Date of Award

11-21-2024

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

History

First Advisor

Charles Romney

Abstract

The Vietnam War was an inescapable part of life for Americans in the 1960s. This thesis serves to tell the story of one Arkansas boy’s life who serves as a microcosm of the American boys sent overseas to fight in a war that they largely did not understand. The information within the project is drawn from primary source materials collected by the Jacksonville Museum of Military History and the possessions of John Wayne Acosta sent home from Vietnam. Secondary sources serve to complement the class and personal struggles John Wayne had to deal with in volunteering and then re-upping to serve a second more dangerous tour. The collection and display that was ultimately put together serve to tell one boy’s story and honor the stories of many other stories that were unique yet similar.

Included in

History Commons

Share

COinS