65 HS1-834228961 62-HQ-83894 Section 002

Up on he a ring this response , I turned the aircraft b r oadside
to the ob j ect , pulled back the plexigl a s s covering to avoid any
distortion, took my camera f r om the map case , and exposed about 10
seconds ' duration of eight millimeter motion picture fi l m. During
the time the camera was at eye level , I could not see the object be
cause of minuteness of scope introduced by the optical view finder
with which the camera , an f . 1 . 9 Eastman, was equipped .
Taking the camera away and once again centering my gaze on the
object , I observed it to roll so that its edge was presented to me .
At this time it flashed once in the sunlight . It then ap~eared as a
thin black line . It then performed a maneuver which looked as if it
had begun a slo,v roll , or a barrel roll , which instead of being com
pleted , was broken off at about the 180- degree point . The object
rolled out of the top of the maneuver at this point , and I lost sight
of it .
rhis entire performance was observed against the background of
clouds previously formin£ over the Camas Prairie . The object appeared
to me , relatively , as the size of a twenty - five cent piece . I do not
know hov1 .far away 1 t was . I do >1ot know, nor can I truthfully estimate
its speed . I can only say it was not aD airpla>1e , and if it was at a
very sreat distance from me , its speed Ylas great , taking into consider
at l on· that apparent speed is reduced to the viewer if an object is a
very great d i Btance away .
I forgot to look at my clock to determine the exact time I saw
the object . The OAA's log of radio contacts shows my f'irst contact
to rave teen made at 12 : 17 hours . But a few seconds elap~ed between
the time I f'irst sow the object , and the time I called the 0AA 1 s station .
I subsequent l y related over the radio a description of what I
saw , and communicator hlbertson may remenber it . The control tower may
have a recording of the conversation . I have not checked to determine .
The purpose of my relating over the air what I saw was to ·enable
ranid tra'!'lsr>tission of the report to the newspaper , for at that time I
was on assignment and my energies thenceforth were devoted to (1) trans
mitting the information and (2) conducting a further search, which I
did after landing for fuel and to make some telephone calls .
rhe next search, begun within half an hour after landing from the
first one , consumed another two hours , but ,.,as negative . I explored
thoroughly the region where I saw the object .
Immediately after eighting the object , I asked if tPere were other
aircraft in the area . There v1as a P- 51 of the 190th squadron practic-
irig maneuvers in the vicin:lty of Auna , but that was behind me . A C- 82
passed over Boise , but I saw that aircraft go beneath me by some 2 , 000
feet . The P - 51 in the vie inity of l\una proceeded to the area v1here I
saw the objec1<, at my request , and conducted a search . It was nega t i ve .
During the afternoon , flights o.f P - 5ls were sent out to cover the a r e ~ ,
and some of them flew h18h altitude missions on oxygen. These s earche s
were negative .
I was subsequently informed that personnel on both the United Air
Lines side of Gowen fleld , and on the national guard side , observed a
glack object maneuvering in f'ront of the same cloud formation , which by
now had grown so that the clouds reached a probable height of' 1 9 , 000 or
20 , 000 feet from a m3an base of' 13 , 500 or 14 , 000 feet , mean sea level .
Three of these men were national guard i;ersonnel and I talked to them ,
CONFIDENTI1\ L