Join the LZ Lambeau conversation on FacebookMuseum and Portrait Exhibits
Lambeau Field Atrium Main Floor - Open Friday, Saturday and Sunday
WISCONSIN VETERANS MUSEUM - THE THINGS THEY SAVED
Visit our exhibit of equipment and souvenirs from the Vietnam War and discover the stories of the men who carried them. Come prepared to build an archival collection at our “Documentation Station” by sharing your thoughts on your military service. All will be welcome to share their feelings and say “thank you” on our memory wall. An outdoor sidewalk chalk area will be set up to “Thank a Veteran,” an indoor children’s coloring table will be available for the grandkids, and Vietnam veterans are encouraged to sit and chat with museum staff. For more information on the Wisconsin Veterans Museum, please see: www.wisvetsmuseum.com
WISCONSIN PUBLIC TELEVISION - BACK TO THE WORLD
To see a web preview, click here
This traveling portrait exhibit, shot by Wisconsin Public Television staff photographer Jim Gill, features the faces and stories of Wisconsin's Vietnam War veterans who participated in the documentary project.
VVA POST 351 - VIETNAM MEMORABILIA DISPLAY
View uniforms, equipment, and captured enemy items in this expansive display developed by Vietnam Veterans of American Post 351 of Appleton. Meet with several of the post’s many veterans and discuss the equipment they used and collected while serving in Vietnam.
THE THREE SOLDIERS
The Three Soldiers is a bronze statue on the Washington, DC National Mall commemorating the Vietnam War. Designed by Frederick Hart, the statue features three young soldiers, one African American, one Hispanic, and one Caucasian. Learn about the statue’s creation, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, and Hart’s artistic process.
CANADIAN VIETNAM VETERANS MEMORIAL WALL
This moving wall features the names of the 121 Canadians killed during the Vietnam War while serving with American combat units. Nearly 12,000 Canadians voluntarily joined the American Armed Forces because they believed in the war effort. This exhibit is presented by the Canadian Vietnam Veterans Association (http://www.cvva.ca).
BROWN COUNTY LIBRARY & MARSHFIELD PUBLIC LIBRARY - WISCONSIN'S FALLEN HEROES
In recent months, Wisconsin’s reference librarians and genealogists and have made an attempt to collect the obituary of or a newspaper article about every Wisconsin KIA from the Vietnam War. See their results in this moving exhibition honoring Wisconsin’s fallen heroes. Presented in partnership with the Wisconsin State Genealogical Society and its affiliate members, the Wisconsin Historical Society Library, and many libraries throughout Wisconsin.
THE HIGHGROUND
The Highground is a memorial park that pays tribute to the Dead, and honors the Survivors, their service, and their sacrifices. It also pays tribute to the people who supported them when they were away and upon their return. Learn more about the Highground, their upcoming events and exhibitions, and pick up their commemorative “Fragments” patch honoring Wisconsin’s Vietnam Veterans (available via donation).
THE ONEIDA NATION
Learn about the Oneida Nation’s rich military history, their current outreach activities, and much more!
Lectures
Lambeau Field Atrium 4th Floor - Saturday, May 22
ROOM ONE - The Johnny Blood and Willie Davis Rooms
12:00 - 12:30 p.m.
"Wisconsin Vietnam War Stories: Our Veterans Remember"
Speakers: Sarah Larsen, author; Kathy Borkowski, Wisconsin Historical Society Press; Vietnam Veterans interviewed for the book
In this companion to the Wisconsin Public Television documentary, forty veterans share their first-hand accounts of America's longest war in compelling detail alongside photographs, letters, and more. The stories in this book expand beyond the borders of war to include personal accounts of the events leading up to it, as well as the experiences of veterans as they return home to civilian life at the height of antiwar protest. Wisconsin Vietnam War Stories is an unforgettable collection and lasting tribute to our veterans.
BOOK SIGNING TO FOLLOW ON NORTH BALCONY OF 4th FLOOR
1:00 - 2:00 p.m.
"Wisconsin Women in the Vietnam War"
Speakers: Lisa Seale, Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at UW Colleges (moderator); Sister Linda McClenahan and Sue Haack, Vietnam veterans
Over 6,000 women served during the Vietnam War, with most acting as nurses or medical personnel, yet many other women served in vital functions such as intelligence, traffic control, photography, cartography, and supply. The Vietnam War cast aside previously held assumptions that women should be kept safely behind the lines, as many women found themselves in the midst of combat - carrying sidearms for protection, receiving M-16 training, and wearing fatigues instead of the"green cord" uniform became standard practice. Join us and discover the story of several Wisconsin women during the Vietnam War - what they did, where they served, and how the war impacts them yet today.
2:30 - 4:00 p.m.
"The Legacy of the Secret War in Laos"
Speakers: Chia Youyee Vang, Assistant Professor/Coordinator, Hmong Diaspora Studies, Department of History, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee; Hmong veterans and war-widows of the Secret War
From 1961 to 1975, the United States relied on the Hmong people to provide support in the fight against Communism in Southeast Asia. Recruited, trained, and outfitted by the CIA, the Hmong blocked supply lines, rescued downed American pilots, and fought against Pathet Lao forces in Laos. Join us for the special program to recognize the service and sacrifice of Wisconsin's Hmong veterans and war-widows, hear stories of combat and migration to the United States, discover Hmong culture, and learn how the war still affects the Hmong some 35 years after its conclusion.
ROOM TWO - The Paul Hornung Room
11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
"We Gotta Get Out of This Place: Music and the Vietnam Experience"
Speakers: Doug Bradley, author and Vietnam veteran, and Craig Werner, author and Professor of Afro-American Studies, UW-Madison.
We Gotta Get Out of This Place tells the story of the Vietnam War through the music-based memories of those who served. Authors Doug Bradley, who was in the U. S. Army in Vietnam in 1970 and 1971, and Craig Werner, a prize-winning music writer and member of the Nominating Committee of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, weave a tapestry of voices set against the cacophony of the popular music of the 1960s and 1970s.From "Chain of Fools and "Fortunate Son" to "Purple Haze" and "We GottaGet out of This Place," their work shows how soldiers used music to form bonds, express their feelings, and hold on to the humanity the world was trying to take away.
12:30 - 1:30 p.m.
"The Deadly Writers Patrol: Writing that Gives Voice to the Vietnam Veteran's Feelings"
Speakers: Doug Bradley, author and Vietnam veteran, and Craig Werner, author and Professor of Afro-American Studies, UW-Madison.
The Deadly Writers Patrol (DWP) is both the name of a writers' group and a magazine. As Tom Deits, one of DWP's founders, explains: "The DeadlyWriter's Patrol gives us the impetus to write with consistency,self-examine the way we express ourselves and, eventually, reach the final period - end of story. That process is hard, emotional work. The end product is remorse, laughter, elation, sadness and guilt that we own and now publish." Vietnam vets are encouraged to bring samples of their writing to this session.
2:00 - 4:00 p.m.
"Guitars for Vets"
Are you a veteran? Are you interested in learning how to play guitar? Do you already play and have interest in teaching your fellow vets? If so, stop in and meet Guitars for Vets staff and teachers to learn about this wonderful program. Guitars for Vets is a non-profit corporation dedicated to supporting veterans in their readjustment process. They have presented over 500 Lessons and guitars to veterans in treatment for trauma/disabilities. They started out in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and are now nation wide and global with a chapter in Iraq and soon to be Afghanistan. Guitars for Vets' mission is to place the healing power of music in the hands of our nations vets who not only serve multiple tours but also have the daunting challenge of coming home.
ROOM THREE - The Bart Starr Room
11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
"Reflecting the Human Face, The Human Heart: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Creation and Significance of Frederick Hart's Three Soldiers, Vietnam Veterans Memorial"
Speaker: Scott Bahrke, Chase Art Companies
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial is one of the most visited sites in our nation's capitol. Dedicated by President Ronald Reagan in 1984, the memorial is often credited with beginning the national healing process of the scars caused by the Vietnam War. Maya Lin's The Wall and Frederick Hart's Three Soldiers honor the service and sacrifice of the thousands of men and women who served their nation during that conflict.
One Vietnam veteran, Frederick Downs, Jr., said of Hart's sculpture,"Each time I see the three figures, I think, I am them and they are me. They will always show the world the way I was at twenty-three. They will be my testament that the war happened. They will portray me for a millennium, long after I have returned to the earth as dust and the war itself is forgotten."
Frederick Hart's Three Soldiers monument will forever show the face of the Vietnam Veteran. Come and listen to the story of its creation and see the model from which the statue was sculpted.
12:30 - 1:30 p.m.
"A Behind-the-Scenes Look at Wisconsin Vietnam War Stories"
Speakers: Mik Derks, Producer, and Jim Gill, Photographer, Wisconsin Public Television
Join Mik Derks, producer of "Wisconsin Vietnam War Stories," and JimGill, WPT staff photographer, who took portraits of nearly forty veterans for his exhibit, "Back to the World," as they discuss thebehind the scenes details of two major components of the "Wisconsin Vietnam War Stories" project.
2:00 - 4:00 p.m.
"The Tragedy of Achilles in Vietnam"
A dramatic presentation written by J. Nicholas Schweitzer, directed by Laura Riddle, UW-Green Bay, and performed by actors from the UW-Green Bay Theatre program and the Green Bay Community Theater
This play is a dramatization by Nick Schweitzer of Achilles in Vietnam: Combat Trauma and the Undoing of Character by Jonathan Shay. The play combines the stories of many veterans from Dr. Shay's book into a single central character named Achilles to show some of the experiences that lead to trauma, as well as some of the difficulties commonly encountered upon returning to civilian life. A tragedy in theatre is the struggle of a good person faced with a situation that is both destructive and inescapable. The play was performed as a reading at the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies convention in Chicago in 2008, and it was produced through the auspices of the Austin Chapter of the Texas Association of Vietnam Veterans for audiences of veterans, treatment professionals, and the general public in Austin in 2009.
The process of healing from combat trauma requires communalization of the warriors' experiences, and theatre can contribute to that process. The Tragedy of Achilles in Vietnam is a modern example of the use of theatre to create the effect achieved by some of the earliest tragedies, that of helping an audience to share and to appreciate the effects of war on both combatants and non-combatants.
DISCUSSION TO FOLLOW PERFORMANCE
