You are invited to a Distinguished Speaker Series dinner event on May 9, 2024, at the Riverfront Community Center in downtown Leavenworth, Kansas (123 S. Esplanade St.). A reception begins at 5:30 p.m., the buffet dinner starts at 6 p.m. and the presentation will begin at 7 p.m.
It has been almost fifty years since the fall of Saigon. It is appropriate at this point to examine the legacy of “the American War” for Vietnam. The five decades since the end of that war have been a dynamic period in Southeast Asia that saw one of the world’s poorest and most isolated countries eventually emerge as a rising power in the heart of the Indo-Pacific region and an increasingly important U.S. partner. This presentation will address those five decades of change.
Tickets are $35/person in advance or $40/person at the door.
Register/purchase tickets below.
Dr. James H. Willbanks retired from the faculty of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College in 2018, after 26 years of service following more than 23 years of active-duty service as an infantry officer in various assignments, to include a tour as an advisor with a South Vietnamese infantry regiment during the 1972 North Vietnamese Easter Offensive. While a member of the CGSC faculty, Willbanks served as the Director of the Department of Military History, the General of the Army George C. Marshall Chair of Military History, and also taught national security policy and counterinsurgency.
Dr. Willbanks is an honor graduate of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College and a graduate of the inaugural class of the School of Advanced Military Studies. He holds a B.A. in History from Texas A&M University, and a M.A. and Ph.D. in History from the University of Kansas. He is the author or editor of 22 books on the Vietnam War and other topics in military history and serves on several editorial boards. Dr. Willbanks also served as a consultant to Ken Burns in the preparation of his 10-part documentary on the Vietnam War which aired on PBS in 2017.
His military awards and decorations include the Silver Star, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star with “V” and Oak Leaf Cluster, two Purple Hearts, and Republic of Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with two Silver Stars. He and his wife Diana now reside in Georgetown, Texas.
The CGSC Foundation through its Simons Center conducts the Distinguished Speaker Series (DSS) program to offer extracurricular, educational lectures intended to help enrich the Command and General Staff School curriculum and provide opportunities for outreach to the public. Topics covered in the Distinguished Speaker Series of lectures span the gamut of leadership and ethics, organizational effectiveness, collaboration, as well as current events and issues in business, government and the military.
~ Thank you to our 2024 DSS Sponsors ~
Five Stars
Col. (Ret.) Tim and Karen Carlin
(The Tim and Karen Carlin Family Foundation)
Four Stars
Col. (Ret.) Bill and Marge Eckhardt
Mr. John Ferguson (Ferguson Properties)
Maj. Gen. (Ret.) George Harris (First Command)
Ms. Jody Kaaz (Kaaz Construction)
Mr. Jerry Reilly (Reilly Holding Company)
Col. (Ret.) Bob and Terri Ulin
Three Stars
Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Rich and Mary Ann Keller
Two Stars
Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Stan Cherrie
Ms. Sherry DeMaranville (DeMaranville and Associates)
Col. (Ret.) Tom and Candy Dials
Mr. Art Fillmore
Mr. Bill Geiger (Geiger Ready Mix Foundation)
Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Bill West
One Star
Lt. Col. (Ret.) William and Kathleen Connor, Sr.
Ms. Tina Farr (Armed Forces Bank)
Mr. Curt Gilfert (Advantage Printing)
Mr. Rick Schneider (Exchange Bank)
Questions about registration? – Contact Laurie Morgado, lmorgado@cgscf.org or call 913-651-0624.
For questions about the DSS contact Col. (Ret.) Robert Ulin, Simons Center Director, at rulin@cgscf.org or call 913-240-1495.
