General Curtis LeMay and UFOs: An Obsession that Led To a Showdown With JFK?

Even today, US Air Force General Curtis Emerson LeMay (November 15, 1906 – October 1, 1990) remains an extremely controversial figure.

He became the youngest person since the U.S. Civil War to attain the rank of 4-star general. And during World War Two, he personally piloted the lead aircraft in many of the combat missions he commanded.

During the war, LeMay rigorously trained the aircrews under his command every day, ensuring their actions in combat became second nature. He set a high standard, expecting his men to follow his example.

In discussing a report on the high abort rates of bomber missions during the war —rates that former U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara suspected were due to pilot cowardice—McNamara, who served as a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Air Force during the war, described LeMay's character:

“One of the commanders was Curtis LeMay—Colonel in command of a B-17 group. He was the finest combat commander of any service I came across in war.

“But he was extraordinarily belligerent, many thought brutal. He got the report. He issued an order.

“He said, “I will be in the lead plane on every mission. Any plane that takes off will go over the target, or the crew will be court-martialled.”

“The abort rate dropped overnight. Now that's the kind of commander he was.”