What Stopped the First UFO Convention?

There was no Ufology as we know it in 1949. There were not yet any UFO non-fiction books, newsletters, clubs or organizations, and therefore, no saucer celebrities. Yet it was a pivotal year in UFO history, transforming flying saucers from a novelty newspaper topic into a legitimate scientific mystery. The flying saucer fever that began with Kenneth Arnold in 1947 nearly died out several times in the following two years, but sightings or manufactured publicity kept stoking the flames. On April 27, 1949, the second-biggest saucer story to hit newspaper headlines was generated by a press release. The U.S. military’s Office of Public Information published a 22-page statement from the Air Force, “a digest of preliminary studies made… on ‘Flying Saucers.’" It emphasized that while the majority of sightings reported were caused by misidentifying planes, stars, birds, balloons, etc., not all reports could be explained, “there are still question marks in the ‘Saucer Story.’" The press seized on it and quoted out of context that, “The ‘saucers’ are not a joke.”

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, April 27, 1949

That sets the stage for what happened a few months later in Alexandria, Louisiana

 

The Flying Saucer City

Alexandria sits in the center of the state of Louisiana, and in 1949, the city had a growing population of about 34,000. On July 5, two witnesses reported a flying saucer sighting, the city’s first of many.  

Mrs. Edward Wolf and her sister, Mrs. V. Dardeau, were sitting outside July 5 at 9:30 p.m. when they saw an object fly by, lower and somewhat slower than a plane would go. Mrs. Wolf told the Air Force investigator that she spotted a disc-like object the size of auto tire, gray with luminous amber center. She observed it for about 30 seconds as it flew or drifted like a balloon, then it was lost from sight by trees. 

The Town Talk, July 6, 1949

The second sighting was reported in The Town Talk, July 8, 1949.

Saucer Takes Peek at City

Five persons today reported another mysterious flying saucer took a peep at Alexandria at 9 o’clock last night. Mrs. G. S. Hart, who made the discovery, said she had no idea how big it was. She said she and four others watched it almost five minutes.

“At first, I thought it was a falling star,” she said. “It was all lit up. Then it stopped or changed course and drifted toward the east, then it moved toward the west and changed its course once more and disappeared in the east.”

Mrs. Hart, who lives at 1414 Military highway, Pineville, was visiting Mrs, S. E. Pool 1823 Warshauer street. They were sitting on the lawn with Mrs. Georgie Smith, 1822 Warshauer street, when the object first appeared. Mrs. Smith, Mrs. Hart’s niece, was the first to dub it a flying saucer and the other agreed. They went across the street and called Mr. and Mrs. W. D. Phillips, 1819 Warshauer street and they also saw the object.

“It grew brighter as it came down,” Mrs. Hart said, “Then it began drifting. I couldn’t give you any guess as to how high it was. No, we did not hear any noise.”

Mrs. Phillips confirmed the report. She said the most puzzling thing about it all was the fact the object disappeared behind the trees, then apparently made a 180-degeree turn and came back.

This sighting was also investigated, and a report was filed by Troy R. Sherman, S/A, of Barksdale AFB, 7/15/49.

The National I-Have-Seen-A Flying-Saucer Convention

At this time, Adras Paul LaBorde was 34, and wrote for the Alexandira newspaper. During World War II, LaBorde served as a lieutenant in the U.S. Army Air Corps, and wrote the 1944 book, Roger Wilco: ABC of Radio for Flyers. LaBorde started with The Town Talk in 1945 and wrote the column, "The Talk of the Town," also working as a reporter, and later the editor.

The Town Talk, March 17, 1958

LaBorde was president of Alexandria’s Young Men’s Business Club, which was formed in 1947 to “encourage the advancement of material prosperity and progress” of the city. The club hosted luncheons, talks, tours, and other civic-minded events, mostly with the underlying purpose of stimulating the town’s economy. LaBorde and many of the other YMBC members had served in the military during WW II, and they were comfortable cooperating with government officials and agencies.

The Town Talk, Nov. 11, 1949

From his newspaper job, Laborde saw the huge public excitement over the local flying saucer sighting reports. Almost on a lark, he was inspired to suggest idea of the YMBC holding a convention, a national conference for flying saucer witnesses. The story ran in the local papers, then it was picked up and spread nationwide. 

The Town Talk, July 8, 1949

A “deluge” of letters from interested parties started to arrive, from sincere witnesses, and also jokers and crackpots. The YMBC replied, inviting the witnesses to attend. Meanwhile, more people in Alexandria were reporting UFO sightings. Two separate reports, an hour apart: Mr. C. S. DuPree. Also, Miss Bobbie Owens (14) Witnesses eight & nine. 

The Town Talk, July 9, 1949

The Times (Shreveport LA) July 15, 1949, reported that, “Delegates are coming from New York, California, Florida, New Jersey, Texas, Delaware, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Missouri, Kansas and Louisiana.” It also reported that, “at least two government agencies will have official observers to hear stories and take notes.”

Alexandria has a smaller neighboring town, Pineville, which sits just across the Red River. The Pineville News, July 15, 1949, reported details of two recent saucer sightings in the area, and concluded, "It's becoming harder and harder to be skeptical about these mysterious discs." When the Air Force investigated, three newspaper employees confessed to concocting the story “purely as fun.”

On July 17, Mrs. Andrew Rino, her husband, and two neighbors reported seeing a stationary object too bright to be a star, stationary for about ten minutes total before it disappeared.

The Town Talk, July 18, 1949

By late July, the YMBC the had organized a committee, with “Earl Bordelon chairman of the flying saucer witness conference.” The date was set for Saturday and Sunday Dec. 10-11, 1949, at the Hotel Bentley. 

The FBI, The Army and the Air Force were Watching

With all the media attention, the local interest from sightings, and especially the volume of mail received, the YMBC’s prospects of bringing witnesses together looked good. The CNS article of July 22, 1949, stated, "It may have been a big joke when it started, but it’s serious business now, this business of a convention for flying saucer witnesses." Government files show that the flying saucer convention was a matter of some concern.

YMBC officer A.M. D’Angelo invited FBI Special agent Walter E. Moehle to the convention and told him about their many letters from potential attendees. The info was forwarded to headquarters, and the FBI was concerned about potential fraud. The FBI document stated: “This information is being furnished the Bureau, as it is possible such an enterprise may cause people to falsify that they have seen flying discs or flying saucers. Such falsifications might be made so that they might attend such a convention or become official delegates thereto.”

FBI Memo, July 21, 1949

The FBI also got a tip from the Army. Someone from Military Intelligence in the G-2, Fourth Army alerted the FBI’s SAC of San Antionio, Texas, on July 15, 1949, that he’d seen a newspaper (AP) story on the YMBC’s convention plans. The information was forwarded to the FBI director.

FBI Memo, July 26, 1949

In mid-July, an investigators from Barksdale Air Force Base were in town interviewing local witnesses and preparing case reports. Apparently, one also talked to A.M. D’Angelo of the YMBC, who briefed him on the convention’s progress. The YMBC wanted to include officials and investigators from the U.S. government and planned to invite representatives from the FBI, the Air Force (Office of Special Investigations), the Office of Naval Intelligence, the Army, and investigators from Wright-Patterson AFB. A memo dated Aug. 9, 1949, from Major Edward R. Ford of the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, revealed, “A representative of the 9^th OSI District will attend the convention.” The information was passed up to the brass, classified under “Subversive Activity.”

Air Force document, Aug. 9, 1949

The Air Force and FBI may have regarded the convention as trouble since it would spotlight witnesses as celebrities. To be included in the events and publicity, attention-seekers might make false flying saucer reports. A reservation was made for Lt. Col. John C. McClendon to attend. He was from the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, Barksdale AFB.

As the convention date approached, more witnesses surfaced. The Town Talk reported that Abel E. Dauzat, Albert Vanderlick, and Albert Traver had each seen a flying saucer in late August. On Sept 2, 1949, Mrs. John M. Sherill saw a fiery UFO, and the report was investigated by the Air Force. Also, the same month about 40 miles away in Tullos, J. E. Smith, sr. and Emery Watson had a sighting. For the next few months, sightings intermittently continued in the area.

 The Associated Press and news agencies continued to report on the convention plans and that the YMBC had been “deluged with mail from most states and Great Britain.” They had replied, reportedly inviting 50 witnesses across the USA to attend. The convention got some additional free publicity via a series of advertisements from the American Bank of Carlsbad, Ohio.

Carlsbad Current Argus, Oct. 3, 1949

 

The Last Month before the Convention

In mid-November, the Associated Press reported the “Club officials said invitations have gone out to more than 50 persons in a dozen states who have reported they saw the mysterious flying objects.” However, the YMBC had only received one confirmed registration from out of state. It came from Mrs. Eliza Taylor of Valdosta, Georgia, whose sighting had been reported in The Atlanta Journal, July 15, 1949. Her case had also been investigatedby the Air Force. 

The Tuscaloosa News, Nov. 17, 1949 

Preston McGraw’s interview of  LaBorde was a widely published United Press article. Here’s how it appeared in The Daily Herald, (Provo, Utah) Nov. 18, 1949:

Flying Saucer Witnesses Hard to Find

Alexandria, La. Nov. 18 (UP) - A young businessman who wants to find out whether flying saucers are fact or mirage said today he is having a hard time getting 10 witnesses together for a convention. Adras Laborde got the idea of a ‘flying saucer witness’ enclave last Summer and began writing letters to people who say they saw the peculiar objects flitting across the sky. Laborde set December 10 for the meeting here and said he would hold the convention if he could get 10 people to come. So far he has only two reservations.

“My idea is to get as many witnesses as I can together, compare their stories and try to determine whether flying saucers are facts or mirages,” Laborde said. But the way things look now, he may have to postpone the meeting and work up more saucer enthusiasts.

Laborde said that he is getting a show of interest from air force intelligence. One of the reservations is from Lt. Col. John C. McClendon of the air force training command at Barksdale Field, La. The air force made McLendon’s reservation, Laborde said, “so it appears that G-2 (intelligence) is just as anxious as we are to find out what people are seeing.”

The other reservation came from Mrs. Eliza Taylor of Valdosta, Ga. Laborde said Mrs. Taylor just wrote and told him she would be glad to compare notes with other observers. Otherwise, Laborde said, the biggest response has been from middle-aged widows. They seem interested but don’t see how they can get here for the meeting. One widowed letter-writer said she would come if Laborde would pay her expenses. He said he couldn’t do that.

Most witnesses are serious, Laborde said. “They are convinced they saw mysterious flying objects and what they want to learn all they can about them. There is a chance that many of them will attend.” Two of the less serious witnesses who wrote that they could not come were Charles and Greta Carpenter of Wilmington, Ohio. But they did send Laborde good wishes, along with a paper plate equipped with wings which could be used to decorate the convention hall.

Laborde admitted that his interest is not entirely in flying saucers. He is president of the Young Men’s Business Club, here and secondarily, he said, he hopes to get publicity for the club. Just on the chance that 10 witnesses won’t appear, Laborde is also organizing a “witnesses club” which limits the expenditure to the price of a postage stamp for an application. So far he has received membership applications from 2 states and the United Kingdom.

Failure to Launch

The Town Talk, Dec. 1, 1949, carried news for the YMBC meeting: “President Adras LaBorde told the club that Life Magazine was interested in covering the proposed convention of flying saucer witnesses. But, he said, the convention may be postponed because of lack of advance reservations.”

The YMBC was co-sponsor of a big annual event for fisherman, the Garfish Rodeo held Aug. 8-14. We can only speculate, but it’s reasonable to think that planning and promoting the flying saucer convention wasn’t given their entire attention that summer. Their model for events was to invite people to show up, hosting gatherings like dinners, award ceremonies, competitions, and so on. There had never been a flying saucer convention before, so the YMBC didn’t have a model to follow. All they announced was that witnesses would exchange and compare stories. There was nothing said about any programming, speakers, presentations, entertainment or attractions. Guest were being asked to travel at their own expense for hundreds of miles south, then provide the program themselves. 

Maybe the plan for the convention was doomed from the start, anyway. They intended to be exclusive, inviting only witnesses and investigators, not the general public. That’s just not how show business is done. The convention was officially called off on Dec. 7, 1949. 

The Town Talk, Dec. 7, 1949

The next week, Alexandria’s Young Men’s Business Club hosted their annual banquet and for them, life went on without flying saucers.

The Town Talk, Dec. 19, 1949

Bad timing? Maybe in more ways than one. Scheduling the convention in December two weeks before Christmas was a poor choice to attract people with families. Maybe the YMBC was just too early. Just a few weeks later in December, True magazine published an explosive bestselling article that turned the UFO topic into an enduring enterprise, “The Flying Saucers are Real,” by Donald E. Keyhoe.

In 1949, the YMBC helped launch the ship, yet somehow missed the boat themselves.

Triangular UFO Formation in Idaho, July 24, 1949

The U.S. Air Force admitted in 1952 that while most UFOs could be explained, others remained unidentified, including some “reports that have been made by credible observers of relatively incredible things.” This is one of those cases.

It happened just after noon on July 24, 1949, and involved a credible observer who was not seeking publicity. He reported a daylight encounter with a formation of unknown triangular aircraft demonstrating extraordinary maneuvers and performance. As they blew past his plane, electromagnetic interference affected his engine.

 

Piper Clipper, type of plane flown by the witness.

The news was published in The Idaho Statesman, July 25, 1949, written by Dave Johnson, Aviation Editor. The lone witness spoke to authorities but insisted his name be kept out of the press.

Here's a slightly condensed version, from the paper’s evening edition:

Strange Flying Objects Leave Boise…

Investigation By Air Force To Be Started
Mysterious Craft Pass
Frightened Flyer
At Very Close Range

 A Boise valley pilot told Sunday of seeing seven V-shaped flying objects at close range over the Mountain Home desert, and said the experience left him “frightened and shaken.”

The strange craft, he said, were not United States aircraft, as far as he could determine, and they had no visible means of propulsion, yet traveled at what he said was a “tremendous rate of speed.”

It has been learned that the Air Force's intelligence division is sending an operative to investigate the incident.  The Boise valley pilot released the information only on the condition that his name not be used.  He is the manager of one of the valley's major airports.

The pilot said the seven objects, or aircraft, came within 1000 or 2000 feet of his plane as he was flying toward Boise, about 10 miles west of Mountain Home.

No Pilot Discernible

They looked like a V, he said, with a circular body within the V and a belly-like object sitting under the nose of the V.  He said that he could see no sign of a pilot or “anything like a human being” in the aircraft.

The color, he said, was not the metallic color one usually associates with military aircraft.  He said it was “neither white nor gray” but a shade that he had never seen before.

A circular portion of the body just behind the nose of the V appeared to change in color from time to time, he said, and the outer edges of the V seemed to [oscillate] once or twice during the two minutes he had the craft under observation.

The pilot saw the objects at 12:05 p.m. yesterday while he was at an altitude of 10,000 feet on the right hand side of the highway from Mountain Home to Boise.

No Markings on Craft 

He said the objects came up from his left side at about 9000 feet and crossed in front of his plane to the right, and disappeared on an easterly heading at “tremendous speed.”

There were no visible markings on the craft, he said. Their formation was unlike any ordinary military formation flying. He said they were in two “tight lines of three each, with the seventh object either in the middle of the lines or slightly above.”

He said he could not see a propeller or any smoke trail indicating jet or rocket power in the objects.

The pilot said the objects departed between the mountains and the town of Mountain Home. The Mountain Home air base, informed of the occurrence, said it had “no experimental aircraft on the field.”

And, the Air Force's flight center at McChord Field, Wash., said no formation of aircraft had been cleared through this area. The pilot said the experience left him with a “funny, ghostly feeling.”

The Associated Press and United Press news agencies picked up the story and it spread nationwide.

Associated Press story - Tyler Morning Telegraph, July 25, 1949

The Air Force File

At the time, Unidentified Aerial Objects were being investigated by the U.S. Air Force under Project Grudge, and they were on this case immediately. The information that follows is chiefly based upon the file held in the records of Project Blue Book and contains details far beyond what appeared in the press.

 

Clark’s sketches of the UFO made for the Air Force

Harry Frank Clark leased the small Ritchey Field Airport from the city of Nampa, Idaho in 1939, serving as its manager. He also opened Clark’s Flying Service there with his wife Vivienne, the business including crop dusting and a flight school. During World War II, he was a commander in the local Civil Air Patrol, a flight instructor training pilots for the U.S. Army and Navy. (For further biographical details, see the 1940s entry from Who’s Who for Idaho.)

Harry Frank Clark (1899–1988)

At the time of his sighting, Harry Clark was 49 years old, with 21 years of flying experience. He was flying his new Piper Clipper in a nearly cloudless sky, visibility excellent. Clark initially thought he was seeing F-51 Mustangs in an unusual formation until he got a closer look and saw the shape was all wrong. These objects had a and they had a larger wingspan than a Mustang and were flying at about twice its top speed. He assumed the objects were metal airframes, but their color was, “Darker than normal aluminum skin and not shiny. …seemed to be between a light gray and a dirty white with no markings…” They had no visible means of propulsion, no windows or portholes, and the flat triangles scarcely had room for a person or an engine as we know it.

 

F-51 Mustang compared to the UFO.

The description of the UFOs from the Project Grudge interviews: 

“…Clark said they were delta shaped flying wings. He estimated their span as being between that of an F-51 and an A-26 aircraft (35 to 55 feet), their length (nose to trailing edge) at about 20 to 30 feet, and their thickness at 2 to 5 feet. Clark said that the objects were a light color except for a circle of dark color of approximately 12 feet in diameter… and that the bottom of the object was flat except for a shallow dome-like protrusion of approximately 10-12 feet in diameter, with a depth of approximately 2 to 5 feet.”

 

The report by Lt. Col. Earl J. Liversay report described the maneuvers in the aerial encounter:

“Mr. Clark was enroute from Burley, Idaho, to Nampa, Idaho, in a Cub Cruiser when the objects were sighted. When the formation was first sighted they were going in approximately the same direction as Mr. Clark and were approximately one-fourth (1/4) of a mile to his left and below. Mr. Clark was cruising at ten (10) thousand feet at the time. He observed the formation until it made the one hundred and eighty (180) degree turn at which time Mr. Clark descended in his aircraft and made a ninety (90) degree turn to the left in an effort to intercept the formation. He was able to get below the level of the formation at eight (8) thousand five (5) hundred feet at which time he noticed the dark circular bulge on the bottom side of the objects. Because of their speed the flying objects soon became lost from the sight of Mr. Clark who proceeded on to his destination. Mr. Clark is known personally by Captain [redacted] of this organization who states that in his opinion Mr. Clark is a reliable witness.” 

Simulated approximation of the UFO formation.

When the objects made their 180-degree turn, Clark thought they were attacking his plane. The extraordinary maneuver was made in unison by the formation of objects, “without a bank or skid.” Clark originally observed the objects from above but as they changed course, got a good look at them from the front and in profile. As they flew past him, he expected great turbulence but there was nothing, not even a sound. However, his plane engine began running rough. The objects flew away from him at 600 mph or so, but they did not gradually fade from view as expected, they suddenly “disappeared from sight.”

 

After a few minutes’ thought, Clark made an emergency radio transmission to Gowen Field (Boise, Idaho) asking them to check for aircraft in the area. The results were negative, and a subsequent Air Force inquiry found no records of any military aircraft flying in the area.

 

Once he landed back at his airfield in Nampa, Clark had a mechanic inspect the engine. All eight of his spark plugs were found to have “been shorted and burned out,” and were discarded and replaced. When the Air Force investigator asked for them, only seven were found in the waste can. They were examined at the lab at Wright-Patterson AFB. “A test of the spark plugs from Clark’s plane failed to show any evidence of having broken down and were found to be entirely serviceable." The files provide no insight into the conflicting information.

 

Unidentified

 

The Air Force investigated into September, but were unable to locate any additional witnesses, or anything to either prove or disprove Clark’s report, eventually the case was closed as “Unidentified.”

The 30-page file can be read at Fold3, 24 July 1949, Mt Home, Idaho. Or at NICAP’s site in a single PDF.

Harry Clark did not seek fame as a UFO witness and as far as is known, his life was not disrupted by the sighting. He continued to operate his flying service until his retirement in 1975. He died Jan. 4, 1988, and was buried in Caldwell, Canyon, Idaho. No mention of the UFO sighting was made in his obituary, which can be found at the Find a Grave site.

Noah Clubb and the UFO Crash Retrieval Case

There’s a UFO crash retrieval case that’s been forgotten. In April 1949, newspapers reported that fragments from a flying saucer had been recovered, and were being examined by the Air Force. 

The story begins like another you may have heard, with a rancher finding some strange metal debris from the crash of an unidentified flying object. While riding on horseback in late April 1946, rancher Noah L. Clubb was in an open, rocky treeless terrain 6 miles south-southwest of Delta Colorado when he made a discovery, but it wasn’t made public until three years later. Clubb was 55 years old at the time, a respected citizen and family man, not prone to foolishness. After seeing the constant news coverage about flying saucers, he came forward with what he’d found, and dutifully reported it to the authorities. The story as disclosed in the United Press article from April 7, 1949: 

Flying Disc Segments Recovered in Colorado 

MONTROSE, Colo. (UP) Air force intelligence men have recovered two segments of what may have been one of the flying discs that caused widespread speculation during the summer of 1947, and have supposedly been seen during the last few days. One of the segments was in the possession of Noah L. Clubb of Montrose, until he was requested Tuesday to turn it over to the intelligence men. The intelligence men were reported to have spent two days scouring a mile square section of rugged country about 15 miles west of Delta, where a second and longer segment was reported found. Pieced together the segments evidently were part of a wheel-shaped instrument about four feet in diameter, the rim being of aluminum construction. It was slightly less than two inches across and one inch thick. On the inner edge of the wheel, at intervals of about three inches, were tube-like wicks about two inches long and of brass construction. Each wick, which witnesses said might have been fuel feeders, bore an even number.

 Another version from the Santa Cruz Sentinel, April 7, 1949.

It seems too close in time for it to be coincidence, but the same month, the FBI was also being questioned about the recovery of a flying saucer, one said to be made in Japan.

Believe It or Not!

Robert Ripley was the creator of the famous Ripley's Believe It or Not! newspaper panel series, then brought the franchise to radio, then as an NBC television show in March 1949. 

On April 13, 1949, Ripley sent a Western Union telegram to radio commentator Walter Winchell: 

“Have the only authentic Japanese flying saucer ever recovered in this country. … Would like very much to have you join me on the Believe it or Not television show next Tuesday April 19th NBC network 9:30 to 10:00 PM and give your comments on the flying disc and your exclusive knowledge…”

Winchell forwarded the telegram to the FBI with the handwritten note:

“To J. Edgar Hoover – True?” 

FBI files contain an Office Memorandum. Subject: Flying Discs. To: Mr. [Redacted], From: [Redacted] 26 May 49. An FBI agent consulted Colonel [Redacted] of USAF Office of Special Investigations (OSI) about a recovered saucer. For whatever reason, the results were negative:

“He advised he would check with the authorities at right field to determine if any information is available concerning the recovery of a Japanese flying saucer. Colonel [Redacted] has now advised that there is no information available in any arm of the Air Force to the effect that any flying saucers of any kind have been recovered in the United States.”

FBI “Unexplained Phenomenon” files pages 26 and 27 of, “UFO Part 6”
https://vault.fbi.gov/UFO/UFO%20Part%206%20of%2016/view#document/p26
https://vault.fbi.gov/UFO/UFO%20Part%206%20of%2016/view#document/p27

Robert Ripley died weeks later of a heart attack at the age of 59, on May 27, 1949. We found no mention elsewhere of Ripley presenting a Japanese flying saucer anywhere, so apparently his plans did not come together. Read on to see how his claims may have been connected to the UFO parts discovered by Noah Clubb.

Back to the Saucer Debris Investigation

Like with the Roswell flying disc story, the mystery of Clubb’s saucer was solved in one day. 

Project Blue Book file: 4 April 1949, X Delta, Colorado 

From page 5 of the April 8, 1949, Phoenix, Arizona Republic:

Relic Is Identified As Jap War Gadget 

DENVER, Apr. 7 (AP) That "whazzit" found in Southwestern Colorado wasn't a forerunner of a new war. It was a relic of the old one part of a Japanese incendiary balloon. So said Maj. Lester J. Seibert of the Lowry Air Force Base office of special investigation Thursday. Noah Clubb found the curved, hollow piece of metal near Montrose Wednesday. Knobs protruded from the inside of what looked like a small portion of a wagon wheel.

As is often the case, the hype gets the newspaper front page, but the disappointing correction that follows gets lost deep inside. Far more people saw the initial story than the news it was solved.

Project Blue Book files state that the Air Force investigators recovered about half of the device and shipped them to Wright Field to be photographed and examined. The fragments were determined to be: “Definitely identified as ballast ring from a Japanese incendiary balloon.” 

Noah Clubb was named, but his discovery was discussed in “Something in the Sky,” for Daniel Lang's “A Reporter at Large” column for the Sept. 6, 1952, New Yorker Magazine. (Later collected in his 1954 book, The Man in the Thick Lead Suit.)

For a time in the spring of 1949, it looked as though a Colorado rancher had been harboring a piece of a flying saucer for three years. Back in April, 1946, the rancher, riding his horse on a high, rocky mesa, had come across a bit of tattered rigging attached to a steel ring. He took it back to his house, tossed it into a closet, and forgot about it. Then, belatedly reflecting on the wave of saucer sightings, he recalled the contraption in his closet. He showed it to two friends, one of whom, an omniscient type, stated definitely that it was part of a flying saucer. ‘I've seen too many saucers not to know one when I'm holding one in my own hand,'’ he said. The rancher forwarded his find to Wright Field, where it was identified as a remnant of one of the incendiary balloons the hopeful Japanese dispatched across the Pacific during the war in an effort to start forest fires.

The Pre-Saucer US Government Cover-Up

In 1944-5, over 9,000 incendiary balloons were launched from Japan’s island of Honshu. The balloons travelled at a high-altitude across the over the Pacific Ocean carried by the high-speed currents of the jet stream. Fu-go: The Curious History of Japan's Balloon Bomb Attack on America by Ross Coen provides more information. The balloons were fusen bakudan (balloon bombs), but the Japanese Imperial Army gave them the code name fu-go. 

“Measuring over 30 feet in diameter and filled with hydrogen… Each balloon carried four incendiary bombs and one thirty-pound high explosive bomb, all designed to drop in a timed sequence once the vehicle had completed its transoceanic voyage…” 

These balloon flights resemble later UFO events in a few ways. There was a government policy of secrecy, and it had two goals, prevent the Japanese military from getting valuable targeting information, and to avoid a public panic. Western Air Command held meetings with civilian pilots who were asked to report sightings to the military while remaining silent to the general public. Many confirmed sightings were reported, but there were also many false ones, the most common cause for which was the planet Venus. One report not made public at the time, was from a credible witness reported a relatively incredible thing. A woman in Selawik, Alaska claimed to have seen a balloon in the middle of the night from which “Little Men came down a ladder to the earth.” The local Alaska Territory Guard searched the area but found nothing.

Of the thousands of fu-gos launched, only about 300 were known to make it to North America, most in the U.S., some seen or discovered in Canada and Mexico. Most of them caused no harm, with one notable exception. On May 5, 1945, Bly, Oregon, minister Archie Mitchell, his pregnant wife Elsie, and five children from their Sunday school class were on a morning picnic. As Mitchell parked the car, the others found a strange balloon on the ground. The bomb it carried exploding and all six people were killed. The site of the tragedy is now marked by the Mitchell Monument to honor the only Americans killed by enemy action during World War II in the continental United States. 

Noah’s discovery has been forgotten for the most part by ufologists, but Rick Hilberg included a partial account of his story in “Saucer Fragments” in Flying Saucer Digest, Fall 1970.

As far as we can tell, Noah Clubb lived a full life thereafter away from the flying saucer business. He died on the morning of Nov. 15, 1970, at the age of 76.

. . .

Months after Noah Clubb's discovery, a few miles south of Baltimore, Maryland, the Air Force was called out to investigate the remains of  flying saucer discovered in a barn.

The OTHER Air Force Captured Flying Saucer Retraction