The Vietnam War Commemoration Oral History Project

In 2013, work began on the Vietnam War Commemoration Oral History Project, an ambitious effort to collect video-recorded oral history interviews of Vietnam War veterans. The goal of the project, organized by the U.S. Department of Defense and its 50th Commemoration program, is to capture interviews with veterans of all ranks and military services to reflect the full breadth of the Vietnam War.

The principal interviewer is Vietnam War correspondent Joseph Galloway, author of "We Were Soldiers Once...and Young" and recipient of the Bronze Star. Since the project began, Galloway and members of the Oral History team have conducted more than 230 interviews across the nation. The LBJ Presidential Library is honored to present, for the first time, videotaped interviews with five of the Vietnam War Oral History subjects. They have been edited for length. The full versions of all the interviews will be archived at the Library of Congress.


Captain Donna Rowe, USA (Army Nurse Corps)


Tour of Duty: 369 days
(1968-1969)
Head Nurse - Emergency Room/Triage Unit at Third Field Hospital, Saigon
Watch on YouTube

Major Joseph Crecca, USAF


Flew 87 Missions in 92 days
Crecca was shot down on Nov. 22, 1966 and was held as a prisoner of war for six years.
Released: Feb. 18, 1973
Watch on YouTube

Chief Warrant Officer 2 Mel Sheldon, USA


Helicopter Pilot
Charlie Troop, 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry 1st Cavalry Division, Phuoc Vinh
Watch on YouTube

Brigadier General J. Timothy Boddie, USAF


Tour of Duty: 1966-1967
Flew 201 F-4 Combat Missions
Recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross
Watch on YouTube

Major Jose J. Anzaldua, Jr., USMC


Prisoner of War
Captured: Jan. 23, 1970
Released: March 27, 1973
Watch on YouTube

LBJ Presidential Library