Maj. William H. Wood standing outside his tent at Camp Martin Cox (also known as Bearcat Base) in South Vietnam, December 1966. Wood, a captain in the US Air Force, was stationed in Vietnam from December 1966 to November 1967. He was promoted to major in September 1967. (Alabama Department of Archives and History) Vietnam. The name, the country, the war crept into the consciousness of most Alabamians after August 7, 1964, carried there through nightly visits with broadcast journalists Chet Huntley and David Brinkley, Walter Cronkite, or Peter Jennings. American military involvement escalated with the passage of the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution by Congress on that date and continued through April 30, 1975, when the president of South Vietnam surrendered Saigon to the North Vietnamese Army. Though US military combat soldiers left Vietnam in March 1973, military advisors and marines remained for another two years. The year 2016 marks the second year of events commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of America’s and Alabama’s involvement in the Vietnam War, part of an extended commemoration that will continue through April 2025.
Important to any war commemoration is the ability to understand the genesis, progression, end, and lasting effects of the conflict. Oral histories, letters, diaries, personal objects, scrapbooks, photographs, slides, cartoons, official records, and military artifacts are just some resources that assist students of the era in understanding its history. Official government records are always a good resource for beginning research. The National Archives’ Defense Casualty Analysis System’s (DCAS) Vietnam Conflict Extract Files list 58,220 casualties from the 2,709,918 American soldiers who fought in Vietnam. From the extract files, researchers can produce the sad listing of the 1,208 Alabamians who lost their lives during the war. Each of them—including Alabama’s first casualty, Charles W. McCary from Leighton, and Alabama’s last casualty, Bernard Gause from Birmingham--is remembered by family, friends, and other visitors to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Unfortunately, thirty-one Alabama families are still waiting to hear about a loved one listed as missing in action.
Government records from state sources continue to fill in the picture of the Alabama Vietnam experience. The Alabama Department of Archives and History (ADAH) provides access to the correspondence files of Govs. George and Lurleen Wallace and Albert Brewer. The letters--written by mothers seeking information about their sons in Vietnam, soldiers thanking the governors for their support, and citizens demonstrating both support for the war and anti-war sentiments--provide a valuable glimpse into the range of community concerns. While the official records provide an overview of the issues, they often cannot put form and substance to individuals and their specific experiences. This glimpse into a life is best conveyed through the souvenirs, scrapbooks, letters, diaries, and photographs of individuals and families.
The artifact and manuscript materials of the ADAH contain several items that fill out the Alabama story. Slides donated by Alexander City native William Wood, who served in Vietnam in 1967, show his camp, community, and leave experiences. A September 1969 letter home by Dallas County native Johnny Harris captures the basic training experience of new recruits, especially homesickness. The John Caldwell Collection includes photographs of the various military bases he served on as well as Air Force patches, his dog tags, commendation ribbons, and a Zippo lighter engraved with an image of Snoopy and “Viet Nam ’70-’71.” The James Adams United States Marine Corps (USMC) collection contains two pencil sketches of scenes observed during his tour of duty. The Alabama Folk Life Collection includes oral history tapes with members of the Vietnamese community in south Alabama, where many South Vietnamese immigrants settled in 1975. Each collection contributes to the broader knowledge of the era while preserving a sense of its creator’s life.
As part of the national commemoration effort, the ADAH would like to expand its collections documenting the Vietnam era and the lives of Alabamians in those years. Stories of soldiers and nurses; the effects on communities surrounding Fort Rucker, the Anniston Depot, and other military installations in the state; the anti-war movement, especially on university campuses; and life on the home front are all waiting to be told. Help us tell your story to future generations of Alabamians. If you are interested in donating Vietnam-related materials, please contact registrar Sherrie Hamil at sherrie.hamil@archives.alabama.gov. or call (334) 353-4726.
Government records from state sources continue to fill in the picture of the Alabama Vietnam experience. The Alabama Department of Archives and History (ADAH) provides access to the correspondence files of Govs. George and Lurleen Wallace and Albert Brewer. The letters--written by mothers seeking information about their sons in Vietnam, soldiers thanking the governors for their support, and citizens demonstrating both support for the war and anti-war sentiments--provide a valuable glimpse into the range of community concerns. While the official records provide an overview of the issues, they often cannot put form and substance to individuals and their specific experiences. This glimpse into a life is best conveyed through the souvenirs, scrapbooks, letters, diaries, and photographs of individuals and families.
The artifact and manuscript materials of the ADAH contain several items that fill out the Alabama story. Slides donated by Alexander City native William Wood, who served in Vietnam in 1967, show his camp, community, and leave experiences. A September 1969 letter home by Dallas County native Johnny Harris captures the basic training experience of new recruits, especially homesickness. The John Caldwell Collection includes photographs of the various military bases he served on as well as Air Force patches, his dog tags, commendation ribbons, and a Zippo lighter engraved with an image of Snoopy and “Viet Nam ’70-’71.” The James Adams United States Marine Corps (USMC) collection contains two pencil sketches of scenes observed during his tour of duty. The Alabama Folk Life Collection includes oral history tapes with members of the Vietnamese community in south Alabama, where many South Vietnamese immigrants settled in 1975. Each collection contributes to the broader knowledge of the era while preserving a sense of its creator’s life.
As part of the national commemoration effort, the ADAH would like to expand its collections documenting the Vietnam era and the lives of Alabamians in those years. Stories of soldiers and nurses; the effects on communities surrounding Fort Rucker, the Anniston Depot, and other military installations in the state; the anti-war movement, especially on university campuses; and life on the home front are all waiting to be told. Help us tell your story to future generations of Alabamians. If you are interested in donating Vietnam-related materials, please contact registrar Sherrie Hamil at sherrie.hamil@archives.alabama.gov. or call (334) 353-4726.
Author
Tracey Berezansky works for the Alabama Department of Archives and History and assists state and local agency staff members in developing retention guidelines and processes for managing official government documents. Core to this work is ensuring the long-term preservation of those official records that tell the story of Alabama.
This feature was previously published in Issue #122, Fall 2016.
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