LibGuides: Historical Material from UNO Libraries' Archives & Special Collections: Vietnam War Material in UNO Libraries' Archives & Special Collections

Vietnam War Material in the U.S. Senator Chuck Hagel Archives

U.S. Senator Chuck Hagel Archives
The U.S. Senator Chuck Hagel Archives include his legislative papers, artifacts, campaign records, and other material. Press & Media, Speeches, Videos, Artifacts, Grant Files, Photographs, and Schedules are open for research. The rest of the collection is closed while it is being arranged and described.
Charles Timothy Hagel: A Life in Photographs Online Exhibit
On October 4, 1946 it was unknown that the bouncing baby boy born to Charles Dean and Betty would fight in a war, work for a U.S. Representative and three U.S. Presidents, be an advocate for veterans, and become a U.S. Senator and Secretary of Defense. On this day, Charles Timothy Hagel was just a boy in North Platte, Nebraska surrounded by a family that loved him.

Learn about Chuck Hagel's roots in Nebraska, his family's commitment to serving their country, and Hagel's own service. Find images of his first campaign for U.S. Senate, his work in Washington, D.C., and his rise from U.S. Senator to Intelligence Advisory Board co-chairman and eventually Secretary of Defense under President Barack Obama. Finally, discover his life as son, brother, husband, father, and leader.
more...less...
These photographs are a sample of the images in the Photographs Series of the U.S. Senator Chuck Hagel Archives. Visit the Hagel Archives to learn more.

Credits
This exhibit was curated by Hagel Fellow Darby Reiners, 2015. Sources for the text include Hagel's Department of Defense website biography, Chuck Hagel: Moving Forward by Charlyne Berens, and America: Our Next Chapter by Chuck Hagel with Peter Kaminsky.
Under the Bright Lights: Videos in the Hagel Archives Online Exhibit
462 videos make up Senator Chuck Hagel's video record. Most reflect his time in the U.S. Senate from 1997 to 2009. They show him on national and local news programs, on the Senate floor, in committee hearings, and giving speeches in Nebraska and around the U.S. Other videos chronicle his campaigns in 1996 and 2002. There are serious videos, like the dozens of videos relating to conflicts around the world. There are funny videos, like his visit to the Daily Show. There are sweet videos with family.

Vietnam War Material in Special Collections

American Indian Oral History and Omaha Folklore Project Oral History Collection
The American Indian Oral History and Omaha Folklore Project Oral History Collection contains oral history interviews of Native Americans in Omaha, Nebraska as well as interviews collected as part of a program called the Oral History Collection of the Omaha Folklore Project. The interviews cover the cultures and personal histories of interviewees in the U.S. as well as leaving Europe in the first half of the 20th Century. Topics of discussion include life in Omaha, World War I, the Great Depression, World War II, and day-to-day life. Those interviewed were of Native American, Polish, German, Swedish, and other ethnic or national descents.
more...less...
The following information about the Oral History Collection of the Omaha Folklore Project was provided by UNO History professor Michael Tate: "This collection of several dozen taped interviews was assembled during the mid-1970s by mostly undergraduate UNO students under the direction of Dr. Michael Tate of the History Department. These tapes have not been transcribed, but each tape has a file folder containing an outline of the main points of the interview. These contain unique and detailed information about Omaha, Nebraska and rural towns from WWI through WWII." Prof. Tate provided the following information about the American Indian Oral History Taped Interviews portion of the collection: "This collection of several dozen taped interviews was assembled during the mid-1970s. Virtually all were conducted by UNO graduate students under the direction of Dr. Michael Tate of the UNO History Department. Most of the interview were with Native Americans who talked about education, health care, reservation life, urban life and a host of other relevant topics. These were mostly interviews with Lakota (Sioux), Omaha, and Ho-Chunk (Winnebago) tribal people, but also include other tribal representations. A few of the interviews have been fully transcribed but the majority contain detailed outlines of what is contained in each separate interview. Many of the interviews deal with the militant activities of the American Indian Movement during that era. Several also were conducted with judges and law enforcement officers who dealt with the controversial trials following AIM's occupation of Wounded Knee."
Dave Dunlevy Papers
The papers of Dave Dunlevy are primary composed of letters to his romantic interest Anita Hillman in Fort Worth, Texas documenting his service in the U.S. Air Force in at least 1965-1966 as well as other aspects of his life. Also included is a Vietnam War Tactical Air Command patch and one U.S. Air Force Permanent Change of Station Orders with one of the letters.
Howard H. Hutsell Correspondence
The papers of Howard H. Hutsell include five letters written by Captain Hutsell to Melba “Ginger” Hutsell, his wife, while serving in Vietnam from April to August 1967. The letters were addressed from various locations in Vietnam including Đức Phổ Base Camp and Pleiku.
James H. Nieuwenhuis Correspondence
The papers of James H. Nieuwenhuis include seven letters written by Master Sargeant Nieuwenhuis to Mary Virginia, his wife, and Carol Ann, their daughter, while serving in Vietnam from August 1966 to January 1967.
Laine E. Wright Correspondence
The papers of Laine E. Wright include five letters written by Wright to his parents in Apple Valley, California while serving in Vietnam from January to August 1968. Wright served in Da Nang. His first letter recounts an attack against his unit and an audio recording he made and would send to his parents. Wright’s religious faith is mentioned throughout his letters.
Sam Walker Collection
The collection of Sam Walker includes posters, fliers, LPs, and ephemera documenting Omaha organizations, events, and people in the 20th and 21st centuries particularly related to activism, music, and culture. Topics covered include anti-Vietnam War protests, protests against the demolition of Jobbers Canyon, Omaha sheet music, Wounded Knee legal defense fund, Omaha music and performers, Al Smith, jazz vocalist Karrin Allyson, and the Omaha centennial celebration. The fourteen LPs in the collection were produced by Omaha church, high school, university, Boys Town, and other musical groups. The collection includes a sample ballot for the 1967 Omaha vote about whether to merge the Municipal University of Omaha with the University of Nebraska, which when passed created the University of Nebraska system.
UNO Demonstration and Rally Collection
The UNO Demonstration and Rally Collection documents local, national, and international demonstrations, rallies, protests, and other similar actions. The collection includes posters, signs, handbills, and photographs documenting specific events as well as general movements or actions. While there is a specific interest in documenting activities in and around Omaha, example material about demonstrations in other cities can also be found in the collection. For example, the collection includes handbills and posters against the Vietnam War and supporting the war effort that were produced for specific rallies and organizations in other U.S. cities. Topics covered in the collection include the Vietnam War, women’s movement, Civil Rights Movement, anti-Apartheid movement, support for President Barack Obama, and Omaha and UNO rallies opposing the January 2017 ban on immigration from 6 majority Muslim countries. The UNO Demonstration and Rally Collection is a teaching collection and is not intended to be comprehensive.

Vietnam War Material in University Archives

Gateway Digital Archive
Nearly every issue of UNO’s student newspaper, The Gateway , is available on-line stretching back to the 1920s.
UNO Yearbooks
The University of Nebraska at Omaha yearbook was known as the Gateway from 1915-1927; then changed names to the Omahan from 1928-1929; then changed names to the Tomahawk from 1936-1970; then changed names to Breakaway from 1971-1972; before ending as the University of Nebraska at Omaha's Maverick from 1973-1975. The first yearbook, the Gateway (1915-1927), shares its name with the university’s longtime student newspaper. No yearbook was published in 1930-1935.
more...less...
Copies of the yearbook are available in Archives & Special Collections and on reserve at Criss Library's main service desk for check-out.
Ronald W. Roskens Speeches
The Ronald W. Roskens Speeches cover the period from 1960 until 1992, including Roskens' time as Vice President for Administration and Executive Vice President and Professor of Educational Administration at Kent State University (1959-1972), Chancellor of the University of Nebraska at Omaha (1972-1977), President of the University of Nebraska System (Central Administration in Lincoln, Nebraska) (1977-1989), and Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (1990-1992). The speeches consist of typed notes and scripts.
Student Unrest Collection
The collection includes news clippings, resolutions, correspondence, student survey, and other documents related to the occupation student organization BLAC (Black Liberators for Action on Campus) of the office of University of Nebraska at Omaha Chancellor Kirk Naylor in November 1969 and the subsequent response. The students were arrested. The news clippings were collected by the university while the documents were collected from a variety of sources, which are not attributed, but can be ascertained in some cases. The collection also includes material about student unrest at the University of Nebraska--Lincoln the following year.

Oral History Interviews

U.S. Senator Chuck Hagel Archives interviews:

Chuck Hagel Oral History Interview, Library of Congress Folklife Center. Veterans History Project, August 14 and 26, 2002
Vietnam War: Lessons and Legacies Symposium, University of Nebraska at Omaha, October 27-28, 2016. Footage from ten sessions is available online at vietnam.unomaha.edu. Hagel appears in two sessions: The U.S. Military After Vietnam and Lessons and Legacies: The Last 50 Years.

American Indian Oral History and Omaha Folklore Project Oral History Collection interviews that mention the Vietnam War:

Leo Koja, veteran
Staff Sgt. Myan, veteran
Tom LaBlanc, Native American, veteran

Reflections in Time interviews referencing the Vietnam War:

Tom Bragg, veteran, UNO Biology professor
William Gerbracht, UNO Registrar, brief mention of impact of veterans returning to UNO and the change in school spirit during and after the Vietnam War
Mark Rousseau, UNO sociology professor, references to protests in Chapel Hill, NC where he was a graduate student.
Carl Camp, brief mention of the Vietnam War as pivotal event for changes on campus
George Barger, brief description of Bootstrappers and Vietnam War at UNO