Fridley Man: I Tracked Santa for NORAD in 1962

George Scott of Fridley left this comment at the Fridley Patch Facebook page  about our post on tracking Santa by way of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD):

As a young sailor in 1962 I was a radarman aboard the USS Watchman, a radar picket ship that operated as the seaward extension of the North American Air Defense Command. We were on station number one 500 miles northwest of Seattle, Washington. I was operating our long range search radar when an unidentified contact appeared. We began a track and reported it to our Air Force Control in Seattle. We reported every 3 minutes and continued to track as the unidentified aircraft traveled southwest towards the United States, just before it crossed the ADIZ (Air Defense Identification Zone). We received a flight plan and identification authorizing entrance into United States air space, of one sleigh powered by eight tiny reindeer and a Captain Claus as the pilot. It was an exciting time in CIC (Combat Information Center) and made a lonely vigil worthwhile, and I became a believer that night.

Have you had a close encounter with Captain Claus? Leave a comment below.