It’s been 60 years since Bob Schieffer, longtime CBS News correspondent and Fort Worth native, embarked on one of the most meaningful missions of his journalistic career, to bring home the stories of Texan soldiers from the front lines of the Vietnam War. 

Vivid memories remain with Schieffer from his time reporting from the front lines in Vietnam. Those memories come to life in physical form through photographs, letters, and notebooks that he recently donated to The University of Texas at Arlington Libraries’ Special Collections. 

In April 1963, Schieffer joined the Fort Worth Star-Telegram newspaper as a night police and crime reporter. When the Vietnam War began accelerating in 1965, he was determined to convince Star-Telegram editor Jack Butler to send him overseas to cover the war. It wasn’t until Schieffer threatened to resign from the newspaper that Butler agreed to send him to Vietnam in December 1965 as one of the first correspondents from a major Texas newspaper to cover the Vietnam War. 

Before Schieffer left for Vietnam, the Star-Telegram encouraged readers to write to him while he was abroad to help them connect with their loved ones in service and share updates with their families. Ultimately, Schieffer located 235 soldiers deployed from Texas and interviewed dozens of them for the Star-Telegram. He also maneuvered through Vietnam’s dense jungle and foliage alongside notable journalists such as Peter Arnett, Horst Faas, George Esper and Eddie Adams. 

Schieffer’s four months in Vietnam as a war correspondent for the Star-Telegram would be a turning point in his life. He attributes his time there the single most rewarding experience of his journalism career, claiming he has yet to match the thrill he felt upon seeing a young soldier’s face light up when he approached and said, “I’m from the Star-Telegram, and your mom wrote me a letter and asked me to look in on you.” 

The Bob Schieffer Vietnam War Collection provides a glimpse into the experiences of a variety of soldiers serving in Vietnam from late 1965 through early 1966, as the war shifted from a limited advisory effort to a large-scale American ground war. Photographs captured by Schieffer provide compelling insight into the daily lives of soldiers and raw depictions of pivotal military operations in the Vietnam War. The collection is open and accessible to the general public for research. 

“I’ve come to believe that the most valuable gift we can pass on to the next generation is an accurate history,” Schieffer said, commenting on the significance of this donation. “To understand our future, we must learn from our past.” 

As a result of this donation, a new exhibit will open at The University of Texas at Arlington Libraries’ Special Collections in January 2026. The free exhibit, titled “Our Man in Vietnam,” will showcase materials from Schieffer's collection, in addition to the painted portraits Schieffer has created based on the photographs he took of Texas soldiers serving in the war.  

For more information, visit the exhibit’s website. Visit the UTA Libraries Special Collections’ website for more information about the department’s location and hours.