1956: Driver Describes “Big Flying Saucer” Over South Dakota

THINK ABOUTIT UFO SIGHTING REPORT

On November 16, 1956, at approximately 1:15 a.m., truck driver Marlen Hewitt experienced a terrifying close encounter with an unidentified aerial phenomenon while driving near Redfield, South Dakota. Hewitt observed a massive, brightly lit object that transitioned through a spectrum of colors, including blue-white, orange, and cherry red. The object, estimated to be the size of a square city block and 12 feet thick, swooped down to within a half-mile of the witness, hovering silently at an altitude of 1,000 feet. The craft demonstrated extraordinary flight characteristics, gaining thousands of feet in altitude “in the flick of an eye” and responding directly to the witness turning on his truck’s headlights.

Date: November 16, 1956

Sighting Time: 1:15 am

Day/Night: Nighttime

Location: Redfield, South Dakota

Urban or Rural: Rural

Hynek Classification: NL (Nocturnal Light) Point or extended luminous source observed at night.

Duration: five hours

No. of Object(s):  1

Size of Object(s): square block

Distance to Object(s): half mile

Shape of Object(s): round

Color of Object(s): slate gray, It would change colors from a blue-white to orange to red.

Number of Witnesses: four

Special Features/Characteristics:

Source: The Bismarck Tribune; Friday, November 16, 1956.

Summary/Description: “I thought my eyes were playing tricks with me. I stopped, turned off the lights and got out of the truck to stretch my legs. As I rounded the back of the truck, this thing swooped down about a half mile to the east of me and stopped about 1,000 feet up. “I was very frightened — I was terrified.

Full Report

REDFIELD, S.D. — A young truck driver who said he “never held any stock in flying saucer stories” told Wednesday of seeing a huge object in the sky that changed colors and moved with tremendous speed.

Others, including three newspapermen, also reported seeing the object at great distance.

Marlen Hewitt, driver for a dairy here, told this story of watching the object as he drove a tank truck from Pelican Rapids, Minn., to Redfield: “It was about 1:15 when I first spotted it as I drove along. At first I thought it was a star, I’ve never seen a star that bright. There were other stars out at the time, and only a few high clouds in the sky. “As I went on down the road toward Graceville, it changed colors a couple of times. Near Graceville, it changed colors four times.

“I thought my eyes were playing tricks with me. I stopped, turned off the lights and got out of the truck to stretch my legs. As I rounded the back of the truck, this thing swooped down about a half mile to the east of me and stopped about 1,000 feet up. “I was very frightened — I was terrified. “If it had been on the ground, it would have covered about a square block. It looked to be about 12 feet thick. It was a slate gray color, and from the distance looked like it was metal. It was round, and at the base was an opening about 1/10th the size of the object from which a very brilliant light was shining. “It would tilt around and back and forth, gaining maybe 3,000 or 4,000 feet in the flick of any eye.

“Around the edge of this thing was a lighted outline. I couldn’t tell if there were windows in the lighted part or if there was exhaust coming out all around it. “It would change colors from a blue-white to orange to red. I wanted to get out of there, so I jumped back into the truck and turned on the lights. “When my lights went on, the thing turned a bright cherry red and shot up into the high clouds. It moved faster than anything I ever saw. “As I drove toward Ortonville, it dropped down and went to the southwest at a tremendous rate of speed. Then it stopped and hovered.

“I could still see the light in the cloud when I got to Ortonville, and some editors who were going hunting came out of an eating place and watched it with me. “After I got to Big Stone City, it came down out of the clouds again, further away but still changing colors.”

Hewitt said the object disappeared about five hours after he had first spotted the bright light in the sky. He had traveled about 150 miles in the meantime. He said the roads were “very deserted” at the time and that as far as he knew the only others to see the object were those at Ortonville. Hewitt said the object made no noise. He added there was a little wind at the time the object was at its lowest level and it seemed to move into and away from the wind with equal speed. Among the hunters who saw the object at Ortonville were three newspapermen, Lem Kaercher of the Ortonville Independent and Don and Dick Olson of the Marshall Messenger.

published by NICAP, Copyright 1964

By Michael Goodspeed

Historical Context: The 1950s UFO Wave in the Midwest

The 1956 encounter near Redfield, South Dakota, occurred during a pivotal decade in American ufology. The 1950s were characterized by a massive surge in unidentified aerial phenomena reports across the Midwestern United States, often referred to as the “Great Plains Wave”. During this era, rural landscapes became prime theaters for sightings, as the lack of light pollution and expansive horizons provided witnesses like Marlen Hewitt with clear views of anomalous craft that defied the aviation technology of the time.

This period was also the height of Project Blue Book, the United States Air Force’s formal investigation into UFOs. While many sightings were dismissed as weather balloons or astronomical phenomena, the Redfield case stood out due to its high degree of physical detail and multi-witness corroboration. The description of a metallic, color-changing disc was consistent with reports being collected by organizations like NICAP (National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena), which documented similar high-speed, non-inertial maneuvers throughout the mid-1950s.

Furthermore, the 1956 timeframe coincided with the early Cold War, a time of heightened national anxiety regarding secret military technology. However, the interactive nature of the Redfield craft—specifically its reaction to Hewitt’s headlights—suggested a level of autonomous intelligence that many researchers argued surpassed any terrestrial classified projects of that decade. By placing this sighting within the broader context of 1950s saucer lore, we can see it as a significant data point that challenged the military’s “misidentification” narrative and reinforced the reality of structured, unidentified craft operating over the American heartland.

Researcher’s Notes

• Physical Characteristics: The witness described a slate-gray, metallic-looking disc with a brilliant light shining from an opening at its base.

• Interactive Behavior: The object appeared to react to the witness’s actions; when Hewitt turned on his headlights, the craft turned a bright cherry red and accelerated into the clouds.

• Multiple Witnesses: In addition to Hewitt, three newspapermen from Ortonville and Marshall reported seeing the object from a distance, adding a layer of external validation to the account.

• Hynek Classification: Categorized as a NL (Nocturnal Light), though the proximity and description of a structured craft suggest it could also be considered a Close Encounter of the First Kind (CE-I).

The 1956 encounter involving Marlen Hewitt remains a standout case in the South Dakota archives due to its unique combination of high-detail physical observation and interactive behavior. Hewitt’s description of a massive, color-changing disc—reacting instantaneously to his truck’s headlights—provides a rare example of a “structured craft” encounter that goes beyond simple nocturnal lights. The corroboration from three independent newspapermen further elevates the credibility of the report, transforming a solitary driver’s terrifying experience into a well-documented event that challenged the explanatory limits of 1950s aviation and military investigations.

Ultimately, this case serves as a vital benchmark for understanding the “Great Plains Wave” and the broader mid-century surge in unidentified aerial phenomena. By documenting a craft that demonstrated non-inertial flight dynamics and a seemingly autonomous response to human activity, the Hewitt report reinforces the narrative of sophisticated, unidentified objects operating with impunity over the American heartland. As a cornerstone of the Think AboutIts repository, this incident highlights the persistent gap between official “misidentification” theories and the extraordinary, physical reality reported by reliable witnesses on the ground.