Episode
The Forgotten UFO Wave -- Wytheville, Virginia (1987-1988)
- Published
- Jul 11, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 4422
- Processing state
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- https://prestondennett.weebly.com/
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Summary
On October 7, 1987, Wytheville, Virginia (a small town of 8000 residents) became the target of a UFO wave of epic proportions. Literally overnight, hundreds of people began to report UFOs in the skies. These were not just anomalous lights in the night sky, but large, silent, structured crafts at treetop level. After airing a 60-second UFO story, newsman Danny Gordon of WYVE radio in Wytheville found himself fielding hundreds of calls and was pulled into a UFO investigation he never meant to follow. Over the next week, the calls continued to flood in, so Danny (with an associate) set out onto the streets of Wytheville to see the UFOs himself. To his shock, he did. The next day, he saw them again. This time he was able to capture photographs. Danny quickly began contacting various authorities to get some answers. He called every branch of the military he could think of. He called NORAD, the Pentagon, Langley AFB in Virginia; nobody had any information. The UFO wave continued to rage. People reported all kinds of craft: saucers, cigar-shaped objects, spheres, egg-shaped craft, orbs, and weird plane-shaped craft, all perfectly silent. People reported being woken up in their homes, craft landing in their fields, cars being chased down the road. Some believed these were secret military craft, some were convinced they were extraterrestrial. Danny contacted Virginia state officials: the governor, Senators, representatives, heads of aerospace technology; and found himself stonewalled at every turn. Reporters and television stations across the nation converged on the small town, eager to hear the story of the small town invaded by UFOs. Danny Gordon was besieged with interview requests and Wytheville citizens demanding answers. The wave spread beyond Wytheville to surrounding ci…