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Within minutes of his 1971 sighting of two
large long-tailed creatures, Eskin Kuhn, a
U.S. Marine, sketched what he had seen
Gitmo Pterosaur
A number of eyewitnesses in eastern Cuba have reported apparent living
pterosaurs, at least between 1960 and 1975. The best-known sighting is by
Eskin C. Kuhn: two large long-tailed “pterodactyls” seen at close range in
clear daylight in the summer of 1971.
Sighting by Eskin Kuhn
At Guantanamo Bay, the U. S. Marine was stationed to the 2nd Battalion,
8th Regiment (reinforced), H&S Company, 106mm recoilless rifle
platoon, in July of 1971. In Kuhn’s own words:
“We were engaged during the day in physical training, close order drill,
gun drill, cleaning and maintenance, classes and other sundry routine
common to service life, including a break for lunch with its attending rest
period or free time.
“It was during such a free time period, in the middle of the day, that I was
outside and witnessed the pterosaurs.
“Most of the platoon was in the new barracks hanging out. I was looking
in the direction of the ocean when I saw an incredible sight . . .
“I saw two pterosaurs (or pterodactyls, what's in a name?) flying together
at low altitude, perhaps 100 feet, very close in range from where I was
standing, so that I had a perfectly clear view of them.
“The rhythm of their large wings was very graceful, slow, and yet they
were flying and not merely gliding . . .
“The pterosaurs I saw had the short hind legs attached to the rearward
most part of the wing, and they had a long tail trailing behind with a tuft
of hair at the end.”
After Kuhn’s Sighting
Kuhn ran into the barracks to get the sergeant, but by the time they got
outside, the flying creatures were gone. Fortunately, Kuhn was a talented
artist; he soon sketched what he had seen.
Over the next four decades, he received various reactions to his report,
and some were negative, insinuating that it must have been a hoax. But on
February 26, 2010, the cryptozoologist Jonathan Whitcomb gave Kuhn a
surprise phone call, asking him questions that would illuminate credibility.
Whitcomb became convinced of Kuhn’s honesty and wrote a number of
blog posts about the 1971 sighting; the sketch was included.
In May, 2011, another eyewitness came forward: Patty Carson, an R.N. in
Southern California, found one of Whitcomb’s web pages about the
sighting and contacted the cryptozoologist. She had her own sighting at
Guantanamo Bay, six years earlier but the same kind of animal: very
similar in appearance to the sketch by Kuhn.
After months of emails and phone conversations, Whitcomb maintains
that Patty Carson has shown every reason to be believed, with no sign of
any hoax or misidentification.
###
pterosaurs, at least between 1960 and 1975. The best-known sighting is by
Eskin C. Kuhn: two large long-tailed “pterodactyls” seen at close range in
clear daylight in the summer of 1971.
Sighting by Eskin Kuhn
At Guantanamo Bay, the U. S. Marine was stationed to the 2nd Battalion,
8th Regiment (reinforced), H&S Company, 106mm recoilless rifle
platoon, in July of 1971. In Kuhn’s own words:
“We were engaged during the day in physical training, close order drill,
gun drill, cleaning and maintenance, classes and other sundry routine
common to service life, including a break for lunch with its attending rest
period or free time.
“It was during such a free time period, in the middle of the day, that I was
outside and witnessed the pterosaurs.
“Most of the platoon was in the new barracks hanging out. I was looking
in the direction of the ocean when I saw an incredible sight . . .
“I saw two pterosaurs (or pterodactyls, what's in a name?) flying together
at low altitude, perhaps 100 feet, very close in range from where I was
standing, so that I had a perfectly clear view of them.
“The rhythm of their large wings was very graceful, slow, and yet they
were flying and not merely gliding . . .
“The pterosaurs I saw had the short hind legs attached to the rearward
most part of the wing, and they had a long tail trailing behind with a tuft
of hair at the end.”
After Kuhn’s Sighting
Kuhn ran into the barracks to get the sergeant, but by the time they got
outside, the flying creatures were gone. Fortunately, Kuhn was a talented
artist; he soon sketched what he had seen.
Over the next four decades, he received various reactions to his report,
and some were negative, insinuating that it must have been a hoax. But on
February 26, 2010, the cryptozoologist Jonathan Whitcomb gave Kuhn a
surprise phone call, asking him questions that would illuminate credibility.
Whitcomb became convinced of Kuhn’s honesty and wrote a number of
blog posts about the 1971 sighting; the sketch was included.
In May, 2011, another eyewitness came forward: Patty Carson, an R.N. in
Southern California, found one of Whitcomb’s web pages about the
sighting and contacted the cryptozoologist. She had her own sighting at
Guantanamo Bay, six years earlier but the same kind of animal: very
similar in appearance to the sketch by Kuhn.
After months of emails and phone conversations, Whitcomb maintains
that Patty Carson has shown every reason to be believed, with no sign of
any hoax or misidentification.
###
Other Online Resources
Vindication for Kuhn
“. . . child, had observed a ‘pterodactyl,’
around 1965, at the Guantanamo Bay
military station in Cuba. Her email
indirectly confirmed the 1971 sighting,
at Guantanamo, by Eskin Kuhn,
directly corroborating the concept that
live pterosaurs can be found in the
Caribbean . . . at least in the mid-
twentieth century.”
Whitcomb interviews Kuhn
“I gave Eskin Kuhn a surprise phone
call this morning. His response (what
he said and how he said it) confirmed
that his account of the 1971 sighting
. . . was no hoax . . . The head was
disproportionately large, with a long
crest at the back, long bill, long neck
with a crook in it . . . The vertebrae
of their backs was noticeable, mostly
between the shoulders. . . . wingspan
[was] roughly 10 feet . . .”
The opinions expressed are those of Jonathan David Whitcomb. Media professionals may
use these paragraphs in whole or in part for news distribution. All of the images on this page
may also be used by the news media
Patty Carson encountered the Gitmo Pterosaur
in 1965, give or take a year, when she was a
child. Her father, the base commander at the
time (at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base), and
her mother did not believe that Patty had seen
a “dinosaur.” She has never wavered in what
she knows that she saw. The above sketch
was drawn by Patty Carson, with minor help
from Jonathan Whitcomb, according to her
instructions regarding the teeth, etc.
Whitcomb expedition of 2004, on Umboi Is.,
Papua New Guinea, in search of the ropen
Next to the San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary
in Southern California, where a giant ropen-
like animal flew over the road in 2007
The flying fox fruit bat has practically no
tail and no head crest: clearly very different
Whitcomb believes the “fruit bat” explanation
comes mostly from the critics who had not
taken the time to examine the reports in detail
The sketch was drawn by Eskin Kuhn within
minutes of his sighting of the two creatures