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警察官 Herbert Schirmer の証言 : UFO/abduction 体験

· 44 min read

情報源 : 音声(28:29)​

Abduction in Ashland The Herbert Schirmer Story

概要

UFO遭遇とハーバート・シャーマー

これらの情報源は、1967年12月3日にネブラスカ州アッシュランドの警察官ハーバート・シャーマーが経験したとされるUFO遭遇について論じています。当初、シャーマーは報告書にUFOを見たことだけを記録しましたが、失われた時間を経験した後、催眠療法を受け、宇宙船に乗船し、異星人と交流したというより詳細な話を語りました。シャーマーの話はすぐに広まり、メディアの注目を集めましたが、同時に世間や友人からの嘲笑と嫌がらせ、そして妻との別れを招きました。プロジェクト・ブルーブックがこの事件を調査しましたが、証拠を見つけられず、シャーマーの話の物理的な現実性に疑問を投げかけました。生涯にわたる困難にもかかわらず、シャーマーは自身の体験の真実性を主張し続け、父親からの支持が彼の支えとなりました。

要旨

ブリフィングドキュメント：ハーバート・シャーマーのUFO遭遇

このドキュメントは、ポッドキャスト「Somewhere in the Skies」のエピソード「UFO遭遇とハーバート・シャーマー」の抜粋を基に、ハーバート・シャーマーが経験したとされるUFO遭遇の主なテーマ、重要なアイデア、および事実をレビューする。

出典: Somewhere in the Skies ポッドキャスト、エピソード「UFO遭遇とハーバート・シャーマー」からの抜粋。

概要:​

ハーバート・シャーマーは、1967年12月3日未明、ネブラスカ州アシュランドで警察官としてパトロール中にUFOに遭遇したと主張している。当初、彼はUFOが上昇して消えたことだけを記録したが、後に失われた時間があることに気づき、催眠療法下で、UFOに乗船し、異星人とのコミュニケーションがあったという詳細な記憶を取り戻した。この出来事は大きな注目を集め、空軍のプロジェクト・ブルーブックやコンドン委員会による調査が行われた。しかし、公式な結論は、シャーマーの報告が物理的に現実であるという確信はないというものだった。シャーマーはその後、地域社会からの嘲笑と嫌がらせを受け、私生活にも影響が出た。

主なテーマと重要なアイデア/事実:​

  1. 遭遇の初期段階と記録:
  • 日付と時間: 1967年12月3日午前2時30分。
  • 場所: アメリカ国道6号線とネブラスカ州道63号線の交差点付近。
  • シャーマーは当初、停電したトラックかと思ったが、接近すると「従来の車両ではない」、「空中に浮かぶ一種のクラフト」であることが明らかになった。(0:05:03)
  • クラフトの特徴: サッカーボールのような形、非常にメタリックな外観、赤い点滅灯、中央にキャットウォーク、下部からの赤みがかったオレンジ色の光。(0:05:28 - 0:05:56)
  • クラフトの動き: パトカーが接近すると約40フィートまで上昇。(0:05:28)
  • クラフトのサイズ: 「幅約20フィート、高さ15フィートの細長い円盤」。(0:06:03)
  • クラフトの音と光: 「大きなビープ音を発し始め、それが速く、大きく、甲高く」なり、「突然、オレンジ色の赤いビームを地面に向けて発射」して「素早く消えた」。(0:06:05 - 0:06:19)
  • 失われた時間: シャーマーは遭遇中に「失われた時間」を経験した。(0:06:31)
  • 最初の記録: 「午前2時30分、1967年12月3日、私はアメリカ国道6号線とネブラスカ州道63号線の交差点でUFOを見ました。信じるか信じないかはあなた次第です。」とパトロールログに記録した。(0:01:13)
  • 署に戻った時間: 3時01分。(0:17:54) ログの記録時間との間に25分間のずれがあった。(0:21:28)
  1. 催眠療法による詳細な記憶:
  • 失われた時間を説明するため、シャーマーは催眠療法を受けた。(0:06:31)
  • 催眠療法下で、彼はクラフトに乗船し、異星人と出会ったと語った。(0:06:39)
  • 体験の感覚: 白い閃光、車と一緒に引き上げられる感覚、最初は呆然とし、その後チクチクする感覚。(0:06:53 - 0:07:15)
  1. 異星人との遭遇とクラフト内部:
  • クラフトが着陸し、足が出た。(0:07:21)
  • ハッチが開き、人型のような「光がハッチから出てきて、この形が降りてきた」。(0:07:39)
  • 異星人の外見: 「人間のような形」。(0:07:44) その後、「猫のような目をしていて、まばたきをしなかった」、「灰白色の肌」、「長くて細い頭」、「平らな鼻」、「スリットのような口」と詳細に描写。(0:10:18)
  • 異星人の服装: 「銀灰色の制服、手袋、ヘルメット」で、「左耳の脇には小さなアンテナ」があり、「各スーツの左胸には、翼のある蛇のエンブレム」があった。(0:10:18 - 0:10:29)
  • コミュニケーション: 異星人は「物体」を持ち、「テレパシー」でコミュニケーションを取ったと推測されている。（理解できない言葉だった）(0:08:06, 0:09:56, 0:10:10)
  • クラフトの目的: 異星人は、クラフトが「電気を収穫する」ためにアシュランドに来たのだと説明した。(0:10:08, 0:12:22)
  • クラフト内部: 「ライト、スイッチ、ケーブル、その他の計器」で満たされていた。(0:09:47) クラフトは「電気的リバーシブル磁気」で動作すると説明された。(0:10:56)
  • 多層構造: クラフトは複数レベルがあり、観察デッキもあった。(0:11:14, 0:13:38)
  • スクリーン: スクリーンに星が表示され、異星人はそれが彼らの出身地だとシャーマーに示した。（場所や名前は言わなかった）(0:11:42 - 0:12:10)
  • 電力収穫のデモンストレーション: 異星人は、外部のアンテナからパワーユニットに向けて「見たことのない色の」光線を発射する様子をシャーマーに見せた。(0:12:39 - 0:12:56)
  • 異星人の言葉: 異星人はシャーマーを「ウォッチマン（監視員）」と呼んだ。(0:09:29)
  1. 遭遇後の影響と調査:
  • 肉体的な影響: 熱、脱水症状、チクチクする感覚、吐き気、身体の麻痺。(0:16:15 - 0:16:20, 0:17:54 - 0:17:58, 0:19:45 - 0:19:53)
  • 精神的な影響: 混乱、ショック、「何が起こったんだ？」「本当に飛ぶ円盤を見たのか？」「本当にこれが私に起こったのか？」という問い。(0:18:06 - 0:18:20)
  • 同僚の反応: 最初に話した同僚は信じると言ったが、他の誰にも話さないよう、さもないと職を失うだろうと忠告した。(0:19:11 - 0:19:34)
  • 広まるニュース: 署長への電話、メディア（テレビ、新聞、ラジオ）の注目。(0:20:08 - 0:20:37) オマハ・ワールド・ヘラルド紙が最初に報道した。(0:20:37)
  • 政府の調査: アメリカ空軍のプロジェクト・ブルーブック、コンドン委員会が調査に乗り出した。(0:20:42 - 0:21:07)
  • 調査チーム: ジョン・アーロンズ（精神科医）、ロイ・クレイグ（物理学者）。(0:21:07 - 0:21:18)
  • 催眠療法の実施: ドクター・レオ・スプリンクラーがタイム・リグレッション・ヒプノシスを実施し、乗船とコミュニケーションの記憶が明らかになった。(0:22:07 - 0:22:38)
  • シャーマーの反応: 催眠療法のテープを聞いて「ショックを受け」、「何を考えればいいか分からなかった」。(0:22:38 - 0:22:57)
  1. 余波とコンドン委員会の結論:
  • 地域社会からの嘲笑と嫌がらせ: アシュランドの住民から「町の笑い草にしている」として攻撃された。(0:23:12 - 0:23:38)
  • 嫌がらせの例: 墓地にシャーマーに見立てた人形を吊るし、車をダイナマイトで爆破された。(0:23:38 - 0:24:58)
  • 人間関係への影響: 妻は話を信じず、彼のもとを去った。友人たちも多くが離れていった。(0:24:58 - 0:25:10)
  • コンドン委員会の結論: 「現場からは物質的または痕跡の証拠は見つからなかった。」、「その地域も放射能の痕跡に対して陰性であった。」(0:25:10 - 0:25:26) 催眠療法士はシャーマーが「心から信じている」と結論付けたが、公式には「警察官が報告したUFO体験が物理的に現実であるという確信はない」とされた。(0:25:37 - 0:25:57)
  • コンドン委員会の広範な結論: UFO研究から科学的知識は得られていないとした。(0:25:57 - 0:26:08)

6.シャーマーのその後と遺産:

  • アシュランドを去る: 経験と余波に対処するため、太平洋岸北西部で生活した。(0:26:08)
  • メディアへの登場: 1970年代を通して、UFOに関するテレビ番組や書籍に登場し続けた。(0:26:15 - 0:26:36)
  • 支えとなった人々: 数少ない友人、特に同僚のルロイ・ディメットは彼を信じ続け、支えとなった。(0:26:43 - 0:27:05)
  • 父親からの言葉: 空軍に長年勤務した父親は、遭遇について直接的な肯定も否定もせず、「息子よ、もしお前が真実を言っているなら、それにこだわり続けなさい」と語った。シャーマーはこの言葉を支えにした。(0:27:44 - 0:28:16)
  • シャーマーの死: 2017年に死去した。(0:27:05)

結論:​

ハーバート・シャーマーのUFO遭遇事件は、目撃情報、失われた時間、催眠療法下での回収された記憶、そしてそれに続く公的な調査と地域社会からの反発という、古典的なUFOアブダクション事例の多くの要素を含んでいる。

彼の体験は公式には物理的な現実として認められなかったが、彼自身は死ぬまでその話を真実だと信じ続けた。彼の物語は、UFO現象がもたらす個人的な苦悩、社会的な懐疑、そして真実を追い求めることの困難さを示唆している。

彼の父親の言葉「もしお前が真実を言っているなら、それにこだわり続けなさい」は、この複雑な出来事におけるシャーマーの姿勢と、未解決のUFO問題への探求を続けることの重要性を象徴している。

timeline と主要関係者

UFO遭遇とハーバート・シャーマー：詳細タイムライン​

  • 1967年12月3日午前2時30分頃: ハーバート・シャーマー巡査（22歳）が、ネブラスカ州アッシュランド近郊の国道6号線とネブラスカ州道63号線の交差点付近で、空中にホバリングしている物体に遭遇する。最初は故障したトラックかと思うが、近づくにつれて通常の乗り物ではないと判明。フットボールのような形をした金属製の物体で、周囲に赤色の点滅灯があり、下部からは赤みがかったオレンジ色の光が出ていた。物体はシャーマーのパトカーに近づくにつれて約40フィートの高さに上昇する。物体はビーという音を発し、その後オレンジ色の光線を発して急速に消失する。
  • 1967年12月3日午前2時30分から午前3時01分の間: シャーマーは「失われた時間」を経験する。後に催眠療法で明らかになる出来事だが、この時点では記憶がない。
  • 1967年12月3日午前3時01分: シャーマーはアッシュランド警察署に戻り、時計を見て午前3時01分であることに気づく。非常に喉が渇き、脱水症状を感じる。
  • 1967年12月3日午前3時01分以降: シャーマーは自分の報告日誌に、「1967年12月3日午前2時30分、国道6号線と63号線の交差点でUFOを見た。信じるか信じないかはあなた次第。」と短いメモを書き残す。
  • 1967年12月3日午前6時30分頃: 同僚の巡査（ポール）が出勤し、シャーマーの動揺した様子に気づく。シャーマーは「空飛ぶ円盤を見た」とだけ伝える。同僚は信じるが、他には言わない方が良いと助言する。
  • 1967年12月3日午前6時30分以降: シャーマーは帰宅し、身体のエネルギーが完全に消耗しているように感じる。ソファに横になると、頭の中に buzzing のような感覚が起こり、身体に圧迫感を感じ、動けなくなる。助けを求めようとするが声が出ない。その後眠ってしまう。
  • 1967年12月3日午前以降: シャーマーの自宅に警察署長の電話がかかってきて、すぐに署に来るように言われる。シャーマーは体調が悪いと断るが、署長がすぐに来るという。
  • 1967年12月3日以降: シャーマーのUFO目撃談が報道され始め、オマハ・ワールド・ヘラルド紙などが報じる。この報道は全米の注目を集め、米空軍と政府の関心を引く。
  • 時期不明（報道後）: 米空軍のコンティング委員会（プロジェクト・ブルーブックに関連）の調査チームがアッシュランドに到着し、シャーマーの調査を行う。調査チームには、精神科医のジョン・アーロンズと物理学者のロイ・クレイグが含まれる。
  • 時期不明（調査中）: ジョン・アーロンズはシャーマーに何度も話を聞き、証言を繰り返し語らせる。報告日誌に2時30分から3時までの25分間のタイムラグがあることが判明する。
  • 時期不明（調査中）: シャーマーはコロラド州ボルダーに送られ、UFO調査チームによる様々なテストを受ける。レオ・スプリンクル博士による時間回帰催眠療法が行われる。
  • 時期不明（催眠療法後）: 催眠療法により、シャーマーが宇宙船に搭乗し、宇宙人とコミュニケーションを取っていたという詳細な記憶が明らかになる。シャーマーは録音された自身の証言を聞き、衝撃を受ける。
  • 時期不明（催眠療法後）: 催眠療法で明らかになった話が広まるにつれて、アッシュランドの住民からの嘲笑と嫌がらせが激しくなる。
  • 時期不明（嫌がらせ中）: シャーマーがボルダー滞在中に、アッシュランドの墓地にシャーマーを模した人形が吊るされ、嫌がらせの標的となる。
  • 時期不明（嫌がらせ中）: シャーマーの車がダイナマイトで爆破される。
  • 時期不明（嫌がらせ継続中）: シャーマーの妻が、UFOの話を信じず、嫌がらせや注目の高まりに耐えられなくなり、シャーマーのもとを去る。多くの友人も離れていく。
  • 1968年: コンティング委員会がシャーマーのケースに関する公式報告書を発表する。目撃現場から物質や痕跡証拠、放射能反応は検出されなかったと結論づける。レオ・スプリンクル博士らの催眠療法士は、シャーマーが語った出来事を心から信じていると結論づけるが、コンティング委員会は、シャーマーが報告したUFO体験が物理的に現実であったという確証はないと結論づける。コンティング委員会は1968年の最終結論で、UFO研究から科学的知識に貢献するものはなかったと述べる。
  • 1968年以降: シャーマーはアッシュランドを離れ、一時期太平洋岸北西部に住む。UFOに関するテレビ番組や書籍に出演し、オマハ・ワールド・ヘラルド紙などで報じられ続ける。
  • 時期不明: シャーマーは父親にUFOについて尋ねる。父親は肯定も否定もせず、「真実を語っているのなら、それを貫け」と助言する。
  • 2017年: ハーバート・シャーマー死去。

UFO遭遇とハーバート・シャーマー：登場人物リスト​

  • ハーバート・シャーマー: この物語の中心人物。1967年当時22歳のアッシュランド警察署の巡査。ベトナム戦争で海軍に従事した経験を持つ。UFOに遭遇し、後に催眠療法によって宇宙船への搭乗と宇宙人との交流を思い出す。経験後、警察官としてのキャリアを失い、嫌がらせや家族との別離を経験する。
  • ライアン・スプラグ: 「Somewhere in the Skies」のホスト。このエピソードの語り手であり、ブレイク・アークのオマハ・ワールド・ヘラルドの記事に基づいて番組を作成する。
  • ブレイク・アーク: 2019年4月4日にオマハ・ワールド・ヘラルドに記事を掲載した人物。シャーマーの物語を再び注目させるきっかけとなる。
  • ポール: アッシュランド警察署の同僚巡査。シャーマーのUFO目撃談を最初に聞き、信じるが、他言しないよう助言する。
  • シャーマーの父親: 元空軍のキャリア軍人。シャーマーがUFOについて尋ねた際に、「真実を語っているのなら、それを貫け」と助言する。
  • ジョン・アーロンズ: 米空軍コンティング委員会の調査チームの一員。精神科医（原文では「shrink」とも表現されている）。シャーマーに繰り返し証言を語らせる。
  • ロイ・クレイグ: 米空軍コンティング委員会の調査チームの一員。物理学者。シャーマーの調査に関わる。
  • レオ・スプリンクル博士: 催眠療法士。シャーマーに時間回帰催眠療法を行い、失われた時間の記憶（宇宙船への搭乗と宇宙人との交流）を呼び起こす。コンティング委員会に対して、シャーマーが語った出来事を心から信じていると結論づける。
  • 宇宙人: シャーマーが催眠療法によって思い出した存在。灰色がかった白い肌で、猫のような目を持ち、まばたきをしない。細長い頭、平らな鼻、スリットのような口をしている。銀灰色の制服、手袋、ヘルメットを着用し、ヘルメットには小さなアンテナ、左胸には翼のある蛇のエンブレムがある。主にテレパシーでシャーマーとコミュニケーションを取る。地球の電力を採取するために訪れたと説明する。
  • リロイ・ディメット: アッシュランド警察署の交代勤務（relief）巡査。シャーマーの親友であり、この事件の間、一貫してシャーマーを信じ、支える。
  • シャーマーの妻: シャーマーのUFO体験を信じず、嫌がらせや注目の高まりに耐えられなくなり、シャーマーのもとを去る。

FasterWhisper AI(large-v2 model)​

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Welcome to Somewhere in the Skies. I'm your host, Ryan Sprague. Today's episode is directly inspired by an article written by Blake Ersk and published in the Omaha World-Herald on April 4th, 2019. My sincere thanks goes out to the newspaper for their generous contributions to this episode. The young patrolman took a drag from his cigarette, trying in vain to steady his nerves. Sitting in the small police station, mostly empty in the early morning, 22-year-old Herbert Schirmer felt feverish and disoriented. (0:00:42)

As he later recounted, his body felt completely drained. His head buzzed and his thoughts raced. Did this really happen to me? He asked himself. As an officer with the Ashland Police Department, Schirmer said that he had been trained to take notes of incidents in his log, whatever they might be. So there, in the early morning quiet, he grabbed a pen and scrawled a short message in his notebook, summarizing the night's bizarre events. (0:01:13)

At 2.30 a.m. December 3rd, 1967, I saw a UFO at the junction of USA Highway 6 and Nebraska Highway 63. Believe it or not. You are now somewhere in the skies with your host, Ryan Sprague. Herbert Schirmer's gripping story of an alleged alien encounter would ignite a firestorm of news coverage, and he would become a legend among UFO enthusiasts. His tale of a spacecraft and its inhabitants soon becoming ingrained in American folklore for decades to come. (0:02:32)

Schirmer gave a rare presentation of his experience, recounting in detail what happened that night. The following audio clips throughout this episode are directly from that presentation. Schirmer begins by giving us some detail about himself, setting us up for the amazing story we're about to hear. I was born in Missouri, and I was brought up as a service brat. My father was a career man in the Air Force. I went to school in Japan, Germany, France, and Hawaii. I jumped around quite a bit, so I didn't get much of an education when I was young, but I did finish it all later. (0:03:17)

When I was 17 years old, I went into the military service, United States Navy, and my first news station was in Jacksonville, Florida. And then from there, I went with the 4th West Command, and I helped serve our flag and fight for it in Vietnam, even though I felt it was an immoral act of war. Then, coming out of the service, I went back to Missouri and spent a couple of months there, and I went home to Nebraska, where my folks were. (0:03:56)

And I wasn't making very much money being out of the service. You know, $2 an hour being a clerk wasn't my bag, really. So I wanted newer fuels, so I always wanted to be in law enforcement. So I talked to my father about going into law enforcement, and he decided that the State Patrol in Nebraska would be a good idea. So we filled out the forms and everything, and I had to go to the Ashland, Nebraska, to the police department to get a police check. (0:04:30)

So I walked in, and five minutes later, I was a policeman. They hired me there. (0:04:35)

Schirmer became an officer for the Ashland Police Department. On December 3, 1967, at approximately 2.30 a.m., after checking on two gas stations in the area, Schirmer was driving his police cruiser along USA Highway 6 toward Nebraska. As he continued down the road, he noticed something hovering partly above the highway. At first glance, he thought maybe it could have been a truck broken down on the side of the road. (0:05:03)

But as he approached, it became quite clear this wasn't a truck's lights. It wasn't a truck at all, or any conventional vehicle. It appeared to be a craft of some sort, hovering in midair. As I got closer and put the high beams of the lights on the patrol car on this object started raising. These lights started raising up in the air to about 40 feet. (0:05:28)

I think I was something like 50 yards from this. These lights were flashing as they got bigger as I got closer. It seemed like they were red flashing lights coming out of a porthole, which sort of circled the craft. It had like a catwalk going around the center of it. It was shaped like a football, very metallic, like a very shiny bumper, if you polished a bumper on a car. (0:05:56)

It had sort of a reddish-orangey glow coming from beneath it. From the glow, Schirmer could make out the craft. It was an oblong disc about 20 feet wide and 15 feet tall. It began to emit a loud beep, which became faster, louder, and shriller. Suddenly, the spacecraft shot an orange-red beam toward the ground and quickly vanished. Schirmer's initial account of the encounter ends here, with the officer approaching the craft only to see it rise and disappear. (0:06:31)

But, having experienced missing time during the event, Schirmer would eventually go under hypnotic regression. In doing so, he told a much longer story. He had not just seen the spacecraft, he had met with the beings inside of it. Then, there was this white flash that came on to me in the patrol car. It felt as if we were being pulled. And then, it was being pulled. (0:07:01)

You know, we were being pulled up the side of this bank to the left of the road and up toward this fill, the car and I. I felt nothing. At first, I felt kind of stunned and shocked, and then I felt sort of tingly. And as the car and I moved up the bank to the top of this fill, this object landed and some legs came out and it sat down. (0:07:30)

I was just sitting there really motionless, I couldn't move. This hatch came open and this light came out of the hatch and this form came down and looked the form of a human being. And this form started walking toward the patrol car with an object in both its hands. Appeared to be hands. And he was walking straight toward the patrol car. As he was doing this, another form came out and started walking toward the patrol car also. (0:08:06)

As this being walked up to the front of the patrol car with this object in his hand, which looked sort of a squarish oval type. (0:08:18)

It looked like it had a lens in front of it. And the only thing I could think was, oh my God, what's going to happen now? And this green light came out all over the car and went back in again. And I felt a sensation then and then I felt nothing. Like I was just there and that was it. And this other being started walking up toward the car. (0:08:49)

I was sitting looking straight, I couldn't even move my head. And he walked up to the car and the window was about three quarters of the way rolled down. And he had an object in his hand, a silver object that looked like a big pencil with a round ball on the end of it. And he pressed this against the side of my neck, which I felt some pain from and said, ouch. (0:09:17)

Then he stepped back and I sort of sat there and he opened up the car door and I sort of raised up out of the patrol car. And I was looking at him and he was looking at me and he said, are you the watchman of this town? And my response was, yes, sir. He said, come with me, watchman. The being then took him aboard for a tour of the spacecraft. (0:09:47)

Which was filled with lights, switches, cables, and other instruments. At times, the being appeared to communicate with him telepathically with words Shermer didn't understand. The being explained the spacecraft had come to Ashland to harvest electricity. Shermer would later describe the beings in detail. He would say that they had cat-like eyes and didn't blink. They had gray-white skin and long and thin heads with flat noses and slit-like mouths. (0:10:18)

They wore silver-gray uniforms, gloves, and helmets, which had a small antenna on the left side of the ear. And at the left breast of each suit, they had the emblem of a winged serpent. Shermer had the impression that the small antennas were somehow part of their communication process with him. And as this particular being led Shermer through the craft, it was a grand tour of cosmic proportions. (0:10:45)

And we walked a complete circle in there, and I said, uh, what is this? And he said, this is how our craft operates, and he said it operates on electrical reversible magnetism. And we walked back over to where I came up in with him, and this glass sheet came down. And we stepped onto this, which I felt, and we moved up into the second level of the craft. (0:11:14)

And lo and behold, I've never seen anything like it before in my life, with so many different types of instrument panels and computer-type things that you just wouldn't believe it. This cone thing was right in the center of the floor. You can see half of it from on top and half of it from the bottom. But it gave off a red glow that sort of, not flashed, but kind of died down and then came back up again. (0:11:39)

And he says, watchman, come with me. (0:11:42)

And we walked over to a screen that was up on the side, I say wall, and it was sort of like a TV screen. And he pressed some buttons, and I guess flipped some switches. I wasn't paying too much attention to him, I was looking at the screen. And some stars in the sky appeared on there. And he put his finger up like this, and he said, this is where we're from, watchman. (0:12:10)

And then he put his hand back down. He didn't say where, and he didn't say the name. The purpose that we're here is to get electricity. And there was another being standing a little distance away. And the man turned to him, and they both looked at each other, and he started depressing buttons. And he says, watch, watchman. And there was this antenna on the outside of the spacecraft, which angled toward a power unit. (0:12:44)

And this bolt went out, a color I've never seen before in my life, and I don't even think I could describe it. Went out and came back. And this stayed like this for about three minutes. And then it went off. And he turned and looked at me. And I felt as I was getting a very, very, an awful lot of roll of input of words that I couldn't understand. (0:13:09)

And he reached up and he touched me on the shoulder. And he felt real when he touched me. And I think at that time I did touch him. And he felt real to me. And he says, watchman, come with me. We walked back over to the exit, I'll say, where we came up. And the glass sheet came down again. And we went up into the third part of the craft, which was the observation deck, he said. (0:13:38)

And as we stepped off, he said, watchman, come with me. And we walked over and we were standing there looking out of a big plate glass window type thing. And there was a control panel right in front of it. And there were two chairs that looked like dentist chairs. You know, a gridded dentist chair, but really a superstructure of a chair. Better than a dentist chair. (0:14:00)

We looked out the window and I could see this one being walking back and forth by where my patrol car was. And I think I said, wow. He turned to me and he said something I don't understand. And he said some more things that I didn't understand or couldn't make out. And I still don't. And then he pointed his hand toward the plate glass window, as I say, refer to, to the stars out there. (0:14:39)

And he says to me, watchman, one day you yourself will see the universe as I have. And he reached up and he touched me on the shoulder. And he says, come with me, watchman. And then he stopped and he said, watchman. And I turned around like this to look at him. (0:15:00)

And it felt like I was getting more input of something that I couldn't understand. Then he says, watchman, come with me. We walked over and we went down all the way out of the craft. As we got outside, this other being started walking back toward the spacecraft and boarded it. As we were walking toward my patrol car. And we stopped right by the patrol car. (0:15:29)

And I turned to look at him and he was looking at me. And then again it felt like I was receiving input of words of some kind that I couldn't understand. He sort of lifted his hand and then he turned and walked back to the spacecraft. Floated up inside. This catwalk thing started spinning. The lights started flashing off and on. This red-orange glow came out from beneath it. (0:15:56)

It started lifting up in the air. And I guess it got about 100 feet high and just shot straight out of sight. Let me tell you, I was scared. I started feeling me again. When I was aboard the spacecraft, I had hardly no feeling at all. My body was tingling. I was perspiring. I was hot. I felt nauseated. I got back into the patrol car. (0:16:23)

I turned it around. And I headed back to the police station. Greetings everyone, Ryan Spreck here, host of Somewhere in the Skies. For over seven years and more than 400 episodes, the Somewhere in the Skies podcast has always been free to listen to. But it's not free to create. So we offer several ways to help support our efforts and get rewards in return. (0:16:50)

If you listen to the podcast on Apple, you can click the subscribe button at the top of your Somewhere in the Skies feed to become a premium Apple subscriber. Or you can join our Patreon campaign with several tiers available. Both of these options give you the same benefits and rewards. Ad-free episodes. Early access to the main show. And bonus episodes and content. Help keep the lights on at the Somewhere in the Skies HQ. And help us continue to grow by becoming a Patreon subscriber at patreon.com slash somewhereskies. (0:17:25)

Or by clicking the subscribe button at the top of your Apple feed. Thank you for your continued support. And keep looking up. Shermer drove back to the station, visibly shaken. He went into the station, looked at the clock on the wall, and noticed it was 3.01 AM. He immediately went to the bathroom to guzzle down a hefty amount of water. He was very hot and felt dehydrated. (0:17:58)

After that, he came back out to his desk, not quite sure what to do next. I sat there at the table, and I lit a cigarette, and I said, Wow, what the hell happened? Something happened to me. Did I really see a flying saucer? Did this really happen to me? I looked at my report log, and I remembered through all the training and everything I went through, that regardless of the nature or what it was, put it in your report book. (0:18:30)

Because you just might need it. (0:18:32)

So I looked at my report book, and I got my pen out, and I wrote, At 2.30 AM, December 3rd, 1967, I saw a UFO at Junction 6 and 63, believe it or not. After logging the incident, to the best of his knowledge, another officer entered the office around 6.30 AM that morning. He could tell Schirmer was distracted and looked shaken. He asked Schirmer what had happened to him, but not remembering the entire event at this point, all he told the officer was that he'd seen a flying saucer. (0:19:11)

The response he got back was a little unexpected. The fellow officer says, I believe you heard. He says, I don't think you should tell anybody you heard, because I don't think anybody's going to believe you. Matter of fact, you're going to lose your job if you tell the people. But I said, Paul, it's the truth. He said, well, you know, he said a lot of people won't even accept the truth. (0:19:34)

I said, well, I'll wait for the chief. He says, no, I'll go on home. So I went home and I was, you know, I really felt like everything was drained completely out of my body. And I laid down on the couch and as I laid there, I started getting a buzzing feeling in my head. It felt like I was being, I had pressure on my body. (0:19:53)

I couldn't move my arms. I couldn't, you know how you try to open your mouth and you can't say help. I was trying to say help, you know, and then I went off to sleep and the phone rang and it was the chief. And the chief says, get your butt down to the station right now. What is this? You mean you've seen a UFO? (0:20:10)

I said, I don't feel good. I'm sick and I'm not coming down to the police station. He said, I'll be right over. So the next thing, TV came in, press came in, you know, newspapers, radio stations, and telephone calls started coming in. The story had now made its way across the nation, the local Omaha World Herald being one of the very first to cover the story. (0:20:37)

The original article by the Herald attracted the attention of many readers, but it also attracted the attention of the U.S. Air Force and the government. And soon they wanted to investigate. The United States Air Force Conning Committee, Blue Book Project, or however you want to say it, investigating team came down to Ashland, Nebraska to investigate me. A gentleman by the name of John Aarons, who is a friend of mine, and a gentleman by the name of Roy Craig, who was a physicist. (0:21:11)

John Aarons, he probably hit me, but he was a shrink, a psychiatrist. Him and I had long discussions, and he told me to tell my story over and over and over and over, and I told it over and over and over and over. (0:21:28)

And then they found a 25-minute time lapse in my log. And John says, Herb, what happened to you between 2.30 a.m. December 3, 1967 and 3 a.m.? And I looked at him, and I couldn't say anything because I didn't remember. So he says, You've got to come to Boulder. I said, Okay. So they took me up to Boulder, and I met a UFO team there. (0:22:07)

I have a lot of people who have run a lot of tests on me. And a hypnotist by the name of Dr. Leo Sprinkler administered time regression hypnosis on me, which found out a small detail that I had been aboard the spacecraft and that I had actually communicated with them. They played the tape back to me, and it shocked me. I didn't know what to think. (0:22:38)

I said, Is that really my voice on that tape? You bet it is, boy. I says, My God. What do I do now? The members of Project Blue Book were intrigued but cautious of the story. They would continue to assist in Shermer being put under rigorous hypnotic regression, his story never changing or swaying. After Shermer heard the tapes of his hypnotic regression sessions, he didn't know what to do. (0:23:06)

The missing time had now been filled with a story almost too hard to believe, even for Shermer. And as this story started to surface, the ridicule back home in Ashland only intensified. Locals weren't letting the officer off easy for spinning this unbelievable tale that was making their town the laughingstock of the entire state. They harassed him aggressively. So while I was up in Boulder, the city got real cute, you know. (0:23:38)

Matter of fact, the night I left, they went down to our beautiful cemetery there in Ashland, Nebraska, and took this dummy and hung it by the neck in a tree, put a big star on it, shot a hose through it and painted the hose with red like blood, and put herb across the star with a cowboy head on it. And they really made it look big because they went down to the mortuary and they got the amulets out, a Code 3 run, sirens, red lights, the whole works. (0:24:11)

Went over there and they very carefully took it down and put it on a stretcher and covered it up and took it back to the morgue. I... they thought they scared me, but they didn't, you see. That's what they were trying to do, they were trying to scare me, but they didn't scare me because I thought it was kind of funny and I laughed about it when I read it in the paper and seen all the pictures and everything. (0:24:37)

But while I was in Boulder, they blew my car up with dynamite. And that really made me mad. I just got to paying for it. The harassment continued, and Schirmer tried to take it in stride, but things only seemed to get worse. (0:24:58)

His own wife didn't believe the story, and after many long nights of arguments and the unwanted attention put on Schirmer, she left him. And so had many of his friends. Meanwhile, the Conting Committee, in offshoot and response to the work being done by Project Blue Book, gave their conclusions in their official report on Schirmer's case, stating no materials or trace evidence was found at the site of the claimed incident. (0:25:26)

The area also tested negative for traces of radioactivity. Though the analysis of Dr. Leo Sprinkle and several other hypnotherapists concluded that Schirmer sincerely believed in the events he described, the official conclusion by the Conting Committee investigators finally declared they had no confidence that the officers' reported UFO experience was physically real. The Conting Committee would later apply the same logic to UFO sightings in general, concluding in 1968 that, quote, nothing has come from the study of UFOs in the past 21 years that has added to the scientific knowledge, end quote. (0:26:08)

Schirmer eventually left Ashland, living for a time in the Pacific Northwest, trying to cope with his experience, the aftermath, and the eventual fallout. He continued to make headlines in Omaha throughout the 70s, when the World Herald noted his appearances in TV specials and books about UFOs. Such a sentiment might have been comforting to Schirmer in the volatile period after the story spread. In those days and weeks, he sought counsel from friends and family, rarely getting it. (0:26:43)

But one fellow officer in particular remained steadfast in believing Schirmer. Through the whole crisis, I had one very good friend in Ashland, Nebraska. His name is Leroy Dimmett. Very close friend. And he helped me a lot in Ashland. He was one of our relief officers in the police department. And I was really proud to have him as a friend as the way he stuck by. (0:27:05)

Herbert Schirmer died in 2017. And with him, he took a story so unbelievable yet so genuine in his recounting that we may never really know what happened on that desolate road in Ashland, Nebraska in 1967. The truth remains with Schirmer. And perhaps the most important vindication for Schirmer himself came from his very own father. Words that Schirmer would take with him, but also leave with us to keep searching, somewhere in the skies. (0:27:44)

I went to my father and I said, Dad, I said, I know you have 20-something years in the Air Force. But I asked my father point blank, I said, Dad, what do you think of UFOs? My father never said no. He never said yes. He just said, son, if you're telling the truth, stick with it. And so I stuck with it. Please take a moment to rate and review on Apple, Spotify or wherever possible. (0:28:23)

You can find us across all social media by searching for Somewhere in the Skies. (0:28:28)