STANDARD FORM NO. 64
Office Memorandum • UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT
TO : DIRECTOR, FBI
FROM : SAC, INDIANAPOLIS
SUBJECT: FLYING SAUCERS
SECURITY MATTER - X
DATE: September 6, 1949
ELBERT W. FARRIS of OSI, Benjamin Harrison Air Base called at this office recently to ascertain if there was any current information on "flying saucers". He stated that he had been instructed recently to contact Dr. RICHARD K. PARRISH of Decatur, Indiana, with reference to a flying saucer he allegedly observed in the vicinity of Lake of the Woods, Canada, on or about July 1, 1949. An FBI Agent by the name of METCALF of the Omaha office was alleged to have seen the same saucer.
When FARRIS conversed with Dr. PARRISH, the Dr. told him that when he returned from Canada, he found himself in the midst of a polio epidemic and that as a result he had read as much literature as possible with respect to polio, its symptoms, diagnosis, etc. Dr. PARRISH told FARRIS that in his opinion, the cases which were thought to be polio in the vicinity of Decatur, Indiana, were not polio, but possibly the result of uranium poisoning and that he felt the presence of flying saucers had direct bearing on the polio epidemic. Dr. PARRISH pointed out that flying saucers were observed in the Carolina's in 1948 and there was a polio epidemic in the vicinity at that time. FARRIS stated he had consulted one of the physicians at the Benjamin Harrison Air Base and had also checked the records with reference to allegations concerning the sighting of flying saucers and had done a little research with respect to correlating the presence of flying saucers and any polio epidemic. He further stated that he was reporting the matter to the proper Air Force authorities, Wright Field, Dayton, Ohio.
It has also come to the attention of this office that FARRIS made inquiry of the Indiana University Medical School, Indianapolis, Indiana, where the doctors treated the entire matter as a big joke.
FARRIS also stated that Dr. PARRISH had heard while in Canada that there had been some rather strange events somewhere in the interior with respect to finding what might have been remains of flying saucers.
The foregoing is furnished for the information of the Bureau. This office is taking no action in the matter.
HAK/fjd
100-0
RECORDED - 137
INDEXED - 137
EX-68
58 SEP 15 1949
Note: Handwritten annotations (e.g., "3-1", "R", "140", "62-8 3894", "200", "5 SEP 8 1949", "F B I", "W", "RIVER", etc.) are not included in the Markdown as they are not part of the typed document content. The redacted blacked-out regions are represented as [redacted] per instructions.