• THE VIETNAM CENTER AND ARCHIVE
  • Texas Tech University

 Finding Aid: Joseph V. Potter Collection Item Number: 12990000000

Individual Collection
Location: Individual Collections-P, Library, Map Collection, Museum Objects, Cold Storage Vault, Serial Collection, Newsletter Collection, D158.1 and D160.1 Video Overflow, D162.1 Audio Overflow


Scope & Content:

  • General William C. Westmoreland's Brigadier General's "Quarters Flag" and a copy of Survivors: Vietnam POWs Tell Their Stories by Zalin Grant (1975, 1994) comprise the Potter collection. Excerpt from the Spring 2008 edition of the Town of Coventry Newsletter announces the dedication of the Connecticut Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Approximately half a linear foot of articles, books, DVDs, and a periodical donated to the Vietnam Archive by Joseph Potter concerning a variety of topic including the war in Laos and the plight of the Hmong after the war.

Biographical Note:

  • Joseph V. Potter was born in San Diego in 1941 and graduated from San Diego State University in 1963 receiving a commission in the United States Air Force ROTC. Potter subsequently received Masters Degrees from the University of Colorado, Pepperdine University, and the University of Hawaii. He served three tours of duty in Vietnam and flew over 400 combat missions. Potter retired from the Air Force as a Colonel in 1991 and accepted a commission in the Vermont State Militia as a Brigadier General and served as Vice President, Commandant of Cadets and National Services academic chairman. He retired from that position two years later. Potter was appointed as a Brigadier General, Deputy Commander and 8th Brigade Commander in the American Volunteer Reserve (Colorado, Montana, Oklahoma, North Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming) in 2002.

Access Level:

  • Unrestricted

Collection Inventory:

LocationBoxFolderContents
Individual Collections - P11
Newspaper and Magazine clippings from 1984-2008
"U.S., Vietnam work to contain dioxin at former air base"
"Why Men Love War"
2
The Library of Vietnam Project, Pamphlet
3
Excerpt from the Spring 2008 edition of the Town of Coventry Newsletter- Dedication of the Connecticut Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
Various magazine clippings and internet articles regarding the Service Medal Recipients and various topics on Vietnam and World War II.
Biographical note on Potter's military career
Photocopy of an article from the August 2007 issue of Veterans of Foreign Wars, entitled, Going Gets Rough on Go Noi Island
Photocopy of book review of Every Marine
Photocopy of book review of Public Affairs
Various magazine clippings dealing with aspects of the Vietnam War

Separated Materials:

Books:Ride the Thunder: A Vietnam War Story of Honor and Triumph by Richard Botkin.
 Chicken Soup for the Veteran's Soul, by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, and Sidney R. Slagter.
 Sock it to 'em Baby: Forward Air Controller in Vietnam, by Garry Cooper and Robert Hillier.
 American Patriot: The Life and Wars of Colonel Bud Day, by Robert Coram (inscribed by Col. Day).
 Up Country, by Nelson Demille.
 Fighter Pilot: The First American Ace of World War II by William R. Dunn.
 Survivors: Vietnam POWs Tell Their Stories by Zalin Grant.
 You Are Not Forgotten: A Family's Quest for Truth and the Founding of the National League of Families, by Evelyn Grub and Carol Jose (Inscribed by Carol Jose).
 About Face: The Odyssey of an American Warrior by Colonel David H. Hackworth and Julie Sherman.
 Jungle Figher Pilots by Bernie Hale, 2012 (inscribed by author).
 Tragic Mountains: The Hmong, the Americans, and the Secret Wars for Laos, 1942-1992, by Jane Hamilton-Merritt (signed).
 Public Affairs: The Military and the Media 1968-1973, by William M. Hammond (Signed by Author).
 American Myth and the Legacy of Vietnam by John Hellmann.
 America's Longest War: The United States and Vietnam 1950-1975 (2nd Edition)by George C. Herring.
 The Phantom of Ben Het, by John D. Lamerson (signed by the author) 2 copies.
 Veterans and Families' Guide to Recovering from PTSD, by Stephanie Laite Lanham.
 Webster's New World Dictionary of the Vietnam War, edited by Marc Leepson with Helen Hannaford.
 Eyewitness Books: Vietnam War by Stuart Murray.
 Fighter Pilot: The Memoirs of Legendary Ace Robin Olds by Robin Olds with Christina Olds and Ed Rasimus.
 Brave Hearts Under Red Skies, by Jeff O'Leary.
 Unfit for Command: Swift Boat Veterans Speak Out Against John Kerry, by John E. O'Neiell and Jerome R. Corsi.
 Glory Denied: The Saga of Vietnam Veteran Jim Thompson, America's Longest Held Prisoner of War, by Tom Philpott.
 Vietnam Voices: Perspectives on the War Years, 1941-1982, compiled by John Clark Pratt.
 Loas Caught in the Web: The Vietnam War Years by Judy Rantala.
 Beyond Glory: Medal of Honor Heroes in Their Own Words by Larry Smith.
 The Vietnam War Experience, by Gerry and Janet Souter.
 To Set the Record Straight: How Swift Boat Veterans, POWs and the New Media Defeated John Kerry by Scott Swett and Tim Ziegler, 2008.
 Major General Vang Pao: an Illustration of His Remarkable Live by Noah Vang.
 By Duty Bound: Survival and Redemption in a Time of War, by Ezell Ware, Jr. and Joel Engel.
 Rogue Warrior by Richard Marcinko with John Weisman.
Maps:Section 12, Drawer 13: Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand- National Geographic Society, 1967, 1:1,900,800.
Museum Objects:1299museum3480 - American Flag Ribbon Magnet.
 1299museum1083 - William Westmoreland's Brigadier General's 'Quarters Flag'.
Electronic Media:RVN.
Moving Images:1299VI2648 - DVD - Beautiful and Emotional Hmong Music, 28 July 2009.
 1299VI2759: DVD: Beyond the Wall: Honoring the Citizenship of American's Veterans.
 1299VI2649.
1299VI2797 - DVD-For the Children Please Watch Me (2 copies).
 1299VI2760.
1299VI2798 - DVD-R: Hunted Like Animals (2 copies).
 1299VI2761.
1299VI2799.
1299VI2800 - DVD - Journey from the Fall (3 copies).
 1299VI2806: VHS: Lao Veterans of America, Inc. 10-12 May 2000.
 1299VI2801: DVD-R: Lu Doan USV.
 1299VI2802: DVD-R: Nehemiah Medical and Charitable Mission.
 1299VI2650- DVD-Returning Home.
 1299VI2804: DVD: Secret Wars: An Exit Strategy in Action.
 1299VI2571: DVD-Secret War in Laos, CIA.
 1299VI2803: DVD-R: SGU.
 1299VI2805: DVD-R: The Long Way Home Project.
 1299VI2557 DVD- U.S. Congressional Proclamation of the Lao Hmong Recognition Day, July 24, 2004.
 DVD - Vietnam: America's Conflict.
 DVD-We Always Come Back.
Audio:1299AU2461: CD-R: Audio Recording of theJohn Duffy Rescue of Survivors from the 11th Viet Parachute Battalion in Kontum during the Easter Offensive, 15 April 1972.
Newsletters:LHAC Newsletter Lao-Hmong American Coalition, Winter 2008.
 NMPFVN (Nehemiah Medical Project for Vietnam), December 2007.
 NMPFVN (Nehemiah Medical Project for Vietnam), February 2008.
Periodicals:Newsweek, 16 November 2009.
 Smithsonian, March 2008.
 Veterans Magazine, April 2008.
 Vietnam, October 2009.
 Vietnam, December 2009.
 United States of America Veterans Magazine, April 2008.

Digitized Materials

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