The Maury Island UFO Incident: The Story behind the Air Force’s first military plane crash

by Charlette LeFevre

  Ray Palmer would be interviewed in 1977 by Guy Baskin and is staunch in his belief in UFOs.

  Palmer would comment in the interview: “Kenneth Arnold fits into it and it’s his 30thanniversary and strangely enough it’s my 33rd because I knew about flying saucers three years before Kenneth Arnold made his first sighting.

  In describing Deros – “Briefly it was about a radioactive flare from the sun about 12,000 years ago which virtually

  wiped out life on earth. While others left for other planets, the persons left behind were called “abanderos” or “Deros” for short. The Deros still had access to some technology, among them a “rolat” disk used to go through caves controlled automatically. They traveled about 1,200 miles per hour.- Guy Baskin, 1977.

  Richard S. Shaver and the Shaver Mysteries

  Richard Shaver In an odd connection to the Maury Island Incident, Ray Palmer is believed to have sought out Arnold to also help further the stories of Richard Shaver. Shaver was a writer who had written a successful series of what he claimed to be true stories of underground tunnels and humanoid figures called “deros” who would fly

  underground crafts much like UFOs.

  Ray Palmer first became familiar with Shaver in 1943 when he fished out of the garbage a crumpled letter his Assistant Editor Howard Browne had read for laughs and tossed. He would print Shaver’s stories under the title “I Remember Lemuria.”

  Shaver was a Pennsylvania steelworker who believed he could hear voices and lived a life where he was in and out of mental institutions but would end up becoming lifelong friends with Palmer. When the Maury Island UFO Incident occurred and Arnold had his sighting, Palmer would say that Shaver would exclaim, “See they [UFO rolats] do come out of the caves!”

  Ted Morello

  Ted Morello’s role in the Maury Island

  Incident would prove significant. Not only

  because Morello was an upstanding reporter for

  Associated Press but because he would be able

  to verify as a third party the calls by the

  mysterious informant, the details related and

  express an urgency to Arnold of his safety.

  Ted Morello was born December 15 1918 and

  died on July 15th, 2007 in New York City at the age of 88 following a stroke.

  Morello had resigned from the United Press sometime before 1948 and had moved to Milwaukee. According to Flying Saucers Over Los Angeles Arnold called Morello and suggested that Morello “had been ‘eased out’ of the Tacoma Bureau because he knew too much about the disks” Flying Saucers Over Los Angeles.

  Morello taught journalism at the University of Washington, then moved to New York where he began work in television and the making of television commercials

  He was a reporter for the United Nations from the late 1960’s on, Morello was twice elected as president of the U.N. Correspondent’s Association, the group he helped establish after the establishment of the U.N. in 1945. - Hasan, Khalid. “Veteran UN newsman Ted Morello dies.” Daily Times July 21,2007

  Sgt. Elmer L. Taff

  Seattle Times, Aug.2 1947

  Sgt. Elmer Taff, one of the survivors of the Kelso Crash was born on August 23rd, 1924 in San Saba, Texas. Taff had left Fort Lawton on a 25-day furlough and was hitching a ride to his home in Mertzon, Texas on the B-25 bomber. “I had just relaxed after takeoff when the left engine burst into flame. I don’t know what caused the fire, but they strapped a parachute on me and pushed me out of the plane”

  “No he said, I’m not going to try for another plane ride to Texas. This time I’m going all the way by bus. They can take all their airplanes—and keep them.

  Landing several miles from the scene of the crash, Taff crossed 200 yards of farm land, awakened residents of a house there, and got a ride into Kelso.

  In an August 2 1947 article in The Seattle Times, he said, “he was through with airplanes for all time…it was his first and he said last flight.”

  Sgt. Taff died in Columbia, South Carolina on October 6th, 2005. Taff was a technician 4th grade station at Fort Lawton, in Seattle.

  Source“Chuting Soldier on first flight says it will be his last” Seattle Times, Aug 2nd, 1947 p.1

  Sgt. Woodrow D. Mathews

  Sgt. Woodrow D. Mathews, Pasadena Jr. College, 1938 Sgt. Woodrow D. Mathews was the other survivor of the Kelso crash. He was injured and taken to Cowlitz General Hospital. Mathews was born October 15th, 1991 in Jefferson, Alabama and died on May 23rd, 2000. He had enlisted in the military in 1946. He married Rena Howard in 1961. Ancestry.com

  The Mysterious Informant

  The mysterious informant was a critical figure in the Maury Island Incident. A person who was reported to have a “deep baritone voice,” he has never been identified or at least disclosed to the public. At one time, the informant related to Lantz he was a telephone operator and “would be back on Tuesday.” His motive? The informant would state, “Don’t think I’m doing this for you.” He wanted somebody or some organization in New Jersey to know about what was going on. Informant using The informant also at one time had to answer another call. Why did he keep his conversations under 20 seconds? Perhaps the informant knew the time it takes to track a call.

  What was in New Jersey in 1947? Was the print media to send a message?

  The first call was actually for Tacoma Times reporter Burt McMurtrie who wasn’t available. McMurtrie was primarily a radio personality and news commentator. He was known locally for his radio show “Breakfast with McMurtrie" on KTAC which was actually located in the Winthrop Hotel. He interviewed locals and celebrities while they dined in the Daffodil Room. In the 30’s he was considered one of the top national radio broadcasters for the Columbia Broadcasting System. He died on October 25th, 1979.

  He was a friend of Fred Crisman. Crisman complained that McMurtrie called him “Freddie” which he did not like.

  Gold, Jon Murder of a City, 1970

  Per FBI files, Paul Lantz of Tacoma Times mentioned a second call on Aug. 1st between 11-noon by an anonymous informant stating he “might have info.” “The caller then hung up after making some statement to the effect that he was a switchboard operator.” Lantz went to the Winthrop Friday (Aug. 1st) noon and found no male operators on duty. Note – the hotel strike did not start until Aug. 3rd and it did not end until Sept. 23, 1947.

  Paul Lantz would also state that at 5:30pm Aug. 1, the informant said “... civilians and the sheriff had been kept away from the wreckage with the Army guarding it. (Wilcox, 1947)

  Paul Lantz would have been the person who would have known more about this figure than anyone. Was Lantz still investigating disks and this incident months later that would warrant a visit by two “Men in Black” at his home?

  In the end, with all the detailed information, it appears the Informant had insight into military calls and immediate information perhaps with new technology.

  It is also possible the informant was an innocent civilian phone operator that felt some moral obligation to let investigator know what was going on.

  The reported calls from the Informant:

  1st– July 31st Thursday 11:30am to Lantz, meeting taking place in 502 concerning disc fragments.

  2nd– Aug. 1, Friday 11-noon – to Lantz, advised big meeting in 502, that the B-25 was carrying disc fragments and that “McChord Field officials had stated it was shot down or sabotaged. 3rd– Aug. 1 5:30pm by United Press Wireman (Ted Morello). Caller stated that the B-25 that crashed was carrying disc fragments and that McChord Field and officers were Capt. Davidson and Lt. Brown, A-2 Intelligence officers. Caller stated this information would verify his information was accurate, as the Army had not released the names. 4th– Aug 1, 6:45pm by UP Morello. Informant again would state B-25 was definitely shot down and that Army Intelligence Officers would not deny it. Civilians and the sheriff had been kept away from the wreckage with the Army guarding it

  5th– Aug 2, 5:30 to UP Morello. Stated B-25 bomber shot
down by a 20mm cannon. C-46 also shot down. Smith would be taken to Wright Patterson for questioning) (Wilcox, 1947 p. 6)

  8:30 pm Paul Lantz related to Arnold about anonymous caller.

  8:30 pm Arnold goes to United Press to talk to Lantz. Notes: There were no reported distress calls to the local airports. It is possible because Channel “A” at Portland was inoperative may have been one reason. Regardless, there is good reason to believe Capt. Davidson maneuvered the plane away from the flight path headed due south and away from the populated cities of Kelso, Longview, and Portland into a heavily forested area, as he knew the plane was going to crash. As it’s not known when the first radio announcement was broadcast, it’s speculative how Crisman knew of the B-25 bomber crash so early the morning of Aug. 1st.

  On August 2nd, 1947, a signed article was put on the United Press teletype by Ted Morello concerning the mysterious informant. “When Morello’s story got on the nationwide United Press wire, The New York Bureau killed it.” Flying Saucers over Los Angeles

  Whoever the Mysterious Informant was, his identity still remains a mystery.

  Rediscovering the Kelso Crash Site.

  In early 2006, we stopped by Kelso to do some research on the Air Force crash. The local Kelso museum had bound volumes of the Kelsonian Tribune. We discovered a news article that was headlined “Flying Disk Investigators Die in Army Bomber Wreck.” which gave main details about the local incident. We started asking locals in the area and were referred to Bob Davenport who still lived in the area. Many of the neighbors recall how the local firefighters helped out the military.

  Kelsonian-Tribune with headlines “Flying Disk Investigators Die in Army Bomber Wreck.” Bob Davenport was one of the first persons at the crash site as a fifteen year old. We interviewed him at the local bowling alley in Kelso, Washington March 18, 2006.

  Robert Davenport of Kelso WA in 2006. Davenport was first on the scene at the crash site as a fifteen year old.

  LeFevre: Can you mention something about the B-25 bomber Kelso crash?

  Davenport: “Early in the morning of 1947 our neighbors woke us up to let us know there had been a plane crash up a mile or so above our place. There had been two men that survived that parachuted out. One of them was injured rather severely

  because he had come down through some big maple trees. The other one had made it down to the neighbor’s place and got a hold of him and he was taken to the hospital early in the morning. It was somewhere after daylight and my father and I and my older brother went up to the crash site to see if possibly anyone else survived. We first came upon a wing that was standing up alongside a fir tree. That was a first indication of where the crash site was. And then the fire and smoke led us to the actual crash, maybe about 300 yards away.

  It wasn’t…there wasn’t any survivors, it was like the plane had come down at a very steep angle... possibly 80 degrees and imbedded part of it in the hillside. The rest of it was scattered all over the creek canyon there. We found the remains of two men. At the time, there was still a lot of fire where the gasoline had gone into the ground and was being ignited by the flames there.

  Other than that, it was a very gruesome place to be that time of morning. We checked out to make sure there was nobody alive around there and then we left and went back home. Later in the day state police came up there and they had quite a hard time getting there with their fancy cars but after that the military came and cordoned the place off up there and then you couldn’t get up there till later.

  When they left, more or less the scavengers showed up and started picking the aircraft apart. But there still remains some of the parts up there. It would be very hard to find.

  I don’t really know much more to tell you other than it was an experience I don’t really care to go over again.

  The military air dropped supplies to the men up there because it was a very rough road up there at the time. So that was our very first experience of seeing anything like that. I was probably fifteen years old at the time so it has been a long time. About all I got to tell you. Anything else you need to know?”

  LeFevre: “Was there any indication of any secrecy or do you think it was a classified mission?”

  Davenport: Well, later on we heard it was carrying some classified documents but that’s all I ever knew of anything like that. Other than that, I don’t know if they found anything. There was a lot of charred paper remains and stuff like that up there and logbooks and stuff of that nature but as far as any classified documents I couldn’t tell you.

  LeFevre: The two officers Capt. Davidson and 1st Lt. Frank M. Brown who perished in the crash were supposedly carrying a strongbox of evidence. Do you know if there was any indication of that or do you know if the military ever found anything?

  Davenport: “There was no mention of that to my knowledge up there. There may have been a strongbox in there but all I saw was charred wreckage.”

  LeFevre: “Well thank you and this has been very educational and informative regarding the Air Force’s first plane crash and definitely an intriguing museum mystery.”

  The First Photo

  Stark, Brent. Dahlquist photo. Longview Daily News, Aug. 1, 1947 After the interview, we decided to check out the local area and see if we could find any further newspaper articles on the crash as the previous year we had discovered a Kelso article that provided more details of the crash area.

  Our efforts proved more fruitful than we had imagined. We discovered not only another article but also a photo of the crash site in the archives of the Longview Daily. The photo was likely taken in the early morning hours by a local photographer for the small newspaper long before the military arrived. As the date was Aug. 1st, it was likely printed for the evening edition of the newspaper. We believe this is the only photo available of the crash made available to the public and the first historical photo of the Air Force’s first plane crash and fatalities. (The Air Force officially separated from the Army in 1947).

  The photo suddenly made the incident seem even more real - more so than any other document could describe and gave a weighted impact to the deaths of Capt. Davidson and 1st Lt. Frank Brown. Kenneth Arnold stated the military authorities had roped off the surrounding 150 acres around the crashed plane and nobody was allowed within that area. According to Kenneth Arnold not even the Civil

  Air Patrol, themselves could approach the crash site. Philip Lipson, Charlette LeFevre, and James Greear at crash site dedication, 2008.

  The Slag

  At the heart of the Maury Island UFO Incident was the main “evidence” – the black lava like rock or metal remnants called slag. Was the slag simply cast offs from the nearby Tacoma smeltering plants or dumpings from Central Washington’s Hanford Nuclear Plant doing secret atomic projects?

  “Maury Fragments Not From Discs” Tacoma Times, Aug.5, 1947, pg3.

  It didn’t take long Tuesday for Dr. Robert Sprenger (above), College of Puget Sound chemistry professor, to identify specimens of “queer, black rock” found in a Maury island gravel pit.

  The stuff which a student at University of Chicago failed to identify was common, ordinary smelter slag, Sprenger said.

  A Chicago news association heard of the specimens and tied them up with flying discs. But Capt. E.H. Smith and Kenneth Arnold did not bother to take any of the samples when they were in Tacoma last week. Material being flown to California aboard the ill-fated B-25 bomber which crashed at Kelso, is believe by The Times to have come from another source, being kept a close secret by military intelligence. (Read story starting on page one.)

  "The actual saucer fragments, and the Tacoma slag, were analyzed by the same agencies. One was found to be slag, the other cannot be explained by any metallurgist. Like the pure tin found in South America, it does not exist naturally on the Earth, nor can it be duplicated. The mystery ingredient is calcium; its purpose is for protection against radioactive material; it is an absolute necessity at heights of 600 miles or more.

  Morello
was reported to be the one that sent the slag to be analyzed by Sprenger. They were identified as slag from the Ruston copper smelter. Sprenger said that Maury Island residents often brought them from the smelter dump to use for bulkheads and retaining walls.

  From The Hindu Madras, July 10, 1947...

  EYE-WITNESS ACCOUNT OF "METALLIC RAIN" CHICAGO, July 8, 1947. A piece of rock-like metal, alleged to have dropped from one of the "Flying Saucers" which have been reported sighted from 38 American States, arrived here today for analysis by metallurgists of Chicago University. The sample was accompanied by one of the most detailed accounts reported of the "Airborne Discs."

  The sender, Mr. Harold Dahl, of Tacoma (Washington State), said that the substance was dropped in heavy rain on June 25 over Puget Sound, near the Canadian Border, from a huge circular flying machine.

  From Ray Palmer’s book “The Real UFO Invasion,” The analysis of the original initial fragments sent to Palmer from Dahl is as follows:

  High Constituents: - Calcium, Iron, Zinc, Titanium. Middle Constituents – Aluminum, Manganese, Copper, Magnesium, Silicon.