Donald Keyhoe - The NICAP Era

The NICAP Era

In 1956, Keyhoe cofounded the National Investigations Committee On Aerial Phenomena (NICAP). He was one of several prominent professional, military or scientific figures on the board of directors, which lent the group a degree of legitimacy many of the other contemporary "flying saucer clubs" sorely lacked.

NICAP founder Thomas Townsend Brown was ousted as director in early 1957 after facing repeated charges of financial ineptitude. Keyhoe replaced him; he was only slightly better at managing NICAP's finances, and the group continued their efforts

With Keyhoe in the lead, NICAP pressed hard for Congressional hearings and investigation into UFOs. They scored some attention from the mass media, and the general public (NICAP's membership peaked at about 15,000 during the early and mid 1960s) but only very limited interest from government officials.

However, there was increasing criticism of the Air Force's Project Blue Book. Following a widely publicized wave of UFO reports in 1966, NICAP was among the chorus which called for an independent scientific investigation of UFOs. The Condon Committee was formed with this goal in mind, though it quickly became emmired in infighting and, later, controversy. Keyhoe publicized the so-called "Trick Memo", an embarrassing memorandum written by a Condon Committee coordinator which seemed to suggest that the ostensibly objective and neutral Committee had determined to pursue a debunking operation well before even beginning their studies.