by Dr. Irena Scott and William E. Jones

Ohio UFO Crash Connection
The "I" Beams
Decoding The "I" Beams
Ballistic Tests
Wright-Patterson Bodies
Another Saucer?
Test Site For UFO Materials?
Ohio Penitentiary Sighting
North American Aviation

Ohio UFO Crash Connection
Timken Furnace

In the years that followed, Ralph's wife noticed that the experience had changed him; she said, without elaboration, that the experience "never left his mind from then on." She always believed his story, noting, "He had no reason to make it up." Ralph passed away a number of years ago.

The "I" Beams

Timken wasn't the only Ohio company to be connected to government sponsored UFO research. Battelle Memorial Institute of Columbus, Ohio, was a major contractor to the US Air Force's Project Blue Book. Battelle's involvement with Blue Book is well established, but that work may not have been the most interesting UFO related work to be undertaken at the world's largest private research and development organization.

Decoding The "I" Beams

In May of 1992 one of us was approached by an informant who told an intriguing story. For the record, he was not a Battelle employee. He had attended North High School in Columbus, Ohio, graduating in June of 1960. Between January and April of 1958, he dated a classmate named Cathy Center. One evening while he was visiting her home, Cathy's father, Mr. Elroy John Center, told them that while working at Battelle (he had left their employment in 1957) he was responsible for a project which required him to study "parts" retrieved from a flying saucer. The parts had some sort of writing on them and his job was to "find out what the characters meant." He told them that there was "lots more I can't go into. It's been bothering me since I saw it." Given that some of the material (actually described as small "I beams") retrieved from the pre-crash debris field near Roswell, New Mexico in July, 1947 has been described as having some sort of writing on it, the obvious question is did the "parts" Mr. Center study come from the same crash event? The fact that Mr. Center's story was told long before the details of the Roswell debris were known publicly, the possible confirmation of his story by the later descriptions of that debris cannot be ignored.

Mr. Center's employment at Battelle can be confirmed through the American Men of Science. It was learned from Mr. Center's wife that he died of cancer on July 15, 1991. She told us that he had been keenly interested in the subject of flying saucers, but she knew nothing about any such work while he was at Battelle. His daughter Cathy was contacted and remembers our informant well but does not remember the conversation. She thought she would have remembered it because of her own interest in the subject, but said it is possible that it has been forgotten. She confirmed her father's interest in the subject of flying saucers and, like us, doubts that our informant would make up a story about the conversation.

For those who might think that they can contact Battelle to request verification of this story will not find it there. First of all, too many years have passed and anyone who might know the truth will have long since retired. Secondly, since the information would have clearly been highly classified, the records would have gone back to the Government. Thirdly, Battelle's business practices do not permit it to discuss a client's work. An unidentified Battelle staff member wrote a letter about this company that was published in the September 1993 issue of Just Cause (Citizens Against UFO Secrecy, P.O. Box 218, Coventry, CT 06238) which states this ethic better than we can. "The research Battelle undertakes is done with integrity and an ethical regard for the confidentiality of its clients, both governmental and industrial (commercial). Battelle will not discuss with others the work it does for its clients. Because of this ethical approach to its work, including due regard to matters of national security, Battelle will not respond to inquiries about Blue Book or any of its other work...This should not be seen as proof of cooperation in any sort of imagined cover up. It is part of the ethical tradition that has been part of the Battelle business philosophy since its founding in 1929."

Ballistic Tests

In 1982 Kevin Meggs was attending Wright State University, taking a course in Statics and Dynamics. One night he was working at the library on a class project with an older classmate. During a moment of much needed relaxation, he and the classmate started talking about various matters and ended up discussing the UFO phenomenon. During this conversation, the classmate, who had worked at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base for many years, stated that as a young engineer, he and his fellow workers were asked to test an unusual piece of material, the origin of which was left unstated. This occurred in the late 1940s or early 1950s, he couldn't remember exactly when.

The material was very thin and foil like. The particular piece they were given was about three feet square. It wouldn't crease or bend. Among other tests, they fired projectiles at the material. The material simply absorbed the projectiles and the energy it carried, dropping the projectile to the floor of the test chamber. The material wasn't penetrated. After the tests were completed, officials retrieved the square of material and gathered up all the reports and notebooks. They engineers were told that the tests were classified and that they were never to talk about the work they did.

During this conversation, Mr. Meggs asked about the Hanger 18 story. The classmate replied that he had heard there was a building which contained items from a retrieved flying saucer. He said it was a test chamber where the temperature could be varied. He knew little about the building or what went on inside, but he thought it had a three digit number. Reports such as this are being uncovered with increasing regularity by the MORA staff.

Wright-Patterson Bodies

Jim Donohoe, an independent UFO investigator living in Madison County, was a teenager in 1953 and it was not uncommon for his uncle, who was a highly placed civil servant at Wright Field, to drop by Jim's home in South Charleston, Ohio, to chat. For some reason Jim's aunt did not want her husband talking about his work when he was at home, so on occasion Jim became an outlet for his uncle when it came to his work at the Field. Jim was quite interested in airplanes and things technical, so the relationship work well for them both.

Jim's uncle had joined the Army Air Force in 1937 and ferried aircraft across the Pacific as part of his duties. On one occasion during the war he was at a base that was heavily bombed by the Japanese and, when the bombing was over, he was the highest ranking officer left alive at the field. He was asked to take command until a higher ranking replacement could be brought in. Jim's uncle lived an interesting life on occasion. In mid-1947 he left the military and took a job at Wright Field. The job included keeping track of civilian aircraft that were leased by the Government for test and research and development purposes. He was also responsible for locating appropriate civilian and military aircraft to be used in these programs. As a result, he got to know many people who worked at Wright Field and he had access to many of the hangers and buildings there.

On one particular day, probably a weekend, Jim was working on at home on a model boat. His uncle stopped by and told Jim that he had a story to tell that he thought Jim would be interested in. As it turned out, Jim was interested, but today in retrospect Jim wishes he had taken notes and asked more questions. He didn't truly appreciate the significance of what he was being told. His uncle said that a friend at the Field had taken him "down into" a cold storage area. In this area was a separate room. The friend turned on the lights and there, in the middle of the room, was a table. On the table was a sheet which covered the forms of three small humanoid bodies. The arms, legs and the body itself were apparent. His uncle estimated that the bodies were four to four and a half feet tall. The friend revealed that these forms were the bodies of three beings from a flying saucer which had recently crashed in the Arizona desert and were there to be autopsied. He said that the bodies had teeth and that no decay was present. In fact, the bodies were surprisingly void of any harmful bacteria. The friend then turned out the lights and they left. Jim's uncle did not see the bodies uncovered. During their short conversation the friend said that there had been two such crashes in Arizona. If Jim's uncle said where these crashes had occurred, he doesn't remember now. Several weeks later Jim's uncle returned and asked him not to repeat the story to anyone. Jim honored that request until after his uncle died.

Jim noted that his uncle had never reported seeing a UFO, nor had he expressed a special interest in the subject. He was a truthful person and Jim doesn't believe that the story was made up.

Recently [This section was written in 1994. - ed.] part of Jim's uncle's story appeared in a local Madison county newspaper and in a newsletter that Jim issues, Equinox. A woman who Jim knows called him after reading the story and told him that a friend of theirs had a similar experience in 1953 when he went to Wright Field to interview for a custodial type job. He had been sent over to a building and told to report to a specific office. When he got to the building he couldn't find the office or even anyone in the halls. He ended up in a lower or basement level where he discovered several rooms that were laboratories. She reported that he claimed to have opened a door where he discovered a sight similar to the one reported by Jim's uncle. On a table were three bodies, partially covered with a sheet. He described the bodies as small and human like. He quickly shut the door and left. This experience scared him and he decided not to take the job after all.

Another Saucer?

Members of the aviation community are good sources of information concerning the government's involvement in UFO research. A few of these people have been directly involved and, on occasion, tell their friends something about what they know. That is how this story reached MORA associates Mark Savage and Frank Reams, both of whom are pilots.

The owner of an Ohio avionics shop has a friend who had been with a military security group in the 1960s which was occasionally involved in matters related to the UFO phenomenon. This friend usually didn't talk about this aspect of his work, but one evening he did relate that he had seen a saucer-shaped craft in a hangar near the NORAD facility at Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado. He said that one of the windows in the craft had been broken - yes, we realize this sounds like the long discredited Frank Scully story form the book Behind the Flying Saucers, Henry Holt and Company, NY, 1950 - and five aliens had been found dead inside. He would say no more about that experience, but he did add that he still gets contacted every 90 days or so by security personnel who remind him of his obligation not to talk about his past work with this security group. These security people usually inquire as to whether anyone has contacted him to ask questions about that work.

With a bit of reckless courage, Frank Reams decided to do just that. The avionics shop owner knew where his friend had been working about ten years prior and Frank called the telephone information service in that area. No one was listed by the friend's name. Then the employer, a large public institution, was contacted, but the people he talked to would not confirm or deny that the person worked there. Frank then sent a certified/return-receipt-requested letter to the person in care of that institution, but it was returned unclaimed. Thus, a dead end was reached.

This story sounds suspicious, especially because of the similarity between it and the Scully story. However, the part of the story about periodic security checks has been heard before. Several years ago Frank was in Canada having his aircraft fueled and checked. He and the aircraft maintenance worker struck up a conversation that somehow got around to the subject of UFOs. The man stated that he had been in the US Air Force in the 1970s and that his work had included investigating the UFO situation. He stated that the whole subject was "scary." He added that security personnel still contacted him every two or three months to remind him of his security obligations. Because of this, he declined to discuss the subject of UFOs further with Frank. When asked if he had heard similar security stories, UFO crash/retrieval investigator Leonard Stringfield replied, "Yes, I know of several of my informants who get 'follow up' reminders of their security oaths. Some are by phone and some involve 'chance' meetings at the drug store or grocery, etc. Others report in person to an office, perhaps in a federal building, or even an 'insurance' company."

North American Aviation, Columbus, Ohio
Test Site For UFO Materials?

The North American Aviation aircraft plant is still located at the Port Columbus International Airport complex on the east side of Columbus, Ohio, although it is no longer used for manufacturing aircraft. It was originally used by Curtis Wright to build airplanes during World War II and was then leased to North American Aviation. Since then a number of military aerospace companies have leased part or all of the facility to build various airplanes, missiles and aerospace related parts. Roy Beck - he apparently had no middle name, but said the military required him to come up with one, so he chose Robert -- was a mystery man to his family. He was reportedly born February 15, 1904 to Abraham and Lila (Pfeiffers) Beck in Missouri. Roy’s wife and two daughters never knew much about him. He was secretive, sometimes seemingly to the point of paranoia. The family moved almost every year, but they stayed within the mid-Ohio area. He was married to this wife, Nora Beck (Adams) in 1944 in Columbus, Ohio. Nora’s name was actually "Norabelle" but she never used it. The family learned after his death in January 1975 that he may have had several previous wives and at least one son. His early work history is murky and sometimes doesn’t seem to completely hold together. One of his daughters remembers "men in suits" coming to their house on occasion and talking to their father in secret. Most of his jobs that the family was told about involved security, private investigative work, and aerospace manufacturing.

According to notes that Roy kept and the family still has, from August 1, 1944 to March 15, 1947 he and his wife ran Beck Electric on North High Street in Columbus. According to a yellowing news paper ad, they seemed to have specialized in the repair of carpet sweepers and radios. He worked as a supervisor guard at the Ohio Penitentiary from November 1, 1947 through August 31, 1950 and at North American Aviation from April 14, 1951 until he retired in 1971. But there were other interesting parts to his employment and perhaps volunteer work history. He was a Army of the United States, Auxiliary Military Police "member" during World War II, receiving certificates of service from The Timkin Roller Bearing Company, probably the Columbus plant, on September 5, 1942; from The Jeffery Manufacturing Company in Columbus on October 16, 1943; and from The Ralston Steel Car Company in Columbus on March 20, 1944. He was also a deputy sheriff in Madison County, Ohio - the family has a picture of him being sworn in - and he also told the family that he was a US Marshall. Plus, there were rumors of mob involvement during Prohibition when he was a young man. If all of this is true, or if some of it is bravado, the family can’t really say. But there is slight evidence for most of it. What it all means, if anything, is unknown. However, Roy Beck had an interest in and possible classified knowledge of UFOs.

Ohio Penitentiary Sighting

It was an event at the Ohio Penitentiary that apparently convinced Roy Beck that UFOs were real. According to his daughters, Roy told the family that he had seen a flying saucer over the pen. They aren’t sure when this happened, because they were only children at the time, but they think it was in 1949 or 1950. According to their father, a saucer that seemed to be as big as the penitentiary yard came in from the north unnoticed and suddenly appeared to the staff and prisoners below. It was night, at approximately 3 A.M. It then floated out over the south wall and should have been visible to anyone on Spring Street. It was low, 100 to 200 feet off the top of the wall.

The saucer looked like two dinner plates placed face to face, with a center portion between the two, This center portion rotated. The upper part was not as convex as the lower, and thus appeared to be smaller. The upper part had what appeared to be port holes. The lower larger portion also contained port holes and was flat in the center. When it got over the south wall the lower portion became partially transparent and humanoid like beings could be seen silhouetted inside. It appeared that these beings were looking down into the pen to see what was going on. The guards got scared and started to break out the machine guns, but Roy being a supervisor ordered the guards not to shoot. It seemed to him that this would be futile; this was no prison break attempt. After a few minutes the saucer took off at a high speed; it almost seemed to disappear.

North American Aviation

After leaving his employment at the penitentiary, Roy went to work at North American where he stayed until his retirement. One day in 1963, Roy called Etta, his older 13 year old daughter, into a back room of their home. He wanted to show her something. He pulled out a large manila envelope and said he wanted her to know that flying saucers were real. He also told her never to tell anyone about what he was going to show her. If she did, he could get in big trouble. Inside the envelope were two black and white photographs of alien bodies and several more of machinery parts, which Roy said came from a crashed flying saucer. The alien was dead. It looked like what we call a "gray" today, except its eyes were only slightly larger than ours.

It had skinny long arms and legs, and a stomach which was distended. The body reminded Etta of pictures she had seen of starving children. One picture was a facial shot and the other was a side shot of the entire body on a table. No clothes were visible. An apparent second body was seen in the background on another table covered by a sheet.

Roy told her that the craft had crashed. One had exploded and the other had come down near it. He didn’t say why the second craft was unable to leave. There were two aliens in each craft. One was dead and the other severely injured in the craft that had exploded. Of the two from the intact craft, one was shot and killed, and the other captured, later to die in custody. He said that he learned about this because of his work at North American where they had been asked to attempt to determine what the material from the flying saucer was made of and how it worked. He told her that they couldn’t even scratch the stuff. He said he borrowed the pictures from a file there.

She believes that work at North American on the flying saucer parts took place in 1953 or 1954. Many of the parts were big. She remembers her father saying that they had to use at least one very large truck to move the parts out of the plant and back to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.

Is any part of this true? MORA has another report of a UFO close encounter at the Ohio Penitentiary. Both of Roy’s daughters denied having heard the story other than through their father; they were pleased by our seeming confirmation of his story. However, our other report has the event happening in 1966. Two such events seem highly unlikely. (See the Ohio UFO Notebook, August 1991, pp. 7 - 9.) The work done at North American sounds suspiciously similar to earlier work that was reportedly done at the Timkin roller Bearing Company plant in Canton Ohio.

The two daughters of Roy Beck are looking for more information about their father. So are we. If any reader of this article knows something, please contact us. This is an interesting, puzzling, and suspicious story.

©1994, 1996 Mid-Ohio Research Associates, Inc.