Documents / FOIA release
This FBI file section collects July 1947 Bureau memoranda, teletypes, citizen letters and newspaper clippings about reported flying discs. They cover recovered objects at Twin Falls, Idaho, Shreveport, Louisiana, Black River Falls, Wisconsin, and Laurel, Maryland, many judged to be pranks, plus a Grafton, Wisconsin priest's circular saw blade the Milwaukee office called a hoax. A Dallas teletype reports a disc recovered near Roswell resembling a high altitude weather balloon with radar reflector. Kenneth Arnold's own account of his sighting is also included.
“Anderson”1 page
Read from the scan by GLM-OCR; expect the odd misread word.
Office Men. Ondum . UNITED . OES GOVERNMENT TO : MR. D. M. LADD DATE: July 7, 1947 FROM : H. B. FLETCHER SUBJECT: At 10:45 a.m., July 7, 1947, I talked to SAC Johnson of the Milwaukee Office concerning the United Press item appearing in the Washington Post for Monday, July 7, with reference to a flying disc or flying saucer allegedly reported to the Milwaukee Office by Reverend Joseph Brasky of St. Joseph's Church, Grafton, Wisconsin. SAC Johnson advised that the Associated Press and the United Press between the hours 1:00 and 6:00 a.m. today had made inquiry of him as to whether anything had been reported to the Milwaukee Office. He declined to comment. He stated as a matter of fact the priest had not made any contact with him, and he learned from the Associated Press that the priest was intoxicated and as far as the Associated Press was concerned they were not releasing the story because all that was involved was a circular saw. Mr. Johnson stated the Milwaukee Sentinel apparently sent the report out and that they handled United Press service. He stated a photograph of the priest was in this morning's paper holding a circular saw which apparently covers the body of the priest from arm pit to arm pit. Attached to the saw are several wires and two small tubes described as about three inches long and one inch in diameter. The news item in the Milwaukee Sentinel indicates it was believed some prankster had thrown it into the yard, perhaps with a firecracker attached. Mr. Johnson stated the Milwaukee Sentinel had stated the priest would make a report of this matter today to the Milwaukee Office. I instructed SAC Johnson in the event the priest made a report to furnish details of the report immediately, but in view of the nature of the information in his possession, no inquiry should be conducted at the present. HPF: cnn 16 INDE FIVE NO . - 58 JUL 1941
FOIA release, from the fbi-vault collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is above. The text was read from the page images by GLM-OCR; expect the odd misread word. 79 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.