Project Blue Book case file: Kenneth Arnold

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

MEMORANDUM FOR THE OFFICER IN CHARGE:

1. On 12 July 1947, a call was made at the newspaper office of the "Idaho Daily Statesman", Soise, Idaho. The aviation editor of the paper, Mr. David N. Johnson, was interviewed in regard to how well he knew Mr. Arnold of Soise, Idaho, and as to the credibility of any statement made by Mr. Arnold. The purpose of this interview was an attempt to verify statements made by Mr. Arnold on 26 June 1947, to various national news services to the effect that he, Mr. Arnold, had seen 9 objects flying in the air above the Cascade Mountain Range of Washington. These objects were subsequently referred to as flying saucers or flying disks and will here-in-after be referred to as such in this report. Mr. Johnson stated that he had known Mr. Arnold for quite a period of time, having had relations with Mr. Arnold on various occasions, due to the fact that both he, Mr. Johnson, and Mr. Arnold were private fliers and frequently got together to talk shop. Mr. Johnson stated that as far as he was concerned anything Mr. Arnold said could be taken very seriously and that he, Mr. Johnson, actually believed that Mr. Arnold had seen the aforementioned flying disks. Mr. Johnson stated that after Mr. Johnson reported having seen the flying disks, that the editor of the paper had assigned him, Mr. Johnson, the assignment of taking the airplane belonging to the newspaper and exhausting all efforts to prove or disprove the probability of flying disks having been seen in the northwest area. The results of this assignment to Mr. Johnson and what he subsequently saw is put forth in a sworn statement signed by Mr. Johnson attached to this report as Exhibit B.

AGENT'S NOTES: Mr. Johnson is a man of approximately 33 to 35 years of age. From all appearances he is a very reserved type of person. Mr. Johnson has logged 2800 hours of flying time in various types of airplanes up to and including multi-engine aircraft. During part of the war years, Mr. Johnson was the first pilot of a B-29 type aircraft being assigned to the Twentieth USAAF and stationed on Tinian Island, in the Pacific. It is the personal opinion of the interviewer that Mr. Johnson actually saw what he states that he saw in the attached report. It is also the opinion of the interviewer that Mr. Johnson would have much more to lose than gain and would have to be very strongly convinced that he actually saw something before he would report such an incident and open himself for the ridicule that would accompany such a report.

1 Incl: Exhibit "B"

UNCLASSIFIED

FRANK K. BROWN, S/A, CIC 5th AF.