LUBBOCK, TX (KCBD) - James Reckner, a U.S. Navy veteran and retired professor at Texas Tech who helped establish the Texas Tech Vietnam Center and Archive, died on Friday at the age of 78.

A memorial service for Reckner has been scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Nov. 30 at Lake Ridge Chapel and Memorial Designers at 6025 82nd St., according to a Tech news release.

Reckner, who retired from the university in January of 2009, was integral in setting up the university’s Vietnam center and helping in getting it highlighted by various education agencies. The idea for the center came in 1988 after he found students in his class could not properly identify Gen. William Westmoreland, who was the general most closely associated with the Vietnam war.

https://www.kcbd.com/2018/11/21/founding-director-techs-vietnam-center-archive-dies/