My father was not a man of fear
After Korea he died in an act of self sacrifice by guiding his disabled jet into a swamp to save civilians on the ground
he just understood the reporting process of the wartime 1950’s, the debriefings, the agencies that would be involved, the time it it would take him from his duties and responsibilites, the official position on such sightings, the skepticism and the probable taint on him for the rest of his career. and for what?
During a long career as a fighter pilot, we all “knew” of the alleged stigma and saw it referenced in media and popular culture, but never saw it in actual service. Perhaps earlier things were as you say, but the culture shift must have been significant as there was no such attitude during my career. Thing was, we are fascinated by the stuff, wanted one of “those” if we could get one, always were interested in sharing what we saw. . .and, operationally, perhaps one of those “things” might have been Soviet, or not, but it was important to report it to check it out.
CONGRATS.
Will be great to chat with him in Heaven.
Thank you for sharing that about your dad.