Summary: Twenty-two-year-old policeman Herbert Schirmer would have a bizarre experience on December 3, 1976. While making his normal patrol rounds in Ashland, Nebraska, he saw what appeared to be red lights atop a large truck. He had checked locations along Highway 6, and just hit the intersection of two highways, 6 and 63, when he saw the red lights. He would get a closer look.

Herbert Schirmer was a young, 22 year-old patrolman making the usual rounds. The streets were pretty much empty, the local businesses were all closed. Everyone was tucked in beds covered in blankets. He passed by the only open business this late at night, a gas station on highway 6. There were, as usual, no customers. He then noticed something odd in the distance. It looked like red lights flashing upon a large truck. Was it an ambulance? A tow truck? What had happened? He drove down highway 63 until he came upon the scene with his headlights now flicked on to high beam. It was definitely not a truck.

The red lights he had seen flashing were coming from oval-shaped portholes cut into what appeared to be a metallic, oval-shaped object that was hovering about eight feet above the road's surface. Patrolman Schirmer noted that the object appeared to be made of aluminum, had a small walkway around it, and below, some sort of landing gear. Getting ready to call in the incident, the object rose up with flames shooting out the bottom end and then it suddenly swooshed right over his patrol car. He looked out his window and in his mirrors but noted that the object was so fast, he did not know where it went. Deciding not to call it in, but because of what he saw, he returned to the police station.

He drove back and within minutes arrived at the station to make his report. He glanced at the station clock to note the time. It was 3AM and he was baffled that it took him, what he believed to be mere minutes to arrive back at the station, yet, all the clocks indicated time had passed. In his report, he indicated he saw what he believed to be a flying saucer. After his brief report was written up he noted that there was a red welt on his neck, he developed a severe headache and was feeling ill.

He decided that he would not return back to duty until the next day. Months passed and word got to the US Airforce that a patrolman had seen a flying saucer and that his eye-witness testimony was valid. The Condon Commission at the University of Colorado, who was tasked at the time to investigate and mostly discredit UFO reports asked him to come to Boulder Colorado to retell his UFO encounter.

On February 13, 1968, after being interrogated by several officials, the patrolman was asked to undergo hypnosis under the guidance of Wyoming University psychologist Leo Sprinkle.eo Sprinkle of the University of Wyoming. Under hypnosis, Schirmer recalled that, after he stopped his car near the object, the engine died and his radio went silent. A white object emerged from the craft and seemed to communicate mentally with him, preventing him from drawing his gun as he attempting to do.

A Metallic, Oval-Shaped Object: As he moved on down Highway 63, he came to a stop, and shined his headlights on the red-lighted object. He immediately knew the object was no truck. The red beaming lights were coming through what Schirmer described as "portholes." He could clearly see a disc-shaped, metallic UFO that was hovering about eight feet off the ground. The polished, aluminum object had a type of walkway around its circumference. He could also see what he thought were legs below the object.

Believe it or not!: The UFO began to send flames below it, as it rose into the air. Schirmer could hear a siren sound coming from the object as it rose higher and higher. The UFO then passed directly over his police car, then flew out of sight. Schirmer sped back to the police station, making a note of the time as 3:00 AM. This shocked him, because he knew he had been on patrol much longer than the 10 minutes the present time indicated. Schirmer made the following entry into his log book: "Saw a flying saucer at the junction of highways 6 and 63. Believe it or not!"

Psychologist Dr. Leo Sprinkle: Schirmer began to experience some physical problems right after his sighting. He suffered from headaches, felt ill, and had a red welt on his neck. The Condon Commission, located at the University of Colorado, and at the time, investigating UFO sightings, heard of Schirmer's sighting, and requested that he come to Boulder, Colorado. On February 13, 1968, Schirmer would undergo regressive hypnosis, administered by psychologist Dr. Leo Sprinkle of the University of Wyoming.

Friendly Beings: The regression sessions would bring out many new details that Schirmer had suppressed. As he neared the UFO, the engine in his police patroller failed, and his radio went dead. Some type of white object emerged from the UFO, and communicated with him telepathically. This object kept Schirmer from drawing his firearm. Other facts recalled by the patrolman were that the beings from the ship were friendly, they powered their UFO through the electric lines, and had a base of operation on the planet Venus.

The Condon Committee: The Condon Committee concluded that: "Evaluation of psychological assessment tests, the lack of any evidence, and interviews with the patrolman, left project staff with no confidence that the trooper's reported UFO experience was physically real." Psychologist Dr. Sprinkle, however, felt that Schirmer "believed in the reality of the events he described."

Schirmer's Personal Problems: When Schirmer returned to his duties in Ashland, Police Chief Wlaskin resigned, and Shirmer was appointed as new chief. But because of ridicule from the citizens, and the UFO experience, he was not able to rightfully perform his duties, and resigned two months later. Someone had thrown dynamite into his patrol car, and his wife left him during this time.

Regressive Hypnosis: Looking for relief from his psychological problems, he would undergo more regressive hypnosis in June, 1968. Hypnotist Loring G. Williams conducted the sessions, which would reveal many more details of his encounter with the UFO. There would be two books written about his experiences, "Gods, Demons, and Space Chariots" and "Gods and Devils from Outer Space" by Eric Norman. It is very difficult to ascertain whether or not Schirmer's experience was real or imaginary.

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