Bergstrom, Brian. Vietnam War soldier's photo album and scrapbook, 1967-1968
Dates
- Creation: 1967-1968
Extent
From the Collection: 3.5 Linear Feet (7 documents boxes)
Language of Materials
From the Collection: English
General
14.5" x 12.5" photo album and scrapbook of Biran Bergstrom of Los Angeles, a specialist 5th Class with the U.S. Army Transportation Command during the Vietnam War. It appears the album was assembled in 1967-1968 by his wife Billie, to whom he sent black-and-white and color photographs, as well as newspapers which he sometimes annotated.
A portion of the album is dedicated to an official leave Bergstrom received in May 1968 to Hawaii, where he met up with his wife. The scrapbook includes his official leave forms, the rules of the break, and 107 color snapshots the couple took, including images captured during a visit to the Del Monte pineapple fields.
The album includes another 80 color snapshots and an additional 100 black-and-white snapshots of Bergstom's barracks, the camp where he was based, and numerous street scenes and people he encountered in Vietnam. In addition, there are examples of Vietnamese propaganda, along with an official U.S. government pamphlet from January 1968 explaining Tet, the Vietnamese New Year.
Laid into the album are several commendations, including one praising Bergstrom for "the outstanding performance consistently rendered by yourself in assisting this command and those of other organizations in accomplishing the overall mission of the Free World Forces in the Repubic of Vietnam."
Cultural context
Genre / Form
Geographic
Topical
Repository Details
Part of the 01 - Special Collections & Archives, The Claremont Colleges Library Repository
800 North Dartmouth Ave
Claremont CA 91711 United States
Email: specialcollections@claremont.edu