Spheres of Light in Night Sky Around October 1977

I'm not sure of the dates and/or times, but I know that the night I witnessed the sighting was announced on both radio and television.
I was looking out the window of my second story apartment, when I saw three lights in the distance, moving across the sky, far enough away for me to assume that it was a plane because of the public and private airports near me.  But then I realized there were no "colored" lights alongside the three white balls of light that moved "in sync" across the sky.  The lights stopped in mid air, and after a few seconds, one moved quickly upward, separating from the other two, and simply disappeared into what I believed were the clouds that night.  Then one of the remaining spheres went "left" at a speed that clearly faster than a plane, but not so much that it sped - just moved.  The other light hung there for a moment, then moved "down," not falling, but as if it were descending, then disappeared.
All of this happened over a period of ten - 15 minutes. I went to pick my husband from work, and upon our return the radio station announced that a number of people had called in about UFOs.  I then told my husband of my experience. I've never forgotten it