The Algerian War Incident – UFO Sighting Over The Foreign Legion

By
Marcus Lowth
Published Date
April 12, 2019
Last Updated
October 6, 2021
Estimated Reading Time
8 min read
Posted in
UFOs, Close Encounters

Like most conflicts of the twentieth century, and most likely right the way through history, the Algerian War of 1954 to 1962 had several UFO sightings in and around the battlefields and conflict zones. It is an interesting point that many UFO researchers insist is an important factor for the apparent monitoring of our species – and our warlike tendencies.

Indeed, many researchers suggest that it is no coincidence that UFO sightings exploded in the years immediately following the active testing of and then full-on deployment of nuclear weapons at the end of the Second World War, a course of action, incidentally, that many still insist was unnecessary in defeating the already beleaguered Japanese forces.

Superimposed UFO in a cloudy sky

Superimposed UFO in a cloudy sky

Regardless of the necessity or not of the atomic bombs over Nagasaki and Hiroshima in August 1945, one of the consequences, according to some, was an urgent monitoring of human beings. Let’s assume this is correct for one moment. Especially given our long collective history of war, conflict, and bloodshed. One that continues, albeit in “isolated pockets” around the planet today in various forms of military aggression.

What might an advanced, scientific, and largely peaceful spacefaring civilization think of a civilization, on the brink of space exploration themselves to boot, that could happily use such destructive weapons on their own people on their own planet? That we might use them elsewhere would be surely of huge concern. Perhaps such a concern as to prompt a closer more preemptive course of action?

With that in mind, then, what should we make of the sighting of March 1958 during such a conflict in the North of Africa?

A Sudden Whistling Like Someone Blowing Into A Bottleneck

Shortly after midnight one evening in March 1958, at a Foreign Legion camp near Bouamama in Algeria during the Algerian War, a Legionnaire known only as “NG” [1] was on sentry duty. It was not a particularly large outpost, with only light weaponry defending the base which was essentially “dug out of the ground” and connected to the main camp by a single telephone line.

This particular evening, the sky was a perfect black host to a brightly shining moon. Underneath, the desert stretched into the distance like a never-ending sandy ocean. NG was expecting an uneventful night and so, while remaining alert, enjoyed the ironic serene peacefulness of the moment.

However, at around half-past-midnight, that peaceful serenity was very much broken.

A depiction of the 1950 UFO sighting

A depiction of the 1950 UFO sighting

A sudden whistling sound came from above reminding NG of the sound of someone “blowing into the neck of a bottle”. When he turned his attention upwards, he could see an “enormous, round object” heading his way from above. At approximately 100 feet away from him, it came to a sudden stop. It would remain, hovering silently.

He continued to watch the truly huge craft estimating it to be perhaps 1,000 feet wide.

A pale, green light appeared to envelop the craft. Even more bizarre, a “conical beam of emerald green light” emanated from the middle of the craft towards the ground. Despite orders to either fire his rifle or telephone the main base if anything at all should occur, NG simply stood there in awe of the fantastic events unfolding around him.

A Fluctuation Of Moods And Emotions

Before he knew it, 45 minutes had passed, all the while NG had simply stood staring at the cosmic craft hovering above him. He almost felt as though he was in a strange trance, so enthralling were the colors around the craft.

Suddenly, however, the whistling sound returned, snapping him back to his senses. He could see the object now beginning to rise once again. It continued to do so before it suddenly shot off into the night sky, vanishing within a few seconds.

For several moments following its departure, NG’s state of mind was seemingly affected. He would quickly fluctuate between sadness and calmness, before fully returning to his “normal” state of mind as he was before the sighting.

A depiction of two UFOs in a sunset sky

A depiction of two UFOs in a sunset sky

At this point, he picked up the telephone and contacted the main base to report the incident. However, rather than the response he was expecting of a back-up unit to come and investigate and take a full report, he was simply told to continue his watch.

When he was eventually relieved of his duty at the normal time at the end of his shift, he would immediately seek out his superiors to report the sightings again. And while they would take more notice of his urgency on this occasion, it was still far from the reaction he was hoping for or indeed expecting.

None of the superior officers doubted his sincerity. They believed he believed what he had seen. However, most would lean towards putting the incident down to “psychological trouble” due to the environment of active battle.

Even so, they would “investigate” the location of the sighting, though. Needless to say, they found nothing to support NG’s claim.

A Hallucination From An Otherwise Mentally And Physically Fit Soldier?

Regardless of the skeptic nature of his superiors – professional as it was – NG was still thoroughly questioned following his initial report, which would include an equally thorough medical examination.

What investigators would notice, however, was that NG’s story would not change from his original report. And while they would ultimately not stray from their initial conclusions that the traumatic backdrop of war was to blame for some type of hallucination or mistaken sighting, they were so fascinated and intrigued by the account that NG was sent to a military hospital in Paris for further evaluation and investigation.

In terms of his overall mental and physical ability, however, doctors could find nothing for them to recommend he not serve in the Foreign Legion. Indeed, it was the thoughts of many that a person who could cope under the particularly strenuous conditions of such a military unit would most likely report such bizarre incidents with utmost accuracy.

Ultimately, NG was cleared to remain in active duty and would return to his post in Algeria where he would remain active throughout and until the end of the war.

He would remain defiant, if only privately, about what he saw that evening while on sentry duty.

A Credible Account With Several Sticking Points

Perhaps what makes NG’s account even more believable are his actions following his time in the Foreign Legion. He would not seek fame or financial reward by making his account widely known to the public. Quite the opposite, he would only speak of the incident to family and close friends.

His first “public” telling of the account was to UFO researcher, Joel Mesnard, in 1970, over a decade after the incident took place. Mesnard himself would recall NG as “slightly reluctant” to speak of the account for the first few minutes but would eventually recall the same story as always had.

A depiction of a UFO over the woodland in daylight

A depiction of a UFO over the woodland in daylight

Despite this apparent authenticity of the witness, though, there are several “sticking points” that chip away at the credibility. For example, there are no official military records of the incident. Nor are there any documents of his time and notes at the hospital in Paris. Records would face destruction after ten years. While neither of these things are within NG’s control, it nevertheless works against him.

So does, rightly or wrongly, the fact that he was the only witness to the incident. While he explained years later that most of the unit would have been asleep given the time (just after midnight), even he admitted he was at a loss as to why the legionnaire on sentry duty at the other side of the base had not reported seeing anything unusual.

Despite this, however, at the time of speaking to Mesnard in 1970, he remained convinced that something “quite extraordinary” took place that evening.

No “Disease Or Illness” Since The Encounter

Of course, there is no mention of it from NG himself. We should perhaps speculate, however, that such an incident could have occurred. After all, 45 minutes had passed when NG realized he was in a strange trance-like state. Might he have only been in such a state for several moments following a potential abduction episode?

Does this picture show a UFO?

Does this picture show a UFO?

Perhaps this might also explain why there were no other witnesses to such a large craft. Regardless of the late hour. Maybe it was only physically over the bases for several moments during the potential abduction and return.

He would elaborate on this apparently hazy period of time, stating it was “like time (was) running very slowly”. Perhaps even more revealing, he would claim it was “like being in another world”.

An abduction is only pure speculation. NG himself, though, believes that something truly remarkable happened to his mind on the night in question. Mesnard would write following his interview with NG:

He says he has had no disease or illness of any kind since the night of the sighting. And no unusual physical or mental conditions!

Also, and perhaps of importance, unlike repeat abductees, for example, he had no further sightings since the incident in March 1958.

What, then, should we make of his belief that something of importance happened to his body as a result of the UFO sighting? Was that intentional on the part of whatever intelligence behind the great craft? Or might it simply be a fortunate consequence? Or even just coincidence?

And how did this “change” take place? Did NG go on board the craft? Or were the green lights that so enthralled him of importance in delivering this positive manipulation?

Something “From Another World” Is Watching Us!

There is one thing that NG is not in any doubt about. And that’s “something is coming from another world to watch ours”.

Unfortunately, following Mesnard’s reporting of his interview with NG, the account doesn’t appear to have been widely reported on until the Internet age of the 2000s. And given that NG is the only witness to the incident and the amount of time that has passed since, combined with the lack of any official records, there is very likely nothing further to enter the public arena regarding the Bouamama incident.

It is of interest, however, and not just due to its appearance at a location ravaged by war. The apparent positive affect the close encounter had on NG resides in many UFO accounts. We recently examined the case of “Doctor X”, for example, from France. His close encounter with a UFO would seemingly cure an ailment in his leg.

Indeed, while the apparent crafts themselves sometimes differ, these seemingly positive consequences are very similar. Does that mean, then, that the intelligence behind apparently different UFOs could very well be the same? After all, we as humans have numerous different forms of aerial transport available to us. Why would that be different for a seemingly far more technologically advanced civilization?

Before we move on, check out the short video below. While it wasn’t an “active” war on the battlefield, the Cold War would last decades following the end of the Second World War. Did that play a part in the UFO phenomenon?

Similar Accounts Separated By Decades!

While the account of NG is perhaps unique, it is certainly not the only encounter to hail from Algeria. And what’s more, there are two accounts that lay on either side of the NG encounter. They also involve professional soldiers more than trained to observe and report anything out of the ordinary dutifully and accurately.

For example, in the summer of 1914 in Blida, [2] is the account of a former French soldier. He had settled in the country and was returning home after tending to the irrigation of his fields. Suddenly, a glowing, illuminous spherical craft descended silently nearby. The witness quickly found a hiding place in the bushes. He would then watch as several figures emerged from the now landed craft.

Each figure had on a strange helmet and strange, one-piece suit. And each was seemingly concentrating on a particular patch of land. After several minutes they promptly returned inside the glowing craft, which then rose into the air and vanished.

Over 70 years later in July 1998, a member of the Algerian army [3] would witness a bright light coming towards him near the town of Tindouf. The sighting, which would take place in front of a fellow army member, took place at around 1 am. What made the sighting was for the off-duty soldiers was the incident took place as they returned from an unauthorized visit to the town.

As the light approached it would suddenly stop. Emerging from the object was a strange light that each soldier would later describe as “beautiful”. Despite this, each soldier would flee the area as quickly as they could. However, when they turned to view events behind them, they could see a “thing” emerge from the craft.

The video below looks at the connections between wars and UFO sightings.

References

References
1 Alien Encounters ASIN B008ENPDAM
2 Summer 1914, Blida, Algeria, French Settler, Ufologie https://ufologie.patrickgross.org/ce3/1914-algeria-blida.htm
3 July 28, 1998, Tindouf, Sahara, Algeria, A Soldier, Ufologie https://ufologie.patrickgross.org/ce3/1998-07-28-algeria-tindouf.htm

Marcus Lowth

Marcus Lowth is a writer with a love for UFOs, aliens, and the Ancient Astronaut Theory, to the paranormal, general conspiracies, and unsolved mysteries. He has been writing and researching with over 20 years of experience.

Marcus has been Editor-in-Chief for several years due to his excellent knowledge in these fields. Marcus also regularly appears as an expert on radio talk shows including Troubled Minds and Unexplained Radio discussing these topics.

Read Marcus' full bio.

You can contact Marcus via email.

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