TABLE OF CONTENTS

Overview of the Collection

History

Scope and Content

Arrangement

Restrictions

Index Terms

Related Material

Administrative Information

Detailed Description

Series I: Ephemera, 1931-1986

Series III: Publications and Articles on the Vietnam War, 1961-1972

Poras Collection of Vietnam War Memorabilia

History

The American military involvement in Vietnam, commonly referred to in the United States as the Vietnam War, was an attempt to prevent the spread of Communism in Southeast Asia and to support the South Vietnamese government’s opposition to the National Liberation Front and the Communist-allied North. North Vietnam received military and financial support from Communist allies China and the Soviet Union; the anti-communist South Vietnam received military and financial support from the United States. 

Initially, there was public support for American involvement in Vietnam, with one poll suggesting an 80% approval rating for the war in February 1965. The number of troops deployed to Vietnam escalated in 1965, and by April 1965, one thousand tons of bombs had been dropped by Americans and South Vietnamese on the Viet Cong in the north. By July 1965, the number of draft calls from the United States was doubled to 35,000 new soldiers drafted each month, and in August of the same year, United States President Lyndon B. Johnson signed a law criminalizing the burning of a draft card. As the number of troops (and casualties) in Vietnam increased, anti-war demonstrations become more prevalent, occurring both in American cities as well as internationally. In October 1965, 25,000 Americans marched on Washington, D.C. in support of US intervention in Vietnam. The following month, 35,000 anti-war protestors circle the White House. By April 1967, anti-war protests in New York involved over 200,000 people. Meanwhile, public opinion about the war was still divided, with 70,000 people in New York marching in support of the war the following month.

A turning point in the war occurred on January 31, 1968, as 84,000 Viet Cong guerrillas aided by NVA troops launched the Tet Offensive, attacking a hundred cities and towns throughout South Vietnam. American TV news crews in Vietnam filmed the attack on the US embassy in Saigon, as well as the bloody battle scenes showing American soldiers under fire, along with dead bodies and images of soldiers dying. The graphic footage was shown on the nightly news in the United States, as had never previously been seen before, and heightened the American public’s disapproval of the war.

Anti-war protests in the United States escalated during this time. On April 23, 1968, anti-war protestors at Columbia University seized 5 buildings. Over 200,000 students in New York City refused to go to class on April 27. By August 1968, there had been 221 student protests at 101 US colleges and universities in that year alone. The "Mobilization" peace demonstration on November 15, 1969, drew approximately 250,000 people, making it at the time the largest anti-war protest in American history.

On April 30, 1970, President Nixon announced that American and South Vietnamese troops had entered Cambodia, sparking another wave of protest in the United States against Nixon and the Vietnam War, particularly at colleges and universities in the days following the announcement. On May 4, 1970, National Guardsmen shot and killed four student protestors at Kent State University in Ohio, and injured an additional 9 others. In response to the killings, over 400 colleges and universities across the United States shut down. Nearly 100,000 protesters surrounded various government buildings including the White House and historical monuments. By March 1970, half of Americans polled believe the war to be "morally wrong." Peace negotiations proceeded in Paris, but were not agreed upon until 1973.

The fighting continued for two more years after the United States left Vietnam. Southern Vietnam was weakened not only in military forces but also economically without the United States troops to support them. Eventually the Viet Minh in North Vietnam over took South Vietnam, establishing a communist government.

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Scope and Content

The Poras Collection of Vietnam War Memorabilia consists of a wide range of materials from the Vietnam War era. Covering not only the many opinions of the United States during this time, the collection also includes materials from China,Denmark,Germany,Italy,Russia and Vietnam.

The collection includes buttons, photographs, fliers, booklets, pamphlets, posters, comic books, publications, propaganda money, stamps, envelopes, metals, flags, t-shirts, Zippo lighters used by servicemen, political cartoons, leaflets, movies, audio recordings, maps, books, buttons, and stickers collected by Joseph and Linda Poras.

There are no personal papers in this collection.

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Arrangement

Series I: Ephemera (1931-1986)

Series II: Artifacts (n.d, 1968-1975)

Series III: Publications and Articles on the Vietnam War (1961-1972)

Series IV: Oversized Posters (n.d., 1960-2001)

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Restrictions

Restrictions on Access

There are no access restrictions on this collection.

Restrictions on Use

Permission to publish from these Papers must be obtained in writing from both the University of Connecticut Libraries and the owner(s) of the copyright.

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Related Material

Archives & Special Collections has a substantial collection of materials pertaining to the Vietnam War era and related social movements. For detailed information on these collections please contact the curator or ask at the reference desk.

The following materials have been separated from the collection and cataloged:

Music from the Original Sound Track “Jud”

Why I Oppose the War in VietnamMartin Luther King Jr.

Vietnam: With the American Fighting Man.

Wish You Were Here, Buddy

War and Memory in the Aftermath of Vietnam September 15/December 19, 1987: A Multi-Disciplinary Program of Visual Art, Commissioned Installations, Photography, Film, Video, Literature, Theater, Music and Public Discussions.

Vietnam Behind the Lines: Images from the War 1965 – 1975.

Decade of Protest: Political Posters From the United States, Viet Nam, Cuba 1965 – 1975

Confronting the War Machine: Draft Resistance During the Vietnam War.

Five Women I Love: Bob Hope’s Vietnam Story.

Blacks in America’s Wars: The Shift in Attitudes from the Revolutionary War to Vietnam

After Shock: Poems and Prose From the Vietnam War.

Dr. Spock on Vietnam

As Seen By Both Sides: American and Vietnamese Artists Look at the War.

The People of Vietnam will Triumph! The U.S. Aggressors Will Be Defeated! – A Collection of Chinese Art Works in Support of the Vietnamese People’s Struggle.

A Nation Builds Under Fire

Know Your Enemy – The Viet Cong

Loin Du Vietnam

Ready on Arrival: USS Independence in Vietnam

The Green Berets

To The Shores of Hell

Vietnam A Television History: The Roots of War

Vietnam: Chronicle of a War

Vietnam Home Movies: The True Story of Captain James “Bob” Powell and “The Gunslingers.”

Vietnam Volume 1: The Seeds of Conflict/America Takes Charge

Vietnam Volume 2: The Elusive Enemy/Courage Under Fire

Vietnam Volume 3: The World of Charlie Company/Fire From the Sky

Vietnam Volume 4: Dateline: Saigon/The TET Offensive

Vietnam Volume 5: America Pulls Back/The End of the Road

Vietnam Weapons of The Infantry: Official U.S. Army Training Film

Why Vietnam?

Woodstock: 3 Days of Peace and Music: The Director’s Cut. Vol. 1

Woodstock: 3 Days of Peace and Music: The Director’s Cut. Vol. 2

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Index Terms

This record series is indexed under the following controlled access subject terms.

Subjects:

Document Types:

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Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

[Item description, #:#], Poras Collection of Vietnam War Memorabilia Papers. Archives & Special Collections at the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center, University of Connecticut Libraries.

Acquisition Information

The collection was donated to Archives amp; Special Collections by Joseph and Linda Poras in November 2007.

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Detailed Description