Our world is full of the unexplainable.

And if history is an open book, all of these amazing tales are right there on display,

just waiting for us to explore.

Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosity's.

The military prepares a person for the worst.

Expect to be shot at, expect long days and short nights, and most of all expect the unexpected.

Marine Lieutenant Colonel William Rankin understood what came with the job, although I'm not sure

he ever could have been prepared for what happened to him on July 26th of 1959.

Rankin had been a career Marine, having served in both World War II and Korea.

He'd been flying alongside his wingman, Navy Lieutenant Herbert Nolan, in a pair of fighter

jets known as F-8 Crusaders.

It was a high altitude flight, which put the men about 9 miles or 47,000 feet above the

ground.

Both pilots were on their way to an air station minutes away from you for South Carolina,

when they noticed something below them.

A storm.

Of course, high above the clouds, Rankin and Nolan had nothing to worry about, lightning

flashed and thunder rattled beneath their planes, but it was well out of reach, and

yet they'd have to fly through that mess to make it to their station in time.

No matter, their planes were the top of the line, capable of handling enemy fire and

whatever weather came their way, until a voice came over Nolan's radio.

It was Rankin, and he was in trouble.

...