Vietnam War Course Saved
Bruce O. Solheim, an Army veteran and a history professor at Citrus College in California, has taught the history of the war on the collegiate level for fourteen years. His latest book, The Vietnam War Era: A Personal Journey , provides an excellent summary of the history of the war with enlightening sidebars on many people who were involved in it, as well as the personal story of his older brother’s Vietnam War experiences and his two post-Vietnam War Army tours of duty.
Solheim also serves as the Volunteer Veterans Coordinator at Citrus College, where he runs the Boots to Books class, which, he says, is aimed at “engaging and healing” young, returning veterans.
Solheim recently won a battle against that institution’s administration, which was about to drop its Vietnam War and World War II history courses. When word got out about the proposed course cuts, Solheim went into action. He made a strong pitch that both popular courses were important to the school’s Veterans Program, in that they went a long way toward helping returning veterans enrolled in the courses understand their wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and they also helped older veterans who take part in the courses by coming in and sharing their oral histories.
Bruce Solheim says he hopes that the victory to keep the Vietnam War and WWII history classes at Citrus College will encourage professors at other colleges and universities who may be facing similar cuts.
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