MOONSTRUCK IN VIETNAM: July 20, 1969 Fifty years ago the entire world held its collective breath as earthmen took their first tentative steps on another world. American service personnel stationed all over the globe were no exception, many listening-in live via Armed Forces Radio. This included one particularly reflective 21-year-old serving overnight guard duty atop 15 Alpha, Binh Thuy, Republic of South Vietnam. [on the cover]

PSYCHIATRIC BREAKDOWN AT WEST LA VA: Investigative reporter Paul Rogers previously penned an optimistic report on progress at the troubled facility. But in this issue he discusses alarming reports about problems in its psychiatric services division.

AN UNEASY FEELING: The Smithsonian’s Big Vietnam War Art Exhibit. Arts Editor Marc Leepson gives his reaction to Artists Respond: American Art and the Vietnam War, an unprecedented exhibit of works from the Vietnam War years.

THE SISTER WALL: The Missouri National Veterans Memorial. The determination and generosity of one combat medic and his wife sewed the seeds that eventually sprouted an exact replica of The Wall in America’s heartland.

NAVIGATING THE VA WIDOW’S BENEFITS MAZE: Claudia Gary presents a guide of the benefits available to the widows of veterans. In a companion piece the former director of VVA Veterans Benefits discusses the benefits available to children with disabilities attributable a parent’s military service.

Meet the 2019 VVA Convention Awardees

PROJECT WELCOME HOME: B-52 Memorial Dedication in Seattle. Photographer Skip Nelson takes us to the dedication of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial at Seattle’s Museum of Flight, whose centerpiece is a Boeing B-52 Stratofortress.

COMMENDATION SINCE PALM SPRINGS:
We celebrate those who have received VVA’s Commendation Medal, the organization’s highest award, in the year since VVA’s Leadership & Education Conference in Palm Springs.