Seminar educates about military history

For 19 years, UNT has hosted an event with one goal in mind: to help business and professional people from across Texas understand and appreciate the important role the military has played throughout American history and the role it continues to play today.

Almost two decades ago, UNT System Chancellor Alfred F. Hurley, who also is a faculty member in UNT's history department, began a military history seminar that has become an annual tradition.

"I believe the field of military history needs more attention by universities," Hurley says. "Fortunately, our Department of History decided a long time ago to make military history an area of emphasis and created the Center for Military History, now an increasingly important resource for teaching and researching the topic."

Hurley says he has always been pleased by the seminar's ability to draw a crowd.

"The response has been marvelous," he says. "I think that reflects the continuing interest in military history among many people around the country. This nation was born in war, and these seminars are intended to remind us of this and other key facts in American history."

This year's seminar focused on World War II and the Cold War, with an emphasis on the Russian military. Two speakers — retired U.S. Army Col. David M. Glantz and retired U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Charles Hamm — addressed the nearly 200 attendees. Every year, the seminar includes one speaker who is a scholar of the war or conflict that is the focus of that year's seminar and one speaker who provides a veteran's perspective if one is available. Glantz, founder and editor of the Journal of Slavic Military Studies, served as this year's expert. Hamm, whose career included service as the U.S. defense attache in Moscow during the Cold War years of 1981 to 1983, provided commentary from a veteran's point of view. For the first time, streaming video of the presentations made by both of this year's speakers can be viewed by clicking the links below:

• retired U.S. Army Col. David M. Glantz's presentation
• retired U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Charles Hamm's presentation

  * Both of the streaming media presentations require the Real Player to view. The Real Player can be downloaded here.

   

BY MICHELLE HALE mhale@unt.edu

Other web resources

• UNT military history seminar

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• UNT alumna dies as plane slams Pentagon
• Goolsby Chapel open; dedication planned
• Seminar educates about military history
• Price encourages UNT faculty to instruct at System Center
• SECC: State employees' gift to other Texans
• UNT hosts WebCT conference
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