| Quantity: | 4 boxes (1.0 cu.ft.), 2 oversize folders |
|---|---|
| Access: | Open to research |
| Acquisition: | Gift: Valerie Chevrette, July 2010 |
| Processed By: | Abigail Stambach Student Assistant, State University of New York at Albany, November 2010 |
George Martin Vaughn was born in 1931 and grew up in the Jackson Heights neighborhood of Queens, New York. He attended Syracuse University and received a bachelor of arts degree in political science and international relations from the university's Maxwell School of International Relations. He served as a pilot in the United States Air Force from 1951 to 1971, attaining the rank of major. Vaughn completed a tour of duty in Vietnam in the late 1960s and received several awards and honors including The Air Medal, the United States Air Force Commendation Medal for Meritorious Service and the Distinguished Flying Cross. After retiring from the Air Force, Vaughn eventually settled in Albany, New York, and became a real estate broker. Vaughn died in 2000.
The collection contains photographs, maps, charts, awards, certificates, yearbooks, manuscripts, flight log books and other materials belonging to George M. Vaughn that relate to his military career, specifically to his tour in Vietnam. The majority of the materials in the collection are photographs most likely taken by Vaughn while he was in Vietnam. The collection is divided into five series: Awards; Personal and Military Papers; Yearbooks; Photographs; and Maps.
The Awards Series contains twelve awards and certificates that Vaughn received during his military career. The earliest certificate, dated January 1953, commemorates his first solo flight. The series also contains honors he received during his tour of duty in Vietnam including The Air Medal and the Distinguished Flying Cross. There is also an undated Certificate of Appreciation signed by President Richard Nixon.
The Personal and Military Paper Series contains two short stories, "The Empirical Wake" and "The Way of a Long Journey West," both written by Vaughn. "The Empirical Wake" won the United States Air Force Short Story Competition in 1957. The collection also has two of his flight time books. One of these books contains flight information dating after his service in the United States Air Force. There is also an intelligence guide written in 1967 for Air Liaison Officers and Forward Air Controllers stationed in Vietnam.
The Yearbook series contains four yearbooks dating to the 1950s, which were Vaughn's early years in the Air Force.
The Photographs series has photographs taken during Vaughn's tour of duty in Vietnam and it is presumed they were taken by him. Some of the photographs were labeled by Vaughn but most were not labeled. There are photographs of fellow United States servicemen as well as photographs of Vietnamese military personnel. Photographs of Vietnamese towns and cities, including scenes of Vietnamese daily life, are in the collection as well. There are aerial photographs and it is possible that these photographs were taken during some of Vaughn's flights. The series has a group of photographs labeled Confidential Group 3 and it is believed that these photographs were related to an Air Force mission but the exact context is unknown. There are also several photographs of George Vaughn during the course of his military career.
The Maps series contains aeronautical maps of the northeastern United States and of Vietnam. Two of the maps are of New York State. There are two maps of Vietnam and one of the maps of Vietnam is annotated presumably by Vaughn.
| Box | Folder | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Awards | ||
| 1 | 1 | Certificate of First Solo Flight, January 1953 |
| EL-1 | Serv-Air Aviation Corporation, United States Air Force Contract Flying School Diploma, May 4, 1953 | |
| 1 | 3 | United States Air Force Air University, Certificate of Graduation of Academic Instructor Course, August 13, 1965 |
| EL-1 | United States Air Force, The Air Medal, April 25, 1969 | |
| 1 | 5 | Department of the Air Force Special Order 6-1632, April 25, 1969 (5 items) |
| 1 | 6 | Department of the Air Force, Special Order G-367, January 24, 1970 |
| 1 | 7 | United States Air Force Commendation Medal for Meritorious Service, January 24, 1970 (2 items) |
| 1 | 8 | United States Air Force, The Air Medal, February 26, 1970 |
| 1 | 9 | Department of the Air Force, Special Order G-896, February 26, 1970 (3 items) |
| 1 | 10 | Distinguished Flying Cross Award, February 28, 1970 (2 items) |
| EL-1 | United States Air Force, Certificate of Retirement, October 1, 1971 | |
| 1 | 12 | Certificate of Appreciation from President Richard Nixon, n.d. |
| Personal and Military Papers | ||
| 1 | 13 | "The Way of a Long Journey West" (short story), Copy 1 |
| 1 | 14 | "The Way of a Long Journey West" (short story), Copy 2 |
| 1 | 15 | "The Empirical Wake" (short story), ca. 1957 (2 items)
|
| EL-1 | Newspaper Clippings, 1957 and 1965 (3 items)
|
|
| 1 | 17 | ALO/FAC Intelligence Guide by Captain Howard Shook, December 1967 |
| 1 | 18 | Pilot Log Book, November 3, 1952-December 18, 1952 and June 15, 1966-June 20, 1973 |
| 1 | 19 | Journal of Flying Time, January 15, 1969-May 3, 1969 |
| 1 | 20 | Federal Aviation Agency Flight Plan (blank) |
| Yearbooks | ||
| 1 | 21 | Flare, Yearbook of Class 53-G, ca. 1953 |
| 1 | 22 | BaseLeg – Yearbook of Class 53G, ca. 1953 |
| 1 | 23 | Dialect – Yearbook of Class 54-K, ca. 1954 |
| 2 | 1 | Yearbook of Class 55-K, ca. 1955 |
| Photographs | ||
| 2 | 2 | George M. Vaughn (7 items) |
| 2 | 3 | Jordan, member of United States Air Force (2 items) |
| 2 | 4 | Smith, member of United States Air Force (1 item) |
| 2 | 5 | DeCarlo, member of United States Air Force (5 items) |
| 2 | 6 | Sergeant Kenny, radio operator (1 item) |
| 2 | 7 | Bob Crow, Lieutenant Ellington, Army, and Sergeant Ramsey, radio operators |
| 2 | 8 | Charlie Reed and Ben Plotkin (2 items) |
| 2 | 9 | Bill Braut, Duty Officer at Direct Air Support Center |
| 2 | 10 | Lieutenant Colonel William J. Huxley, United States Air Force (3 items) |
| 2 | 11 | [United States soldier standing and reading] |
| 2 | 12 | [United States Air Force personnel] (5 items) |
| 2 | 13 | [United States Air Force personnel] (1 item) |
| 2 | 14 | [Soldiers with aircraft] (6 items) |
| 2 | 15 | [Soldier looking out window] (4 items) |
| 2 | 16 | [Solider sleeping with headphones in control room?] (2 items) |
| 2 | 17 | [Soldiers on duty in Vietnam] (8 items) |
| 2 | 18 | [Group of Vietnamese soldiers] (5 items) |
| 2 | 19 | [Two Vietnamese soldiers standing] (2 items) |
| 2 | 20 | [Two Vietnamese soldiers sitting] (6 items) |
| 2 | 21 | [Vietnamese soldier sitting] (1 item) |
| 2 | 22 | [Vietnamese woman walking] (4 items) |
| 2 | 23 | [Vietnamese children] (6 items) |
| 2 | 24 | [Vietnamese person attending market stall] (5 items) |
| 2 | 25 | [Vietnamese people] (7 items) |
| 2 | 26 | [Vietnamese people] (6 items) |
| 3 | 1 | [Vietnamese people] (6 items) |
| 3 | 2 | [Dinner party] (2 items) |
| 3 | 3 | [Dinner party] (7 items) |
| 3 | 4 | [Visit to a Vietnamese bar] (13 items) |
| 3 | 5 | "FAC-In," June 1969 (5 items) |
| 3 | 6 | Control Room at the DASC (1 item) |
| 3 | 7 | [Photographs of military aircraft] (6 items) |
| 3 | 8 | Photographs of War Memorial from 1968 (2 items) |
| 3 | 9 | [Vietnamese and United States soldiers] (6 items) |
| 3 | 10 | [Vietnamese street scenes] (6 items) |
| 3 | 11 | [Vietnamese street scenes] (7 items) |
| 3 | 12 | Tra Vinh, Vietnam, April 25, 1 969 |
| 3 | 13 | [Vietnam landscape] (2 items) |
| 3 | 14 | [Aerial photographs] (9 items) |
| 3 | 15 | [Aerial photograph of a river with a cloud of smoke] (1 item) |
| 3 | 16 | [Aerial photograph of a river] (1 item) |
| 3 | 17 | [Aerial photograph of a river] (1 item) |
| 3 | 18 | [Aerial photograph of a river with a cloud of smoke] (1 item) |
| 3 | 19 | [Aerial photograph with a view of a smoke cloud] (1 item) |
| 3 | 20 | [Aerial photograph with an aircraft flying over a field] (1 item) |
| 3 | 21 | [Aerial photograph with an aircraft] (1 item) |
| 3 | 22 | [Aerial photograph with an aircraft] (1 item) |
| 3 | 23 | [Aerial photograph of a field] (1 item) |
| 3 | 24 | [Aerial photograph with an aircraft flying over it] (1 item) |
| 3 | 25 | [Villa, Vietnam with the MACV compound circled] (1 item) |
| 3 | 26 | [Aerial photograph of the outskirts of Villa, Vietnam] (1 item) |
| 3 | 27 | Confidential Group 3 Print 1-1 (1 item) |
| 3 | 28 | Confidential Group 3 Print 1-2 (1 item) |
| 3 | 29 | Confidential Group 3 Print 1-3 (1 item) |
| 3 | 30 | Confidential Group 3 Print 1-4 (1 item) |
| 3 | 31 | Confidential Group 3 Print 1-5 (1 item) |
| 4 | 1 | Confidential Group 3 Print 1-6 (1 item) |
| 4 | 2 | Confidential Group 3 Print 1-7 (1 item) |
| 4 | 3 | Confidential Group 3 Print 1-8 (1 item) |
| 4 | 4 | Confidential Group 3 Print 1-11 (1 item) |
| 4 | 5 | Confidential Group 3 Print 1-21 (1 item) |
| 4 | 6 | Confidential Group 3 Print 1-22 (1 item) |
| 4 | 7 | Confidential Group 3 Print 1-23 (1 item) |
| 4 | 8 | Confidential Group 3 Print 1-24 (1 item) |
| 4 | 9 | Confidential Group 3 Print 112 (1 item) |
| 4 | 10 | Confidential Group 3 Print 116 (1 item) |
| 4 | 11 | Confidential Group 3 Print 117 (1 item) |
| 4 | 12 | Confidential Group 3 Print 118 (1 item) |
| 4 | 13 | Confidential Group 3 Print 119 (1 item) |
| 4 | 14 | Confidential Group 3 Print 2-1 (1 item) |
| 4 | 15 | Confidential Group 3 Print 2-2 (1 item) |
| 4 | 16 | Confidential Group 3 Print 2-4 (1 item) |
| 4 | 17 | Confidential Group 3 Print 2-5 (1 item) |
| 4 | 18 | Confidential Group 3 Print 2-6 (1 item) |
| 4 | 19 | Confidential Group 3 Print 2-7 (1 item) |
| 4 | 20 | Confidential Group 3 Print 2-8 (1 item) |
| 4 | 21 | Photographic film negative (4 items) |
| 4 | 22 | Slide of a man holding a magazine, July 1976 (1 item) |
| Maps | ||
| 4 | 23 | Enroute Low Altitude Chart, United States, Charts 25 and 26, effective 1971 |
| 4 | 24 | Low Altitude Enroute Charts, United States, Charts 25 and 26 (2 items) |
| 4 | 25 | Low Altitude Enroute Charts, United States, Chart 19 and 20 (2 items) |
| 4 | 26 | Sectional Aeronautical Chart, Washington |
| 4 | 27 | Sectional Aeronautical Map, New York |
| 4 | 28 | Sectional Aeronautical Map, New York |
| EL-2 | Department of Defense Flight Information Publication, Special Southeast Asia Tactical VFR Chart | |
| EL-2 | Aeronautical Map, Vietnam |