Bradford Runyon graduated high school in 1960, and the University of Florida in 1965 with a degree in Industrial Engineering. He enlisted in the Air Force, completed his initial pilot training at Laughlin AFB in Del Rio, Texas, then went to B-52 school at Castle AFB, Calif., and to Carswell AFB, Fort Worth, Texas, for nuclear weapons school. His first assignment in January 1967 was at Minot AFB as a co-pilot in the B-52H. In 1969 he transferred to Carswell AFB for four years, completing two tours of duty in Southeast Asia flying the B-52D model.
During the UFO events, Runyon was co-piloting the B-52, and responsible for radio communications with radar ground controllers. He visually observed the large UFO on the ground during the low-altitude fly over and attended the crew debriefing later in the morning in the office of Gen. Holland, but was not interviewed during the official investigation. Runyon brought the case to our attention after completing a Center for UFO Studies UFO Sighting Questionnaire in February 2000. We interviewed Runyon at his home in May 2000, while initiating our research on the case.