Comments on Letters Dealing with Unidentified Flying Objects

This memorandum, dated April 4, 1958, from the Chief of the Applied Science Division, SI, addresses correspondence received by the CIA from Leon Davidson and Donald E. Keyhoe regarding Unidentified Flying Objects. The document provides context regarding the 1953 Scientific Intelligence Advisory Panel, which included scientists H. P. Robertson, Luis W. Alvarez, Lloyd V. Berkner, S. A. Goudsmit, and Thornton Page. The panel was tasked with evaluating the threat posed by UFOs to national security. The memorandum notes that Edward J. Ruppelt’s book on the subject caused confusion regarding the panel's mission, which was exacerbated by a television interview with Mike Wallace. The author explains that in late 1957, Major James F. Byrne of the Air Force requested a declassified version of the panel's report. The CIA complied, but the panel members insisted that their association with the CIA remain undisclosed. The memorandum highlights that the recent letters from Davidson and Keyhoe were attempts to obtain this declassified report. The author suggests that to avoid revealing the CIA's involvement, the Air Force should handle the correspondence or the CIA should clarify that the report was obtained from the Air Force. Attached to the memorandum is the original 1953 report, which concluded that UFOs did not pose a direct physical threat to national security and recommended that the government take steps to remove the 'aura of mystery' surrounding the phenomena.