New season of Texas Story Podcast explores Texan's experience in Vietnam War through a 50-year-old cassette recording

DECEMBER 11, 2019 (AUSTIN, TX) — The Bullock Texas State History Museum will release the first episode of a new season of its award-winning podcast this Friday, December 13. Vietnam on Tape: A Texas Story Podcast centers around a native Texan veteran who shares his experience after bringing a 50-year-old cassette recording of live combat he captured during the Vietnam War to the Bullock Museum.

Dr. Jim Kearney, a professor at the University of Texas at Austin, approached the Bullock Museum with a cassette tape from his time serving as an Army medic during the Vietnam War. The 19-minute audio, which Dr. Kearney captured by putting a cassette recorder in his helmet, contains an intense recording of a medical evacuation mission. During that mission, his helicopter came under fire, and he was wounded. 

"The fact that the tape even exists at all after Dr. Kearney traveled between military bases and hospitals after the attack is a story in and of itself," said Bullock Museum Senior Digital Producer Evan Windham. "I thought this story was remarkable and I wanted to learn more—ask more questions. Luckily, Dr. Kearney obliged."

Windham conducted a series of interviews with Dr. Kearney, experts, and other veterans that began to reveal the story of his experience in the Vietnam War. As a 1-A-O conscientious objector (CO), Dr. Kearney's experience was unique, as were its reverberations into his modern-day life. Dr. Kearney, and thousands of others with the CO military classification, served without carrying a weapon because of objections to war. 

The season takes listeners on a journey of discovery, beginning with Dr. Kearney's draft notice and decision to become a CO, through training, deployment, and the perilous work of medevac crews during the Vietnam War. In sharing Dr. Kearney's story, Windham uncovers many intersecting narratives that connect past and present, including the unfolding story of a close friendship forged during this remarkable time in American history. Ultimately, the stage is set for a full play-back of the combat recording and a reckoning of how the War has continued to impact so many lives.

"The Bullock Museum is driven by artifacts, like Dr. Kearney's cassette tape, that tell stories that go beyond the objects themselves," said Windham. "We knew this important story went much further than the 19-minute recording, and we're honored to tell it with the new season."

New episodes of Vietnam on Tape: A Texas Story Podcast will be released every Friday from December 13 through January 10, 2020. The podcast is available at TheStoryofTexas.com, iTunes and other major podcast providers. For more information about the Bullock Museum or Vietnam on Tape, visit TheStoryofTexas.com.

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About the first season of the Texas Story Podcast
Season one of the Texas Story Podcast explored the music and legacy of legendary Texas musician Stevie Ray Vaughan. It was released in May and June of 2017 in conjunction with the exhibition Pride & Joy: The Texas Blues of Stevie Ray Vaughan and won Gold in Podcasts at the American Alliance of Museums Media and Technology MUSE Awards in 2018.

 

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​​The Bullock Texas State History Museum, a division of the State Preservation Board and an accredited institution of the American Alliance of Museums, creates experiences that educate, engage, and encourage a deeper understanding of Texas. With dynamic, award-winning exhibitions that illuminate Texas history, people, and culture, educational programming for all ages, and an IMAX® theater with a screen the size of Texas, the Museum collaborates with more than 700 museums, libraries, archives, organizations, and individuals across the world to bring the Story of Texas to life. For more information, visit www.TheStoryofTexas.com or call (866)369-7108.

The Bullock Texas State History Museum is a division of the Texas State Preservation Board. Additional support for educational programming provided by the Texas State History Museum Foundation.