What was the earliest appearance of Gene Roddenberry's 'Noonien Singh' story?

Cafe Society
1

And are there any direct quotations from Roddenberry himself?

I did find one from 1999, but it didn’t just related the same story.

Aaaand. . . on the odd chance that you’re not up to speed, the Cliffs Notes version of the story is that in WWII, Roddenberry knew a Chinese(?) pilot named Noonien Singh, and he used the name in “Space Seed” as Khan Noonien Singh, the repurposed it as Noonian Soong in TNG as Data’s creator–hoping that word might get back to the pilot that his old WWII friend was looking for him, which never actually happened.

Purpose for asking: Sounds like Rod either just made it up, or really badly remembered the pilot’s name.

2

Here’s one data point, just for a fuller version of the story of Kim Noonien Singh:

3

Isn’t Singh sort of the Smith of certain parts of the world? I hope Gene didn’t bet much money on his old pal hearing that name used on TV.

4

“Singh” is the standard “last name” for Sikh males, which makes it even more ubiquitous than “Smith” among that community.

This is mentioned in KneadtoKnow’s link. And in anything about Sikhs.

5

Right, lots of Singhs. How many Noonians or Nooniens is the real question?

6

The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind.
The answer is blowin’ in the wind.