  We examine the claim made by Hara et al. in 1969 of the observation of a
10^19 eV cosmic ray extensive air shower using the air fluorescence technique.
We find that it is likely that fluorescence light was observed, confirming this
as the first such observation. The work of Hara et al. and their friendly
competitors at Cornell University paved the way for modern experiments like the
Pierre Auger Observatory and the Telescope Array.
