James Flynn believes he seen a metallic UFO above the Everglades in Florida in 1965.

When he neared the item, he stated that a tremendous gust of wind nearly blew him off his feet, and then a blinding beam of light struck him in the head, knocking him unconscious and leaving him half blind.

James Flynn of East Fort Myers, Florida, and his four hunting dogs entered the Everglades on March 12, 1965. On the evening of the fourteenth, when his hunting hounds saw a deer, they pursued it out of sight, but Flynn could still hear their barking. Except for one, none of the dogs returned, and Flynn locked the last dog in the cage.

Then, he heard what appeared to be a gunshot. At this time, he grasped the steering wheel of his swamp buggy and drove as slowly as possible toward the creatures. It was around 1 a.m. on Monday, March 15th. Flynn observed a bizarre, upside-down cone-shaped object hanging 200 feet over a grove of cypress trees around one mile away.

It afterwards proceeded to travel in a northeasterly direction. During two or three minutes, it returned to its original area and lingered for five minutes before rushing toward the southwest. Soon thereafter, the spacecraft returned and was within a quarter-mile of Flynn. He stood there and saw it go into a wooded crevice.

James Flynn claimed in 1965 that he was hit by a UFO light beam in the Florida Everglades.

After noticing the item in the deep woodland, Flynn employed binoculars to get a better look at it. The object, which was at least twice as wide and at least 25 feet tall, was plainly visible through the binoculars. A yellowish illumination emanated from the top four levels of two-foot-square-foot windows. It had a metallic look and appeared to be composed of four-by-four plates held together by rivets. The base emitted an orange-red glow that illuminated the earth for 75 feet around the rim.

Flynn speculated that this may be a hidden Cape Canaveral gadget. After forty minutes of observation, he decided to approach the vessel and offer aid to its presumed crew. When he neared it, a loud, ringing sound could be heard emanating from it. As it urgently tried to escape, the dog howled and slammed its head against its cage.

He understood at this moment that the item was floating four feet above the ground. Some 200 yards distant, he stopped the buggy and moved forward while waving his arms. A gust of "wind" from the counterclockwise-moving UFO nearly knocked him off his feet. Undeterred, Flynn resumed his trip. About 75 feet away from the object, he waved his arms once more. When still in the air, one of the UFO's windows released a beam of light resembling a "welder's torch." As it struck his forehead, it seemed to be a "sledgehammer blow." In the blink of an eye, Flynn lost consciousness.

Eventually, he was able to regain consciousness. He was blind, so he slept there for long time until his left eye regained some vision. It was Tuesday morning at this time, and the sun was shining. A exact circle was burned into the earth directly above where the UFO was hovering. Some of the cypress trees on the circle's perimeter have fire scars.

Henry Osceola was a Seminole Native who resided in a swamp. Flynn gathered his dogs, loaded them into the buggy, and proceeded to his house. When Flynn returned to his East Fort Myers residence on Wednesday afternoon, he accompanied his wife to visit ophthalmologist Paul R. Brown.

"Mr. Flynn appeared to be in a very agitated frame of mind at that time. He continued saying, "I know you won't believe me, but this is what occurred," before telling the same narrative again and over.

When I evaluated him on 3/17/65, his right eye had 20/800 vision and his left eye had 20/60 vision. With the 5.5 gm weight on the Schiotz tonometer, right intraocular pressure was 2 and left intraocular pressure was 6. There was a little bruise on the right brow and top lid, as well as some severe hyphemia on the right. I was unable to view the right retina. The left eye seemed healthy."

Report by Paul R. Brown, Ph.D.

A depiction of a UFO releasing a light beam. Medical Checkup Of Jimmy Flynn

He was transferred to Lee Memorial Hospital in Fort Myers, where he remained in critical care for five days. A doctor who had known him for 25 years, Harvie J. Stipe, evaluated him 48 hours after he was admitted to the hospital. Dr. Stipe was unable to examine Flynn's eyes since they were bandaged, but he performed a comprehensive physical examination on him anyhow.

"Only neurological results were atypical. There was no evidence of paralysis, however the biceps, triceps, patellas, and Achilles deep tendon reflexes were missing. Absent were plantar and abdominal teeth, however cremaseterics were present.

Mr. Flynn was closely followed for several weeks. His reflexes progressively restored over a period of 5 to 7 days, although sporadically. The last examination of the forehead revealed a thickened region directly above and medial to the right eye, with a 1-centimeter-diameter depressed, somewhat abraded patch in its center. A very minor quantity of hemorrhage was observed on the right upper eyelid. There was never any sign of mental disorientation or delusion.

On his fourth day in the hospital, Mr. Flynn complained of diminished hearing and tingling in his arms and hands. Issue was resolved within 24 hours.

Mr. Flynn was seen for the final time on April 16, 1965, roughly four weeks after the injury. Normal abdominal reflexes were present. The depression above the right eye remained significant and noticeable. His right eye still has a hazy vision."

Dr. Harvie J. Stipe

Flynn was interrogated by Deputy Robert Daubenspeck of the Lee County Sheriff's Office late on March 17. He informed the Fort Myers News-Press that Flynn may have had an injury when his swamp buggy collided with an overhanging limb. Sheriff Flanders Thompson and William R. Spear, editor of the News-Press, disapproved of this notion.

"Jimmy Flynn is a solid citizen, a pragmatic, down-to-earth individual who has never had hallucinations. When he claims that a "sledge-hammer blow" between the eyes that bruised his eyebrow and caused a vision impairment for which he is being treated in the hospital came from a huge cone-shaped object making a whirring noise and emitting a dazzling light that he encountered in a remote Everglades prairie, it is certain that he believes it; that he did not deliberately fabricate it."

Editorial by News-press editor William R. Spear in the Friday newspaper edition.

The sheriff's office notified the Homestead Air Force Base. Colonel Robin Lewis, chief of intelligence at the post, promised an inquiry. A spokesman from the Sheriff's Office informed Homestead that when Flynn was released from the hospital, he would be willing to accompany an Air Force investigator to the crime site. First, an unidentified officer proposed that Flynn visit the spot alone and mark it with lime in order to make it immediately identifiable.

Flynn was joined by Stipe, Johnny, and Eugene Prevatt on March 26 for a visit to the site. They uncovered a 72-foot-diameter charred circle at the location. In the circle, there were no leaves, twigs, or branches; it looked to have been swept clean. The upper halves of eight cypress trees were consumed by flames. At a height of ten feet, the bark of two other cypress trees that had not been burnt exhibited fresh damage.

The scars seemed as if a heavy item had slid approximately two feet down the trees before stopping. The trees were "spaced 12 to 15 feet apart beneath the charred circle of trees."

Dr. Harvie J. Stipe

Flynn and his companions never received a response to the soil and plant samples they submitted to Homestead. According to Flynn's understanding, the Air Force never conducted further investigations. In 1967, Homestead's chief information officer, Captain Jon H. Adams, stated that the base had no record of the occurrence.

On October 31, 1966, James E. McDonald, an atmospheric physicist at the University of Arizona, called Flynn and inquired about his study. Flynn stated that he considered the object he had observed to be a covert military aircraft.

If I ever discover that object is owned by the government, they'll have to pay for the good sight I once had but no longer have.

William Flynn