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December 2017
from
TheBlackVault Website
Additional information is still being scanned. There is still a ton of information below, but check back often!
from the "Desks of Project Blue Book" courtesy of Investigator Rob Mercer. Many of these files are not available anywhere else, and are here due to the research efforts of Mr. Mercer. None of this can be reproduced without the express permission, as Mr. Mercer personally scanned this material for archival purposes.
the original advertisement for the collection.
He resides in the Springfield, Ohio about 20 minutes from Wright Patterson Air Force Base. Wright Patterson has a rich history of research and development.
It also plays an important part in UFO lore, with its ties to Roswell in 1947 and other UFO events.
The Air Force also conducted their different investigation programs of UFO's there, including Project Blue Book. Rob had spent years doing service work in homes in the Dayton area, including those of personnel who worked at the base.
During this time, it was not uncommon for him to come across people that are also interested in UFO's. Some would have collections of books or binders put together from private investigators.
Items that will eventually be passed on to relatives, who in most cases, don't care to keep them.
It is a good bet that a lot of these collections will meet the curb, but from time to time you can find items such as these on Ebay or similar sites. Cost, time, and effort with shipping are required with these, something that most won't bother with.
Craigslist however,
provides a place that is free, and it allows for local pickup. For
this reason, he long thought that if he kept an eye out, he might
come across some deals on some personal collections.
The ad was from Centerville, which is located just south of Dayton. It stated that the materials were apparently the property of an Air Force Captain who was assigned to Project Blue Book.
They were found behind a pile of lumber bought at auction in a garage in Fairborn, Ohio. A good portion of Wright Patterson is located in Fairborn, so upon seeing this he was instantly intrigued.
There was a good chance that it was the real deal...
The next morning when Rob received a response, he was told that there had been no interest in the files up to that point. After work, he made the trip to view the items and was convinced of their authenticity.
After purchasing the
files (ALL UNCLASSIFIED), to be safe he made sure to get a
screenshot of the ad in hopes of protecting himself if the files
ended up having been stolen.
He found a name that was on many of the later documents, and began his search there. He was able to determine the name was associated with a house that had been sold a few years before.
A search showed this same house having an auction a couple of months prior.
He drove by the house,
and saw that there was a two-story garage behind it. This was
perfect place for items to be stored, misplaced and possibly lost
over time.
Everything matched up and he began trying to figure out how to approach him. In the case that he was unaware of the files being out, he did not want to expose him to trouble.
The box contained slides
showing "UFO" photos and other briefing documents, two binders with
case summaries and photos, a 16mm from Moline, IL and various other
files.
with Lr.
Carmon Marano
He said that he didn't realize that he had left them behind when he moved out. They spoke about his time in service, the UFO program and politics.
After 45 years his memory was a little fuzzy, but he remembered some of the cases.
The Officer said he grew up a fan of science fiction, and mentioned that when he was first assigned to the program he planned to prove that we were being visited.
After two years he became burned out and convinced otherwise.
When looking at some of the hoaxes and other photos submitted to Blue Book, along with the amount of paperwork that went into each case, it is easy to see why this would happen.
By the late 60's, little
resources and staff were available.
where
the items were found.
During his time, he was also charged with organizing the case files. Blue Book didn't have the best relationship with the press, and from time to time they would get requests about specific cases.
He took it upon himself to make the process friendlier, he copied case files and organized them into books to make it easier for them.
When the program shut down and closed in 1970, he declassified all of the case files except for Navy sightings. They could not be declassified because they would reveal military whereabouts.
From there they sent the
files on to Maxwell Air Force Base.
Rob was sent four more boxes, including:
He learned that the files he acquired were some originals, as well as copies that were used for the press, as well as UFO investigation tools, books, and other UFO related documents and interoffice memos (ALL UNCLASSIFIED) from their actual desks.
They were earmarked for
the trash, the officer kept them as souvenirs...
The following material was collected from J. Allen Hynek.
It is believed that the majority of this, do not appear anywhere else in the Blue Book files.
Note: some of the material below MAY be copyrighted. It is archived here for research and reference, and all copyrights are held by their respective holders.
Also, you will note each PDF has bookmarks built in to help organize the information below even further.
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