Cal State Monterey Bay and the Monterey Museum of Art have collaborated on a community-based project featuring the voices and artwork of military veterans.

“Insignias of Fort Ord: Art in Everyday Military Life” opened Feb. 11 at the museum’s Pacific Street location. Professor Enid Baxter Ryce, chair of the university’s Cinematic Arts and Technology Department, created the exhibition in collaboration with the Veterans Transition Center (VTC) of Marina and CSUMBs students to explore the art and symbolism of Fort Ord.

Among the related events is a talk by Dr. Tomás Summers Sandoval on “The Invisible History of the Vietnam War in Mexican America,” to be held at 7 p.m., March 7, in CSUMB’s University Center. The public is invited to this free event.

Dr. Summers Sandoval, an associate professor of history and Chicano/Latino Studies at Pomona College, has led an oral history project that examines the impact of the Vietnam War on Latino communities. He told radio station KQED that the sacrifices of Latino Vietnam War veterans have never been fully measured. “During the war, the military didn’t keep separate data on Latinos. Latinos were not considered their own racial ethnic category; they were just folded into the white population.” At that time, around 10 percent of U.S. residents were Latino but Latinos made up 20 percent of all U.S. troops killed in Vietnam, according to research done at Cal State Los Angeles. That research covered only the first few years of the conflict, he said. He’s going

further, scrutinizing census data and casualty reports to learn the true number of those lost.

It’s estimated that more than 200,000 Mexican Americans fought in the war. For those who returned home, the war altered the course of their lives, reshaping their economic and educational trajectories, as well as their notions of identity, nation and world.

In his talk, Dr. Summers Sandoval will explore the long-term impact of the war on Mexican American communities in the late 20th century.

While the event is free, visitors must purchase a parking permit from a machine on the lot. The University Center is located on Sixth Avenue at B Street. For more information, or to request disability accommodations, call 582-3743.

The event was organized by CSUMB's Division of Humanities and Communication, and is co-sponsored by the Cinematic Arts and Technology Department, the School of World Languages and Cultures, the Office of Inclusive Excellence, the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences and the Columbia University master's program in oral history.

Published Feb. 15, 2016