ASHLAND, Ohio – The Ashbrook Center at Ashland University welcomes all history enthusiasts and military buffs for its conference, “Victory and Defeat: The Final Months of World War II,” which will feature presentations by prominent historians on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 5-6. All sessions of the conference, which honors the 80th anniversary of Victory Over Japan Day, are free and open to the public.
The conference kicks off Friday afternoon, with a keynote address by Robert Citino, Ph.D., the National WWII Museum’s Samuel Zemurray Stone Senior Historian. He will present “Bloodbath: The Last Year of WWII,” at Hugo Young Theatre from 3-4:30 p.m. Citino is an award-winning military historian and scholar who has published 11 books and numerous articles covering World War II and 20th-century military history.
On Friday evening, there will be a film screening of “The Best Years of Our Lives,” which won nine Academy Awards, including best picture in 1947, at The Ashland (212 Center St., Ashland) at 7:30 p.m. The American drama follows three servicemen’s adjustment to societal changes and civilian life upon returning home from World War II.
Saturday will feature three 90-minute panels, followed by a closing keynote, all taking place in Ronk Lecture Hall at the Dwight Schar College of Education. At 9 a.m., Eric Pullin, Ph.D., professor of history and Asian studies at Carthage College, and David Krugler, Ph.D., professor of history at University of Wisconsin-Platteville, will discuss “Home Fronts Under Stress.” Then, starting at 10:45 a.m., Thomas Bruscino, Ph.D., a professor of history at the U.S. Army War College, and David Hadley, Ph.D., an associate professor at the National Defense University, will together present “Leadership and the End of the Conflict.”
Following a lunch break from 12:15-1 p.m., panelists Stephanie Hinnershitz, Ph.D., a historian at the National WWII Museum, John Moser, Ph.D., professor of history at Ashland University, and Christopher Burkett, Ph.D., associate professor of political science at Ashland University, will examine “Transition to Peacetime.”
The closing keynote address, scheduled for 2:45-4 p.m., will be provided by Richard B. Frank, also of the National WWII Museum. An internationally renowned expert on the Pacific campaign of World War II as well as a lawyer, Frank will present “Looking Back 80 Years on the Moral and Factual Realities of Ending the War with Japan.” He was an aero rifle platoon leader during the Vietnam War and has written several articles and award-winning books on the Asia-Pacific War.
The World War II conference, being coordinated by the Ashbrook Center, is the latest example of the powerful educational and networking opportunities available to Ashland students in the fields of history and politics. For more information, contact [email protected].
