Garrett Graff

being built by kidnapped Nazi rocket scientists and that these flying saucer sightings might herald a new technology that could invade the United States in this early stage of the Cold War after the end of World War II.

Well, the summer of 47 is just this moment of huge upheaval for the US national security apparatus. That summer, literally within a couple of weeks of Kenneth Arnold sightings, even as these flying saucers dominate newspaper headlines across the United States, the US Congress passes what we now call the National Security Act of 1947. And it creates this modern national security apparatus.

Well, the summer of 47 is just this moment of huge upheaval for the US national security apparatus. That summer, literally within a couple of weeks of Kenneth Arnold sightings, even as these flying saucers dominate newspaper headlines across the United States, the US Congress passes what we now call the National Security Act of 1947. And it creates this modern national security apparatus.

Well, the summer of 47 is just this moment of huge upheaval for the US national security apparatus. That summer, literally within a couple of weeks of Kenneth Arnold sightings, even as these flying saucers dominate newspaper headlines across the United States, the US Congress passes what we now call the National Security Act of 1947. And it creates this modern national security apparatus.

It creates the Unified Department of Defense. It creates the position of the Secretary of Defense, it creates the National Security Council, it creates the CIA, creates the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and it creates the Air Force as a standalone service branch. The Air Force up until then, of course, had been part of the Army.

It creates the Unified Department of Defense. It creates the position of the Secretary of Defense, it creates the National Security Council, it creates the CIA, creates the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and it creates the Air Force as a standalone service branch. The Air Force up until then, of course, had been part of the Army.

It creates the Unified Department of Defense. It creates the position of the Secretary of Defense, it creates the National Security Council, it creates the CIA, creates the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and it creates the Air Force as a standalone service branch. The Air Force up until then, of course, had been part of the Army.

So in that summer, sort of the Air Force's first crisis is to try to identify what these flying saucers are. And the Air Force simultaneously tries to poo-poo that they appear to be anything threatening. But also, there's some fascinating paperwork from that era that shows that even behind closed doors, that the Air Force didn't have any idea what any of this stuff actually was up in the sky.

So in that summer, sort of the Air Force's first crisis is to try to identify what these flying saucers are. And the Air Force simultaneously tries to poo-poo that they appear to be anything threatening. But also, there's some fascinating paperwork from that era that shows that even behind closed doors, that the Air Force didn't have any idea what any of this stuff actually was up in the sky.

So in that summer, sort of the Air Force's first crisis is to try to identify what these flying saucers are. And the Air Force simultaneously tries to poo-poo that they appear to be anything threatening. But also, there's some fascinating paperwork from that era that shows that even behind closed doors, that the Air Force didn't have any idea what any of this stuff actually was up in the sky.

And so you have the Air Force sort of racing to try to figure this out. They enlist J. Edgar Hoover's FBI for some help, then get into a classic bureaucratic tiff with the FBI. And the FBI basically says, we're getting out of the flying saucer business and leaves it all to the Air Force.

And so you have the Air Force sort of racing to try to figure this out. They enlist J. Edgar Hoover's FBI for some help, then get into a classic bureaucratic tiff with the FBI. And the FBI basically says, we're getting out of the flying saucer business and leaves it all to the Air Force.

And so you have the Air Force sort of racing to try to figure this out. They enlist J. Edgar Hoover's FBI for some help, then get into a classic bureaucratic tiff with the FBI. And the FBI basically says, we're getting out of the flying saucer business and leaves it all to the Air Force.

And the Air Force, through that fall of 47 and the beginning of 48, really struggles to figure out what any of this stuff actually is.

And the Air Force, through that fall of 47 and the beginning of 48, really struggles to figure out what any of this stuff actually is.

And the Air Force, through that fall of 47 and the beginning of 48, really struggles to figure out what any of this stuff actually is.

It's both. As I said, none of this starts with the idea that these are aliens invading. It starts with this fear that these are Soviet spacecraft. And What you see happen in the late 40s and early 50s is that popular culture, Hollywood, begins to pick up this idea of these flying saucers and imagines them anew as aliens, as invading extraterrestrials, as Martians, and that

It's both. As I said, none of this starts with the idea that these are aliens invading. It starts with this fear that these are Soviet spacecraft. And What you see happen in the late 40s and early 50s is that popular culture, Hollywood, begins to pick up this idea of these flying saucers and imagines them anew as aliens, as invading extraterrestrials, as Martians, and that

It's both. As I said, none of this starts with the idea that these are aliens invading. It starts with this fear that these are Soviet spacecraft. And What you see happen in the late 40s and early 50s is that popular culture, Hollywood, begins to pick up this idea of these flying saucers and imagines them anew as aliens, as invading extraterrestrials, as Martians, and that

what you see created in the late 40s and the early 50s is this flywheel, really, that becomes the way that our society thinks of these issues in the subsequent decades, where you have sort of popular culture fueling public sightings that then fuels national security concerns and anxieties