Vietnam Center and Sam Johnson Vietnam Archive explained

Vietnam Center and Sam Johnson Vietnam Archive
Founder:James Reckner[1]
Address:Texas Tech University
Postalcode:79409
City:Lubbock
State:Texas
Country:United States

The Vietnam Center and Sam Johnson Vietnam Archive collects and preserves the documentary record of the Vietnam War. The Vietnam Center and Archive, part of Texas Tech University, is the nation's largest and most comprehensive collection of information on the Vietnam War.[2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] On August 17, 2007, the Texas Tech Vietnam Center became the first U.S. institution to sign a formalized exchange agreement with the State Records and Archives Department of Vietnam. This opens the door for a two-way exchange between the entities.[8] [9]

The Vietnam Center's mission is to support and encourage research and education regarding all aspects of the American Vietnam experience; promoting a greater understanding of this experience and the peoples and cultures of Southeast Asia.[10] [11] It promotes education through exhibits, classroom instruction, and publications; support for the archive and the collection and preservation of pertinent historical source material; and encouragement of related scholarship through organizing and hosting conferences and symposia each year.[12]

History

In 1989, a group of Vietnam veterans from West Texas gathered at Texas Tech University to discuss what they might do, in a positive way, about their experiences in Vietnam.[13] Their meeting was spearheaded by James Reckner, a Texas Tech military history professor and Navy veteran of the Vietnam War,[14] who had become concerned with his students’ lack of knowledge about the war. This was mostly because many citizens after the war pretended like it did not happen.[15] The group's immediate decision was to form a Vietnam Archive and begin collecting and preserving materials relating to the American Vietnam experience.[16] [17]

On December 2, 1989, the Texas Tech University Board of Regents approved the creation of the Center for the Study of the Vietnam Conflict.[18] Its dual missions are to fund and guide the development of the Vietnam Archive and encourage continuing study of all aspects of the American Vietnam experience.[19] The U.S. government has used the archive’s online search engine to find documents relating to prisoners-of-war during their time in Vietnam.[20]

In 2001, the Vietnam Archives established the Vietnam Virtual Archive with the aim of putting many documents online to facilitate free and easy access through the Internet.[21] [22] According to Steve Maxner – director of the Vietnam Center and Archives said in a 2011 interview that the Center is able to operate thanks to the support of Vietnam veterans and how their material contributions and oral histories serve informational and educational purposes.[23] Also during this time, Director of the Texas Tech Vietnam Center and Archives Stephen Maxner was awarded the "For the Cause of Vietnamese Archives" by the Vietnamese Government for his contributions to archival cooperation between Vietnam and the United States.[24] [25] In 2012, the National Historical Publications and Records Commission awarded the center $144,000 to fund student work that will digitize the 250,000-page collection of the Association of Families of Vietnamese Political Prisoners. The collection documents the migration of thousands of Vietnamese Americans after the end of the Vietnam War.[26]

In 2017, the facility was renamed the "Vietnam Center and Sam Johnson Vietnam Archive" in honor of U.S. Rep. Sam Johnson, a former prisoner of war.[27] He has helped Texas Tech University secure federal funding to support the Vietnam Center and Archive.[28] By August 2019, thanks to a $95,740 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Center had edited, transcribed, and published online the entire remaining collection of oral history interviews produced by the VNCA Oral History Project.[29] [30] Also this year, the archives center is scheduled to expand and be housed in an entirely new facility, a project that requires $25 million for the building itself and a $10 million grant to cover operating costs.[31]

In 2023, the Heart of Vietnamese Soldiers organization coordinated with the center to run a non-profit project called "Vietnam War Legacy Files." The Vietnam Archive returned a collection of five diaries and 30 letters written by Vietnamese soldiers, most of whom died in the Vietnam War.[32] The second return of the soldier's diaries, letters, and personal items was in July 2024.[33]

Special Projects

The Virtual Vietnam Archive

In March 2002, the Virtual Vietnam Archive was launched with a five hundred thousand dollar federal grant to digitize the Vietnam Archive's collection of documents, audio, and images.[34] Types of material include documents, photographs, slides, negatives, oral histories, artifacts, moving images, sound recordings, maps, and collection finding aids. All non-copyrighted and digitized materials are available for users to download free of charge.[35] By 2004, it was announced that the Virtual Vietnam Archives project would receive $1.8 million in funding over four years from the federal government's Institute of Museum and Library Services.[36]

The Oral History Project

The Oral History Project of the Vietnam Archive was created in 1999.[37] [38] The mission of the OHP is to create and preserve a more complete record of the wars in Southeast Asia by preserving, through recorded interviews, the recollections and experiences of all who were involved in those wars. Anyone can participate, whether an American veteran, a former ally or enemy of the U.S., an anti-war protester, a government employee, a family member of a veteran, etc.[39] [40]

The Vietnamese American Heritage Project

The Vietnamese American Heritage Project, created in 2008, supports the Vietnam Archive’s mission to document the war from all perspectives by providing documentation of the post-war social and political history of Vietnamese Americans who immigrated to the United States during and after the Vietnam War.[41] The VAHP aims to enhance the study of the Vietnamese immigration and resettlement experience by providing reference services to researchers and increasing Vietnamese American participation in the archive’s Oral History Project, conducting outreach activities, and developing cooperative relationships with other institutions dedicated to preserving Vietnamese American’s rich heritage.[42] The cornerstone of the VAHP is the Vietnam Archives’ Families of Vietnamese Political Prisoners Association (FVPPA) Collection. During the 1980s and 1990s, the FVPPA successfully helped over 10,000 former Vietnamese reeducation camp detainees and their families immigrate to the US and other countries through the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugee’s (UNHCR) Orderly Departure Program (ODP).[16]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Founding director of Tech's Vietnam Center and Archive dies at 78 . Michael A. . Cantu . en . . November 22, 2018 . August 25, 2024 . August 25, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240825160248/https://www.kcbd.com/2018/11/21/founding-director-techs-vietnam-center-archive-dies/ . live.
  2. Book: Southard, John . 2014 . Defend and Befriend: The U.S. Marine Corps and Combined Action Platoons in Vietnam . . . 12 . 978-0-8131-4526-6 . 2014005216 . 1155374474 . August 25, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240825162013/https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/WJKfAwAAQBAJ . August 25, 2024 . live.
  3. Web site: 50 years since United States troop withdrawal: Lubbock has one of the largest Vietnam archive collections in the U.S. . Sydney . Lowther . en . . March 30, 2023 . August 25, 2024 . August 25, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240825134524/https://www.kcbd.com/2023/03/30/50-years-since-united-states-troop-withdrawal-lubbock-has-one-largest-vietnam-archive-collections-us/ . live.
  4. Web site: Author Karin Muller is guest speaker for Vietnam Center series . Ray . Westbrook . en . . March 27, 2014 . August 25, 2024 . August 25, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240825133739/https://www.lubbockonline.com/story/lifestyle/2014/03/28/author-karin-muller-guest-speaker-vietnam-center-series/15049001007/ . live.
  5. Web site: ITT: Touring the Archives of the Vietnam War . KTTZ . en . . September 1, 2017 . August 25, 2024 . August 25, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240825132005/https://radio.kttz.org/blogs/2017-09-01/itt-touring-the-archives-of-the-vietnam-war . live.
  6. Web site: US Army veteran studies Vietnam War tunnels . Mike . Tharp . en . . January 26, 2020 . August 25, 2024 . August 25, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240825132508/https://asiatimes.com/2020/01/us-army-veteran-studies-vietnam-war-tunnels/ . live.
  7. Web site: The Vietnam War . en . . August 29, 2024 . August 29, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240829084134/https://guides.lib.ua.edu/vwar . dead.
  8. Web site: Tech signs agreement with Vietnam for records . Maggie . Kiely . en . . August 27, 2007 . August 25, 2024 . August 25, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240825130821/https://www.dailytoreador.com/archives/tech-signs-agreement-with-vietnam-for-records/article_72a780d0-065a-53a0-9e3a-6e69b56d5ce9.html . live.
  9. Web site: Texas Tech seals deal with Vietnam records office for war documents . Marlena . Hartz . en . . August 18, 2007 . August 25, 2024 . September 5, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120905144438/http://lubbockonline.com/stories/081807/edu_081807020.shtml . dead.
  10. News: A Visit to the Vietnam Center at Texas Tech University . Meg . Miner . 44 . 2 . . en . 2014 . August 29, 2024 . August 29, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240829073508/https://www.vvaw.org/veteran/article/?id=2846 . dead.
  11. Web site: Primary Sources - Asian Studies - Lilly Library at Wabash College at Wabash College . en . . August 29, 2024 . August 29, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240829080809/https://library.wabash.edu/asianstudies/primary . live.
  12. Web site: Celebration of Asian Americans - LibGuides at Northern Illinois University . en . . August 29, 2024 . August 29, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240829080759/https://libguides.niu.edu/c.php?g=1138082 . dead.
  13. Susanna . Robbins . October 1, 2004 . Vietnam in First Person: The Virtual Vietnam Archive . OAH Magazine of History . 18 . 5 . 64–65 . . en . 0882-228X . 25163726 . 10.1093/maghis/18.5.64 . 9969967762.
  14. Web site: A catalog of U.S. woes surrounding Vietnam . David . Lamb . en . . May 29, 1997 . August 29, 2024 . August 29, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240829164652/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-05-29-mn-63728-story.html . live.
  15. Web site: Vietnam Center, Sam Johnson Vietnam Archive protect legacy of Vietnam War . Suris . Dennis . en . . February 15, 2022 . August 29, 2024 . August 29, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240829044618/https://www.dailytoreador.com/lavida/vietnam-center-sam-johnson-vietnam-archive-protect-legacy-of-vietnam-war/article_8600f098-d511-11e9-a560-976479ba3704.html . live.
  16. Book: Bui, Long T. . 2018 . Returns of War: South Vietnam and the Price of Refugee Memory . . . 30, 36, 211 . 978-1-4798-1706-1 . 2018012206 . 1031950882 . August 25, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240825155051/https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/NGxuDwAAQBAJ . August 25, 2024 . live.
  17. Web site: Founder of Texas Tech Vietnam Center dies at age 78 . A-J Media . en . . November 23, 2018 . August 25, 2024 . August 25, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240825155411/https://www.lubbockonline.com/story/news/2018/11/24/founder-of-texas-tech-vietnam-center-dies-at-age-78/8301673007/ . live.
  18. Web site: Highlights of the First Twenty Years . en . Vietnam Center and Archive . August 25, 2024 . March 3, 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160303170453/https://www.vietnam.ttu.edu/exhibits/timeline/index.htm . dead.
  19. Web site: About the Vietnam Center . en . Vietnam Center and Sam Johnson Vietnam Archive . August 25, 2024 . August 25, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240825161712/https://www.vietnam.ttu.edu/general/ . dead.
  20. Web site: Vietnam Center and Archive receives honor . Caitlan . Osborn . en . . June 23, 2011 . August 25, 2024 . August 25, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240825145054/https://www.dailytoreador.com/news/vietnam-center-and-archive-receives-honor/article_06463ede-9ddf-11e0-b1ad-0019bb30f31a.html . live.
  21. Web site: Preserving the Past for a Better Future . en . . August 25, 2024 . June 29, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240629041452/https://www.gillespiecounty.org/upload/page/0115/docs/General%20Info%20Sheet.pdf . dead.
  22. Web site: Vietnam Center and Archive Now Available Online . en . . August 25, 2024 . December 1, 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20081201114831/https://www.vfw.org/index.cfm?fa=news.newsDtl&did=2367 . dead.
  23. Web site: Interview: Steve Maxner / Perserving veterans' past for the future . Scokeley . en . . June 14, 2011 . August 29, 2024 . August 29, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240829044000/https://www.historynet.com/interview-with-steve-maxner-perserving-veterans-past-for-the-future/ . live.
  24. Web site: Đoàn công tác của Bộ Nội vụ thăm và làm việc tại Hợp chủng quốc Hoa Kỳ . Việt Hoa . Trần . vi . . June 22, 2011 . August 25, 2024 . August 25, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240825171228/https://moha.gov.vn/tintuc/Pages/lists.aspx?ItemID=53817 . live.
  25. Web site: Texas Tech Vietnam Center and Archive Director to be Honored by Vietnamese Government . Cole . Shooter . en . . June 14, 2011 . August 25, 2024 . August 25, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240825172545/https://kfyo.com/texas-tech-vietnam-center-and-archive-director-to-be-honored-by-vietnamese-government/ . live.
  26. Web site: Vietnam Center's immigration records to go digital with recent grant . Brittany . Hoover . en . . January 15, 2012 . August 29, 2024 . August 29, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240829145614/https://www.lubbockonline.com/story/news/local/2012/01/25/vietnam-centers-immigration-records-go-digital-recent-grant/15180349007/ . live.
  27. Web site: Congressman honored at naming of Vietnam Center and Archive . Candice . Clark . en . . October 18, 2017 . August 26, 2024 . August 26, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240826024058/https://www.dailytoreador.com/lavida/congressman-honored-at-naming-of-vietnam-center-and-archive/article_b77c8e88-b435-11e7-a74a-8374f46b9fa7.html . live.
  28. Web site: Texas Tech archive renamed as Sam Johnson Vietnam Archive . Karen . Michael . en . . October 18, 2017 . August 25, 2024 . August 25, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240825175150/https://www.lubbockonline.com/story/news/education/2017/10/18/texas-tech-archive-renamed-sam-johnson-vietnam-archive/14841266007/ . live.
  29. Web site: Vietnam Center & Archive oral histories to be more accessible . For A-J Media . en . . August 2, 2019 . August 25, 2024 . August 25, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240825134319/https://www.lubbockonline.com/story/news/state/2019/08/03/texas-techs-vietnam-center-amp-archive-oral-histories-to-be-more-accessible/4549146007/ . live.
  30. Web site: Vietnam oral histories to become more accessible . Mallory . Rosetta . en . . August 6, 2019 . August 26, 2024 . August 26, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240826025416/https://www.neh.gov/news/vietnam-oral-histories-become-more-accessible . live.
  31. Web site: Texas Tech's Vietnam Center & Archive eyes new facility . Staff Writer . en . . November 11, 2019 . August 25, 2024 . August 25, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240825131919/https://www.lubbockonline.com/story/news/education/2019/11/11/texas-techs-vietnam-center-archive-eyes-new-facility/2316355007/ . live.
  32. Web site: Lễ tiếp nhận "Hồ sơ di sản chiến tranh Việt Nam" . Huyền Trang . vi . . June 2, 2023 . August 29, 2024 . August 29, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240829153800/https://vov.vn/chinh-tri/le-tiep-nhan-ho-so-di-san-chien-tranh-viet-nam-post1024051.vov . live.
  33. Web site: "Vietnam War Legacy Files" to pay tribute to martyrs, heal wounds of war . Ngoc Anh . en . . July 11, 2024 . August 29, 2024 . August 29, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240829153649/https://vovworld.vn/en-US/society/vietnam-war-legacy-files-to-pay-tribute-to-martyrs-heal-wounds-of-war-1308981.vov . live.
  34. Patrick . Hagopian . 2003 . Virtual Vietnam Archive . . 90 . 1 . 189–191 . . en . 0021-8723 . 3659801 . 10.2307/3659801 . 207813146.
  35. Web site: Vietnam War - Online Archival Resources Guide - Subject and Course Guides at University of Texas at Arlington . en . . August 29, 2024 . August 29, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240829143941/https://libguides.uta.edu/oar/vietnamwar . dead.
  36. Web site: Kent State U. Gives Some of Its Vietnam War Papers to Texas Tech Archive . Richard . Byrne . en . . May 28, 2004 . August 29, 2024 . August 29, 2024 . https://archive.today/20240829123451/https://www.chronicle.com/article/kent-state-u-gives-some-of-its-vietnam-war-papers-to-texas-tech-archive/ . live.
  37. Web site: Voices of the Vietnam War . Dana . Blatte . en . . July 26, 2023 . August 25, 2024 . August 25, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240825174225/https://www.neh.gov/blog/voices-vietnam-war . live.
  38. Web site: Oral History (U.S.) - Oral History Resources - Research Guides at Northwestern University . en . . August 25, 2024 . August 25, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240825174441/https://libguides.northwestern.edu/c.php?g=562755&p=3874324 . dead.
  39. Book: Sue . Armitage . Laurie . Mercier . 2009 . Speaking History: Oral Histories of the American Past, 1865-Present . 170 . . . en . 978-1-4039-7782-3 . 391406466 . 2009023411 . August 29, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240829094602/https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/HFQYDAAAQBAJ . August 29, 2024 . live.
  40. Book: MacKay, Nancy . 2007 . Curating Oral Histories: From Interview to Archive . . 94 . . en . 978-1-59874-058-5 . 1200829248 . 2006026624 . August 29, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240829095302/https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/xIN7vqEHIFwC . August 29, 2024 . live.
  41. Web site: Diasporic/Border Studies: South and Southeast Asia . en . . August 29, 2024 . August 29, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240829100037/https://guides.library.yale.edu/c.php?g=1057106&p=7681044 . dead.
  42. Web site: Primary Sources: Asian American and Pacific Islander History . en . . August 29, 2024 . August 29, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240829102149/https://library.chatham.edu/c.php?g=18366&p=8357633 . dead.

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