- THE VIETNAM CENTER AND ARCHIVE
- Texas Tech University
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Vietnam Center & Archive News and Updates
The Passing of Famous Anthropologist Gerald Hickey
The Vietnam Center and Archive was deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Dr. Gerald Hickey in Chicago, Illinois on November 9, 2010. Hickey was a prominent anthropologist who was best known for his work with Montagnard tribes in South Vietnam during the Vietnam War. His first work in Vietnam was with Michigan State University from 1956-1959 to help rural South Vietnamese develop a modern nation-state. During this time he particularly became interested in working with the Montagnards. In fact, Hickey returned to Vietnam in 1964 as an employee of the RAND Corporation where he spent nine years tirelessly fighting for improved political rights and economic conditions for the Montagnards.
We are proud to have close to 20 linear feet of material at the Vietnam Center and Archive in the Gerald Hickey Collection to include photographs, textiles, swords, and carvings as well as many rare books on Montagnard culture in French, Vietnamese, and English. More than just being an important donor to the Vietnam Center and Archive, Gerald Hickey was a good friend. He will be greatly missed.
Hickey’s Funeral Mass will be held at 10:00 AM on Saturday, November 13 at Immaculate Conception Church, 1415 N. North Park, Chicago, Illinois. Visitation will begin at 9:00 AM and last until the beginning of Mass.
For more information about Gerald Hickey including two issues of Friends of the Vietnam Center featuring articles on him and a list of the contents in his collection at the Vietnam Center and Archive, please view the following links:
Summer/Fall 2008 Issue of Friends of the Vietnam Center
Jake Bitonel Participates in LDAC
Jake Bitonel, a student assistant at the Vietnam Center and Archive since 2007, attended the United States Army ROTC Command’s Leadership Development and Assessment Course (LDAC) at Fort Lewis, Washington from June 25 – July 23, 2009. The ROTC Command uses the program to evaluate the leadership skills learned by its cadets. Every ROTC cadet goes through this 28 day program consisting of PT tests, garrison positions, weapons familiarization, and war games after his or her junior year. We are proud to announce that Jake finished among the top of his LDAC Regiment. The Vietnam Center and Archive congratulates Jake on the fine achievement. You can learn more about Jake by reading his profile in the September 2009 issue of Study Breaks.
Student Spotlight: Jacob Furr
Student Spotlight: Aaron Alford
Aaron first became interested in fiction and nonfiction about the Vietnam War from taking a writing course taught by National Book Award-winning author Larry Heinemann at Texas A&M.; This interest led Aaron to the Vietnam Archive when he arrived at Texas Tech where he has been a tremendous asset. Sadly for the Vietnam Archive, Aaron will become a Teaching Assistant in the English department at Texas Tech when he begins his PhD program in the Fall and will no longer be at the archive. We will definitely miss him, but wish him the best for the future.