Civil Air Transport, Air America
Memorial Re-Dedication June 5, 2009

As a part of its 2009 annual reunion, the Air America Association on June 5 has organized a re-dedication and addition to the bronze Memorial located at The University of Texas at Dallas.

The ceremony is set for 2 p.m. at the UT Dallas Conference Center. The public is welcome to attend.

After World War II, Civil Air Transport and Air America served as proprietary airlines for covert operations by the Central Intelligence Agency. While many of the employees had served in the U.S. military, they were civilians when they served in CAT/Air America.

Although CAT and Air America ran supplies to U.S. fighting forces throughout Southeast Asia and ventured into harm’s way during daring rescues of downed pilots, those killed in action were not recognized as military losses because of CIA secret operations.

Since the 240 CAT/Air America employees who lost their lives in Southeast Asia from 1947 to 1975 did not qualify to be placed on the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington DC, in 1987 the Memorial plaque was dedicated in Special Collections at McDermott Library.  Members of the associations funded the Memorial that notes action in China, Dien Bien Phu, Korea, Laos and Saigon. A scripture on the plaque reads:

 . . . “To everything there is a Season, and a time to every purpose under the Heaven . . . A time to be Born and a time to Die . . . A time of War and a time of Peace . . .” ECCLESIASTES, 3:1,2,8

The library is home to the CAT/Air America archives that tell the story of many of the air crews and ground support personnel.

A second plaque with an additional 10 names will be dedicated and placed next to the large Memorial on the third floor of McDermott Library. The names are Gabriel J. Batavia, Yao-Ziang Chen, Yao-Chung Kan, Harry W. Arnott, Robert E. Blevens, Luc Kien Vinh, Phillip R. Knoke, Apolinario S. Gerardo, James R. Black, and Richard Charles Case.

Also, the Air America Association will donate a print of a painting by Keith Woodcock that shows an Air America helicopter rescuing two U.S. Air Force pilots on the Plain of Jars in Laos.

In April UT Dallas and McDermott Library presented a successful symposium for the CIA, “Air America:  Upholding the Airmen’s Bond” that showcased rescue pilots and those they rescued during the Vietnam War. The CIA is declassifying thousands of Air America documents that will be copied and donated to the archive.
 
For information please call 972-883-2570.

Fred Walker of Air America, left, with Hmong Major Gen.
Vang Pao, and Pao's son in Laos, 1973

Frederick 'Fred'
Walker Papers released

The Frederick “Fred” Frye Walker Papers covering Civil Air Transport (CAT) and Air America, Inc.’s operations in Southeast Asia from about 1961 to 1975 are now available for research in Special Collections. The papers are located in the CAT/Air America Archives.

The collection, totaling 53.81 linear feet or 80 boxes, is organized in 10 series covering Walker’s career as pilot, Chief Pilot, Regional Chief Pilot (RCP), and Manager Flying Department (MFD) for CAT/Air America.  Of particular interest is the third series, representing the day-to-day operation of Air America, Inc. not only as a commercial airline, but also as a contractor for the United States government, specifically the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).  The Department Files in this series provide an in-depth view of the internal structure of Air America, containing memoranda, reports, charts, rosters, and other relevant office documents.

Another important part of the collection, which supports the Department Files, are the radio messages, particularly the XOXO messages dealing with aircraft and personnel accidents.  These reports provide detailed accounts of accidents, and the resulting investigations.

Frederick “Fred” Frye Walker was born Nov. 10, 1919 in Brookline, Massachusetts.  Interested in flying from an early age, he attended various aeronautical schools and graduated with a degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the Aero Industries Technical Institute in Los Angeles, CA, in 1941.

At the end of 1942, Walker signed up as an Aviation Cadet with the U.S.  Army Air Forces and graduated in class 44C at Douglas Air Force Base, Arizona, in March 1944.  He was deployed to the China-Burma-India Theater (CBI) with the First Cargo Squadron, 14th Air Force, flying cargo over the “Hump,” a dangerous aerial route through the Himalaya Mountains.   Walker was honorably discharged from the services with the rank of 1st Lieutenant on February 26, 1946.   During his service he received numerous decorations including the Distinguished Flying Cross.

After a brief career with private airlines, Walker worked as a pilot for Gen. Claire L. Chennault’s CAT from 1949-1950 returning to CAT in 1953.  He flew Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcars out of Haiphong and Hanoi, Vietnam to support the French during the battle of Dien Bien Phu.  Starting in the 1960s, Walker assumed administrative duties for Air America, Inc. in Laos and Thailand.  There he supervised and directed the activities of about 1,600 pilots.  During this time, he played a crucial role in building Air America’s Laotian operation, and in evaluating both De Havilland C-7A Caribou and Fairchild C-123 Providers for their suitability on short take-off and landing (STOL) strips in mountainous terrain.

During his time in Air America administration, Walker flew countless missions involving both humanitarian aid (delivering food and medical supplies) and military support (airlifting troops, cargo, and ammunition).  In addition, Walker served Gen. Vang Pao as a personal pilot at Lima Site 20A, Long Tieng, Laos.  In 1971 he returned to piloting regular and chartered flights for Air America throughout Southeast Asia.

On April 29, 1975, during the Fall of Saigon which forced Air America to leave Southeast Asia, Capt.  Fred Walker flew the final fixed wing flight out of Saigon for Air America in a Douglas C-47.  After being released from Air America on June 30, 1975, Walker worked for Pyramid Airlines in Cairo, Egypt, from September 1977 until August 1978.  He retired at the age 65 having logged almost 25,000 hours of total flight time in 18 different types of single and multi-engine aircraft.

He died on Sunday, Feb. 14, 1999 at the age of 79 in St. Paul, Minnesota.

The Frederick “Fred” Frye Walker Papers are available for use at the CAT/Air America Archives at the Special Collections Department, McDermott Library, The University of Texas at Dallas.  For more information about the Fred Walker Papers, please contact Paul Oelkrug, Coordinator for Special Collections, at 972-883-2553, e-mail oelkrug@utdallas.edu or Patrizia Nava, Library Assistant II, at 972-883-2577, e-mail patrizia.nava@utdallas.edu .

Jalonick Memorial Lecture
set July 18, 2009

Col. Walter Boyne, USAF (Ret.)

This year the annual George W. Jalonick III and Dorothy Cockrell Jalonick Memorial Distinguished Lecture is scheduled for July 18, 2009. The speaker will be Col. Walter Boyne, USAF (Ret.). The lecture is free and will begin at 4 p.m. in the ground level auditorium (MC 2.410) of McDermott Library. A reception will follow the presentation in Special Collections on the third level of the library.

Col. Boyne is a well-known aviation historian who has written 41 books on military topics and 10 historic novels and is one of the few writers to have fiction and non-fiction books on the New York Times Best Seller Lists.  He received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (BSBA) with honors from the University of California at Berkeley, an MBA with honors from the University of Pittsburgh, and an honorary Doctorate in Aerospace Sciences from Salem College, West Virginia.

Walter Boyne enlisted as a private in the United States Air Force in 1951 and entered the Aviation Cadet Program.  He won his wings and was commissioned in 1952.  His Air Force career lasted 23 years and his flying experience covered everything from Piper Cubs to the B-1B supersonic bomber.

After retiring from the Air Force, Boyne joined the National Air and Space Museum as an assistant curator.  During his time with NASM he worked his way up through the ranks to eventually become Director, serving in that position from 1983 to 1986 when he retired.

Among his many achievements while serving with NASM is the transformation of the Silver Hill restoration facility into a world-class operation. It was renamed after his friend and mentor, Paul Garber.  He also founded Air and Space, and was able to get NASA to fly an IMAX camera on a space shuttle mission.

Realizing that the museum would eventually need room for growth, he negotiated with the Federal Aviation Administration to secure land to build a new facility.  That facility has since been built and is named the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center located at Dulles International Airport.

Boyne became involved in television in 1991.  He wrote scripts and directed production of the successful series Wings, which appeared on the Discovery Channel.  He co-founded the cable television channel Wingspan:  the Air and Space Channel that went on the air in 1998 and a year later was bought by Discovery Channel.  Boyne serves as a consultant for Discovery Wings and is the Discovery Channel’s “Aerospace Expert in Residence.”

The Jalonick Lecture Series was established to inform and enlighten the public about the history of flight by bringing aviation notables to the Dallas community. Dorothy and George Jalonick III were special friends of The University of Texas at Dallas and the History of Aviation Collection. This series was endowed in their memory by the late George W. Jalonick IV and friends of the Jalonick family.