The Vietnam Center and Archive would like to invite you to join us for a reception opening the Texas Vietnam Heroes Exhibit.  This striking exhibit features 3,417 dog tags of all Texans who were killed-in-action or remain missing-in-action from the Vietnam War.  It is a personalized tribute by the Texas Capitol Vietnam Veterans Monument to honor and remember every Texan who died in the Vietnam War. Two dog tags were hand-embossed with the name, rank, branch of service, date of loss and home of record of each Texan who made the ultimate sacrifice while serving in the American Armed Forces during Vietnam.  One of each tag is displayed in the Texas Vietnam Heroes Exhibit.  The second will be entombed in the Texas Capitol Vietnam Veterans Monument in March of 2014.  The Texans who died in the Vietnam War are remembered on silver tags.  The tags of the 102 Texan military personnel who are listed as Missing In Action are black.

The reception will take place on Tuesday October 29, 2013 at 6:30 PM in the Helen DeVitt Jones Auditorium, Texas Tech University Museum. The evening will feature a short program followed by refreshments.

Please direct any questions regarding this event to the Vietnam Center at 806-742-9010.  Thank you very much and we look forward to you joining us for this important event that honors and pays tribute to all Texas Vietnam Veterans.

 

The Vietnam Center and Archive is proud to announce that the Vietnam: The Helicopter War exhibit is on its way to Australia.

The National VietnamVeterans Museumin Phillip Island, Australia, island just south of Melbourne, Victoria, will host the exhibit starting November 17^th 2013 and ending January 26^th 2014.

In the summer of 2013, the exhibit was on display in Lubbock’s Silent Wings Museum for the first time. Then, it was displayed in Midland,Texas. And now, a year from its creation, the exhibit will be available to the Australian public.

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.

Today is the start of Tet, the Vietnamese Lunar New Year celebration, and 2013 is the Year of the Snake.  To celebrate this traditional holiday, we have created an online exhibit that is an exploration of the Tet holiday and its customs, history, and traditions, supplemented with items from our collection.  To learn more about this unique holiday, please visit the exhibit at http://www.vietnam.ttu.edu/exhibits/tet/.

We also remember Tet for the events that happened across the Republic of Vietnam on January 31st of 1968, known as the Tet Offensive.   Early that morning Viet Cong and North Vietnamese forces launched surprise assaults on nearly all of the provincial capitals and urban areas of South Vietnam in an effort to bring about the collapse of the South Vietnamese government.  To learn more about the Tet Offensive and the events of that day, visit our online exhibit at http://www.vietnam.ttu.edu/exhibits/Tet68/.

 

The Fall 2012 issue of the Friends of the Vietnam Center Newsletter is now available online.  This issue contains articles on the VNCA’s partnership with the 50th Anniversary of the Vietnam War Commemoration, information about our 2013 Annual Conference, to be held in September in Washington, DC, and more.

If you would like to receive a full color printed version of this newsletter in your mailbox, please consider becoming a friend of the Vietnam Center. Membership information can be found on our Friends of the Vietnam Center webpage.

Links:

Fall 2011 Issue: http://www.vietnam.ttu.edu/virtualarchive/items.php?item=999nl0052

Newsletter Back Issues: http://www.vietnam.ttu.edu/friends/newsletters.php

Membership Information: http://www.vietnam.ttu.edu/friends/

Today the U. S. Marine Corps turns 237, and the Vietnam Center and Archive wants to wish the Marine Corps and all U. S. Marines a very happy birthday!  To celebrate we have created a small exhibit of Marine related materials.  To view the exhibit, please click on the link below.

http://www.vietnam.ttu.edu/exhibits/marines/marines12.htm

Today is the Navy’s 237th birthday, and the Vietnam Center and Archive wants to wish the Navy and all Navy personnel a very happy birthday.  We have prepared a small exhibit of Navy materials from our collection to commemorate the occasion.  Please click on the link below.

http://www.vietnam.ttu.edu/exhibits/navy/navy12.htm

Today the Air Force turns 65!  The Vietnam Center and Archive wants to wish the Air Force and all of its service men and women a very happy birthday.  To commemorate this event, we have created a small of exhibit of our Air Force related materials.  You can view the exhibit by clicking on the link below.

On August 4, 1790 the U. S. Congress authorized the construction of ten vessels to provide a new military branch for the country, the Revenue Cutter Service.  This service enforced tariff and trade laws, prevented smuggling and ensured the collection of federal revenue from ships and marine trade.  Over its life time the Revenue Cutter Service took on new duties: protecting the nation’s shore line, search and rescue and maintaining all of the country’s light houses.  In 1915 they changed their name to the U. S. Coast Guard.  The Coast Guard not only protects our nation’s shores it also serves under the Department of the Navy in all of our armed conflicts.  Today the Coast Guard turns 222 and we have gathered a few Coast Guard related items from our collection to commemorate the occasion.  To all the men and women of the Coast Guard, thank you for your service and Happy Birthday!