Contact: Hope Koseff Corse
Independence Seaport Museum
215-413-8631 (o) 484-431-1506 (c)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
INDEPENDENCE SEAPORT MUSEUM PRESENTS MARKING TIME: VOYAGE TO VIETNAM
New Exhibition Tells the Stories of Young Soldiers Going to War
Philadelphia, PA(August 29, 2014) –Independence Seaport Museumwill debut a new exhibition, Marking Time: Voyage to Vietnam Friday, October 3, 2014. Developed by Art and Lee Beltrone, founders of the Vietnam Graffiti Project,this exhibition presents the stories of young American soldiers and Marinesbound for Vietnam in the late 1960s. The stories are depicted throughmessages and artwork left on troopships’ canvas bunks, capturing the era’s politics, military pride, humor and anti-war sentiments.
The exhibition features bunk canvasses with ties to the PA/NJ/DE regionthat were found in the berthing units of the General Nelson M. Walker, a U.S. Navy Ship that took the U.S. Army’s 4th Infantry Division to Vietnam in 1966.
The Beltrones discovered the canvasses aboard the Walker and created the VGP to preserve them and share them with the public.The artwork represents the emotions and expressions soldiers felt during their voyage to the combat zone aboard the troopship. Included in the exhibit is an introductory film about the Walker and the Vietnam Graffiti Project.
Marking Time: Voyage to Vietnamwill be open through May 26, 2015and is locatedin the Community Gallery on the second floor of the Museum. Access to the exhibition is included with regular Museum admission.
The Seaport Museum will host a preview reception on Thursday, October 2 from 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 pm.
For more information about the exhibit, visit
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About the Vietnam Graffiti Project:
Immediately after co-founder Art Beltrone discovered the artifacts aboard the General Nelson M. Walker, he and his wife and project co-founder, Lee, formedThe Vietnam Graffiti Project (VGP) in 1997. The project registered as a non-profit organization with a mission “…to collect, preserve, and make available for display to the public artifacts from various troop transport ships used during conflicts in which the United States is currently engaged, was engaged in the past, or will be engaged in the future.” The VGP was created to preserve the canvasses that were discovered aboard former troopships and display them in a traveling exhibit. VGP is assisted by the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities of Charlottesville, Virginia. The Beltrones are also the authors of Vietnam Graffiti: Messages from a Forgotten Troopship, a book that combines current and historical photographs of the Walker, along with a gallery of many of the canvases found aboard and includes profiles on troops who left graffiti aboard. The book is available for purchase in the Museum gift shop.
About Independence Seaport Museum
Independence Seaport Museum maintains one of the largest maritime collections in North America, combining more than 25,000 artifacts with hands-on exhibits and large-scale ship models. In addition, the Museum has a traditional wooden boat shop, the J. Welles Henderson Archives and Library and a 530-seat concert hall, home to the Penn’s Landing Playhouse. The Museum also includes two National Historic Landmark ships—the Spanish-American War Cruiser, Olympia, and the World War II Submarine Becuna. Located at Philadelphia’s Penn’s Landing Waterfront, the museum is open daily from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Admission is $13.50 for Adults, $10 for children 3-12 and Seniors, Museum members and children 2 and under are free. Visit for more information.
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