Published: 3:39 PM 11/17/2009

Ft. Benning, GA - 1977

My name is Ken Darnell... I am a 51 year/old male... A career correctional training specialist with the North Carolina Department of Corrections and an E.M.T. (28 years service). I reside in Yanceyville, NC, with my wife and 12 year-old son.

I enlisted in the Army in 1976 and went to basic training in Ft. Knox, KY, from October thru December, 1976. In January 1977, I arrived at Ft. Benning, GA, to attend Indirect Fire Infantry school and Parachute Jump School.

Sometime between February, 1977, and April, 1977, I experienced what I know to be, a UFO encounter. My memory is quite clear of the event and I have never forgotten it. I know what I witnessed that night was not of this world.

I recall that on that night our platoon had reported to pick up our laundry for the week. We all had marched in formation to the laundry house, and stood at parade rest in line.

As the line would move, we all would come to attention, take 1 step forward, and then reassume parade rest. As we were doing this I saw several others in line looking up, and then someone point up to the sky.

I looked up and what I saw could best be described as several (8 or 10... maybe 12) points of light in the sky, all white, no color, no sound, larger than stars, yet still just points of light. The size of these lights would be comparable to the size of the planet Venus at nightfall.

These points of light were moving in what I have always described as "a swarm of gnats." The points of light moved all around each other as do gnats in a summertime swarm. But suddenly one of the points of light grew brighter and larger than all the others.

The other "swarming" lights suddenly formed a perfect circle around the brighter light and began to slowly rotate around it. The brighter light suddenly left the circle at tremendous speed and shot across the sky and suddenly stopped.

It grew brighter and then dimmer in succession. It did several movements, always at tremendous speed, sometimes making abrupt 90 degree turns, moving from horizon to horizon. Then it suddenly sped back into, and suddenly stopped in the circle of smaller rotating lights.

Once this occurred, the bright light dimmed back to the same as the others, and then the entire group of lights began to once again "swarm" around each other as gnats do. These same events occurred several times.

Each time the brighter light would leave the circle of smaller lights and jet off thru the night sky, making sudden complete stops or turns... faster than any human produced craft could travel. Then suddenly, all of the lights simply disappeared.

I remember being very frightened at the time because what I saw was definitely not anything we (as humans) could produce or do. The laws of physics (as I know them) would not allow such speed, sudden stops or abrupt turns.

I have told this story many times over the years, and most people just laugh it off and say what I saw was just maybe a formation of helicopters or A-10 jets, but I know better.

I have read the story of the Ft. Benning UFO incident that was related by some later that same year, but my experience was several months before this incident. I have never forgotten this encounter I had as an 18 year-old young man, and I never will.

When folks ask " has anyone ever seen a UFO?", I always raise my hand and relate my story. I have now related it to someone for posterity. If anyone has questions about my story, I can be contacted at this e-mail address, or by regular mail by contacting Ken Darnell, 195 Barco Street, P.O. Box 950, Yanceyville N.C.27379