Texas Tech University

Donald R. Whittaker Collection (2537) Finding Aid

Collection Item Number: 25370000000
Collection
Donald R. Whittaker Collection
Association
Air America Association
Title
Donald R. Whittaker Collection (2537) Finding Aid
Finding Aid Date
2019-02-20
Linear Feet
3
Language(s)
English
Dates
Creation: 1946-1950, 1957-1958, 1961-2005, predominately 1966-1977
Scope and Contents
The collection consists of approximately three linear feet of documents, photographs, slides, newsletters, maps, and artifacts accumulated throughout Donald Whittaker's service as a pilot with Air America. The materials include personal recollections and writings, correspondence, news clippings, pilot's flight logs and checklists, passports, and health records. The materials are dated predominately 1966-1977.
Biographical / Historical
Born in 1926 in Prairie Country, Arkansas, Donald Whittaker volunteered for the United States Air Force in WWII and served as a pilot. In 1966, he was hired by Air America and served for seven (7) years while being stationed in both Vientiene and Saigon, Vietnam. Donald Hodgson flew DC3s and C47s before being discharged in 1973 with the rank of Captain. After Vietnam, he became a competitive shooter and continued flying as an Agriculture Pilot. He is a member of the Air America Association, the Aircraft Owners Association, and multiple other organizations.
2
Serials
Air Combat: 1997: May/June (2 copies)
Click to view all Serials
7
Museum Objects
2537museum5332 - Asahi Pentax Spotmatic camera

2537museum5333 - Takumar 1: 3.5/135 lens and shield

2537museum5334 - China Post 1 garrison cap

2537museum5335 - Air America pilot's hat

2537museum5336 - Painting - China Air Transport (CAT) plane

2537museum5338 - Commemorative Air America coin

2537museum5339 - China Post 1 decal
Click to view all Museum Objects
21
Newsletters
General's Ward and Chennault China Post No. 1 Poop Sheet: 1975: October; 1977: February; 1978: October

Air America Log: 1972: Vol. VI No. 3 (3 copies); 1991: April-June, July-September, October-December; 1992: January-March, April-June; 1993: January-March; 1997: July-September; 2002: April-June; 2003: January-March; 2004: October-December; 2005: October-December; 2006: October-December; 2007: October-December; 2008: October-December; 2009: April-June
Click to view all Newsletters
25
Maps
2537map0231 - DOD Flight Information Publication, Special South East Asia Tactical VFR chart

2537map0232 - Louang Phrabang, Laos JOG(A) 1501 48-1 (annotated)

2537map0233 - Muang Pakxan, Laos JOG(A) 1501 NE 48-6 (annotated)

2537map0234 - Amphoe Mae Chan, Thailand JOG(A) 1501 NF 47-15 (annotated)

2537map0235 - Muang Khong, Laos JOG(A) 1501 ND 48-7 (annotated)

2537map0236 - Unidentified map fragment

2537map0237 - Muang Ngoy, Laos JOG(A) 1501 NF 48-13 (annotated)

2537map0238 - Louang Namtha, Laos JOG(A) 1501 NF 47-16 (annotated)

2537map0239 - Changwat Nakhon Phanom, Thailand JOG(A) 1501 NE 48-10 (annotated)

2537map0240 - Hue, Vietnam JOG(A) 1501 NE 48-16 (annotated)

2537map0241 - Xaignabouri, Laos JOG(A) 1501 NE 47-4 (annotated)

2537map0243 - Xaignabouri, Laos JOG(A) 1501 NE 47-4 (annotated)

2537map0244 - Muang Sing, Laos JOG(A) 1501 NF 47-12 (annotated)

2537map0245 - Chavan, Laos JOG(A) 1501 ND 48-4 (annotated)

2537map0246 - Changwat Loei, Thailand JOG(A) 1501 NE 47-12 (annotated)

2537map0247 - Changwat Chiang Rai, Thailand JOG(A) 1501 NE 47-3 (annotated)

2537map0248 - Vientiane, Laos JOG(A) 1501 NE 48-9 (annotated)

2537map0249 - Changwat Nan, Thailand JOG(A) 1501 NE 47-8 (annotated)

2537map0250 - Chavan, Laos 1501 AIR ND 48-4 (annotated)

2537map0251 - Operational Navigation Chart ONC J-11 (annotated)

2537map0252 - Operational Navigation Chart ONC J-10 (fragment) (annotated)

2537map0253 - Pilotage Chart PC K-10AG (annotated)

2537map0254 - Special Air Operations Chart SAO - 4 (annotated)

2537map0255 - Special Air Operations Chart SAO - 2

2537map0256 - Tactical Pilotage Chart TPC K-9BG (annotated)
Click to view all Maps
75
Slides
Air America planes; helicopters; trucks delivering rice; airfields; landscapes; aerial views (including Ban Houei Sai, Laos); villages; villagers; wildlife (including water buffalo, monkey, birds); river boats; Nam Ngum (also known as Snake Lake); Hoi An; enemy rocket site; crash sites; supply air drops; military bases; a watch tower

VAS092431:VAS092505
Click to view all Slides
332
Photographs
2 photographs - Don Whittaker on a Honda 90 motorcycle in his driveway in Saigon; group of unidentified men; b&w; 8 x 10 inches

4 photographs - Donald Whittaker ID photos and portrait; b&w; various sizes

25 photographs - scenes from Wanon Niwat, Thailand; Buddhist temples and staues; landscapes; aerial views; Vietnamese civilians; helicopters, including Hueys; Mekong River; Quonset huts; artillery; an elephant; Udorn Royal Thai Air Force Base; rickshaw; airplane; an airfield; an oxcart; Mukdahan, Thailand; b&w, color; various sizes

115 photographs - aerial views; Hue after 1968 Tet Offensive; Donald Whittaker on a motorcycle; Vientiane, Laos; villages; street scenes; rickshaws; landscapes; villagers; USS New Jersey; damaged buildings; Captain Les Bays at Ban Hoeui; supply drops; airplanes; helicopters; airfields; children; Udorn, Thailand; corpses; b&w, color; various sizes

2 color negatives - an airfield

43 photographs - scenes from Ban Hoeui Sai, Hoi An, Vientiane, Tam Ky, Da Nang, Checkpoint Peter, Marble Mountain, Rach Gia, Period Island, Long Thien, Ban Me Thouet, and Mekong Delta; aerial views; supply drops; air fields; bomb craters; fishing boats; Air America passengers; street scenes; a typhoon; a fish trap; crash sites; Air America plane being loaded with rice; water buffalo; Chao Duc under construction; USS New Jersey; helicopters; group photo of Air America crew members; b&w, color; 4 x 6 inches, 8 x 10 inches

46 photographs - scenes from Ban Hoeui Sai, Long Thien, Vientiane, Ban Me Thouet, Tam Ky, Da Nang, Rach Gia, Period Island, Checkpoint Peter, Hoi An, Marble Mountain, and Mekong Delta; aerial views; supply drops; airplanes; airfields; helicopters; landscapes; bomb craters; USS New Jersey; Chao Duc under construction; a typhoon; Viet Cong POWs with ARVN soldiers and CIA agents; Air America passengers; water buffalo; street scenes; crash sites; Air America plane being loaded with pallets of rice; a fish trap; color; 4 x 6 inches

8 photographs - damage to Hue after 1968 Tet Offensive; USS New Jersey; b&w, color; 3.5 x 5 inches, 4 x 6 inches, 5 x 7 inches

34 photographs - Donald Whittaker at the Saigon Golf Club; a horseback riding exhibition; b&w; 3.5 x 5 inches

43 photographs - King Sri Savang Vatthana and Ambassador G. McMurtie Godley surveying a remote control model of an experimental plane; other airplanes and models; b&w, color; various sizes

11 photographs - aerial views; supply drops; damage to Hue after 1968 Tet Offensive; b&w, color; various sizes
Click to view all Photographs
  • Box 1: [Barcode: 1] [TTU - Southwest Collections Building, 2nd Floor, Stacks, D010.3 [D010.3]]
  • Box 1000: [Barcode: 1000] [TTU - Southwest Collections Building, 2nd Floor, Stacks, Individual Collections Oversize Box 06 [Individual Collections Oversize Box 06]]
  • Box 1
  • Folder 1
  • Copies of a Central Intelligence Agency commemoration certificate awarded to Captain Donald R. Whittaker (June 2, 2001)
  • Folder 2
  • Address book, business cards, membership cards, customs forms and receipts (1967, 1970, No Date)
  • Folder 3
  • Laotian pilot's license, permits, flight certifications, medical certificates, health card, membership cards, blood donor card, loan form (1957-1958, 1962, 1966, 1970-1977, 1989)
  • Folder 4
  • Air Facility Data Pamphlets (Laos) (1971-1972)
  • Folder 5
  • Membership cards, passports, vaccination certificates, flight certificates (1961-1966, 1970-1974)
  • Folder 6
  • Pilots' & Flight Mechanic's Flight Crew Checklist (T.O. 1C-123K-1CL-1) (August 1, 1968)
  • Folder 7
  • Pilot log books (2) (1946-1950, 1966-1976)
  • Folder 8
  • Pilot log book (1976-2002)
  • Folder 9
  • Air America images (1971)
  • Folder 10
  • Air America images (1968, 1971, No Date)
  • Folder 11
  • State of Arkansas certificate of recognition for Donald Whittaker (1986)
  • Folder 12
  • Don Whittaker personal recollections (1 of 2) (No Date)
  • Folder 13
  • Donald Whittaker personal recollections (2 of 2) (No Date)
  • Folder 14
  • Don Whittaker personal recollections (No Date)
  • Folder 15
  • CAT/Air America commemoration; essay and articles re: the CIA's War in Laos; correspondence; Don Whittaker personal recollections (2001, 2005, No Date)
  • Folder 16
  • Seniority listings of pilots, flight engineers, flight navigators (January 1, 1972)
  • Folder 17
  • Air America Cockpit Crew Seniority List (1973)
  • Folder 18
  • Pilot information bulletin (November 1972)
  • Folder 19
  • Notes and ephemera; PC-68 heli-porter service manual clipping re: dimensions and areas (1977, No Date)
  • Folder 20
  • Letter home from Don Whittaker to his mother; images and a clipping re: King Sri Savang Vatthana and Ambassador G. McMurtie Godley surveying a remote control model of an experimental plane (includes annotations) (1971)
  • Folder 21
  • Correspondence (1967, 1991)
  • Folder 22
  • Correspondence (1970-1975, 1991-1993)
  • Folder 23
  • Correspondence (1970-1975)
  • Folder 24
  • Correspondence (1992, 1998, 2001)
  • Folder 25
  • Correspondence re: retirement benefits for Air America employees (2003-2004)
  • Folder 26
  • Don Whittaker obituaries and correspondence re: remembrance (2003)
  • Folder 27
  • Presidential certificate and CIA commemoration (2001, No Date)
  • Folder 28
  • Notes (No Date)
  • Folder 29
  • Clippings (1967, 1970-1972, 1975-1976)
  • Folder 30
  • Don Whittaker's letter to the editor re: draft dodger (July 25, 1985)
  • Folder 31
  • Air America Association directories (1991, 2001-2002)
  • Folder 32
  • Don Whittaker personal recollections re: ag piloting (No Date)
  • Folder 33
  • Crop dusting manual (No Date)
  • Box 1000
  • Folder 1
  • Peanuts comic strip annotated by Don Whittaker's fellow Air America members (Pilots Report) (June 20, 1966)
Perma Link
https://www.vietnam.ttu.edu/virtualarchive/items.php?item=25370000000
Citation
Donald R. Whittaker Collection (2537) Finding Aid, Donald R. Whittaker Collection, Vietnam Center and Sam Johnson Vietnam Archive, Texas Tech University, https://www.vietnam.ttu.edu/virtualarchive/items.php?item=25370000000, Accessed 15 Apr 2026.
Pub Credit Line
25370000000, Donald R. Whittaker Collection, Vietnam Center and Sam Johnson Vietnam Archive, Texas Tech University
Added: 20 Feb 2019 [Updated: 18 Jan 2023]

Vietnam Center & Sam Johnson Vietnam Archive

© 2026  Texas Tech University© 2026  Vietnam Center and Sam Johnson Vietnam Archive April 10 2026