Vietnam Center & Archive News and Updates

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.

 

OH0333

 

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.

 

USMC0003

 

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

 

 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.

OH0086

(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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Researchers familiar with our Virtual Vietnam Archive have probably seen their fair share of the “Ghostbusters” like sign above and many have probably wondered what that sign really means.

The red sign means that a document is not available online. Why is it not available some might ask? There are two reasons for seeing the dreaded red sign. One, the document is copyrighted. Due to the stipulations of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, copyrighted documents can be digitized as a form of preservation, but can not be redistributed in that format. This stipulation means that while we can scan the document to PDF or electronic form, we can not redistribute the electronic version over the internet or by burning it to a CD and giving it to someone else. Providing electronic versions of copyrighted documents to a third party constitutes a violation of the copyright law.

The second reason for seeing the little red sign is that the material in question has not been digitized yet. Many items are difficult and time consuming to digitize, video and microfilm are primary examples, or may be too fragile to digitize. Because these materials take so long to digitize, we create documents for them in the virtual archive so they are accessible via reference request.

The real issue out of all the red sign business is how do I get a copy of those materials? For paper documents you can request a copy be mailed to you. Send us a Reference Request from our web page with a list of the item numbers and item titles and we will make photocopies of the documents and mail them to your home. For videos and photographs we can make copies of the materials, but only if they are not copyrighted. If the videos and photos are copyrighted you will have to order copies of them from the copyright owner. Reproduction and postage fees do apply for reproduction requests. See our price list for the current charges.

Summer is an excellent time to travel, visit friends and perhaps do a little research at the Vietnam Archives on the Texas Tech University campus. We love to welcome researchers into our facility and truly enjoy seeing people using our collections for their projects. However, during the summer the reference room operates on a different schedule from the fall and spring semesters. The reference room is open Monday through Friday from 9 – 5, Saturday from 9 – 1 and is closed on major holidays. See the Southwest Collection Reference Room Hours page to keep updated on the reference room schedule and holidays to be sure you don’t plan your trip during a time when the facility is closed. And as always you can contact us at vietnamarchive@ttu.edu if you have any questions or need help with your research projects.