We're not lost, Sergeant, We're in … France

As I’ve noted before, I stumbled upon the Military Classics Seminar about a year ago and it’s the group I’ve been looking for the last twenty years. Each month, we gather in the Officers’ Club at Fort Myer to have a few drinks, enjoy dinner and hear someone give an oral review of a military history book. Some are classics, but some are more modern. Of course, the grandest benefit of attending is meeting your peers. There are military historians from every branch, authors of all kinds, retired military officers and interested amateurs like myself. Some of the greatest benefit to the meetings is the discussion between the attendees throughout the evening. It wanders across all periods of history, including sometimes dealing with personal experiences, and across all kinds of topics.

The dinners cost $35 and there’s a book raffle (I always put in an extra $5 and come away with a book a few times a year). We gather at 5:30pm for a social hour, followed by dinner at 6:30pm and the presentation at 7:30pm. To get onto Fort Myer, you need to use the Hatfield Gate unless you have a military ID. They will do an ID check and a routine inspection of your vehicle.

Make your reservation no later than the Wednesday prior to the meeting by replying Eric Joyce at this e-mail address militaryclassics@gmail.com or to Bob Goldich by phone at (703) 359-1074. Pay for the meal with check or cash ($35) at the entrance to the meeting room at Ft. Myer. Those who make a reservation and do not show are still obligated for the cost of the dinner.

2015-2016 Schedule

September 15, 2015

Overy, Richard. The Bombing War: Europe, 1939-1945. 2013.

Speaker: Walton Moody, Retired Historian

October 20, 2015

Saburō Ienaga, The Pacific War, 1931-1945: A Critical Perspective on Japan’s Role in World War II. 1978.

Speaker: Stan Falk, Independent Historian

November 17, 2015

Conger, Arthur. The Rise of U.S. Grant. 1931.

Speaker: Perry Jamieson, Independent Historian

January 19, 2016

Carl von Clausewitz, On Waterloo: Clausewitz, Wellington, and the Campaign of 1815. Transl. & ed. by Christopher Bassford, Daniel Moran, and Gregory W. Pedlow. 2010.

Speaker: Jon Sumida, Professor of History, University of Maryland, College Park

February 16, 2016

Daddis, Gregory A. Westmoreland’s War: Reassessing American Strategy in Vietnam. 2014.

Speaker: Erik Villard, Historian, U.S. Army Center of Military History

March 15, 2016

Hodges, Andrew. Alan Turing: The Enigma. 2014.

Speaker: Michael Bigelow, Command Historian, U.S. Army INSCOM

April 19, 2016

Dual selection: Alistair Horne, The Price of Glory: Verdun 1916. 1961, rev. ed. 1994, and Paul Jankowski, Verdun. 2014.

Speaker: Robert Goldich, Independent Historian

May 17, 2016

Katherine C. Epstein, Torpedo: Inventing the Military-Industrial Complex in the United States and Great Britain. 2014.

Speaker: Mark Mandeles, President, The J. de Bloch Group

June 21, 2016

Lawrence Freedman, Strategy: A History. 2013.

Speaker: Ron Spector, Prof. of History and International Relations; George Washington University