GuideStar Silver Transparency Seal, 2023. Please view our Guidestar Profile for the most current financial reports.

The National Vietnam War Museum is an IRS registered 501(c)(3) organization, and all donations may be considered tax deductible. View our IRS Non-Profit Determination letter here: IRS_Determination.pdf

IRS form 990 for FYE 2022 can be found here: 

Why is it important that this museum to be built?

This museum provides an educational venue that presents an unbiased account of the Vietnam Era that will allow visitors to develop their own understanding of one of America's most controversial periods. Accurate answers to this war's questions are important to our society; to help heal the scars that remain and ensure that we learn from our past. This museum will help those who were involved, whether as participants from the five services involved in the war, anti-war activists, family members of those who served, or just observers, to remember, and better understand, the key happenings of those times in order to finally be able to move on.

What makes this museum unique?

This museum isn't a reflective static monument or memorial, but an educational venue designed to cultivate a better understanding of the era and how it affected those that lived through it.

Who is served by the museum?

The museum serves anyone with an interest in American history; anyone who participated in, or was affected by, the Vietnam Era; and anyone who seeks to understand why this short period in our history was so important and so deeply affected our country and the world. It will provide a place where future generations can study this important period in history.

Why so many different displays...
About the opposition to the war... About the people of Vietnam... About their culture?

The displays are designed to show as many aspects of the Vietnam War and the Era as possible. It is important that visitors appreciate not only the military aspects, but how the Vietnamese culture affected the conduct and outcome of the war; how events in the US contributed to the eventual outcome; and how events in Vietnam affected the US throughout the rest of the 20th century--and into the 21st Century."

Why Mineral Wells, Texas?

This site was chosen for the museum because the most visible and remembered symbol of the Vietnam War was the helicopter, and the majority of Vietnam helicopter pilots began their training at Fort Wolters in Mineral Wells, Texas.

The site is also less than an hour's drive from the heart of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, an area with a population of over 4 million people and the home of DFW International Airport with regularly scheduled flights to major cities in the US and worldwide.

Can I donate to the museum?

The museum accepts financial and artifact donations. Click the "Donate Now" button at the top of the page for financial donations. To have an artifact considered for donation into the collection, please click the link below to contact the museum. We are unable to accept any unsolicited artifact donations through the mail.

For answers to your other questions about the museum, please contact the museum.

The National Vietnam War Museum project was formalized in 1998 to develop a national venue that would create an atmosphere of learning about the Vietnam War era, and engage people of all ages, nationalities, and political points of view.

In 1999, the museum was incorporated as a 501(c) (3) corporation in the State of Texas and purchased a 12-acre site in Mineral Wells, Texas, approximately 50 miles west of Fort Worth. In addition to establishing a Board of Directors, the museum established a Board of Visitors, prominent individuals selected to advise the Board of Directors and promote the museum's cause. The museum has also established sponsorship relationships with a number of local and national veterans' organizations to promote the museum to their memberships.

The museum has been designed to tell the unbiased story of the approximately 2.7 million servicemen and women who served there; the civilian contractors who supported their efforts; the Vietnamese people, their culture and history; and those on the home front, both those who supported and those who protested the war.

Mission Statement

To promote an understanding of the Vietnam Era, while honoring those who served.

For many Americans, Vietnamese, and others, the war in Vietnam was the defining event of their lives. It was a conflict that divided families and brought violence both to Vietnam and the United States. Whether in uniform or not, everyone who lived through this period had a Vietnam experience.

Despite its cultural and military importance, after more than 40 years, there is no national venue dedicated to examining the legacy of the Vietnam War. The time has come to examine and understand this most divisive period in our history, to allow for reflection, resolution, and healing.

From whatever vantage point one takes, on whichever side of the issues one stands, America's involvement in the Vietnam War must be seen as one of the most important events in recent history. The goal of The National Vietnam War Museum is to present an unbiased and balanced view of the events and participants of the Vietnam Era, and to allow visitors to form their own opinions based on facts.

The war in Vietnam was one of many flags (above). The National Vietnam War Museum will explore the varied impact on our allies, their peoples and their countries' futures.