SPECIA
ECTION FOR HONGKON
HE FLYING SAUCER MYSTERY
The commander rapped out orders and three FS1 Mustangs took off..
The 17-21
Club's
five rules
THE telephone rang in the
military police office
at Fort
Knox, Kentucky.
flying
"State police here," said the caller. "There's a saucer heading your way!"
Did it come from
Outer Space..? asks
Henry Lewis
Hix the radio operator bezaa of the wreckage of his Mustang
The evidence of his In to call the captain. "Come in,
comrades come in." There was no reply.
It was no joke. A police car crew had reported it first, Madison, Indiana. they had seen crowds of people staring into the sky. The patrolmen had looked too and saw a big metal lic object travelling east at a festish speed.
They had radioed their head- quarters immediately. At head quarters there was, of course, disbelief. But then members of the public began telephoning.
"There's a saucer overhead.. "It's as big as a battleship.."
It's got a red light on top that keeps going on and "off!”
The reports streamed in: "Better tell the military," said the police chief.
Hix ordered two other air- craft up to search. One went up to 33,000:t. They swept a 100- mile area. But they did not find Mantell or the saucer. The news of Mantell
from
come
people on the ground:
His plane had broken up in the air and the wreckage was
strewn over several miles. Man-
tell was dead.
Last mission
An hour and a half later an object. described unidentified
by some people as saucer- shaped, swept over a military air base at Columbus, in the neighbouring state of Ohio.
And so the problem was pass ed to Fort Knox, the place where America used to keep the
So ended man's first chase of a world's biggest hoard of gold, 100 miles farther
the flying saucer-in tragedy and on -in direction the saucer' was mystery. For how had Mantell
died? traveling.
In pursuit
has also been kept hush-hush.
It may be that we shall never know the full story of Captain Mantell's last mission. Any more than we may know the full story of other saucer re- ports.
June They began in
1947 when Kenneth Amold, an American businessman flying his own plane near Washington,
+
the object was certainly strong e
-
were
of geese. He put their speed at 1,000 miles
hour-faster than anything known in 1947.
Within months sauces bad: been seen all over the world.
Some of the sightings certainly hoaxes. Some of the saucers were certainly meteoro-. logical balloons.
the Some of saucers may have been high-. flying planes of the 3-2 type. But all of them?
Can flying saucers be craft at 10.000ft nine saucer from other plane's? And if so, like objects flying like a line which?
17-21
CLUB MAILBOX
ENCLOSED please find a page cut out from the August edition
of the Reader's Digest. This is an advertisement concerning a toothpaste. If you care to rummage through the eztro copies of August 20's China Mail you will find a cartoon contributed by Mr Ricky Chan (remember him?). The characters in the cartoon, Several hundred people offer--sub-titled "Gee! Oh! Ah!," are exact copies of those depicted in
Mantell ed information on the
the enclosed advertisement. I think it is high time indeed for the saucer. They included police editors to take effective action against such outrageous and un- airmen. Most of them original material, it seems that Mr Chan has not set learned the agreed that it was silvery white lesson taught him some time ago by my cousin, Mies Louella Szeto. in colour. Estimates of the size Notice that every small point, including the badges or the police- varied but most agreed that it men's hats has been reproduced in detail. Our friend Ricky is was at least as big as an
air- certainly making no attempt to camouflage the hoar he is pulling liner and some put it at 300 to in fact, it looks as if he did not even bother to draw his “work 450ft, in diameter-a tremend-of art." He merely traced it!!! - Elvis Ollie Szero, Hongkong. ous size.
The Redcaps telephoned God- and man Base, a rearby Air Force field. "Unidentified flying object heading your way, they re
ported.
At Godman Base three pilots were readied to take-off. It was 2.30 in the afternoon of January 7. 1948. About 20 minutes had passed since the first reports from Madison.
Colonel Guy Hix, command- ing officer of Godman Base stood m the balcony of the control tower with his deputy, scanning the cloudy sky through bino- culars. His aides were doing the
same.
But then "tremendous size" were the words used by Captain Mantell who got nearer than anybody. The saucer's speed was 500 miles an put at around hour.
For 18 months à Special Com- mission investigated while the world wondered. What was the
saucer?
Captain Mantell's death the Then, through a gap in the Commission put down to flying chuds, they saw it. Hix rapped too high without oxygen. He out orders. And three F51 probably blacked out Membership in the 17-21 Mustangs screamed off the run- 20,000ft. and
all way
in pursuit. Leading the tion," they, said.
Captain Thomas
Club is open to within that age group.
• Contributions and all ac- tivities of the Club will be limited to members only..
was
at
died of suffoca-
But they had no explanation for the saucer,
flight Mantell.
In the control room switches
The Americans have made were flicked and the voices of Mantell and his men talking to the mystery greater bry ach other on their intercoms keeping secret medical reports were relayed to the whole room on his remains and photographs Contributions may consist through loudspeakers. of anything that is
Then Mantell's voice boorged publishable articles,
the over
loudspeaker as letters, stories, photo-spoke directly to the control graphs, drawings, verses. tower. “I'm closing,” he report- But only the best will ed. "It's directly ahead of be printed.
and only about half my speed. The thing looks metallic and of
-
All contributions MUST tremendous size."
he
me
be original.
Written contributions, rades. They had lost sight of should not consist of more than 350 words, photographs and draw:
The next voices to come up | were those of Mantell's com-
both the saucer and Mantell in the clouds and were returning. Another five minutes passed and Mantell spoke again. His
ings will only be accept voice was excited. "I'm stil ed in black-and-white.
chasing it. It's climbing now and going as fast as I am, That's 360 miles an hour. I'm going to 20,000ft. and if I'm no closer I'll abandon the chase."
-MEMBERSHIP.
Fill this in and send it to the China Mail, 1-3 Wyndham Street, Hongkang.
Năme
Age Occupation Address
Mantell could not use his air- craft's maximum ceiling be cause he was without oxygen. The men in the control tower waited breathlessly for his next report. Would he catch up with the saucer and solve the mystery that had been baffling people all over the world for several months!--
The minutes ticked away. There was no more from Man- tell. On orders from Colonel
is your name Medea?
NEVER ONE TO BE BACKWARD ABOUT COMING FORWARD, MEDEA HAS A NAME OF GREEK ORIGIN"· MEANING "SHE WHO COMMANDS"
1959 733
Mert 11-9
A copy of your letter was attached to our nole, mailed this week, disqualifying Mr Ricky Chan from membership in the Club and cancelling his credit cards, The latter part of your letter has been deleted for lack of space and will be answered in detail early next week. The Club's thanks to you and your cousin for your sharp-eyed vigilance.
SOME
HK TEENAGER
A MORON?
(OME time ago several members suggested a debate, and if I recall correctly, you said we could thrash things out in the Club Mailbox column.
Well, here is a subject to start the ball rolling (ånd, In the process, I hope it doesn't roll over my defencelem neck). Having given much thought to the matter, mý conclu- sion is that the Hongkong teenager is not, as you editors, are so fond of describing them, intelligent or adult,
With few exceptions, the average
moron.
teenager here is a
He has no interest whatsoever in the world around us (and if you, Mr Editors disagree, publish 2 quiz on, s3js. generally-known facts pertaining to the Second World War, the Space Race, the ideologies of different countries today, l'if accept any wager that 99 out of a hundred teenagers here couldn't answer correctly — and even if they did it would probably be through cribbing from reference books).
The search for knowledge among them is confined to prodigious feats of study of the life and loves of Elvis Pres- ley, committing to memory (again a tèrrific effort of mind) the words and tunes of the latest Top Twenty in the Hit Parades and in serious discussions on the mèrits of 20th. Century-Fox over Warner Brothers.
Individualism among them is dead. Teenagers ar・a race of "belongers" They "belong" to such-and-sach æfin club or to that-and-that a gang. With admirable Herd In- stinct they follow a club or gang leader (who,~ in táin, slavishly copies every sideburn and drawi⋅ and wrinide of a Hollywood hero).
Where is our sense of adventure, courage, COPETERES for knowledge and ambition? 1 ans, sorry, ta: may" thez fis a ago where the future of the world dependa óùi aur haelés these qualities indeed in a world which is today filled with wonders undreamed of by teenagers à-decade ago-my-com- temporaries are hiding their talents (for 1 haya anough faith In the human race to believe that they DO· Hawa'tatenta) in a darkened movie house or at a ta dance.
I have said enough. I leave you, Mr Editurata desk'e when the avalanche starts flooding: your maillos wheder 1.am correct in my contention by the very quailty of s repités you can expect.
In order to protect myself (for 1 liks. Elvis too, although, I prefer Ella). I would like to go under the pseudonym" o Anonymous, Kowloon.
Whew! Well, members, the floor la ́yours.