The Maury Island UFO Incident: The Story behind the Air Force’s first military plane crash Read Online Free Page B

aircraft.
     
5:45 am Hamilton
Flight Service requested passenger list as filed
with Base Operations Office.
    6:32 am Sheriff at Kelso WA called AF with latest information. The
AF requested that no information be released to the press by either the
Sheriff’s office or the Kelso Police Dept.
8-9:20 am - Arnold and Smith informed of Crash.
    Crisman called Arnold to inform him of a plane crash that he had
just heard over the radio.
Smith stated to the FBI that it was
approximately 8am. Crisman believed it was the B-25 bomber the one
Davidson and Brown were flying. “Did you hear over the radio this
morning that a B-25 exploded and crashed some twenty minutes after
take-off from McChord Field about 1:30 this morning?
I think you
and I
know who
was aboard that
plane._ COS
p,58 Arnold
remembered Capt. Smith was ready to take a bath and came out of the
tub still wet on hearing news of the crash. Smith grabbed the phone
and heard Crisman repeat the information. Arnold commented that
Capt. Smith became quite pale after listening to Crisman. Capt. Smith
called McChord and verified the crash but no other details.
Arnold turned on the radio but the news by then had passed the news
of the crash.
Smith called Morello and said he would stop by his office after the AF
contacted them.
Crisman came to the hotel.
    Call to Palmer - Arnold called Palmer to say he wanted out of this
situation and investigation.
Arnold offered to give back the $200
expense money and drop the story. Arnold felt the plane crash and the
two lives lost had a direct connection to the Maury Island sighting.
Palmer told Arnold to keep the money and that it would probably be
best to drop the investigation. Palmer warned Arnold and Smith not to
carry any of the fragments aboard his plane and suggested that if we
wanted to keep any to mail them to ourselves or to him. He advised
him
to
prevent
Smith
from
taking
any
fragments.
Smith, standing by and listening, got the impression that the editor was
no longer interested in the story after hearing about the crash and
angrily took the phone from Arnold and shouted to Palmer that this
was a serious situation and that the editor better “shed some light” on
the matter. Ken Arnold took the receiver back.
Crisman also wanted
to
speak to
Palmer and was “jockeying for the phone.” “I’ll
substantiate it! “ I’ll give him the facts !” What Happened in Room 502? Arnold handed the phone to Crisman who Arnold would write that
Crisman wanted to assure Palmer the B-25 had crashed. Ray Palmer
would later state he recognized the voice and was positive that it was
the same voice that had called him long distance on the occasions from
various parts of the country. Arnold had been lucky to reach Palmer as
that day was Palmer’s birthday.
    Call to Chicago - Smith then called reporter Maurice Roddy, an
aviation editor for the Chicago Times and personal friend of Smith,
and told Roddy the story of what had occurred.
Roddy expressed
interest but said that without confirmation from the AAF they couldn’t
do much.
Smith had just hung up when a Colonel from McChord
Field called and asked if they would be available later for questioning.
The Colonel confirmed the room number and hung up.
Also, that morning, Col. Gregg of McChord Field called Arnold's room
and asked, "that Arnold, Smith, Crisman, and Dahl submit their
addresses to Hamilton Field for convenience of any Army investigation
of the incident which may be forthcoming.”
    11 am-noon – The second of five anonymous calls was placed to
Tacoma Times reporter Paul Lantz and advised that there had been a
big meeting in 502, that the B-25 was carrying disc fragments and that
“McChord Field officials had stated it was shot down or sabotaged.
Lantz then went to the Winthrop to see if the anonymous caller was
the hotel’s switchboard operator and then went to Arnold’s room
where Arnold could provide no additional information.
    Staying at the Hotel for Lunch -