• THE VIETNAM CENTER AND ARCHIVE
  • Texas Tech University

 Finding Aid: Leon Robinson Collection Item Number: 7090000000

Individual Collection
Location: Individual Collections-R; Photograph Collection; Negative Collection; Slide Collection; Periodical Collection; Cold Storage Vault; Map Collection; Museum Objects; Library; Map Collection


Scope & Content:

  • Two linear feet of material including newspapers, printed material, photographs, slides, artifacts, video, maps and a CD of digitized images from his scrapbook document his service in the Vietnam War where he was stationed at the Commander U.S. Naval Forces Vietnam Photo Laboratory as a petty officer of the shooting crew and went on missions with the U.S. Navy Seals, the Vietnamese Navy River Assault Groups (RAGS), the U.S. Navy River Patrol Boats (PBRs) and the U.S. Navy Seabees.

Biographical Note:

  • Leon Robinson was born in November 1931. In 1950, he volunteered for the United States Navy as a Combat Photographer, ranked a Photographers Mate 1st Class (PH1). Robinson was stationed at the Commander U.S. Naval Forces Vietnam Photo Laboratory as a petty officer of the shooting crew, but frequently went on missions with the U.S. Navy Seals, the Vietnamese Navy River Assault Groups (RAGS), the U.S. Navy River Patrol Boats (PBR's) and the U.S. Navy Seabees. During the Vietnam Conflict, he was involved in campaigns such as the 1968 Tet Offensive and received the following medals: Air Medal, Navy Achievement Medal, Good Conduct Medal (sixth award), the Vietnam Campaign Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal (5 Bronze Stars), the National Defense Service Medal (2nd Award), the Presidential Unit Commendation Medal, the Navy Unit Commendation Medal, and the Combat Action Ribbon. After twenty-one years in the United States Navy, two years of which was served in Southeast Asia, Robinson retired in 1971 as a PH1 - E6. He then worked for the United States Postal Service for twenty-one years and later became involved in the Angel Fire Vietnam Memorial in New Mexico and the Vietnam Archive at Texas Tech University.

Access Level:

  • Unrestricted

Collection Inventory:

LocationBoxFolderContents
Individual Collections-R11
Naval Aviation News, January 1967
All Hands: The Bureau of Naval Personnel Career Publication, April 1968
Naval Aviation News, June 1968
2
two small memoranda notebooks
3
Vietnam Veterans National Memorial information including Memorial Day Weekend 2002 information
correspondence
poem
timeline of Vietnam War era.
4
Postcard: Seasons Greetings from U.S. Navy Photographic Lab Commander U.S. Naval Forces, Vietnam
Section of Saigon Daily News 26 April 1966
Oversize
The Vietnam Guardian, July 21, 1966
The Jackstaff News, April 1, 1968
The Observer, April 17, 1968
Sangre de Christo Chronicle Enchantment, Summer, 2002.
Saigon Daily News (18 July 1966)

Separated Materials:

Books:The Vietnam Experience: America Takes Over.
 The Vietnam Experience: Setting the Stage.
 The Vietnam Experience: America Takes Over.
 The Vietnam Experience: Setting the Stage.
 The Vietnam Experience: Combat Photographer.
Photographs:VA028868-VA02909.
 Negatives VAN000001-VAN001816.
 Photographs of Angel Fire, NM, Vietnam Veteran National Memorial and Texas Panhandle War Memorial VA029220 - VA029243 (negatives included).
Slides:VAS012814-VAS013094.
VAS013585-VAS013943.
VAS014048-VAS014066.
 VAS014048-VAS014066.
 VAS012814-VAS013094.
 VAS013585-VAS013943.
 VAS014048-VAS014066.
 VAS012814-VAS013094.
 VAS013585-VAS013943.
 VAS014048-VAS014066.
 VAS012814-VAS013094.
 VAS013585-VAS013943.
Maps:Map of Vietnam - Welcome Home 1964 - 1975: Location: Drawer 4 Section 12 Folder 5.
 Vietnam and Neighboring Countries, 1968.
Museum Objects:709museum0565: NVA Pith Helmet.
 709museum0569: Light table for slide viewing.
 709museum0631: Viet Cong Silk Flag.
 709museum1612: Set of Commemorative coins depicting: The Vietnam Wall, The Servicemen Statue, POW/MIA, Department of the Army Navy Air Force and Marine Corps seals.
Electronic Media:709EM0057: Digitized scrapbook with photographs and documents pertaining to Mr. Robinson's service in Vietnam.
Moving Images:Vietnam: Echoes from the Wall, curriculum package used for teaching history of the Vietnam war.
Includes books, teacher's guide, video tape and printed material.
Vietnam Combat Video Series-Vietnam at War, Jungle Warfare, The Viet Cong, Of Heroes &.
 Helicopters, Air Power in Vietnam, Here Come the Marines, The Navy in Vietnam.
 709VI1986: Service with Honor - Vietnam Soldiers' Story: Ambush: The Battle of Ia Drang.
 709VI1987: Service with Honor - Vietnam Soldiers' Story: Tet: The Battle for Hearts & Minds.
 709VI1988: Service with Honor - Vietnam Soldiers' Story: War in the Skies.
 709VI1989: Service with Honor - Soldiers' Story: Secret War, Secret Men.
 709VI1990: Service with Honor - Guns of Valor.
 709VI1991: Service with Honor - Vietnam Soldiers' Story: From the River to the Sea.
 709VI1992: Service with Honor - Vietnam Soldiers' Story: Invisible Enemy.
 709VI2129: Service with Honor: Dust Off.
 709VI2130: Service with Honor: The FACs.
 709VI2131: Vietnam Combat: A Long and Brutal War.
 709VI2132: Vietnam Combat: The Helicopter War.
 709VI2133: Vietnam Combat: The Grunt's War.
 709VI2134: Vietnam Combat: The Enemy.
 709VI2135: Vietnam Combat: The Air Force at War.
 709VI2136: Vietnam Combat: Here Come The Marines.
 709VI2137: Vietnam Combat: The Navy In Vietnam.
 709VI2615 - VHS - Service with Honor - Rolling Thunder.
 709VI2616 - VHS - Service with Honor - The Jolly Greens.
Periodicals:Life Magazine (November 1992).
 VFW (May 2005).

Digitized Materials

Portions of this collection have been digitized. Use the links below to view these items.

Please note that all items may be available through these searches. Additionally, only up to 500 items will be displayed.

To search for items within this collection, or within all of the holdings of the Vietnam Archive, go to the Virtual Vietnam Archive

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