The Mantell UFO incident was among the most publicized early UFO reports. The incident resulted in the crash and death of 25-year-old Kentucky Air National Guard pilot, Captain Thomas F. Mantell, on January 7, 1948, while in pursuit of a supposed UFO.

Historian David Michael Jacobs argues the Mantell case marked a sharp shift in both public and governmental perceptions of UFOs. Previously, mass media often treated UFO reports with a whimsical or glib attitude reserved for silly season news. Following Mantell’s death, however, Jacobs notes "the fact that a person had dramatically died in an encounter with an alleged flying saucer dramatically increased public concern about the phenomenon. Now a dramatic new prospect entered thought about UFOs: they might be not only extraterrestrial but potentially hostile as well."

Mantell was an experienced pilot; his total flight history consisted of 2,167 hours in the air, and he had been honored for his part in the Battle of Normandy during World War II.

David Sereda (born c. 1957) is a Canadian musician, singer, actor, playwright, pianist and composer. Sereda was born and raised in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. He graduated from the Playhouse Acting School in Vancouver (1977) under teacher Powys Thomas, then worked in alternative theatre in Edmonton. There he reconnected with Canadian singer/song writer Connie Kaldor who urged Sereda to focus more on composing music and singing. He released his first album in 1981, Chivalry Lives, which gave Sereda critical acclaim in Canadian newspapers both for the range of music and the openness of the lyrics: "Mark" and "Underage Blues" both speak from a gay male perspective a rarity then and now.

He resettled in Toronto, Ontario and worked in theatre again both as actor and as music director and composer at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, The Theatre Centre and the Tarragon Theatre where he co-wrote two musicals, Love Jive! and Siren Song with playwright and novelist Don Hannah. He released The Price of Love in 1985 and The Blue Guide in 1994. He co-produces the Stray Dog Salons in Toronto, evenings of music. poetry and theatre. He now lives in Regina, Saskatchewan where he works with the theatre company Sheatre, who produced his new musical with Joan Chandler entitled TOM, based on the life and passion of painter Tom Thomson.