Monetary Donations to the Center and Archive

Vietnam Center Scholarships

The Lee Roy Herron Scholarship

The Vietnam Center is honored to administer a scholarship named in honor of Lubbock native and Texas Tech University graduate 1st Lieutenant Lee Roy Herron, USMC (deceased). The scholarship was raised by his many classmates from Lubbock High School's class of 1963, spearheaded by Mr. David Nelson, who now resides in Houston.

In 1968, Lieutenant Herron was assigned as Executive Officer, Company A, 1st Battalion, 9th Marines. During a patrol in the A Shau Valley on February 22, 1969, the lead elements of Lieutenant Herron's company were attacked by a North Vietnamese Army contingent positioned in hardened bunkers and supported by machine-gun fire.

As the company commander, then 1st Lieutenant Wesley Fox was deploying the company's 2nd platoon, mortar rounds injured everyone in the command group except for 1st Lieutenant Herron. He took command of 2nd Platoon and led it in an attack on the machine-gun positions. Exposing himself to enemy fire, Lieutenant Herron directed artillery to strike at the bunkers. While leading the attack, Lieutenant Herron was killed by sniper fire. For his bravery, he was awarded a Navy Cross posthumously.

The Lee Roy Herron Scholarship is intended to assist students who are studying the Vietnam War to actually travel to Vietnam. The first recipient, Ms. Jenny Board, who was then completing a Master's thesis comparing the US POW experience in Vietnam and Korea, traveled to Vietnam and Cambodia with a Texas Tech University delegation in July 2002, and, among other things, visited the infamous Hoa Lo ("Hanoi Hilton") Prison in Hanoi.

Lee Roy Herron Scholarship Application Criteria and Procedures

Scholarships in Vietnam and Cambodia

Texas Tech seeks to encourage and assist young Vietnamese and Cambodian students to continue their education at universities in their own countries. To achieve this, the Vietnam Center awards several scholarships derived from private donations, foundation grants and a small private endowment. In every case, the Vietnam Center's criteria for award of scholarships are simple: the recipients must show academic promise and have pressing financial need. The scholarships are small in terms of US dollars, but represent major assistance to needy students in the two Southeast Asia countries. Our generous donors have aided 300 Vietnamese students with awards of $100 each. This deceptively small sum provides a year's tuition for students in Vietnam.

Thanks to private donations, the Vietnam Center awards four-year scholarships of $125 per year at the Royal University of Phnom Phenh. For most aspiring students from the countryside, the cost of subsisting in Phnom Penh is prohibitive. The goal of these scholarships is to provide financial support for students from the outlying provinces. The money is awarded in annual allotments, with subsequent awards dependent upon a report from the vice rector of the Royal University of Phnom Penh that the recipients are making satisfactory progress.

The Westmoreland Scholarship Fund

Provides $100 scholarships for Vietnamese medical students. This scholarship is very much like the Vietnamese Student Scholarship above, but is specifically for medical students at the Can Tho University School of Medicine, Pharmacy, Dentistry, and Nursing.

For more information on these scholarships, contact the Vietnam Center and Archive.

Donating Online

• Lee Roy Herron Memorial Scholarship Endowment
• Vietnam Center and Archive Fund for Excellence

Bequests to The Vietnam Center and Sam Johnson Vietnam Archive

• Bequest Language from the TTU Office of Planned Giving