Fred Lee Crisman was born on July 22nd, 1919 in Tacoma, Washington. He was well liked by his neighbors and associates, who described him as loyal, polite, and respectful. After graduating high school, Crisman attended Eastern Oregon State College for a year. His grades were described as poor, but that didn't get in the way of his employment as a brakeman for the Union Pacific Railroad. He left that job to join the military in 1942, perhaps to avoid the numerous unpaid debts that had ruined his credit score, and became a decorated fighter pilot.
Crisman left active service in 1946 and became employed by a Washington State veterans assistance program. His specialty was helping veterans who were in trouble with the law, and although his work was described as excellent, it was clear Crisman required direct supervision to keep him from exercising poor judgement. In that same year he wrote a letter to Amazing Stories, a magazine edited by Raymond Palmer. Crisman claimed to be able to verify elements of the "Shaver Mystery": A series of stories purported to be true by their author, which described an advanced subterranean humanoid race that were the surviving remnants of the lost empire of Atlantis. Crisman's letter, which was published under a pseudonym, stated he and another officer had been injured by one of these creatures during WWII. A follow-up letter defended these statements in 1947, this time under his real name, in which he claimed a friend had died while they were looking for the creatures in Alaska.
That same year, a department downsizing left Crisman without a job once more, and he began to work as a pilot for Harold Dahl. Dahl was described as "crooked" by an individual familiar with both Crisman and Dahl, who also stated Dahl was rumored to be a black market operator during WWII. While working for Dahl, Crisman allegedly came up with the idea of "a log patrol and a beach patrol, which would involve the recovery of unmarked logs from Puget Sound and also the patrolling of valuable summer beach cottages for private owners." Dahl was accused of stealing that idea and formed the company without Crisman's involvement. Crisman was advised to cut ties with Dahl, which he claimed to have done.
But did he? When Kenneth Arnold interviewed Dahl and Crisman that same year, Dahl stated Crisman was his superior officer. If Dahl formed the company, why was Crisman in command? If Crisman cut ties with Dahl, why were they working together in a patrol-related business in June of 1947? Someone was given incorrect information, but its not clear if that was Kenneth Arnold, Crisman's associate, or the FBI. Regardless, there's a bigger mystery to discuss: the UFO sightings over Maury Island.
On June 21st, Dahl was patrolling the east bay of Maury Island with his son, his dog, and two crewmen. As he came close to the shore, he suddenly became aware of six "very large doughnut-shaped aircraft" approximately 2,000 feet above him and descending rapidly. The craft were described as 100 feet or more in diameter, shaped like an inner tube, with a hole in the center approximately 25 feet across. They were made of a burled silver and gold-like metal, with portholes 5-6 feet in diameter equally spaced around the exterior. On the bottom and inside of each craft was a continuous, circular observation window. Five of these craft circled a sixth, which, at 200 feet above the water began to spew thousands of pieces of light, white metal. At the same time, the patrol boat was pelted with dark hot metal, similar in appearance to lava rock. One of these pieces killed Dahl's dog, another struck and injured his son's arm, and the damage it did the the boat resembled sledgehammer strikes. When the incident was reported to Crisman, he was reportedly furious, believing Dahl was attempting to cover up a drunken collision while on patrol. But being unable to figure out how this would have caused damage to the top of the boat, Crisman decided to go to Maury Island himself. It was there, while sorting through the exact metal fragments Dahl had described, that Crisman observed a single doughnut-shaped craft emerge from a cumulus cloud and circle the bay.
This is the story Kenneth Arnold was sent to investigate.