One of the Air Force’s original UFO hunters dies at 101

Wright Patterson Air Force Base

Wright Patterson Air Force Base

Nathan Robert “Rosie” Rosengarten, of Centerville, passed away on March 15. He was 101.

» OBITUARY: Nathan Robert "Rosie" Rosengarten

Rosengarten grew up in New Jersey and graduated from Drexel University in Philadelphia in 1939 with an engineering degree. He enlisted in the United States Army Air Corps, now the United States Air Force, in 1941.

In 1951, Rosengarten was made a Lieutenant Colonel and placed in charge of Aircraft and Missiles at the Air Technical Intelligence Center, located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. The center’s responsibilities included investing UFO reports.

» READ MORE: Wright-Patt was ground zero for UFO investigation program

In September 1951, Rosengarten, who was investigating UFO sightings, took steps that led to the initiation of Project Blue Book. For the next 18 years, Project Blue Book investigated more than 12,000 UFO sightings. The project was retired in 1969, and WPAFB no longer receives, documents, or investigate UFO reports.

» RELATED: YouTube video claims UFO sighting over WPAFB

At 58, Rosengarten retired in 1973 as a full Colonel. He married in 1955 and raised two sons in the Dayton area.

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