2018-19 Schedule

We meet at 7:00pm on the second Thursday of every month from September through May in the History Center at Historic Fort Snelling, unless otherwise noted below:

September 13, 2018 GUADALCANAL – Thwarting the Japanese Advance Trent Hone, author of LEARNING WAR, and veterans of the South Pacific will discuss the initiatives and learning curve to stop the early success of Japan and turn into major victories.  (PDF) (YouTube)

October 11, 2018 NAZI PRISONER IN AMERICA – Out of the War Arnold Krammer, author of NAZI Prisoners of War in America, and personnel involved with the confinement of POW’s will show the extent of camps and activities inside them.  (PDF) (YouTube)

October 25, 2018 WORLD WAR ONE – Roots of WWII Geoffrey Wawro, author of SONS of FREEDOM, will discuss the efforts of the doughboys of WWI and show how strategic mistakes laid the foundation for the rise of Nazism.  (PDF) (YouTube)

November 8, 2018 The Dr. Harold C. Deutsch Lecture – The Plots to Assassinate Hitler Danny Orbach, author of The Plots Against Hitler, will build on the interviews and research of Dr. Deutsch to reveal the discord and attempts to kill Hitler by Nazi leaders.  (PDF) (YouTube)

December 13, 2018 Pearl Harbor – The Attack that brought the U.S. into WWII Michael Wenger, co-author of No One Avoided Danger and This is No Drill, and veterans of Pearl Harbor will present some of many aspects of the attack on December 7, 1941.  (PDF) (YouTube)

January 10, 2019 What Made the Nazi Military Work? Geoffrey Megargee, author of INSIDE HITLER’S HIGH COMMAND, and German Veterans will discuss the functioning of the German Military at Headquarters and in the field. (PDF) (YouTube)

February 14, 2019 Not All the Struggles for Victory were on the Battlefield  James Lacey, author of The Washington War and Keep from All Thoughtful Men, will discuss the struggle between FDR’s advisers and the efforts to pay for the costs of the war.  (PDF) (YouTube)

March 14, 2019 Intelligence from the Skies Rob Ehlers, author of Targeting the Third Reich, and veterans of the air war in Europe will discuss the use of intelligence in targeting and damage assessment.  (PDF) (YouTube)

March 28, 2019 The Contributions of Women in Air War
Sarah Byrn Rickman, author of WASPs of the Ferry Command, will present the many and varied contributions of women pilots in training and operations of the Air Force. (PDF) (YouTube)

April 11, 2019 The Chief of Logistics in the European Theater – LTG J.C.H. Lee Hank Cox, author of The General Who Wore SIX Stars, and veterans of logistical operations in support of offensive operations will tell the value of support of supply.  (PDF)  (YouTube)

May 9, 2019 Remembering the 75th Anniversary of the Normandy Landings Stephen Alan Bourque, author of BEYOND the BEACH, and veterans of the June 6th Landings on D-Day will discuss the struggle that ended with the liberation of Europe.  (PDF)