Texas Tech University is in the process of transitioning to a new communications system.  Over the next few days the Vietnam Center and Archive will be converting to the new system.  Today (Friday), our departmental email addresses are being transitioned.  During this transition, the following addresses are unavailable:

vietnamarchive@ttu.edu
vietnam.center@ttu.edu
vawebmaster@ttu.edu
vaoralhistory@ttu.edu
vahc.vietnam@ttu.edu
vietnamcenterconference@ttu.edu

Messages sent to these addresses may result in an Undeliverable response.  Messages that have been sent during the transitiion will not be delivered, so you will need to resend them to our new address vnca@ttu.edu, or call us at 806-742-9010.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

Tet, the Vietnamese New Year
Today – Friday, February 15th
3:00-5:00pm
The International Cultural Center’s Hall of Nations, Texas Tech University

This is a free event and open to the public.

Traditional Vietnamese food will be served, and entertainment may include a special presentation by the Vietnamese Student Association at Texas Tech. Please join us and learn more about the rich heritage and culture that makes Vietnam so remarkable.

February 10, 2013, ushers in the Lunar Year of the Snake. In Vietnam, one of 12 animals of the zodiac represents each year. In many Asian cultures, including Vietnam, the Year of the Snake is believed to be a year of peace and prosperity. The snake is an important part of life in Vietnam. People born in the Year of the Snake are endowed with wisdom and excel in finding solutions to problems. They are usually successful in life and lucky with money.

The Vietnamese people regard Tet as their most important holiday. Food preparation for Tet is very time consuming and often requires days of cooking and, prior to the celebrations, people clean, paint, and decorate their homes. People avoid cleaning during Tet so that good luck will not be “swept away.”

We hope you will be able to join us on February 15, 2013 as we celebrate this special event!

For more information, please call 806-742-3742.

The preliminary agenda for the Vietnam Center’s 2013 conference is now available online.

The Vietnam Center and Archive is proud to announce that we will host our 2013 annual conference in partnership with the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration and the Department of Defense 50th Anniversary of the Vietnam War Commemoration. The conference will take place at the McGowan Theater in the National Archives in Washington, DC, Sept. 26-28, 2013. To organize this conference, we have worked very closely in collaboration with three important scholars of the Vietnam War to include Dr. Lien-Hang T. Nguyen (University of Kentucky), Dr. Edward Miller (Dartmouth College) and Dr. Larry Berman (Georgia State University).

The intellectual objectives of this conference are to examine the year 1963 as it has long been viewed as a watershed in both the history of the Vietnam War and in the evolution of the United States’ intervention in that conflict. The Battle of Ap Bac, the “Buddhist crisis” and the self-immolation of Thich Quang Duc, the abortive “Kennedy withdrawal” of U.S. military advisors from South Vietnam, the overthrow and death of Ngo Dinh Diem in the Saigon coup of November, the Kennedy assassination that same month, the Ninth Plenum of the Vietnam Worker’s Party—all of these events and many others shaped the subsequent escalation of the Vietnam War and contributed to its transformation into a major international conflict. This conference (which will take place during the fiftieth anniversary year of these events) will highlight recent research on various aspects of 1963 in Vietnam. In addition, we expect the conference to use 1963 as a means to explore the larger themes and trends running throughout the history of the Vietnam War. This conference will bring together specialists in the history of the Vietnam War, U.S. foreign relations, international history, the Cold War, and Vietnamese studies.

More information will be added to the conference website as it becomes available.

Vietnam Center Conference – Vietnam, 1963
September 26th-28th, 2013
McGowan Theater, NARA
700 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, DC

Conference website: www.vietnam.ttu.edu/events/2013_Conference

Preliminary Agenda: http://www.vietnam.ttu.edu/events/2013_Conference/agenda.htm

Tet, the Vietnamese New Year
Friday, February 15th
3:00-5:00pm
The International Cultural Center’s Hall of Nations, Texas Tech University

This is a free event and open to the public.

Traditional Vietnamese food will be served, and entertainment may include a special presentation by the Vietnamese Student Association at Texas Tech. Please join us and learn more about the rich heritage and culture that makes Vietnam so remarkable.

February 10, 2013, ushers in the Lunar Year of the Snake. In Vietnam, one of 12 animals of the zodiac represents each year. In many Asian cultures, including Vietnam, the Year of the Snake is believed to be a year of peace and prosperity. The snake is an important part of life in Vietnam. People born in the Year of the Snake are endowed with wisdom and excel in finding solutions to problems. They are usually successful in life and lucky with money.

The Vietnamese people regard Tet as their most important holiday. Food preparation for Tet is very time consuming and often requires days of cooking and, prior to the celebrations, people clean, paint, and decorate their homes. People avoid cleaning during Tet so that good luck will not be “swept away.”

We hope you will be able to join us on February 15, 2013 as we celebrate this special event!

For more information, please call 806-742-3742.

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!

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/