A Learning Experience

Beginning September 2023, each month, in collabration with the City of West Haven, the West Haven Vietnam Veterans will present a poster display at the rear primary entrance of City Hall titled,  A Learning Experience.

” Americans from all walks of life served in Vietnam: people of different racial and ethnic backgrounds, genders, religions, and sexualities. They served in different climates, geographical locations, and occupations. These posters highlight microcosms of the American experience in Vietnam, from women’s military service to specific military specializations. Although their stories may not be as visible in popular narratives of the war, their service was no less significant.”
Source: https://www.vietnamwar50th.com/history_and_legacy/posters/

Launching the “A Learning Experience ” display, the month of September will feature the poster set:

Native Americans in the Vietnam War

September in Connecticut celebrates Native American Day, also known as Indian Day, on the 22nd.

Native Americans served valiantly in the Vietnam War as they have in all of the United States’ conflicts. Many enlisted or accepted induction into the U.S. military out of patriotism and a sense of duty as Americans, others in deference to cultural imperatives based on a warrior ethos and the inspiration of their ancestors, still others to escape the poverty and the lack of opportunities in the cities, small towns, and Indian Reservations where they lived. This two-part poster series explores some of these motivations, and the accomplishments, the stereotypes, the bravery, and the pain that shaped the Native American experience during and after the Vietnam War.

This poster set documents one of Connecticut’s finest, Billy Bob Walkabout, the most decorated Native American during the Vietnam War. Billy Walkabout was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, the Purple Heart, Silver Star, Bronze Star and numerous other awards for Valor. A True American Hero.