Gary Ploense served two tours in the Marine Corps in Vietnam, 1967-1968. In 1988, he organized a VietNow Convention in Bloomington. He served as a jail superintendent, a police officer at Illinois State University, and a sheriff’s deputy in McLean County. He ran unsuccessfully for Sherriff in 1994.
The collection is mostly materials related to the Third Annual VietNow National Convention, held in Bloomington, May 20-22, 1988, and the Debt of Honor parade and ceremony, May 23, 1987. The collection includes publicity materials, organizational papers, correspondence, and photographs There is also material from Ploense’s campaign for Sherriff in 1994.