UAP AnalysisIndependent · the declassified record
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Dept. of DefenseUnresolvedAmbiguous

Three white discs in formation over Portland/Milwaukee, Oregon (Incidents #6 and #8a)

Jul 4, 1947Portland / Milwaukee, Oregon (approx.)40,000 ft
Analysis — our summary

At 1305 on July 4, 1947, multiple Oregon police officers and a harbor pilot independently observed three white disc-shaped objects flying in formation. Sgt. Claude Cross (Oregon State Police) at Milwaukee described three discs following each other at terrific speed heading northwest. Patrolman W.A. Lisey (also a private pilot) and D.W. Ellis (also a private pilot) at Portland, along with a harbor patrol group including Capt. K.A. Prehn and others, all observed the same or similar objects. Descriptions were consistent: white discs, in straight-line formation (last disc fluttering to side in arc), no sound, no exhaust. Several witnesses were also private pilots and specifically excluded aircraft, birds, and balloons as explanations. Patrolman Ellis' account was noted as corroborated by Patrolman Lisey.

As reported — verbatim from the document
Three flat round discs which flew at terrific speed in straight line formation, the last disc fluttering very rapidly in a side-way arc. He saw no evidence of any motivating powers and there were no vapor or smoke trails. No sound could be heard.
Analyst notes — caveats & confidence

Multiple independent witnesses at same time including experienced aviation observers (private pilots). Harbor patrol group noted chromium/shiny appearance with objects oscillating between full disc, half-moon, and invisible shapes. Corroborated accounts. OCR moderate quality.

Provenance
Source document38_143685_box7_Incident_Summaries_1-100.pdf
Document typeincident summary collection
Reporting agencyDept. of Defense
Source pages209
DeclassifiedFirst public at this release (2026)
Held classified~79 years (≥, to this release)
Extraction confidence HighHow cleanly this record could be parsed from the source — driven by legibility & redaction. It is not a measure of how credible or anomalous the sighting is.