Captain Edward Ruppelt

United States Air Force Captain Edward Ruppelt was a key figure in the early days of UFO investigation. In fact, Ruppelt is credited with coining the term UFO (originally pronounced Yoo-foe) to replace the "flying saucer" to describe the mysterious flying objects being reported all over the world.

Ruppelt was born in Iowa in 1923. He enlisted in the Army Air Corps in World War II and served with distinction as a bombardier. He earned several military decorations for his excellent service, including three Air Medals and two Distinguished Flying Crosses.

After the war, he was released into the Army Reserves. He attended Iowa State College and earned a degree in Aeronautical Engineering.

 



 

Shortly after earning his degree, Ruppelt was recalled in to active duty during the Korean War. He was assigned to the Air Technical Intelligence Command at Wright Patterson Air Force Base. Wright Patterson was the headquarters of what were then called "flying saucer investigations". Ruppelt was assigned to Project Grudge, which had mostly been tasked with debunking all flying saucer reports.

 

When Project Grudge flying saucer investigations were dissolved in 1951, to be replaced by Project Blue Book, Ruppelt was asked to take command of the new assignment. Ruppelt had developed the reputation of being " a good organizer who got other wayward projects back on track". An Air Force Colonel would normally be asked to take on an assignment of this magnitude, which was a testament to Ruppelt's leadership ability and organizational skills.

 

Ruppelt created a standardized report for UFO sightings which provided quantifiable data for Air Force leadership. He recruited open-minded, objective members for Project Blue Book to ensure that the reportage contained no pro or anti-flying saucer bias.

 

Ruppelt oversaw many famous UFO investigations, including the Green Fireballs of New Mexico, the Lubbock Lights and the UFO over-flight of Washington DC in 1952. in 1952, He was a member of the largest Pentagon press briefing since WWII about the DC incident.

 

    

                                                                     



Ruppelt left Project Blue Book in 1953. He retired for the Air Force soon after. His book, The Report on Unidentified Flying Objects, was published in 1956. It is still a chilling read.

 

Ruppelt is credited with bringing UFO investigations out of "the Dark Ages". The world lost one of it's UFO investigative pioneers when Ruppelt died of a heart attack at the young age of 37 on September 15, 1960.