by UFO History Buff & Author, Charles Lear
*Note: I have a different opinion than Charles, but respect other people’s opinions, Martin
On Saturday, January 18, there was a much hyped exclusive on NewsNation, presented by Ross Coulthart. What was promised was testimony from a “whistleblower” along with video to back it up that a government UFO crash retrieval program does indeed exist. There was much excitement on social media, but once the episode aired, there was much anger and disappointment, the main complaint being that the video was less than convincing. While there was a lot of focus on the video, there was another focus on what we believe should always be the first principle when examining claims of this nature, and that is: Consider the source. Read more
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On Saturday, January 11, I paid a visit to David Marler at the new facility in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, housing the contents of the National UFO Historical Records Center. The NUFOHRC is a recently formed non-profit organization, and the facility consists of two buildings provided by Rio Rancho Public Schools on the campus of the Martin Luther King Elementary School. In one of the buildings is a treasure trove of, well, UFO Historical Records, including the case files of the big three in twentieth century UFO investigation: the National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena, the Center for UFO Studies, and the Aerial Phenomena Research Organization. The APRO files had been in private hands since APRO ceased being active in 1988, and I was particularly eager to see those, as well as see the facility and offer congratulations to David. 
From the very beginning of the flying saucer/UFO mystery, Joseph Allen Hynek played a huge role as an investigator. According to him in his 1972 book, The UFO Experience, in 1947 he was asked to be a scientific consultant for the Air Force’s investigation program (which was then called Project Sign) based at Wright-Patterson AFB in Dayton, Ohio. He explains he was “then director of Ohio State University’s McMillan Observatory and, as such, the closest professional astronomer at hand.” He remained a scientific consultant for what operated as Project Sign, Project Grudge, and then Project Blue Book as of 1952, up until its termination in 1969. He went on with his own investigations, formed the Center for UFO Studies in 1973, and continued as its director until his death in 1986. In his almost 40 years of involvement with the mystery, Hynek’s beliefs and public stance evolved quite a bit. 