A nationally respected historian will discuss the importance of studying military history during Rogers State University’s 2nd Annual Military History Day.
Dr. Paul H. Herbert, Executive Director of the First Division Museum at Cantigny in Wheaton, Illinois, will present his talk, “Military History and Our Common Defense,” at 5:30 p.m., Tuesday, March 24, in the Centennial Center Ballroom on the Claremore campus.
Free and open to the public, the lecture is held in conjunction with the university’s Military History Day activities. RSU offers Oklahoma’s only bachelor’s degree in military history, and the program draws upon the institution’s legacy as a military academy. The school operated as the Oklahoma Military Academy from 1919 to 1971 and was widely known as the “West Point of the Southwest.”
RSU’s Military History Day helps raise awareness about the academic discipline of military history and honors the legacy of veterans by sharing stories of their extraordinary service and sacrifice. The event is being organized by Dr. David Ulbrich, RSU Assistant Professor of History and Political Science.
Dr. Herbert oversees the First Division Museum at Cantigny, which seeks to preserve, present and promote the continuing history of the US Army’s 1st Infantry Division. Commonly known as “The Big Red One,” the 1st Infantry is the oldest continuously serving Army division and traces its roots back to the Revolutionary War before it was formally activated during World War I.
A 1972 West Point graduate, Dr. Herbert holds a Ph. D. in history from Ohio State University and is a graduate of the US Army War College at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania. A retired US Army colonel, Dr. Herbert held a variety of operational assignments, including command of the 1st Battalion, 27th Infantry, and service on the Joint Staff in Washington, DC. He has been Professor of Military Studies at the National War College, Washington, D.C.; Senior Fellow, George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies, Garmisch, Germany; and Assistant Professor of History, US Military Academy, West Point, New York.
Dr. Herbert authored “Deciding What Has to be Done: General William E. Depuy and the Writing of Field Manual 100-5, Operations” and has written several articles and lectured frequently on national security and military history and affairs. He is a member of the American Historical Association; the Chicago Council on Global Affairs; the Inter-University Seminar on Armed Forces and Society; the International Institute for Strategic Studies; and the Society for Military History.
During his time on campus, Dr. Herbert also will meet with students and faculty.
Brig. Gen. Peter “Duke” Deluca, former commanding general of the US Army Corp of Engineer’s Mississippi River Valley Division, presented at the inaugural RSU Military History Day last April.
For more information, contact Ulbrich at 918-343-7798.