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referred critically to a 1949 change of attitude in the
Project whereby: "everything was being evaluated on the premise UFO's couldn't exist. No matter what you see or hear, don't believe it". Ruppelt had also been prompted to write back in 1956: "This period of "mind changing" bothered me", and "this change in the operating policy of the UFO project was so pronounced that, I like so many other people, wondered if there was a hidden reason for the change. Was it actually an attempt to go underground - to make the project more secretive?"
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When
Project Grudge was ordered dissolved, Project Blue Book was developed to replace it. Lt. Col. N. R. Rosengarten asked Ruppelt to take over as the new project's leader, partly because Ruppelt "had a reputation as a good organizer", and had helped get other wayward projects back on track.
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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 was open-minded about UFOs, and his investigators were not known, as Grudge's were, for force-fitting explanations on cases."
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In new chapters notably conservative in tone, and frequently attributed by reviewers to author disillusionment or disenchantment, Ruppelt declared UFOs a "space age myth". Content of this nature was of a noticeably different tone to famous quotes from the original "Report" that had, for example,
333:. Hynek suggested that Ruppelt's "book should be required reading for anyone seriously interested in the history of this subject". In the book, Ruppelt detailed his time with Projects Grudge and Blue Book, and offered his assessments of some UFO cases.
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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). He retired from the Air Force not long afterwards, then worked in the
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Though he was initially scheduled to stay with Blue Book for only a few months, when
Project Grudge was reorganized in late 1951 and renamed Project Blue Book, Ruppelt (then a captain) was kept on as director.
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348:, and declined Keyhoe's offer. Ruppelt's book indicates that he held some dim views of Keyhoe and his early writings; Ruppelt stated that while Keyhoe generally had his facts straight, his
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of those 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.
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thought that
Ruppelt did his best, only to see his efforts stymied. Hynek wrote "In my contacts with I found him to be honest and seriously puzzled about the whole phenomenon".
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In what would turn out to be a matter of months before his death, Ruppelt came out with an expanded (20-chapter) edition of his book - as published by
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Ruppelt wrote that the Air Force's initial approach to the UFO question "was tackled with organized confusion." In defending
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in 1949 and then
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Ruppelt requested reassignment from Blue Book in late 1953 shortly after the
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In what one paper referred to as a "sudden" death, Ruppelt succumbed to a
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After the war, Ruppelt was released into the Army reserves. He attended
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539:. Scotland, Connecticut: The Sign Historical Group, November 2001.
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asked
Ruppelt to join to serve as an adviser to the newly created
493:"UFOCRITIQUE: UFOs, Social Intelligence and the Condon Committee"
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Proceedings of the Sign
Historical Group UFO History Workshop
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513:. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press, 1975.
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United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II
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National Investigations Committee On Aerial Phenomena
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in 1942, and served with distinction as a decorated
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323:. In 1956, he worked as a research engineer for
183:(July 17, 1923 – September 15, 1960) was a
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46:Captain Edward J. Ruppelt (left), head of
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527:The Report On Unidentified Flying Objects
372:on September 15, 1960, at the age of 37.
344:(NICAP). Ruppelt had recently suffered a
330:The Report on Unidentified Flying Objects
504:The UFO Experience: A Scientific Inquiry
480:. Detroit, Michigan: Visible Ink, 1998.
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244:, two theater combat ribbons, three
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259:where, in 1951, he earned a
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193:unidentified flying objects
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173:Northrop Aircraft Company
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265:aeronautical engineering
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240:: he was awarded "five
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171:Research engineer for
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228:. He enlisted in the
220:Early life and career
113:Years of service
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575:at Wikimedia Commons
491:Hoyt, Diana Palmer.
462:Ruppelt 1956, p. 58.
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181:Edward James Ruppelt
59:Edward James Ruppelt
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495:. Master's Thesis,
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261:Bachelor of Science
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589:Wikisource
376:References
269:Korean War
263:degree in
248:, and two
246:Air Medals
238:bombardier
139:Korean War
70:1923-07-17
56:Birth name
336:In 1956,
215:Biography
156:Air Medal
116:1942–1954
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101:Service/
605:at the
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