Home » Military historian to discuss U.S. soldiers in Vietnam

Military historian to discuss U.S. soldiers in Vietnam

William Allison
William Allison

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Military historian William Allison will chronicle the daily, unexpected life of “The American Soldier in Vietnam” in a free, public lecture Oct. 12 at the University of Louisville.

His 6-7 p.m. talk in Chao Auditorium, Ekstrom Library, is presented by the McConnell Center and the Vietnam War Commemoration Committee at UofL.

Allison will talk about what soldiers encountered in the Vietnam War, including the draft, the enemy, the culture and other variables that shaped each experience. Allison contends this experience is much more complex than what has been generalized through popular culture.

The Georgia Southern University professor was the Gen. Harold K. Johnson chair in military history at the U.S. Army War College in 2012-2014. He was vice chair of the Society for Military History in 2014-2015 and is co-author of a U.S. military history textbook. He has published widely on diplomatic and military history and has received numerous awards, including the U.S. Army’s Outstanding Civilian Service Medal.

UofL is a partner in the federal program to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War and to honor Vietnam veterans and their families.

The nonpartisan McConnell Center, created at UofL in 1991, prepares Kentucky’s top undergraduate students to become future leaders; offers civic engagement programs for teachers, students and the public; and conducts strategic leadership development for the U.S. Army.

For more information, contact Glyptus-Ann Grider Jones at (502) 852-4579 or Daniel Krebs, chair of the Vietnam War Commemoration Committee, at (502) 852-4368 or check www.McConnellCenter.org.