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    Through shared experiences we hope to give veterans and their families new memories to last a lifetime

Upcoming Event

March 21 at 2PM

The Vietnam Vets Top 20
Presenter: Doug Bradley

Every veteran has his/her distinct songs and personal memories, and they became the basis for the award-winning book We Gotta Get Out of This Place: The Soundtrack of the Vietnam War by Doug Bradley and Craig Werner. But thanks to the “Top 20/Top 40” radio format of the 1950s and ‘60s, there are several tunes that resonated more widely among those vets interviewed. 

Join Vietnam veteran Doug Bradley, an acclaimed scholar on the music of the Vietnam era and distinguished University of Wisconsin lecturer, and find out if your song is one of the Vietnam Vets Top 20 for this free event hosted by the Arizona MusicFest and in partnership with the city of Scottsdale's Vietnam War 50th Commemorative Effort, Friday, March 21st at 2pm.

For a Kentucky rifleman who spent his tour trudging through Vietnam’s Central Highlands, it was Nancy Sinatra’s “These Boots Are Made for Walkin’.” 

For a “tunnel rat” who blew smoke into the Viet Cong’s underground tunnels, it was Jimi Hendrix’s “Purple Haze.” 

For a black Marine distraught over the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., it was Aretha Franklin’s “Chain of Fools.” 

And for countless other Vietnam vets, it was “Fortunate Son,” “For What It's Worth,” or “We Gotta Get Out of This Place,” regarded as the Vietnam vet’s national anthem.

Arizona Musicfest 

Where music is used to engage and delight audiences with dynamic programming to bring the joy of music to all.

Event details

Friday | March 21st

2PM to 4PM

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Scottsdale for Veterans

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