Title: Dennis Boyer Papers and Photographs
Inclusive Dates: 1964-1977

Creator:

• Boyer, Dennis

Call Number: WVM Mss 57

Quantity: 1.4 linear ft. (3 archives boxes, 12 oversized folders, 6 computer disks) of papers, 0.2 linear ft. (1 folder and 67 negative flaps) of photographs, 1 videocassette, and 2 video discs.

Repository:

Wisconsin Veterans Museum
Have questions? Contact our Reference Archivist

Archival Locations:

Wisconsin Veterans Museum (Map)

See the catalog entry for current shelf locations and additions.

Abstract:

Papers and negatives of Dennis L. Boyer, a weather observer in the Air Force during the Vietnam War. The majority of the collection consists of literature, flyers, and posters relating to anti-war organizations in the early 1970's, particularly the Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW). These materials give an idea of the aims and scope of such organizations. Also documented are several anti-war trials, including the Gainesville Conspiracy. Correspondence, mostly letters written to Boyer during his Air Force service, describe events on the home front. Boyer's letters to his parents, and especially to his friend Peter, describe his time in Vietnam and his growing discontent with the conflict. The collection also contains negatives of photographs that Boyer took while in Vietnam. Most of the shots are of landscapes and buildings, but some show unidentified US military personnel.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.wvm-mss00057

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Dennis L. Boyer was born on July 13, 1949 in Allentown, Pennsylvania. He attended local schools and enlisted in the Air Force upon graduating from high school in 1967. He received some initial training at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas before taking specialized courses at Chanute Air Force Base in Illinois. He specialized in weather observation, and served a tour of duty in Vietnam from July 1970 through June 1971. Shortly after returning to the U.S. Boyer received his discharge and returned to Pennsylvania.

Boyer enrolled in a local university and became very involved in the anti-war movement. He joined Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW). He stayed very involved with VVAW for several years and climbed the ranks on a local level. He eventually moved to Wisconsin, settled in Dodgeville, and became a labor activist. He has written several books about Wisconsin folklore.

The papers of Dennis L. Boyer are divided into three series: Activism, Military, and Photographs.

Activism (1971-1977) documents Boyer's interest and participation in many activist groups during the 1970's, particularly anti-war organizations. It contains flyers, literature, and posters from numerous anti-war organizations including Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW). National Steering Committee proceedings describe the goals and activities of the VVAW in 1973-1974, while chapter lists and regional and state coordinator rosters, newspaper clippings, and an objectives sheet give an idea of the breadth of the organization. Other materials describe VVAW protests and events at Valley Forge and Washington, DC. Several protest-related court cases are represented in the collection including the Gainesville and Riverside Conspiracies and the Karl Armstrong and Patrick Chenoweth cases. Attempts to gain amnesty for protesters and better benefits for veterans are shown in the National Council for Universal and Unconditional Amnesty and Veterans Bonus Coalition materials. Two CD-ROMs contain declassified FBI files on the VVAW and affiliated groups. Also included are materials related to Vietnam War-themed art and literature: a comic book, "The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers," which portrays the protest culture of the 1970's, a poem about the fighting by Shunka Monitu of Laos, and bibliographies of Vietnam War non-fiction and fiction books, which includes a video lecture by MSgt. Robert Need.

Military (1964-1975) consists mostly of photocopied letters Boyer received from his friends during his service with the Air Force in the Vietnam War. Most of the letters contain news from home and ask about his experiences. Many letters are from high school friends and contain some commentary on the pros and cons of the war. The letters from Peter Himmelberger in particular are critical of the war and governmental policies. Boyer's letters to his parents, sister Susan, and to Peter (a friend whose last name is not referred to) describe his stateside training with the Air Force, his time in Vietnam, and his growing discontent with the war. Personal service records include correspondence from Boyer's recruitment to discharge, letters of recommendation from commanding officers, and exams and evaluations, including one for premarksmanship with an M-16. Further correspondence from World War II, presumably from relatives or friends of Dennis Boyer, is included. Also included are a 1967 Christmas menu from Vietnam, Air Force posters and a Vietnamese calendar page.

Still Images (1970-1971) consist mostly of negatives, presumably taken by Boyer during his tour in Vietnam, and some slides. Most of the shots are scenery, showing buildings, natives, and landscapes. Some of the negatives include people, often in military uniform, but they are unidentified. Also included are four color slides, presumably from a sightseeing trip taken by Boyer during the war.

Acquisition Information

Presented by Dennis Boyer, Dodgeville, WI, 1994-2002. Accession Number: TR0159, TR0172, TR0234, TR0269, TR0581, TR0594, Mss 2002.31, and Mss 2009.014. The collection was previously known as Accession Number: Record Group 57.

Processing Information

This collection was organized as a result of the National Historic Publications and Records Commission project grant (2003-075).

Preliminary inventory by Mark Van Ells, circa 1995. Processed by Russell Horton in 2004. Processed with additions by Duane Rodel in 2012.

	Series: Vietnam Activism
Box   1 Folder   1	Subseries: Activist Organizations/Causes, 1973-1974
Box   1 Folder   2	American Friends Service Committee, 1972-1975
Box   1 Folder   3	American Serviceman's Union, undated
	Art & Literature
Box   1 Folder   6	“Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers” comic book, undated
Box   3 Folder   13	Poem by Shunka Monitu
Box   3 Folder   14	Bibliographies & Articles
DVD User   1 Folder   4	The Literature Of Viet Nam , circa 1995
Box   1 Folder   4	Karl Armstrong case, circa 1973
Box   1 Folder   5	Patrick Chenoweth Defense Committee, 1973
Box   1 Folder   7	Democratic Socialist Organizing Committee, 1976
	Gainesville Conspiracy
Box   1 Folder   8	Correspondence, 1972-1973
Box   1 Folder   9	Ephemera, circa 1973
Box   1 Folder   10	Literature, 1973
Box   1 Folder   11	Newspaper clippings, 1973
Ov   11 Folder   8	Poster, undated
Box   1 Folder   12	Indochina Peace Campaign, 1974
	National Action/Research on the Military Industrial Complex
Box   1 Folder   13	“Aid to Thieu,” 1972
Box   1 Folder   14	Literature, 1971-1973
Box   1 Folder   15	National Committee to Free Bobby Williams, Brochure, undated
Box   1 Folder   16	National Council for Universal and Unconditional Amnesty, 1977
Box   1 Folder   17	National Peace Action Coalition, undated
Box   1 Folder   18	People's Coalition for Peace and Justice, Flyer, undated
	Personal items
Box   1 Folder   19	Checkbook, 1971
Box   1 Folder   20	Daily planner, 1972
	Posters (general activism)
Ov   14 Folder   8-9	Large, 1971, undated
Ov   11 Folder   7	Larger, undated
Ov   12 Folder   3	Largest, undated
	Riverside Political Prisoners Defense Committee
Box   1 Folder   21	Literature, circa 1971
Box   1 Folder   22	Newsletters, circa 1971
Ov   15 Folder   8	Newspapers, 1974
Box   1 Folder   23	U.S. Committee to Aid the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam, Literature, 1972
	Veterans Bonus Coalition
Box   1 Folder   24	Correspondence, 1973
Box   1 Folder   25	Newspaper clippings, 1973
Box   1 Folder   26	PAVE veterans lists, 1971-1972
Ov   11 Folder   9	Veterans Rights, Poster, undated
Box   1 Folder   27	Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW), 1974-1975
Box   1 Folder   28	“Alternative,” undated
Box   1 Folder   29	Chapter lists, 1973-1974
CD User   1 Folder   2-3	F.B.I. files on V.V.A.W.
Box   2 Folder   1	Flyers, 1971-1975
Box   2 Folder   2	Guidelines for organizing and operating chapters, undated
Box   2 Folder   3	Lehigh Valley (PA) Chapter, 1971-1973
Box   2 Folder   4	Flyers, undated
Box   2 Folder   5-6	National Steering Committee, Proceedings, 1973-1974
Box   2 Folder   7	Newspaper clippings, 1971-1973
Box   2 Folder   8	Objectives, undated
Box   2 Folder   9	Operation County Fair, 1973-1974
Box   2 Folder   10	Papers/Reports, 1973-1974
Ov   14 Folder   10	Posters, 1971, undated
Ov   11 Folder   10	Oversized, undated
Box   2 Folder   11	Regional and State Coordinators list, undated
Box   2 Folder   12	Valley Forge, 1971
Box   2 Folder   13	Washington, DC demonstration, 1974
Box   2 Folder   14	“We Accuse,” 1971
	Series: Military	⇧
	Subseries: Correspondence (photocopied)
	From Dennis Boyer
Box   2 Folder   15-16	To Parents, 1967-1971
Box   2 Folder   17	To Peter [?], 1970-1971
Box   3 Folder   12	To Susan (sister), 1967-1968
Box   3 Folder   7	To Dennis Boyer, 1964-1975
Box   2 Folder   18	From Val Bertoia, 1969-1971
Box   2 Folder   19	From Steven Boyer (cousin), 1967-1970
Box   2 Folder   20	From Richard Brand, 1967-1970
Box   2 Folder   21	From Carl Brensinger, 1967-1970
Box   2 Folder   22	From Ed Greiss, 1968
Box   2 Folder   23	From William Haines, 1967-1968
Box   2 Folder   24	From Peter Himmelberger, 1967-1970
Box   3 Folder   1	From Norm Hoffman, 1966-1970
Box   3 Folder   2	From Larry Melcher, 1968
Box   3 Folder   3	From Robert Minner, 1968
Box   3 Folder   4	From Clinton Moyer, 1967-1968
Box   3 Folder   5	From Bryon Oswald, 1966-1968
Box   3 Folder   6	From John Worbetz, 1968-1969
	World War II
Box   3 Folder   15	Army Postcards
Box   3 Folder   16	To Grace (Mrs. Walter) Choyce
Box   3 Folder   17	V-Mails
Box   3 Folder   8	Personal service records, 1967-1971
Box   3 Folder   9	Cards/certificates, 1967-1970
Box   3 Folder   10	Christmas menu (Vietnam), 1967
Box   3 Folder   11	Exam, Premarksmanship for M-16, undated
	Subseries: Posters	⇧
Ov   11 Folder   11	Air Force
Ov   11 Folder   12	Vietnamese calendar page, 1971
Ov   26 Folder   18	Weather map of the Soviet Union, undated
	Series: Still Images	⇧
Paper Print Box   4 Folder   28	Vietnam, undated
Paper Print Box   4 Folder   29	DaNang & Saigon, 1971
Paper Print Box   4 Folder   30	DaNang & China Beach, 1971
Paper Print Box   4 Folder   31	Long Binh, 1970
Paper Print Box   4 Folder   32	Saigon, 1970
Paper Print Box   4 Folder   33	Bearcat & Long Thanh, 1971
Paper Print Box   4 Folder   34	River, Combined Intelligence Center, Vietnam, 1970
Paper Print Box   4 Folder   35	Temple, Bob Spivey's visit, 1970
Paper Print Box   4 Folder   36	Tan Son Nhut Air Base, 1970
Paper Print Box   4 Folder   37	Zoo & helicoptor flight, 1970
PhN   3 Folder   4	Tan Son Hoa, 1971
	Temples
Paper Print Box   4 Folder   38	Chantabury & Congly, 1971
Paper Print Box   4 Folder   39	Cholon, 1971
PhN   3 Folder   5	Vung Tau Trip, 1971
Paper Print Box   4 Folder   40	Slides [4]