Donald Keyhoe

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Donald Edward Keyhoe (June 20, 1897 - November 29, 1988) was an American Marine Corps officer with some flight experience, writer of many aviation articles and stories in a variety of leading publications, and manager of some of the spectacular flights of aviation pioneers, especially of Charles Lindbergh.

In the 1950 he became well-known as an engaged, knowledgeable UFO researcher, arguing that the U.S. government should conduct appropriate research in UFO matters, and should release all their UFO files. Jerome Clark writes that "Keyhoe was widely regarded as the leader in the field" of ufology.

1 Early life and career
2 Flying Saucers Are Real
3 The NICAP Era
4 Ouster and Later Life
5 Sources
6 Selected bibliography
7 See also
8 External links

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Early life and career

Keyhoe was born and raised in Ottumwa, Iowa. He attended the Naval Preparatory Academy, where he earned a B.S. degree in 1919. Not long afterwards he was commissioned as a Marine Corps Lieutenant.

In 1922, his arm was injured during an airplane crash in Guam. During his long convalescense, Keyhoe began writing as a hobby. He eventually returned to active duty, but the injury gave Keyhoe persistent trouble, and as a result, he retired from the Marines in 1923. He then worked for the Geodetic Survey and U.S. Department of Commerce.

In 1927, Keyhoe managed a very popular coast-to-coast tour by Charles Lindbergh. This led to Keyhoe's first book, 1928's Flying With Lindbergh. The book was a quick success, and led to a freelance writing career, with many of Keyhoe's articles and fictional stories (mostly related to aviation) appearing in a variety of leading publications.

During World War II, Keyhoe reenlisted in the armed forces, and served in the Naval Aviation Training Division. He was promoted to Major during the war.

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Flying Saucers Are Real

Following Kenneth Arnold's report of odd, fast-moving aerial objects in the summer of 1947, interest in "flying disks" and "flying saucers" was widespread, and Keyhoe followed the subject with some interest, though he was initially skeptical of any extraordinary answer to the UFO question. For some time, True (a popular American men's magazine) had been inquiring of officials as to the flying saucer question, with little to show for their efforts. In about May 1950, after the Air Force had released contradictory information about the saucers, editor Ken Purdy turned to Keyhoe, who had written for the magazine, but who also, importantly, had many friends and contacts in the military and the Pentagon.

After some investigation, Keyhoe became convinced that the flying saucers were real. As their forms, flight maneuvers, speeds and light technology was apparently far ahead of any nation's developments, Keyhoe became convinced that they must be the products of unearthly intelligences, and that the U.S. government was trying to suppress the whole truth about the subject. This conclusion was based especially on the response Keyhoe found when he quizzed various officials about flying saucers. He was told there was nothing to the subject, yet was simultaneously denied access to saucer-related documents.

Others have disagreed with Keyhoe's assessments. Air Force Captain Edward J. Ruppelt wrote, "the Air Force wasn't trying to cover up", (Chapter five) and declared that "The problem was tackled with organized confusion" (Chapter two). In defending General Samford's press conference on 29 July 1952, after the big UFO flap at Washington National Airport, Ruppelt wrote that "his people had fouled up in not fully investigating the sightings" (Chapt. XII) Ruppelt contributed to or even created the discussion about government "cover up" or/and "foul up."

Keyhoe's article "Flying Saucers Are Real" appeared in the January, 1950 issue of True (prublished Dec. 26, 1949) and caused a sensation. Though such figures are always difficult to verify, Ruppelt reported that "It is rumored among magazine publishers that Don Keyhoe's article in True was one of the most widely read and widely discussed magazine articles in history."

Capitalizing on the interest, Keyhoe expanded the article into a book, The Flying Saucers Are Real, (1950), which would sell over half a million copies in paperback. He argued that the Air Force knew that flying saucers were extraterrestrial, but downplayed the reports to avoid public panic. In Keyhoe's view, the aliens--wherever their origins or intentions--did not seem hostile, and had likely been surveilling the earth for two hundred years or more, though Keyhoe wrote that their "observation suddenly increased in 1947, following the series of A-bomb explosions in 1945." Dr. Michael D. Swords characterized the book as "a rather sensational but accurate account of the matter." (Swords, p. 100)

Keyhoe wrote several more books about UFOs. Flying Saucers From Outer Space (1953) is perhaps the most impressive, being largely based on interviews and official reports vetted by the Air Force. The book included a blurb by Albert M. Chop, the Air Force's press secretary in the Pentagon, who characterized Keyhoe as a "responsible, accurate reporter" and further expressed guarded approval for Keyhoe's arguments in favor of the extraterrestrial hypothesis. Such endorsements only cemented the belief, held by some observers, that the Air Force's mixed messages about UFOs were due to a cover up.

Ruppelt's book indicates that Ruppelt held some dim views of Keyhoe and his early writings; Ruppelt noted that while Keyhoe generally had his facts straight, his interpretation of the facts was another question entirely. He thought Keyhoe often sensationalized material and accused Keyhoe of "mind reading" what he and other officers were thinking. Yet Keyhoe cites conversations with Ruppelt in later books, suggesting that Ruppelt may have occasionally advised Keyhoe.

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The NICAP Era

In 1956, Keyhoe cofounded the National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena (NICAP). He was one of several prominent professional, military or scientific figures on the board of directors, which lent the group a degree of legitimacy many of the other contemporary "flying saucer clubs" sorely lacked.

NICAP founder Thomas Townsend Brown was ousted as director in early 1957 after facing repeated charges of financial ineptitude. Keyhoe replaced him; he was only slightly better at managing NICAP's finances, and the group continued their efforts

With Keyhoe in the lead, NICAP pressed hard for Congressional hearings and investigation into UFOs. They scored some attention from the mass media, and the general public (NICAP's membership peaked at about 15,000 during the early and mid 1960s) but only very limited interest from government officials.

However, there was increasing criticism of the Air Force's Project Blue Book. Following a widely publicized wave of UFO reports in 1966, NICAP was among the chorus which called for an independent scientific investigation of UFOs. The Condon Committee was formed with this goal in mind, though it quickly became enmired in infighting and, later, controversy. Keyhoe publicized the so-called "Trick Memo", an embarrassing memorandum written by a Condon Committee coordinator which seemed to suggest that the ostensibly objective and neutral Committee had determined to persue a debunking operation well before even beginning their studies.

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Ouster and Later Life

NICAPs membership plummeted in the late 1960s, and Keyhoe faced charges of incompetence and authoritarianism. NICAP's board of directors expelled Keyhoe in 1969. There were several persons with CIA ties in NICAP, and there was speculation that the CIA engeneered Keyhoe's ouster.

Keyhoe wrote one more UFO book, 1973's Aliens From Space. It promotes "Operation Lure", a scheme to entice extraterrestrials to land.

Beyond this book, Keyhoe had little contact with ufology as he settled into retirement. (He did, however, speak at a few UFO conferences after his ouster from NICAP). He joined MUFON's board of directors in 1981, but his membership was essentially in name only, and he had little to do with the organization..

Several of Keyhoe's books are now in the public domain and are available online.

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Sources

Jerome Clark, The UFO Book
Keyhoe, Donald E., The Flying Saucers Are Real
Edward J. Ruppelt, The Report on Unidentified Flying Objects
Ann Druffel, Firestorm - Dr. James E. McDonald's Fight For UFO Science, Wild Flower Press, Columbus, 1997, ISBN 0926524585 (passim, especially pp. 450-474)
Michael D. Swords, "UFOs, the Military, and the Early Cold War" (pp. 82-122 in UFOs and Abductions: Challenging the Borders of Knowledge, David M. Jacobs, editor; University Press of Kansas, 2000; ISBN)

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