FBI file: UFO, UFO Part 03

Read from the scan by GLM-OCR; expect the odd misread word.

Statement of at Boise, Idaho, July 12, 1947

To Whom It May Concern

On the sixth day of July, 1947, I received from of the Statesman Kewspapers, incorporated in Idaho as The Statesman Printing company, an assignment which was in substances

"Conduct an aerial search of the northwest states in an effort to see and photograph a flying disc. Conduct this petrol for so long a time as you believe reasonable, or until you see a flying disc."

In accordance to these instructions, I took the Statesman's airplane, and with a passenger, flew a seven and one-half hour mission on the seventh day of July, 1947. This mission was without result. It covered an area embracing the confines of the Hanford plant in Washington, and territory between and around Mt. Rainier and Mt. Adams, where I first reported seeing objects henceforth described as saucers or discs.

On the eighth day of July, 1947, I took an AT-6 of the 190th Fighter squadron, Idaho National Guard, of which I am a member, and flew to northern Idaho, into northwestern Montana briefly, to Spokane, Washington, and back to Boise by way of Walla Walla, Washington, and Pendleton, Oregon. This search also was negative.

On the ninth day of July, 1947, I continued the search, again using a national guard AT-6, this time centering my efforts over the Owyhee mountains west and southwest of Boise, a portion of the Mountain Lone desert on a track southeast of the Mountain Lone army air base, thene into the Sawtooth mountains, and back in the general direction of Boise on a line carrying me well to the north of the Shafer butte forest service lookout station, into the Horseshoe Bond area, and thence back in a southwesterly direction to a point between Boise and the village of Meridian, west of Boise a few miles.

During this march, which lasted approximately two and one-half hours, I flew under and around rapidly forming cumulus clouds over that area known as the Carsa Prairie, east of Boise. The clouds were near the village of Fairfield in that valley, and Fairfield is 75 miles airline distance east of Boise. At that time I saw nothing in the vicinity of these clouds.

At the time I reached the point between Boise and Maridian, I was flying at an altitude of 14,000 feet mean sea level, which would be a mean average of 11,000 feet above the earth in this area, not considering errors in the altimeter induced either by barometric changes since my takeoff, or by the temperature at that altitude.

I turned the aircraft on an easterly heading, pointing toward Gowen Field, and had flown on that course for perhaps a minute when there suddenly appeared in the left hand portion of my field of vision an object which was black and round.

I immediately centered my gaze on the object. At that time, due to its erratic movement, I thought I was seeing a weather balloon. I called the CAA's communication station at Boise, and asked if the weather station had recently released a balloon. The reply from communicator Albertson was that the bureau had not. I do not remember his exact words; I am under the impression he said "not for several hours" or gave no the exact time of the previous release, which was around 03:30 that day.