SUBJECT: ARMY NAVY CRACK DOWN FILE: UFO2728
From the Las Vegas Review-Journal, July 9, 1947
FLYING DISC TALES DECLINE
AS ARMY, NAVY CRACK DOWN
By United Press
Reports of flying saucers whizzing through the sky fell off sharply
today as the army and navy began a concentrated campaign to stop the
rumors.
One by one, persons who thought they had their hands on the $3,000
offered for a genuine flying saucer found their hands full of nothing.
Headquarters of the 8th army at Fort Worth, Texas. announced that
the wreakage of a tin-foil covered object found on a New Mexico ranch
was nothing more than the remanants of a weather ballon. AAF
headquarters in Washington reportedly delivered a "blistering" rebuke
to officers at the Roswell, New Mexico, base for suggesting that it
was a "flying disc."
A 16 inch aluminum disc equiped with two radio condensers, a
flourescent light switch and copper tubing found by F.G. Harston near
the Shreveport, Louisiana, business district was declared by police to
be "obviously the work of a prankster." Police believed the prankster
hurled it over a sign board and watched it land at Harston's feet. It
was turned over to officials at Barksdale army air field.
U.S. navel intelligence officers at Pearl Harbor investigated clains
by 100 navy men that they saw a mysterious object "silvery colored,
like aluminum, with no wings or tail," sail over Honolulu at a rapid
clip late yesterday. The description fit a weather ballon but 5 of the
men, familiar with weather obsevation devices, swore that it was not a
ballon.
"It moved extremely fast for a short period, seemed to slow down,
then disappeared high in the air," said Yeoman 1/C Douglas Kacherle of
New Bedford, Massachusetts. His story was corroborated by Seaman 1X
Donald Ferguson, Indianapolis; Yeoman 3/C Morris Kzamme, La. Crosse,
Wisconsin, Seaman 1/C Albert Delancey, Salem, West Virginia, and
Yeoman 2/C Ted Pardue, McClain, Texas.
Admiral William H. Blandy, commander-in-chief of the Atlantic fleet,
said like everyone else he was curious about the reported flying
saucers "but I do not believe they exist."
Lloyd Bennett, Oelwein, Iwoa, salesman, was stubborn about the shiny
6 1/2-inch steel disc he found yesterday. Authorities said it was not
a "flying saucer" but Bennett said he would claim the reward offered
for the mysterious discs.
There were other discards. Not all the principles were satisfied
with the annoucement that the wreakage found on the New Mexico ranch
was that of a weather ballon.
The excitement ran through this cycle:
1. Lt. Warren Haught, public relations officer at the Roswell base,
released a statement in the name of Col. William Blanchard, bsae
commander. It said that an object described as a "flying disc" was
found on the nearby Foster ranch 3 weeks ago by W.W. Brazel and been
sent to "higher officials" for examination.
2. Brigadier General Roger B. Ramey, commander of the 8th air force,
said at Fort Worth that he believed the object was the "remnant of a
weather ballon and a radar reflector," and was "nothing to be excited
about" He allowed photographers to take a picture of it. It was
announced that the object would be sent to Wright Field, Dayton, Ohio
for examination by experts.
3. Later, Warrant Officer Irving Newton, Stessonville, Wisconsin,
weather officer at Fort Worth, examined the object and said definitely
that it was nothing but a badly smashed target used to determine the
direction and velocity of high altitude winds.
4. Lt. Haught reportedly told reporters that he has been "shut up by
two blistering phone calls from Washington."
5. Efforts to contact Col. Blanchard brought the information that "he
is now on leave."
6. Maj. Jesse A. Marcel, intelligence officer of the 509th bombardment
group, reportedly told Brazel, the finder of the object, that "it has
nothing to do with army or navy so far as I can tell."
7. Brazel told reporters that he has found weather ballon equip- ment
before, but had seen nothing that had resembled his latest find.
8. Those men who saw the object said it had a flowered paper tape
around it bearing the initials "D.P."
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