Jim Penniston
Claimed he touched a UFO during Rendlesham Forest incident and received a binary code message from the craft.
Retired United States Air Force sergeant James W. Penniston, commonly known as Jim Penniston, was involved in the Rendlesham Forest incident in 1980. Penniston joined the U.S. Air Force in 1973 and served for more than 20 years. He held various positions in the Air Force, including working as a security policeman and a military police investigator.
On December 26, 1980, Penniston was stationed at RAF Woodbridge in Suffolk, England, when he and two other Air Force personnel encountered strange lights in the nearby Rendlesham Forest. As the only one of the three to approach the object, Penniston claimed to have touched the surface of the craft and recorded strange markings that were later deciphered to be binary code. This incident became one of the most famous UFO sightings in history, and it propelled Penniston to become a prominent figure in the UFO community.
Penniston retired from the Air Force in 1993 and has written about his experiences in books such as "Encounter in Rendlesham Forest: The Inside Story of the World's Best-Documented UFO Incident" and appeared in numerous interviews and documentaries. He was also involved in efforts to declassify government files related to UFO sightings and continues to speak publicly about his belief in extraterrestrial life.
