January 13, 2025
“Land Mines: The Weapon That Knows No Peace Treaty" Presented by Dan Breen, Senior Lecturer, Legal Studies, Brandeis University. In one form or another, land mines have been around for nearly 500 years, but it was only in the twentieth century that they became sophisticated--and deadly--enough to be a common weapon of war. A quarter of all US fatalities in the Vietnam War, for example, were caused by various sorts of land mines. They are effective and cheap to produce, but those advantages are also the source of the devastating problem with landmines: millions remain in place around the world long after the wars that originally put them there have been settled. This presentation will delve into the history and present international status of these hidden killers, which continue to kill and injure thousands every year. February 12, 2024
“The Life Savers of World War II: The Story of the Breakthrough American Medical Strategies Pivotal in Keeping Our Troops Safe and Fit to Fight” Presented by Wendy Schoenbach Reasenberg, daughter of Dr. Emanuel Schoenbach, Army doctor and member of AEB. Much has been written about World War II, but many contributions that were pivotal to the victory remain largely unknown 80 years later. One such contribution had to do with controlling infectious diseases and preventing epidemics that could cripple the Armed Forces. As he prepared the U.S. for World War II, President Franklin D. Roosevelt knew, from his experience as Assistant Secretary of the Navy in World War I, that in war, typically more soldiers die of disease and infection than from wounds sustained in battle. The Army Epidemiological Board (AEB) was established in January 1941 “For the Investigation and Control of Influenza and Other Epidemic Diseases in the Army.” Wendy Reasenberg will discuss the vital contributions of the AEB, focusing on one of its members, her father, Dr. Emanuel B. Schoenbach, who served as a doctor in the U.S. Army in WWII. March 10, 2025
“Elusive Victory: Year Four of the Russo-Ukraine War” Presented by Leonid Kondratiuk, retired US Army General and Military Historian. February 24, 2025 marks three years since Russia invaded Ukraine. Ukraine stopped the invasion in 2022 and pushed Russian forces back. In 2023, Ukraine launched its counteroffensive to push Russian forces out of Ukraine, with disappointing results. In 2024, Russia gradually advanced and now occupies close to 20% of Ukrainian territory. Today, the war seems like a stalemate. The Russian Army has suffered horrendous losses, yet Vladimir Putin vows to continue the war. President Volodymyr Zelensky says Ukraine will never give up. President-Elect Trump announces his intention to end the war in a day. Some western officials have quietly told Ukraine to start negotiations for a cease-fire. Following his presentation in March 2023, General Leonid Kondratiuk returns to the Lexington Veterans to offer his unique perspective on this perilous and rapidly changing situation. April 8, 2024
"Dreadful Were the Vestiges of War" - Arms and Battle Damage from the First Day of the American Revolution” Presented by Joel Bohy, Military Historian and Director of Historic Arms & Militaria for Bruneau & Co. Auctioneers Military arms expert Joel Bohy will present a study of the arms and ammunition used by both British and provincial forces on April 19, 1775, as well as the battle damage that remains. Using modern shooting incident reconstruction, archaeology, live fire studies, and new research, he will shed new light on the heavy fighting along the route of the British retreat back to Boston. May 13, 2024
“V is For Victory: FDR's Efforts to Prepare the U.S. for War" Presented by Bob Lewis, Cpt, US Navy, Retired. By June 1940, France had fallen to the Nazi blitzkrieg, and Hitler’s vision of world domination loomed large. Britain stood as the last bastion of resistance against Germany. Behind the scenes, FDR was secretly working with British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, planning the shipment of surplus war materials to Great Britain. He skillfully navigated the complex political landscape to prepare the United States for its eventual involvement in World War II. FDR, a Democrat, appointed pro-interventionist Republicans Henry Stimson and Frank Knox, as Secretaries of War and the Navy. The groundwork laid between November 1940 and December 7, 1941 – a full year before the attack on Pearl Harbor and our declaration of war against Germany and Japan - became the cornerstone for American participation in WWII. June 10, 2024
“Vietnam 1967: Operation Medina and the Heroic Marines of Charlie Company” Presented by Jim Ramsey, US Navy Vietnam Veteran. On October 11, 1967 Charlie Company, First Battalion, First Marine Regiment, First Marine Division landed on a low hilltop clearing in the dense Hai Lang National Forest south of Quang Tri, South Vietnam. Charlie Company was the point company for the First Battalion’s search-and-destroy mission against Base Area 101, a North Vietnamese Army staging area that supported the Fifth and Sixth NVA Regiments. At 2 P.M. on October 12, Charlie Company was ambushed by the North Vietnamese. Thus began a 12-hour relentless assault by 3-4 NVA companies. This is the story of that battle - of how close the NVA came to overwhelming Charlie Company and how the Marines heroically fought back and prevailed against a superior force. Corporal William T. Perkins, Jr. would be posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions during the battle. September 9, 2024
“The Other Side of the Ocean" Presented by Richard Bell, Professor of History, University of Maryland. Britain was bitterly divided as to what the war for American independence was about, how to win it, and whether it was worth it. Historian Richard Bell examines the reactions of King George—what he wanted and how he tried to get it; members of Parliament with all their agendas and interests; and everyone else in Britain – the press, the merchants, the manufacturers, the radicals, the clergy, the laborers, and the men and women on the street. What did THEY think about Britain’s War in America, and did anyone in power, whether in the palace or in Parliament, ever stop to listen to what THEY had to say? Tuesday, October 15, 2024
“1774: The Year the Revolution Began” Presented by Robert Allison, Professor of History, Suffolk University. Parliament responded to Boston's destroying the tea by closing the port and suspending the 1691 charter. The people of Massachusetts would no longer have control over their municipal governments. Instead of silencing the local resistance, these moves brought the other colonies into an alliance with Massachusetts to begin a revolution against Parliament's authority. Find out what went wrong for the Empire in 1774. Tuesday, November 12 “NATO at 75” Presented by Bruce Jackan, US Army veteran, former Ranger. Throughout the Cold War, NATO’s unity and readiness deterred military incursions in Western Europe. The fall of the Berlin Wall on 9 November 1989 seemed to signify a clear Cold War victory for the West and to question the further need for NATO. Since then, NATO has been beset by an array of challenges from both state and non-state actors. Will its 31 member countries be up to these challenges? Bruce Jackan, US Army veteran who spent 21 years as an Army Infantry officer with service in the Middle East and across the globe, will discuss the current NATO challenges that are deepening fissures in the alliance: Russia’s attack on Ukraine; disagreements over NATO membership for Ukraine; some members’ fealty to Russia; and US political strife. He’ll review some key questions being asked: As NATO approaches its 75th anniversary, will it remain effective? Can it do so without the US? Should the United States change its relationship with NATO? How should NATO respond to a post-Putin Russia?
Monday, December 9 “A Life in the American Century” Presented by Joseph S. Nye, Scholar, Policymaker, Former Dean of Harvard’s JFK School of Government The years following World War II to the present have been dubbed “the American Century”, a time when America stepped onto the global stage and assumed unrivalled power. Joe Nye has spent a lifetime studying American power and America’s place in world affairs. With his background in the State Department, the Pentagon, and the Intelligence Community; as an observer and critic of three presidencies; as a prolific author and dean of one of our foremost academic institutions of government and world politics, Joe Nye has earned his reputation as one of the most influential international relations scholars in the world today. Joe will share his personal journey in his recently published memoir, “A Life in the American Century”. |