Vice Admiral William H. P. Blandy

Vice Admiral William Henry Purnell Blandy (1890-1954) was a U.S. Navy officer renowned for his distinguished career, including command of Operation Crossroads, the 1946 atomic bomb tests at Bikini Atoll. Born in New York City on June 28, 1890, he graduated first in his class from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1913, participated in the Veracruz occupation and World War I. During World War II, he served as Chief of the Bureau of Ordnance and commanded amphibious forces in key Pacific campaigns like Iwo Jima and Okinawa. Post-war, as Vice Admiral and Commander of Joint Task Force One, he oversaw the nuclear tests amid public scrutiny. No records link Blandy to UAP/UFO research, military UFO programs, or related fields; his expertise centered on naval gunnery, ordnance, and atomic weapons. He retired as Admiral in 1950 and died January 12, 1954.