In 2011, historian James Smither first attended a meeting of the Fire Support Base Ripcord Association. He’s been back every year since, and has now interviewed more than 100 veterans of the last major battle the U.S. Army experienced during the Vietnam War. In these interviews, he has heard stories... read more →

Admission will be free for all military veterans and active duty personnel on Wednesday, March 29, at the South Confederate Relic Room and Military Museum, in observance of National Vietnam War Veterans Day. This is fitting, because Congress established this special annual day for Vietnam veterans for some of the... read more →

EDITOR’S NOTE: This site is dedicated to the Relic Room’s Vietnam exhibit, but when you come to see that, we urge you to check out the rest of the museum, which celebrates South Carolina’s entire military history. That includes attending some of our free lectures, such as this upcoming one.... read more →

EDITOR’S NOTE: This site is dedicated to the Relic Room’s Vietnam exhibit, but when you come to see that, we urge you to check out the rest of the museum, which celebrates South Carolina’s entire military history. When you do, please ask to see the display honoring South Carolina’s own... read more →

As visitors approach the entrance of the South Carolina Confederate Relic Room and Military Museum, the first thing they see is a huge diorama of Fire Support Base Ripcord, depicting in meticulous detail the site of the very last major battle the U.S. Army experienced during the Vietnam War. Craig... read more →

These next few days on the calendar are fateful ones for anyone who contemplates the history of America’s involvement in Southeast Asia. At the end of January, 55 years ago, our forces experienced the biggest shock of the Vietnam War. On the 30th and 31st of the month, the North... read more →

The long-neglected story of South Carolinians who fought in Vietnam is about to be told, as it’s never been told before. On Veterans Day – Friday, Nov. 11, 2022 – the South Carolina Confederate Relic Room and Military Museum will proudly present our exhibit that's been years in the making.... read more →

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The “troubled Vietnam veteran” became a trope of television in the late 1970s. These guys had been through the wringer, and many came home with something called “post-traumatic stress disorder.” Of course, many of their fathers had experienced “combat fatigue” in Europe and the Pacific, and some... read more →

COLUMBIA, S.C. – For Glen Inabinet, serving as a soldier in Vietnam, 1969-70, was just one new experience after another – experiences for which he had not been trained. He had trained as an artilleryman. After he arrived in IV Corps, in the Mekong Delta south of Saigon, he did... read more →

One of the things America has done particularly well through its history is turn civilians into soldiers. In World War II, for instance, the U.S. Army went from fewer than 188,000 active-duty members to 8.3 million soldiers who swept victoriously across battlefields around the globe. Vietnam would be a different... read more →