From the Desks of Project Blue Book
The Black Vault is proud to host files 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. Background Rob Mercer is a longtime follower of the UFO phenomenon and a history buff, as well as a UFO Investigator from Ohio. He resides in the |
This is a copy of the original advertisement for the collection. |
One evening in late 2013, under a UFO search on Craigslist in the Dayton, Ohio area, he came across an ad that advertised Project Blue Book Pics and Documents. 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.
Lt. Carmon Marano, Circled |
After returning home Rob began to trace their origin, as everything the seller knew about them was in the ad. 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.
Convinced that the story was true, and that he was on the right track, Rob set about confirming that this was the actual Air Force Officer, and not just someone else that shared the same name. 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.
Email exchange with Lt. Carmon Marano |
A photograph of the garage where the items were found. |
His duties included briefings on UFO’s for the Air Force and investigating sightings. 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.
After seeing how much Rob enjoyed subject, the Officer informed him that he had a few more boxes from his Blue Book days back home where he stays during the spring and summer. Rob was sent four more boxes, including: Books, photos, case files, memos, rules & regulations, film, reel to reel sound tape, correspondences and more (ALL UNCLASSIFIED). 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.
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See Also:
The Socorro UFO Case – Two More 'Smoking Guns'
Update on the ‘Search for the Socorro UFO (Case) Footage’
Hynek’s Last Contract with the Project Blue Book UFO Program
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