John Burroughs

John Burroughs is a former United States Air Force airman best known as one of the primary military witnesses to the Rendlesham Forest incident of December 1980, widely regarded as one of the best-documented UFO cases in history.

Rendlesham Forest Incident

In late December 1980, Burroughs was stationed at RAF Bentwaters in Suffolk, England. On the night of December 26, while patrolling near Rendlesham Forest close to the base's east gate, he observed strange blinking red and blue lights emanating from the forest. Accompanied by his supervisor, SSgt Bud Steffens, the two drove out to investigate and observed a bright white light joining the colored ones — lights neither man had seen on any known aircraft [S1].

Burroughs later recalled approaching the object: "We got close to something. It was a bright white light with like an orangish hue in it. There were other lights within it." He reported that the object rose vertically through the trees and disappeared toward the coastline [S3]. The incident unfolded over two nights and was witnessed by multiple USAF personnel.

Lieutenant Colonel Charles Halt, the U.S. Air Commanding Officer at RAF Woodbridge, filed an official report documenting the observations, lending the case significant institutional credibility [S2].

Post-Incident Advocacy

Following the incident, Burroughs became active in disclosure advocacy and efforts to obtain government transparency about the event. Medical records pertaining to Burroughs and fellow witness Jim Penniston were reportedly held in a classified section of the Department of Veterans Affairs, prompting FOIA requests to retrieve them [S4]. The classification of these records — and the question of what health effects the witnesses may have experienced — remains a significant open question.

Burroughs co-authored Encounter in Rendlesham Forest: The Inside Story of the World's Best-Documented UFO Incident (2015) with Nick Pope and Jim Penniston, drawing on formerly classified documents obtained through FOIA requests [S5].

Ongoing Public Engagement

Burroughs continues to speak publicly about his experience and the broader question of government transparency on UAP. He has been referenced in Congressional testimony examining whether the government has been fully transparent with Congress about what it knows regarding unidentified anomalous phenomena [S6].

Sources

[S1] "The Rendlesham Forest mystery: 'It's the perfect storm of a UFO case'" URL: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/30/the-rendlesham-forest-mystery-its-the-perfect-storm-of-a-ufo-case Accessed: 2026-06-21 Claim: patrol details, observation of lights with SSgt Steffens

[S2] "UFO reports" | The National Archives (UK) URL: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/explore-the-collection/explore-by-time-period/postwar/ufo-reports Accessed: 2026-06-21 Claim: Lt Col Halt's official report and command position

[S3] "Bloomington native tied to famous UFO case to speak on unexplained phenomena" | WGLT URL: https://www.wglt.org/local-news/2026-06-02/bloomington-native-tied-to-famous-ufo-case-to-speak-on-unexplained-phenomena Accessed: 2026-06-21 Claim: Burroughs' first-person recollection of object appearance and behavior

[S4] IUCat catalog entry for Encounter in Rendlesham Forest URL: https://iucat.iu.edu/iub/14333615 Accessed: 2026-06-21 Claim: classified medical records, FOIA efforts, radar tracking

[S5] Encounter in Rendlesham Forest | Google Books URL: https://books.google.com/books/about/Encounter_in_Rendlesham_Forest.html?id=lVCqoAEACAAJ Accessed: 2026-06-21 Claim: book co-authorship, declassified documents

[S6] Written testimony of Michael Shellenberger | House Oversight Committee URL: https://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Written-Testimony-Shellenberger.pdf Accessed: 2026-06-21 Claim: government transparency concerns regarding UAP