THE HISTORY
OF
by
Dr. Joe F. Leeker
This new e-book is a narrative supplement to the database entitled The Aircraft of Air America (located at http://www.utdallas.edu/library/collections/speccoll/Leeker/index3.html) published for the first time on 15 August 2003. Like its counterpart, The History of Air America is mostly based on material preserved at the Air America Archives at McDermott Library, University of Texas at Dallas as well as on material taken from other sources like the USAF Aircraft Assignment Records preserved at the USAF Historical Research Agency at Maxwell AFB, the records of the Director General of Civil Aviation of the Republic of China at Taipei, and other archives. Already the 3rd edition of The Aircraft of Air America, published on 29 May 2006 contained some narrative files describing certain aspects of Air America’s activities. These files have been taken out of the 4th edition of The Aircraft of Air America, updated and supplemented by more narrative files dealing with other aspects of Air America’s history to form this new The History of Air America, which is, again, a work in progress. This means that not all files given below will be ready for publication from the beginning.
As this e-book uses the same abbreviations, has been supported by the same people, and is based on the same sources as The Aircraft of Air America, there are no separate files called Abbreviations, Acknowledgments, and Bibliography for The History of Air America. Whoever is interested in these aspects, should consult the files given in the database called The Aircraft of Air America.
This work too, I dedicate it to the courageous people of Air America who many many times risked their own lives to save those of other people. And especially to those heroic men and women whose dedication was so high that they did not make it home.
Dr. Joe F. Leeker
University of Texas at Dallas, McDermott Library, 11 August 2008
As no work of this nature can ever be considered to be complete or without errors, I kindly ask to send all corrections and additions to Paul Oelkrug, CA, Coordinator of the Department of Special Collections, at oelkrug@utdallas.edu . He will kindly forward all material to me.
© University of Texas at Dallas, 11 August 2008