| Wreckage from the first crash of an Air Force | | | | used to obtain the information. That wasn't the |
| Aircraft on August 1, 1947 seems like something | | | | only surprise Arnold was to experience during the |
| that only the military might be interested in. Or | | | | next twenty-four hours. |
| maybe not. Much of the original wreckage was | | | | According to witnesses, Captain Davidson and Lt |
| left to rust in the forest and no recent attempts | | | | Brown boarded a B-25 with a box of material |
| have been made to relocate or recover it by any | | | | from their investigation and took off from |
| branch of the Military. Instead, civilians have been | | | | McChord Field with two other crew members. |
| looking for pieces from the crashed B-25 for | | | | Shortly afterward, their left engine caught fire and |
| years. That's because the crash site near Kelso, | | | | the fire fighting system malfunctioned. After |
| Washington, may contain material that's simply | | | | ordering the other crew members to bail out, |
| out of this world | | | | Davidson and Brown were trapped when the |
| After ten years of searching, Jim Greer located | | | | aircraft began to collapse around them. Both |
| pieces from the B25 in a ravine near Goble Creek | | | | perished in the crash. |
| east of Kelso. He has turned some of the material | | | | This was the very first crash of an Air Force |
| over to the Museum of Mysteries in Seattle. Their | | | | plane because it happened on the day that the Air |
| interest is in the paranormal aspects of the crash. | | | | Force officially separated from the Army. It's |
| That's because the aircraft was carrying two | | | | ironic that the crash may have been directly linked |
| Officers that participated in the investigation of a | | | | to the UFO phenomenon. An article in the Tacoma |
| Washington UFO incident and material from that | | | | Times claimed that the B-25 was shot down by a |
| investigation. | | | | 20mm canon or sabotaged to keep the material |
| 1947 is a memorable year for UFO enthusiasts. | | | | salvaged from the Maury Island event from being |
| The saucer sightings by Kenneth Arnold in the | | | | examined at Fort Hamilton. |
| State of Washington and UFO crash or crashes in | | | | After the B-25 crash and the Men in Black incident |
| New Mexico tend to dominate our attention. It's | | | | involving Dahl, the two witnesses became |
| easy to forget that over 850 sightings of a | | | | concerned for the safety of their families. When |
| credible nature were reported by U.S. | | | | Arnold and Smith came to view the boat that |
| Newspapers. These include amazing events alleged | | | | Dahl said was damaged by the falling debris, |
| to have occurred near Maury Island in Washington. | | | | Captain Smith expressed some doubts. He felt |
| Real or imagined, those events and their | | | | that repairs on the vessel were inconsistent with |
| aftermath reveal a stunning cover-up that has | | | | the kind of damage that was originally reported. |
| never been fully investigated or explained. | | | | Rather than explain that whole sections were |
| Harold Dahl, his son Charles, the family dog and | | | | replaced, Dahl simply told Smith that he was no |
| two crew members were on a patrol boat looking | | | | longer going to cooperate with the investigation |
| for salvage logs in the Puget Sound on June 21, | | | | and just wanted to be left alone. Some reports |
| 1947. They were just off Maury Island (today | | | | say that the two witnesses admitted it was all a |
| called Vashon Island) when the UFO incident | | | | hoax, but neither Dahl or Crisman ever admitted |
| began. The group witnessed six 'donut-shaped' | | | | making such statements. Another report said that |
| craft above their position. Harold said that the | | | | the material Dahl and Crisman presented to the |
| objects were about one hundred feet in diameter | | | | investigators was just worthless slag from a local |
| and had a 'bright metallic' appearance. | | | | smelter. |
| Five of the crafts were circling a sixth which Dahl | | | | Apart from the fact that there was nothing in it |
| said was 'wobbling' and seemed to be in distress. | | | | for Dahl or Crisman to create a hoax and both |
| After some sort of an explosion, the sixth craft | | | | had more to lose than gain, there is some |
| discharged a large quantity of debris. The debris | | | | evidence to support their side of the story: |
| resembled cooled volcanic lava, had an | | | | - FBI Teletype from J. Edgar Hoover, 8/14/47: "It |
| aluminum-like appearance and fell in the form of | | | | would also appear that Dahl and Crisman did not |
| large flakes. These flakes hit and damaged their | | | | admit the hoax to the army officers..." |
| boat, injured Charles and killed the family dog. | | | | - Return Teletype to Hoover from Special Agent |
| Afterward, all the objects rose rapidly into the | | | | George Wilcox: "Please be advised that Dahl did |
| sky and took off in the direction of the ocean. | | | | not admit that his story was a hoax but only |
| Dahl headed to Maury Island where he stopped to | | | | stated that if questioned by authorities he was |
| assess the damage to his boat and take photos. | | | | going to say it was a hoax because he did not |
| Finding more debris, he collected it and then | | | | want any further trouble over the matter." |
| proceeded to Tacoma. After taking his son to the | | | | - In the January 1950 edition of FATE Magazine, |
| emergency room, Dahl reported the entire | | | | Fred Crisman called allegations that he admitted |
| incident to Fred Crisman, the harbor patrol | | | | the case was a hoax a "bald-faced lie." |
| supervisor. Crisman didn't believe him, so he | | | | - Neither Ray Palmer or Kenneth Arnold ever said |
| returned to the area on Maury Island which Dahl | | | | the case was a hoax. |
| described. | | | | Even stranger were the events that occurred |
| Crisman found what seemed like tons of the | | | | after the investigation by Arnold, Smith, Davidson |
| strange material along the shoreline. While picking | | | | and Brown: |
| up some of it, he said that an object appeared | | | | - The crash of the B25 is surrounded by |
| and dropped more. Meanwhile, Dahl was visited by | | | | allegations of sabotage or downing by friendly fire. |
| a "man in a dark suit" the next day. The man told | | | | - The crash of Kenneth Arnold's airplane under |
| Dahl that he saw something he was not supposed | | | | mysterious circumstances on August 3, 1947. He |
| to see and warned him not to discuss it. | | | | was almost killed and later claimed his aircraft had |
| Just three days after the Maury Island incident, | | | | been sabotaged. |
| Kenneth Arnold reported seeing a formation of | | | | - The untimely and mysterious death of Paul |
| strange looking objects traveling at incredible | | | | Lance, the Tacoma Times Reporter who claimed |
| speeds near Mount Rainer, Washington. Because | | | | that the B25 might have been purposely brought |
| Arnold was a former military aviator and | | | | down by government operatives. He died two |
| well-respected private pilot, the press jumped all | | | | weeks after the article appeared in print. No |
| over his sighting. Arnold was later contacted by | | | | actual cause of death could be determined. |
| Ray Palmer, editor of Amazing Stories. The two | | | | - The sudden death of Ted Morrello, the United |
| discussed his sighting, became friends and forged | | | | Press reporter who called Arnold just after the |
| a working relationship. | | | | Dahl Meeting claiming full knowledge of the |
| United Airlines Captain E. J. Smith was a friend of | | | | proceedings. |
| Kenneth Arnold, but initially skeptical of his sighting | | | | - The closing of The Tacoma Times which went |
| until he had one of his own. During a flight from | | | | out of business shortly after the article about the |
| Boise, Idaho, to Tacoma, Washington on July 4, | | | | B25 was published. |
| 1947, Smith noticed a formation of saucer-shaped | | | | Unlike most hoaxes, the Maury Island UFO incident |
| objects near his aircraft. They first appeared just | | | | is not unique among sighting or physical evidence |
| after 9pm, then vanished and reappeared several | | | | cases. The scene originally described by Dahl has |
| times for over forty-five minutes. Captain Smith, | | | | been repeated many times. Several objects are |
| Co-Pilot Ralph Stevens and Stewardess Marty | | | | seen together, one crashes or is in distress and |
| Morrow all saw them. | | | | others assist. Strange material is ejected, dropped |
| The importance of the Arnold and Smith sightings | | | | or simply deposited. The material can be metallic, |
| cannot be stressed enough. These witnesses | | | | fibrous or even biological. There are many reasons |
| were experienced pilots, not starry-eyed civilians | | | | for anyone interested in UFOs to take a second |
| looking at something in the sky that a trained | | | | look at this case. Including the military response to |
| observer might immediately recognize as | | | | the crash. |
| commonplace. That would make any opinions | | | | Robert Davenport of Kelso, Washington, was one |
| they had about the Maury Island UFO incident all | | | | of the first people to view the B-25 crash site. He |
| the more important. | | | | said that small fires were still burning due to all the |
| Their involvement began with a letter to Ray | | | | unused fuel when he and a few others found the |
| Palmer from Fred Crisman. Palmer quickly | | | | wreckage. When the military arrived they expelled |
| contacted Arnold and asked him to investigate | | | | everyone, sealed 150 acres around the crash site |
| the Maury Island story. Arnold agreed, but asked | | | | and took over the area for about a week. They |
| Smith to help. He also contacted the military and | | | | used part of Davenport's land as a base camp. |
| requested that they send investigators to be | | | | Despite combing through debris and moving some |
| present during the initial interviews. | | | | larger pieces to an open field for further |
| Arnold and Smith arrived in Tacoma and met with | | | | inspection, the bulk of the crash material was left |
| Harold Dahl at the Winthrop Hotel on July 31, | | | | behind. This seems strange for an investigation |
| 1947. Also present were a Captain Davidson and | | | | involving the very first crash of an Air Force |
| 1st Lt. Frank Brown. Crisman showed up with | | | | plane. It appeared that they were more |
| cereal boxes filled with material from the Island | | | | interested in looking for something in the aircraft |
| which he presented to the Military Officers. In a | | | | than trying to determine the cause of the crash. |
| hurry to return to Hamilton Field for Air Force | | | | It's doubtful that the validity of the Maury Island |
| Inauguration Day, Davidson and Brown left the | | | | UFO incident will ever be resolved to anyone's |
| hotel just after midnight. Air Force Inauguration | | | | satisfaction. It's also unlikely that any of the |
| Day was the day that the Air Force officially | | | | material from that event will ever be recovered |
| became a separate branch of the military. | | | | from the B-25 crash site. However, it's important |
| After the session with Dahl was completed, | | | | to remember that Maury Island occurred before |
| Arnold returned to his hotel room. He almost | | | | the Arnold sighting, before Roswell and is certainly |
| immediately received a call from Ted Morello, a | | | | surrounded by unusual circumstances and |
| United Press reporter. Morello seemed to know | | | | unresolved issues. Whether the actual sighting |
| everything that went on in the hotel room where | | | | occurred or never happened, you have to be |
| the impromptu investigative had taken place and | | | | amazed by the response of the government |
| wanted a comment about it. Arnold was upset | | | | within a government. |
| and suspected a hidden microphone had been | | | | |