Struck by Beam of Light — Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest, Arizona

I am Travis Walton, and this is my account of what happened on November 5, 1975. I was working a timber thinning contract in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest with six co-workers, crew boss Mike Rogers among them. We were driving back to Snowflake on a dirt logging road after dark when we saw a golden light coming from behind the trees. When we reached a clearing we could see it clearly — a disc-shaped craft about 20 feet in diameter, 8 feet high, hovering about 15 feet above the ground. It was making a low rumbling sound. I told Mike to stop. I got out of the truck. I do not know exactly why. I walked under the craft and stood looking up at it. Then there was a loud crack or thump and a blue-green beam struck me in the chest. I was knocked or thrown back at least ten feet and blacked out entirely. My crew saw it happen. They panicked and fled. I was missing for five days. When I came back I was confused and disoriented and called my brother-in-law from a gas station pay phone. I have since recalled fragments of what occurred during those five days — beings aboard the craft, a bright room, lying on a table. I had an altered blood chemistry when examined by a doctor. I passed a polygraph examination. So did all six of my crew members. I have told this story the same way for over forty years.