The Vietnam Archive has created a new online exhibit called “Let’s Celebrate Tet”.  This exhibit is an exploration of the Tet holiday and its customs, history and traditions supplemented with photos and documents from our collection.  If you would like to learn about this unique holiday please visit our exhibits page or click on the exhibit title above. 

SFC Turner calling the second element to see if a sniper can be pinpointed which is just below the second element. Nui Coto 17 March 1969 1245 hrs.

February is Black History Month, and the Vietnam Center and Archive celebrates with our online exhibit highlighting and honoring the contributions and achievements of African-American veterans from the Vietnam War Era.  The exhibit will be accessable from our homepage for the month of February, or through our online exhibits page year-round.  Please enjoy!

Go to the Vietnam Center and Archive Black History Month Online Exhibit.

November is Aviation Month!  To celebrate this occasion we have created a new exhibit that explores the duties and lives of the Dustoff crews.  This exhibit is available online and is accessable from this blog post or the home page.

Enjoy!

Happy Birthday United States Marines!

On November 10th, 1775 the US Continental Congress created the Continental Marines to fight in the American Revolution and today the Marines celebrate their 234th birthday.  Congratulations!

The Vietnam Archive wishes to honor all Marines on their special day today.  Here are a few Marine related items from our collection.  Semper Fidelis.

First wave-- Leatherneck helicopter of Marine Medium helicopter of Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 164 and infantryman of the 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, are the first elements into the zine, November 20 during Operation Mead River, about eight miles southwest of Danang. More than 75 helicopters of the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing lifted some 3,500 leathernecks into pre-designed zones in approximately two hours.

 

 

Operation Prairie III-- Marines of "A" Company, 1st Battalion, Ninth Marines, move through a stream in search of North Vietnamese soldiers during Operation Prairie III approximately three miles west of Cam Lo.

 

Marine Attack Squadron 311, Marine Air Group 12, Chu Lai, I Corps, Vietnam

 

Mine Sweep-- A Marine mine sweep team of "A" Company, 3rd Engineer Battalion, checks a road west of Ca Lu for enemy Mines or dud rounds. This sweep, like many others in the Northern I Corps, is conducted each morning before traffic is permitted to use the road.

 

A US Marine carries a seriously wounded Vietnamese child from the ruins of a home in Hue. The provincial capital city was the target of violent VC attacks following the start of the Tet (Lunar new year).

 

  

1st Marine Division patch

 

2nd Marine Division patch

 

1st Marine Division shorts

 

Moving Images

 

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Film shot by R. J. Del Vecchio during his service as a Marine cameraman in Vietnam documents his own service and various aspects of the broader context of the war. Footage includes: Marine patrols, soldiers shaving and cleaning weapons, travel with sentry dogs, airlifted supplies.

 

 R. J. Del Vecchio Collection

 

Oral Histories

 

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John C. Arick, originally from Washington, D.C., served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1962 until 1992 and retired a Brigadier General. He is a 1962 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis. John served two tours in Southeast Asia. During the first, from 1966 to 1967, he was stationed at the Ky Ha helicopter base north of Chu Lai with the Marine Observation Squadron (VMO) 6, Marine Air Group (MAG) 36, 1st Marine Air Wing (MAW) and was a UH-1E pilot flying fire support, escort, MedEvac, utility, and tactical air control missions. He took part in Operations HASTINGS, BEAVER CAGE, among others. During his second tour, from 1970 to 1971, John was first stationed near Marble Mountain Air Facility with the III Marine Amphibious Force (MAF) headquarters in the G-3 section, then with the 1st MAW at Danang in the G-3 section, and finally with the Marine Light/Attack Helicopter Squadron (HML) 367 at Marble Mountain Air Facility. During his entire second tour, he flew the AH-1G Cobra with HML 367. In total, John flew in excess of 1,540 hours in Southeast Asia.

 

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John Thomas “Tom” Esslinger, originally from Ephrata, Pennsylvannia served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1966 until 1970. Tom went to Vietnam in September 1967 and served with India Company and Mike Company, 3rd Battalion, 26th Marines, and operated out of Camp Evans. In December 1967, his unit was sent to Khe Sanh where it eventually occuppied Hill 881 South during the 77-day seige. After Khe Sanh, from April to July 1968, Tom, as CO of India Co., operated out of Quang Tri City and then west of Da Nang running various missions. In early August, he was made Assistant S-3 with the 3/26 Marines and served in that capacity until completing his 13-month tour in October 1968.

 

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Coporal Walter Rupp recounts his experiences in Vietnam, including being wounded in a helicopter crash and by Viet Cong fire. Rupp received two Purpple Hearts and the Bronze Star.

 

 Marine Corps Birthday Ball 2009 site

 

As part of the ongoing 20^th Anniversary celebration of the Vietnam Center and Archive, a photograph and artifact exhibit entitled “A Day in the Life of an American Soldier in Vietnam” is currently on display until mid December of this year.  Please visit the Southwest Collection/Special Collections Building on the Texas Tech University campus to experience elements of a typical day in the life of a US soldier during the Vietnam War.  Consisting of over 25 black and white photographs and a selected number of artifacts, this exhibit will provide the visitor with stimulating and descriptive highlights of our highly unique collection materials.  The exhibit is self guided and open to the public, free of charge, Monday through Friday from 8:00am until 5:00pm.  All of the staff at the Vietnam Center and Archive hope that you will join us in celebrating 20 years of success by stopping by to view this exhibit!

 Happy Birthday United States Air Force!!

On September 18, 1947 the US Air Force was officially created and today the Air Force turns 62.  The Vietnam Center & Archive would like to wish the Air Force a very Happy Birthday, and to thank all the service men and women past and present for their service and sacrifice.

 In honor of the Air Forces 62^nd birthday, please enjoy a few Air Force items from the Vietnam Archive’s collections.

VA 000931 First Air Force F-4 Navigator Completes 100 Missions Over North - Southeast Asia - Major Ronald C. Herrick (left), congratulates his back-seater, Captain Herbert Altman (center) upon completion of his 300th combat mission over the Southern Panhandle of North Vietnam. Altman was the first F-4 Navigator to have completed 100 combat missions over North Vietnam. Douglas Pike Photograph Collection VA002240 South Vietnamese Air Force VNAF 254 Fighter Squadron, Nha Trang US Air Force advisors help train the Vietnamese airmen stationed at the Nha Trang Air Training Center. 1969 Douglas Pike Photograph Collection

VA002240 South Vietnamese Air Force VNAF 254 Fighter Squadron, Nha Trang US Air Force advisors help train the Vietnamese airmen stationed at the Nha Trang Air Training Center. 1969 Douglas Pike Photograph Collection

VA036303 US Air Force (Photo) 600th Photo Squadron AAVS (MAC) December 1967 four men standing by Caribou, one dressed as Santa Claus Dudley F. Waters Collection (C-7A Caribou Association)

 

VA002724 Nha Trang Air Training Center, South Vietnam 1969 Douglas Pike Photograph Collection

 

069museum3280 7th Air Force patch Richard (Dick) Detra Collection

1611museum2205 U. S. Air Force Commendation Medal awarded for participation in the Mayaguez Mission Robert A. Goode Collection (Thailand, Laos, Cambodia Brotherhood)

 

 

Film

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Thai Radar Controller 21 May 1969   U. S.-Thailand Radar Control Assures Tight Air Defense Around Udorn.  As pilots wait in the ready rooms, the controllers scan their radar scopes when an unidentified aircraft comes along.  The USAF 621st Tactical Control Squadron then scramble their supersonic F-102’s to meet the air craft. 1:58 min/sec

Michael Sheets Collection

Oral History Interviews

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(USAF, CIA) James King Overman enlisted in the US Air Force at age 18, and after training as a mechanic he qualified for pilot training. He flew B-26 aircraft on patrols of the 38th Parallel in Korea 1954-55 and spent six years as an instructor in the Training Command at Randolph AFB. During 1965-67 he was assigned to the 817 Troop Carrier Squadron, Naha AB, Okinawa, with TDY postings to Da Nang and Ubon, Thailand. He flew ‘Blind Bat’ missions as a night forward air controller over the DMZ and North Vietnam. During 1970-71, as part of the 16th SOS, he flew nighttime interdiction missions over Laos and South Vietnam in AC-130 gunships, as well as High Altitude Low Opening (HALO) flights and a bombing mission over Cambodia. At his retirement from active duty in 1972 Jim was one of the most highly decorated Native American pilots in US Air Force history. During the 1970s and 1980s Jim flew on a contract basis for the Central Intelligence Agency, including evacuation flights from Phnom Penh, Da Nang, and Saigon in 1975.

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(USAF) (POW) Congressman Sam Johnson served two tours with the USAF in Vietnam. During his first tour (1965-1966) he served at MACV headquarters in Saigon in the Emergency Action Center. During his second tour (1966-1973) he served in Ubon, Thailand, flying an F-4 on trail interdiction and bombing missions in Laos and North Vietnam. Congressman Johnson was shot down while flying over North Vietnam 1966 and he spent nearly seven years as a Prisoner of War; three of those years were spent in solitary confinement. Congressman Johnson is also author of, “Captive Warriors”, which details his POW experience.

 

 

 

 

 

 

To assist researchers studying the topic of agent orange during and after the Vietnam War, the Vietnam Center and Archive has produced a new subject guide highlighting agent orange related resources in both our digital and physical collections. The subject guide is divided by media type and subcategory, and includes links to the digital objects when available. This is the first in a series of subject guides that we will produce over the next year.

Agent Orange Subject Guide – http://www.vietnam.ttu.edu/vietnamarchive/resources/agentorange/index.php

New guidelines and prices for duplications

Reproduction Rights and Guidelines
Duplications Price List

The Vietnam Center and Archive’s May 28th, 2008 opening ceremony of the Families of Vietnamese Political Prisoners Association (FVPPA) Collection, donated by the Vietnamese American Heritage Foundation (VAHF), was a great success. The Vietnam Center and Archive co-hosted the event, entitled “We Did Not Forget Those Left Behind,” with the VAHF. The ceremony marked the collection as fully processed and available to researchers. The Vietnam Center and Archive held the ceremony to raise awareness of the FVPPA collection and to thank those individuals and organizations who helped these Vietnamese refugees emigrate to the U.S.

Speakers at the event included: Dr. James Reckner, Executive Director, Institute for Modern Conflict, Diplomacy, and Reconciliation; Ms. Nancy Bui, President, Vietnamese American Heritage Foundation; Ms. Khuc Minh Tho, Founder and President, Families of Vietnamese Political Prisoners Association; An Hoang Le, Humanitarian Operations Participant; Dr. Stephen F. Maxner, Director, the Vietnam Center and Archive; Mr. T. Kumar, Advocacy Director for Asia & Pacific, Amnesty International; Ms. Anna Mallett, Project Archivist, the Vietnam Center and Archive; Dr. William M. Marcy, Provost, Texas Tech University; and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) deputy regional representative Thomas Albrecht was scheduled to speak, but had to cancel his flight and attendance due to events in East Africa, Kenya.

Distinguished guests at the May 28th Opening Ceremony included Khuc Minh Tho, T. Kumar of Amnesty International, Major General Dudley Faver, representatives of the Vietnamese American Heritage Foundation, and Texas Tech University Provost William M. Marcy.

Awards were given from the VAHF to Dr. James Reckner, Dr. Stephen Maxner, Mary Saffell, and Ann Mallett. The Vietnam Center and Archive also presented an award to Ann Mallett.

Letters of written for the May 28th Opening Ceremony by Senator John McCain, Senator Bob Dole, President George H. W. Bush, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and Robert L. Funseth (Senior Deputy Assistant Secretary of State and Acting Director of the Bureau for Refugee Programs) are posted on our website for researchers to read when they look the FVPPA collection. These letters, along with the FVPPA collection’s scope and content note, administrative history, finding aid, and names search database, may be viewed on the following webpage of the Vietnam Archive’s Virtual Archive: http://www.vietnam.ttu.edu/vietnamarchive/fvppa/index.htm

-All photos are were taken by The Vietnam Center’s Victoria Lovelady

View more pictures of the opening ceremony