The article below was published in the daily newspaper The Austin American, Austin, Texas, USA, pages 1 and 14, on July 8, 1947.
|
By The Associated Press
Two flying discs were reported found in Texas and at least one is being investigated by military officials as the total number of Texans claiming to have seen the mysterious objects passed the 50 mark Monday.
The discs were reported found on a beach near Trinity Bay, near Houston and near Hillsboro.
The Houston Chronicle said a great deal of mystery surrounded the one found near there by Norman Hargrave, a jeweler, Sunday. He first reported that he had found the aluminum disc floating near the beach while he and his wife were walking. He described it minutely, even giving an inscription he said it carried.
Monday he said it was all a joke, but the Chronicle, after extensive checking, said "There are some mysterious facts contained in his (Hargrave's) first report that lend credence to the tale."
Hargrave first said the disc bore this wording: "Military secret of the United States of America, Army Air Forces M4339658. Anyone damaging or revealing description or whereabouts of this missile subject to prosecution by the US government. Call collect at once, LD446, Army Air Forces Depot, Spokane, Wash." He said the words "non-explosive" also were carried.
It was recalled that the initial reports of flying saucers or discs originated in the Spokane area.
The Chronicle, meanwhile, telephoned Spokane, and said it "brought interest" on the part of the commanding officer, but he would not confirm or deny that the missile may have carried the message. Later he referred to Houston as Wright Field, Ohio, but the commanding officer there was out of town.
In Houston, Colonel R. W. Warren, commanding officer of Ellington Field, said he had been instructed by Washington to investigate.
Houston police would not say if they had the missile.
The second flying disc was reported found by Bob Scott, a farmer living two and a half miles east of Hillsboro. He said the disc fell on his place Friday, and that it resembled a saucer. He said it was so bright he could not look at it very long.
He said he was afraid people might believe he was "going to extremes in imagining things" and he told no one but his family until Sunday.
Then he notified O. F. Kissick and Joe Gerick, Hillsboro, who went to the field and investigated. Most of it had melted, they said. Gerick said one piece looked like
(Continued on Page 14, Column 2)
|
(Continued From Page One)
tin foil, but when he picked it up, it appeared to be celluloid.
Another development in Houston was a suggestion by Charles Odom, 23, air force captain in the last war, that the flying discs might be "crystal balls" similar to those he said were used by the Nazis.
Meanwhile more and more Texans reported seeing the flying saucers. Mrs. Sadie McCauley of Houston said she saw seven flying over Texas City at 4:05 p. m. Sunday. She said she and several other passengers on a bus saw them from the Alvin highway. She said they were flying in a single line.
Mrs. R. R. Whitlock of Bonham said she saw one Sunday at 6:10 p. m. She said it was heading south. She said it fit the "usual description."
It's disc-concerting!
Austinties aren't only seeing "flying saucers" they're finding them.
Mrs. Frances Adams and Mrs. Bill Powers, who both work at the State Health Department, discovered a sedentary disc at the corner of East Fifth and Brazos Streets Monday.
Mrs. Adams and Mrs. Powers divided their find. Mrs. Adams brought her half of the four-inch radius circle of shiny pliable metal to The Austin American. Mrs. Powers took hers to the FBI.
While Mrs. Adams was showing newsmen her half of the disc which was shiny on one side and dull on the other, other Austinties were still seeing flying ones.
Sergeant C. F. Clifton, Bergstrom Field aerial radioman, reported seeing one of the "flying saucers" bound toward San Antonio as his plane was leaving there. Other members of the crew also saw the disc.
"I think it was about 18 feet in diameter and looked as though it was made of glass," Sgt. Clifton said. "It was extremely bright and kept flashing."
Sgt. Clifton said that the crew figured that it must have been flying 1,440 miles an hour because it overtook and passed their plane in such a short time. It was round and was flying at a slightly tilted angle.
"The disc seemed to be spinning as it flew," Sgt. Clifton reported. "It blurred radio reception slightly."
Lieutenant Charles O. Anderson was piloting the plane which the disc passed about 4:30 p. m.
Oscar Watson of 6249 Sunset Road reported seeing "four or five spots in the sky flying south faster than any airplane." The discs were tinted red by the setting sun, Watson said.
Joe Metze of 305 West 12th Street, a University of Texas student, reported seeing "several discs flying southeast about 600 miles an hour." Metze described them as dark gray and not as large as an airplane, estimating them to be 20 to 30 feet across.
Later Ben White of Orange called to say that he had seen one "silvery round object flying in a swift up-and-down motion in the vicinity of the Capitol." He said he couldn't judge the speed or size of the objects.
