The Cash/Landrum Incident - December 28th, 1980
Betty Cash, Vickie Landrum, Colby Landrum
December 28th, 1980
After a nice meal out, Betty Cash and Vickie Landrum, along with Colby, Landrum's seven year old grandson, began their drive home to Dayton, Texas. It was about 9:00pm and getting rather dark outside. The back wood roads were getting harder and harder to see as they made way down an extremely isolated path. Driving slowly, Betty and Vicky both noticed a large, bright light above the tree tops outside. Brushing it off, assuming it was a plane approaching Houston Intercontinental Airport, about 35 miles away, they continued on their drive. A few moments later, Colby would be the one to see the light again and pointed it out to his grandmother in the front seat. This time, the light was much larger and burning even brighter. Vickie told Cash to stop the car so that she could get a better look at whatever it may be. Within moments, she exited the vehicle and stared up at a what appeared to be a diamond-shaped object which was intermittently emanating bright flames at the base. Cash also got out of the car to observe the object, Colby too scared to get out of the car.
They would later describe the diamond-shaped object as a dull metallic silver, about the size of a water tower, it's top a bottom points flat instead of sharp. In the center were a row of blue lights that pulsated. From the bottom of the object, flames spewed towards the ground. As the flames grew weaker, the object would descend a few feet each time. (Clark, Jerome, The UFO Encyclopedia: The Phenomenon from the Beginning, Volume 1: A-K )
Rendering of the incident via www.blueblurrylines.com
Scared that the object might crash or perhaps even land, the two went to get back in the car, but the heat from the object was so hot that when they touched the car door, it was almost sizzling. Cash had to use her coat as an oven mitt to get the door open. Allegedly, when Vickie got back in the passenger seat, she put her hand on the vinyl dashboard, and again, because of the heat, the vinyl had turned soft and her hand left a permanent handprint. Some argued that this was proof of the experience, yet no photographic evidence of the dashboard exists, thus leaving this evidence inconclusive. Sitting in the car, trying to stay calm, the three of them watched as the object ignited the hottest flame yet, ascending back above the tree tops at great heights. Suddenly, the fluttering flurry of propellers could be heard all around them. Within moments, 23 military helicopters suddenly appeared, in tight formation, surrounding the object. Cash hit the gas, and soon they were down the road, leaving the experience behind them. But little did they know, that whatever it was in the sky that night, was soon to become a permanent part of their lives.
After Cash dropped off Vickie and Colby at home, she tried to retire for the night. Perhaps it was the adrenaline still racing through her blood, but she tossed and turned in bed. It soon became clear that it wasn't the after effect of excitement, but serious health issues. She would suffer from nausea, vomiting, weakness, and a burning sensation in her eyes. Vickie and Colby would suffer many related symptoms as well, though it seemed that Cash was experiencing the bulk of it. Days later, she would notice large, painful blisters forming all over her body. She was rushed to the hospital, and spent almost two weeks under close examination, all the while, clumps of her hair falling out and patched of skin peeling away. Again, The Landrum's would suffer very similar issues. Upon an an examination by local radiologists, they concluded : “We have strong evidence that these patients have suffered secondary damage to ionizing radiation. It is also possible that there was an infrared or ultraviolet component as well.” (Clark, Jerome. pg.176, The UFO Encyclopedia: The Phenomenon from the Beginning, Volume 1: A-K)
Health issues with Betty Cash
Health issues with Vickie Landrum
As the health of all three continued to be threatened by what they could only assume was directly connected to the UFO incident, Vickie Landrum demanded that an investigation take place on what was in the sky that night and how it had ultimately effected her, her friend, and her grandson. She began a game of phone tag with various U.S. Government agencies. When they learned that she was inquiring about a possible UFO sighting, she was given the runaround. She pressed on until finally being connected to aerospace engineer, John Schuessler, who worked for NASA at the time. He was also ,amongst his peers, known to be moderately interested in the UFO phenomenon. Schuessler would hook up with the civilian UFO research group, MUFON, to look in to the case. Besides the object itself, the most mystifying aspect of the incident concerned the amount of helicopters involved. They had to be connected to some sort of military branch, so Schuessler inquired. After rigorous communication and investigation, he simply could find no evidence that these helicopters were military, or at least, in connection with the military branches that we, as civilians, knew of. This led to deepening the investigation, which, in 1982, became the job of Lt. Col. George Sarran of the Department of the Army. But again, even Sarran could find no connection to any armed forces. Although, he did not deny that that Cash and the Landrum's hadn't witnessed this event, he stated simply, “Ms. Landrum and Ms. Cash were credible... there was no perception that anyone was trying to exaggerate the truth.”
It seemed that these helicopters simply did not exist. Could it have been a mass misconception by the three witnesses? Had they influenced one another's perception as this incredible event was taking place? Clearly, something was in the sky burning bright, but was it really being followed by unmarked, and at this point, non-existent helicopters? The answer was yes. And it would it take a Dayton police officer to finally corroborate the presence of these man-made aircraft. Detective Lamar Walker was out with wife when they both witnessed a large cluster of twin propeller helicopters racing across the sky. Their formation was tight and they were clearly on a mission. Although Walker never saw the object that these helicopters were allegedly in pursuit of, his coming forward did at least reinforce Cash and Landrum's account that an unusual amount of aerial activity was happening in such a remote area on that seemingly normal night. As the investigation marched on, the health of the two women only worsened. It was suggested that they hire a lawyer to seek compensation for their rapid health deterioration.
CH-47 Chinook Helicopter. Credit : www.blueblurrylines.com
Several years of legal battles ensued. The U.S. Government was being served for over $20 million in damages to Cash and the Landrums. On August 21st, 1986, the U.S District Court would dismiss the case, stating that the plaintiff's had not provided sufficient proof that the helicopters in question were associated in any way with the U.S. Government, or that any military branch had a diamond-shaped aircraft in its possession that would emanate radiation to the lengths of the women's symptoms.
Beaten, but not down for the count, the women would continue to speak out about the incident, appearing on many TV and radio programs to tell their story. Skeptics would dismiss the case, stating that no proof existed that the witnesses hadn't had these health problems before the alleged incident. Others said that if they had been susceptible to radiation that night, it would have easily killed them on the spot. This theory holds little water for even the lament person however, common sense being that not all radiation kills. It depends on the level of exposure and the amount of time the person is in contact with it. Fighting to keep their story alive, fate would finally catch up to both of them. Betty Cash would die at the age of 71, on December 29th, 1998. This was coincidentally the 18th anniversary of the incident. Vickie Landrum would die September 12th, 2007, seven days prior to her 84th birthday. As for Colby, the seven year old boy who sat terrified in the back seat during the 1980 incident, his health, although by no means perfect, seems to not have been effected as immensely that of Cash and his grandmother. After decades of silence, he has recently started coming forward about the incident, backing up almost everything that had been first reported. Perhaps its sheer curiosity, or a feeling of finding some sort of resolution for his grandmother, but Colby continues to search for answers to what happened over the skies of Texas that night, and just exactly who or what was responsible for this life altering, and perhaps, life ending experience.
Does this explain more than 50 reported UFO sightings in Texas last month?
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