1955-01-16 — La Habra, California (observer's back porch)

On 16 January 1955 at approximately sunrise, an observer in La Habra, California saw a flying-saucer-like object near a position approximately 35 feet from his back porch. He went inside to fetch 7x50 tower binoculars and observed the object; the binoculars only enlarged the image without revealing appendages. Three people including the observer's mother witnessed the initial sighting. A second event included the object breaking apart, with one piece heading north and shooting upward in a burst of flame, which the Chief of Police Andrew Johnson also witnessed (though he would not commit). Visual contact lasted until approximately 1200 hours when the object was obscured by clouds. The unusually long elapsed period and detailed descriptions precluded the standard AFR 200-2 format.

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