It was an event he has been reluctant to speak about, yet it shaped much of his life.
Calvin Parker, now of Moss Point, along with friend Charles Hickson, claimed they were abducted by
Aliens while fishing on the
Pascagoula River and now Parker has written a book he hopes will set the record straight.
"Pascagoula — The Closest Encounter, My Story" was recently published. It contains the first full account of the event given by Parker along with how it affected his life. It includes photos, documents and newspaper articles written through the years. It also marks the first time a transcription of a hypnosis session with Parker has been published.
Parker hopes it will clear the air.
"It was Oct. 11, 1973," Parker said. "We'd gotten off work that day and a friend of mine, he and I went fishing.
"The old abandoned shipyard; they had a little pier out front and we were on that pier. I'm going to guess it was about six o'clock in the evening. It had just started getting dark, but it was kind of a bright moon."
Parker said he noticed blue light reflecting off the water and his initial thought was law enforcement officers had arrived to tell the two fishermen they needed to leave the property. However, when Parker looked up, he realized the light was coming from a craft like nothing he'd ever seen.
"A big light came out of the clouds," Parker said. "It was a blinding light.
"It was hard to tell with the lights so bright, but it looked like it was shaped like a football. I would say, just estimating, (it was) about 80-foot. (It made) very little sound. It was just a hissing noise."
Then the situation became more surreal. Parker said three legless creatures floated from the craft. One had no neck with gray wrinkled skin. Another had a neck and appeared more feminine. Parker described their hands as being shaped like mittens or crab claws.
When one of the creatures put one of its claws around his arm, Parker said he was terrified, but then another feeling came over his body.
"I think they injected us with something to calm us down," Parker said. "I was kind of numb and went along with the program."
Parker said the creatures floated he and Hickson into the craft and performed physical examinations on the two. Then they were taken back to the bank of the river.
Parker said he didn't want to tell anyone what happened, but Hickson convinced him otherwise. The two contacted Keesler Air Force Base, but were told they should call local authorities. So, they contacted the Jackson County Sheriff's Office.
According to Parker, the two passed sobriety tests as well as polygraph tests. Parker said he also passed a voice stress test.
The ordeal seemed like it was over, but for Parker, it was just beginning. The news spread worldwide and according to news reports, Hickson didn't shy away from the attention. Parker, on the other hand, didn't want it. In the years that followed, he said he changed jobs and relocated to other towns when people realized who he was. It was just something he didn't want to discuss.
"I've been going through this 45 years this October," Parker said. "I never talked about it or wanted to talk about it.
"I have very few friends, but they're true friends. They never asked about it and I never talked about it. My family never talks about it."
After decades of largely not discussing the event, Parker began to change his mind after attending a funeral where he came into contact with people he'd not seen in many years and he felt they focused more attention on him than the deceased.
"I signed the registry at the funeral and people recognized the name," Parker said. "Out of respect for the family, I just left. My wife told me on the way home, 'You need to write about it.'"
Parker considered what happened at the funeral, the years of speculation about what happened that night on the river, and his health. He eventually agreed.
"I felt like everyone deserved an explanation," Parker said. "Everyone has an expiration date and I wanted to get this out there before I die.
"I've had some near-death experiences and I'm in bad health. I just wanted to do it."
For Parker, the book is likely a weight lifted off his shoulders. For friends, family and others interested in his side of the story, it should be enlightening. However, Parker said there are some questions that may never be answered.
"I catch myself going fishing at night and look up and wonder where they came from and how far did they travel and why they had to get me."