In commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War, Angelo State University will host a patriotic evening to honor Concho Valley Vietnam veterans on Monday, Nov. 17, in the Houston Harte University Center, 1910 Rosemont Drive.
Activities will begin at 6:30 p.m. in the University Center’s C.J. Davidson Conference Center and are open free to the public. The ASU Friends of the Porter Henderson Library and West Texas Collection are sponsoring the evening, which includes a reception hosted by the Pocahontas Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR).
The highlight of the evening will be a panel of local Vietnam veterans relating their personal stories and remembrances. The panel will include Linda Knightstep, who served as a first lieutenant registered nurse in the Army Nurse Corps; Dr. Robert Grant, who served as a lieutenant colonel and surgeon in the Army Medical Corps; retired Army Cpl. Domingo Luna Jr., who served as an infantry rifleman; and retired Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Edward Bendinelli, who served as an airborne radio direction finding operator. Dr. Charles Endress, ASU distinguished professor of history emeritus, will be the moderator, and there will be a question-and-answer session following the panel discussion.
Other activities will include the opening of a new exhibit, “Vietnam: Through the Lens,” in the West Texas Collection on the second floor of the University Center. The exhibit will remain open free to the public through July of 2015.
Cadets from the Arnold Air Society of ASU’s Air Force ROTC Detachment 847 and the Ram Guard color guard will also participate in the evening’s activities, and students from the ASU music program will provide special musical entertainment. The reception hosted by DAR will wrap up the evening.
Vietnam War Oral History Project
On a related note: In collaboration with the West Texas Collection, ASU Honors Program students have been compiling video interviews of local Vietnam veterans that will be housed in the West Texas Collection, along with digital photocopies of their memorabilia from the Vietnam War era. Any additional Vietnam veterans interested in contributing to the interview project can contact Shannon Sturm in the West Texas Collection at 325-942-2164.
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