Military historian to discuss America’s final years in Vietnam
Contact: Tyler Powell
STARKVILLE, Miss. – A military historian who also is director of Chapman University’s master of arts program in war and society will discuss his research on the United States’ withdrawal from the Vietnam War during a March 21 program at Mississippi State.
Gregory Daddis’ 4 p.m. public lecture is sponsored by the university’s Institute for the Humanities. Held in the Turner A. Wingo Auditorium, Room 1030, at Old Main Academic Center, the event is free.
Daddis will highlight information from his latest book, “Withdrawal: Reassessing America’s Final Years in Vietnam” (Oxford University Press, 2017), which has received broad critical acclaim.
In addition to directing Chapman University’s war and society program, Daddis is an associate professor of history and a retired U.S. Army colonel who served in Operation Desert Storm and Operation Iraqi Freedom. Prior to his work at Chapman, Daddis served as chief of the American history division in the Department of History at the United States Military Academy at West Point. He specializes in Vietnam War and Cold War era history.
According to Ken Burns and Lynn Novick, directors of “The Vietnam War” PBS documentary, “Greg Daddis revisits an overlooked and contested period in the Vietnam War with clarity and scholarly insight. His deep dive into the last years of America’s war in Vietnam opens the door for today’s reader to better understand our past and our own century. Like his two previous books on Vietnam, ‘Withdrawal’ is an essential addition to the conversation and should not be missed.”
While on campus, Daddis also will meet with current Mississippi State ROTC students to discuss issues and answer questions.
“This event is ideal for reaching out to the university’s ROTC program and facilitating discussions about the connection between the humanities and military science,” said Julia Osman, director of MSU’s Institute for the Humanities. “This is just an initial effort to create a dialog between the institute and the cadets, cadre and staff of the ROTC program.”
Daddis’ other works include: “Westmoreland’s War: Reassessing American Strategy in Vietnam” (Oxford University Press, 2015), which reconsiders the generalship of William Westmoreland; “No Sure Victory: Measuring U.S. Army Effectiveness and Progress in the Vietnam War” (Oxford University Press, 2011), which uncovers the complexities of military efforts to measure progress during the Vietnam War; and “Fighting in the Great Crusade: An 8th Infantry Artillery Officer in World War II” (LSU Press, 2002), which combines a detailed look into the life of a WWII soldier with the broader narrative of the war.
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