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Morning, October 3, 1948
FARGO, N. D. (AP) -- A National Guard fighter pilot Saturday told a story of a 30-minutes encounter with a mysterious flying object over this city in the darkness -- and his account was supported by two control tower operator and another flyer.
In a signed statement for Air Force Intelligence, the pilot, Lt. George Gorman of the 178th Fligter squadron, North Dakota Air National Guard, claimed he chased and did aerial maneuvers Friday night with a lighted, disk-like object which outran and out maneuvered him.
Watching him and the object with binocular were Lloyd Jenson and H. E. Johnson, both of Fargo, control tower operators at Hector airport here. Both sais in statements Saturday that no other aircraft had reported to the tower besides Gorman's F-51 fighter and a Cub, whose pilot, Dr. A. E, Cannon of Fargo, also reported watching Gorman and the object dogfight around Fargo.
Gorman said he first caught sight of the lighted object between his ship and the city's lights at about 4,500 feet. The F-51 pilot said he attempted to intercept the object, making head-on passes, but that he turned out and out-ran him for nearly a half jour until he lost it at 17,000 feet. Gorman said his speed at various times ranged from 270 to 400 miles an hour.
December 18, 1948
Mr. Kenneth Arnold
General Mgr.
Great Western Fire Control
Box 387
Boise Idaho
Dear Mr Arnold;
I am sorry that I have been unable to answer your letters. However, I think that you can understand my position better when you know the facts.
First of all I am under the military control of the Tenth Air Force and they have issued direct orders concerning the discs or objects.
Second the Air Material Command has issued orders classifying the information as Secret. And this makes it a General Court Martial to release any more information. The Command has asked that my commanding officer and myself be court martialed for releasing what information we did. I have General Edwards or some high officer to think for refusing to carry it out.
Third the Counter Intelligence Corp have asked that I turn over all information over to them. And I have no doubt the F.B.I. will get around to sending a few letters too.
The public realtion officer released more than he should have and now we are being given a rough time. and they can do it too.
I have a normal amount of curiosity and I have a lot of questions to ask. But then I had a lot of them answered that nite. The rest that I have will have to wait until they get ready to answer them.
One of these days I will be out to Boise and look you up and we can visit. I think that I can be out there just after the first of year.
I would enjoy hearing from you again and I hope to see you soon.
Sincerely
[Signed]
George F. Gorman
1421--13th st. N.
Fargo, N. Dak.
THIS letter received from Lt. George F. Gorman, Fargo, North Dakota, will erase any doubts of the importance of Lt. Gorman's experience in the air with a spherical disk-like lighted object, that reacted in evasive maneuvers to his thought rather than to the physical attitude of his airplane.
This is about the sighting by Lt. Gorman, in Fargo, October 1, 1948.
