Other History Commons^™

Poems For My Woofie The Story Of Lt. Wilfred V. Michaud, 1st Parachute Battalion, 1st Marine Division, Allison Orr

Honors Projects in English and Cultural Studies

My senior capstone project is the creation of a book of investigative poetry. The subject of the work is my grandfather, Wilfred V. Michaud. He was a lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps during World War II. The poetry addresses the history of Michaud’s battalion and the battles it fought, as well as personal stories of Michaud’s life and experience in the service. Several secondary sources were used to gain historical context for the poetry. Additionally, primary sources were used to provide information about Michaud’s personal experiences. The combination of primary and secondary sources established the necessary background and …

Choosing Progress: Evaluating The "Salesmanship" Of The Vietnam War In 1967, Gregory A. Daddis

History Faculty Books and Book Chapters

"As the president and his war managers increasingly saw Vietnam as a 'race between accomplishment and patience,' publicizing progress became an integral part of the war. Yet far from a unique case of bureaucratic dishonesty, the 1967 salesmanship campaign demonstrates the reality, even necessity, of conversation gaps when one is assessing progress in wars where the military struggle abroad matters less than the political one at home."

The Horns Of The North: Historical Sources Of J. R. R. Tolkien's Trilogy, George Geib

George W. Geib

Few books have enjoyed the publishing success seen in the last decade by J. R. R. Tolkien's epic fantasy trilogy, The Lord of the Rings. Since the time of its paperback appearance in 1965 the work has not only attracted wide popular readership but has also stimulated a considerable body of scholarly criticism.1 As a work of fantasy, Tolkien's tale of struggle surrounding a ring of power has attracted most of its commentators to the areas of myth and linguistics, two of the sources upon which the author relied most heavily. Yet for all its epic dimensions, the trilogy has …

In Search Of The Wind-Band: An International Expedition, Daniel Rager

Dan Rager

In Search of the Wind-Band: An International Expedition is a new interactive E-book, exploring 16 countries.

The first-of-a-kind, interactive encyclopedic e-book uses text, video, mp3 and pdf files to bring the history and development of the wind-band to life.

1. Overture: What Constitutes a Wind Band? - 2. Introduction to European History and Development - 3. Historical Homogeneous Wind-Bands - 4. American Wind Music - 5. Denmark Wind Music - 6. Finnish Wind Music - 7. Industry Wind Bands - 8. Ireland Wind Music - 9. Japanese Wind Music - 10. Mexican Wind Music - 11. Native American Indian Wind …

The Atomic Bombings Of Japan - Right Or Wrong?, William Weiss

ERAU Prescott Aviation History Program

Few Presidential actions have generated more controversy than Truman’s decision to use atomic bombs against Japan to end WW II. Local historian Bill Weiss examines the issues based on recently released information from formerly secret American and Russian archives. Learn what the last months were like in the Pacific; American preparations for a possible invasion and Japan’s mindset at this crucial time that lead to the life-saving decision.

Flying The X-15 And Space Shuttle, Joe H. Engle

ERAU Prescott Aviation History Program

Hear what it was like for Joe H. Engle, USAF/ANG, Ret. to fly both the X-15 and the Space Shuttle. In 1965 Capt. Engle flew the X-15 to 280,600 feet, to become the youngest pilot to qualify as an astronaut and would go on to fly it 15 more times. Selected for NASA space missions, he flew the Space Shuttle “Enterprise” off the top of a modified 747 on glide flight tests. He commanded the orbital test flight of “Columbia” and became the first and only pilot to manually fly an aerospace vehicle from Mach 25 to landing. A remarkable …

Witnesses To Revolution, Colleen Cassingham

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

My documentary follows two families 4 years after the Tunisian Revolution. All members in the Daly family from Sidi Bouzid participated in the revolution, and the Laroussi family in La Goulette had two brothers martyred on January 14^th, 2011. The film explores the effects of the revolution – emotional, economic, and social – on all the various family members. As we get glimpses into the daily life of two main characters, we see that reactions to the revolution are diverse, although the notion of the ‘Tunisian exception’ is held up to scrutiny by the overwhelmingly negative reactions to …

A Resistance, Remembered? Remembrance, Commemoration And The Parallel System In Prishtina, Kosovo, Conner Gordon

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Though the 1999 war that liberated Kosovo from Serbian control is over fifteen years in the past, memories of the 1990s still remain in a state of chaos. This paper approaches the development of these collective memories through interviews with Prishtina residents about the memories and legacy of Ibrahim Rugova’s parallel structures in the 1990s. Though they draw from similar narratives as memories of the Kosovo Liberation Army’s armed resistance, memories of the nonviolent resistance play a vastly different and largely underrepresented role in current Kosovar Albanian public discourse. Through competing deployments of resistance memories, disproportionate memorialization of Kosovo’s violent …

The Women Airforce Service Pilots (Wasp) Of World War Ii, Natalie J. Stewart-Smith

ERAU Prescott Aviation History Program

Hear the fascinating story of the women who flew in WW II as members of the WASP, from Natalie Stewart-Smith. Her thesis on them was the very first academic study of the WASP and is based on numerous personal interviews, including Jacqueline Cochran, their founder. The military contribution of women fliers during World War I is a seldom seen part of the WASP story as well.

Eugene Bullard: World’S First Black Fighter Pilot, Larry W. Greenly

ERAU Prescott Aviation History Program

In honor of Black History Month, hear the fascinating story of Eugene Bullard the American who became the world’s first black fighter pilot in WW I. Award-winning writer and author of a new book on Bullard, Dr. Greenly will discuss how Eugene ran away to France and enlisted in the French Foreign Legion. He then joined the Lafayette Flying Corps where he was trained and flew combat missions. What happened to this decorated hero later and his eventual return to the U.S will also be covered in this unique talk.

Avenging Carlota In Africa: Angola And The Memory Of Cuban Slavery, Myra Ann Houser

Articles

Fidel Castro’s meta-narrative of Cuban history emphasizes the struggle – and eventual triumph – of the oppressed over their oppressors. This was epitomized in Nelson Mandela’s 1991 visit to the island, when his host took him to the northwestern city of Matanzas, and the pair gave speeches titled “Look How Far We Slaves Have Come!” The use of Matanzas as a site of public political memory began in 1843, and the memory of slavery soon became a surrogate for Cuba’s flawed liberation movement. One-hundred and fifty years after the execution of Carlota, one of the enslaved leaders of the Triumvirato …

Camp, Combat, And Campaign: North Carolina's Confederate Experience, Peter R. Thomas Jr.

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This research examines a sample of North Carolina Confederates as they transitioned from citizen to soldier between 1861 and 1863 during the American Civil War, and it questions how levels of commitment and devotion emerged during this transformation. North Carolina Confederates not only faced physical and emotional challenges as they transitioned from citizen to soldier, but also encountered social obstacles due to the strict social order of the Old South. Orthodoxy maintains this social dissent hindered any form of solidarity among North Carolina Confederates. The question remains, though, why did so many North Carolinians remain committed to the Confederacy until …