But Project Grudge had an answer, it was a weather balloon.  There was no explanation as to why they had so glibly reversed the decision of the Air Weather Service.

There was an answer for every report.

From the 600 pages of appendixes, discussions of the appendixes, and careful studies of UFO reports, it was concluded that: 

Evaluation of reports of unidentified flying objects constitute no direct threat to the national security of the United States.

Reports of unidentified flying objects are the result of: 

A mild form of mass hysteria or “war nerves.”

Individuals who fabricate such reports to perpetrate a hoax or seek publicity.

Psychopathological persons.

Misidentification of various conventional objects.

It was recommended that Project Grudge be “reduced in scope” and that only “those reports clearly indicating realistic technical applications” be sent to Grudge.  There was a note below these recommendations.  It said, “It is readily apparent that further study along present lines would only confirm the findings presented herein.”

Somebody read the note and concurred because with the completion and approval of the Grudge Report, Project Grudge folded.  People could rant and rave, see flying saucers, pink elephants, sea serpents, or Harvey, but it was no concern of ATIC’s.

CHAPTER SIX

The Presses Roll—­The Air Force Shrugs

The Grudge Report was supposedly not for general distribution.  A few copies were sent to the Air Force Press Desk in the Pentagon and reporters and writers could come in and read it.  But a good many copies did get into circulation.  The Air Force Press Room wasn’t the best place to sit and study a 600-page report, and a quick glance at the report showed that it required some study—­if no more than to find out what the authors were trying to prove—­so several dozen copies got into circulation.  I know that these “liberated” copies of the Grudge Report had been thoroughly studied because nearly every writer who came to ATIC during the time that I was in charge of Project Blue Book carried a copy.

Since the press had some questions about the motives behind releasing the Grudge Report, it received very little publicity while the writers put out feelers.  Consequently in early 1950 you didn’t read much about flying saucers.

Evidently certain people in the Air Force thought this lull in publicity meant that the UFO’s had finally died because Project Grudge was junked.  All the project files, hundreds of pounds of reports, memos, photos, sketches, and other assorted bits of paper were unceremoniously yanked out of their filing cabinets, tied up with string, and chucked into an old storage case.  I would guess that many reports ended up as “souvenirs” because a year later, when I exhumed these files, there were a lot of reports missing.