Alien crafts-Eastern South Dakota- late summer early fall 1996Sorry this report is a few years late, but I have just decided to bring it out in to the open due to a more "relaxed" attitude people are having with UFO's. My self and wife were visiting my parents in their farmhouse in eastern South Dakota. My daughter was in bed and Me and my wife went to sleep in an upstairs room room facing west. Typical to east SoDak there were no trees at all obstruction the view of the sky, and the nearest pollution light was 22 miles away in that direction. She pointed out a light to me she said had just settled in the sky near by. I was totally used to seeing the occassional plane or helicopter, even though it was farm country, and low level aircraft are extremely rare, cropdusters are even very rare out there, probably due to wind and a below average economy. What I saw almost knocked me off my feet it was so out of place and obviously "extra-terrestrial".About 2 and 1/2 miles straight west, and slightly north there was a light hovering still in the sky. My sife claimed to have seen it arrive there "gliding in very fast" If she hadn't caught the movement out of the corner of her eye while preparing for bed, I believe neither of us would have seen it and would have gone to bed. Even though it was fairly close the ships light was not outrageously bright. I call it a ship, because after watching it for 22 minutes I had no doubt it was an aircraft we were observing. She said in suprised voice (amused even). What is that? I saw a fairly bright light to the west. I could pinpoint its location be cause for some reason the light cast an extremely faint, but discernable glow on the ground below it. The light was normal white light, it did have what seemed to be a slight bluish tint to it. I have always had extremely good vision doctors tell me 15/20, this is in my medical reports since very young childhood. The land this craft hovered over was occupied by the biggest herd of cattle in the area. I know the farmer personally, and his Black Angus are reknowned. (Four years before, his hired man, laughed and told me how this rancher was constantly at stress at how his cattle were getting rustled with no tire prints at the the theft scene, see, load a trailer with cattle and it will chew up dirt when you leave, but then again it was one here and one there, who knows I put this together in the weeks following the siting).We watched this light hover out there, we're both intelligent and discussed opsprey and harrier aircraft. then 12 minutes into the siting the light shifted about 10 meters to the north (right) and 15 or 20 down, so fast it was mind boggling This was the first time I saw it move, and I knew I was watching a machine from another world or galaxy was right in front of me.We talked for another ten minutes and it shot straight upwards into "the heavens" we were speechless. She is the product of a stoic german midwestern back-ground. And she admitted that there was no way to explain what we saw except UFO. 6 years later, almost exactly, I figure if it was a US military craft, it was alien technology.On my honor and word, this is not a joke. I actually wrote because after watching an x-files rerun with a guy wearing a nicap hat in it. Not a joke.Immediatly after the sighting, myself and my wife could not drop the fact that we had witnessed something that shook our world and our entire belief system. We were literally in a mild shock. We lightheartedly said we would watch that weeks x-files. I don't know how long, but it wasn't too long after that sighting that we saw the episode with the plane and the guy with the nicap hat. (by the way, I guessed date, but didn't want to guess one for fear of lack of credibility). I know I am close. Even for six years of memory erosion.One reason I have converted every person I have told this story to, into a UFO believer is that they know the wife. She is the protestant prude from the wealthy family who wouldn't believe anything she couldn't see. I have to say over the years, that event changed her more than almost anything. And I have to say for the positive. Please write if you saw lights in the Dakotas in that time.((FOLLOW-UP COMMUNICATION))I enclosed a email to you earlier, I forgot a fact. The light also gave me a perfect lidea of its heighth. About 250 meters. I remembered also when the ship left, it left a trail of light, but just for a fraction of a second, not sustained. I just remembered, I can't accept the phone call due to a person I rent from. Please write or email I will correspond, and can give affidavits by her or me. I have been into this since then, but this is the only real step I have taken to pursue it.((NUFORC Note: EDITORIAL COMMENT: We do not understand why people wait years to report their sightings! It's exasperating to UFO investigators!! PD))