November 18, 2009

Dr. Richard H. Zeitlin Memorial Symposium Planned at the Wisconsin Veterans Museum

(MADISON) — A lecture series is scheduled for December 10, 11, and 12, 2009, to honor the academic legacy of Dr. Richard H. Zeitlin, longtime director of the Wisconsin Veterans Museum and distinguished alumnus of the University of Wisconsin. Dr. Zeitlin was one of Wisconsin’s finest military history scholars and helped propel the field forward with his work on Wisconsin soldiers in the Civil War and the development of the nation’s finest military history museum, the Wisconsin Veterans Museum. Dr. Zeitlin passed away in December 2008, but his memory will live on through his family, friends, colleagues, and the Wisconsin Veterans Museum.

This symposium, which features two special lectures, three paper presentations, and the dedication of the Museum’s Education Center, is free and open to the public, and is presented in partnership with the University of Wisconsin-Madison Department of History, Center for World Affairs and the Global Economy (WAGE), the Grand Strategy Program, and the Wisconsin Alumni Association (WAA).

Thursday, December 10, 2009 – 7:00 p.m.
President Obama and the Military
Lecture and discussion
Richard H. Kohn, Professor of History and Peace, War, and Defense, University of North Carolina

The controversy over Iraq strategy and the recommendations of General Stanley McChrystal raises the issue of President Barack Obama's relations with the American military. Obama came into office determined to avoid the distrust and conflict between his Democratic predecessors and the military, and the harm it did to the national defense and the political standing of those presidents and their party. He promised to be strong on national security, respect military advice, and support the armed services. Once in office he made good on those promises, even appointing highly respected retired senior officers to key posts. Then the controversy over Afghanistan policy and strategy burst onto the public scene. How did this happen? What does the controversy portend for civil-military relations, and thus American national security, for the Obama Administration and the country?

Friday, December 11, 2009 – 9:30-11:15 a.m.
Paper presentation #1

• Civil-Military Relations: At the Center of Military History Since Ancient Times
  Richard Kohn, Professor of History, University of North Carolina
• Rewriting the History of Colonial Warfare
  Bruce Vandervoort, Editor, Journal of Military History
• Commentary
  John Hall, Ambrose-Hesseltine Professor of Military History, University of Wisconsin.

Friday, December 11, 2009 – Noon
George C. Marshall:  Soldier-Statesman of the American Century
Lecture and discussion
Mark Stoler, Professor Emeritus of History, University of Vermont and Editor, George Marshall Papers Project

As Army Chief of Staff from 1939-45, Secretary of State from 1947-49, and Secretary of Defense in 1950-51, Marshall was the architect of both the Allied World War II victory and key U.S. Cold War policies, most notably the European Recovery Program that bears his name and for which he received the Nobel Peace Prize. Generally considered our greatest soldier-statesman since George Washington, this lecture attempts to explain why by assessing Marshall’s extraordinary accomplishments and character.

Friday, December 11, 2009 – 2:30-5:00 p.m.
Paper presentation #2

• Civil War Military Histories
  Joseph Glatthaar, Professor of History, University of North Carolina
• The American Citizen-Soldier Since 1898
  Jerry Cooper, Professor Emeritus of History, University of Missouri-Saint Louis
• Commentary
  John Milton Cooper, Jr., Professor Emeritus of History, University of Wisconsin.

Saturday, December 12, 2009 – 9:30-11:15 a.m.
Paper presentation #3

• The Historians’ Wars over World War II
  Mark Stoler, Professor Emeritus of History, University of Vermont
• Casualties at Leavenworth:  1920-40:  A Research Problem
  Timothy Nenninger, Chief, Textural Records Reference Staff, NARA
• Commentary
  Jeremi Suri, Professor of History, University of Wisconsin.

Saturday, December 12, 2009 – Noon
Dedication of the Education Center in Honor of Dr. Richard H. Zeitlin

Join us as we dedicate the Education Center in honor of our late director, Dr. Richard H. Zeitlin. University of Wisconsin Professor of History, Jeremi Suri, and University of Vermont Professor Emeritus of History, Mark Stoler, will share reflections about Dr. Zeitlin’s career. Also, they will discuss the current state of the military history field and the history of the Military History program at UW-Madison. WDVA Secretary John Scocos will discuss Dr. Zeitlin’s legacy. A plaque honoring Dr. Zeitlin will be unveiled at the outset of the event.

The Wisconsin Veterans Museum is a free public educational activity of the Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs and is located at 30 W. Mifflin St., across the street from the State Capitol. For more information go to www.museum.dva.state.wi.us, or call Jeff Kollath, Curator of Programs and Exhibitions, at (608) 261-0541.