Veteran journalist Bob Schieffer talks to attendees during an “Our Man in Vietnam” exhibit event Feb. 7 at the Central Library. During his retirement, Schieffer painted several men he photographed during the Vietnam War.
In collaboration with the upcoming Maverick Speakers Series event, UTA Libraries’ Special Collections is hosting an exhibit titled “Our Man in Vietnam.”
The exhibit showcases selected pictures and items from veteran journalist Bob Schieffer and four paintings he created in 2025 from photographs.
In 1965, a then 28-year-old Fort Worth Star-Telegram reporter, Schieffer was sent to Vietnam as both a reporter and a photojournalist on assignment to report on Fort Worth and Texas service members, according to UTA Libraries.
James Clerihew, the son of Walter Clerihew, speaks with veteran journalist Bob Schieffer during an “Our Man in Vietnam” exhibit event Feb. 7 at the Central Library. James Clerihew said his dad made a big impression on Schieffer.
During a special opening event for the exhibit on Saturday, Schieffer said his editor, Jack Butler, wanted him to speak to readers’ kids who were in active combat.
“That’s what local newspapers used to be about – that kind of service,” he said.
Apart from the selected photos and four paintings, the exhibit features letters that were sent to Schieffer and the Star-Telegram. The camera Schieffer used during that period, a Nikon, is also on display. Sara Pezzoni, UTA Libraries university archivist, said the process of procuring the items for the exhibit began when Schieffer reached out for some of his photos.
When Pezzoni visited Schieffer in Washington, D.C., it turned out he already had a lot. He donated the letters, some photos and even personal notebooks he kept while covering the war to Special Collections.
“From there he was like, ‘I think we should do an exhibit, a photography exhibit,’” she said. “Then we had to figure out, ‘Is our space good for that, or where we can have this exhibit?’”
Veteran journalist Bob Schieffer speaks during an “Our Man in Vietnam” exhibit event Feb. 7 at the Central Library. Shieffer worked for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and covered the Vietnam War in 1965 as a reporter and photojournalist.
The paintings were a later addition, something Schieffer wanted to add. Pezzoni said he had taken up painting in retirement. Each of the four paintings is based off of photos Schieffer took while in Vietnam of soldiers.
Once the paintings were made and the exhibit came together, the next step was to contact families or find some of the soldiers who were photographed and painted.
Marine Joe Beaver Jr., who is from Arlington, was one of the veterans Schieffer painted. Beaver got to see his painting and look at the pictures.
Veteran journalist Bob Schieffer’s Nikon SLR camera is featured in the “Our Man in Vietnam” exhibit Feb. 7 at the Central Library. Sara Pezzoni, UTA Special Collections university archivist, said Schieffer had never picked up a camera before going to cover the Vietnam War.
“I’m just a lucky person,” he said. “First of all, I’m a lucky person that made it out of Vietnam.”
Beaver said that while in Vietnam, he didn’t know Schieffer was there until other servicemen told him a journalist was looking for him.
“I went up there, and it was Bob Schieffer and he goes, ‘Hey, I want to do a story on you and some pictures,” he said.
Beaver said the pictures featured in the exhibit were neat and he saw some that he’d never seen before.
Fort Worth resident Tom Williams, 74, said the exhibit reminded him that many of the combatants were young and making extraordinary sacrifices.
“Some don’t return. Some return but not in the same condition,” Williams said.
Pat Schieffer, veteran journalist Bob Schieffer’s wife, reads one of the archived letters from Bob Schieffer’s time reporting on the Vietnam War during an “Our Man in Vietnam” exhibit event Feb. 7 at the Central Library. Letters sent to Shieffer and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram are featured in the exhibit.
He said the letters in the exhibit were strong with emotion. One was a letter addressed to Schieffer from a mother asking him to track down her son, whom she hadn’t heard from in months.
The exhibit will be on display at Special Collections in the Central Library until April 4.
“The whole exhibit was terrific,” Williams said. “It’s great that UTA and Mr. Schieffer have worked together to put it on. I think it’s fantastic.”
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