Donut-shaped flying objects were reported near Thurston County in 1947

There are many reasons why people believe unidentified flying objects (UFOs) are real and reflect an otherworldly presence.

Some of these reasons include a desire to find meaning in our own existence, the comfort some find in the thought we are “not alone” in the universe, the influence of books and movies, to fill a spiritual void, the psychological need to escape and ever-present conspiracy theories.

Many scientists say UFO sightings are misidentifications of other, explainable objects, such as weather balloons, satellites and secret military aircraft. There is no definitive evidence that UFOs are flown by space aliens. Despite this, approximately 42% of Americans say they believe UFOs are flown by beings from other worlds.

An image of a flying saucer.

Courtesy of Pixabay

The first sighting of a UFO in North America occurred in 1639, when John Winthrop, Puritan Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, reported that James Everell, “a sober, discreet man” and two others rowing a boat near the Charles River saw a “a great light, a saucer” as it hovered nearby.

Winthrop reported, “When (the object) stood still, it flamed up and was about three yards square.” Further, the boatmen said the mysterious object “ran as swift as an arrow,” darting back and forth over a 2-mile distance near the village of Charlestown.

Winthrop indicated, “Diverse other credible persons saw the same light, after, about the same place.” Five years later, on Jan. 18, 1644, Winthrop wrote, “About midnight, three men, coming in a boat to Boston, saw two lights arise out of the water near the north point of the town cove, in form like a man, and went at a small distance to the town, and so to the south point, and there vanished away.”

On Oct. 30, 1938, “The War of the Worlds” radio broadcast on Halloween by actor Orson Welles’ Mercury Theater, based on the 1898 H.G. Wells novel of the same name, caused widespread chaos and panic with some listeners believing a martian invasion of the U.S. was occurring.

UFO sightings increased in the late 1940s and early 1950s during the cold war between the U.S. and U.S.S.R. It is thought this was due to increased national concern about adversarial aircraft, the relatively primitive state of radar, the U.S. government’s use of UFO narratives to hide secret weapons testing, the public hysteria fueled by the threat of atomic war, and the influence of science fiction books and movies. The most famous incident was the supposed crashed alien spaceship near Roswell, New Mexico, in 1947, increasing America’s obsession.

On June 21, 1947, Harold Dahl and Fred Crisman claimed to see six circular donut-shaped flying objects over Puget Sound’s Maury Island north of Tacoma. Dahl said one of the crafts ejected pieces of metal that fell on his boat, injuring his son and killing his dog. This incident, thought by the FBI to be a hoax, became known as the “The Maury Island Incident.” Dahl later said a mysterious “man in a black suit,” who he presumed was a government agent, told him not to talk about the event. This inspired the "Men in Black" movies.

On June 24, 1947, respected businessman and experienced private pilot Kenneth Arnold, founder of the Idaho Search and Rescue Pilots Association and member of the Idaho sheriff’s aerial posse, was searching for a downed U.S. Marine Transport 20 miles west of Mount Rainier. The transport crash claimed the lives of 32  marines.

During his search, Arnold claimed to see a chain of nine shiny, metallic, circular, saucer-like UFOs, each 100 feet across with no discernible tail, flying at approximately 1,200 miles per hour! This was twice as fast as any known airplane at the time; months later, on Oct. 14, 1947, Colonel Chuck Yeager flew the Bell X-1 rocket airplane at 700 miles per hour (faster than the speed of sound).

Arnold said the objects flipped, banked and weaved through the sky “like a saucer if you skip it across water.” The skies were completely clear, the weather good with light wind. Arnold said the UFO left him with an “eerie feeling.” The term “flying saucer" was coined by The Chicago Sun newspaper, reporting on Arnold’s observation with the June 26, 1947, headline “Supersonic Flying Saucers Sighted by Idaho Pilot.”

Kenneth Arnold

Smithsonian Institute

In addition to Arnold, Dahl and Crisman, four other eyewitnesses reported seeing similar objects in the sky over Washington state in June and July 1947. Then, on July 4, 1947, United Airlines flight 105 crew headed to Pendleton, Oregon, reported as many as nine disk-like flying objects. These sightings increased the public’s fascination with UFOs.

Arnold’s and the other eyewitnesses’ observations were investigated by the U.S. military. The U.S. Air Force deemed Soviet aircraft the most likely cause of these observations, although the CIA highlighted the credible nature of some of the reports.

Arnold maintained the accuracy of his sighting until his death in 1984. We will never know for sure what Arnold and the others saw in 1947. However, UFOs and flying saucers have held our attention and fascination ever since!

Ira Wesley Kitmacher is an Olympia-based historian and author, writing “Haunted Puget Sound,” “Pacific Northwest Legends and Lore” and other published books. He leads tours based on his books. Ira is a speaker at various public venues. He is featured on television, radio and other media. Ira is a Commissioner on the Thurston County Historic Commission. He is a professor, having taught at Georgetown University and other colleges. Ira is a retired senior federal executive and attorney.