'He knew something': The 1962 flight of Army Rangers that vanished into thin air FacebookTwitterEmail WATFORD/Mirrorpix/Mirrorpix via Getty Images The March 15, 1962, night shift started like any other aboard the Standard Oil super tanker Lenzen. The ship and its crew were cutting through the waters between Guam and the Philippines. It was calm on the seas and in the skies. Above, scattered clouds floated pale across the inky blackness. About 1:30 a.m., the night watchman spotted what looked like a vapor trail high above him. When he spoke later to investigators, he said it appeared to be moving in an east-west direction. He tracked it until it passed behind a cloud. Then, something exploded.