FBI file 62-HQ-83894 Flying Discs, section 3

COPY
\ Incident
41.F 1208 I
16 July 1947
MEMORANDW FOR THE OFFICER IN CHARGE ,
1. On 12 July 1947, Mr . Kenneth Arnold, Box 387, Boise, Ide.ho,
was interviewed in regard to the report by Mr. Arnold that he saw 9
strange objects flying over the Cascede Mountain Range of Washington
State on July 25th. Mr. Arnold voluntarily agreed to give the interviewer
a written report of exactly what be had seen on the above mentioned date.
The written report of Mr • .Arnold is attached to this report as Exhibit A.
AGENT'S NOTES: Mr . P.rnold is a ma.n of 32 years of age, being married aid
the father of two children. He is well thought of in the community in
which he lives, being very much the family man end from all appearances
a very good provider for his family. Mr. ~rnold has recently purchased a
home on the outskirts of Boise. recently purchased a $5.000 airplane in
which to conduct his business to the extent of which is explained in the
attached exhibit. It is the personal opinion of the interviewer that Mr.
~rnold actually saw what he stated that he saw. It is difficult to believe
that a man of' Mr. Arnold's character and apparent integrity would stete
that he saw objects and write up a report to the extent that h~ did if he
did not see them. To go further, if Mr. Arnold can write a report of the
character that he did while not having seen the objects that he claimed he
saw, it is the opinion of the interviewer that Mr. Arnol d is in the wrong
business, that he should be writing Buok Rogers fiction. Mr . Arnold is
very outspoken and somewhat bitter in his opinions of the leaders of the
U.S. Army }~r Forces and the Federal Bureau of Investigati~n for not having
made an investigation of this matter sooner. To put all of the statements
made by Mr . Arnold in this report would make it a voluminous volune. However,
after having checked an aeronautical map of the area over which Mr. Arnold
claims that he saw the objects it_wes determined that all statements made by
Mr. Arnold in regard to the distances involved, speed of the objects, course
of the objects and size of the objects, could very possibly be facts. The
distances mentioned by Mr. Arnold in his report are within a short distance
of th~ actual distances on aeronautical charts of this area. although Mr .
~rnold has never consulted aeronautioal charts of the type the Army uses.
Mr. Jrnold stated that this business had suffered greatly since his report
on July 25 due to the fact that at every stop on his business routes, large
crowds of people were waiting to question him as to just what he had seen.
Mr. Arnold stated further that if' he, et any time in the future, sew anything
in the $ky, to quote Mr. P.rnold directly, .,if I saw a ten story building
FRANl< M. BROWN, S/A, CIC 4th AF