John A. Samford | |
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| Born | August 29, 1905 Hagerman, New Mexico |
| Died | November 20, 1968 (aged 63) Washington D.C. |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Service/ | United States Air Force |
| Years of service | 1928–1960 |
| Rank | Lieutenant General |
| Commands held | National Security Agency Air War College Air Command and Staff School 24th Composite Wing |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
| Awards | Army Distinguished Service Medal Legion of Merit (2) |
John Alexander Samford (August 29, 1905 – December 1, 1968)[1] was a lieutenant general in the United States Air Force who served as Director of the National Security Agency.
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Maj. Gen. John A. Samford's Statement on "Flying Saucers", Pentagon, Washington, DC, 07/31/1952
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SAMFORD'S JOHN CRIST SELLS OUT WRIGHT CENTER
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Samford Spotlight: John Crist
Transcription
I am here to discuss the so-called flying saucers. Air Force interest in this problem has been due to our feeling of an obligation to identify and analyze to the best of our ability, anything in the air that may have the possibility of threat or menace to the United States. In pursuit of this obligation since 1947, we have received and analyzed between one and two thousand reports that have come to us from all kinds of sources Of this great mess of reports we have been able adequately to explain the great bulk of them, explain them to our own satisfaction we've been able to explain them as hoaxes, as erroneously identified friendly aircraft, as meteorological or electronic phenomena, or as light aberration however, there have been a certain percentage of this volume of reports that have been made by credible observers of relatively incredible things. It is this group of observations that we now are attempting to resolve. Our basic difficulty in dealing with these is that there is no measurement of them that makes it possible for us to put them in any pattern that would be profitable for a deliberate custom sort of analysis to take the next step. We have as a date come to only one firm conclusion with respect to this remaining percentage and that is that it does not contain any pattern or purpose or of consistency that we can relate with any to any conceivable threat to the United States is that (inaudible) we can say that the recent sightings are in no way connected with any secret development by any department of the United States (inaudible) we can say that the recent sightings are in no way connected with any secret development by any agency of the United States I'll start when you throw down (coughing) (inaudible) yeah Major Keyhoe, as author of the book "Flying Saucers are Real," what is your opinion of these new sightings of unidentified object? With all due respect to the Air Force, I believe that some of them will prove to be of interplanetary origin. During a three-year investigation I found that many powers have described objects of substanc and high-speed one case filed this report another plane was buffeted by an object with an estimated five hundred miles an hour obviously this was a solid object and I believe it was from outer space
Early life and education
Samford was born at Hagerman, New Mexico, in 1905. He graduated from high school in 1922 and then spent one year at Columbia University in New York City. In 1924, he received a senatorial appointment to the United States Military Academy. He graduated in 1928, 131st in a class of 260.
Military career
Samford's first assignment was that of a student officer at Brooks Field, Texas. In 1929, he received his pilot wings at Kelly Field and was eventually rated a command pilot.
Samford was next assigned to Fort Crockett, located at Galveston, Texas. In 1930, he returned to Kelly Field where he served as a flying instructor. In 1934, he was ordered to an Engineering and Armament School at Chanute Field, Illinois. From 1935 until 1942, he held various assignments in Panama, Virginia, Louisiana and Florida.
Samford was assistant chief of staff, G-1, Headquarters Third Air Force, in Tampa, Florida, when appointed chief of staff of the VIII Air Force Composite Command located in Northern Ireland.
In 1943, Samford was appointed deputy chief of staff of the Eighth Air Force, and later chief of staff of the VIII Bomber Command.
In 1944, Samford was promoted to brigadier general and appointed chief of staff of the Eighth Air Force. In October 1944 he was appointed deputy assistant chief of staff, A-2, Headquarters U.S. Army Air Forces.
In January 1947, Samford was appointed commander, 24th Composite Wing which soon thereafter became the Antilles Air Division of the Caribbean Air Command.
In May 1949, Samford was appointed commandant of the Air Command and Staff School. He was promoted to major general in 1950 and held a brief appointment as commandant of the Air War College before being appointed director of intelligence for the United States Air Force.
It was during Samford's tenure as director of Air Force intelligence that Project Blue Book, which investigated unidentified flying objects (UFOs) was started. On July 29, 1952, Samford conducted a press conference at the Pentagon related to UFOs. Samford was mentioned at the beginning of the 1956 film UFO which examined the phenomena of unidentified flying objects.
Samford served as Vice Director of the National Security Agency from June to August 1956. In November, Samford was appointed director of the National Security Agency and promoted to lieutenant general. He held this post until his retirement on November 23, 1960. His successor as NSA director was Admiral Laurence H. Frost. He died on November 20, 1968, in Washington, DC.
Awards
- Command Pilot Wings
- Army Distinguished Service Medal
- Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster
- Air Medal
- American Defense Service Medal
- American Campaign Medal
- European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal
- World War II Victory Medal
- National Defense Service Medal
- Officer, Legion of Honor (France)
References
External links
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