Harold F. Miller Papers

This collection includes personal papers, business records, personnel files, memoranda, inter-office routing slips, reports, financial reports, brochures, clippings, articles, ephemera, aeronautical charts, operations manuals, instructions, guides, photographs, and memorabilia that were created and/or collected by Harold F. Miller during his career with Air America, Inc. The Harold F. Miller Papers are housed in seven boxes of various sizes, totaling 4.6 linear ft.

The collection arrived in good condition and was initially processed with only a container list as description. Due to a change of the content management system, further description proved to be necessary. During an assessment for an application for an NEH grant, the collection was identified for further processing and description.

The curator identified six series with the first series being the Personal Paper Series, which contains photographs for licenses; Vietnamese driver’s licenses issued to Miller, a Laotian pilot’s license Royaume du Laos Pilote Professionel de 1re Classe issued to Miller, a “Temporary Airman Certificate;” a poem “Air America Lament,” by Harry Bonessa; a “Notification of Change in Salary/Status;” an USAF refund of school tuition for Miller’s son Treg A. Miller; a descriptive inventory of household good by Vietnam Travel Agency; correspondence stating that Air America, Inc. has assumed obligations of employment with Air Asia Company, Ltd.; a “Request for dependent Education Subsidy” for Phenix Study Group for Treg A. Miller; memoranda regarding insurance, uniforms, traveling, seniority listing, temporary assignments; radiograms regarding leave; an instruction guide for Udorn, Thailand and Thailand in general; an organizational chart for the Pacific Corporation, Air America, Air Asia and Civil Air Transport; correspondence from Air America that Thai Airways Aircraft Maintenance Co. Ltd. Is the successor contractor to Air America; “Circular Northern Thailand Division, Air America, Inc.” regarding Operations support Group personnel assignments; and an envelope from Bell Helicopter International, Inc. from Iran to Miller; Miller’s flight log books; and memoranda, inter-office routing slips and correspondence regarding Miller’s commendations.

The second series is the Air America, Inc. Series, which is further organized into two subseries: 1. Employment and 2. Training.

Subseries 1. contains correspondence regarding Air America’s retirement plans, “Personnel Manual for American Employees;” notices regarding the company’s assets; correspondence regarding unemployment insurance; correspondence regarding Miller asking for employment opportunities in Peru and with Air America providing flight career information; memoranda regarding federal tax withholdings; memoranda and correspondence between Miller and Air America regarding termination and resignation; memoranda, travel orders, insurance cards, inter-office routing slips, and radiograms regarding repatriation allowances and repatriation of Miller family; booklets and correspondence from Far East Pilot Association regarding insurance, strikes, and status of negotiations; correspondence, inter-office routing slips, syllabi, notices regarding training and flight time regulations; student evaluations; incident, accident, and trip reports; business records regarding personnel strength; XOXO message regarding VTE D72 241100Z; narrative regarding the background on Air America; memoranda on up country into-plane fuel service and parts distribution; seniority listings; monthly flight crew activity and payment reports; and directory and correspondence regarding Air America employment and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

Subseries 2. contains draft and final version of Functional Check Flight (FCF) maintenance course student handbook for Sikorsky UH-34D helicopters, correspondence, radiograms, teletype, notes, progress reports, FCF patterns, and memoranda regarding training of Royal Lao Air Force pilots, instructor’s outlines, and training course proposals; aerodynamics reference materials: helicopter aerodynamics and performance charts and UH-34D study guides, medical certificates, aircraft ratings, airport traffic area, fuel requirements, distance measuring equipment (DME), times approaches from a holding fix, radar controlled approaches, air navigation radio aids, automatic terminal information service (ATIS), instrument landing system (ILS), radar controlled approaches, transponder operation, radar traffic information service, ”Survival and Life Support Equipment Bulletin Over Water Emergency Locator Beacons,” examination question handbook, and H-34 initial training syllabus; handbook Udorn External Helicopter Load and Light Aircraft Recovery Guidelines including images; correspondence, inter-office routing slip, front view of the Lycoming T-53-L-11 engine; Inter-office routing slip, charts, correspondence, radiogram, notes, and memoranda regarding the Lycoming T-53-L-13 engine.

The third series is the Publication Series, which is further organized into three subseries: 1. Manuals, 2. Clippings, and 3. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Subseries 1. contains pilot’s indoctrination, operation, flying, directed flying programs, standardization of helicopter maneuvers, normal and emergency flight procedures, checklists, HIGE and HOGE weights for Bell UH-1 Iroquois (Huey) Series, Bell 204B, Bell 205A, and Bell OH13 Sioux and their variants; operator’s manual for Boeing-Vertol CH-47B and CH-47C Chinook helicopters; flight operation instructions for Consolidated PBY-5A Catalina; operator’s manual and directed study programs for de Havilland Canada, DHC-4 Caribou; aircraft flight manuals for Curtiss C-46 Commando; operator’s and crewmember’s checklist for Hughes OH-6A aircraft and owner’s manual for the Hughes 500 Model 369 HS helicopter; pilot’s checklist for Sikorsky H-19 Chickasaw and Standardization of Helicopter Maneuvers (UH-19), HIGE and HOGE weights for Sikorsky H-34 "Choctaw," pocket checklists for UH-34D, G, and J helicopter, flight manuals for navy models UH-34D, G and J helicopters, operator’s manual Army Model CH-34A and CH-34C, and directed study program for UH-34 helicopters; instructions for the Dalton Dead Reckoning Computer; and primary helicopter training manual.

Subseries 2. contains clippings and articles from Bangkok Post, Bangkok Post Sunday Magazine, Business News including correspondence from Air America and the United States Department of the Treasury, Newsweek, Off Duty Pacific, Pacific Stars and Stripes, The Asia Magazine, and The Washington Post regarding the United States’ involvement in Southeast Asia and particularly in Laos.

Subseries 3. contains an article about FAA revising the certification rules for pilots.

The fourth series is the Photographs Series, which is further organized into two subseries: 1. People and 2. Helicopters

Subseries 1. contains images depicting people in a Thai village depicting the oldest person (105 years) and other village elders; medical teams examining villagers, administrating vaccinations, and providing dental treatment; a weaving room; people gathered for a group photograph and sitting at a social event including Harold F. Miller; and views inside a church.

Subseries 2. contains images depicting Air America helicopters hauling various sizes of cargo: Bell 204/205, tail number XW-PFJ; Boeing Vertol; Hughes 500; Sikorsky H-45; and Sikorsky H-34, tail number XW-PHD.

The fifth series is the Memorabilia Series, which contains Suzan Miller's blue and white cotton T-shirt with no. 9 on the sleeve and AAM in letters on the front; a note addressed to Larry Sall from Leon LaShomb stating that the content is from the James E. Spencer Papers. However, the holding file does not indicate that the T-shirt is part of that collection.

The sixth series is the Maps, which contains a DOD Special Southeast Asia Tactical VFR Chart VFR-4, VFR-2.