• THE VIETNAM CENTER AND ARCHIVE
  • Texas Tech University

 Finding Aid: Lee Baker Collection Item Number: 0140000000

Individual Collection
Location: D103.3B; D102 (oversized box); Map Collection (Section 13, Drawer 14) Photograph Collection; Periodical Collection; Cold Storage Vault


Scope & Content:

  • Approximately three linear feet of photographs, audio and video interviews, correspondence, US Lady Magazines, and published and unpublished articles depict the lives of Lee and Else Baker while living in Saigon 1963-1965. All materials are primary source materials of this same date range. During this time, Lee Baker was the Information Officer and Military Spokesman for MACV and MACTHAI. The photo albums depict VIP visits, everyday life in Saigon, and the Baker's household including servants and pets. The one video and five audio cassettes contain interviews with the Bakers during their time in Saigon. The articles, published and unpublished, were written by Else Baker and describe life in Saigon. The correspondence is primarily between Else Baker and her mother in Seattle, her friends, and US Lady Magazine concerning the publication of her articles.

Biographical Note:

  • Colonel Lee Baker served in the US Air Force and was the Information Officer and Military Spokesman for MACV and MACTHAI (Military Assistance Command, Thailand) from 1963 to 1965. Else Baker lived with her husband in Saigon until dependents were required to leave the country in February 1965. Lee Baker passed away 1 August 2003.

Access Level:

  • Unrestricted

Collection Inventory:

LocationBoxFolderContents
11
"Survivors of War Share Rare Bond", The Arizona Republic, November 9, 1999
"Nixon's Ultimate Betrayal", Vanity Fair, September 2000
Lee Baker letter to Dr. Robert B. Frankum, Jr. about Nixon article, November 18, 2000
Unknown Newspaper article "Faked War Stories Old as Battle Itself", November 11, 2000
Lee Baker letter to Dr. Robert B. Frankum, Jr. about Nixon's 1964 visit to South Vietnam, November 19, 1999
Correspondence 
2
Letters from Else Baker to her mother in Seattle and others (month of August 1963)
3
Letters from Else Baker to her mother in Seattle and others (month of Septemeber 1963)
4
Letters from Else Baker to her mother in Seattle and others (month of October 1963)
5
Letters from Else Baker to her mother in Seattle and others (month of November 1963)
6
Letters from Else Baker to her mother in Seattle and others (month of December 1963)
7
Letters from Else Baker to her mother in Seattle and others (month of January 1964)
8
Letters from Else Baker to her mother in Seattle and others (month of February 1964)
9
Letters from Else Baker to her mother in Seattle and others (month of March 1964)
10
Letters from Else Baker to her mother in Seattle and others (month of April 1964)
11
Letters from Else Baker to her mother in Seattle and others (month of May 1964)
12
Letters from Else Baker to her mother in Seattle and others (month of June 1964)
13
Letters from Else Baker to her mother in Seattle and others (month of July 1964)
14
Letters from Else Baker to her mother in Seattle and others (month of August 1964)
15
Letters from Else Baker to her mother in Seattle and others (month of September 1964)
16
Letters from Else Baker to her mother in Seattle and others (month of October 1964)
17
Letters from Else Baker to her mother in Seattle and others (month of November 1964)
18
Letters from Else Baker to her mother in Seattle and others (month of December 1964)
19
Letters from Else Baker to her mother in Seattle and others (month of January and Febraury 1965 and May 1969)
20
Articles and clippings (some written by Else Baker about her experiences in Saigon)
21
Administrative material
22
US Lady Magazine covers, articles, and correspondence between Else Baker and Alvadee Adams, editor of the magazine
23
Letters from Lee Baker to his wife, Else (1963 - 1964)
24
Miscellaneous
25
Else Baker's writing about Saigon
Else Baker's letters home to her mother
Woman's Eye View of the Coup of November 1963
Else Baker's Saigon Diary (1964 and March 1965)
26
Material written by Else Baker that was never published
MACV Public Information Office Daily Staff Journal (1-2 Nov 1963)
Daily News Briefs Volume 1 Number 1 (25 June 1964) (published by MACV)
Small maps of Saigon
Project Concern material 
Newsletters: Volume 1 Number 2 (Dec 1964) and Volume 2 Number 5 (March 1966)
Pamphlet regarding the origins of Project Concern
Correspondence
Article about Ann Kidder, a nurse associated with Project Concern
27
Noi San Thuy Quan Luc Chien 11 (1964)
28
Else Baker articles in print
2 (Oversized)1
Dayton (Ohio) Daily News
2
Articles and clippings
3
Full page Else Baker articles
4
The Observer (1 January 1965 and 16 January 1965)
5
Foreign Language Newspapers featuring photographs of Else Baker

Separated Materials:

Photographs:Seven Photographs VA002167- 2169, VA 002171, VA002342, VA002493, VA002894, One photograph of Horst Faas, Ambassador and Mrs. Maxwell Taylor.
 800+ photographs document Else Baker's life in Saigon with her husband Lee (VA037446 - VA038337).
Maps:1:10,000 map of Da Lat, 1:500,000 map of Da Lat.
 National Geographic map of Southeast Asia.
 Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos (from the Oakland [California] Tribune, 4 May 1966).
 Saign and Vicinity map.
 Map of South Vietnam (updated to include the new provinces of Quang Tin, Phu Bon, Hau Nghia, and Go Cong).
Moving Images:Interview of Else Baker by Charlie Arnot of ABC circa 1963-1964 (VHS tape).
Audio:Five audio cassette tape interviews recorded by Lee Baker.
Periodicals:US Lady Magazine: July-August 1965 (2 copies).
December 1965 (3 copies).
 America Volume 113 Number 1 (3 July 1965).

Digitized Materials

Portions of this collection have been digitized. Use the links below to view these items.

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