Description

Donald Keyhoe was a former Marine, aviator, and writer who was one of the first serious researchers on UFOs. Following the first modern "flying saucer" flap in 1947-48, Keyhoe learned through his USAF connections about the classified Project Sign report known later as the "Estimate of the Situation" that posited an "interplanetary" (i.e. extraterrestrial) explanation for some of the unexplained cases they investigated. He also learned that as a result, Sign was shut down and replaced by Project Grudge which just became a tool to debunk reports.

Keyhole wrote an article about his research for True Magazine in late 1949, exposing the existence of Project Sign (which he referred to by its internal nickname "Project Saucer"). He then expanded the article into a book, *The Flying Saucers are Real*, which was published as a paperback in the spring of 1950. It is the first real book on UFOs. A digital version is available here:

https://archive.org/details/TheFlyingSaucersAreReal

Keyhoe wrote several more important books on UFOs in the 1950s. He was one of the first researchers to promote the extraterrestrial hypothesis, and also to allege a government conspiracy to cover up the phenomenon. 1956 he co-founded the first prominent UFO organization, NICAP, the National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena, and shortly thereafter became its director. NICAP struggled over the next two decades with finances and membership, but it was still the main UFO advocacy group throughout the 1960s, and Keyhoe was the one who published the "Trick Memo" exposing the Condon Committee as a complete farce.

Keyhoe was a true pioneer of ufology and a tour de force fighting for disclosure from the very beginning until his death in the 1980s.

Edit: voice to text typos