One Tuesday a month at 7pm ET; simulcasted to Facebook and YouTube. Conversations about all things WWII, including the stories of WWII veterans. Join us as we talk with author and historian Stephen Taaffe, whose remarkable book, Marshall and His Generals, delves into the backgrounds, characters, achievements, and failures of the more than three dozen general officers chosen for top command in WWII, from commanders like Dwight Eisenhower and Douglas MacArthur to some nearly forgotten. They were all selected by General George C. Marshall, chief of staff of the U.S. Army, who made careful calculations based on innate talent, experience, stamina, devotion to purpose, and the ineffable qualities of leadership. Come hear about famous generals and ask Stephen about your own favorite WWII commanders.We’re grateful to Glenn Flickinger for moderating this roundtable event!
Join us for a discussion with two World War II “Ritchie Boys,” German-Austrian Jewish immigrants recruited by US Military Intelligence for counter-intelligence operations in Europe. Maximilian Lerner immigrated from Vienna to New York in 1941, then enlisted in the US Army and went back to Europe as an American soldier in 1944. He was recruited into the Office of Strategic Services as a special agent for secret missions in Germany. Paul Fairbrook used a valuable stamp collection to make it to the US from Berlin in the late 1930s before being drafted into the Army and trained Camp Ritchie, Maryland.
He also served in Europe overseeing interrogations and review of captured German documents. Beverley Eddy is a historian and author of Ritchie Boy Secrets: How a Force of Immigrants and Refugees Helped Win World War II. She will guide the conversation with our veterans about this fascinating story.
Join us for a conversation about Kaiten, Japanese suicide submarines in World War II with Mike Mair, author of Kaiten: Japan’s Secret Manned Suicide Submarine and the First American Ship It Sank in WWII. Mike will be in conversation with Japanese citizens and family members of submariners, including Fumihito Hiro with Kaiten Kensho-kai, documentary filmmaker Masahiro Takemura, and Nobuko Ito, daughter of a WWII underwater kamikaze. Please join us for this fascinating discussion.
Join us for a conversation historian Paul Dickson, author of The Rise of the G.I. Army, 1940-1941: The Forgotten Story of How America Forged a Powerful Army Before Pearl Harbor and the forthcoming GI Jive, about the slang of World War II. The U.S. Army stood at fewer than 200,000 men when Hitler invaded Poland in 1939. Soon, it would be on the move across the globe fighting a two-front war to victory. Paul Dickson’s new book traces the extraordinary transformation of America’s military from a disparate collection of camps with dilapidated equipment into a well-trained and spirited army ten times its prior size in little more than eighteen months. He narrates America’s urgent mobilization against a backdrop of political and cultural isolationist resistance and racial tension at home, and the increasingly perceived threat of attack from both Germany and Japan. Glenn Flickinger will moderate this interview and discussion.
Join us for a virtual tour and discussion with the USS Hornet Aircraft Carrier Museum in Alameda, California. Built in 1943 and decommissioned in 1970, the Hornet participated in World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the Cold War around the world. Docents and tour guides will joins us to discuss this history as well as guide us through the ship’s spaces, from Bridge to the Engine Room. Glenn Flickinger will host and moderate this tour!