Kenneth Arnold's 1947 Sighting
Maury Island Sighting
and the Kelso Crash
an ongoing Mystery and Investigation by the
Seattle
Museum of the Mysteries and the
Seattle UFO / Paranormal Group


Visit the Seattle Museum of the Mysteries to see the documentation, the Newspaper articles and the FBI report on the B-25 Bomber crash.
Debris from the crash and what could have been an artifact from a UFO.
Look for the new upcoming book Kelso Crash - The Mystery behind the Air Force's first plane crash in 2008.

 

Any request for photo use, inquiries regarding the ongoing research of the Kelso Crash or requests for presentations can be directed to the
Directors of the
Seattle Museum of the Mysteries and the
Seattle UFO/Paranormal
Charlette LeFevre at clefevre@oz.net
Philip Lipson at philip@seattlechatclub.org
206-328-6499

2004-2008©Copyright. All rights reserved.
No part of these photos or articles may be reproduced without the express permission of the copyright owners.

NEWS!

UFO Hunters - an Embarrrassment to UFOlogy
by Charlette LeFevre and Philip Lipson
Seattle UFO Paranormal Group
2/6/08

If one thought UFO Hunters on the History Channel defined UFO researchers, rest assured they do not. Aside from a basic recounting of the story of the Maury Island Incident, the first show of this series is about how four guys can do a shallow job of not only research but investigating. But perhaps that was their intent, to disinform by embarrassing themselves and the field of UFOlogy. The best that can be said about the new UFO Hunters show on the Maury Island sighting was that they used interesting fonts and had a few decent graphics.

The spokesmen for the show, Bill Birnes and his geek gang basically got overly excited by trivial matters such as diving into the frigid waters of Puget Sound to collect ordinary rocks, and finding airplane parts that had already been found and reported upon six months earlier by the Seattle UFO/Paranormal Group.

What they neglected could fill volumes. There was hardly a mention of Kenneth Arnold whose sighting over Mt. Rainier is when media coined the term ³flying saucer² and his investigation of the the Maury Island incident. There was also no mention of Fred Crisman, a key character and witness to the case who had a notorious background in CIA matters and had been linked to the Kennedy Assassination. Unfortunately, the ³UFO Hunters seemed to focus on a ³gee-whiz² approach, pretty much neglecting the importance of the story which had featured the first appearance of the Men in Black, involved one of the first disinformation campaigns by the military and a mysterious informant to the local papers and much more. There was no mention of the work of Maury Island researcher Kenn Thomas and no interviews with any persons who have historically studied the case.

If they were going for ratings, they failed there too. A few reenactments would have helped. But understand obviously the show was about them, not the history and obviously this was low budget. Instead we get to hear Pat Uskert¹s complain about his dive into the cold water¹s of Puget Sound for a futile look for slag along the miles and miles of Maury Island¹s shores. His dedication though is steadfast as he states the importance of the case and that ³No stone should go unturned². I can only imagine Bill Birnes yelling at Pat to keep looking until he comes up with something! One diver, with no information or indication where the slag is, no sonar data as reference, sifting through the rocks with his hands. What are the chances he would find evidence of slag that may or may not have been dumped sixty years ago? But behold, Pat surfaces with a quarter size black rock for the crew!

Easily mistaken for evidence we later see Ted ³Mr. MIT² Acworth stating this is only igneous rock as he casually tosses the rock from hand to hand. No chemical spectrometer lab testing needed for this sample! No siree! Its nice to know fine upstanding graduates of our finest Universities using their utmost skills in making such academic assessments. I am left to consider if Ted is making a slight dig at Pat. Perhaps but it is possible that Pat Uskert is still diving in Puget Sound as he ³..overturns every stone². If you knew nothing about Maury Island, and were half asleep by the TV, they might have finished the job for you, along with providing a couple scenic pictures of Puget Sound. Not surprising, the show failed on many levels. There was little information, no entertainment, and boring participants who they themselves did not seem to enjoy their roles. But I guess after hearing Bill Birnes bark so much, I guess I too would be annoyed.

Our recommendation is check any case first hand with material in books and on the internet - it will be vastly more rewarding.

The Seattle Museum of the Mysteries and the
Seattle UFO / Paranormal Group are not associated with History Channel's UFO Hunters
The museum disassociated with
the film company Motion Pictures Productions after they would not agree to not dig and disturb the crash site.

 

Please note as of Sept. 26, 2007 this area has been registered as a Historical and Archaeological site
and is on private land.

The museum directors cleared regulation with the Air Force and the Museum of Flight that
debris of Air Force plane crashes that crashed prior to Sept 1961 are free and clear for salvage.
Note also that this particular crash site
was declared historical, and debris removed from
this site after would be a violation of RCW 27.53.060.

RCW 27.53.060
RCW 27.53.060 Disturbing archaeological resource or site ‹ Permit required ‹ Conditions ‹ Exceptions ‹ Penalty. (1) On the private and public lands of this state it shall be unlawful for any person, firm, corporation, or any agency or institution of the state or a political subdivision thereof to knowingly remove, alter, dig into, or excavate by use of any mechanical, hydraulic, or other means, or to damage, deface, or destroy any historic or prehistoric archaeological resource or site, or remove any archaeological object from such site, except for Indian graves or cairns, or any glyptic or painted record of any tribe or peoples, or historic graves as defined in chapter 68.05 RCW, disturbances of which shall be a class C felony punishable under chapter 9A.20 RCW, without having obtained a written permit from the director for such activities.

Longview Daily Article

Video
of Lava Rock Analysis found at B-25 Bomber impact site
by Bill Beaty

If above link does not work, paste link below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oocA1JlnvKw

Seattle - PI Article
Is strange rock from UFO or just a piece of poppycock?
By Casey McNearthney, PI Reporter
April 23, 2007

Unidentified flying discs. Secret military missions. Government cover-ups. Related content Update: UFO debris? Not, it's a chunk of rock, analysis shows The story Philip Lipson and Charlette LeFevre have been researching for years has almost all the elements of a made-for-TV movie. As the story goes, a government employee swore he saw flying saucers three days after a Tacoma man said similar UFOs spewed metal and lava onto his boat. There was even a man in black. A witness later recanted his statement -- some say out of fear -- after a military plane supposedly transporting classified debris exploded into flames. "You don't want to know how complicated and bizarre this is," said LeFevre, who, with Lipson, runs the Seattle Museum of the Mysteries on Capitol Hill. Lipson and LeFevre believe that 60 years ago a plane that crashed in Kelso contained slag from a UFO. They've tracked down newspaper stories and testimony, and gathered the clues at their museum. ....

Kelso resident James Greear heard about the crash 10 years ago and had made several attempts to find clues. He found almost nothing in the woods until earlier this month, when Bob Davenport told him the exact location. Davenport, now 75, was 15 at the time of the crash and one of the first people to rush to the wreckage. Greear went to the crash site April 15 with Lipson and LeFevre. In the north fork of Globe Creek, a friend of Greear's found a black chunk slightly larger than a softball that looks as if it could have once been lava. "We are not making any claims of what it is," Lipson said. But he and LeFevre are hopeful.....

 

 

Kelso Crash: Mystery behind the Air Force's first plane crash
Aug. 1, 1947


Now on Display: Debris from the Air Force's first plane crash
- a B-25 Bomber and what could be an artifact from a UFO
the plane was carrying when it crashed.



James Greear on his property with parts of the B-25 bomber that crashed.

Bill finding the part now on display at the museum.
Please note all items were found on the surface and no digging was involved.

f
...
Bill finds an old battery and James finds more surface debris.
Aug. 15, 2007
.

 


The museum Directors Philip Lipson and Charlette LeFevre
plan on dedicating a plaque at the site this Aug. 1st to the military officers who risked their lives protecting evidence.

Material found from Air Force¹s first plane crash in Kelso Washington 1947.
Seattle Museum of the Mysteries announces on display material from the historical Kelso Crash: the Air Force¹s first plane crash. After 60 years, material from the Air Force¹s first plane crash, a B-25 Bomber has been recovered from a wooded area in Kelso Washington.
Note debris found prior to Sept. 26, 2007 was free and clear for salvage.
Charlette LeFevre and Philip Lipson, Directors of the Seattle Museum of the Mysteries in an expedition to the location of the crash Aug. 15, 2007 along with property owner James Greear made a remarkable discovery -that there were still numerous air plane parts apparently overlooked by the initial cleanup in August of 1947.

In the early morning hours of Aug. 1, 1947, a B25 Bomber left McChord Field and crashed in Kelso with what has always been considered a mysterious cargo of black lava rock slag reported to have been ejected from an unidentified craft during a sighting over Maury Island. Capt. Davidson and First Lieutenant Frank M. Brown were flying back to Hamilton Air Force Base in California when reportedly their left engine caught on fire and crashed in Kelso killing both officers. As this crash occurred Aug. 1, 1947, the day the Air Force separated from the Army, this historically became the Air Force¹s first military crash and first fatalities. It is believed both Davidson and Brown knew the urgency of the situation but stayed with the plane until the last moments.

On March 18, 2006 the museum Directors interviewed Robert Davenport of Kelso, Washington and he related clearly how as a fifteen year old boy he and his father were the first persons at the crash site. He described the site as dangerous as there were still numerous small fire explosions due to the igniting of pockets of spilled fuel. The plane had impacted the hill at the base of three alder trees and there was burnt debris everywhere. The military had used Davenport¹s property as a base camp and spent over a week in cleaning up the debris. Also found in the area was a large black stone which directors believe may have been one of the pieces of slag the officers may have been hoping to analyze. The Directors hope to pick up the mission 60 years later to analyze the possible slag in question for its properties.
The directors believe the officers, whether or not they believed the evidence they were carrying on board was legitimate, risked their lives to secure what they believed to be evidence. The museum Directors also hope to dedicate a plaque at the historical site Aug. 1 to commemorate the officers who gave their lives in the line of duty.



Maury Island UFO Mystery
New photo and documentation discovered on UFOlogy¹s first modern day case.
June 20, 2006 By Charlette LeFevre and Philip Lipson
Directors, Seattle UFO/Paranormal Group and Seattle Museum of the Mysteries

The Maury Island UFO Mystery is a complex case spanning several months in the summer of 1947 in the Puget Sound area of Washington State. The mystery occurred two weeks before Roswell and first involved UFOs seen over Maury Island, followed by the famous Kenneth Arnold sighting of UFOs over Mt. Rainier and ended with the tragic crash of a B-25 Bomber and the deaths of two military intelligence officers. This article focuses on the crash site of the B-25 Bomber, a first ever interview with a local who was first on the scene and a newly discovered photo of the crash site, believed to be the only photo available of the Air Force¹s first plane crash.

The Maury Island UFO Incident
The mystery starts with a UFO sighting by Harold Dahl on June 21, 1947, 2:00 pm over Maury Island Washington. Dahl along with his son and two crewmen were salvaging logs south of Maury Island when they saw six doughnut shaped disks hovering over the bay. One disk was wobbling and appeared to be in trouble. It lowered itself to about 500 feet above the water and was joined by five other disks. Upon what appeared to be assistance from one of the disks, the floundering disk dropped what appeared to be shiny aluminum metal on the beach followed by black lava like rock (or slag) into the water which created steam upon hitting the water. The falling slag wounded Dahl¹s son Charles and killed their dog. Charles was taken to the local hospital in Tacoma for first aid and the dog¹s body was buried at sea on their return trip. Kenneth Arnold¹s UFO Sighting Three days later on June 24, 1947, a pilot and Federal Marshall by the name of Kenneth Arnold saw nine disks ³skipping² across the North face of Mt. Rainier and was to become the sighting in which media coined the term ³Flying Saucer². He was interviewed by local and national press including Edward R. Murrow and his sighting made radio and news headlines around the world. He was later interviewed by 1st Lt. Frank M. Brown along with Capt. William L. Davidson from Hamilton Field in California.

Kenneth Arnold meets Harold Dahl and the Military
Kenneth Arnold was interested in UFOs after his sighting and answered a request by Ray Palmer - an editor in Chicago to investigate the nearby Maury Island sighting and a meeting was arranged with Harold Dahl at the Winthrop Hotel in Tacoma where Arnold was joined by United Airlines pilot Capt. E. J. Smith. The officers 1st Lt. Frank Brown and Capt. Davidson were called back at the request of Kenneth Arnold to also review these witnesses. The officers met with Kenneth Arnold and Harold Dahl and collected all the fragments of rock to take back with them to Hamilton Field. It was about midnight on July 31, 1947 when they finished interviewing and they called for a command car to pick them up as they seemed in a hurry to return to Hamiliton Field as it was Air Force Day - the inauguration day of the separation of the Air Force from the Army and all planes were needed. Kenneth Arnold in his book ³The Coming of the Saucers² comments that just as the Army command car pulled up in front of the hotel where he and Capt. Smith were staying, Fred L. Crisman - Harold Dahl¹s supervisor came by and started taking a large Kellogg¹s corn flakes box (believed to be a large box with flaps) out of his trunk and Kenneth Arnold helped Crisman unload this box from his car into the trunk of the command car. Arnold states he could see the top of the box flapping open and ³Inside the box were a great number of large chunks of material that looked similar to the fragments we had in our room². Arnold yelled ³Goodbye and good luck² as the command car drove away. That was the last time Arnold and Capt. Smith were to see the officers. Soon after returning to his hotel room, a Tacoma Times reporter Ted Morello called to say that a mysterious telephone informant had told him what had taken place in their hotel room. This informant¹s information appeared accurate to the point that Arnold thought a small transmitter had been planted somewhere in their room although they could never find one. 1

The B-25 Bomber Crash - the Air Force¹s first Fatalities
Arnold the next morning around 9:20am received a call from Fred Crisman informing him that the radio was mentioning news of a B-25 bomber that had exploded and crashed twenty minutes after take off from McChord Field. The B-25 Bomber had crashed near Kelso Washington when the left engine caught on fire. Arnold was later to hear a recorded interview by Ted Morello of Sgt. Elmer L. Taff who was one of the survivors of the plane crash. Sgt. Taff related fifteen to twenty minutes after take off it was noticed that the left engine was on fire. Sgt. Matthew's had tried the emergency fire fighting system which did not work. Then Lt. Brown squeezed through the doorway and commanded them to strap on their parachutes. Lt. Brown had his harness on but not his parachute. He harshly commanded them both to jump. ³Lt. Brown quickly told him how to pull the rip chord when he was sure he was clear of the ship and actually forcibly shoved him out of the plane into the night². Taff related a good ten minutes had elapsed between the time he parachuted out at 10,000 ft. until the fire reached serious proportions and the plane started to dive. Taff also related of how shortly before they took off the pilot and copilot loaded a heavy cardboard box aboard the B-25. Taff noticed it particularly because it seemed very heavy for one man to carry. This box was placed over to one side of the compartment that he and the engineer occupied. Ted Morello also informed Kenneth Arnold that the B-25 Bomber that landed at McChord Field was under military armed guard every minute it was at the field. It was implied by the nature of that statement that this was unusual and Morello was scared for their safety. 1 A local newspaper article also gave clues to what happened aboard the plane. Woodrow D. Matthews, crew chief of the bomber reported helping Davidson and Brown into their parachutes and that at the time he jumped, flames from the blazing left engine were pouring into the cockpit. It was reported that Brown was ³standing in the aisle ready to leave the plane ³ when Matthews himself jumped out. 6 Brown was found at the crash site with his parachute harness on but had apparently returned to the cockpit. His body was found in the wreckage. Matthews related that the only reason he could see that the officers did not get out was that the left wing might have crumpled, trapping them in the plane. 6 T/4 Woodrow D. Matthews, crew chief of the bomber who put the parachute on Sgt. Taff saving his life was proposed for the Soldier¹s Medal. An FBI report states the left wing was found 125 yards from the plane impact site and likely fell off throwing the plane into a plummeting spin. 3 Later that day Kenneth Arnold again received a call from Ted Morello. The mysterious informant that kept calling Morello stated the B-25 bomber from Hamilton Field had been shot down by a 20mm cannon. The Tacoma Times that day¹s headlines read ³Sabotage Hinted in Crash of Army Bomber at Kelso and a sub-headline read ³Plane May Hold Flying Disk Secret². Written by Paul Lance the article stated the plane had been sabotaged or shot down to prevent shipment of flying disk fragments to Hamilton Field, California, for analysis. ³The disk parts were said by the informant to be those from one of the mysterious platters which plunged to earth on the Maury Island² recently. Leading substance to the caller¹s theory is the fact that twelve hours before the Army released official identification, the informant correctly identified the dead in the crash to be Capt. William L. Davidson and 1st Lt. Frank M. Brown. This Tacoma Times article also stated ³At McChord field an intelligence officer confirmed the informants report that the B-25 Bomber had been carrying Œclassified material¹. 1

Paul Lance was later to die two weeks later of unknown reasons. Pathologist studied his body for thirty six hours but could not find any cause of death. 7 Arnold was later informed that the crash was caused by the loss of an exhaust collector ring on the left engine. It was never explained by the military why Capt. Davidson and Lt. Brown never notified anyone by radio of their distress nor why they themselves did not parachute. It is likely both Davidson and Brown knew the urgency of the situation but stayed with the plane until the last moments and then it became too late. There has been no indication that the officers were conducting any additional classified missions other than interviewing the UFO sighting witnesses and carrying any other type of evidence on board. Seattle Post Intelligencer Aug. 3, 1947 AP report states ³Pieces not Located² Brig. Gen. Ned Schramm, chief of staff, Fourth Air Force, said he knew nothing about reports that the plane was carrying ³classified² or secret material² ³As far as I know, the plane was supposed to come in here empty.² he said, ³and there wasn¹t a single, solitary, secret thing aboard². 9 Air Rescue Service Final Mission Report (4) states ³at 0930PST, a message from Sq.B informed that top secret material was in the navigators kit and to request Commanding Officer McChord Field to expedite all available information to Commanding Officer Hamilton Field². 5

First on the Scene
On March 18, 2006 we interviewed Robert Davenport of Kelso, Washington at a local restaurant and he related clearly how as a fifteen year old boy his neighbor had alerted his family of a report of a crash in the area and he how went with his father immediately to the site. He and his father were the first persons at the crash site in the early morning hours of Aug. 1, 1947 later to be joined by other neighbors and locals. He stated the crash site was easy to find due to all the smoke rising from the numerous small fires. He described the site as gruesome and dangerous as there were still numerous small fire explosions due to the igniting of pockets of spilled fuel. The plane had impacted the hill at the base of three alder trees and there was burnt debris everywhere. Davenport described how it was hard for the Sheriff¹s cars to make it up the rough roads and several cars had their fuel tanks damaged. This was confirmed by other newspaper reports. The military had used their property as a base camp and spent over a week in cleaning up the debris and moving the larger pieces to a nearby corn field. Surprisingly, our inquiries regarding this crash was the first he had ever heard of this plane crash having any connection to UFOs and he was not aware of any secret or classified material on board.

The First Photo
(see above photo)
After the interview we decided to check out the local area and see if we could find any further newspaper articles on the crash as the previous year we had discovered a Kelso article that provided more details of the crash area. Our efforts proved more fruitful than we had imagined. We discovered not only another article but a photo of the crash site. 8 The photo was likely taken in the early morning hours by a local photographer for the small newspaper long before the military arrived. As the date was Aug. 1st it was likely printed for the evening edition of the newspaper. We believe this is the only photo available of the crash made available to the public and the first historical photo of the Air Force¹s first plane crash and fatalities. The photo suddenly made the incident seem even more real - more so than any other document could describe and gave a weighted impact to the deaths of Capt. Davidson and 1st Lt. Frank Brown. This photo is believed to be the only printed photo by a newspaper as Kenneth Arnold stated the military authorities had roped off the surrounding 150 acres around the crashed plane and nobody was allowed within that area. According to Kenneth Arnold not even the Civil Air Patrol themselves could approach the crash site. 7

Military, Media and attempted Cover Up?
According to a recently discovered article on the crash, in the Longview Daily article published shortly after the crash of August 1, entitled ³Springer Arrives To See Crash Scene² some indication is given that there was an attempt to provide a different explanation for the officer¹s investigations. Was this perhaps an early example of government disinformation? The article states ³ Information reaching The Daily News concerning the flight tended to dispel rumors of flying discs or secret missions, indicating that the aviators, Capt. William L. Davidson, San Francisco, and 1st Lt. Frank M. Brown of Vallejo took off from McChord Field bound for Hamiliton Field, California, early Friday morning to gain some night flying time on their logbooks.² This may have been one of the military¹s first attempt at a cover up to the press. Seattle Post-Intelligencer I.N.S. article states ³a Fourth Air Force officer verified Capt. Davidson¹ and Lt. Brown¹s deaths but stated that the report that their ill-fated bomber was returning with classified or secret material was ³just a flight of fancy². 5

Still a Mystery
Indeed, these new discoveries demonstrate that not all cases are investigated fully and time may reveal more information on a mystery that remains as complex and unsolved today as it was almost sixty years ago. This incident serves to commend the actions of the officers that whether or not they believed the slag was legitimate or that the stories were contrived, these two intelligence officers took the witnesses and sightings seriously enough to interview the pilots and witnesses and risked their lives to secure what they believed to be evidence. This article is dedicated to the men and women who take a risk to find the truth. Charlette LeFevre and Philip Lipson will continue to investigate this case, and document this Northwest mystery. __________________________________________________________
1. Arnold, Kenneth and Palmer, Ray. ³The Coming of the Saucers², 1952. Ray Palmer, Amherst, Wisconsin.
2. Arnold, Kenneth, Fate Magazine, Vol. 1, #1, 1948, The Mystery of the Flying Disks.
3. FBI Report 1947.
4. Air Rescue Service Final Report, McChord Field, Tacoma Washington, Aug. 4, 1947
5. Seattle Post Intelligencer, I.N.S. article, ³Airline Head Mystified Over ŒFlying Disk¹ Fragment Story², Aug. 3, 1947. 6. Longview Daily, ³Springer Arrives To See Crash Scene², Aug. 4, 1947.
7. Arnold, Kenneth. ³Proceedings Of The First International UFO Congress², 1980, Warner Books, New York, NY.
8. Stark, Brent. Dahlquist photo. Longview Daily News, ³Air Force Day Marred As B-25 Crashes Here², Aug. 1, 1947, pg. 1.
9. AP, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, ³2 Flyers Died in Crash on ³Disk² Mission², Sun. Aug. 3, 1947, pg. 1.




Kenneth Arnold

June 24th, 1947, Kenneth Arnold, a federal Marshall had a sighting over Mineral, Washington, at 9,000 feet near Mt. Rainier of nine "skipping discs" flying North to South
in which the story made international news and in which media was to coin the term "flying saucer".

Arnold was to later write his 1952 book, The Coming Of The Saucers, published with Ray Palmer.
Kenneth Arnold's background:

Kenneth Arnold was an Eagle Scout, a field representative for the American Red Cross , an All-State Football player. He began selling fire control equipment throughout the Northwest, and
was a member of an "aerial posse" for the Ada County, Idaho, Sheriff. He was also a relief Federal U.S. Marshall and occasionally flew Federal prisoners to McNeil Island Federal Penitentiary.

The UFO community worldwide has proclaimed June 24th International UFO Research Day in honor of Kenneth Arnold.


Fate Magazines first issue features and article by Kenneth Arnold "The Truth about the Flying Saucers.



Maury Island UFO Incident

Three days before Kenneth Arnold's famous 1947 saucer sighting on Mount Rainier, on June 21, 1947 in Puget Sound a Washingtonian named Harold Dahl watched five flying saucers come to the aid of a sixth wobbling in the sky just off Maury Island (now Vashon Island). The saucers spewed hot ash and slag that wounded Dahl's son and killed their dog. Their dog was buried at sea before they returned and Harold sought medical attention for his son at the hospital.

This occurance was to be investigated later by the military Captain William Davidson and First Lieutenant Frank M. Brown. The officers interviewed Dahl at Tacoma's Winthrop hotel and collected evidence of black lava rock. On August 1, 1947 their modified B-25 bomber crashed in Kelso Washington on their return flight with the evidence. According to the FBI, the military report and the two survivors, the left engine had caught fire and the officers stayed with the evidence. The Kelsonian Tribune headlines announced the next day " Flying Disk Investigators die in Army Bomber Wreck".

Harold Dahl was soon after visited by a "Man in Black" at a Tacoma cafe and soon after would claim the incident was a hoax.

 

Wintrhrop Hotel today 2005 in Tacoma. Location of the interview with the military officers.

 

 


The first page of the Maury Island Mystery from Key Comics. Tad, Nancy, Philip, Charlette and Kenn Thomas at Maury Island investigating and looking for black lava slag. Kenn Thomas holding a possible artfact?

____________________________________

Men in Black - the first documented case was in the Northwest

"The first instance of the mysterious Men In Black appearing in the history and lore of UFOs happened in the Puget Sound region as part of a sighting known as the Maury island case. Three days before Kenneth Arnold's famous 1947 saucer sighting on Mount Rainier, a Washingtonian named Harold Dahl watched five flying saucers come to the aid of a sixth wobbling in the sky. The saucers spewed hot ash and slag that wounded Dahl's son and killed his dog. Shortly after Dahl began telling others about what had happened, he was visited by a "Man In Black", who advised him not to say anything more to anyone. Dahl did not heed the warning. Soon, his logging business began to fail, his wife fell ill and his son disappeared, only to reappear in a distant state, waiting tables, with no memory of how his life circumstances had changed. After that, Dahl vowed to never again tell the tale of the Maury Island UFO and, if asked, he would claim henceforth that it was a hoax. These events preceded by five years the claims of UFO writer Al Bender, generally regarded as the first claim for the existence of Men in Black. Bender, the head of a group called the International Flying Saucer Bureau in Bridgeport, Connecticut, became physically ill after receiving a visit from three MIBs in 1952, who told him to remain quiet about his knowledge of UFOs. - Find out more in the book Maury Island UFO by Kenn Thomas."

" the man wore a black suit, however, and drove a black 1947 Buick sedan when he arrived the day after Dahl's encounter with the flying doughnuts [Maury Island UFO Incident]. After he accepted the strange man's invitation to breakfast, Dahl drove himself to a small cafe in downtown Tacoma followed by the black-suited man in the black Buick...." - Maury Island UFO Incident by Kenn Thomas, Illuminet Press.

Thus, historically, the Northwest was the first documented encounter of "Men in Black" shortly after the "Maury Island UFO incident - the "Roswell of the Northwest" and just three days before Kenneth Arnolds sighting of nine discs seen over Mt. Rainier in 1947 and when media coined the term "flying saucer".
The mystery even though well documented and numerous people were involved including military, has never been solved.

 

Visit the Seattle Museum of the Mysteries to see the documentation, the Tacoma Times articles and the FBI report on the B-25 Bomber crash.
New articles from local paper. The government's first attempt at a cover up two weeks before Roswell.

 

 

"A Tradition of Heroes" History of Air Force Day Air Force logo Air Force Day was established on August 1, 1947, by President Truman
"in recognition of the personnel of the victorious Army Air Forces and all those who have developed and maintained our nation's air strength." August 1 was chosen to mark the 40th anniversary of the establishment, in 1907, of the Aeronautical Division in the Office of the Chief Signal Officer of the Army. Air Force Day came into being immediately after the signing of the National Security Act of 1947, although the status of the air element of the military was uncertain. Thus, although it was called Air Force Day, its first celebration was staged by the Army Air Forces and not by the U.S. Air Force. Underlying the Air Force Day celebration was a need to increase "both official and public awareness of the priority of importance of air forces in any system of national security," according to Mr. Truman. "The great strategic fact of our generation is that the United States now possesses live frontiers -- the frontiers of the air -- and that the oceans are no longer sure ramparts against attack."

In his message to the nation on the first Air Force Day, Mr. Truman said, "I remind all of our citizens that the air power of the nation is essential to the preservation of our liberty, and that the continued development of the science of air transportation is vital to the trade and commerce of a peaceful world."

Air Force Day was last observed on August 1, 1949.

 

Any inquiries regarding the ongoing research of the Kelso Crash or requests for presentations can be directed to the
Directors of the
Seattle Museum of the Mysteries and the
Seattle UFO/Paranormal
Charlette LeFevre at clefevre@oz.net
Philip Lipson at philip@seattlechatclub.org
206-328-6499

2004-2008©Copyright. All rights reserved.
No part of these photos or articles may be reproduced without the express permission of the copyright owners.

 


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