Edward J. Ruppelt
July 17, 1923(1923-07-17) – September 15, 1960 (aged 37)
Place of birth	Iowa
Allegiance	United States of America
Service/branch	United States Air Force
Years of service	WWII - Mid-50s
Rank	Captain
Battles/wars	World War II
Awards	Five battle stars Two theater combat ribbons Three Air Medals Two Distinguished Flying Crosses
Other work	Research engineer for Northrop Aircraft Company

Edward J. Events 180 - Twelve inhabitants of Scillium in North Africa are executed for being Christians Year 1923 ( MCMXXIII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 668 - Eastern Roman Emperor Constans II is assassinated in his bath at Syracuse Italy. Year 1960 ( MCMLX) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The State of Iowa ( is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States of America. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including The Air Medal is a military decoration of the United States which was established by Executive Order 9158 signed by Franklin D The Distinguished Flying Cross is a medal awarded to any officer or enlisted member of the United States armed forces who distinguishes himself or herself in Northrop Grumman Corporation ( is an Aerospace and defense technology company formed by the 1994 purchase of Grumman by Northrop. Ruppelt (born July 17, 1923 in Iowa, died September 15, 1960) was a United States Air Force officer probably best-known for his involvement in Project Blue Book, a formal governmental study of unidentified flying objects. Events 180 - Twelve inhabitants of Scillium in North Africa are executed for being Christians Year 1923 ( MCMXXIII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The State of Iowa ( is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States of America. Events 668 - Eastern Roman Emperor Constans II is assassinated in his bath at Syracuse Italy. Year 1960 ( MCMLX) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Project Blue Book was one of a series of systematic studies of Unidentified flying objects (UFOs conducted by the United States Air Force (U He is generally credited with coining the term "unidentified flying object", to replace the terms "flying saucer" and "flying disk", which had become widely known; Ruppelt thought the latter terms were both suggestive and inadequate.

Ruppelt was the director of Project Grudge from late 1951 until it became Project Blue Book in March 1952; he remained with Blue Book until late 1953. Project Grudge was a short-lived project by the US Air Force to investigate Unidentified flying objects (UFOs Project Blue Book was one of a series of systematic studies of Unidentified flying objects (UFOs conducted by the United States Air Force (U UFO researcher Jerome Clark writes, "Most observers of Blue Book agree that the Ruppelt years comprised the project's golden age, when investigations were most capably directed and conducted. Ruppelt himself was open-minded about UFOs, and his investigators were not known, as Grudge's were, for force-fitting explanations on cases. Project Grudge was a short-lived project by the US Air Force to investigate Unidentified flying objects (UFOs " (Clark, 517)

Biography

Early life and career

Ruppelt was born and raised in Iowa. The State of Iowa ( is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States of America. He enlisted in the Army Air Corps during World War II, and served with distinction as a decorated bombardier: he was awarded "five battle stars, two theater combat ribbons, three Air Medals, and two Distinguished Flying Crosses. The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC was the predecessor of the U World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including A bombardier ( French for " bomberman " in the United States Army Air Forces and United States Air Force, or a bomb aimer The Air Medal is a military decoration of the United States which was established by Executive Order 9158 signed by Franklin D The Distinguished Flying Cross is a medal awarded to any officer or enlisted member of the United States armed forces who distinguishes himself or herself in " (Clark, 516) While in the Pacific, He flew U Boat patrols in the Atlantic Ocean, and, after V.E. day, Ruppelt was one of the first in the U. U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word, itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot ( undersea boat) and refers Victory in Europe Day ( V-E Day or VE Day) was May 7 and May 8, 1945, the dates when the World War II Allies S. armed forces to be trained in the use of radar. Radar is a system that uses electromagnetic waves to identify the range altitude direction or speed of both moving and fixed objects such as Aircraft, ships

After the war, Ruppelt was released into the Army reserves. He attended Iowa State College where, in 1951, he earned an aeronautical engineering degree. The Iowa State University of Science and Technology, more commonly known as Iowa State University (ISU is a public land-grant and space-grant university Aerospace engineering is the branch of Engineering behind the design construction and science of Aircraft and Spacecraft. Shortly after finishing his education, Ruppelt was called back to active military duties after the Korean War began. The Korean War refers to a period of military conflict between North Korean and South Korean regimes with major hostilities lasting from June 25 1950 until the

He was assigned to the Air Technical Intelligence Center headquartered at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. Wright-Patterson Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located in Greene and Montgomery counties eight miles (13 km) northeast of Incidentally, the base had also headquartered two formal unidentified flying object investigations: Project Sign (1947-1948), which had come to favor the extraterrestrial hypothesis before being replaced with Project Grudge (1949-1951), which had a debunking mandate. Project Sign was an official US government study of Unidentified flying objects (UFOs undertaken by the United States Air Force in late 1947 and dissolved in late The extraterrestrial hypothesis (ETH is the Hypothesis that some UFOs are best explained as being creatures or space aliens from other planets Project Grudge was a short-lived project by the US Air Force to investigate Unidentified flying objects (UFOs A debunker is an individual who discredits and exposes claims as being false exaggerated unscientific or pretentious Though not initially involved with Grudge, Ruppelt quickly learned that the project was facing troubles when high-ranking officers disapproved of the direction it had taken.

With Blue Book

Eventually, Grudge was ordered dissolved, and Project Blue Book was planned to replace it. Project Blue Book was one of a series of systematic studies of Unidentified flying objects (UFOs conducted by the United States Air Force (U Lt. Col. N. R. Rosegarten asked Ruppelt to take over as the new project’s leader, partly because Ruppelt "had a reputation as a good organizer" (Jacobs, 65), and had helped get other wayward projects back on track. though he was initially scheduled to stay with Blue Book for only a few months, when Project Grudge was upgraded in status in late 1951 and renamed Project Blue Book, Ruppelt (then a Captain) was kept on as director when normally, such an upgrade would require the appointment of at last a Colonel to oversee the project; this may well be a testament to Ruppelt's leadership and organizational skills. Project Blue Book was one of a series of systematic studies of Unidentified flying objects (UFOs conducted by the United States Air Force (U

Ruppelt quickly implemented a number of changes in the late stages of Project Grudge, which were carried over to most of his tenure with Blue Book. He streamlined the manner in which UFOs were reported to (and by) military officials, partly in hopes of alleviating the stigma and ridicule associated with UFO witnesses.

Knowing that factionalism had harmed the progress of Project Sign, Ruppelt did his best to recruit open-minded, but objective and neutral personnel to staff Blue Book. Project Sign was an official US government study of Unidentified flying objects (UFOs undertaken by the United States Air Force in late 1947 and dissolved in late He tried to avoid the kinds of open-ended speculation that had led to Sign’s personnel being split among advocates and critics of the extraterrestrial hypothesis. The extraterrestrial hypothesis (ETH is the Hypothesis that some UFOs are best explained as being creatures or space aliens from other planets Ruppelt sought the advice of many scientists and experts, and issued regular press releases (along with classified monthly reports for military intelligence). A news release, media release, press release or press statement is a written or recorded Communication directed at members of the News

Perhaps most importantly, Ruppelt also ordered the development of a standard questionnaire for UFO witnesses, hoping to uncover data which could be subject to statistical analysis. He commissioned the Battelle Memorial Institute to create the questionnaire and computerize the data. The Battelle Memorial Institute is a private not-for-profit applied science and technology development company headquartered in Columbus Ohio. Using case reports and the computerized data, Battelle then did a massive scientific and statistical study of all Air Force UFO cases (completed in 1954 after Ruppelt had left Blue Book) and known as Project Blue Book Special Report No. 14. Project Blue Book was one of a series of systematic studies of Unidentified flying objects (UFOs conducted by the United States Air Force (U Battelle scientists found that even after stringent analysis, 22% of the cases remained classified as "unknown" and that these were different from the "knowns" at a very high level of statistical significance. The Battelle study also found that the best cases were twice as likely to be classified as unknowns as the worst cases.

Edward Ruppelt (standing center) at July 29, 1952 Pentagon UFO press conference. Also pictured, Major Generals Roger Ramey (seated left), USAF operations chief, and John A. Samford (seated right), USAF director of intelligence

During Ruppelt's tenure, Blue Book investigated a number of well-known UFO reports including the so-called Lubbock Lights and two highly-publicized radar-visual/jet-intercept cases which occurred over Washington DC in late July 1952 (see 1952 Washington D.C. UFO incident), which triggered the largest press conference since World War II to stop public panic (see photo at right). The Roswell Incident involved the recovery of materials near Roswell New Mexico, USA, on July 7, 1947, which has become the subject of intense John Alexander Samford (1905 &ndash December 1, 1968) was a former director of the National Security Agency. The Lubbock Lights were an unusual formation of lights seen over the city of Lubbock, Texas, from August-September 1951 The 1952 Washington DC UFO incident, also known as the Washington flap or the Washington National Airport Sightings, was a series of Unidentified flying Also during Ruppelt’s tenure with Blue Book, most UFO cases were attributed to prosaic causes, but about twenty-five percent were deemed "unknown". As cases with little or no corroborative evidence were generally excluded from consideration during Ruppelt's tenure with Blue Book, the remaining unknowns arguably constitute some of the best-known, best studied, yet still perplexing UFO reports of the late 1940s and early 1950s.

The Air Force would be charged with a cover-up of UFO evidence. A cover-up is an attempt whether successful or not to conceal evidence of wrong-doing error Incompetence, or other embarrassing information Ruppelt insisted, however, that at least during his tenure, conflict and confusion would be more accurately descriptive than to suggest that a deliberate cover-up was taking place. Ruppelt once wrote that the Air Force's approach to the UFO question "was tackled with organized confusion. " (Ruppelt, 1956, p. 46) In defending General Samford's press conference on 29 July, 1952, after the big UFO flap at Washington National Airport, Ruppelt wrote that "his [Samford's] people had fouled up in not fully investigating the sightings. John Alexander Samford (1905 &ndash December 1, 1968) was a former director of the National Security Agency. Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport is a public Airport located three miles (5 km) south of the Central business district of Washington " (Ruppelt, 1956, p. 223) Astronomer and Blue Book consultant J. Allen Hynek thought that Ruppelt did his best, only to see his efforts stymied. Josef Allen Hynek ( May 1, 1910 - April 27, 1986) was a United States Astronomer, Professor, and ufologist Hynek wrote "In my contacts with [Ruppelt] I found him to be honest and seriously puzzled about the whole phenomenon. " (Hynek, 175)

After Blue Book

Ruppelt requested reassignment from Blue Book in late 1953 shortly after the Robertson Panel issued its conclusions (based partly on the panel's official report, Ruppelt's Blue Book staff was reduced from more than ten personnel to three, including Ruppelt). The Robertson Panel was a committee commissioned by the Central Intelligence Agency in 1952 in response to widespread Unidentified Flying Object reports He retired from the Air Force not long afterwards, then worked in the aerospace industry. This article is about the field of research and industry for the corporation see The Aerospace Corporation Aerospace comprises the ^[1]

Three years later, Ruppelt's book The Report on Unidentified Flying Objects^[2] was published. The book is notable because it was, for several subsequent decades, the only account of Air Force UFO studies written by a participant. It remains arguably one of the most level-headed books about UFO; Hynek suggested that Ruppelt's "book should be required reading for anyone seriously interested in the history of this subject. " (Hynek, 175) In the book, Ruppelt detailed his time with Projects Grudge and Blue Book, and offered his assessments of some UFO cases, including a portion he thought were puzzling and unexplained. Ruppelt also revealed much insider material and thinking, including the existence of previously unknown classified documents and studies, such as the Robertson Panel.

The book was cleared by the Air Force. There were reports that some intriguing material was censored by the Air Force: in her Master's thesis, Diana Palmer Hoyt writes that "Michael Swords inspected the original draft of Ruppelt's manuscript and discovered that Ruppelt's published account of the material contained in the Estimate of the Situation left out significant documentation proving that UFOs were of extraterrestrial origin. A dissertation (also called thesis or disquisition) is a document that presents the author's Research and findings and is submitted in support of candidature The Estimate of the Situation was a document supposedly written in 1948 by the personnel of United States Air Force 's Project Sign -including the project’s director Swords concludes that the Air Force censored Ruppelt's published account. " (Hoyt, p 15)

In 1956, Donald Keyhoe asked Ruppelt to join to serve as an adviser to NICAP. Donald Edward Keyhoe (June 20 1897 - November 29 1988 was an American Marine Corps officer with some flight experience Writer of many aviation articles The National Investigations Committee On Aerial Phenomena (or NICAP) was a civilian Unidentified flying object research group active in the United States Ruppelt had recently suffered a heart attack, and declined Keyhoe’s offer. Myocardial infarction ( MI or AMI for acute myocardial infarction) also known as a heart attack, occurs when the blood supply Ruppelt's book indicates that Ruppelt held some dim views of Keyhoe and his early writings; Ruppelt noted that while Keyhoe generally had his facts straight, his interpretation of the facts was another question entirely. He thought Keyhoe often sensationalized the material and accused Keyhoe of "mind reading" what he and other officers were thinking. Yet Keyhoe cites conversations with Ruppelt in later books, suggesting that Ruppelt may have occasionally advised Keyhoe.

In 1960 the expanded edition of Ruppelt's book was published by as published Doubleday & Co.. The Doubleday Publishing Group is the fifth largest Book Publishing company in the world The only change from earlier editions came in three more chapters which largely echoed the Air Force's position that there was nothing unusual about UFOs. Ruppelt seemed to have abandoned his early views that some UFO reports seemed mysterious and unexplained, and he declared UFOs a "space age myth". In an unusual manner, the date of the publication was omitted. The book, with the 1956 copyright note and the 1955 date of Ruppelt's Foreword, made the new edition appear to be the original edition. Only the dust jacket gives any hint that this is the second edition of the previous book.

Keyhoe and others would suggest that Ruppelt had caved in to Air Force pressures to change his public statements about UFOs. Others argued against this, noting that Ruppelt had more than demonstrated his objectivity, and might have simply reached a conclusion after careful consideration of the evidence. Clark reports that Ruppelt's widow asserted that her husband's investigation of the contactee movement soured his opinion of UFO phenomena. Contactees are persons who claim to be in regular contact with extraterrestrials. Ruppelt's discussion of the contactees, particularly George Adamski, is arguably the most interesting portion of the revised book. George Adamski ( April 17, 1891 – April 23, 1965) was a Polish -born American citizen who became widely known in Ufology

Ruppelt died of a heart attack on September 15, 1960, at the age of 37. Myocardial infarction ( MI or AMI for acute myocardial infarction) also known as a heart attack, occurs when the blood supply Events 668 - Eastern Roman Emperor Constans II is assassinated in his bath at Syracuse Italy. Year 1960 ( MCMLX) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.

Reputation

Ruppelt is generally highly regarded by UFO researchers who often see him as something of a hero in a David and Goliath struggle to earn respectability for UFOs. Goliath ( גָּלְיָת, Standard Hebrew Golyat, Tiberian Hebrew Golyāṯ, Arabic: جالوت Jalut (Muslim

However, according to researcher Brad Sparks,^[3] this reputation is not only unwarranted but detrimental to UFO research. Sparks argues that Ruppelt demonstrated a "pattern of deceit" and cites eleven specific occasions where Ruppelt knowingly misrepresented facts or helped cover-up some data. A cover-up is an attempt whether successful or not to conceal evidence of wrong-doing error Incompetence, or other embarrassing information

Notes

References

External links

• The Report on Unidentified Flying Objects, by Edward J. Ruppelt
• Project Blue Book Archive Online version of USAF Project Blue Book microfilm
• Works by Edward J. Ruppelt at Project Gutenberg
• Original Documents of Project Blue Book Free online access