Today is the start of Tet, the Vietnamese Lunar New Year celebration, and 2013 is the Year of the Snake.  To celebrate this traditional holiday, we have created an online exhibit that is an exploration of the Tet holiday and its customs, history, and traditions, supplemented with items from our collection.  To learn more about this unique holiday, please visit the exhibit at http://www.vietnam.ttu.edu/exhibits/tet/.

We also remember Tet for the events that happened across the Republic of Vietnam on January 31st of 1968, known as the Tet Offensive.   Early that morning Viet Cong and North Vietnamese forces launched surprise assaults on nearly all of the provincial capitals and urban areas of South Vietnam in an effort to bring about the collapse of the South Vietnamese government.  To learn more about the Tet Offensive and the events of that day, visit our online exhibit at http://www.vietnam.ttu.edu/exhibits/Tet68/.

The Fall 2012 issue of the Friends of the Vietnam Center Newsletter is now available online.  This issue contains articles on the VNCA’s partnership with the 50th Anniversary of the Vietnam War Commemoration, information about our 2013 Annual Conference, to be held in September in Washington, DC, and more.

If you would like to receive a full color printed version of this newsletter in your mailbox, please consider becoming a friend of the Vietnam Center. Membership information can be found on our Friends of the Vietnam Center webpage.

Links:

Fall 2011 Issue: http://www.vietnam.ttu.edu/virtualarchive/items.php?item=999nl0052

Newsletter Back Issues: http://www.vietnam.ttu.edu/friends/newsletters.php

Membership Information: http://www.vietnam.ttu.edu/friends/

Today the U. S. Marine Corps turns 237, and the Vietnam Center and Archive wants to wish the Marine Corps and all U. S. Marines a very happy birthday!  To celebrate we have created a small exhibit of Marine related materials.  To view the exhibit, please click on the link below.

http://www.vietnam.ttu.edu/exhibits/marines/marines12.htm

Today is the Navy’s 237th birthday, and the Vietnam Center and Archive wants to wish the Navy and all Navy personnel a very happy birthday.  We have prepared a small exhibit of Navy materials from our collection to commemorate the occasion.  Please click on the link below.

http://www.vietnam.ttu.edu/exhibits/navy/navy12.htm

Today the Air Force turns 65!  The Vietnam Center and Archive wants to wish the Air Force and all of its service men and women a very happy birthday.  To commemorate this event, we have created a small of exhibit of our Air Force related materials.  You can view the exhibit by clicking on the link below.

On August 4, 1790 the U. S. Congress authorized the construction of ten vessels to provide a new military branch for the country, the Revenue Cutter Service.  This service enforced tariff and trade laws, prevented smuggling and ensured the collection of federal revenue from ships and marine trade.  Over its life time the Revenue Cutter Service took on new duties: protecting the nation’s shore line, search and rescue and maintaining all of the country’s light houses.  In 1915 they changed their name to the U. S. Coast Guard.  The Coast Guard not only protects our nation’s shores it also serves under the Department of the Navy in all of our armed conflicts.  Today the Coast Guard turns 222 and we have gathered a few Coast Guard related items from our collection to commemorate the occasion.  To all the men and women of the Coast Guard, thank you for your service and Happy Birthday!

Thanks to everybody who came out to the Texas Tech Museum yesterday to see the Archive’s Huey and Cobra helicopters and all of the great WWII exhibits the museum has opened.

The Center and Archive also had two new exhibits open this weekend: “Vietnam: The Helicopter War”, on display until September 2nd at the Silent Wings Museum, and “The US Soldier’s Experience During the Vietnam War” at the Science Spectrum until September 2nd.

For those of you who can’t make it to see “Vietnam: The Helicopter War” at the Silent Wings, you can see it online here: http://www.vietnam.ttu.edu/exhibits/helicopter/

Don’t forget our our reception on Monday, July 23rd at 6:00pm at the Science Spectrum celebrating the opening of our exhibits, and honoring all of our local Vietnam veterans.

Today is the Army’s 237th birthday.  So happy birthday to the US Army and all the men and women who have served and are currently serving in the Army. 

We have created a small exhibit featuring Army materials from our collection to celebrate.  To view the exhibit click on the link below.

http://www.vietnam.ttu.edu/exhibits/army/

The Museum of Texas Tech University Association has organized a summer-long series of collaborative exhibitions celebrating those who have protected our freedom titled “Celebrating our Heroes.” The Vietnam Center and Archive is proud to participate in this series with a number of events:

July 15th – “Helicopter Display at the Museum of Texas Tech University:” The Vietnam Center and Archive’s AH-1G Cobra Attack Helicopter and UH-1 Huey Utility Helicopter will be on display at the TTU Museum during the Museum’s family picnic for Veterans and Families celebrating the opening of the “‘Memories of WWII’ Photographs from the Archives of the Associated Press” exhibit.  Reservations are required – 806-742-2443.

July 15th-September 2nd – “The Helicopter from WWII to the Vietnam War” at the Silent Wings Museum.  The helicopter was first utilized by the US military during WWII at Burma in 1945 when the vaunted American glider forces were unable to reach downed American bombers.  By the beginning of the Vietnam War the uses for helicopters were being greatly expanded, and the UH-1 Huey became one of the most recognized icons of the war in Vietnam.  This exhibit will examine the history and uses of the helicopter over the course of the war, and will feature both a physical exhibit on display at the Silent Wings Museum as well as an online exhibit on our website.  Visitors to the physical exhibit will have the option to use smart phones or tablets to access enhanced content such as historical film footage, audio records, oral histories, and documents.

July 15th-September 2nd – “Experiences: US Soldiers in the Vietnam War” at the Science Spectrum.  This exhibit will examine a day-in-the-life of US soldiers and support personnel in Vietnam and will feature many historical images and artifacts from the collections of the Vietnam Center and Archive.

July 23rd – “Celebrating our Heroes at the Vietnam Center and Archive” reception at 6:00pm at the Science Spectrum.  More information about this reception will be posted soon.

We hope you will be able to join us and the other participating institutions for these events over the course of the summer.  For more information on all of the Celebrating our Heroes events visit www.celebratingourheroes.com.

Today is Armed Forces Day, a day to pay tribute to the men and women who serve in all branches of the United States’ armed forces.  The Vietnam Center and Archive would like to take a moment to thank all our veterans and active duty service members.

The Vietnam Center and Archive is proud to be the home to collections of materials from all branches of our military.  To see a few of these items, please visit our online exhibits page, which includes the following exhibits:

US Air Force

US Army

US Coast Guard

US Marine Corps

US Navy