Oklahoma History Center commemorates National Vietnam War Veterans Day
BrandInsight Editor
Nearly 43 years after the end of the Vietnam War, Oklahomans will come together to recognize those who served in an era when military service did not get the same recognition that veterans of most other U.S. conflicts received.
“It’s always nice to recognize any soldier,” said Bob Ford, a retired captain and local Vietnam War veteran. “We weren’t popular by any means. If you put any war on television it wouldn’t be popular. War is terrible, but we did step up and served our country with honor.
“We expected nothing more than a simple thanks,” he said.
Oklahoma will thank him and other Vietnam War veterans later this month. The Oklahoma History Center will be recognizing all Vietnam War veterans in a commemoration event at 10–11 a.m. on March 29.
This event was inspired by the Vietnam War Veterans Recognition Act of 2017 signed into law by President Donald J. Trump.
The commemoration is free to the public and will include music by the 145th Army Band and dedications from Ford, Maj. Gen. Michael Thompson, retired Maj. Gen. Myles Deering and retired Brig. Gen. Pete Costilow. The ceremony will take place in the Devon Great Hall at the Oklahoma History Center, located at 800 Nazih Zuhdi Drive in Oklahoma City.
Local Vietnam veteran Thomas Galbraith, crew chief on a Huey helicopter during the Vietnam War, said he is looking forward to the event.
“I think it is a good thing because the Vietnam veterans have been ignored for such a long time. Now, they are receiving the recognition they didn’t get when they came home. In my opinion, this is long overdue,” Galbraith said.
To Don Kerby, who served with the 1st Cavalry Infantry Division in Vietnam, the acknowledgment is important. Coming home was not easy.
“When you came home — and you were one who was in the military or wore the uniform, the possibility of being shamed was very great. We were just easy targets,” Kerby recalled.
It was a harsh reception no matter how prepared you were when you returned.
“I promised myself before the wheels hit the ground at the continental U.S. I would never allow anybody to make me feel bad about the honor I felt for serving and serving with the best,” Ford said.
The event aims to recognize those who served and those who paid the ultimate price — at last.
“We always heard the World War II guys were the greatest generation. And they were. But we were the children of this greatest generation and we stepped up,” Ford said.
Initially, the bill that inspired the event simply encouraged flying the U.S. flag on March 29 to commemorate the service of all Vietnam War veterans. However, a letter from Maj. Gen. James T. Jackson of the Pentagon to the governors of every state requested that the states host a commemorative event to celebrate the first anniversary of our nation’s newly established National Vietnam War Veterans Day. The Oklahoma History Center, in conjunction with the Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs, will host the event in Oklahoma.
Welcome Home: Oklahomans and the War in Vietnam
The event is also an opportunity to see the carefully curated and diverse exhibit “Welcome Home: Oklahomans and the War in Vietnam” currently on display at the Oklahoma History Center. Vietnam War veterans planned the exhibit — among others.
Galbraith, who has been involved with the exhibition from the start, said it is one of the most compelling exhibits that he has ever seen at the history center.
“It’s also probably one of the most viewed temporary exhibits that the center has ever had,” he added.
This exhibit examines and celebrates those who served, those who were brought to Oklahoma by the war and those who spoke out. It is not only an exhibit about the war, but about the people affected by the war. It will explore the impact of the war on Oklahoma families, as told through the stories of the young men and women who served their country in the armed services and the immigrant families who fled Vietnam and came to Oklahoma seeking freedom and opportunity.
The show includes an original Huey helicopter to Oklahoma City, donated by local Vietnam veteran Bob Ford, and countless other historic artifacts that help tell the story of those who were impacted by the war.
Ford, who has written a book about his tour, is very proud of the exhibit.
“When they go to the exhibit they will see every walk of life stepped up,” Ford said. “I was a college grad who volunteered. There were guys who were drafted right out of high school, there were native Americans, black, white, they were from all over. We all did our duty. When you go to that exhibit, you pick that up, along with the Vietnamese represented in the exhibit.
“As the exhibit says, our patriotism lives in us forever,” Ford said.
Kerby, whose video interview is featured in the exhibit, said it is still tough for him to walk through the exhibit, seeing the artifacts of the era on display. It brings vivid memories back to those who lived it.
However, in Oklahoma, nearly every community was touched by the Vietnam War — which has left an imprint on our culture to this day.
Every community was touched
Nearly 1,000 Oklahomans were killed during the Vietnam War (1964-1974), according to the Oklahoma Veteran's Memorial; and more than 100,000 Oklahomans served in the war. Students protested on college campuses, and thousands of Vietnamese displaced by the war immigrated and found a new home in the Heartland.
For Kerby, the upcoming Vietnam War Veterans’ commemoration event and exhibit are still painful reminders of the past — but necessary ones.
“I am really, really grateful for the Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs and the History Center to put on this event. It is important to continuously remind the Oklahoma Community of the 988 Oklahoma heroes that didn’t make it home. Unfortunately, it took 50 years to get the acknowledgment they deserved,” Kerby said.
The Oklahoma History Center is a division of the Oklahoma Historical Society, an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, National Archives and an accredited member of the American Alliance of Museums. The mission of the Oklahoma Historical Society is to collect, preserve and share the history and culture of the state of Oklahoma.
For more information about the OHS, visit www. okhistory.org.
The article is sponsored by Oklahoma History Center