The middle of anywhere you should have access to staffs reliable internet. We are leading the way. Media, along with these Television Companies support cspan2 as a public service. Resident doctor andrew weiss sitting in the middle. University distinguished professor of history in the school of humanity at the university of southern mississippi. I. Reese also the founding director of the dell center for the study of war and society. Several major publications including vietnams forgotten heroism and betrayal for which she won the society for military history distinguished book award. So i know i mispronounce part of that. But take it away. [applause] good afternoon. I have the arm today of posting america war panel here at the mississippi book festival id like to thank the festivals organizers especially ellen rogers and daniels who is out early b wearing this beautiful dress with butterflies on it. You all think or if you see here. And i would like to thank the audience members both here in person and on cspan for joining us today. You will earn a treat you a aren for a trout treat we talk about for books that cover the entire span of u. S. Military history. All the way from how the creeks were set up as a nation to Operation Iraqi freedom and beyond in 2003. Verse and like to introduce our panelists in the order they appear in your program which is also they appear the order i put questions their way first debate to my far rates is emily who worked as a familyy physician on the Navajo Nation for many years. Then taught science and math in rural colorado shes the author of poetry collectionll manifold poetry of mathematics but i do not understand poetry or mathematics i would need to read that at some point her to her problems have appeared in journals today she should discuss her book title 1000 pages left behind. One soldiers account of jungle warfare in world war ii burma. Next is doctor Heather Marie a colleague a fight in the History Department the university of southern mississippi and a senior fellow in southern the study of war and society. She is the author of many books. I will mention to hear saigon at war South Vietnam in the global 60s and beyond combat women and gender in the vietnam war era. S today doctors here to discuss her new book title 21 days to baghdad. And the Third Infantry Division in the iraq war. Next step to my far left is Peter Cozzensit author or editor of 18 acclaimed books on the American Civil War and the indian wars of the American West is also a member of the Advisory Council in 2002 he was awarded American ForeignService Association highest honor that william our risk and award given annually to one of the Foreign Service officer for their exemplary moral courage integrity and creative dissents. Today peters here to discuss his newest book titled a brutal reckoning Andrew Jackson the creek indians and the epic war for the american south. A final panelists today to my immediate left is chris who is the creator, host, lead writer legends of the old west longform narrative podcast that tells true stories of the American West produce a masters degree in journalism from the Walter Cronkite school of journalism at Arizona State university. As one numerous local, state, National Awards for his writing great today chris is here to discuss his first book titled the summer of 1876. Now lets begin our discussion and i propose to deal with the books in order the authors were just introduced which means i will throw couple questions to emily first. For those of you who have not had a chance to read her book emily is 1000 pages left behind is detachment 101 of the u. S. Army that operated behind japanese lines in the burma theater of world war ii. The unit in which her father served. Japanese had rolled the victories against both us and the british in Southeast Asia ever since pearl harbor leaving us in the military ropes in onee of our first local counterattacks was through the use of special operators with the daunting task of penetrating behind a japanese live ensuing chaos in the tranquil struggles ofce burma. As one of great success. Operating against all odds and fearfuln terrain alongside the local Indigenous Group of the kitchen people i knew i would get that wrong. My first people today why do you think your fathers unit was so successful against such long odds . What did they do right . As you i mentioned this is st of a memoir that was a long time coming. Its 60 years after the fact. He was, for the majority of the time in burma but for the purposes of the book we say burma because thats where all the literature refers to at the time. The americans b were in the northern part of burma and the oss and other intelligence Gathering Services its offices for Strategic Services for those who might not know. It was a military intelligence group. They also, later in the war had the mandate to cause trouble in addition to getting information they were very successful in that. I think the underlying thread through his book that he mentions a lot the most important thing he did there was to learn the language of the local people. Ask for their advice and others were very respectful of the culture of the people. He is a 21yearold figured out the way to survive any village or town he went to haywood asked elders if they would consider going as advisors. All of his adventures he always had a group of elder advisors who went with him. I think this was really key to the extraordinary success they had. I think the oss has a whole has less than 1000 casualties there were at least 15000 casualties in that conflict. Most of it was probably because of the people in the help they gave us and a lot of us dont know about that but thats part of the reason he went to get the book out. Ask the next question i want to ask the china burma india theater is probably the least research especially in the u. S. Theater of world war ii. I teach a class on world war ii and the people are even more underresearched. I had never heard of t them whih i hate to admit his someone who gives final exams on world war ii. Who were they . And why are they so understudied as well . There are a lot of groups which people probably know. There ispl in many different people even in northern vermont. This is the Largest Group in the area wherehe the americans were which is the very north of burma the british were a little south of there. And so they were a good group affiliated with because they did not want anyone invading their country the japanese that already started to do this. Youre already fighting at that point when we arrived. They were a natural ally. And they did a lot for us. Real understanding heroes of that war. Her dad had this wonderful chance to go to burma to reconnect. How long after the war was that . Did he meet anybody hed actually served with because theyll be so fascinating. Yes. All of the veterans wanted to do something for a long time. They mostly were not able to for lots of different political reasons and things going on. But when they all reached retirement age most of their family obligations were outoftheway they started it at that time there was little window and was happening in burma also. So they started some projects to help they had three different projects most brickandmortar schools one is they translated the book where there is no doctoror which is a david warner book thats been around for a while they distributed those but the main project was project old soldier which was a farm promoting thing they got seeds and expertise from agricultural people in the United States. When we went over. This was in the mid 90s from 96 until the last return who was involved died in 2017 the cap this program going. They met a lot of people who were in his battalion but most of the ones in position saturday died. There are a lot of people who served with him that he got to visit it was a really wonderful experience. If you had a chance to read the book you will understand the genesis of it dates only back to your father tell you stories when you were young. What is it like to write a book about your father and what process did you have to go through to collect the y storie . No doubt yourr memory of some of those campfire stories have beloww perishable. When it became apparent my dad was not going to write his book my youngest brother sat him down the tape recorder and a map of burma that was very detailed. We went through looked at where he went he told all the stories. So we had that so 17 tapes transcribed with about 800 pages of stories. Well he was still alive we sit down with him and start working on editing it. For a couple of years editing. Even after he died we continue to edit in fact check. Some of the stories we did not include Secondhand Stores anything he told that happened is some one else, we stuck to what happened to him. We tried the best we could to fact check but then most the people by that time were gone so that. Ard to do there is a book by ray with his Commanding Officer behind the burma road theres other of the historian wrote a book we use those to touch base. It was difficult we tried to do the best we could. If you read it you will note knowwhat it is its an oral hisy told by an old guy who had a lot of great war stories. But had some really good insights into war on foreign soil and what we do and we do that. Except he preached these great books i only have about 10 minutes worth of questions before active onto the nextng o. This is going to be the last for this one if you read the book it has so many Great Stories to my favorites your dad get shot in the butt by a bullet ricochet and a tiger attacking people of all things you have a favorite story t stuck with you the most . I do. My favorite story was a story called guide for general merrill. My dad sent a message he was needed to provide a guide across the stick track of flat jungle. So real briefly went to the elders and asking to get me a guide they all said no we cant know it has been across there. There was one guy who hunted in their one up and said he had a son maybe he could guide you. So they bring hishi son up his n is maybe 12. Every went over the average height is about five four hes also very tiny. We used toki love to hear the story where kids because this little boy says yes i can do this. So my dad takes into general merrill he kind of looks at him but he says okay. So this child leads them through 40 miles of jungle its a great and interesting story because it tells you a little about the people and how responsible they are at such an early age and they know so much about the jungle. So that is my favorite. The merrill she refers to is the famous. Its a big thing for 12 year old to do. The sign for heather to get in the hot seat. I was going to say nobody heres had a chance to read the book its not out yet. Its this wonderful thing when you first get to hold your book in your hand and i got to see dr. Sturt hold her book for her first time in her hand the day that book is 21 days to baghdad, which focuses Operation Iraqi freedom through the career and eyes of general buford blount, who led the us forces of the Third Infantry Division into baghdad in 2003. In baghdad in 2003. Book thats part biography and part history. How does the character hold together because he has complicated history . The first thing that drew me general blunt himself. One of his sisters did genealogy of the family and able to trace ancestry back to a couple of brothers who bought in 1066 so they have a long military tradition in their family. Theyre had ancestors who fought in almost every u. S. War since the american revolution. And so that Family History made him fascinating to me as i got to know him and learn about that. He also has deep roots in mississippi. Relatives in mississippi as early as the beginning of the 19th century eventually settled in the area. He lived in germany, went to high school in london. He just had. A fascinating life himself as the son of a career military officer, his dad was in the air force after world war ii and cold war. And so i was interested in general blunt himself and then as i got to talk to him especially about the invasion of iraq and t the drive to baghdadt became very clear to me how central he was to what went on on the ground in the invasion from crossing from kuwait to iraq all the way to baghdad and i will give 3 examples of that. One, he made the decision early onto split the division take two routes for baghdad, paved road, the highway, the going through the western desert. We do that in a paved road and will take us a long time or split off the tracked vehicles can handle going on the desert sand and meet up just outside of baghdad before the invasion. The reason he came up with that idea is because he spent several years serving with the u. S. Army in saudis. Arabia, he was the adviser to the modernization of the guard, particularly imagining tanks as warfare and it was from that experience that he could quick more quickly. He sold it to superiors and the division did that. Another example to howho the invasion played out is that he pushed for speed. Speed in terms of get to go baghdad. Any waiting allow it is enemy to regroup, figure out what they are doing even when others caution. The division made it to baghdad in 21 days, drive that was initially thought to take 6 months, they did it in 3 weeks. They were supposed to get just outside the city and the 101st first airborne was going to go into baghdad but what blunt realized that one of the areas where the iraqis had some success against u. S. Forces was with their antiaircraft forces. They were shooting down helicopters and really getting at american air power in a way that americans hadnt expected. The iraqis are going to have a chance and get in the way of being successful in an air assault. Let the third id make a land assault into baghdad where we trained for this, we are prepared forhi this and i know that my division can make this happen and, again, his superiors gave him the green light and so the third id ended up being the division that was the first into baghdad. So he h it became very clearo me as i was getting to know him and talking to him that as a Division Commander he actually was very significant to how the invasion of iraq and the drive to baghdad and the entry into baghdad played out. Of course, the conquest to baghdad so quickly and really unexpectedly was an incredibly military feat for blunt and military division was able to pull off. Sadly, we know the war did not end there but rather devolve in long and frustrating surgency. What did blunt think and was this war a success, failure, i know as a player in the war he has to be guarded about that but as, a historian perhaps you can weigh in a little more. Soo the division arrived in baghdad, they completed the commission. Initially it was to get to the outskirts to baghdad and then to get into baghdad, secure the city and that is the mission. That was the mission that the division trained for, that was the mission that the division executed. But once the division was in baghdad it became clear that there wasnt a plan for what happened next. Part of the reason is how quickly the division arrived in baghdad, planners in the pentagon were trying to figure out the next phase because they didnt expect baghdad to fall as quickly as they did. Sola there wasnt a plan in plae for what happened next orceps who would take over once the Third Infantry Division and the other elements, the 101st airborne, 82nd airborne, who was going to come in, and take ove. Meanwhile the conversations are being had, whatwh is going to happen next, general blunt decided, well, the third id is here and we know that iraqi citizens have needs so what we are going to do is meet the needs to the best that we can since we are here. So he began to go out, he would go on his own or a couple of members of his staff and walkthrough neighborhoods and see if there were people out that he could talk to do find out, okay, what do people need. People needed electricity turned back on, Saddam Hussein had a policy where he electrified the partsup where he had support and did not electrified where he didnt have support. Sometimes that involved having to find the person that had the key to the power plant in the neighborhood to let them in to let them in and he was on the ground doing this with his staff. Another thing to see what was needed in hospitals, if hospitals were equipped or if there was mig that the division could provide to hospitals, making sureos that people had propane for their cooking stoves. That was the way most iraqi kitchens k operated, they needed propane. So what his mind set was, we want the people of baghdad to believe that what we did was good for them and so if were here, were still here, lets try to make their basic needs met. Now, one to have issues there are a lot of complicating factors one of them being the soldiers of the Third Infantry Division and their families back home understood the divisions mission toca be capture baghdad, secure baghdad and once that is done, someone else is going to come in and take care of the post war activities, well, the third id achieved that mission but they werent coming home and so soldiers began to morale of soldiers began to decline, families back home, stewart, georgia where thein third infany is headquartered began to get restless, there were some spouses who wrote newspapers to the post wrote letters to the post newspaper expressing this. Why arent our family members coming home, we were told that they were to get to baghdad, they did that, they should be home by now and because of that, conversations about the soldiers morale the division began to be withdrawn and general