LL-??-1983
Late 1983 or 1984 (See note at end)
USS Yellowstone –
Case #2
To anyone who remembers this incident, I would sure like
to hear from you for any further details you can add,
and to make this a multiple witness case.-CF
USS Yellowstone AD-41
Thanks to: http://www.navsource.org/archives/09/03/0341.htm
FOLLOWING LETTER RECEIVED APRIL 15, 2009
All highlighting done by me-CF-
*************************************************************
April 10, 2009
Mr. XXX XXXX –CF–
Honorably Discharged Veteran - U.S. Navy
Address
deleted–CF–
Address
deleted–CF–
Address
deleted–CF–
Phone: (XXX) XXX-XXXX
Afternoons and Evenings only
E-mail: deleted –CF–
Carl Feindt
119
Commonwealth Ave.
Claymont,
DE 19703-2013
Dear Mr. Feindt,
I think I can significantly contribute to your endeavor
on underwater UFOs because I witnessed one. I call them USOs (Unidentified
Submerged Objects) now, although at the time I had never yet seen a UFO (but
the topic was of mild interest in my high school years, and had never even
heard of a USO). Since similarities here may seem unbelievable, so I will
provide some background. I seriously stress that this entire letter is
absolutely true, except for possible unintentional inaccuracies due to my
memory. I was not drinking or on drugs, nor was I mentally ill, nor prone to
hallucinations, nor sleep-deprived at the time of this event. I stumbled upon
your website while searching the internet about the current US Navy's
involvement in the Somali pirates holding the American merchant ship captain
hostage. From the news that the USS Bainbridge was on the scene, I searched
the internet for her info. Then, impressed with how much improvement
wikipedia.com has on her, I searched the internet for one of the ships I
served on as a Deck Department Seaman as enlisted rank E-3 of the US Navy; on
board the USS Yellowstone AD - 41 (a mothballed version of the newer USS
Yellowstone). I found some great new photos of her on wikipedia.com! Speaking
of which, I see you are an Air Force veteran, and I offer my sincere
gratitude for your service; and a hearty welcome home. So, then I tried to find
info on the one NATO Sea Exercise we conducted in co-ordination with the
Russian Navy: United
Effort / Teamwork 1984, (the closest I ever came to a shooting action
war - but during the actual Cold War in 1984). But that's another story.
Well, when I searched the internet for "United Effort / Teamwork
1984", your website was one of the results, and wow, I got those rare
and seriously spooky goose bumps of confirmation when I read how amazingly
similar the details were of the USO I witnessed on the USS Yellowstone (same
exact ship but at a different time) as compared to the account at http://www.waterufo.net/item.php?id=1156
The toughest part of elaborating my personal encounter
is my memory of, and difficulty narrowing down the date, but I will do my
best to. However, I will never forget where I was, what I saw, my report to
the ship's bridge, and where we-departed from and were en route to. I can
say, without a doubt, that my USO encounter was either in the late
-1-
*******************************************************************
Summer of 1983, or in the late Summer of 1984; nearly
precisely due west of and approximately half-way between the Bahamas and the
eastern coast of Florida; steaming due north on our way to our home-port of
Norfolk, V A. The night was balmy, without a cloud in the sky, with
dazzlingly bright stars. Seas were choppy and only about one foot, winds were
calm, but with the gentle breeze in my face from the 20 knot ship's speed, it
was the kind of exhilarating night sailors dream of. I was contented with
thoughts of being an integral part of a crew who had just earned their an
award after difficult Battle Efficiency training at Guantanarno Bay, Cuba;
and looking forward to liberty in Virginia Beach with its cold beer and
bikini-clad ladies. I lean
towards the summer of 1983 more than 1984 but I'm unsure because The
Love Boat, which Playboy magazine nick-named her due to her highest female
percentage (50 %) of any US Navy ship, conducted two Battle Efficiency
trainings, during those two consecutive summers, at GITMO.
I was about halfway into my one hour lookout watch
station (one of my regular duties as a Seaman of Deck Department), binoculars
around my neck, on the unenclosed starboard bridge-wing, which is adjacent to
the bridge, separated by a steel bulkhead with a large glass window and one
large passageway hatch which was dogged shut at the time. Whoever was
standing port lookout watch never was involved in any of this event and strangely,
I can't remember anything about him/her. I can not be sure of the exact time
but I think it was around 0300 hours (3:00 AM EST) when I first noticed an almost
imperceptible glowing spot on the water's surface bearing dead ahead at about
2,000 yards and closing fast. Instantly, I trained my binoculars on the spot
and could see no physical shape, but a definite green glowing area - and it
was brighter and more sharply outlined than bio luminescence seen on occasion
in ship's wakes and shoreline breakers. I had seen bio luminescence
many times ever since I was a child. As soon as I realized it was not
ordinary, I radioed to the bridge, to the Bos'n Mate Petty Officer on duty,
the following (to the best of my memory but probably not exact):
"Bridge - Starboard Lookout - small surface contact
with green light, bearing dead-ahead, 2,000 yards and closing! We appear to
be on collision-course! "
One would think a report such as that would usually be considered
urgent and that the response would be an immediate course change, without
further confirmation, to avoid possible collision with another ship (green is
the standard color of ships' port running lights). But instead, a strange
look was cast my way by the Officer of the Deck (in charge of course and speed
orders), after my report was verbally relayed, as if to say "you can't be
serious." or "are you crazy?" I only heard a "Roger
that." radio reply from the Bos'n Mate. Next, I saw the OOD look through
a window towards our bow, and then just casually stand there; saying nothing
and not even picking up his/her (can't remember which officer was on duty)
binoculars! So, I excitedly, with a more urgent tone, repeated my report via
my radio, and this time got no reply at all! By that time the green glowing area was about 1,000
yards and then I was sure we were about to collide with a large object only a
few feet below the surface, such as a research submarine. But, again
with the strange looks I got and neither orders nor actions in response; left
me bewildered, exasperated, frustrated, and feeling disrespected and actually
a bit angry.
-2-
So, I was not about to enter the bridge and start
yelling, because if I did then I would miss getting a close look at the green
glow at our nearest approach. We actually did not pass directly over it but
nearly so; we sailed by it on my side (starboard) missing the closest edge by
merely 20 to 30 feet, giving me a clear unobstructed view from nearly
directly above it, about 100 feet from the ocean surface. Next, I certainly
did open the bridge hatch and yelled to everyone on the bridge "Hey, get
out here! You've got to see this!" By the time the Bos'n Mate and OOD
strolled out onto the bridge-wing with me, I had watched the USO fade away
due to its distance beyond our stem and our wake and stem turbulence. So, my
elaboration in detail about what I had just been the sole witness to (as far
as I know nobody else was topside) was summarily dismissed by both of these
sailors (who said they did not see it) with one-word comments like
"Really?" and "Strange.". Then they just went back to
doing basically nothing inside the bridge. Now, I've seen sailors do some
stupid things at times but the way my report was almost totally ignored has
to take the cake. Either that or ET was using mind control on them. I was
told later that my radio reports were heard loud and clear.
On the USS Yellowstone, I had high evaluation marks,
took orders without back-talk, worked hard and always did my best at assigned
tasks, and most importantly I was not prone to falsehoods or practical jokes;
and would never dream of such behavior while standing a watch. Sure, I would
joke-around with friends of my own rank (or slightly higher) but no more than
most guys would. Even with our sonar and radar it was stressed by my
superiors that human eyes on the water have no equal and I took that charge
seriously; in fact so seriously that I received compliments from my superiors
a couple of times on my skills as lookout.
So, here is my detailed description of what I saw
up-close. I remember these details like it happened yesterday. The shade of green was very
close to the color posted on the web page of the other USS Yellowstone
USO (see above [URL]).
Copied
by me (-CF-) to this letter
The glow was of constant intensity and completely
uniform in color - much brighter than green bio-Iuminescence. Imagine a green
emergency chemical glow stick activated and held at arm's length on a dark
night - that's my best comparison. No rays of light could be seen emitting in
any direction away from it. And the glow was the only physical structure I could see; except I
can't be sure there even was any physical structure, although the edge of the
circular glow was sharply defined. I estimated it to be 40 feet in diameter.
And it was perfectly circular, or perhaps spherical, although I thought it
seemed flat-topped at the time. It seemed no thicker, from top to bottom,
than six or ten feet; although waves made it hard to see thickness. It
seemed to be merely three to six feet below the water's surface and the waves
above and near it seemed no different than those far away. It had no sound
and did not seem to be in motion in any direction, nor rotating, pulsing, or
vibrating; and there was definitely no visible wake. Also, there were no
others ships nor aircraft visible then from horizon to horizon. I got no
telepathic message, had no time loss, nor went on board, nor was abducted by
whatever it was or whoever was controlling it.
I talked about this event with three or four shipmate
friends the following couple of days but nobody really seemed to be as
concerned as I was. I was never given an opportunity to file any official
written account, nor was I debriefed in any way.
-3-
*******************************************************************
The whole event, as far as I knew, was simply ignored
and/or forgotten about; except by me. I couldn't forget what happened if I
tried.
I urge you to note the similarities and differences
between the previous USS Yellowstone USO encounter and mine. The similarities
are what gave me those "goose bumps of confirmation" I've
experienced before. What amazes me is that I might have been on board with
that witness during that time, but never heard about until reading your
website today. It makes me wonder if he/she heard about my encounter later
on. I would like for you to put me in contact with him/her if they give you
permission. But before that, I would like to speak with you on the telephone
and answer any questions you may have for me.
In closing, I must tell you that I admire your
courageous endeavor in this field and hope you turn it into a book, some day.
Thank you for providing a place and opportunity for me to finally share this
story with someone who cares.
© Copyright – [name
deleted-CF-] - All rights reserved. I, [name
deleted-CF-], do hereby grant permission to Mr. Carl Feindt only to
post this story on his website at waterufo.net and, furthermore, deny permission
for this story to be disseminated in any printed publication without my
express written permission.
P.S. Please keep my name and contact info strictly
private except where noted (above). While speaking with the other Yellowstone
sailor you may read or direct them to my story if posted online, and tell
him/her only my first name [name deleted-CF-]
and my telephone number (above). Feel free to edit out only complete
sentences you may deem unnecessary or inappropriate.
P.P.S. If you try to confirm my current name [name deleted-CF-] as a crew member you'll likely
find nothing because I conducted a legal name change for other reasons, many
years afterward. I have genuine VA documents acknowledging my name change and
other genuine documents like my DD-214 and my History of Assignments page
from my Service Records which I can provide to you upon request.
Sincerely,
Signature
Deleted by me – CF-
-4-
*******************************************************************
This reference: Letter to me (Carl Feindt) by the
witness, dated April 10, 2009.
On April 16th,
I emailed two questions to the witness and he replied.
Question 1): How many people do you estimate were in a
position to see this thing?
Answer: There were about 4 people who were on the bridge and could
have seen it (but none admitted to seeing it).
Question 2): You gave an estimation of its thickness...
was this due to the color becoming darker with depth? In short how did this
estimation come to you?
Answer: No color or darkness change. It looked that thick to my eyes,
estimation
Note
regarding date:
Looking through Google under “United Effort / Teamwork
1984” another ship USS Spiegel Grove (LSD 32) had this notation in the text:
“In late 1983,
SPIEGEL GROVE made a deployment above the Arctic Circle for United Effort/Teamwork '84;
conducting exercises with NATO allies.
Reference: http://www.navysite.de/ships/lsd32.htm
UFOCAT PRN – NONE
Ship’s
location
Very
rough approximation:
Latitude 26.1 N,
Longitude 79.5 W (D.%)
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