Half-way through the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) funded project to digitize the Orderly Departure Program (ODP) Application Files of the FVPPA/VAHF collection, two major milestones have been reached – over 10,000 ODP files are now available online, totaling more that 200,000 pages.  Although the pace has slowed down this summer with many of the students involved in the project taking summer vacations, the project is still well ahead of schedule, with over 90 of the 124 boxes of ODP files completely digitized.

This three year project is projected to make available online over 250,000 pages of materials documenting the immigration experience of Vietnamese to the United States following the end of the war in Vietnam.   All of these files are accessible through the Virtual Vietnam Archive, and you can keep up with the project on our ODP Digitization Project Page.

Happy Independence Day from the Vietnam Center and Archive, and thank you to all of those who have worked to preserve our freedom!

Undated, Michael G. Kelly Collection

The Vietnam Center and Archive’s 2013 Conference, Vietnam: 1963, will be held at the National Archives in Washington, DC on Sept. 26-28th, 2013.  The conference is free and open to the public.  Seating in the McGowan Theatre is limited, and due to the high level of interest in this conference, the VNCA is opening online pre-registration.  Pre-registration will guarantee you a seat in the theatre.

The conference agenda is also available online.  More information is available at www.vietnam.ttu.edu/conference.htm

Online Registration Form

Conference Agenda

Dr. Patrick Hagopian is a Senior Lecturer in History at Lancaster University in the United Kingdom and is the author of The Vietnam War in American Memory: Veterans, Memorials and the Politics of Healing, an in-depth examination of the development of many of the Vietnam War memorials in the United States and the vital role the Vietnam Veteran community played in their creation. Dr. Hagopian will be donating his papers relating to the writing of this well received work to the Vietnam Center and Archive and will speak about the collection and his experiences in writing his book on US Vietnam War memorials on Thursday, July 18th at 3:00pm in the Formby Room of the Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library on the TTU campus.  The talk and collection viewing is free and open to the public.

The mission of the Vietnam Center and Archive Guest Lecture Series is to enrich the intellectual and cultural life of students, faculty, and the community at large by bringing distinguished individuals to campus for presentations on specific aspects of the Vietnam War, its lasting impact on American politics, society and culture, and on contemporary issues in Southeast Asia.

This lecture series is funded in part by a generous grant from the Helen Jones Foundation.  For more information on the 2013 VNCA Guest Lecture Series see http://www.vietnam.ttu.edu/GLS, or contact Mary Saffell at 806-742-9010 or mary.saffell@ttu.edu.

Today would have been Bob Hope’s 110 Birthday.  His support for US Troops is well know, having performed for soldiers overseas as part of the USO in every major conflict from WWII to Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm.  During the Vietnam War he traveled to Vietnam numerous times, performing every Christmas from 1964-1972.  A 1997 Act of Congress named Bob Hope an “Honorary Veteran.”  The following is just one of the many images of Bob Hope and his shows available online in the Virtual Vietnam Archive, and you can see many of them here.

Off The Coast Of Viet Nam – Hollywood comedian Bob Hope joins dancers Harold and Fagard Nicholas in a dance step aboard the US aircraft carrier Ticonderoga. Mr. Hope headed a troupe of noted entertainers that included Jerry Colonna, Carol Baker, Anita Bryant, Les Brown and his band, and others, who performed at military facilities in South Vietnam. The 42,000-ton attack carrier and its 70 aircraft are operating with the US 7th Fleet in support of the Republic of Vietnam. [VA000699 – Douglas Pike Collection (photo taken by Vietnam Photo Service).

On this Memorial Day, the Vietnam Center and Archive remembers all of the men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice for us and our freedom.  Thank you.

In honor of Memorial Day, the Vietnam Center and Archive will be closed today.

The Vietnam Center and Archive’s 5th Annual Asian Pacific American Heritage Month (APAHM) Film Festival concludes this week with three films.

On Tuesday, April 30th, in the Formby Room of the Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library, “The Beautiful Country,” will be shown.  Set in 1990 Vietnam, Binh, born to a Vietnamese mother and a US soldier father, endures extreme prejudice and great hardship due to his heritage. The film stars Damien Nguyen, Nick Nolte, Bai Ling, Chau Thi Kim Xuan, Tim Roth, Anh Thu, Temuera Morrison, and John Hussey.

On May 1st, also at 6:00pm in the Formby Room, the third film of the APAHM film festival, “Hideko the Bus Conductress,” will be presented. A 1941 Japanese film based on a short story by Masuji Ibuse, the film is comedic and jovial, but bravely critiques the military and big business synergism of pre World War II Japan.

The film festival concludes on May 3rd at 6:00pm, again in the Formby Room, with a presentation of “A Story of Floating Weeds,” a 1934 Japanese film about clandestine lovers being torn apart by deceit, jealousy, and family dynamics and secrets.

All film showings are free and open to the public.  For more information about the films and the APAHM Film Festival, visit www.vietnam.ttu.edu/2013filmfestival.

Filmmaker and activist Socheata Poeuv will be speaking this Thursday about her film, New Year Baby, and her work to preserve the histories of the survivors of the Cambodian genocide.  The film will be shown at 6:00pm in the Helen DeVitt Jones Auditorium of the Museum of Texas Tech.  The lecture and Q&A session will follow at 7:30.  Admission is free and open to the public.

The mission of the Vietnam Center and Archive Guest Lecture Series is to enrich the intellectual and cultural life of students, faculty, and the community at large by bringing distinguished individuals to campus for presentations on specific aspects of the Vietnam War, its lasting impact on American politics, society and culture, and on contemporary issues in Southeast Asia.

This lecture series is funded in part by a generous grant from the Helen Jones Foundation.  This event is co-sponsored by the Museum of Texas Tech.  For more information on the 2013 VNCA Guest Lecture Series see http://www.vietnam.ttu.edu/GLS.

The Vietnam Center and Archive is proud to present four films as part of our 5th Annual Asian Pacific American Heritage Month (APAHM) Film Festival from April 25th-May 3rd.  The first film, “New Year Baby,” will be shown at 6:00pm on April 25th at the Helen DeVitt Jones Auditorium of the Museum of Texas Tech University.  A lecture and Q&A session with the filmmaker, Socheata Poeuv, will follow the film at 7:30 as part of the Vietnam Center and Archive’s Guest Lecture Series (www.vietnam.ttu.edu/gls), and is cosponsored by the Museum of Texas Tech University.

The second film, “The Beautiful Country,” will be shown on April 30th at 6:00pm in the Formby Room of the Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library.  On May 1st, also at 6:00pm in the Formby Room, the third film, “Hideko the Bus Conductress,” will be presented.  The film festival concludes on May 3rd at 6:00pm, again in the Formby Room, with a presentation of “A Story of Floating Weeds.”

All film showings are free and open to the public.  For more information about the films and the APAHM Film Festival, visit www.vietnam.ttu.edu/2013filmfestival.

The Vietnam Center and Archive is proud to present Socheata Poeuv and her film, New Year Baby, on Thursday, April 25th in the Helen DeVitt Jones Auditorium of the Museum of Texas Tech.  This event is free and open to the public.  The film will be shown at 6:00pm, followed by a presentation by the Socheata and a Q&A session at 7:30pm.

An award winning filmmaker, scholar, and social activist, Socheata Poeuv is the founder and CEO of Khmer Legacies, an organization whose mission is to create a video archive of testimonies from survivors of the Cambodian genocide. Ms. Poeuv was born in a Thai refugee camp after her parents fled Cambodia in the midst of the Pol Pot regime. They emigrated to the U.S. when she was two years old. Her 2006 film, New Year Baby, documents her return to Cambodia to learn what happened to her family during the terror of the Khmer Rouge. The film has won multiple awards, including Amnesty International’s “Movies That Matter” Human Rights Cinema Award and the Crystal Heart Award for expressing “hope and respect for the positive values of life.” The film was broadcast nationally as part of PBS’s Independent Lens series.

The mission of the Vietnam Center and Archive Guest Lecture Series is to enrich the intellectual and cultural life of students, faculty, and the community at large by bringing distinguished individuals to campus for presentations on specific aspects of the Vietnam War, its lasting impact on American politics, society and culture, and on contemporary issues in Southeast Asia.

This lecture series is funded in part by a generous grant from the Helen Jones Foundation.  This event is co-sponsored by the Museum of Texas Tech.  For more information on the 2013 VNCA Guest Lecture Series see http://www.vietnam.ttu.edu/GLS, or contact Mary Saffell at 806-742-9010 or mary.saffell@ttu.edu.