Exhibit Marked Historic Anniversary

By Cadet Kyle Reeder '28

Fifty years ago, on April 30, 1975, following the signing of the Paris Peace Accords, the United States initiated the final withdrawal of troops from South Vietnam, signaling the end of the Vietnam War and leading to the fall of Saigon. 

Five decades later, the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets opened a new exhibit on April 1 in the Corps Museum to honor the history, sacrifices, and lasting impacts of the Vietnam War. The exhibit showcased several artifacts and relics from Corps alumnus Maj. Ronald W. Gibbs '66 and his career as an F-4 Phantom pilot in the U.S. Air Force. Gibbs spoke during the opening ceremony and reflected on his time as a Hokie.

“When I came to Virginia Tech in the fall of 1962, I was a member of Band Company,” Gibbs said. “I was told to grab onto my shorts because it was the roughest unit in the Corps. In October 1962 we had the Cuban Missile Crisis, and we were just short of watching a nuclear holocaust. Over the past 24 years, it has been my fortune to speak to the Air Force ROTC cadets about my service in Vietnam.” 

Cadet Brendan Wang, representing the Asian American Cadet Organization, spent over six months since November working with Cmdr. Nate Brown and Capt. Jamie McGrath to assemble and curate the exhibit. 

“Today we honor the service, sacrifices, and resilience of those who lived through one of the most defining moments of our history,” Wang said during the opening ceremony for the exhibit. 

The exhibit offered a look back in time through the eyes of an F-4 Phantom pilot in the Air Force. The artifacts on display included a shadow box of ribbons and medals, a personal diary, maps, flight suits, helmets, radios, newspaper clippings, and more. 

“This is my reel-to-reel tape recorder – the only way the wife and I could communicate,” Gibbs said. “I could only call her twice a month. I had to go to a shack, and everyone in the world could listen in.” 

With excitement, Gibbs pointed to his flight suit and shared stories of patches – and parties. 

“That’s my flight suit, a Nomex flight suit,” Gibbs said. “And this is my party suit, for when we had parties. If someone was going home or someone got promoted, you had a party. We had to dress up and we couldn’t wear flight suits; we wore our party suits. My Yankee Air Pirate patch means that I had a mission in North Vietnam. The 100 Mission patch, that’s because I have 145 combat missions. We had a party for that - of course.” 

The exhibit resonated with the Corps’ new commandant, Maj. Gen. William H. Seely III, who assumed his role as commandant just that morning. Born in Saigon himself, Seely holds a personal and unique connection to the exhibit, and he was eager to share his experiences during the remembrance event. 

“When I left Vietnam, I was four or five years old,” Seely said. “During the war, everybody knew somebody who was drafted, serving, injured, or killed. I had heard all these stories over the years from my father’s friends about their military experiences and it just became the kind of thing I wanted to do,” Seely said. 

“I met some other Vietnamese over the years, and we thought it was important to serve – in the sense that for all the sacrifice America went through, it was important to give back,” Seely said. “It’s about giving back to this country. Freedom is not free, and it comes with high sacrifice.” 

The exhibit wrapped up in May but not before giving visitors time to reflect on the history, sacrifices, and stories of the Vietnam War.