After graduating from high school, he enrolled in the University of California at Davis in 1936 to study electrical engineering, and transferred to the campus at Berkeley two years later.

[2] During World War II, he enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Forces as an aviation cadet, and graduated from training at Williams Field, Arizona, in 1942.

He later flew bomber escorts and strafing missions over Europe in the P-51 Mustang with the 355th Fighter Group from D-Day through V-E Day.

[1] On June 8, 1966, he was the sole survivor of the mid-air collision that destroyed the XB-70 #2 prototype and killed his co-pilot, Major Carl Cross, USAF, and noted aviator Joe Walker.

[2] White's military decorations include the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with nine oak leaf clusters.