Special Collections - American History Sources: Vietnam War

Vietnam War Resources - GettDigital Collections

GettDigital is an online portal to the digital collections created by Special Collections and College Archives, Gettysburg College. These digital primary sources are a sampling of items housed in Special Collections and College Archives. Our GettDigital Collections support curricular needs, promote College history, and provide online access to a selection of images, videos, documents, and artifacts on a variety of digital platforms.

Vietnam War Resources - Manuscript Collections

Manuscript Collections

A Manuscript Collection is a grouping of materials which focuses on an individual, group of people, or organization. Materials can include letters, diaries, photographs, scrapbooks, and other memorabilia. Processed Manuscripts are stored in Special Collection's closed stacks and can be requested at the Reference Desk in our Reading Room.

Browse Finding Aids for the Manuscript Collections

Select Manuscript Collections pertaining to the Vietnam War include:

• Moore, Richard. MS-051
  • War Correspondent in Vietnam. Letters to his wife, Claire, during the Vietnam War. Mentions Stephen Warner in two correspondences. 3 Sept. 1969 - 28 Feb. 1971. Also includes miscellaneous news reports, correspondence, and photographs.

• Radical Pamphlets, 1965-1975. MS-036
  • Consists of pamphlets on topics such as labor, women's rights, communism, ecology, racism, and poverty. Also features papers, correspondence, newspaper clippings, and pamphlets on the Peace Movement in the United States during the Vietnam War.

Vietnam War Resources - Oral Histories

The Gettysburg College Oral History Collection consists of transcripts (and, in some cases, sound recordings) of interviews documenting Gettysburg College, World War II, the Vietnam War, and the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg. The Vietnam War Oral History Project compiles oral histories of those who served in the Vietnam War. These transcripts can be found in-person in the Special Collections Reading Room and virtually on GettDigital.

Browse the Vietnam War Oral History Project

Browse all Oral Histories on GettDigital

Vietnam War Resources - Photographs and Scrapbooks

• Marvin Groce, Vietnam-era African American Soldiers. SPOV-088
  • The Marvin Groce Collection consists of a single photo album documenting his time on the military base, during the Vietnam War in August 1972; the photographs are suspected to be set in Vietnam. The album contains 45 black and white gelatin photographs measuring 3.5” x 5”, the photographs are glued to black craft paper with a couple of the pages missing. The pictures are candid pictures that feature Groce’s colleagues on their down time or working at the base, only a few of the pictures feature Marvin Groce himself; only 6 pictures show military vehicles and/or military helicopters as well as military personnel. There is a single color photograph in the album, glued to the back of the front cover, it is a candid picture of Groce.

Vietnam War Resources - Gettysburg College

Manuscript Collections

• John M. Colestock, Class of 1965, Papers. MS-222
  • The collection includes photographs, newspaper clippings, and other documents related to the life of John M. Colestock ’65. Series 1 contains items from Colestock’s life before joining the U.S. Navy, while Series 2 includes all items from his service with the Navy until his death in 1969. Potential research interests lie in Gettysburg College’s Vietnam War connections, the personal history of Lt. John M. Colestock, and photographs from the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War.

• Richard Buchter, Class of 1954, Papers. MS-234
  • This collection includes newspaper clippings, photographs, Vietnamese leaflets relating to the Psychological Operations of the Vietnam War, other military-related documents, and Vietnamese paraphernalia Buchter gathered during his service as the Base Operations Officer in Da Nang during the Vietnam War. Possible research interests lie in the Vietnam War, specifically PSYOPs and the Air Force.

• LTC Richard F. Pendleton, Class of 1963, Papers. MS-235
  • The collection includes maps, photographs, documents, and correspondence related to the service of LTC Richard F. Pendleton ’63 and the Vietnam War. These include detailed maps and items highlighting aspects of Pendleton’s time in Vietnam and broader pieces regarding different aspects of the Vietnam War era. Much of this correspondence is in the form of e-mails written many years after the war, and thus includes the personal opinions and biases of their authors. 

Oral Histories

The Gettysburg College Oral History Collection consists of transcripts (and, in some cases, sound recordings) of interviews documenting Gettysburg College, World War II, the Vietnam War, and the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg. The Vietnam War Oral History Project compiles oral histories of those who served in the Vietnam War. These transcripts can be found in-person in the Special Collections Reading Room and virtually on GettDigital.

Browse the Vietnam War Oral History Project

Browse all Oral Histories on GettDigital

Vietnam War Resources - Stephen H. Warner, Class of 1968

Books

GettDigital Collection

Manuscript Collections

• Stephen H. Warner Collection. MS-044
  • In addition to hundreds of photographs and negatives, the collection contains letters, manuscript notebooks and notepads, drafts of articles, and copies of feature stories printed in army publications written by Warner during his time in Southeast Asia. Other supporting materials in the collection include army publications on a variety of topics, including travel guides and cultural studies.

• Papers of the Stephen H. Warner Committee. MS-052
  • The collection is not extensive and does not completely document the Warner Committee from beginning to end. However, there are papers which might be of particular interest to the researcher. For instance, the correspondence file (folder three) contains much correspondence between Stephen Warner's parents and certain personnel at Gettysburg College, including Professor Stemen and Robert E. Butler, Director of Development.

• The Papers of David Hedrick on the Stephen H. Warner Exhibit. MS-054
  • Researchers will discover this collection to be complementary to, yet distinct from the Stephen H. Warner Southeast Asia Photograph Collection. For instance, one will find correspondence between Warner's mother and Curator David Hedrick; however, the letters focus on the memory of Steve portrayed in the exhibit, Stephen H. Warner 1946-1971: Words and Pictures from the Vietnam War. In addition to correspondence, one will discover rich sources that discuss the layout, proposals, and efficacy of the Stephen Warner Exhibit. Numerous photographs and the actual exhibit materials provide the researcher with excellent imagery and allow him or her to better understand Warner's experiences in Vietnam.

Vertical File Manuscripts

• Area Studies Symposium: Vietnam, Ten Years After, Gettysburg College, Saturday, March 15. 1986. GCVFM-411
  • Folder 1: Twenty letters responding to the announcement of the conference in the Alumni Magazine and a request to identify Gettysburg College Alumni who served in Vietnam in any capacity; Folder 2: Newspaper clippings about the Symposium and articles and reference list for research on the Vietnam Era; Folder 3: Conference planning, correspondence, and brochure.

• Fulton, Leonard. VFM-54
  • Letters to Mr. Fulton of El Cerrito, CA from four political figures in DC, PA, NH, and CA. Mr. Fulton was expressing his concern over the impending war with Vietnam. 21 Nov. 1962 - 23 Sept. 1963. TLS-8pp. VFM-54

• Mock, Colonel Alfred J. VFM-209
  • Chief Information Officer in Vietnam and Stephen Warner's (Gettysburg College, Class of 1968) superior officer. Biographical sketch of Colonel Mock; Letters to Mock from Mrs. Esther Warner and Martin Gershen; Letter from Mock to Special Collections Librarian David Hedrick; Photographs.

• Stemen, John Roger. VFM-208
  • Letters from Stephen Warner, Class of 1968. 11 Aug 1969 - 12 Oct 1970. TLS-11pp. Also includes publications by the Central Committee for Conscientious Objectors (of the Vietnam War). 

• Stephen Henry Warner Memorial Fund. GCVMF-378
  • The correspondence includes letters from Robert E. Butler, Director of Development, Gettysburg College, and the Warner family.

• Willner, Jan. VFM-258 
  • "Reminiscences of Steve Warner and life with his family in 1963/64" ca. 2004. Also includes e-mail from Arthur Amchan to Karen Drickamer regarding recollections. 16 Dec. 2004.

Vietnam War Resources - The Vietnam Memory Project

The Vietnam Memory Project is a website where members of the Gettysburg College Community can deposit scans and digital files of photographs, documents (letters, diaries, military documents), stories, audio recordings, and other materials documenting their experiences and memories of the Vietnam War period. Whether serving overseas, studying at on campus, or living as civilians; Gettysburg alumni, faculty, and staff have memories and mementos of the turbulent years of the Vietnam War.

Contributions to this site are voluntary and descriptive information has been provided by the individual contributors. This is not intended as a comprehensive view of American involvement in Vietnam, but rather as a window into the experiences of members of the Gettysburg College community.

Questions about donations of physical materials such as letters, photographs, military or civilian documents, audio or visual recordings, artifacts, diaries, or journals from the Vietnam War era should be directed to Special Collections and College Archives, Musselman Library, Gettysburg College. Please contact College Archivist, Amy Lucadamo, for more information about making a donation of physical documents and/or artifacts.