The state of Kentucky has, at times, been considered a rather odd place. Tracing the state’s northern border, one can follow the Ohio River all the way down to its tributaries that empty into the southwest end, forming a cluster of counties that are riddled with odd stories of weird creatures, mysterious flying objects, and an entire host of other strange mysteries. It is indeed very odd that little rural areas the likes of Kelly and Hopkinsville, over in Christian County on Kentucky’ southern border, have had such strange myths associated with them; ever since the mid 1950s, when literal reports of “goblins” began to stem from one branch of the Sutton family over near Hopkinsville, the place has been host to periodic reports of the weird and unsavory variety (and speaking of things weird and unsavory, if you’re a fan of late-night radio that gives you the creeps, check out the latest Gralien Podcast).
Despite the urban legends that have become appended to such rural parts of the Ohio River Basin, there is something of a modern mythos surrounding the region as well, drawing from reports of odd aerial happenings down along the Kentucky/Tennessee border. In fact, if one drives just ten miles south of Hopkinsville’s city limits, they will soon approach the home of the American 101st Airborne Division, along with the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, located at an Army installation known as Fort Campbell.
Much like other clandestine locales across the United States (Area 51, the highly-secretive base near Groom Lake, Nevada, comes to mind), many have asserted over the years that there are numerous oddities associated with Fort Campbell, ranging from strange synchronistic parallels to famous rock bands and iconic artists, to the appearances of UFOs and covert “black helicopters” associated with popular conspiracy theories. But what might draw one into taking an interest in such a location? For me, it all started falling together, and innocently enough, following an odd email that appeared in my inbox, which referred to the place as “The Area 51 of Appalachia.”
Fort Campbell: Area 51 of Appalachia?
The email in question had arrived from a television producer friend of mine who, seeking my opinion on the location, had been asking about mysterious activities associated with this apparently rather secretive military base along the Kentucky/Tennessee border. The note read:
“From the perspective of the UFO community do you think there is any validity to this claim: ‘Fort Campbell, KY is the Area 51 of Appalachia?’ “
To be honest, at the time I knew very little about the installation, let alone the potentials that might exist there in terms of qualifying for being anything like Area 51. Then, after doing a bit of digging around, it turns out that there are at least a few elements that begin to emerge which could link Fort Campbell to a handful of modern conspiracy theories. One of these involves the appearances of “black helicopters” popularly associated with government surveillance, special ops, and even some UFO sightings.
Black Helicopters at Fort Campbell?
Without question, the presence of not only “black helicopters,” but a host of other special-ops aircraft, can be confirmed at Fort Campbell, in conjunction with their 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (SOAR). According to the website GlobalSecurity.org:
The 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment [based at Fort Campbell] uses specially modified aircraft and highly trained pilots and aircrews to get special operations teams to their missions. Often moving through hostile territory or flying in bad weather or at night, the 160th SOAR has adopted the name “Night Stalkers.” The Regiment is recognized for proficiency in night time operations.
In truth, there’s nothing really “conspiratorial” about the fact that the government uses black helicopters amidst their array of aerial vehicles for a variety of special purposes, which include night missions (hence one reason the black coloration becomes a logical factor in the practical design for these craft). Rather, the shadowy aspect emerges from the kinds of things the black helicopters become associated with, such as chasing or appearing in conjunction with UFOs (consider the Cash-Landrum incident, a UFO close encounter that occurred in 1980 where the witnesses claimed to watch 23 dark-colored helicopters follow the unidentified object as it left their vicinity). Obviously, the black helicopters associated with the 160th SOAR at Fort Campbell aren’t UFOs themselves… but that doesn’t remove UFOs from the equation altogether, so far as their relation to Fort Campbell.
Flying Saucers and a “Mother Ship” Over Fort Campbell
In an incident dated September 10, 1981, a MUFON witness report alleged that an elaborate, multiple-witness encounter had taken place over Fort Campbell, during a training exercise being carried out by the 101st Airborne Division. Below is the original MUFON report (with minor edits), as filed by a witness who claimed to have come within inches of a “landed” saucer:
“We received a radio call from division HQ that [we had been ordered to halt] the exercise and observe the sky for unusual objects. We [were] notified that the object is unidentifiable. We were asked to mark our watches and monitor time loss. After the event we should examine ourselves for puncture wounds in the nape of our necks and behind the ear lobes. Not long after that (about 1 minute) a large object appeared in the sky… I could not see it at first. It appeared like all the other other stars.
“The radio operator… and the company commander… pointed out the object. It grew bigger and bigger and appeared to be approximately 2000 ft. up. One object turned into 4 maybe 5 smaller objects. They were discs and they came from the larger object. Now I can’t figure out if the larger object was a cylinder or a larger disc because of the angle and postion it was in. The smaller disc as I recall glowed green on one side and orange on the other. They flew faster than any earth bound vehicle and could stop on a dime, a very sudden stop no coasting. These discs wanted to be seen obviously with bright colors and it appeared that the were flying in a pattern to triangulate the entire [division] and then they stopped and spread quickly to various points. One of the silver discs stopped maybe 150 meters away from my company. I immediately asked the company commander, I volunteer to go forward and make contact. I will be peaceful and show no hostility. He said Doc I need to get that cleared. He radioed division [headquarters] and they said proceed with caution… make note of any markings [and observe] any life forms inside.
The narrator, “Doc,” then claimed to have approached the “landed” disc, which made no movement, or any other kind of activity that could be discerned. Doc also “offered” rations he had been carrying, with the apparent presupposition that this craft was being controlled by extraterrestrial intelligences (hence the members of the division being asked to “monitor time loss” and watch for “puncture wounds” in various places around the neck and ears.
If this incident is to be believed (and perhaps nothing should be taken merely at face value, despite the witness claiming to have served on the 101st), it still does not directly correlate the UFO activity with any operations that may actually be housed there at Fort Campbell. There are, however, a host of other strange correlations that exist in relation to the the Kentucky installation, some having to do with rock legends like Jimi Hendrix and The Byrds, among others. And finally, there are often assertions made in relation to so-called FEMA “concentration camps” that list Fort Campbell among the many government installations that would seek to imprison Americans following panic outbreaks and martial law.
As is often the case, one might surmise that there is far more that could be said, than which could actually be proven; such is quite obviously the case with Fort Campbell, too. But the location has nonetheless maintained quite a mystique of its own, and whether or not one finds it deserving of being called, “The Area 51 of Appalachia” or not, there are still plenty of peculiarities about the odd Kentucky stronghold that will keep a few of us wondering.
Wow what a wild story. Check your neck for puncture wounds haha.
Your writing smacks heavily of that of a junior in a high school creative writing class. By the time I got to that which you are actually covering in the story….I had lost interest.
Thank you so much.
Thank you for chiming in Professor Jagwagon. Everybody’s a F–king critic. Don’t you have some papers to grade?
Ah yes… attention deficit disorder runs rampant in modern American society, doesn’t it? You’re so very welcome!
I am a 75 yr. old long retired professional commercial pilot w/ over 14K hrs. and have seen many ‘illusions’. But none of these were. I have seen 4 UFOs in my life-time: 3 in day-time, one while airborne w/an aeronautical engineer aboard (he was shocked!), and one at night.
The first one, in 1967, did un-believable maneuvers (and I heard it) – in sight for about 5 min. None of the 4 looked alike. They were as visible and discernable as a Boeing 747 or any other aircraft.
“For those who believe, no proof is necessary – for those who don’t,
none will suffice.”
Von, how fascinating! I’d love to hear more about those sightings…
Close Encounter – 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Kentucky – 9/10/81
Hey Lon, thanks for the updated link; I had linked to your forum initially where that MUFON report had been included, but for some reason when clicking it, the page came up saying the site had been blocked (which is funny, because I had been able to look at it while editing the article). I’ve added the update you posted to the original link in the new article as well… good work!
Hi Micah. And kudos to the retired pilot Von Ives. Takes guts to go against the paradigm and state what is true. I liked the story. Some people I guess however do not understand the need for a lead up. There is a reason for that. It is so that you can take the reader to point of understanding. Instant gratification is not all that it is cracked up to be. Good Story Micah I enjoyed it. Now if we could only get to the whole truth I think it would outdo anything that the science fiction writers could ever conceive of. Simply because truth really is stranger than fiction.
Fort Campbell is not n or near the Apppalchain mountains.
Here is a map that shows the general area referred to as “Appalachia”, of which Kentucky and Tennessee are both considered a part of. Fort Campbell rests along the Kentucky/Tennessee border, and is only a little west of the region outlined in the map here: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/55/Appalachian_region_of_United_States.gif
Some years ago when I lived in Iowa I saw a small black UFO that was hovering above the house I lived in. I tried to figure out what it was. It didn’t look like anything I’ve ever seen before. I heard no sound coming from it. I stood out on the porch in the day time and watched it for a long time. Finally, it started moving very slowly away from the house into the distance over the neighborhood. Then it looked like it flew straight up slowly and disappeared into the clouds. It didn’t look like a balloon or a garbage bag or an airplane or a helicopter or a bird or anything in this world. I’ve looked up to the skies many times in my life. I’m still looking up in the sky during the day, and at night. I believe that what people think are aliens are actually evil spirits who deceive people into thinking they are good. I know everyone believes differently. I believe there is a spiritual war going on between God and His angels, and evil spirits or fallen angels. Some people trust in aliens or fallen angels, evil spirits. I put my trust and faith in God, and Jesus Christ.
Sorry but the Laurel Canyon – Fort Campbell conspiracy stuff (I clicked on the link) is just flippin’ whack. This dude probably checks under his bed before going to sleep at night. Another hapless victim of America’s conspiracy pandemic.
I agree PurrlGurrl that the Laurel Canyon tie-in with all the rock musicians is a little tenuous… ha ha. But it is pretty neat that Jimi Hendrix (one of my personal favorite guitarists ever) had been stationed there at the base for a brief period… that’s primarily the only reason that link was included. But yes, to suppose that a conspiracy existed to literally control those musician’s careers seems a bit odd, eh?
Silly humans!
I am from Hopkinsville, home of Edgar Casey. I know something is going on there. Just as I have paranorma phenomenom going on with my life. Since I learned to remember
Hi Micah! I love your articles, especially those in Intrepid Mag! Any how, I just had a police officer, here in Colorado, send me photos of what looks like a blank black space shining down 15-20 lights to the ground. (Reminicent of the Battle of LA pic, but the lights are verticle from the craft). He watched it for several minutes, took a few cell phone photos and called his fellow officers outside of precinct to see it to. He called channel 9 news and DIA air traffic control to see if they knew what the lights were. Channel 9 had nothing. DIA said they had nothing on radar or reports, however they could see the lights from the tower. When the lights moved away, they watched through binoculars and saw what they describe as black hawk helicopters escorting the UFO. Makes me wonder if it was the Night Stalkers.
Dawn,
Thanks for posting this… how intriguing! In case you see my response here first, ‘ve sent you a private email message… would love to hear more about this!
I lived and worked as a civilian employee at Fort Campbell in the 70′s. My boss was a retired colonel, over reallocation and renovation of barracks and other buildings as the 101st was returning from Viet Nam. He gave me a key one day and directions, said I might be interested in what was behind the door. So I drove back in the boondocks of the post, but not too far, and found the big metal door as he had described. It wasn’t to a building, but a mound with a concrete front. I opened it, and there underground was a huge hospital and living facility. I didn’t go very far back into it, and the lighting was dim, but it was unbelievable. When I got back to the office, my boss told me that the bunker was a little-known asset and would be needed again, as it had been during WWII. No one was working in it when I saw it, but it was fully functional. I asked my husband, who was stationed there at the time, if he had heard about it, and he had not. My boss said that a lot of things went on at Fort Campbell that most people never could imagine.
I’m from what they call Appalachia, pronounced apple atcha, and have been here all my life. This whole stretch of Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee is full of old stories of strange happenings. I’ve seen a few personally, and I wouldn’t doubt anything. My little corner of southwest Virginia, where the three states come together, has an energy all its own. Anything can happen.
I sure would like to talk with you. I live on the Lake just a few miles from here. You would not believe what Ive seen in the sky and water!
I’m here, listening to Wolf Spirit Radio. Whereabouts do you live?
Somebody’s a moron… Fort Campbell and western Kentucky have about as much to do with Appalachia as Lincoln, Nebraska has to do with the Rocky Mountains. Check your geography before speaking out.
My daughter was stationed at Fort Campbell and I saw several black helicopters at the base many ,many times. As for the rest, any thing is possible.
I served in the Army and was stationed at Fort Campbell in 1968. There is a naval base inside Fort Campbell. It has three or four rows of barbed wire fences with patrols/dogs both inside and out. It appears to be all underground as far as I could see at the time. Special caravans with tarp covered flatbeds came and went from the facility. I was on manuvers at the time and was able to watch this activity.