Vietnam Center & Sam Johnson Vietnam Archive News and Updates
Happy Birthday Marines!
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.
Labels: announcements,archival collections,audio/visual,events,exhibits,reference/outreach,vietnam archive
Happy Birthday U S Navy
Happy Birthday United States Navy
The United States Navy was created on October 13, 1775 during the American Revolution. Today the Navy celebrates its 234th birthday. In order to celebrate this wonderful occasion the Vietnam Archive would like to present a few Navy items from our collections.
Please enjoy the materials and help us to congratulate all of the Navy personnel past and present on their big day.
Labels: archival collections,events,exhibits,general news,reference/outreach
A Day in the Life of an American Soldier in Vietnam
As part of the ongoing 20th Anniversary celebration of the Vietnam Center and Archive, a photograph and artifact exhibit entitled “A Day in the Life of an American Soldier in Vietnam” is currently on display until mid December of this year. Please visit the Southwest Collection/Special Collections Building on the Texas Tech University campus to experience elements of a typical day in the life of a US soldier during the Vietnam War. Consisting of over 25 black and white photographs and a selected number of artifacts, this exhibit will provide the visitor with stimulating and descriptive highlights of our highly unique collection materials. The exhibit is self guided and open to the public, free of charge, Monday through Friday from 8:00am until 5:00pm. All of the staff at the Vietnam Center and Archive hope that you will join us in celebrating 20 years of success by stopping by to view this exhibit!
Happy Birthday U S Air Force
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 62nd birthday, please enjoy a few Air Force items from the Vietnam Archive’s collections.
Film
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
(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.
(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.
Labels: archival collections,events,exhibits,general news,reference/outreach
Vietnam Center & Archive’s 1st Film Festival
To celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month the Vietnam Center and Archive held its very first film festival on April 20th, 21st, and 23rd, 2009. The Vietnam Center and Archive collaborated with the International Cultural Center, Student Union and Activities, Tech Activities Board, Texas Tech University Libraries, PBS American Experience, and The CH Foundation to show the films New Year Baby and Daughter From Danang. The film festival was a success with an estimated combined 260 students attending the three showings. After the showing of New Year Baby on April 20th, 35 students stayed to hear a discussion panel conducted by Dr. Miriam Mulsow and Sothy Eng.
Vietnam Center celebrates Tet holiday with TTU community
Come celebrate the Vietnamese Lunar New Year, January 26th, 2009
The Vietnam Center cordially invites you join us as we celebrate Tet, the Vietnamese Lunar New Year, on Monday, January 26, 2009. This event will take place from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. in the Formby Room of the Southwest Collections/Special Collections Library at Texas Tech University. Please come sample Vietnamese cuisine and learn more about the rich heritage and culture that makes Vietnam so remarkable.
January 26th, 2009, ushers in the Lunar Year of the Ox. In Vietnam, one of 12 animals of the zodiac represents each year. The ox represents prosperity through fortitude and hard work. It is said people born in the year of the ox are patient and inspire confidence in others, but they can also have fierce tempers and tend to be eccentric.
The Vietnamese people regard Tet as their most important holiday and prepare for it by cooking special holiday foods like Banh Chung, which consists of sticky rice with meat or bean filling wrapped tightly in banana leaves. Food preparation for Tet is very time consuming and often requires days of cooking and, prior to the celebrations, people clean, paint, and decorate their homes. People avoid cleaning during Tet so that good luck will not be “swept away.”
We hope you will be able to join us on January 26th, 2009, as we celebrate this special event! For more information, please see our website or contact the Vietnam Center at 742-9010.
Retirement Reception for Dr. James Reckner
Texas Tech University, the History department, and the Vietnam Center and Archive honored Dr. James Reckner with a retirement reception at the Merket Alumni Center on Friday, January 9. Dr. Reckner taught history at TTU for twenty years, and was the founding director of the Vietnam Center and Archive. Colleagues, former students, and Tech officials wished Dr. Reckner well in his retirement. He also received congratulations from U.S. Rep. Randy Neugebauer, Interim Provost Dr. Jane Winer, Chancellor Kent Hance, and Khuc Minh Tho. In addition, the Vietnam Center and Archive and the History department gave Dr. Reckner gifts realted to his personal interest in photography, such as a telephoto lens, a digital picture frame, a tripod, and a photo printer.
See more pictures of Dr. Reckner’s Retirement Reception in our photoalbum.
May 28th FVPPA Collection Opening Ceremony
The Vietnam Center and Archive’s May 28th, 2008 opening ceremony of the Families of Vietnamese Political Prisoners Association (FVPPA) Collection, donated by the Vietnamese American Heritage Foundation (VAHF), was a great success. The Vietnam Center and Archive co-hosted the event, entitled “We Did Not Forget Those Left Behind,” with the VAHF. The ceremony marked the collection as fully processed and available to researchers. The Vietnam Center and Archive held the ceremony to raise awareness of the FVPPA collection and to thank those individuals and organizations who helped these Vietnamese refugees emigrate to the U.S.
Speakers at the event included: Dr. James Reckner, Executive Director, Institute for Modern Conflict, Diplomacy, and Reconciliation; Ms. Nancy Bui, President, Vietnamese American Heritage Foundation; Ms. Khuc Minh Tho, Founder and President, Families of Vietnamese Political Prisoners Association; An Hoang Le, Humanitarian Operations Participant; Dr. Stephen F. Maxner, Director, the Vietnam Center and Archive; Mr. T. Kumar, Advocacy Director for Asia & Pacific, Amnesty International; Ms. Anna Mallett, Project Archivist, the Vietnam Center and Archive; Dr. William M. Marcy, Provost, Texas Tech University; and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) deputy regional representative Thomas Albrecht was scheduled to speak, but had to cancel his flight and attendance due to events in East Africa, Kenya.
Distinguished guests at the May 28th Opening Ceremony included Khuc Minh Tho, T. Kumar of Amnesty International, Major General Dudley Faver, representatives of the Vietnamese American Heritage Foundation, and Texas Tech University Provost William M. Marcy.
Awards were given from the VAHF to Dr. James Reckner, Dr. Stephen Maxner, Mary Saffell, and Ann Mallett. The Vietnam Center and Archive also presented an award to Ann Mallett.
Letters of written for the May 28th Opening Ceremony by Senator John McCain, Senator Bob Dole, President George H. W. Bush, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and Robert L. Funseth (Senior Deputy Assistant Secretary of State and Acting Director of the Bureau for Refugee Programs) are posted on our website for researchers to read when they look the FVPPA collection. These letters, along with the FVPPA collection’s scope and content note, administrative history, finding aid, and names search database, may be viewed on the following webpage of the Vietnam Archive’s Virtual Archive: http://www.vietnam.ttu.edu/vietnamarchive/fvppa/index.htm
-All photos are were taken by The Vietnam Center’s Victoria Lovelady
Labels: archival collections,events,vietnam archive,vietnamese american heritage
IImage Retrieval Scanning Demonstration and the Digitization of the Diaries of Dr. Dang Thuy Tram
The Vietnam Archive at Texas Tech University has invited Derek Jenkins of IImage Retrieval (www.iiri.com) of Carrolton, Texas, to demonstrate two large format/book scanners. This demonstration is open to the public, and will include the digitization of the Diaries of Dr. Dang Thuy Tram, as well as a variety of other types of materials in the collections of the Vietnam Archive. The demonstration will be held in the Formby Room of the Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library on the TTU campus, and the times will be:
Tuesday, July 11th, 1:30-4:30
Wednesday, July 12th, 9:00-11:30, 1:30-4:00
Please feel free to stop by at any point during the times listed above. Derek will be available to answer questions concerning the two scanners and the other equipment sold by his organization, and Archive staff will be on hand to demonstrate the digitization procedures and answer any questions you may have about the Archive.
The scanners that Derek Jenkins will be demonstrating are the DigiBook 10000RGB and the smaller CopiBook RGB. These scanners are uniquely suited for digitizing large format materials, as well as rare and fragile books and materials. The 10000RGB can scan items up to 25″x 37″ and even larger on the A0 version. In 2002, this scanner was used to digitize the Gutenberg Bible held by the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center at the University of Texas at Austin. IImage Retrieval has sold numerous units of both models to universities and museums around the country. More information can be found on their website.
We invite you and your staff and any other interested parties to join us for this demonstration.
For more information, please contact:
Justin Saffell
Head, Information Technology
The Vietnam Archive, TTU
justin.saffell@ttu.edu (mailto:justin.saffell@ttu.edu)
806-742-9010
Vietnam Center & Sam Johnson Vietnam Archive
-
Address
Texas Tech University, Box 41041, Lubbock, TX 79409 -
Phone
(806)742-9010 -
Email
vnca@ttu.edu