Texas Insider Report: AUSTIN, Texas – The Texas Vietnam Heroes Exhibit begins its tour of Texas in August as it leaves the LBJ Presidential Library in Austin to move to the Institute of Texan Cultures in San Antonio, where it will remain through the month of August.
On Tuesday morning, July 30, the exhibit honoring Texans who died while serving in the U.S. Armed Forces during the Vietnam War will be escorted from Austin to San Antonio by the Patriot Guard, Combat Veterans and In-Country Vet motorcycle riders. Police escorts from Austin, and Hays, Comal and Bexar County Sheriffs Departments will accompany the display of 3,417 dog tags and a model of the Texas Capitol Vietnam Veterans Monument to its next location.
The exhibit will open to the public at the Institute of Texan Cultures in Hemisphere Plaza on Saturday, August 3rd at 10:00 a.m. An opening ceremony will include participation by the Fort Sam Houston Memorial Assistance Detachment, Colonel Jay Baker, USAF (Ret), Dr. Charles W. Edwards, Jr., Brigadier General ARNG (Ret) and local elected officials. The event is free and open to the public.
“The Texas Vietnam Heroes Exhibit extends the educational and healing opportunities of the monument,” said Robert Floyd, Chairman of the Texas Capitol Vietnam Veterans Monument Committee. “Taking it across the state allows us to honor Vietnam veterans in communities across Texas, and gives veterans and families the opportunity to honor the Texans who never came home.
“The military bases in San Antonio played a very important role
during the Vietnam War, and the city was second only to Houston in war losses,” Floyd added. “And because the monument, like the Institute of Texan Cultures, pays deliberate tribute to the cultural diversity of Texans, we are excited about this very appropriate venue.”
After its time in San Antonio, the Texas Vietnam Heroes Exhibit will continue to tour Texas. Plans are underway for visits to Lubbock, Houston, Fort Worth and Beaumont. If you would like to help bring the exhibit to your community, please contact Brian@buildthemonument.org.
