Our Mission
The Vietnam Helicopters Museum is an incorporated nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, founded in December 2011 by two U.S. Army Veterans. Membership in the organization is open to anyone interested in U.S. military Helicopters, Airplanes, and Vehicles. We do emphasize Vietnam War era aircraft and their historic significance in United States military history, but our collection is growing to encompass all U.S. military aircraft, of all branches and eras.
Our specific mission is to…
- Operate restored United States military aircraft that served from the Vietnam War era to present day as a “Thank You” to War Veterans for their service.
- Make these aircraft available for educational events at local high schools and colleges in partnership with Vietnam, Korean, and WWII War Veteran Speakers. We arrive with an historic aircraft full of World War II, Korean, and Vietnam War Veteran passengers who provide a unique, first-person, “living history” education experience for students and faculty alike.
- Perform Therapeutic flights in service of our nations wounded combat Veterans.
- Display and demonstrate the aircraft at Air Shows for public education. The aircraft are manned by volunteer Veteran docents who answer questions about the aircraft and their wartime experiences.
- Provide guided group tour of our aircraft collection for schools, families, and public groups.
- Perform activities in support of other Veteran Service non profits, and local community activities which recognize the contributions and sacrifices of Veterans, and promote patriotism.
We perform these activities throughout the calendar year. Since inception we have flown over 180 events, with over 1,850 Veterans and their family members, displayed at air shows to over 1,110,000 attendees, and helped raise over $100,000 for other Veteran related non profits.
Our organization works in cooperation with the Concord California VA Vet Center providing therapy flights on fully restored aircraft to Vietnam era Veterans and Iraq/Afghanistan Veterans who are receiving counseling services from the Vet Center. Vietnam Helicopters has also provided flights for local 501(c)(3) organizations such as Homes for Ranger Road, Our Troops, Viet Nam Veterans of Diablo Valley, Sentinels of Freedom, AMVETS Post 126, Veterans Memorial Building of San Ramon Valley, John Hallett III Memorial Foundation, the Wheelchair Foundation, the Palo Alto Trauma Center, and Blue Star Mothers. These organizations operated fundraising activities in which we provided a flight as an auction item, at no charge to the organization, with all funds raised going to these non-profits.
In addition, our educational goals include bringing accurately restored Vietnam helicopters to local area High Schools and Colleges in partnership with the Viet Nam Veterans of Diablo Valley Speakers Bureau, offering the public a source of authentic information about America’s longest hot war. The Speakers Bureau is in their 10th year of speaking to students from grammar school to college level and public organizations such as Rotary or Kiwanis. They have spoken to over 80,000 students and adults providing first person “Living History” lessons. These speakers include combat infantrymen, pilots, crew chiefs, sailors, Riverine personnel, nurses and ground support personnel.
Some of our activities are not fundraising related but are in support of other organizations that provide important support services to our nation’s veterans such as our local VA Vet Center, Ranger Road, the Warrior Transition Unit at McClellan Air Base, and The Purple Heart Tour to name a few. During these activities we fly in restored U.S. Military Aircraft with Korean War, Vietnam War, and Iraq/Afghanistan War Veterans on board and provide flights for other veterans during the event. Several of our volunteer War Veterans will act as docents by the aircraft while it is on display, answering questions from the public.
We have displayed historical aircraft for over 1,110,000 visitors since inception at various events, and many visitors show great interest in the historic importance of our aircraft and its role during Vietnam War and subsequent wars and conflicts. In support of our activities, volunteers in our organization have undertaken the following projects:
- Collection of Vietnam War era aircraft, military unit yearbooks, maps, photos, and periodicals for display and educational purposes.
- Locating aircraft of considerable historic military significance and taken steps to protect such aircraft from being destroyed.
- Oversight of this comprehensive website, www.VietnamHelicopters.org, designed to share written information, photos, videos of our activities, our programs, and our aircraft collection with the rest of the world.
- Maintenance of a photo and video library of Vietnam Helicopters Museum activities.
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