Video

Video by Max Lonzanida

Museum conservators at work

Hampton Roads Naval Museum

Sept. 17, 2019 | 0:11

A short video without sound, showing the careful cleaning of a Vietnam War Era sampan by conservators Karl Knauer and Abbey Preston. Both conservators are with the Naval History and Heritage Command’s Conservator Branch, and were at the Hampton Roads Naval Museum carefully cleaning the sampan and unpacking other artifacts. The sampan was captured in 1968 by US Navy Riverine units operating in Vietnam during Operation Flankspeed. The sampan was stored at the Naval History and Heritage Commands Collections Management Facility in Richmond, Virginia; and the large artifact was carefully cleaned and stabilized before it was transported to the museum. The sampan is part of a larger exhibit, “The Ten Thousand Day War at Sea: the US Navy in Vietnam, 1950-1975.” The new immersive exhibit, encompassing over 4,700 square feet of gallery space, is scheduled to open to the public on October 9, 2019. (US Navy Video by Max Lonzanida/Released).