The
lead up to and disappearance of Private
First Class Gerry Irwin reads
like an episode of the “X-Files.” It begins on February 28, 1959,
when Irwin a Nike missile technician at Fort Bliss returning from a
leave of absence, supposedly saw a glowing object flash across the sky
in front of him, right to left across Route 14, before vanishing behind
a ridge. Unsure of what the
object was but fearing it might be an airplane in distress he decided
to check and see if he could render aid. Before
setting off he wrote a note “HAVE GONE TO INVESTIGATE POSSIBLE PLANE
CRASH. PLEASE CALL LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS.” He then attached it to
the car’s steering wheel and using shoe polish wrote “STOP” on the
car’s side.A short time later a passing Fish and Game Inspector did stop and after finding the note headed for the Sheriff’s office in nearby Cedar City. Within an hour, Sheriff Otto Pfief and a hastily organised search party found the technician unconscious a short distance from his car. Taken to the local hospital he was examined by a Dr. Broadbent who administered tests revealing his vital signs to be normal but couldn’t wake him. A preliminary diagnosis was “hysteria.” Twenty three hours later Irwin did awaken, his first words “Were there any survivors?” his second “Where is my jacket?” A negative response to the second question, something he had been mumbling about while unconscious seemed to bother him a great deal.
Still somewhat disoriented the technician was returned to Ft. Bliss and admitted to William Beaumont Hospital for further observation. A few days later, minus his security clearance he returned to duty only to faint while walking the base. On March 15 he fainted again, this time in downtown El Paso and was taken to Southwest General Hospital where he awoke and apparently suffering from memory loss thought it was February 28 again. Re-admitted to William Beaumont this time in the psychiatric ward, he spent a month under observation before being released with a clean bill of health by a Captain Valentine.
The following day Irwin left base without leave and boarded a bus in El Paso. After arriving back in Cedar City, April 19 he headed southeast on Route 14 toward the scene of his alleged strange encounter, where he apparently found his jacket, a pencil with paper wrapped around it stuck in a button hole. Whether he read what was written on the paper (if anything) is unclear, but after burning the paper he headed back to El Paso and Sheriff Pfief. Further psychiatric tests followed, then on July 10 Irwin was again re-admitted to William Beaumont. Following his release he failed to report for duty; in September he was listed as AWOL. He has never been seen again.