The Texas Vietnam Heroes Exhibit that displays 3,417 dog tags honoring Texans killed and missing in the Vietnam War will be presented to the Museum of the American GI located at 19124 Texas 6 in College Station in a ceremony on Saturday, February 28th at 1:00 p.m. The event will be free and open to the public.
The award-winning Texas Vietnam Heroes Exhibit features personalized dog tags identical to those entombed in the Texas Capitol Vietnam Veterans Monument. It was created by the Texas Capitol Vietnam Veterans Monument Committee through a gift from the Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation, and has been touring the state as part of the monument’s outreach program. The Committee has now agreed to a long-term loan of the exhibit to the American Museum of the GI with the intent of permanent gift.
The presentation of the exhibit will be made by Mr. Don Dorsey of Austin, the monument committee member and Marine Corps Vietnam veteran who made each of the dog tags by hand. The exhibit will arrive under escort by the Patriot Guard and other motorcycle riders who have accompanied it as it has traveled Texas. Since its 2013 debut at the LBJ Library in conjunction with the monument effort, the exhibit has been displayed in San Antonio, Beaumont, Houston, Addison, Corpus Christi, Abilene, Lubbock and Honeygrove.
The Museum of the American G.I will host a temporary preview of the exhibit as part of the ceremony, then store it until its formal opening in May. The museum is a living history museum in College Station dedicated to preserving the equipment, uniforms and memories of all American servicemen and women, and to bringing military history to life through collections and programs honoring them. Included in its impressive collection of military equipment and vehicles are a Vietnam-era Cobra helicopter and river patrol boat. The Texas Vietnam Heroes Exhibit will be the centerpiece of the museum’s reflection area.
“We are honored to have the opportunity to make this moving tribute available to the public so that people can appreciate the magnitude of sacrifice made by Texans in Vietnam,” said Leisha Mullins, museum director.
