by Author, Charles Lear
On December 17, 1969, a news release from the Office of Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs) announced the termination of Project Blue Book. According to the document, Secretary of the Air Force Robert C. Seamans Jr. stated in a memo to Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. John D. Ryan that “the continuation of Project Blue Book cannot be justified either on the ground of national security or in the interest of science.” An early indication that this was coming was Dr. J. Allen Hynek, a scientific consultant for Project Blue Book for the entirety of its existence and Projects Sign and Grudge before it, finding out that there was nothing for him in the budget for the upcoming year. Of course, not everyone agreed with the Air Force’s decision and people continued seeing UFOs, but they no longer had an official organization prepared to take reports.
According to the article (page 1 of pdf) in the May-June 1969 APRO Bulletin headlined “Hynek Leaves Blue Book,” the Air Force failed to renew his contract on June 30, 1969. The reader is told that Hynek got his first indication that his contract wouldn’t be renewed when his friend John Sweeney called him. Sweeney worked as a monitor for the McGraw-Hill Corporation, which was in charge of disbursements to civilians working at Wright-Patterson, and Sweeney was puzzled by the fact that there was nothing in the budget for Hynek for that fiscal year.
After the release came out, newspapers all over the country carried the news under headlines such as “Shooting Down the Flying Saucers” in the January 6, 1970, Olean, New York, Olean Times Herald, and “Air Force Closes Study of U.F.O.’S” in the December 18, 1969, New York Times. These can be seen in the January 1970 issue of the UFORC (UFO Research Committee) Clipping Service, which would become the UFO Newsclipping Service in February 1974.
Also in that issue is an article (page 2 of pdf) by Bill Pryce headlined “UFOs Keep on Flying” in the “Voice of the People” section of the December 25, 1969, Seattle Post-Intelligencer arguing that the Air Force treated “the UFO (flying saucer) like an insane aunt who should be locked in the attic” and that it had left the subject to “any segment of society not afraid of the stigma of ridicule.” According to Pryce, the Air Force gave up without ever giving the subject “the scientific scrutiny it so well deserves.”
An article on page one from the December 20, 1969, Walla Walla, Washington, Union Bulletin headlined “Local UFO Shows Just A Day Late” described a sighting reported by Margarite Wilson, 234 W. Cherry. According to the article, Wilson “reported seeing a small ‘bright white object’” that was moving south and then changed direction and moved west and then “streaked south again.” The reader is told at the beginning of the article that her report came “almost simultaneously” with the Air Force announcement.
On page five is an article headlined “UFO Sighting Can’t Be Reported” in the December 6, 1969, Richmond, Virginia, Times Dispatch that seems to indicate that things were already winding down at Blue Book as early as December 5th. It was either that or there was a serious lack of knowledge regarding UFO reporting procedure among local and federal officials.
According to the article, three policemen in different locations in Richmond, Traffic Patrolman W. W. Tanner, W. E. Shannon, and D. C. Swank, saw “unfamiliar lights in the sky” at around 5:45 p.m. on December 5th. Tanner told the Dispatch over the phone that, in the reporter’s words, “the first object” moved quite slowly from southeast to northwest. According to Tanner, “It looked like a star, but it moved and stopped. It wasn’t red. It wasn’t blue – just white.” The reporter describes Shannon breaking in saying, excitedly, “It’s now going south. It’s really moving.”
It seems that the first organization the Dispatch contacted was the FAA at Byrd Field, and someone there said that nothing was seen on radar but added that they were set up to detect objects at a lower altitude than the reported UFOs. The Dispatch was given a phone number, and it turned out to be that of the Federal Building in downtown Richmond.
An operator there is described as being “a bit taken aback, when asked about UFO reporting procedures” and then forwarding the call to military intelligence. The Dispatch was told by someone there that “The only office I see listed is the Air Force Office.” According to the article, the FAA was called again and the person who answered was asked which Air Force office to call, and that person replied, “The number on the board is our reference.”
That number is said to have been called, which turned out to be an Air Force recruiting office, and the person there is said to have suggested trying the Washington Air Defense Sector at Byrd Field and to have given the number.
According to the article, the person who answered at Byrd Field suggested that Lt. Jones in the information office was the person to talk to, and when he was reached, he said Langley Air Force Base was the place to call.
The reporter describes the caller being put on hold at Langley and then transferred to a number that had a busy signal and then, with the aid of an operator from the Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company and a base operator, finally reaching someone at “what appeared to be the 4500th Air Base Group Command Post and being asked if the report was a new one.
A series of calls involving busy signals and various suggestions as to who “was empowered to take such reports” is described, and the last office said to have been contacted was that of Fort Lee Air Force Station Senior Director Capt. Mitchell. The person who answered is said to have told the caller that Mitchell was gone and that he was about to leave as well. The article ends with the person answering the question “Is this where one would normally get information about UFOs?” with “I haven’t been asked that before. If something came up, we’d probably have information on it.”