Purdy only knew the half of it. There was
more. Had Keyhoe or Purdy known of the other activities around the
last part of April and early May, they would have been sure there
was something funny occurring. The Air Force had made a concerted
effort to spread its position in both official circles and to the
public. [1]
Among the activities were:
1. The Directorate of Intelligence personnel
briefing the USAF Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations and his staff on
UFOs on 27 April 1949. [2]
2. The Air Force sent a Top Secret
"Unidentified Aerial Objects" presentation with Appendix A, a
summary of Air Force actions to the Joint Committee on Intelligence
(JIC) on 27 April 1949. The Committee was composed of
representatives from the Army, Navy, Air Force, State Department,
FBI and CIA. [3]
3. The printed copies of the Top Secret
"Analysis of Flying Object Incidents in the United
States" (Air Intelligence Report 100-203-79) by the USAF
Director Intelligence and the Office of Naval Intelligence. The
printed report cover shows the date, 28 April 1949 although the
document had been approved on 10 December 1948. [4]
4. The "Memorandum for the Press" "Project Saucer
was released to the press on 29 April 1949. [5]
5. The Saturday Evening
Post hit the news stands on 29 April 1949
with the first
part of Sydney Shallet's article on UFOs. [6]
The Air Force Public Relations Office gave its
full cooperation to Shallet in the preparation of his
Saturday Evening Post features.
Major General Cabell had major problems with
Shallet and his articles. He would have preferred to have complete
control over the press policy. However, his attempt to obtain such
authority from Secretary of Defense Forrestal appeared to have been
thwarted by Mr. Leo of the Public Relations Office. [7]
Shallet's articles dismissed UFOs as any cause
for concern, despite the conclusions of the recently printed,
"Analysis of Flying Object Incidents in
the United
States," which recommended that efforts be taken to
determine whether UFOs represented a domestic development, and if
not, that actions should then be taken to determine if they were a
foreign development
Shallet's article was his own, but probably
endorsed by Mr. Leo. The Project Saucer
press release was less negative than Purdy pointed out to Keyhoe.
There was then a necessity to make sure that
the USAF and the Intelligence community knew the Directorate of
Intelligence's position. Therefore, the briefings prior to the
release of the Project Saucer press
memorandum informed these officials of the position held by
Air Force Intelligence.
Project Grudge's files
had been opened to Shallet. Mr. Leo wrote to Wright Field that
Shallet should be given access to all information, except that from
foreign sources, and material classified Top Secret.
Soon after Shallet's article hit the stands,
other writers and editors requested access to the files at
Wright Field. Purdy was one of the first. Maj. Gen. Cabell may
have lost his bid to limit press access, but now when asked about
these new requests, Cabell responded that if one writer was given
access, all should be given access. Cabell's sense of fair play may
have helped Keyhoe and Purdy obtain the information which convinced
them that UFO's were extraterrestrial. The desired effect of
Shallet's article was soon overcome by Keyhoe's articles and his
subsequent best selling book, The Flying Saucers Are
Real. [8]
The JIC document has eluded
researchers for years. In it one can see the seeds of the later
Project Grudge report. It contains a summarized
history of the Air Force's early attempt to investigate UFO reports.
There is one error in the JIC document. The study that lead to "Analysis of Flying Object Reports in the
United States" was initiated by
Maj. Gen. Cabell on 27
July, 1948, shortly after the Chiles-Whitted
sighting, not 6 August,
1948, as given in the JIC presentation. [9]
In the JIC report the
Directorate of Intelligence had already abandoned a major portion of
the freshly printed, "Analysis." In about 18 months
the "Analysis" would be completely discarded and
ordered destroyed. [10]
[1] Keyhoe, Donald E., The Flying Saucers Are Real,
Gold Medal,
1950, page 18-19.
[2] See:
http://www.project1947.com/fig/airbrf.htm
Directorate of Intelligence, USAF, Decimal Correspondence
File,
"Flying Discs," 1949, National Archives II, College Park
Maryland.
[3] See:
http://www.project1947.com/fig/jic.htm
Deputy Director of Intelligence, USAF. Records Group 341,
Entry 214A, Top Secret Control #2-7051-A, National Archives II,
College Park, Maryland.
[4] See:
http://www.project1947.com/fig/1948air.htm
USAF Directorate of Intelligence, Current Intelligence Files: Top
Secret
Control #2- 7341 National Archives II, College Park, Maryland
[5] See: http://www.project1947.com/fig/projsauc.htm
"Project Saucer," Memorandum to the Press # M26-49, 27 April 1949,
Project Blue Book files.
[6] The Saturday Evening Post, April 30, May 7, 1949.
[7] See: http://www.project1947.com/fig/1948e.htm
Air Staff Study on press policy and flying discs.
See: http://www.project1947.com/fig/1948f.htm
Memorandum to Forrestal on press policy.
See: http://www.project1947.com/fig/1948d.htm
Memorandum for Record concerning press policy.
Secretary of Air Force Office of Information UFO files 1947-
1952,
microfilm #33765, USAF Historical Research Activity,
Maxwell Air
Force Base, AL.
[8] Secretary of Air Force Office of Information UFO files
1947- 1952,
microfilm #33765, USAF Historical Research Activity,
Maxwell Air
Force Base, AL.
[9] Records Group 341, General Files, Entry 214, Top Secret
Control # 2-3931.
[10] Letter, Subject: Destruction of Air Intelligence Report
Number 100-203-79, 25 September 1950, Directorate of Intelligence,
USAF, Decimal Correspondence File, "Flying Discs," 1950, National
Archives II, College Park Maryland.
