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Robert Earl Falke (1942-2009) was born in California. He attended San Jose State College and graduated with a two-year degree in Aeronautics. In 1963, Falke joined the U.S. Marine Corps. Falke served in Vietnam as a helicopter pilot flying Sikorsky (S-58) HUS-1 (UH-34D) Seahorse aircraft. Falke later was an instructor for flight training at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida in North American T-28 Trojan aircraft. Falke was honorably discharged from the Marines in 1969 and went to work as a civilian pilot for United Airlines. Falke was with United Airlines for 37 years until his retirement.

Identifier

NASM.2013.0028

Date

bulk 1959-1989

Provenance

Merry Carole Falke, Gift, 2013

Extent

0.37 Cubic feet ((2 boxes))

Archival Repository

National Air and Space Museum Archives

Scope and Contents

This collection consists of materials relating to Robert Earl Falke's career in the U.S. Marine Corps including log books covering his entire service; correspondence; photo postcards; photographs; news clippings; a World Travel Service, Ltd. schedule and map of Bangkok, Thailand; an English/Vietnamese translation leaflet; official military orders; a Naval Air Basic Training Command publication entitled "[North American] T-28 [Trojan] Radio Instruments Maneuver Description;" a scrapbook created by Falke of his time in Vietnam; and a USMC/Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Reunion directory from 1989. The photographs range in size from 3.5 by 3.5 inches to 4 by 6 inches and are a mix of color and black and white prints. The photographs show daily life on base in Vietnam. The scrapbook includes additional photographs, postcards, military orders, and news clippings.

Rights

Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests

Restrictions

No restrictions on access.

Citation

Robert Earl Falke Papers, Accession number 2013-0028

Topics

Aeronautics, Military
Vietnam War, 1961-1975
Sikorsky (S-58) HSS-1F (SH-34H) Seahorse

Type

Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Scrapbooks
Photographs