With gratitude to all who serve and have served in the United States military, especially in 1941-1945, we continue our annual series of conferences on World War II – to better understand and further appreciate the epic struggle of the 20^th century 

 

Our 2010 conference in Sarasota will again feature an all-star cast of historians whose topics will cover battles, personalities, organization, logistics and perspectives pertaining to both the Pacifc and European theaters. With us for the first time at the Sarasota WWII Conference will be Len Fullenkamp, Richard McMurry and Michael Pearlman.

 

Three of our historians saw combat experience in the War and will share with us their war-time experiences:

·        Harold Baumgarten, well-known to many of you from past conferences and our 2007 Normandy tour. Hal was a riflemen in Company B, 116^th Regiment, 29^th Infantry Division, and was wounded five times on Omaha Beach.

·        Edwin C. Bearss who has participated in all of our Sarasota WWII conferences to date. Ed served in the 3^rd Marine Raider Battalion, and was severely wounded at “Suicide Creek” (Cape Gloucester, New Britain).

·        Ivan Hammond, joining us for the first time. Sergeant Hammond spent the entire 36 days on Iwo Jima.

 

We will have books written by our faculty members available at the conference, so you will be able to secure autographed copies for your libraries.

 

The conference will again be headquartered at the Helmsley Sandcastle Hotel, 1540 Ben Franklin Drive, on Lido Beach in Sarasota, Florida where we have reserved a block of sleeping rooms at the nightly rates of $115 (Northside or Courtyard), $135 (Poolside) and $160 (Gulfside). The Helmsley Sandcastle offers 600 feet of private beach, two outdoor pools and a host of other amenities. Call 800-225-2181 Monday thru Friday, 9:00AM-5:00PM and identify yourself as a registrant for the World War II Conference.

 

Now, we invite you to enroll and be assured of a space because seating and hotel rooms are limited. We hope you’ll join us on Lido Beach for the Sarasota World War II Conference!

* FACULTY *

 

COL. ROBERT J. DALESSANDRO, Ret is the Assistant Chief of Military History at the United States Army Center of Military History at Fort McNair, Washington, DC. Previously he served as the Director of the Army Heritage Education Center in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. He is the co-author of The Organization and Insignia of the American Expeditionary Force, 1917-1923 and serves as an advisor to the American Battle Monuments Commission for the Normandy American Interpretive Center at Colleville-sur-Mer, France.

 

HAROLD BAUMGARTEN is the author of D-Day Survivor: An Autobiography. A riflemen in Company B, 116^th Regiment, 29^th Infantry Division, he was wounded five times on Omaha Beach during the Normandy invasion.

 

EDWIN C BEARSS, historian emeritus of the National Park Service, is the most well-known battlefield guide in America and is acclaimed as one of the stars of Ken Burns's award-winning PBS series, The Civil War. As a Marine in World War II, his life changed forever at a place in the Pacific dubbed "Suicide Creek" (Cape Gloucester, New Britain) where he was severely wounded by Japanese machine gun fire.

 

CARLO W. D’ESTE is the author of many books including Decision in Normandy; Bitter Victory: The Battle for Sicily, 1943; World War II in the Mediterranean; Fatal Decision: Anzio and the Battle for Rome; and three biographies: Patton: A Genius For War; Eisenhower: A Soldier’s Life; and Warlord: A Life of Winston Churchill at War, 1874-1945. 

 

COL. LEONARD J. FULLENKAMP, Ret is Professor of Military History and Strategy at the U. S. Army War College at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania, and directs the Army War College’s staff ride program. During a thirty-year career, he served in a variety of command and staff positions in the U.S., Europe and the Republic of Vietnam. Professor Fullenkamp will lead the Sicily portion of our June, 2010 tour of The Italian Campaign.

IVAN HAMMOND, a sergeant in the 5^th Marine Division of the 5^th Marine Amphibious Corps, landed on Iwo Jima on 19, February 1945 and spent the entire 36 days there.

RICHARD M. McMURRY is the author of many books including John Bell Hood and the War for Southern Independence, Two Great Rebel Armies: An Essay in Confederate Military History, and Virginia Military Institute Alumni in the Civil War, In Bello Praesidium. Although primarily know as a Civil War scholar, he is also an ardent enthusiast of the battleship.

COL. JERRY D. MORELOCK, Ret., a decorated combat veteran of the Vietnam War, is the Editor in Chief of Armchair General magazine. His final active duty tour was as the Director of the Combat Studies Institute of the Army’s Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, KS. He is the author of many publications include the books, Generals of the Ardennes: American Leadership in the Battle of the Bulge and Great Land Battles From the Civil War to the Gulf War. 

MICHAEL D. PEARLMAN retired in 2006 as a professor of history at the United States Army Command and General Staff College. He is the author of several books including Warmaking and American Democracy: The Struggle Over Military Strategy, 1700 to the Present and Truman and MacArthur: Policy, Politics, and the Hunger for Honor and Renown, which is the co-winner of the Independent Publisher Book Award for the outstanding history book of 2009.

CRAIG L. SYMONDS recently retired as Professor of History at the U. S. Naval Academy, Annapolis. Maryland. He is the Chief Historian of the USS Monitor Center at the Mariners’ Museum in Newport News, Virginia and the author of many books including Confederate Admiral: The Life and Times of Franklin Buchanan; Decision at Sea: Five Naval Battles That Shaped American History; and most recently Lincoln and His Admirals: Abraham Lincoln, the U. S. Navy and the Civil War for which he is a co-winner of the 2009 Lincoln Prize.

 

 

5th Annual Sarasota World War II Conference

 

Wednesday, January 27

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7:00 PM - 8:30 PM                  Welcome Reception & Cash Bar 

7:00 PM thru Sat 12:00 N       Book Display & Sale

 

Thursday, January 28

 

8:30 AM - 9:30 AM                 Operation Husky and the Battle for Sicily

 – Leonard J. Fullenkamp

 

9:45 AM -10:45AM                 The Italian Campaign – A Re-Appraisal

-  Carlo W. D’Este

11:00AM -12:00 N                  D-Day: The Weather was our Greatest Enemy

 – Harold Baumgarten

 

12:00 N – 1:00 PM                  Group Lunch in Dining Room.

(Those not enrolled for the group lunch can dine in the Hotel Coffee Shop).      

 

1:15 PM - 2:15 PM                  The Battle of the Bulge: Myths and Realities of America’s Greatest Battle

                                                - Jerry D. Morelock  

 

5:00 PM - 6:30 PM                  Reception in honor of Hal Baumgarten, Ed Bearss, Ivan Hammond and all other World War II veterans in attendance

 

Friday, January 29

8:30 AM - 9:30 AM                The Great American Battleship: Its History and Role in World War II – Richard M. McMurry

 

9:45 AM -10:45AM                The Battle of Midway and the Flight to Nowhere

 – Craig L. Symonds                                                 

 

11:00AM - 12:00 N                 36 Days on Iwo Jima – Ivan Hammond

 

12:00 N - 1:00 PM                             Group Lunch in Dining Room

                                                            (Those not enrolled for the group lunch can dine in the Hotel Coffee Shop). 

 

1:15 PM - 2:15 PM                  Zooseum: Behind the Scenes at the Army Museum

 – Robert J. Dalessandro

 

Saturday, January 30

8:30 AM - 9:30 AM                With the 3^rd Marine Raider Battalion at Bougainville

– Edwin C. Bearss

 

9:45 AM - 10:45AM                Unconditional Surrender: Demobilization

and the Atomic Bomb - Michael D. Pearlman

 

11:00AM -12:00 N                  Ike: A Soldier’s Life – Carlo W. D’Este

 

American History Forum reserves the right to change the order and topics of presentations, and to substitute faculty members as circumstances may dictate.