burning up.” Vickie would go away her left handprint within the dashboard.
Colby remembers the thing on a leisurely course, “like a blimp,” however he stored
watching the choppers. “I counted 23 of ‘em, double-rotor offers,” Colby stated.
“They usually have been in formation, like they have been rounding up cattle or one thing.”
Afraid to go farther as a result of warmth, Betty opened the door to get out for a
higher look. Vickie climbed midway out the passenger facet. Each ladies
described a diamond-shaped object making beeping noises and belching flames
from its stomach, seeming to proper itself with every “whooshing” blast, as if
experiencing stability issues. Colby stated he by no means obtained that good a glance
as a result of “my grandma began hollering ‘Jesus is coming again!’ and advised me to
get down on the floorboard. And that’s what scared me.” The ladies watched for
what appeared an eternity to Colby – 10 minutes? 15? Longer, possibly?
Vickie ducked again inside first. Betty tried opening the door deal with however
burned her hand, and had to make use of her coat for a grip. Because the bizarre fleet moved
on – “They seemed to be in no nice hurry,” Colby stated – he, Betty and Vickie
drove forward and stored watching till they turned towards residence and the air present
disappeared over the horizon. Finish of encounter. Inside hours, he and grandma
started experiencing various indicators of trauma. They checked Betty, immobilized on
her mattress, into the hospital a day or two later.
Because the information discovered a mass viewers, hypothesis flourished within the vacuum,
starting from house aliens to a secret nuclear propulsion experiment that
jumped the rails. Hacks like Aviation Week reporter Philip Klass
weighed in: “I consider the story is a hoax. There may be completely no proof.
The ladies’s story is supported solely by the declare of Betty Money that she had
severe well being issues after the alleged incident.” For fellow debunker James
McGaha, the Military’s last phrase was adequate: “The navy, in my
expertise, doesn’t lie.”
After which there have been peculiar parallels with the so-called
Rendlesham Forest Incident, which unfolded at a U.S. air base in southeast England simply days, maybe
even hours, earlier than the Money-Landrum encounter. Over consecutive evenings
between Christmas and New Yr’s 1980, officers and NCOs alike reported
interactions with glowing UFOs within the woods close to the set up, which
warehoused tactical nukes. Some witnesses skilled radiation-related well being
issues; former Air Power MP
John Burroughs, as an example, is unable to take a look at his personal service-connected medical
information as a result of they’ve been categorized for 42 years.
All of which begs the query: Did Colby have well being considerations he might
join with 12/29/80?
“Effectively, proper afterwards I used to be fairly sick, I imply, I used to be itching quite a bit, I felt
like a poisoned rat, like I used to be burning up inside. My entire physique was feverish
and chilly all of sudden. It’s exhausting to clarify,” he stated. “However keep in mind, I used to be
down within the floorboard for many of it, so I used to be kinda protected.”
Colby’s had dental points and kidney stones, and there are a few bumps
on the again of his head “I must get to.” However nothing he’s prepared responsible
on the encounter. “Something long-term, it could’ve killed me by now, proper?”
As far as he can keep in mind, nobody ever drew blood samples – “I used to be afraid of
needles, I believe I might’ve remembered that” – however he suspects he was examined
for radiation. Many years in the past, some strangers got here out to the home “and so they had
these little black baggage that you just stick your hand in or one thing, it was bizarre
… All I keep in mind is a steel field and a black deal that went over your hand
while you caught it in there. Like a shiny silver steel field.”
However then, some issues by no means crop up in lab outcomes, issues he’d relatively hold to
himself, guilt over issues he can by no means get better. He thinks about Misty, his
spouse, killed in a automotive wreck in 2009, and fatherhood has been a problem. The
what-ifs don’t actually matter anymore, however he’d stand a greater probability of dropping
his personal shadow.
“Had that (UFO) encounter not occurred? Possibly I might’ve lived a standard life
with out being arrange as this loopy child at 6 years previous. Possibly it affected the
decisions I made, I don’t know, possibly I might’ve had a bit completely different life.”
He paused. “In all probability not.” Shrug. “We stay by the alternatives we make, proper, so
it’s all just about on me.
“Did it mess my head up alongside the way in which, although? Yeah, I’m positive it did. However one
factor you higher study early on is, you higher repair it your self or else it
ain’t gonna get fastened. If I might get some closure, which may make it
higher.”
There’s a plaque on the wall, phrases organized within the form of a cross: “Wonderful
Grace, How Candy the Sound.” Colby lights a cigarette and appears off into the
center distance.
At residence in Clinton, Oklahoma, 48-year-old Colby Landrum, says Uncle Sam owes
him an apology for making him seem like a liar.
“I don’t consider in —look, I’m positive they’re on the market. However except it impacts
my life proper now at this second, I’m not gonna learn into it. However no matter
damage me didn’t have little inexperienced males in it. No matter it was, was being
managed by our individuals. It was not uncontrolled. And there’s a file of
it someplace. There’s information on all the pieces.”
Closure?
“Apologize. Say, ‘Look man, that is what occurred. We couldn’t inform the entire
world however we had one thing occurring that will’ve most likely freaked everyone
out, however you’re not loopy.’
“That’s what I need to hear. I don’t want no cash. The cash ain’t gonna do
me no good. Make proper by my household and inform us what the hell’s occurring.”
The long run? A great state of affairs?
“I don’t set objectives anymore. It’s exhausting to set two weeks prematurely, to be
trustworthy with you. I simply go day after day and take a look at to not look again.”
But when?
With out hesitation: “I’d wish to work with the homeless, to be trustworthy with
you. There’s individuals on the market that don’t have any choices in any respect. I’d wish to
see what I might do to assist individuals like that.”
