Volume 17, Issue No. 3, May/June 2025
Fifty years ago, our nation’s involvement in the Vietnam War ended with the fall of Saigon as the North Vietnamese Army captured the capitol of South Vietnam on April 30, 1975. That summer, Gov. Robert Ray began working with U.S. officials to rescue South Vietnamese refugees from communist persecution, followed by a trip during the fall to Indochina in which he visited refugee camps and witnessed the humanitarian crisis. That winter, the first Tai Dam refugees arrived in the Hawkeye State as Iowans—at the urging of Ray—would play a leading role in the humanitarian response by the U.S. It is perhaps Ray’s greatest legacy as chronicled by author Matthew Walsh in our cover story, “A symbol of hope: Robert Ray welcomes Southeast Asian refugees.”
In his column, publisher Michael Swanger marks the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II by paying tribute to Iowa war correspondent U.S. Army Maj. Frank Miles.
Discover the treasure that is the 1883 Secrest Octagonal Barn in West Branch from Dave Austin, the editor of the Iowa Barn Foundation Magazine.
Author Timothy Walch pens the finale of his two-part series, “Why we fight: Letters from the front lines, 1861-1865,” as we recognize the 160th anniversary of the conclusion of the American Civil War.
Yet another Iowan took the mound in the MLB! Retired newspaperman Don Doxsie writes about Ida Grove native and MLB pitcher George Pipgras, who played on the legendary 1927 New York Yankees team and won three World Series titles.
Arvid Huisman shares a heartfelt column about Memorial Day in his “Country Roads” column as some Memorial Days are not planned.
BONUS ONLINE STORY — 160 years: Iowa’s connections to Lincoln and the Civil War
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