UFO Northwest - How Washington State Spawned the Men in Black
Humanities Washington Speaker’s Bureau - UFO Northwest Program Description:
On August 1, 1947, the tragic crash of a B-25 bomber in Washington State triggered an FBI investigation of “The Maury Island Incident”—an infamous Northwest UFO sighting, and history’s first alleged encounter with the so-called “Men in Black.”
The FBI’s records from 1947, which were sealed for decades, reveal Cold War fears, jurisdictional disputes, cover-ups, false confessions, a courageous FBI Special Agent, and the hands-on involvement of FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover.
Relying on the FBI records, this talk exposes a Washington story that shapes our current UFO narratives, from 1950’s pulp magazines to the ubiquitous X-Files and Men in Black film franchises. Also examined: how the Northwest’s unique position in UFO history is challenged by others that assert contradictory narratives.
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2024 Dates (calendar here.)
• January 25 - Port Townsend Public Library
• March 21 - Harbor History Museum (Gig Harbor)
• March 28 - Kitsap Historical Society (Bremerton)
• April 10 - Anacortes Library
• April 26 - Greenwood Senior Center
• April 28 – Harstine Island Community Center
• May 4 – Highline Heritage Museum (Burien)
• May 29 – Marina Mercantile (Des Moines)
• August 6 – Asotin Library / Basal Cellars
• August 21 - Kent Senior Center
• September 12 - Trout Lake
• September 12 - Goldendale
• September 14 – Chehalis Flying Saucer Party
• October 4 – Friday Sno-Isle Libraries - Camano Island Branch
• October 10 – Moses Lake History Museum
• October 11 – Spokane Libraries
• October 16 - Redmond Historical Society
• October 17 - Kittitas County Historical Museum
• October 18 – Ritzville Library
• November 5 - Gig Harbor Heron’s Key
Speaker Bio:
Steve Edmiston (he/him) is a business and entertainment lawyer with Bracepoint Law, and an indie film screenwriter and producer. Edmiston has keynoted for the Pacific Northwest History Conference, Washington State Historical Museum, McMenamins History Pubs, film festivals, conferences, and business groups. He was the screenwriter and co-producer of “The Maury Island Incident,” a short film chronicling the true story of Harold Dahl and his alleged 1947 sighting of a UFO over Puget Sound.
Edmiston lives in Des Moines.