Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 18 of 18
Full-Text Articles in History
Thompson, Douglas (Sc 1265), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives
Thompson, Douglas (Sc 1265), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives
MSS Finding Aids
Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 1265. Paper, described as a report from “an average American Joe,” written by Douglas Thompson for a WKU history class. He writes about his interview with Joe Neil Blair, who recounted his experiences in the Vietnam War. Includes Blair’s service record and his Bronze Star citation.
Rhoton, Fred, B. 1946 (Sc 1198), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives
Rhoton, Fred, B. 1946 (Sc 1198), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives
MSS Finding Aids
Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 1198. Vietnam War letters, written by Fred Rhoton (of Clay County, Tennessee), to his aunt Ina Davis and family, Rockfield, Kentucky, describing his military experiences.
Rood, Bryan, B. 1948 (Sc 1184), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives
Rood, Bryan, B. 1948 (Sc 1184), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives
MSS Finding Aids
Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 1184. Letter from Bryant Rood to his girlfriend describing his experiences in the Vietnam War.
Campney, Sheri L. (Sc 1264), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives
Campney, Sheri L. (Sc 1264), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives
MSS Finding Aids
Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 1264. Untitled paper written by Sheri Campney for a WKU history class in the early 1990s. She relates the experiences and attitudes of her father, Allan Campney, a member of the U.S. Army Reserves during the Vietnam War.
Vietnam War, 1961-1975 - Soldiers From - Tennessee (Sc 1119), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives
Vietnam War, 1961-1975 - Soldiers From - Tennessee (Sc 1119), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives
MSS Finding Aids
Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 1119. Telegrams (7), 1971, to Susan E. Powell, Martin, Tennessee, informing her of her husband's war injuries and his well-being; telegram from husband Lt. William E. Powell, Jr., to Susan; and clipping expressing the couple's thanks to their friends for kindnesses shown them.
Reading "Between The Lines", Sarah Hansen
Reading "Between The Lines", Sarah Hansen
Student Publications
Twenty-seven years: the time it took after Paul O’Connell’s return from Vietnam for him to fully reflect on his war experience. O’Connell, a Marine who at the age of eighteen served in the jungles of Vietnam from October 18th, 1968 to October 1st, 1969, was a purple-heart receiving grunt who faced some of the most horrid experiences of guerrilla warfare. His memoir, Between the Lines, is a collection of his letters written home from Vietnam, and reflections about his experiences and the “between the lines” of the correspondences. Throughout his memoir, the themes of heroism, cowardice, …
Review Of Kill Anything That Moves: The Real American War In Vietnam, Gregory A. Daddis
Review Of Kill Anything That Moves: The Real American War In Vietnam, Gregory A. Daddis
History Faculty Articles and Research
A review of Nick Turse's Kill Anything That Moves: The Real American War in Vietnam.
Strode, Wendell Kay, B. 1948 (Sc 926), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives
Strode, Wendell Kay, B. 1948 (Sc 926), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives
MSS Finding Aids
Finding aid and scan (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 926. Letter, 16 April 1969, to Charles Arterburn, Flippin, Monroe County, Kentucky, thanking him for his letter which Strode received in Japan while recuperating from an injury suffered in Vietnam. He further relates that he will be returning to Vietnam in thirty days. The stationery is imprinted with a military cartoon.
Matthews, James (Sc 957), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives
Matthews, James (Sc 957), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives
MSS Finding Aids
Finding aid, scan and typescript (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 957. Letter to James O. Fahling, Sr., Mundelein, Illinois, from James Matthews who is serving in Vietnam. He describes a successful skirmish that his group of eight fought against a Viet Cong column of thirty.
Spainhoward, William C., B. 1948 (Sc 960), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives
Spainhoward, William C., B. 1948 (Sc 960), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives
MSS Finding Aids
Finding aid and scans (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 960. Letter, 6 June 1970, of William C. Spainhoward, Henderson County, Kentucky, from Vietnam to his mother, detailing the treatment given to Vietnamese children during the Vietnamese Conflict; and notes on his interview by Barbara Smith, 1995, and Vietnam photos. Also notes on Smith’s 1995 interview with James T. Smith, Warren County, Kentucky, about his service in Europe during World War II, etc.
Fleenor, Kenneth Raymond, 1929-2010 (Mss 444), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives
Fleenor, Kenneth Raymond, 1929-2010 (Mss 444), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives
MSS Finding Aids
Finding aid, scans of prisoner of war letters, and photo (For scans and photo click on "Additional Files") for Manuscripts Small Collection 444. Correspondence and documentation related to the military career of Kenneth Raymond Fleenor, a native of Bowling Green, Kentucky, whose plane was shot down near Hanoi, Vietnam in 1967. A prisoner of war (POW) for over five years, Fleenor served part of that time at the “Hanoi Hilton.” Collection contains letters written while a POW and subsequent documentation about his POW experience. Also includes photos of celebratory events held after his release in March 1973 and miscellaneous material …
Bradley, Robert Michael, 1947-2006 (Sc 843), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives
Bradley, Robert Michael, 1947-2006 (Sc 843), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives
MSS Finding Aids
Finding aid for Manuscripts Small Collection 843 and full text of selected letters (Click on "Additional Files" below). Original Vietnam War letters written by Robert Michael Bradley, Bowling Green, Kentucky, to Miss Glenn Wheeler, also of Bowling Green, Christmas 1968- 30 May 1969. Also included are newspaper clippings concerning the award to Bradley of two Purple Hearts.
Kuster, Brian William (Sc 865), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives
Kuster, Brian William (Sc 865), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives
MSS Finding Aids
Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 865. Paper titled “Vietnam ‘1968’,” written by Brian William Kuster for a Western Kentucky University United States history class in November 1990. Paper is based on an interview with Andy Poehlein of the United States Army, 6th Battalion, 31st Infantry, Company C, concerning his military experiences.
Burns, Roger D. (Sc 866), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives
Burns, Roger D. (Sc 866), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives
MSS Finding Aids
Finding aid and scan (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 866. Transcription of interview with Vietnam veteran Bobby Lewis concerning his military experiences in 1964. Interview was completed by Roger D. Burns for a Western Kentucky University United States history class in November 1990.
Disney, David Ray, 1948-2019 (Sc 844), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives
Disney, David Ray, 1948-2019 (Sc 844), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives
MSS Finding Aids
Finding aid and scans (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 844. Vietnam War letters written by David Disney, a Cumberland, Kentucky native, to his father Clyde Disney, also of Cumberland, 28 August 1969-10 May 1970, and one letter from David Disney’s wife, Dot, to her father-in-law, 3 September 1969. Includes vivid descriptions of combat conditions.
Oliver, James Earl (Sc 874), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives
Oliver, James Earl (Sc 874), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives
MSS Finding Aids
Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 874. Letters, 1967 (12), written chiefly by Private James Earl Oliver from Fort Polk, Louisiana, and Fort Sam Houston, Texas, to his wife Elizabeth, Bowling Green, Kentucky. He describes his day-to-day military life.
Peck, Chad W. (Sc 856), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives
Peck, Chad W. (Sc 856), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives
MSS Finding Aids
Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 856. Paper discussing Charles Salyers’ 1970 military experiences in Vietnam and its aftermath, written by Chad W. Peck for a Western Kentucky University United States history class, November 1990.
Eating Soup With A Spoon: The U.S. Army As A "Learning Organization" In The Vietnam War, Gregory A. Daddis
Eating Soup With A Spoon: The U.S. Army As A "Learning Organization" In The Vietnam War, Gregory A. Daddis
History Faculty Articles and Research
Standard Vietnam War narratives often argue that the U.S. Army lost the war because it failed to learn and adapt to the conditions of an unconventional conflict. Based on a reappraisal of learning processes rather than on the outcome of the war, this essay argues that as an organization, the U.S. Army did learn and adapt in Vietnam; however, that learning was not sufficient, in itself, to preserve a South Vietnam in the throes of a powerful nationalist upheaval. A reexamination of the Army's strategic approach, operational experiences, and organizational changes reveals that significant learning did occur during the Vietnam …