Introducing a brand new way to tell your friends about Our History Project. To make it easier to find us by finding us by what we do and provide "History Podcast". Podcasting history has been a great tool for us to reach not only the historical community but also the classroom. We have had a vast number of educators bring our History Podcast to their classroom and because of it we have been invited to speak in 4 States so far.
We will continue to bring you quality content and stories of Our America. If you know a history lover send them to www.ourhistoryproject.com/.org/.net/.us or now to www.history-podcast.com .
Any of the links and names will find us!
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
William C. Hammond / Bill Hammond
A lifelong student of history and a sailing enthusiast, he frequently sails on Lake Superior and off the coast of New England. He lives with his family in Minneapolis, MN. His first novel in the Cutler chronicles, A Matter of Honor, was published in 2007.
Bill has appeared on the Relic Roundup to talk about the artifacts left over from that time frame and is a guest on OHP Radio to discuss his new book; the second in the Richard Culter Series; "For Love of Country". His book and knowledge lead to a first ever here at Our History Project - an interview of an author of a historical fiction book. That says a lot of Bill.
Friday, March 19, 2010
OHP Radio - Best Of - Bob Slaughter
Our History Project - Bob Slaughter - D-Day - Omaha Beach
This week we where in multiple meetings and under a pen getting our first grant together. It has been a long time in coming and a lot to learn, but there are words on the page and reviews going out. So, we are excited about that. So, until next week enjoy a best of OHP production.
This week’s Show features Bob Slaughter, his personal experience and firsthand account of storming Omaha Beach on June 6th , 1945. Bob has had his account published under his given name “John Robert Slaughter” entitled “Omaha Beach and Beyond, The long march of Sgt. Bob Slaughter”. Read More About Bob Slaughter see Our History Project Authors Corner.Our Review of the book will be released soon at Our History Project Book Review, so check back and see what we thought of the book.
Historic Travel
We also had a chance to speak with Mark Patterson of Pathfinder Tours who is taking Bob back to Normandy to recount his trials and tribulations there. Mark also hosts an Online Museum for World War 2 Collectors with text, documents, photos and finds. It can be found at World War II Paratroopers.
Download this episode (right click and save)
Friday, March 12, 2010
OHP Radio - ALLEN J. WIENER
ALLEN J. WIENER is the author of The Beatles: The Ultimate Recording Guide and co-author of Music of the Alamo. He has written for The Washington Post, People, American History, The Alamo Journal, The Crockett Chronicle, Western Clippings, Goldmine and Discoveries. He lives in Potomac, Maryland.Current Work: David Crockett in Congress
OHP Radio - James R. Boylston
JAMES R. BOYLSTON has contributed important articles to The Alamo Journal and The Crockett Chronicle. He is the creator and moderator of the Alamo Studies online forum (www.alamostudies.com), a web based discussion group devoted to the serious study of the Alamo and the Texas Revolution. A songwriter and audio engineer, he has had a life-long interest in the Alamo and David Crockett. He lives in Orlando, Florida.Current Work: David Crockett in Congress.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
OHP Radio Spotlight - Gregory A. Freeman
Gregory A. Freeman is an award-winning writer with more than 20 years' experience in journalism and historical nonfiction. His latest book is Fixing Hell: An Army Psychologist Confronts Abu Ghraib,co-authored with Col. (ret.) Larry C. James, the mental health professional sent to correct the shocking conditions at the U.S. prison in Iraq. The book tells the story of Abu Ghraib from a new perspective, revealing previously unknown information about the prison, the scandal, and how it affected a dedicated military officer.Prior to Fixing Hell, Freeman's most recent book was The Forgotten 500: The Untold Story of the Men Who Risked All for the Greatest Rescue Mission of World War II. Like his other books, The Forgotten 500 reads like a fast-paced novel but tells a fascinating true story -- this time, the amazing rescue of airmen trapped behind enemy lines in Nazi-occupied Europe.
Critics hailed Freeman's recent book, Sailors to the End: The Deadly Fire on the USS Forrestal and the Heroes Who Fought It, published by William Morrow, as an example of master storytelling. In Sailors to the End, Freeman tells the story of the young men aboard an aircraft carrier in 1967, following their life-and-death struggles through an accidental fire that threatens to destroy the world's most powerful ship.
Freeman also wrote Lay This Body Down: The 1921 Murders of Eleven Plantation Slaves. In this true story, Freeman paints a vivid picture of a plantation run with slave labor 56 years after the Civil War. He is now working on a book about Operation Halyard, the largest rescue of downed airmen in U.S. history and a little known episode of World War II.
Freeman's work also appears in Reader's Digest, Rolling Stone, World War II, American History, and many other publications.
Freeman's books are scrupulously researched and entirely factual, yet they read more like novels because he weaves the personal stories of his subjects into a compelling narrative. For the book about the aircraft carrier, Freeman spent two years interviewing surviving crew members and poring through Navy records, including some the Navy did not want to release. Through his contacts in the Navy, he was able to visit an active duty aircraft carrier at sea for first-hand research.
Freeman has won more than a dozen awards for his writing, including the coveted Sigma Delta Chi Award for Excellence from the Society of Professional Journalists -- twice in five years. He received his degree from the University of Georgia in Athens, worked for The Associated Press in Atlanta, and spent several years as executive editor of a publishing company. He then became a freelance writer and continues to to write for a number of publications.
Freeman is represented by Mel Berger of the William Morris Agency in New York. He lives in Roswell, Georgia, with his wife Caroline.
To find out more about this author please visit his website www.gregoryafreeman.com
Friday, October 30, 2009
OHP Presents - Pat Fitzhugh
As a small child, Pat Fitzhugh spent countless hours watching TV classics like "Ghost Story," "Dark Shadows," and the locally-televised "Creature Feature," which featured classic ghost movies every Saturday night. "I was really into it," he recalls. "As soon as my parents would go to bed, I would sneak downstairs and watch scary movies all night long." His movie-watching routine lasted nearly two years before his mother finally caught him one morning. To remedy the problem, she offered to tell him ghost stories each night at bedtime if he would promise to stay in bed and not go downstairs later. "She was a great storyteller," he remembers. "By the time she finished a story, I would be too afraid to go downstairs!"
The story that frightened Fitzhugh the most, and which would later introduce him to scores of paranormal enthusiasts and mystery lovers around the world, was none other than Tennessee's "Bell Witch" legend, which took place only fifty miles from his boyhood home in west Nashville. And to boot, his mother was born and raised where the legend happened.
"I was frightened and intrigued by everything she told me," he says. "Knowing that she was somewhat of an insider really sent chills down my spine." The biggest chill of all came when Fitzhugh learned of his distant relation to the Bells through a marriage on his mother's side of the family, several generations back.
As a teenager, he began searching libraries, archives, and courthouses for more information about the legend. "My goal was ¬ and still is, after more than thirty years ¬ to create a `fact filter' that can be used to evaluate various claims and theories about the legend, which will ultimately allow us to develop a better understanding of it," he says. Fitzhugh is neither a skeptic nor a believer. "Maintaining a completely open mind and conducting well-balanced research is of the utmost importance in this field," he states. "It can make you or break you."
Not all of Fitzhugh's time is spent researching the Bell Witch, however. "I enjoy stories of ghosts and the
supernatural, and I actually research many of them. I've also conducted paranormal investigations and utilized such things as EMF meters, cameras, temperature probes, and EVP," he says. "Ghost hunting and paranormal investigations are two different things," he insists, "but I like to do them both."
Pat Fitzhugh has written two books about the Bell Witch: "The Bell Witch Haunting," and "The Bell Witch: The Full Account." The latter is an epic, 406-page work that follows the legend from North Carolina to Tennessee, and then to Mississippi. It contains a comprehensive index, detailed historical discussion notes, and a wealth of history, theories, and perspectives on the legend. He also owns and maintains the popular, "bellwitch.org" web site. Fitzhugh's work has led to numerous radio and TV appearances, newspaper and magazine articles, speaking engagements, and a spot on the DVD of the 2006 Hollywood motion picture, "An American Haunting," which starred Donald Sutherland and Sissy Spacek. Just prior the movie's release, he discussed the Bell Witch legend with journalists at an international press conference facilitated by the Associated Press. Pat Fitzhugh has also worked on paranormal documentaries by The Learning Channel, The History Channel, Turner Broadcasting, and
numerous others.
A contributing author of "Weird U.S.," from Barnes & Noble Press, Fitzhugh's latest book release is "Ghostly Cries from Dixie," a chilling compilation of ghost stories from the American South. He also served as the editor of a newsstand magazine dealing with the outdoors, and he has hosted and produced two radio talk shows in his career.
Being an author and researcher isn't easy, Fitzhugh admits. "There have been many obstacles and setbacks along the way, but I just maintain my focus and keep going; I won't ever let up. Getting to meet so many wonderful and knowledgeable people along the way makes it all worth it, and most of those friendships last a lifetime!"
Pat Fitzhugh lives in rural Middle Tennessee, and in his spare time he enjoys playing guitar, photography, road trips, and fishing.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Dale Dye
Dale Dye appeared on Our History Project 09-26-09.
Biography: Captain Dale A. Dye, USMC (Ret)
My military careers features a number of unconventional highlights that I have been able to draw on and use in film work. Most of these extraordinary tours or attachments grew out of my assignment as a Combat Correspondent with the United States Marine Corps. Under the guise of observing first-hand and then compiling official reports or writing feature stories, I was allowed to become involved in a very broad range of experiences. Here are some of those experiences in a rough chronological order.
INDIRECT FIRE-SUPPORT: Served as an 81mm and 60mm mortar crewman, forward observer and fire-direction center NCO.
DRILL INSTRUCTOR/TROOP HANDLER: MCRD Parris Island and Infantry Training Regiment, MCB Camp Pendleton.
MARINE COMBAT CORRESPONDENT: Vietnam 1967-68 and 1969-1970. Served primarily with 1st Marine Division and then with III MAF. Units where I kept a permanent home and served as an extra rifle NCO, Co. H, 2nd Bn., 5th Marines, Co. D, 1st Bn., 5th Marines, Co. E, 2nd Bn., 3rd Marines and Co. F, 2nd Bn., 1st Marines.
ARMORED CAVALRY ADVISOR: With ARVN 4th Armored Cavalry Regiment in Quang Ngai Province.
KOREAN MARINES: Served with 2nd Korean Marine Brigade (Blue Dragon) in southern Quang Nam Province.
ARVN AIRBORNE BRIGADE: Parachute training with Army of Republic of Vietnam Airborne Forces.
PENTAGON DUTY: Member of Secretary of Defense Staff.
PHILIPPINE MARINES: Served with Philippine Marines during my time with 1st Marine Brigade in Hawaii. Also graduated from Philippine Constabulary Ranger School at Camp Castenada, Luzon.
RESETTLEMENT CAMP NCO: Served on Guam during resettlement of Vietnamese refugees following evacuation of Pnom Penh and Saigon.
AMPHIBIOUS RAIDER COURSE: With Co. A, 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion at Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii. Included submarine and rubber boat training as well as long-range reconnaissance techniques.
COMBAT ENGINEER AND DEMOLITION: Underwent training with Co. A,. 3rd Engineer Battalion in Western Pacific.
FIELD ARTILLERY: Trained on 105mm howitzers with 1st Battalion, 12th Marines at Pohakuloa Training Area in Hawaii.
JUNGLE WARFARE TRAINING AND INSTRUCTOR COURSE: Okinawa, Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii and Panama Canal Zone.
RANGE OFFICER/MARKSMANSHIP INSTRUCTOR: Extra duties while attached to 2nd Marine Division at Camp Lejeune, NC.
TANK and AMPHIBIAN TRACTOR DUTY: Trained in AmTracs at 1st Marine Brigade in Hawaii and in M60A1 tanks with 2nd Tank Battalion at Camp Lejeune, NC.
MOUNTAIN LEADER/ARCTIC WARFARE: Training with 42 Commando, Royal Marines in northern Norway and with Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry above the Arctic Circle.
FRENCH FOREIGN LEGION: Trained with Legion units at Castelnaudry in France, at Calvi on Corsica and Sardinia, and at Djibouti on the Horn of Africa.
SECURITY AND STABILITY OPERATIONS: Served with 24th Marine Amphibious Unit in Beirut, Lebanon, 1982-83.
GUERILLA FORCES TRAINING: Trained forces of anti-guerilla forces in El Salvador as well as anti-Sandanista ARDE and FDN forces in Cost Rica and Honduras.
SNIPING AND DESERT OPERATIONS: Trained with Golani Brigade of Israeli Defense Forces in Negev Desert, Israel.
Links:
http://www.warriorsinc.com/
http://www.leadernetwork.org/dale_dye_may_05.htm
http://www.filmreference.com/film/51/Dale-Dye.html
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0245653/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dale_Dye
Biography: Captain Dale A. Dye, USMC (Ret)
My military careers features a number of unconventional highlights that I have been able to draw on and use in film work. Most of these extraordinary tours or attachments grew out of my assignment as a Combat Correspondent with the United States Marine Corps. Under the guise of observing first-hand and then compiling official reports or writing feature stories, I was allowed to become involved in a very broad range of experiences. Here are some of those experiences in a rough chronological order.
INDIRECT FIRE-SUPPORT: Served as an 81mm and 60mm mortar crewman, forward observer and fire-direction center NCO.
DRILL INSTRUCTOR/TROOP HANDLER: MCRD Parris Island and Infantry Training Regiment, MCB Camp Pendleton.
MARINE COMBAT CORRESPONDENT: Vietnam 1967-68 and 1969-1970. Served primarily with 1st Marine Division and then with III MAF. Units where I kept a permanent home and served as an extra rifle NCO, Co. H, 2nd Bn., 5th Marines, Co. D, 1st Bn., 5th Marines, Co. E, 2nd Bn., 3rd Marines and Co. F, 2nd Bn., 1st Marines.
ARMORED CAVALRY ADVISOR: With ARVN 4th Armored Cavalry Regiment in Quang Ngai Province.
KOREAN MARINES: Served with 2nd Korean Marine Brigade (Blue Dragon) in southern Quang Nam Province.
ARVN AIRBORNE BRIGADE: Parachute training with Army of Republic of Vietnam Airborne Forces.
PENTAGON DUTY: Member of Secretary of Defense Staff.
PHILIPPINE MARINES: Served with Philippine Marines during my time with 1st Marine Brigade in Hawaii. Also graduated from Philippine Constabulary Ranger School at Camp Castenada, Luzon.
RESETTLEMENT CAMP NCO: Served on Guam during resettlement of Vietnamese refugees following evacuation of Pnom Penh and Saigon.
AMPHIBIOUS RAIDER COURSE: With Co. A, 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion at Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii. Included submarine and rubber boat training as well as long-range reconnaissance techniques.
COMBAT ENGINEER AND DEMOLITION: Underwent training with Co. A,. 3rd Engineer Battalion in Western Pacific.
FIELD ARTILLERY: Trained on 105mm howitzers with 1st Battalion, 12th Marines at Pohakuloa Training Area in Hawaii.
JUNGLE WARFARE TRAINING AND INSTRUCTOR COURSE: Okinawa, Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii and Panama Canal Zone.
RANGE OFFICER/MARKSMANSHIP INSTRUCTOR: Extra duties while attached to 2nd Marine Division at Camp Lejeune, NC.
TANK and AMPHIBIAN TRACTOR DUTY: Trained in AmTracs at 1st Marine Brigade in Hawaii and in M60A1 tanks with 2nd Tank Battalion at Camp Lejeune, NC.
MOUNTAIN LEADER/ARCTIC WARFARE: Training with 42 Commando, Royal Marines in northern Norway and with Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry above the Arctic Circle.
FRENCH FOREIGN LEGION: Trained with Legion units at Castelnaudry in France, at Calvi on Corsica and Sardinia, and at Djibouti on the Horn of Africa.
SECURITY AND STABILITY OPERATIONS: Served with 24th Marine Amphibious Unit in Beirut, Lebanon, 1982-83.
GUERILLA FORCES TRAINING: Trained forces of anti-guerilla forces in El Salvador as well as anti-Sandanista ARDE and FDN forces in Cost Rica and Honduras.
SNIPING AND DESERT OPERATIONS: Trained with Golani Brigade of Israeli Defense Forces in Negev Desert, Israel.
Links:
http://www.warriorsinc.com/
http://www.leadernetwork.org/dale_dye_may_05.htm
http://www.filmreference.com/film/51/Dale-Dye.html
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0245653/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dale_Dye
Saturday, August 15, 2009
OHP RADIO - Noonie Fortin - Martha Raye (Col. Maggie)
I personally have been waiting on this interview for a long time. I was great to sit down with Noonie and talk about Maggie (Martha Raye) and cover her life of service. She was a true inspiration to those who new her and we are glad to be able to highlight not only her career but her selfless service as well. Noonie has a wealth of information on her sites so please check them out www.nooniefortin.com
We did this interview while we had a lot of thunder storms going on from my end during our time together and you can hear it on the audio, we did not hear it at the time but it showed itself during the play back. I limited my side through editing as much as possible so I hope it is not too invasive.
Use our store to order Nonnie's Books or just click the books in the panel. There is no extra charges and OHP get a portion of the sale. Help support our project, vision and mission - Order everything through us, the entire database of Amazon is on our site.
Lenght: 1:06
Size: 26MB
Download this episode (right click and save)
We did this interview while we had a lot of thunder storms going on from my end during our time together and you can hear it on the audio, we did not hear it at the time but it showed itself during the play back. I limited my side through editing as much as possible so I hope it is not too invasive.
Use our store to order Nonnie's Books or just click the books in the panel. There is no extra charges and OHP get a portion of the sale. Help support our project, vision and mission - Order everything through us, the entire database of Amazon is on our site.
Lenght: 1:06
Size: 26MB
Download this episode (right click and save)
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
In The Dirt Live!
This week was a great one, a tiring one. It was one where everything did not work out as planned on Saturday because for whatever reason the first part of the morning did not record. We missed a great in the dirt segment and some interviews with Mark Hudson, Arthur Cook and Bill Yarborough. The good part is that Butch and was joined by Cassie and we did another one on Sunday, which is what you will here today and I know all of the above mentioned to get their stories again.
It was a great show and I really had a blast. Thanks to all that came out especially Mark and his crew from Southeast Treasure Hunters that came from Alabama. It was a pleasure to meet everyone and we hope to do it again soon.
A special for today – After the “In the Dirt Segment” of Our History Project be sure to listen to the long awaited interview that Butch and I had with the Legendary Jimmy Sierra as we discuss the Whites Brand line of Detectors. For those of you that are looking to upgrade or just get it the hobby of metal detecting, Jimmy does a great job breaking down the product line on which one is best for you. We also talked about the history of Whites Electronics and what the future may hold.
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Friday, August 7, 2009
OHP Radio - Colin Woodard - The Republic of Pirates
This week we are please to introduce you to Colin Woodard. Colin is here to talk about his book “The Republic of Pirates. There are a ton of facts that I bet you did not know on this subject, I didn’t. It is a great show that goes back in time to a swashbuckling high seas adventure. Join us as we explore not only the Pirate culture itself, but those legendary characters that made our visions of pirates today what it is. You will also be surprised at how short of time the golden age of the pirates was that still gives us this vision even today. For a full Biography on Colin Woodard please visit his website http://www.colinwoodard.com/ and his book The Republic of Pirates can be found on Amazon.
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Saturday, July 25, 2009
OHP - 07-25-09 - Eric Hammel - The Road to Big Week
Eric Hammel makes his first appearance on Our History Project. Folks, Eric has over 30 titles to his credit and he writes about it all. A true student of history, Eric has written about World War 2, Korea and Vietnam. Eric is a wealth of knowledge as he has interview literally hundreds of people who were there to learn and write about those experiences. Eric is also a fun loving guy and if you know us, that is what we enjoy the most History and Fun. This week among other things we will talk to Eric about his upcoming book “Road to Big Week” The Struggle for Daylight Air Supremacy over Western Europe. See more about this book from Eric’s website http://www.erichammelbooks.com/news.php .
Lenght: 57 Minutes
Size: 19.5 MB
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Monday, July 13, 2009
ERIC HAMMEL
Eric HammelFrom the Authors Site Eric Hammel's Books :
I was born in 1946, in Salem, Massachusetts, and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. I graduated from Central High School of Philadelphia in January 1964 and earned a degree in Journalism from Temple University in 1972.
My road to writing military history began at age 12, when I was stuck in bed for a week with a childhood illness. My father bought me the first paperback book I ever owned, Walter Lord’s Day of Infamy. As I devoured the book, I realized that I wanted to write books exactly like it — what we now call popular narrative history. Lord had pieced together the book from official records illuminated with the recollections of people who were there.
I began to write my first military history book when I was 15. It eventually turned out to be Guadalcanal: Starvation Island. I completed the first draft before I graduated from high school. During my first year of college, I wrote the first draft of Munda Trail, and I got started on 76 Hours when I was a college junior. Then I got married and went to work, which left me no time to pursue my writing except as a journalism student. I quit school at the end of my junior year and went to work in advertising in 1970. I completed my journalism degree in 1972, moved to California in 1975, and finally got back to writing while I operated my own one-man ad agency and started on a family.
76 Hours was published in 1980, and Chosin followed in 1982. At the end of 1983 I was offered enough of an advance to write The Root: The Marines in Beirut to take up writing books full time. The rest, as they say, is history. I eventually published under my own imprint, Pacifica Press, which morphed into Pacifica Military History.
At some point in the late 1990s, I realized I had not written in five years, so I pretty much closed down the publishing operation, and pieced together a string of pictorial combat histories for Zenith Press. I "retired" in 2008 and took up writing as a full-time hobby. And here we are. Now I am publishing several new narratives under the Pacifica Military History imprint, reprinting all of my older books as print-on-demand trade paperbacks, and also converting my body of older works to digital format for sale under Amazon.com's Kindle program and other e-book programs.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Our History Project – “In the Dirt with American Digger” – Getting Started in Metal Detecting: The Beginners Guide
This week we on Our History Project’s “In the Dirt with American Digger” segment we host what you would call the Beginners Guide to the Hobby of Metal Detecting. From the stores, to the machines, to the places to hunt. The contacts, groups, strategies and more, it’s all here.
So if you have ever had the question asked of you your asked just to yourself – “What do you find with that thing?” Or better yet –“How do I get me one?” Then this show is for them - or you.
Our History Project is Nonprofit and open sourced, we promote Preservation and Education of our history, and as I have always said – “That starts with you!” – and in this show we will tell you how.
If you would like this show hosted by a player on your site or your business site send me an email and I will supply the code, it’s free. It will put a player on your page just like we have on ours (nothing to install and nothing goes on your server). If you would like I can even take off the opening comments (just let me know). The main goal of this episode is to promote our hobby in a positive light and give a basic foundation on which to grow. Bringing new blood into our world of research, history and preserving artifacts can only increase our understanding of the past.
Pass this show around folks!
Lenght: 49 Min
Size: 19MB
Download this episode (right click and save)
So if you have ever had the question asked of you your asked just to yourself – “What do you find with that thing?” Or better yet –“How do I get me one?” Then this show is for them - or you.
Our History Project is Nonprofit and open sourced, we promote Preservation and Education of our history, and as I have always said – “That starts with you!” – and in this show we will tell you how.
If you would like this show hosted by a player on your site or your business site send me an email and I will supply the code, it’s free. It will put a player on your page just like we have on ours (nothing to install and nothing goes on your server). If you would like I can even take off the opening comments (just let me know). The main goal of this episode is to promote our hobby in a positive light and give a basic foundation on which to grow. Bringing new blood into our world of research, history and preserving artifacts can only increase our understanding of the past.
Pass this show around folks!
Lenght: 49 Min
Size: 19MB
Download this episode (right click and save)
Monday, June 8, 2009
James Everett Kibler
Our review of "The Education of Chauncey Doolittle" can be found on the Our History Project Book Review Blog. Link
From the Publisher:
“Kibler has developed a theme that has long defined both Southern history and literature: the deep, metaphysical connection between the Southern character and temperament and the natural world . . . a graceful articulation of the agrarian vision.” ––Walter Sullivan
“In James Everett Kibler we find a member of a quickly diminishing breed: the man of letters.” ––Southern Partisan
James Everett Kibler is a novelist, poet, and professor of English at the University of Georgia, where he teaches popular courses in Southern literature, examining such figures as William Faulkner, Flannery O’Connor, Cormac McCarthy, Wendell Berry, and Larry Brown. Born and raised in upcountry South Carolina, Kibler spends much of his spare time tending to the renovation of an 1804 plantation home and the reforestation of the surrounding acreage. This home served as the subject of his first book, Our Fathers’ Fields: A Southern Story, for which he was awarded the prestigious Fellowship of Southern Writers Award for Nonfiction in 1999 and the Southern Heritage Society’s Award for Literary Achievement.
Kibler received his doctorate from the University of South Carolina, and his poetry has been honored by the Poetry Society of South Carolina and has appeared in publications throughout the country. In October 2004, the League of the South bestowed on him the Jefferson Davis Lifetime Achievement Award.
Kibler enjoys gardening, organic farming, and research into Southern history and culture. An avid preservationist, he prescribes to Allen Tate’s comment that “the task of the civilized intelligence is perpetual salvage.” He is a member of Phi Beta Kappa, the Southern Garden History Society, the League of the South, and the William Gilmore Simms Society. He is listed in Contemporary Writers’, “Who’s Who in America,” and “Who’s Who in the World.” He divides his time between Whitmire, South Carolina, and Athens, Georgia.
Other books by James Kibler:
The Education of Chauncey Doolittle
Memory’s Keep
Walking Toward Home
Child to the Waters
Our Fathers’ Fields: A Southern Story
Awards and Top Reviews
James Everett Kibler
“In James Everett Kibler we find a member of a quickly diminishing breed: the man of letters.” ––Southern Partisan
AWARDS AND HONORS
2004 Recipient of the Jefferson Davis Lifetime Achievement Award
1999 Recipient of the Fellowship of Southern Writers Award for Nonfiction
1999 Recipient of the Southern Heritage Society’s Award for Literary Achievement
Founding editor of The Simms Review
Kibler’s work has been published in the Mississippi Quarterly, Southern Literary Journal, and Early American Literature among other scholarly journals and publications.
MEMBERSHIPS AND ASSOCIATIONS
The Agrarian Foundation Board of Advisors
Phi Beta Kappa
The Southern Garden History Society
League of the South
Poetry Society of South Carolina
William Gilmore Simms Society
Our Fathers’ Fields: A Southern Story
“Part epic, part history, part memoir, this narrative history spans six generations of a Southern family in search of the agrarian ideal.” ––The New York Review of Books
Also reviewed by Publishers Weekly, Booklist, Southern Living, the Journal of American History, the South Carolina Review, Chronicles: A Magazine of American Culture, Wendell Berry, and Shelby Foote.
Child to the Waters
“Scholar and critic James Everett Kibler is clearly one of our finest fiction writers.” ––George Garrett
Also reviewed by the South Carolina Review, MultiCultural Review, and Southern Partisan.
Walking Toward Home
“Kibler is a writer of humor and tradition, fun and folklore, and his stories unfold at the point where the present and the timeless intersect.” ––Robert Morgan, author of Gap Creek and Brave Enemies
Also reviewed by Lake Murray Magazine, The Mississippi Press, and Southern Partisan.
Memory’s Keep
“Even amid great changes, there are those who remember traditions and keep memories alive. Kibler’s novel serves as a reminder of the importance of balance in worldly progress.” ––The Bloomsbury Review
Also reviewed by Booklist, Chronicles: A Magazine of American Culture, Athens Magazine, Southern Partisan, James Cantrell, Fred Chappell, and Robert Morgan.
From the Publisher:
“Kibler has developed a theme that has long defined both Southern history and literature: the deep, metaphysical connection between the Southern character and temperament and the natural world . . . a graceful articulation of the agrarian vision.” ––Walter Sullivan
“In James Everett Kibler we find a member of a quickly diminishing breed: the man of letters.” ––Southern Partisan
James Everett Kibler is a novelist, poet, and professor of English at the University of Georgia, where he teaches popular courses in Southern literature, examining such figures as William Faulkner, Flannery O’Connor, Cormac McCarthy, Wendell Berry, and Larry Brown. Born and raised in upcountry South Carolina, Kibler spends much of his spare time tending to the renovation of an 1804 plantation home and the reforestation of the surrounding acreage. This home served as the subject of his first book, Our Fathers’ Fields: A Southern Story, for which he was awarded the prestigious Fellowship of Southern Writers Award for Nonfiction in 1999 and the Southern Heritage Society’s Award for Literary Achievement.Kibler received his doctorate from the University of South Carolina, and his poetry has been honored by the Poetry Society of South Carolina and has appeared in publications throughout the country. In October 2004, the League of the South bestowed on him the Jefferson Davis Lifetime Achievement Award.
Kibler enjoys gardening, organic farming, and research into Southern history and culture. An avid preservationist, he prescribes to Allen Tate’s comment that “the task of the civilized intelligence is perpetual salvage.” He is a member of Phi Beta Kappa, the Southern Garden History Society, the League of the South, and the William Gilmore Simms Society. He is listed in Contemporary Writers’, “Who’s Who in America,” and “Who’s Who in the World.” He divides his time between Whitmire, South Carolina, and Athens, Georgia.
Other books by James Kibler:
The Education of Chauncey Doolittle
Memory’s Keep
Walking Toward Home
Child to the Waters
Our Fathers’ Fields: A Southern Story
Awards and Top Reviews
James Everett Kibler
“In James Everett Kibler we find a member of a quickly diminishing breed: the man of letters.” ––Southern Partisan
AWARDS AND HONORS
2004 Recipient of the Jefferson Davis Lifetime Achievement Award
1999 Recipient of the Fellowship of Southern Writers Award for Nonfiction
1999 Recipient of the Southern Heritage Society’s Award for Literary Achievement
Founding editor of The Simms Review
Kibler’s work has been published in the Mississippi Quarterly, Southern Literary Journal, and Early American Literature among other scholarly journals and publications.
MEMBERSHIPS AND ASSOCIATIONS
The Agrarian Foundation Board of Advisors
Phi Beta Kappa
The Southern Garden History Society
League of the South
Poetry Society of South Carolina
William Gilmore Simms Society
Our Fathers’ Fields: A Southern Story
“Part epic, part history, part memoir, this narrative history spans six generations of a Southern family in search of the agrarian ideal.” ––The New York Review of Books
Also reviewed by Publishers Weekly, Booklist, Southern Living, the Journal of American History, the South Carolina Review, Chronicles: A Magazine of American Culture, Wendell Berry, and Shelby Foote.
Child to the Waters
“Scholar and critic James Everett Kibler is clearly one of our finest fiction writers.” ––George Garrett
Also reviewed by the South Carolina Review, MultiCultural Review, and Southern Partisan.
Walking Toward Home
“Kibler is a writer of humor and tradition, fun and folklore, and his stories unfold at the point where the present and the timeless intersect.” ––Robert Morgan, author of Gap Creek and Brave Enemies
Also reviewed by Lake Murray Magazine, The Mississippi Press, and Southern Partisan.
Memory’s Keep
“Even amid great changes, there are those who remember traditions and keep memories alive. Kibler’s novel serves as a reminder of the importance of balance in worldly progress.” ––The Bloomsbury Review
Also reviewed by Booklist, Chronicles: A Magazine of American Culture, Athens Magazine, Southern Partisan, James Cantrell, Fred Chappell, and Robert Morgan.
Gayle Wurst
Personal Note: "I have worked with Gayle on several projects. She has been invaluable to Our History Project in providing sources for us to do what we do. The reason I work with her: I will say without hesitation and with sincerity that the books she has been apart of as an editor have been remarkable. She understands what it takes to put that personal touch to the reader and most importantly she understands that history is meant to be felt, shared and enjoyed. If you find something with her name attached to it get it. It will be worth the read."
A writer, editor, translator and literary agent, Gayle Wurst obtained her Ph.D. in English from the University of Geneva, and taught American literature and translation (French to English) at universities in Switzerland (Geneva and Fribourg) and France (Orléans and Bordeaux) for fifteen years. Other qualifications include a Swiss National Science Foundation grant, and research as a Visiting Scholar at Princeton University (two years) and Harvard University (two years). She currently operates Princeton International Agency for the Arts, LLC, a literary agency with a special interest in memoirs, oral histories, and airborne-related publications.
A writer, editor, translator and literary agent, Gayle Wurst obtained her Ph.D. in English from the University of Geneva, and taught American literature and translation (French to English) at universities in Switzerland (Geneva and Fribourg) and France (Orléans and Bordeaux) for fifteen years. Other qualifications include a Swiss National Science Foundation grant, and research as a Visiting Scholar at Princeton University (two years) and Harvard University (two years). She currently operates Princeton International Agency for the Arts, LLC, a literary agency with a special interest in memoirs, oral histories, and airborne-related publications.
In 2004, she co-authored Descending from the Clouds with her uncle, Col. Spencer F. Wurst. The book was a main selection of the Military Book Club, and received a starred review in Library Journal, which “highly recommended” the title, stating: “Wurst’s book ranks as one of the best war memoirs written by a World War II veteran.”
Signed first edition hard cover copies of this book as well as a list of other titles she has been apart of may be ordered or requested by calling Princeton International Agency for the Arts at (609) 252-9278, or writing to Gayle Wurst at the agency address:
Princeton International Agency for the Arts, LLC
626 Brickhouse Road, Princeton, New Jersey 08540 U.S.A.
A writer, editor, translator and literary agent, Gayle Wurst obtained her Ph.D. in English from the University of Geneva, and taught American literature and translation (French to English) at universities in Switzerland (Geneva and Fribourg) and France (Orléans and Bordeaux) for fifteen years. Other qualifications include a Swiss National Science Foundation grant, and research as a Visiting Scholar at Princeton University (two years) and Harvard University (two years). She currently operates Princeton International Agency for the Arts, LLC, a literary agency with a special interest in memoirs, oral histories, and airborne-related publications.
A writer, editor, translator and literary agent, Gayle Wurst obtained her Ph.D. in English from the University of Geneva, and taught American literature and translation (French to English) at universities in Switzerland (Geneva and Fribourg) and France (Orléans and Bordeaux) for fifteen years. Other qualifications include a Swiss National Science Foundation grant, and research as a Visiting Scholar at Princeton University (two years) and Harvard University (two years). She currently operates Princeton International Agency for the Arts, LLC, a literary agency with a special interest in memoirs, oral histories, and airborne-related publications. In 2004, she co-authored Descending from the Clouds with her uncle, Col. Spencer F. Wurst. The book was a main selection of the Military Book Club, and received a starred review in Library Journal, which “highly recommended” the title, stating: “Wurst’s book ranks as one of the best war memoirs written by a World War II veteran.”
Signed first edition hard cover copies of this book as well as a list of other titles she has been apart of may be ordered or requested by calling Princeton International Agency for the Arts at (609) 252-9278, or writing to Gayle Wurst at the agency address:
Princeton International Agency for the Arts, LLC
626 Brickhouse Road, Princeton, New Jersey 08540 U.S.A.
Colonel Spencer F. Wurst
Spencer F. Wurst (Colonel, AUS, retired) joined the Pennsylvania National Guard when he was 15, transferred to the paratroops, and earned his wings at 17. Assigned to Company F, 505 Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82d Airborne, he made three of the regiment’s four combat jumps, dropping into Italy, Normandy, and Holland, and fought in the Battle of the Bulge and the Hurtgen Forrest, Germany. His numerous decorations include the Combat Infantry Badge, two Purple Hearts, a Bronze Star, a Silver Star, and the French Legion of Honor, to name only a few. He rejoined the National Guard in 1946 and served in the 112th Infantry Regiment, 28th Infantry Division. Recalled to active duty in 1950, Wurst served as a tank company commander with one of the first divisions assigned to NATO. In 1969, he was promoted to colonel and assigned as assistant chief-of-staff, G-3, Pennsylvania Army National Guard. After retiring in 1975, he was assigned the distinction of "distinguished member of the 505 Parachute Infantry Regiment" by the Secretary of the Army, in recognition of his "special place in regimental continuity, tradition, and esprit de corps (1990)." He was inducted into the Officers Candidate School Hall of Fame at Fort Benning in 2000, and served as President of the 112th Infantry Regiment Association in 2004. He now lives in upstate New York.Signed first edition hard cover copies may be ordered by calling Princeton International Agency for the Arts at (609) 252-9278, or writing to Gayle Wurst at the agency address:
Princeton International Agency for the Arts, LLC
626 Brickhouse Road, Princeton, New Jersey 08540 U.S.A.
Friday, May 15, 2009
Donald R. Jermann, Antietam: The Lost Order
Donald R. Jermann, Antietam: The Lost Order
Capt. Donald R. Jermann entered the U.S. Navy as an officer candidate in December 1943. He retired from active duty in 1975 after thirty-two years of service, at which time he began a second career as a civil servant in the Navy Department. During his tenure he was twice awarded the Secretary of the Navy’s Distinguished Civilian Medal.
In 1946, he was commissioned upon completion of the University of Michigan’s NROTC program, and he subsequently served on Patrol Craft 582 and the cruisers Rochester, St. Paul, and Helena. He was also a member of the staffs of Commander Seventh Fleet and Commander Naval Forces Japan, the Office of Chief of Naval Operations, and the Naval Security Group.
Some highlights of his active-duty years include his participation in both the Korean and Vietnam conflicts; his selection for intensive Russian language training at the outset of the Cold War; and his role as a founding member of the Armed Forces Security Agency, the predecessor of the National Security Agency.
Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Captain Jermann attended John Carroll University, the University of Michigan, and the University of Maryland, where he earned a bachelor of arts degree in government. A longtime Civil War buff, Captain Jermann has visited all Civil War battle sites in Maryland and Pennsylvania and many in the state of Virginia.
He currently lives with his wife in Laurel, Maryland, where he works as a part-time consultant to the Department of Defense.
Capt. Donald R. Jermann entered the U.S. Navy as an officer candidate in December 1943. He retired from active duty in 1975 after thirty-two years of service, at which time he began a second career as a civil servant in the Navy Department. During his tenure he was twice awarded the Secretary of the Navy’s Distinguished Civilian Medal. In 1946, he was commissioned upon completion of the University of Michigan’s NROTC program, and he subsequently served on Patrol Craft 582 and the cruisers Rochester, St. Paul, and Helena. He was also a member of the staffs of Commander Seventh Fleet and Commander Naval Forces Japan, the Office of Chief of Naval Operations, and the Naval Security Group.
Some highlights of his active-duty years include his participation in both the Korean and Vietnam conflicts; his selection for intensive Russian language training at the outset of the Cold War; and his role as a founding member of the Armed Forces Security Agency, the predecessor of the National Security Agency.
Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Captain Jermann attended John Carroll University, the University of Michigan, and the University of Maryland, where he earned a bachelor of arts degree in government. A longtime Civil War buff, Captain Jermann has visited all Civil War battle sites in Maryland and Pennsylvania and many in the state of Virginia.
He currently lives with his wife in Laurel, Maryland, where he works as a part-time consultant to the Department of Defense.
John Robert (“Bob”) Slaughter; Omaha Beach and Beyond: The Long March of Sergeant Bob Slaughter (Zenith Press, 2007)
Biography
John Robert (“Bob”) Slaughter
Born on February 3, 1925, Bob Slaughter enlisted in the Virginia Army National Guard at age 16 in his native Roanoke, serving in Company D, a heavy weapons company in the 116th Infantry Regiment, 29th Infantry Division. The Virginia National Guard was inducted into Federal Service the following year on the date of Slaughter’s seventeenth birthday. In 1942, he trained for eleven months with the elite 29th Rangers in the Scottish Highlands, but returned to the 116th when the Rangers were disbanded. On D-Day, Slaughter hit the infamous Dog Green Sector with Company D in the first wave of troops to come across “Bloody Omaha.” The company lost over seventy men, twenty from his hometown. Slaughter lived through the carnage to fight on in Normandy, including the tremendous Battle of Saint-Lô, for which his battalion received a Presidential Unit Citation. He was wounded twice in Normandy, once severely in a mortar attack on 7 August at Hill 203 overlooking Vire, where his battalion earned an Oak Leaf Cluster to its Presidential Unit Citation. Evacuated to England, Bob later returned to his company, participating in the Battle of the Bulge, crossing the Roer River, and fighting on into Germany.
Slaughter’s memoir, Omaha Beach and Beyond: The Long March of Sergeant Bob Slaughter (Zenith Press, 2007), offers a rare eyewitness account of what General Bradley called “the greatest show on earth.” Painting vivid scenes of some of the most ferocious and epic battles of our time, Slaughter also incorporates a wealth of data; pinpoints names, dates and places; and quotes many other 116th Infantry veterans. An appendix contains fifteen eyewitness accounts of Omaha Beach, many published for the first time, by survivors of the 29th Infantry Division.
Slaughter was only gradually moved to break the heavy silence in which he, like so many others who had faced heavy combat, enclosed himself after the war. Omaha Beach and Beyond recounts this inner battle, tracing Slaughter’s path as he came to take on an increasingly public role on behalf of other veterans. As Founder and a Chairman of the Board, he was extremely instrumental in establishing the magnificent D-Day Memorial in Bedford, Virginia, dedicated on June 6, 2001 by President George W. Bush. One of three veterans to walk Omaha Beach with President Bill Clinton on the 50th anniversary of D-Day, Slaughter returned to France for the 60th anniversary, where he was the subject of a documentary for French National Television, gave the keynote address in St-Lô, and led a parade of 29th Infantry Veterans and local children through the city. In Cherbourg that year, ceremonies included a reunion with another machine-gunner like and unlike himself—the German Franz Gockel, who manned the defenses on Omaha Beach where so many of Bob’s friends and fellow soldiers died.
Today Bob Slaughter is one of a handful of surviving World War II veterans whose images and stories have come to represent the American Veteran in both the United States and abroad. The subject of dozens of documentaries, he has appeared on major news channels in the United States and throughout Europe, and given interviews too numerous to mention, bearing witness to the deeds of his many comrades-in-arms who could not speak for themselves.
John Robert (“Bob”) Slaughter
Born on February 3, 1925, Bob Slaughter enlisted in the Virginia Army National Guard at age 16 in his native Roanoke, serving in Company D, a heavy weapons company in the 116th Infantry Regiment, 29th Infantry Division. The Virginia National Guard was inducted into Federal Service the following year on the date of Slaughter’s seventeenth birthday. In 1942, he trained for eleven months with the elite 29th Rangers in the Scottish Highlands, but returned to the 116th when the Rangers were disbanded. On D-Day, Slaughter hit the infamous Dog Green Sector with Company D in the first wave of troops to come across “Bloody Omaha.” The company lost over seventy men, twenty from his hometown. Slaughter lived through the carnage to fight on in Normandy, including the tremendous Battle of Saint-Lô, for which his battalion received a Presidential Unit Citation. He was wounded twice in Normandy, once severely in a mortar attack on 7 August at Hill 203 overlooking Vire, where his battalion earned an Oak Leaf Cluster to its Presidential Unit Citation. Evacuated to England, Bob later returned to his company, participating in the Battle of the Bulge, crossing the Roer River, and fighting on into Germany. Slaughter’s memoir, Omaha Beach and Beyond: The Long March of Sergeant Bob Slaughter (Zenith Press, 2007), offers a rare eyewitness account of what General Bradley called “the greatest show on earth.” Painting vivid scenes of some of the most ferocious and epic battles of our time, Slaughter also incorporates a wealth of data; pinpoints names, dates and places; and quotes many other 116th Infantry veterans. An appendix contains fifteen eyewitness accounts of Omaha Beach, many published for the first time, by survivors of the 29th Infantry Division.
Slaughter was only gradually moved to break the heavy silence in which he, like so many others who had faced heavy combat, enclosed himself after the war. Omaha Beach and Beyond recounts this inner battle, tracing Slaughter’s path as he came to take on an increasingly public role on behalf of other veterans. As Founder and a Chairman of the Board, he was extremely instrumental in establishing the magnificent D-Day Memorial in Bedford, Virginia, dedicated on June 6, 2001 by President George W. Bush. One of three veterans to walk Omaha Beach with President Bill Clinton on the 50th anniversary of D-Day, Slaughter returned to France for the 60th anniversary, where he was the subject of a documentary for French National Television, gave the keynote address in St-Lô, and led a parade of 29th Infantry Veterans and local children through the city. In Cherbourg that year, ceremonies included a reunion with another machine-gunner like and unlike himself—the German Franz Gockel, who manned the defenses on Omaha Beach where so many of Bob’s friends and fellow soldiers died.
Today Bob Slaughter is one of a handful of surviving World War II veterans whose images and stories have come to represent the American Veteran in both the United States and abroad. The subject of dozens of documentaries, he has appeared on major news channels in the United States and throughout Europe, and given interviews too numerous to mention, bearing witness to the deeds of his many comrades-in-arms who could not speak for themselves.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
OHP BOOK REVIEW: LARRY GORDON: "THE LAST CONFEDERATE GENERAL: JOHN C. VAUGHN AND HIS EAST TENNESSEE CAVALRY"
“The Last Confederate General: John C. Vaughn and his East Tennessee Cavalry” by Larry GordonThis was a very unique read from several angles and the ways it hits you, from first impression to the final page it is also unique. First I was drawn to the book by its simple and elegant cover, but upon opening it up for a glance the small type, a lot of pages and maps, it made me wonder what I was getting into.
I started the book and was surprised that I was engrossed enough not to have noticed three hours had elapse. I for one want and like stories that flow and while I am a historian, in my pleasure reading I do not want a ton of statistics thrown at me. It is supposed to be fun right?
Larry Gordon seemed to have nailed both recreational reading and historically accurate statistics in one read. For me the story flowed well and I found I could keep the story and go back later to get the statistics. It was written so that the main story was not broken or bogged down with the later. It was very simple to navigate and with the titles and topics clearly defined it was unbelievably easy to go back and study the material from an educational stand point.
The book drew me in because not only was it a fascinating story of courage, determination and self worth, but it spoke of dignity , sacrifice, love and hope as well. It tells the personal story of someone who we all aspire to be in terms of standing for what we believe and have the convictions to carry on even when it is not the popular choice.
From John C. Vaughn’s ideas of adventure when young, to his actual adventures in Mexico and California the story does not disappoint. You can see the transformation yourself in this story as the youth turns to adulthood and a very hard and rough time during combat and banishment in the later years.
Truly the Forest Gump of the Civil War John C. Vaughn was indeed everywhere and had a hand it seems in almost everything. “The Last Confederate General: John C. Vaughn and his East Tennessee Cavalry” is a fine read for anyone: Action, adventure, love, drama, war and perseverance. What more can you ask for in a book. Five stars for Larry Gordon for a job well done.
Craig Anderson
Our History Project
www.ourhistoryproject.com
To hear an interview with Larry Gordon on “The Last Confederate General: John C. Vaughn and his East Tennessee Cavalry” please go to www.ourhistoryproject.com . The book interview is on the end of show #1 The Kenan Research Library at the Atlanta History Center. It can also be found on any popular pod-hosting sites such as iTunes, Zune Marketplace, Twitter, Podbean and more.
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