The VNCA Frequently Asked Questions page contains answers to many of the questions we are asked regarding The Vietnam Center and Sam Johnson Vietnam Archive, our website, the Virtual Vietnam Archive, the Vietnam War and experience, etc... We are constantly adding more information to the knowledge base in order to better serve our users.
Do I need special permission to access your archives?
- No, both the physical archive and the Virtual Vietnam Archive are open to all researchers. There is no need to acquire permission before visiting. We do suggest contacting us beforehand and let us know what you are interested in researching so that we can provide you with all available assistance. 806-742-9010
How can I find information on the people that I served with?
- Unfortunately, there is no official DOD list of Vietnam Veterans. There are, however, a number of potential online sources. Below is a link to a pre-defined search using Google. You can merely use the search term -Vietnam Veteran Registry - no quotes.
Please note: We cannot vouch for the integrity or reliability of any of the online resources that might be returned using the following search link.
How can I obtain a copy of a map for a particular location? I have latitude and longitude coordinates.
- All of the maps in our collection are available online in a searchable database (see link below). On this search page, you can search by latitude and longitude, and, if there are any results to your search, download various sizes of the map, including a full size .pdf.
How can I obtain a copy of one of the films in your collection published by Traditions Military Video?
- Due to copyright restrictions, we are unable to make this film available online, or to produce a duplicate copy for you. You can, however, purchase a copy from the same website we purchased ours from (see link below).
How can I obtain copies of dissertations published about the War?
- Dissertations will not be found in the Virtual Vietnam Archive. All published materials such as books and dissertations are not included in the Virtual Archive due to the copyright restrictions. We wouldn't be able to make them available online. All of the books in our collection are included in our university's library catalog, which can be found at https://library.ttu.edu/ul/.
Copies of dissertations may be obtained through interlibrary loan. Contact your local public or university for assistance.
To purchase copies of dissertations, robably the best thing to do will be to purchase them directly from the company that publishes them. Their website is:
https://www.proquest.com/umi/dissertations/, or you can call them at 1-800-521-0600 ext. 2873.
How do I access materials (documents, images, video, oral histories, etc...) online?
- There are a number of ways to access materials online throughout the Vietnam Project websites. The most common is through the Virtual Vietnam Archive (see link below). This page allows searching of all items available online by keyword, item number, title, collection, date(s), language, and media type. Searchers are recommended to start searches broadly, and then narrow results down to a manageable number of hits. More information is available on the Virtual Archive help pages. People who donate materials and are interested in viewing their donations are suggested to enter their name in the collection name field.
Search pages have also been created for individual media types. A listing of these is available on the Vietnam Project search page (see link below). In addition, there are pages that list different types of materials without using any search functions. These pages include Oral History listings and Veterans' Associations Donors/Materials (see links below).
Materials available online require free plugins in order to be viewed. More information is available on our help page (see link below). Also note that some aspects of the Vietnam Project websites may not work with older browsers.
How do I access the US Marine Corps Documents added recently from the USMC History and Museums Division Collection?
- The Vietnam Archive recently added more than 1 million pages of material (more than 12,000 documents) from the USMC History and Museums Division. They are available through the Virtual Vietnam Archive and include unit histories, after action reports, and much more. You can access these materials by visiting the Virtual Vietnam Archive and, on the Search Page, do the following:
Enter "US Marine Corps" (minus the quotes) in the COLLECTION TITLE field on the search page.
You can then add whatever general keywords or dates you want and you will search just those USMC documents. If you want to browse the whole collection of documents, simply conduct the search using just the Collection Title above and it will retrieve all 12,000 documents for you to review. On the Display page, you can use the "Sort by" feature at the top of the page to sort by date and other criteria.
Also, you can review the inventory of the documents at the link located at the bottom of this FAQ entry. This is the index compiled by the USMC History and Museums Division. As you review this document, keep in mind that we entered the "Description" as the DOCUMENT TITLE in the Virtual Archive. We also entered the DATES as they appear. This allows you to search very specifically for these materials using the information in that index.
How do I find a copy of my Military Service Records? I know there was a fire at the records center in St. Louis. Were my records destroyed?
- The National Personnel Records Center in St Louis, MO maintains copies of all Military Personnel Records. To request a copy, visit the link below to the National Archive's Veterans' Records page.
In 1973 there was a fire at the National Personnel Records Center in St Louis, and some, but not all, records from before 1964 were lost. No service records from after 1964 were destroyed. More information can be found on the National Archive National Personnel Records Center page (see below).
The National Personnel Records Center Frequently Asked Questions page includes infromation about how to obtain various types of information related to military service. (see thrid link below).
How do I obtain a copy of my discharge papers, DD-214, Report of Separation, or equivalent form?
- The DD Form 214, Report of Separation, is filed in the official military personnel file. Complete instructions for obtaining a copy of your DD 214 may be found under Official Military Personnel File including Active Duty Health Record, Services for veterans, next-of-kin, or the veteran's representative. Information on the procedures for this can be found on the National Personal Records Center site.
You can also now request copies of personnel records online at the National Archive's Veterans' Records website (See link below)
How do I participate in the Oral History Project
- The process for participating in the Oral History Project is simple. Your first step is to contact us either via email, regular mail, or telephone and let us know that you desire to be interviewed. You can find all of our contact information in the Oral History Project section of the Vietnam Project website or click on one of the addresses below to send us an email.
Once you have made contact with us, we will send you questionnaires that we ask all interview participants to complete. It is not mandatory to complete the questionnaires to participate in the Oral History Project but we encourage it. These forms help us learn more about you, your career, and your experiences in Southeast Asia or on the home front so that we may be better prepared when we talk with you and conduct a better, more informed interview. The questionnaires also serve to give you an idea of some of the subjects we may cover in the interview as well as help jog the memory about events that occurred all those years ago. Feel free to answer them in as much or as little detail as you see fit. Once you have completed them, you will send them back to us via email or regular mail and we will contact you to schedule a telephone interview time that is convenient for you.
How do I search for Vietnamese-language documents?
- To search for Vietnamese-language documents, simply type in a phrase or keyword in Vietnamese in the keyword field at the top of the page on the Virtual Vietnam Archive webpage. Then scroll to the bottom of the page and look for the "Language" check boxes. Simply check the box next to Vietnamese and click "Start search". This will bring up our Vietnamese-language documents concerning your keyword. However, if you would like to browse all of our digitized Vietnamese-language materials without a specific keyword, simply check the Vietnamese box and make sure that the keyword field at the top of the page is blank.
How do I use the Maps Search Page?
- To help users better understand how to utilize our online resources, we have created a users manual / online tutorial that will explain all of the features of the Maps Search Page, give step-by-step instructions of how to conduct searches, and provide some sample searches. A downloadable PDF version and a online webpage version are available.
How do I use the Virtual Vietnam Archive?
- To help users better understand how to utilize our online resources, we have created a users manual / online tutorial that will explain all of the features of the Virtual Archive, give step-by-step instructions of how to conduct searches, and provide some sample searches. A downloadable PDF version and a online webpage version are available.
How many Americans died during each month and year of the Vietnam War? How many died in each of the military branches?
- Please see the attached document below entitled "Vietnam War Deaths by Month, Year and Military Branch." This document is organized by month, year, and branch of service.
How many Americans served in the US military in South Vietnam during the Vietnam War? How many served in Southeast Asia, generally? How many Americans served in all of the US military branches worldwide during the Vietnam War?
- The United States Department of Defense estimates the following for the years 1955-1975:
Americans who served in South Vietnam: 2,594,000
Americans who served in Southeast Asia: 3,403,000
Americans who served worldwide during the Vietnam War: 8,744,000
How Many United States Troops Served during the Vietnam War by Year?
- November 1962 - 1948*
December 1962 - 11000*
December 31, 1963 - 16500*
December 31, 1964 - 23000*
January 1965 - 28324
April 1965 - 40816
June 1965 - 69717
July 1965 - 91777
August 1965 - 111702
September 1965 - 144662
October 1965 - 166721
November 1965 - 183086
December 1965 - 198421
January 1966 - 216988
February 1966 - 230484
March 1966 - 255640
April 1966 - 273670
May 1966 - 284606
June 1966 - 297677
July 1966 - 312376
April 30, 1967 - 449000*
April 30, 1968 - 535000*
April 30, 1969 - 549000*
April 30, 1970 - 434000*
April 30, 1971 - 284000*
December 1971 - 159000*
May 1, 1972 - 66300*
August 1972 - 44600*
December 1972 - 24000*
March 29, 1973 - 0**
April 29-30, 1975 - Last Americans leave Vietnam
Note: Please keep in mind that this was part of a larger "numbers game" associated with the Vietnam War. These numbers represent the official military presence in Vietnam. It is not correct to state that the numbers are hard as many individuals within and outside the United States Government and military might provide a different criteria in counting the United States presence. However, the above represent a reasonably accurate assessment of personnel and troop strengths.
*Estimate
** This does not include the embassy staff and Marine guards for the embassy; 8500 "civilians" remained until April 1975
I am having difficulty downloading a document file from the Virtual Archive. What can I do?
- A number of files in the Virtual Vietnam Archive, particularly in the US Marine Corps Historical Center collection, are very large in file size (10MB+). If you are on a dial-up connection, this will be nearly impossible to download these. If you are on a highspeed connection, there is one work-around you can try. Instead of simply clicking on the file to try to open it, right-click and select "save target as". Then save the file to a location on your computer. It will still take a little while to download, but once it is finished, you can read it at your leisure. If you continue to have problems, please contact us using the email link below.
I am trying to find contact for a veteran / association / friend. Can you help me.
- Our privacy guidelines prevent us from providing any personal information without the consent of the person in question. When trying to find contact information, we suggest posting requests to online bulletin boards, which can be found on many veterans association websites. These sites can be found utilizing many of the web's search engines.
I donated some items to the Vietnam Archive. How can I view these items online?
- The easiest way for donors to view items they donated to the archive (or to listen to oral histories they participated in) is to go to the Virtual Vietnam Archive and enter their last name in the Collection Title field. Click Start Search, followed by Display Search Results.
Please note that it may take a while for your items to appear online. Factors that can impact this include the type and amount of material you donated, as well as how many other donations the archive has received. Your patience is appreciated.
I have learned that the Vietnam Archive has the Diaries of Dr. Dang Thuy Tram. How can I see these?
- The Vietnam Project has created a webpage to facilitate access to these diaries. Please follow the link below to view scans of the original diaries and an English translation, as well as pictures from the diary and from the visit of the family of Dr. Tram to the Vietnam Archive in October of 2005.
Please Note: The items on, and linked-to from, the Vietnam Center Diaries of Dr. Dang Thuy Tram page are copyright protected and are the property of the Vietnam Archive at Texas Tech University. These electronic versions are provided as a public service via the Virtual Vietnam Archive under the "fair use" stipulations of Section 107 of the US Copyright Act of 1976. The attached materials can be used for educational and other noncommercial purposes only.
THE DOCUMENTS CANNOT BE REPUBLISHED OR RETRANSMITTED IN ANY FORMAT, MEDIUM, OR LANGUAGE, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, WITHOUT THE EXPRESSED PERMISSION OF THE VIETNAM ARCHIVE AT TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY.
These materials may not to be used for resale or commercial purposes without authorization from the Vietnam Archive at Texas Tech University.
Submit questions or inquiries about this document to the Vietnam Archive - 806-742-9010 or vnca@ttu.edu.
I keep getting an error message whenever I try to access the Virtual Vietnam Archive / Oral History Interviews / New Collections, etc...
- Because the Virtual Archive is powered by license-based database software, only a specific number of simultaneous users may gain access at any one time. When the limit is met, additional users are not allowed to access certain search pages and receive an error message. If this has happened to you, we apologize for any inconvenience.
If you receive an error message, please do not give up on using the Virtual Vietnam Archive. If possible, try conducting your research at other times of the day, particularly the morning, after 6 a.m. Central Time as this is a time when few users are online using our site. In addition, while the Virtual Vietnam Archive search page itself may not be accessible, it is possible that other accessible pages on our site may be of interest for your research.
Also note that people using older internet browsers may not be able to access certain sections of our site. These users will be automatically redirected to a page describing the situation and providing links to older versions of our site when available.
More information about both of these events is available through the links below.
I would like to obtain a copy of an item in your collection. How much will this cost?
- Our complete price list can be found at the link below.
I'm looking for information on a US naval ship I served on.
- While VNCA may have some information about various ships, the best resource for this topic is the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), which include a project to digitize Navy Deck Logs for online access. This site includes a list of U.S. Navy ships by name with links to the deck logs (if digitized). You might also contact the U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Archives for research assistance.
Is there a listing of all POW / MIA's from the Vietnam War?
- Yes. The Department of Defense DPMO (Defense Prisoner of War / Missing in Action Personnel Office) maintains a database of all known POW / MIAs from the Vietnam War, as well as the Cold War and the Korean War. The database is available for searching by the public through the link below. In addition, the Virtual Vietnam Archive has a copy of the list from January 2004 available (see link below)
The Virtual Vietnam Archive did not include the information I was looking for. Who else can I contact for information about the Vietnam War?
- The Vietnam Archive collects and preserves materials relating to Vietnam, the Vietnam War, and the Vietnam Experience. Unfortunately, the only material we have is the material donated to us. The Vietnam Archive is not the official government repository for military records. This role is filled by the National Archive, as well as a number of other military historical centers run by the various military branches. As a result, we may not have the information you are looking for. Therefore, we work closely with a number of other organizations in order to help you find what you need. Included below is a listing of contact information for a number of other Military reference offices for each branch and the National Archives.
What software do I need in order to use the Virtual Vietnam Archive?
- Records in the Virtual Vietnam Archive can be accessed by most web browsers, including Internet Explorer, Netscape, and Opera. Javascript must be enabled in order to access the Virtual Archive. Check your browsers Help section for information on enabling Javascript.
In order to view documents included in the Virtual Archive, you should have a pdf viewing program. The most popular is Adobe Reader and is included already installed with many computers. This software can be downloaded for free from the Adobe Reader link below.
The Virtual Archive also includes audio and video files in a streaming format, meaning you do not have to download the complete file before you can start viewing it. There is a large variety of free software that can access these files. One popular free media player is produced by Microsoft, and can be downloaded from the link below.
If you have trouble accessing any of our files, please email vawebmaster@ttu.edu for assistance.
When I try to open a document pdf or image jpg in the Virtual Archive, all I see is a little icon with a red square, green circle, and blue triangle. Why can I not see the file I requested?
- The icon you see (
) is commonly known as a broken link icon, but in the case of the Virtual Vietnam Archive, it does not indicate a broken link. In the VVA, if you try to access a file where the link is broken, you will receive a StarFetch error.
Please note that the following instructions are for Internet Explorer for Windows. If you are using a different browser, please refer to its help section
If you receive the broken link icon when you are trying to view an image, such as a photograph or slide, this may indicate that your browser is set to not display images. To correct this, under the tools menu in your browser, select Internet Options. Go to the tab called Advanced, then scroll down to the section for Multimedia. You should see an option for Show Pictures. Make sure this is checked. If it already was checked, then please try the next solution for pdfs.
If you are seeing the icon when trying to access a pdf, such as a document or a map, then there are two possible solutions. Both require you to open Internet Options under the tools menu, and then select the Security tab:
1) If you don't want this to happen again regardless of what website you are on, make sure that Internet is highlighted in the white box, and click the Custom Level... button near the bottom. Scroll down a little until you see the "Run ActiveX controls and plug-ins" section. Here you can either chose Enable or Prompt. If you choose Enable, all ActiveX and plug-ins will work on all pages, and theoretically malicious content could be downloaded onto your computer without your knowledge. If you don't want to enable for all sites, or you want a little control, select prompt. If you do this, every time you go to a page that has an ActiveX or needs a plug-in, you will get prompted weather to allow it or not. This could get frustrating, as many pages use these. If you select prompt, when you go to our website and try to open the pdf, you will receive the prompt. Hit OK, and the file should open.
2) If you don't want to change your security settings, but still want to use our site, you can add us to your Trusted Sites. On the security tab, highlight Trusted Sites in the white box, and then click the Sites button directly below that. Below the big white box is a check box that says "Require server verification (https:) for all sites in this zone. Make sure that this is NOT checked. Then, in the box that says Add the Web Site to the zone, first enter and click the add button. Then enter and click add again. Then hit OK. Then click the Custom Level... button, scroll down to the "Run ActiveX controls and plug-ins" section and make sure Enable is selected. Then close everything out and try our site again. What you just did was say that all ActiveX controls and plugins from our servers are allowed, but not from anybody else. The Vietnam Project at Texas Tech University will not download any malicious content, or any content for that matter, onto your computer without your knowledge.
If neither of these solutions work, another option is to right-click on the file link and select Save Target As, and save the file to your computer, where you can then open it and view at your leisure. Additionally, in some cases, you can right-click on the broken link icon, and chose Show Picture.
The decision to change your browser security settings is entirely your own. The fact that you can download files and view them on your computer makes the need to change the security settings completely voluntarily. If you continue of have problems, please email us using the Technical Questions link at the bottom of this page.
Where can I find a definition for a military acronym I came across?
- The Vietnam Archive used to have a searchable acronyms database, but due to its incompleteness and the time involved in maintaining it, the database has been removed from our site.
There are many sites on the internet where you can find definitions to acronyms. There is one listed below that is used by many of the staff of the Archive during our own research. Please note, the Vietnam Archive and Texas Tech University is neither endorsing nor promoting this site. It is simply provided as one option of many.
Where can I find additional statistics about Americans killed during the Vietnam War?
- The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) maintains the Combat Area Casualties Current File (CACCF) in the Records of the Office of the Secretary of Defense (Record Group 330). Tables containing record counts generated from the CACCF include:
. . . Age at Time of Death or Declaration of Death
. . . Branch of Service
. . . Casualty Type
. . . Cause of Casualty
. . . Country of Casualty
. . . Marital Status
. . . Military Pay Grade
. . . Race
. . . Religion
. . . Service Component
. . . Sex
. . . State Home of Record
. . . Year of Death or Declaration of Death
Below are links to NARA web sites listing these statistics.
