Edward Balocco

Edward Balocco, a U.S. Marine Corps 1st Lieutenant, is known for his involvement in a notable UFO encounter on February 11 (or 19), 1953, at the Naval Auxiliary Air Station in Edenton, North Carolina. On intercept standby duty, Balocco was scrambled in his F9F Panther jet after an alert whistle sounded. Vectored by the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing at Cherry Point toward an unknown target near Virginia Beach, he closed to 350 feet of a disc-shaped UFO with blinking red lights. His cockpit was bathed in blue-white light, rendering everything motionless and silent; he saw the bones in his gloved hand like an X-ray. A flash occurred, the UFO departed, and Balocco pursued unsuccessfully. Captain Thomas Riggs also scrambled and reported the object moving south along the North Carolina coast. Both were debriefed and ordered silent. No birth or death years are documented. Balocco's case exemplifies early military UFO intercepts.