The Cash - Landrum UFO Incident
Diamond in the Sky
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Since their encounter Vickie and Colby have been plagued with periodic outbreaks of skin troubles, as if they were more susceptible to infection than before. But the most far reaching injury has been the damage to their eyes. Their eyelids became infected very rapidly and have never fully recovered. Since the incident Vickie has had to have three new pairs of spectacles with successively stronger prescriptions to match the deterioration of her eyesight. Her eyesight continues to deteriorate and she still suffers from periodic infections. She fears she may eventually go blind. Colby has suffered similar problems but has needed only one new pair of glasses. Within a few weeks of the encounter, Vickie had lost about 30 per cent of her hair, and had large bald patches on her head. When it grew back it was of a different texture. Colby lost only a small patch of hair on the crown of his head, this too grew back in time.
Betty's injuries seemed even worse. She experienced a severe sun burn like condition and developed large water blisters, some as large as golf balls, over her face head and neck. One of these covered her right eyelid and extended across her right temple. She also developed a long term aversion to warm water, sunshine or other heat sources. In the year following the encounter she has spent five periods in hospital, two of those in intensive care. She lost over half of the hair on her head and has also had skin eruptions, many as big as a large coin, which leave permanent scars.
The presence of Army helicopters convinced Betty and Vickie that the UFO belonged to the U.S. military. On that basis, they sued the government for $20 million in damages for exposing them to radiation. At the request of then-Texas Senator Lloyd Bentson, they were interviewed by military personnel at Bergstrom Air Force Base, but were never offered any explanations or assistance. In August of 1986, their lawsuit was dismissed from U.S. District Court following testimony by military and NASA officials that no such craft was owned or operated by the government. The appearance of helicopters at UFO sightings is becoming a common event, and the large number of helicopters at this incident is just another link in the chain. One thing is for certain, it is virtually impossible to be mistaken about the presence of CH-47 helicopters when you are directly beneath these large and noisy machines. The evidence of all the witnesses was consistent. They were interrogated separately about both the UFO and the helicopters and all gave consistent descriptions and sketches that indicated they had seen a large number of CH-47s.
Finding out where the helicopters had come from was a more difficult task than identifying them. according to a official at Houston Airport abound 350 to 400 helicopters operate commercially in the Houston area but they are all of the single rotor type, there are no CH-47s. The official also said that because helicopters fly on visual flight rules they do not have to contact the tower. Other information provided by Houston was that outside a 24km radius from the airport helicopters must stay below an altitude of 550 meters, and that due to a technical limitation the Houston control radar is restricted to a minimum altitude of 600 meters around the Huffman area. The US army's Fort Hood press officer, Major Tony Geishauser, told the Corpus Christi Caller that no Fort Hood aircraft were in the Houston area that night. "I don't know any other place around here that would have that number of helicopters," he said. "I don't know what it could be..... unless there's a super secret thing going on and I wouldn't necessarily know about it." All other bases in Texas and Louisiana denied they were responsible for the helicopters seen at the incident.
In a freaky circumstance of luck, corroboration of the unknown object of that night would come in 1981. In April, a CH-47 flew into Dayton for the purpose of a public showing. This allowed local residents to view the machine, both inside and out. Colby spotted the helicopter as it was flying into town, and became very upset. Vickie took him to the landing site, hopefully to allay his fears. As they reached the Chinook, a long line of locals had already formed, waiting to see the giant machine. As Colby watched he became very upset. Vickie decided to take him to the spot where the helicopter had landed in the hope that it would seem less frightening on the ground. When they reached the landing zone they found a lot of people there already and had to wait some time before they were allowed to go inside the helicopter and talk to the pilot. Vickie and another visitor both claim that the pilot said he had been in the area before for the purpose of checking on a UFO in trouble near Huffman. When Vickie told the pilot how glad she was to see him, because she had been one of the people burned by the UFO, he refused to talk to them any more and hustled them out of the aircraft. The UFO organization VISIT later located the pilot and questioned him. He admitted to knowing about Vickie and Betty's encounter with the UFO but maintained that he had not been in the area in December and had nothing to do with any UFO. Unless another pilot decides to come forward it seems that the source of the helicopters will remain a mystery.
INJURIES CAUSED BY UFO CLAIMS WOMAN'S LIFE
Betty Cash, one of three people injured in a UFO close encounter near Huffman, Texas, on December 29, 1980, died on the 18th anniversary of the event, in Birmingham, Alabama. She had been in poor health ever since the encounter. At the time of the event, Mrs. Cash operated her own businesses near Dayton, Texas.
Betty Cash, along with Vickie Landrum and grandson Colby Landrum, encountered a huge UFO accompanied by military helicopters on a dark road in the east Texas Piney Woods. They were exposed to radiation from the object, which caused extreme medical problems such as burns, eye damage, hair loss, diarrhea, and vomiting. Although they and others observed a large number of military helicopters along with the UFO, the U.S. Government refused to acknowledge the event or assist them in any way.
After the encounter, Betty Cash was hospitalized and treated for burns and the other maladies. The extent of the injuries was so great, she was forced to close her businesses and never worked again. He life became a series of hospital stays, many of them in intensive care. Eventually, she developed cancer, which was successfully treated. In November 1998, Mrs. Cash suffered a stroke. On December 29, during her recovery, an unusual turn of events claimed her life.
Mrs. Cash was a hero in the fight against government UFO cover-ups and brought hope to other victims of UFO incidents. She was devoted to family and friends and never allowed her illness to prevent her from helping others to cope with the trauma of UFO close encounters.
Betty Cash will be missed...but never forgotten.
{ Betty Cash had a heart bypass operation three years before the incident, but other than that, she is said to have been in good health. Phil Klass has claimed that she had cancer prior to the incident, but this has never been proven.}
Peter A. Gersten Director
MUTUAL UFO NETWORK 103 OLDTOWN RD. SEGUIN, TX 78155
December 30, 1998
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