Vu Do and Lauren Horelick
Abstract
In March 2025, Vietnamese Fulbright Fellow Vu Do identified a Vietnamese kite in storage at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum (NASM). Archival research revealed that the kite had been commissioned in Hue nearly six decades earlier by U.S. Air Force Colonel Robert C. “Bob” Mikesh, who brought it to the United States at the suggestion of curator Paul E. Garber. Both Mikesh and Garber would later become influential figures in the emerging field of aviation preservation.
Over the course of a month-long collaboration with conservators, curators, and archivists at NASM, the kite was successfully stabilized and restored. The project employed systematic measurement, scientific testing, and targeted archival research to document its construction techniques, materials, and historical context. The treatment not only restored the structural integrity and legibility of the object but also illuminated the transnational story of cultural exchange embedded in its creation.
The rediscovery and conservation of the Hue kite coincided with the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and the United States, underscoring the object’s symbolic resonance as a bridge between cultures. Beyond its immediate treatment, the project catalyzed dialogue on the role of conservation in fostering international collaboration, the preservation of traditional Vietnamese craft practices, and the reinterpretation of museum collections through cross-cultural narratives.