Vietnam isn’t just a war; it’s also a country.

Beginning in May, the University Museum at UTM will host a Smithsonian Institution exhibition titled Vietnam: Journey of the Heart, Photographs by Geoffrey Clifford, 1985-2000.

The display will feature 52 large-format color photographs that consider Vietnam as a country rather than a war.

The exhibition is set for May 3 - June 29. This exhibition was organized by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES).

Clifford was a 21-year-old American Army lieutenant when he first arrived in Vietnam in 1971. Flying combat helicopter missions over central Vietnam, the young pilot was awed by the terrain that unfolded below him.

Between missions, he was restricted to his secured military perimeter, unable to experience firsthand the landscapes, cultures and people that surrounded him.

Since leaving Da Nang, Clifford has made 18 successive returns to Vietnam.

Now a professional photographer, Clifford uses his art to make sense of breathtaking landscapes, ancient cultures and gracious people - a world that had previously been hidden from him by the turmoil of the war.

“Photography has allowed me a way to make a positive experience out of a negative one,” he said. “It is my hope that my work will aid others in their perceptions of Vietnam and help guide us away from future tragedies.”

The UTM University Museum is located in the Paul Meek Library and is accessible from the reading area of Special Collections/University Archives.

The museum is free and open to the public from 8 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday through Friday. For more information, call 5877094.