“Who could’ve known that anyone at all
(besides us) would ever follow the story of this
well-used troopship and the souls who rode it to
war, and home. Our scribbles and doodles were
left certainly to mark our passing, our existence,
and with the knowledge that when it turned
around and headed home that even if we never
made the return trip, our mark would.”
—Al Sebaka
Helicopter Pilot and Walker Troop Passenger
Marking Time: Voyage to Vietnam is the Vietnam Graffiti Project’s national touring exhibit, featuring artifacts from the troopship General Nelson M. Walker.
Included in the exhibit is an original eight-person berthing (bunk) unit recovered from the ship. It is outfitted with original bedding and bright, orange-colored life vests found on the Walker when the vessel was scrapped in 2005.
Historic graffiti-inscribed berthing canvases are included for wall display, and personal stories of soldiers and Marines who made voyages from late 1965 to the end of 1967 can be heard at audio stations. Canvases with graffiti representing states where the exhibit appears are used whenever available.
The VGP’s Marking Time: Voyage to Vietnam traveling exhibit opened in 2007 at the United States Navy Memorial, Washington, DC, and has since appeared at venues throughout the nation. Two traveling exhibit units, each featuring an original eight-person berthing (bunk) unit, graffiti-inscribed canvases and artifacts, are currently touring the country.
Albemarle-Charlottesville Historical Society, Charlottesville, VA Atkinson Art Museum, Hampden-Sydney College, Farmville, VA United States Navy Memorial, Washington, DC Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, Charlottesville, VA Virginia Historical Society, Richmond, VA Washington State History Museum, Tacoma, WA Wisconsin Veterans’ Museum, Madison, WI Wisconsin National Guard Museum, Camp Douglas, WI Washington State History Museum, Tacoma, WA
Small artifacts include personal items left behind by soldiers and Marines on their way to Vietnam. Ship safety objects and cleaning supplies are exhibited to interpret the voyage experience.
SCHEDULE
EAST COAST
January 15, 2010-May 31, 2010—Nauticus, Norfolk, VA
WEST COASTJanuary 22-April 24, 2010—Santa Barbara Maritime Museum, Santa Barbara, CA
May 24, 2010-August 29, 2010—Los Angeles Maritime Museum, Los Angeles, CA
Since 2007 MARKING TIME: VOYAGE TO VIETNAM has been hosted by:
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