Edward James Ruppelt (July 17, 1923 – September 15, 1960) was a United States Air Force officer probably best known for his involvement in Project Blue Book, a formal governmental study of unidentified flying objects (UFOs). He is generally credited with coining the term "unidentified flying object", to replace the terms "flying saucer" and "flying disk" – which had become widely known – because the military thought them to be "misleading when applied to objects of every conceivable shape and performance. For this reason the military prefers the more general, if less colorful, name: unidentified flying objects. UFO (pronounced 'Yoo-foe') for short." Ruppelt was the director of Project Grudge from late 1951 until it became Project Blue Book in March 1952; he remained with Blue Book until late 1953. UFO researcher Jerome Clark writes, "Most observers of Blue Book agree that the Ruppelt years comprised the project's golden age, when investigations were most capably directed and conducted. Ruppelt was open-minded about UFOs, and his investigators were not known, as Grudge's were, for force-fitting explanations on cases." Biography Early life and career Ruppelt was born and raised in Iowa. He enlisted in the Army Air Corps during World War II in 1942, and served with distinction as a decorated bombardier: he was awarded "five battle stars, two theater combat ribbons, three Air Medals, and two Distinguished Flying Crosses". After the war, Ruppelt was released into the Army reserves. He attended Iowa State College where, in 1951, he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in aeronautical engineering. Shortly after finishing his education, Ruppelt was called back to active military duties after the Korean War began. He was assigned to the Air Technical Intelligence Center headquartered at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. With Blue Book When Project Grudge was ordered dissolved, Project Blue Book was developed to replace it. Lt. Col. N. R. Rosengarten asked Ruppelt to take over as the new project's leader, partly because Ruppelt "had a reputation as a good organizer", and had helped get other wayward projects back on track. Though he was initially scheduled to stay with Blue Book for only a few months, when Project Grudge was reorganized in late 1951 and renamed Project Blue Book, Ruppelt (then a captain) was kept on as director. Ruppelt wrote that the Air Force's initial approach to the UFO question "was tackled with organized confusion." In defending General Samford's press conference