Correspondence Regarding UFO Sightings: Ross Vermillion and Others

This document collection contains correspondence and internal records related to UFO sightings reported in June 1950, specifically involving Reverend Ross Vermillion near Kingman, Kansas, and an anonymous witness identified as 'Mr. R' in Cincinnati, Ohio. Reverend Vermillion, a former Air Force pilot, reported seeing a large object resembling a B-29 aircraft while driving with his wife and another family. The report highlights the witness's claim of the object's extreme speed and acceleration. Another case involves a civil engineer who reported a sighting while traveling north from Denver, Colorado, near Fort Collins, describing an object that appeared to bounce off the atmosphere. The Air Force, through the Aerial Phenomena Office and Project Blue Book, consistently responded to these inquiries by stating that they could not release specific details of individual cases due to security policies and the volume of requests. The documents include internal Air Force communications, such as a letter from Major Hector Quintanilla, Jr., explaining that it is impractical to conduct detailed investigations into reports from years prior. The collection also features a 'July 1950 Sightings' log, which categorizes various reports as 'Astro (Meteor)', 'Balloon', 'A/C', or 'UNIDENTIFIED'. The correspondence underscores the tension between public interest in these phenomena and the Air Force's administrative stance on the matter, which emphasized that reports should be filed as soon as possible to allow for comprehensive analysis. The documents also reference the death of Captain Thomas Mantell in the context of UFO investigations, reflecting the era's concern regarding the potential dangers of intercepting unidentified objects.