Former Navy officer Clarence Bud Clem recounts relaying a pilot’s description of a bright object during interception.

Record

Date / period

1945-01 (recounted 2013–2015)

Reported event / document

Former Navy officer Clarence Bud Clem recounts relaying a pilot’s description of a bright object during interception.

Evidence type

Retrospective witness testimony; partly secondhand

Original data accessible?

Public interview; original flight logs not assessed

Verification status

Testimony decades later; alleged object acceleration not established by 1945 diaries

Competing explanations / missing data

Memory distortion; missing corroboration; chronology discrepancies

Next step

Locate direct pilot account and squadron flight logs. Chunk M search (2026-11-12): The Fourth Air Force diaries already on CE-160/161 (SRC-140, 23 and 25 Jan 1945) record plans to intercept with radar and night fighters at NAS Pasco, which fits the squadron dates Hastings found in Clem's records (Pasco, 9 Jan to 15 Feb 1945). They name no pilot and describe no object; Clem's own writing gives March/April. No pilot account or squadron log found. Flag stays.

Source ID

SRC-141