Donald Charles ‘Don’ Kipfer was born in Massillon, OH. His father pressed honesty and hard work, and his mother urged education. Don, an "A" student and a member of the National Honor Society at Washington High School, excelled in math and physics. He was the first chair, solo clarinetist in George Bird’s nationally famous marching band in Look magazine and Reader’s Digest.
Don departed Republic Steel to join the Aviation Cadet Program after Pearl Harbor. A civil service exam enabled him to enter West Point in 1944. His parent’s faith in hard work, honesty, and education fit very well with Duty, Honor, and Country. Lacrosse, track, the Gun and Art clubs, and the handball ladder were fillers.
Don and his decade-long "one-and-only," Edna Mae Gentry were married in the West Point Chapel on graduation day, after which they departed for flight training at Randolph AFB in San Antonio, TX. After multi-engine training at Barksdale AFB, Shreveport, LA, Don was reassigned to San Angelo's Goodfellow AFB as a flight instructor. Soon, as a first lieutenant, he was Chief of the only USAF Preflight designed for NATO students. Mae acted as hostess for the grand Preflight graduations, ran the base’s nursery, and delivered three sons in three years!
When the Pentagon announced that promotion would depend upon advanced degrees, Don applied and was accepted as one of seven officers to attend the first automatic control course at the USAF Institute of Technology (AFIT) at Wright Field. In 1951, he and Charlie Johnson completed the first master’s thesis conducted on a high speed, electronic computer. He was then assigned as a division chief at the Avionics Laboratory, responsible for the development of the Low Altitude Bombing System (LABS), the Tactical Infrared Radar Bombing System (TIRBS), and the Airborne Moving Target Indicator (AMTI).
Soon, Canada’s National Defense Headquarters requested that Don come as an exchange and project officer on the CF-105 (Arrow). Don, systems trained, was responsible not only for its armament, avionics, and electronics but also for its compatibility with its environment. The CF-105 flew higher, faster, and carried more armament than any other interceptor of this time period.
Back in Systems Command Headquarters, Don was sent to the Air Force Technology Planning Conference on the Whitney Estate in Woods Hole, MA. Incredibly, he sat in a small room at a small table with Dr. Shockley, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize for inventing the transistor, Dr Kantrowitz, a world leader in magneto-hydrodynamics, and Dr. Draper of MIT, an automatic control magician. When a professor entered their room and set down a small test tube containing pulsating, green light, Dr Kantrowitz asked, "What the hell is that?" The professor replied, "I call it a ‘laser’!" Don took the professor and his ‘laser’ to MIT for their opinion. "It’s a go! But find the money!" The rest is history!
At Command and Staff College, Don’s thesis on magneto-hydrodynamics was selected best in his class. At graduation Don was assigned to Maxwell's Warfare Systems School. He initiated a Space Operations Course for senior officers and invented and patented the first Dynamic Orbital Trainer. He scripted and supervised a training film of different satellite ground tracks due to orbital orientation. Relocating to Brussels, Belgium, he worked in the European Office of Aerospace Research (EOAR) supervising research programs in Europe, Asia, and Africa. He led nineteen doctors through India and, with this data, obtained millions of dollars in counterpart rupees to conduct free basic research.
Mae equipped the new Brussels American High School Library and had it certified in three months with the help of an Assistant Secretary of State, four ambassadors, and six full colonels.
After having his eagles pinned on, Don was reassigned from Plieku to Nakhon Pathom (NKP) in Thailand. As Deputy Base Commander, his duty was to convert NKP from a Ranger Base to a first-class Air Base. This required ‘Red Horse’ to convert NKP's WW II metal runway to concrete! Don returned to EOAR as Director of Plans and immediately rewrote the Air Force Basic Research Plan. He was reassigned to Systems Command as Director of Avionics, Electronics, and Weapons and took part in the Rome Air Development Center, the Avionics Laboratory, and Kirtland's Weapons Lab’s laser weapons. Finally, Don went to McClellan where he was Air Force System Manager for the Space Shuttle, the A-10, and all Air Force ground electronics. Mae was the official hostess for Materiel Management. Too soon their unbelievable mission was over. In Punta Gorda, FL, Don opened a small art/publishing company, He wrote, published, and sold five novels. He also sold twenty thousand copies of his oil paintings and hundreds of carved wooden sculptures. Mae held every office and won every tournament in BSCC
and WCFWGA.
Don is survived by his son Mark of Atlanta, GA, his son David of Punta Gorda, FL, eight grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his wife Mae in 2007 and his son Donald Jr. in 2009.