Texas Tech University

Richard A. Patterson Collection (3483) Finding Aid

Collection Item Number: 34830000000
Collection
Richard A. Patterson Collection
Title
Richard A. Patterson Collection (3483) Finding Aid
Finding Aid Date
2024-05-09
Linear Feet
7.5
Language(s)
English Vietnamese
Dates
Creation: Majority of material found within 1966-1969, 2004-2013
Scope and Contents
The collection consists of approximately 7.5 linear feet of materials documenting Specialist 5 Richard Allen Patterson's U.S. Army service as a public information officer with the 3rd Battalion, 13th Artillery, 25th Infantry Division in Vietnam. The materials include audio tapes; artifacts; correspondence; periodicals; articles and clippings (including drafts, many written by SP5 Patterson for Tropic Lightning News and other publications); handbooks; newsletters; photographs and images; slides; a short timer calendar; military orders; sketches; combat art booklets; award citations and certificates; year books; newspapers; propaganda leaflets; VA records; photograph data sheets; a notebook; and ephemera. The materials are dated predominately 1966-1969 and 2004-2013.
Biographical / Historical
Specialist 5 Richard Allen Patterson was born March 25, 1948 in Highland Lakes, NJ. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1966. He served as a public information officer with the 3rd Battalion, 13th Artillery, 25th Infantry Division in Vietnam. He received the Army Commendation Medal in 1967 for aiding the medic in treating and moving the wounded to safety following a Viet Cong artillery attack.

Following his Vietnam service, SP5 Patterson attended Fairleigh Dickinson University, where he graduated with an English degree. He then began a career as an archaeologist, which he enjoyed for decades. He died January 20, 2024.
1
Newsletters
Agent Orange Review: 2006: July
Click to view all Newsletters
15
Museum Objects
3483museum6904 - Shrapnel (2 fragments)

3483museum6905 - Helmet

3483museum6906 - Belt

3483museum6907 - Ammunition Box

3483museum6908 - 1 Dong coin

3483museum6909 - 1 Dong coin

3483museum6910 - 5 Dong coin

3483museum6911 - 5 Dong coin

3483museum6912 - 10 Dong coin

3483museum6913 - 10 Dong coin

3483museum6914 - Military Payment Certificate - 5 Cents

3483museum6915 - Military Payment Certificate - 10 Cents

3483museum6916 - Correspondent Bag

3483museum6917 - Vietnam Service Medal with Ribbon Bar

3483museum6918 - National Defense Service Medal with Ribbon Bar
Click to view all Museum Objects
22
Serials
Tropic Lightning Ambush: 1966: December; 1967: January, February, March, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December; 1968: January, February, March, April, May, June, July

Thunder!: 1968: Winter

Army Digest: 1969: February

VFW: 2008: April
Click to view all Serials
46
Audio
3483AU4563 - 3 inch reel - Audio Letter From Richard Blair Patterson to his son Richard Allen Patterson

3483AU4564 - 3 inch reel - Audio Letter From Richard Blair Patterson to his son Richard Allen Patterson

3483AU4565 - 3 inch reel - Audio Letter From Richard Blair Patterson to his son Richard Allen Patterson

3483AU4566 - 3 inch reel - Audio Letter From Richard Blair Patterson to his son Richard Allen Patterson

3483AU4567 - 3 inch reel - Audio Letter From Richard Blair Patterson to his son Richard Allen Patterson

3483AU4568 - 3 inch reel - Audio Letter From Richard Blair Patterson to his son Richard Allen Patterson

3483AU4569 - 3 inch reel - Audio Letter From Richard Blair Patterson to his son Richard Allen Patterson

3483AU4570 - 3 inch reel - Audio Letter From Richard Blair Patterson to his son Richard Allen Patterson

3483AU4571 - 3 inch reel - Audio Letter From Richard Blair Patterson to his son Richard Allen Patterson

3483AU4572 - 3 inch reel - Audio Letter From Richard Blair Patterson to his son Richard Allen Patterson

3483AU4573 - 3 inch reel - Audio Letter From Richard Blair Patterson to his son Richard Allen Patterson

3483AU4574 - 3 inch reel - Audio Letter From Richard Allen Patterson to his father Richard Blair Patterson

3483AU4575 - 3 inch reel - Audio Letter From Richard Allen Patterson to his father Richard Blair Patterson

3483AU4576 - 3 inch reel - Audio Letter From Richard Allen Patterson to his father Richard Blair Patterson

3483AU4577 - 3 inch reel - Audio Letter From Richard Allen Patterson to his father Richard Blair Patterson

3483AU4578 - 3 inch reel - Audio Letter From Richard Allen Patterson to his father Richard Blair Patterson

3483AU4579 - 3 inch reel - Audio Letter From Richard Allen Patterson to his father Richard Blair Patterson

3483AU4580 - 3 inch reel - Audio Letter From Richard Allen Patterson to his father Richard Blair Patterson

3483AU4581 - 3 inch reel - Audio Letter From Richard Allen Patterson to his father Richard Blair Patterson

3483AU4582 - 3 inch reel - Audio Letter From Richard Allen Patterson to his father Richard Blair Patterson

3483AU4583 - 3 inch reel - Audio Letter From Richard Allen Patterson to his father Richard Blair Patterson

3483AU4584 - 3 inch reel - Audio Letter From Roy Perrin to R.A. Patterson

3483AU4585 - 3 inch reel - Audio Letter From Roy Perrin to R.A. Patterson

3483AU4586 - 3 inch reel - Audio Letter From Roy Perrin to R.A. Patterson

3483AU4587 - 3 inch reel - Audio Letter From Roy Perrin to R.A. Patterson

3483AU4588 - 3 inch reel - Audio Letter From Richard Allen Patterson to his father Richard Blair Patterson

3483AU4589 - 3 inch reel - R.A. Patterson

3483AU4590 - 3 inch reel - R.A. Patterson

3483AU4591 - 3 inch reel - Medevac

3483AU4592 - 3 inch reel - 12th Evac Capt. D. Zueke Tape 1

3483AU4593 - 3 inch reel - 12th Evac Capt. D. Zueke Tape 2

3483AU4594 - 3 inch reel - 12th Evac Capt. D. Zueke Tape 3

3483AU4595 - 3 inch reel - North to Alaska and Others

3483AU4596 - 3 inch reel - Ricky's 2nd Tape

3483AU4597 - 3 inch reel - To Ricky from Lynn

3483AU4598 - 3 inch reel - Unidentified

3483AU4599 - 3 inch reel - Unidentified

3483AU4600 - 3 inch reel - Unidentified

3483AU4601 - 3 inch reel - Unidentified

3483AU4602 - 3 inch reel - Unidentified

3483AU4603 - 3 inch reel - Unidentified

3483AU4604 - 3 inch reel - Unidentified

3483AU4605 - 3 inch reel - Unidentified

3483AU4606 - 3 inch reel - Retreat by Band at Cu Chi

3483AU4607 - 3 inch reel - Unidentified

3483AU4608 - 3 inch reel - Unidentified
Click to view all Audio
77
Newspapers
Tropic Lightning News: 1967: April 3, June 12, June 19, June 26, July 3, July 10, July 17, July 24, July 31, August 7, August 21, September 11, September 18, October 2 (2 copies), October 9, November 6, November 13, November 20, November 27, December 4, December 11 (2 copies), December 18, December 25; 1968: January 1, January 8, January 15, January 22 (2 copies), February 5, February 12 (2 copies), February 19, February 26, March 11, March 18, March 25, April 1, April 8, April 15 (2 copies), April 22, April 29 (2 copies), May 6, May 13, July 1, July 8, July 22, September 9 (2 copies), September 23, September 30, October 7 (2 copies), October 14, October 21 (2 copies); 1969: February 10

Monday A.M.: 1971: September 13 (2 copies), September 27, October 1, October 11, October 18, November 1, November 15, December 6, December 13

The Army Reporter: 1968: May 4

Pacific Stars and Stripes: 1967: August 6, Summer/Fall; 1968: January 4, May 12, May 13, May 14
Click to view all Newspapers
324
Slides
Suoi Cat; armored personnel carriers; medics; helicopters and other aircraft; Ben Cui; Dau Tieng
Click to view all Slides
1306
Photographs
13 photographs - helicopter landing troops; soldiers (examining aircraft, on the radio, being transported, arriving back from mission); briefings; artillery; construction; b&w; 8 x 10 inches, 5 x 8 inches

11 photographs - scenes from the Battle of Suoi Cat: corpses; soldiers (in the field); General Westmoreland being briefed by Colonel Albright and others; tanks; bunkers; captured weapons; b&w; 5 x 8 inches

8 photographs - a damaged tank; landscapes; army nurse 1st Lt. Linda M. DiFazio (12th Evacuation Hospital, Cu Chi); mine sweeper PFC Codell Crockette Jr. (D Company, 588th Combat Engineer Battalion); Nurse Kearney; soldiers; b&w; 8 x 10 inches, 5 x 8 inches

3 photographs - soldiers observing religious service; soldier crossing river; SP5 William C. Simpson (medic with HHC 2/12, 3rd Brigade, 25th Infantry Division) shares his soda with a Vietnamese child; b&w; 5 x 7 inches

4 photographs - C Battery, 3rd Battalion, 13th Artillery disposing of ordnance; artillery damage; tanks; mobile bunker constructed by B Battery, 3rd Battalion, 13th Artillery; b&w; 5 x 7 inches

1 photograph - Rick Patterson wearing gas mask and holding broom; color; 3 x 4.5 inches

45 photographs - 25th Infantry Division Replacement Training School; award ceremonies; mine sweeping; treating and transporting wounded; fires; artillery; local civilians, including children (being relocated); search and destroy operations; rice paddies; helicopters and other aircraft (Cayuse); Firebase Mahon; soldiers (crossing a river, being transported, in the field, African Americans); captured weapons; MEDCAP; Nui Ba Dinh; tunnels; Bob Hope USO show; war damage; ARVN; scout dogs; Operation Toan Thang; armored personnel carriers; Dau Tieng; corpses; b&w; 5 x 8 inches, 8 x 10 inches

72 photographs - debris; war damage; artillery; Trung Lap; tanks; sandbags; Hoc Mon; villages; local civilians (including children); treating wounded; MEDCAP; helicopters and other aircraft (transporting vehicles/troops, convoys, firing missiles, dropping bombs, gunners, F-100 Supersabre); aerial views; mine and booby trap sweeping; soldiers (African Americans, examining battle plans, on the radio, loading supplies, target practice); rivers; boats; newspaper headlines; base scenes; 7th Surgical Hospital; nurses; briefings; b&w; 5 x 8 inches, 8 x 10 inches

12 photographs - military ceremonies; soldiers (in formation, in the field, portraits); construction; Bob Hope USO show; briefings; b&w; 8 x 10 inches

24 photographs - air assault; helicopters (loading/offloading troops, convoys, Huey); C Company, 3rd Battalion, 22nd Infantry; 25th Aviation Battalion; C Company, 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry; Operation Toan Thang; soldiers (African Americans); medics transporting wounded; dustoff; Operation Diamondhead; aerial views; armored personnel carriers; b&w; 5 x 8 inches, 8 x 10 inches

27 photographs - ordnance; army nurse 1st Lt. Linda M. DiFazio (12th Evacuation Hospital, Cu Chi); mine sweeper PFC Codell Crockette Jr. (D Company, 588th Combat Engineer Battalion); tanks; b&w; 5 x 7 inches

8 photographs - Phu Hoa Dong; tanks; Viet Cong tunnels; mobile bunker; Operation Barking Sands; b&w; 4 x 5 inches, 5 x 7 inches

11 photographs - Trung Lap; flares; setting explosives; award ceremony; tanks; helicopters (transporting equipment); b&w; 5 x 7 inches, 8 x 10 inches

36 photographs - explosions; MEDCAP; soldiers (African Americans, helping civilians, on patrol, on the radio, crossing a river, reading, eating local food); local civilians (including children); helicopters (convoys, landing troops); cordon and search/destroy operations; Loc Du (Trang Bang District); Combined Reconnaissance Intelligence Platoon, 1st Brigade; Bob Hope USO Show; bridges; religious services; Viet Cong tunnels; Tay Ninh Province; orphange; ARVN; Operation Quyet Thang; local police; relief supplies; rice paddies; examining and transporting wounded; military police; b&w, color; 5 x 7 inches, 8 x 10 inches

6 photographs - soldiers (in the field, African Americans); MEDCAP; A Company, 1st Battalion (Mechanized), 5th Infantry, 25th Infantry Division; b&w; 5 x 7 inches, 8 x 10 inches

12 photographs - soldiers (crossing a river, loading helicopter with missiles); helicopter pilots and gunners; aerial views; SP5 Richard Patterson crossing river with camera in plastic bag; b&w, various sizes

17 photographs - helicopters (transporting wounded, loading troops); defending Hoc Mon Bridge; soldiers (African Americans, cooking, in the jungle, unloading supplies, shaving, taking photographs); corpses; mortars; aerial views; artillery; b&w; 5 x 8 inches, 8 x 10 inches

10 photographs - tanks; mine sweeping; soldiers (in the jungle, crossing a bridge, sleeping); helicopters (loading troops); 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry, 25th Infantry Division; aerial views; MEDCAP; corpses; b&w; 8 x 10 inches

292 photographs and 1 b&w negative strip - base scenes; Christmas; SP5 Richard Patterson and fellow soldiers (portraits, helicopter and weapon maintenance/repair work, African Americans, in the jungle, resting, crossing a river, teaching local children, reading, in formation, unloading supplies, cooking, target practice, questioning locals, on the radio); beaches; helicopters and other aircraft (Huey, Chinook, VNAF A-1H Skyraider, HH-43 Huskie, C-141 Starlifter, C-123 Provider, O-1 Bird Dog, C-133 Cargomaster, C-47 Skytrain, B-57 Canberra, F-102 Delta Dagger, RF-101 Voodoo, convoys, landing/loading troops, transporting supplies/vehicles, dropping bombs); restaurants; local civilians (including children); Operation Junction City; Mekong Delta; search and destroy operations; transporting wounded (dustoff); medics; Operation Diamondhead; mine sweeping; captured bicycles; MEDCAP; construction (bridge); military police; artillery; mortars; ARVN Rangers; briefings; local police; Vam Co Dong River ferry crossing; PSYOP operations; Tay Ninh Province; Cu Chi base camp; ordnance; Operation Toan Thang; war damage; POWs; captured supplies; bunkers; tunnels; military vehicles; tanks; armored personnel carriers; Bob Hope USO show; musical performances; scout dogs; military ceremonies; communication equipment; Signal Site 93; General Creighton Abrams being briefed at Firebase Buell; award ceremonies; military ceremonies; ships; explosions; Montagnard bow and arrows; landscapes; defending Hoc Mon Bridge and Phu Cuong Bridge; patrol boats; Trang Bang; firefights; villages; supplies; aerial views; Operation Barking Sands; medical operations; hospital patients and personnel (Dau Tieng); hamlet chiefs (Bau Bac); dining hall; unit photos; b&w, color; various sizes

574 photographs and 17 color negative strips - local civilians (including children); SP5 Richard Patterson and fellow soldiers (portraits; maintenance/repair work, crossing a bridge/river, resting, African Americans, interacting with/teaching children, in the jungle, filling sandbags, filming, office work, on the radio, cooking, eating, talking with reporters, in formation, training, on patrol, reading, loading missiles/rockets, cleaning rifle, questioning locals, swimming); Operation Toan Thang; Operation Yellowstone; captured weapons, currency, equipment, and foodstuffs (exhibits); artillery; helicopters and other aircraft (Cayuse, CH-47 Chinook, Huey, O-1 Bird Dog, transporting/offloading vehicles/troops/supplies, convoys); helicopter pilots; nose art; rice paddies; war damage; medics; MEDCAP; villages; construction and demolition; Bob Hope USO shows; musical performances; change of command ceremonies; local police; military police; checkpoints; Dau Tieng; communication equipment; scout dogs; bridges; Nui Ba Den Mountain; Catholic mass services; orphanages; Operation Diamondhead; treating/transporting wounded (dustoff); ARVN; evacuating/relocating civilians; classrooms; military vehicles; convoys; Donut Dollies; supplies; Montagnards; Tet celebrations; briefings for General Earle Wheeler (Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff), General Dwight Beach (USARPAC), General Cao Van Vien, General Ralph Haines; demonstrations; Tay Ninh city hospital; armored personnel carriers; boats; ships; 30th ARVN Battalion; ARVN Rangers; hospital patients and personnel; award ceremonies; tanks; base scenes; street scenes; landscapes; mountains; 3rd Battalion, 13th Artillery HQ; explosions; ordnance; mine sweeping; bunkers; aerial views; Christmas; Hoc Mon; Operation Quyet Thang; Operation Manhattan; Trang Bang; dogs; Firebase Rawlins; Viet Cong tunnels; Operation Barking Sands; General Westmoreland; search and destroy operations; b&w, color; various sizes

97 b&w negative strips and 1 proof sheet - MEDCAP; award ceremonies; construction; artillery; Trung Lap; helicopters and other aircraft; tanks; change of command ceremonies

4 photographs - SP5 Richard Patterson (portraits, on the beach, at 3rd Battalion 13th Artillery HQ); b&w, color; various sizes
Click to view all Photographs
  • Box 1 [TTU - Southwest Collections Building, Stacks [D031.7]]
  • Box 1000 [TTU - Southwest Collections Building, [Individual Collections - Oversize ]]
  • Box 1
  • Folder 1
  • Correspondence (1967-1969)
  • Folder 2
  • Correspondence and propaganda leaflets (1968, No Date)
  • Folder 3
  • Correspondence, images, articles/clippings (1968, 2009, No Date)
  • Folder 4
  • Correspondence and leaflets (1968-1970, No Date)
  • Folder 5
  • Correspondence, clippings, sketches, award citations (1967-1969)
  • Folder 6
  • Army Commendation Medal certificate (1967)
  • Folder 7
  • Suoi Cat - correspondence and images (1968, No Date)
  • Folder 8
  • Ben Cui - images and articles (No Date)
  • Folder 9
  • Clippings (1967-1968)
  • Folder 10
  • New Jersey Herald File - articles/clippings, correspondence (1967-1968)
  • Folder 11
  • Tropic Lightning News File - articles/clippings (1967)
  • Folder 12
  • Tropic Lightning News File - articles (1968)
  • Folder 13
  • Articles and clippings (1968)
  • Folder 14
  • Images and clippings (1968, No Date)
  • Folder 15
  • Articles/clippings, notes, images (1968, No Date)
  • Folder 16
  • Clipping, photo data sheets, notebook (No Date)
  • Folder 17
  • Clippings, Chieu Hoi pamphlet, mine indicators handbook (1967)
  • World Report Volume II No. 221 (9 May 1968)
  • World Report Volume II No. 224 (10 May 1968)
  • Folder 18
  • Sketches, short timer calendar, clippings (1967-1969)
  • Folder 19
  • Images and combat art booklets (Combat Art of the 25th Infantry Division Volumes 1-3) (1966-1968, No Date)
  • Folder 20
  • Yearbook - The 25th's 25th in Combat, Tropic Lightning 1 Oct 1941 - 1 Oct 1966 25th Infantry Division (1966)
  • Folder 21
  • 25th Infantry Division yearbook 1966-1967 (1967)
  • Folder 22
  • 25th Infantry Division yearbook 1967-1968 (1968)
  • Folder 23
  • VA records (1983, 2009-2014)
  • Folder 24
  • Correspondence and images re: Jack Stout's VA claims (2015, No Date)
  • Folder 25
  • Biographical sketch of Richard Patterson by Bill Sandy (2024)
  • Box 1000
  • Folder 1
  • Clippings (1968-1969)
Perma Link
https://www.vietnam.ttu.edu/virtualarchive/items.php?item=34830000000
Citation
Richard A. Patterson Collection (3483) Finding Aid, Richard A. Patterson Collection, Vietnam Center and Sam Johnson Vietnam Archive, Texas Tech University, https://www.vietnam.ttu.edu/virtualarchive/items.php?item=34830000000, Accessed 13 Feb 2026.
Pub Credit Line
34830000000, Richard A. Patterson Collection, Vietnam Center and Sam Johnson Vietnam Archive, Texas Tech University
Added: 09 May 2024 [Updated: 16 May 2024]

Vietnam Center & Sam Johnson Vietnam Archive

© 2026  Texas Tech University© 2026  Vietnam Center and Sam Johnson Vietnam Archive February 07 2025