# William M. Leary > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/William_M._Leary > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/William_M._Leary.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_M._Leary > Source revision: 1338052504 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) American academic and aviation historian **William Matthew "Bill" Leary, Jr.** (May 6, 1934 — February 24, 2006)[1] was an American academic and aviation historian.[2] For 32 years, Leary taught at the [University of Georgia](/source/University_of_Georgia) from which he retired as the *[E. Merton Coulter](/source/E._Merton_Coulter) Professor of History* in 2005.[2] Leary was born in [Newark, New Jersey](/source/Newark%2C_New_Jersey) in 1934.[2] He joined the [United States Air Force](/source/United_States_Air_Force) and was stationed at [Kadena Air Base](/source/Kadena_Air_Base) in [Japan](/source/Japan) during the [Korean War](/source/Korean_War) where his responsibilities included filing [flight plans](/source/Flight_plan), logging arrivals and departures, and arranging parking and service for aircraft.[2] Leary stated that his observation of [Civil Air Transport](/source/Civil_Air_Transport) aircraft and personnel at Kadena led to a historical interest in aviation.[2] After the war, Leary earned a [doctorate](/source/Doctorate) in [American history](/source/American_history) from [Princeton University](/source/Princeton_University).[2] He taught at Princeton, [San Diego State University](/source/San_Diego_State_University), [University of Victoria](/source/University_of_Victoria), and finally the University of Georgia. Leary earned four [Fulbright grants](/source/Fulbright_Program) and in 1995 earned the [Central Intelligence Agency](/source/Central_Intelligence_Agency)'s *[Studies in Intelligence](/source/Studies_in_Intelligence) Award*.[2] From 1996 to 1997, Leary held the *[Charles A. Lindbergh](/source/Charles_A._Lindbergh) Chair in Aerospace History* at the [National Air and Space Museum](/source/National_Air_and_Space_Museum).[2] During his career, Leary authored books on various books on the history of aviation, including different airlines and the commercial airline industry.[2] He documented the history of the [China National Aviation Corporation](/source/China_National_Aviation_Corporation), Civil Air Transport, and [Air America](/source/Air_America_(airline)), and their links to the [United States Intelligence Community](/source/United_States_Intelligence_Community), in a trilogy of books: *The Dragon's Wings: the Story of the China National Aviation Corporation*, *Perilous Missions: Civil Air Transport and CIA Covert Operations in Asia, a history of Civil Air Transport*, and a third unfinished, unpublished book about Air America.[2] Other books written by Leary discussed [Mohawk Airlines](/source/Mohawk_Airlines), [Project COLDFEET](/source/Project_COLDFEET), and [Allen Dulles](/source/Allen_Dulles).[2] Other subjects covered in his writings included the [Airmails of the United States](/source/Airmails_of_the_United_States), [Bernt Balchen](/source/Bernt_Balchen) and [polar aviation](/source/Polar_aviation), the USAF's [Combat Cargo Command](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Combat_Cargo_Command&action=edit&redlink=1), and the aerial resupply of [Yugoslav Partisans](/source/Yugoslav_Partisans) during [World War II](/source/World_War_II).[3] On February 24, 2006, Leary died in [Watkinsville, Georgia](/source/Watkinsville%2C_Georgia).[2] ## Selected works - Leary, William M. *We Shall Return! MacArthur's Commanders and the Defeat of Japan, 1942–1945*. Lexington, KY: University Press of Kentucky, 1988. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0813116546](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0813116546) - Leary, William M., and Leonard A. LeSchack. *Project COLDFEET: Secret Mission to a Soviet Ice Station*. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1996. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [1557505144](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/1557505144) - Leary, William M. *Anything, Anywhere, Any Time: Combat Cargo in the Korean War*. Washington, D.C.: Air Force History and Museums Program, 2000. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0160503736](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0160503736) - Leary, William M. *Perilous Missions: Civil Air Transport and the CIA Covert Operations in Asia*. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 2002. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [1588340287](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/1588340287) ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-ssdi_1-0)** *Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014*. [Social Security Administration](/source/Social_Security_Administration). 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Allen_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Allen_2-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Allen_2-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-Allen_2-3) [***e***](#cite_ref-Allen_2-4) [***f***](#cite_ref-Allen_2-5) [***g***](#cite_ref-Allen_2-6) [***h***](#cite_ref-Allen_2-7) [***i***](#cite_ref-Allen_2-8) [***j***](#cite_ref-Allen_2-9) [***k***](#cite_ref-Allen_2-10) [***l***](#cite_ref-Allen_2-11) Allen, Thomas J. ["William M. Leary Papers"](http://libtreasures.utdallas.edu/xmlui/handle/10735.1/1919). Special Collections Department, History of Aviation Collection. *libtreasures.utdallas.edu*. The University of Texas at Dallas. Retrieved November 23, 2015. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-Oelkrug_3-0)** Oelkrug, Paul A. (July 1, 2006). ["Guide to the William M. Leary Papers, 1935-2006"](https://web.archive.org/web/20151125022845/https://www.utdallas.edu/library/specialcollections/hac/cataam/cataapdf/WilliamLearyPapers.html). Special Collections Department, History of Aviation Collection. *www.utdallas.edu*. The University of Texas at Dallas. Archived from [the original](https://www.utdallas.edu/library/specialcollections/hac/cataam/cataapdf/WilliamLearyPapers.html) on November 25, 2015. Retrieved November 23, 2015. Authority control databases International ISNI VIAF GND WorldCat National United States Czech Republic Netherlands Norway Latvia Israel Academics CiNii Other IdRef Yale LUX --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [William M. Leary](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_M._Leary) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_M._Leary?action=history)). 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