We are excited to present for the first time our Leadership in American History Symposium. To give you an idea of what you can expect from our historians, following are the abstracts for the lectures on WWI and WWII.
General George S. Patton, Jr. is a legendary figure in WWII history. He believed in fulfilling the unforgivable minute with sixty seconds worth of distance run. He proved it in his race across France, his relief of the besieged town of Bastogne and his drive into Germany. Did you know…
Eisenhower and his staff were to resolve four major issues for the D-Day invasion: where, when and how to launch and the need for a deception plan to ensure that the Germans would be surprised. This necessity hatched the plan for “Operation Fortitude.” It was a grand plan to fool Hitler into thinking the invasion would come somewhere other than Normandy.
When WWII Army veteran Mort Sheffloe of Georgetown, Texas, turned the corner at Bastogne barracks, he found a platoon of Belgian soldiers waiting. They stood at parade rest, then snapped to attention and saluted him. The salute caught Sheffloe off guard. He was holding his walking cane in his right hand and could not return the salute properly. Instead, he returned the salute with a wave of his cane, “like a sword salute,” he said. “Or like the Pope blessing the multitudes with Holy Water.” The soldiers broke into applause for the American who had put himself in harm’s way to help liberate Europe more than 70 years earlier.