War Termination Symposium

This September 18 and 19, the National Museum of the Pacific War and the Admiral Nimitz Foundation will host a selection of renowned historians and veterans for the 2010 Symposium. This year we will be discussing the ending of wars, beginning with an overview of how U.S. wars ended up to WWI. We will continue the first day with the ending of WWII in Europe and in the Pacific, followed by a keynote address from General Anthony Zinni, USMC (Ret). Saturday's program will conclude with a session on the Korean War Armistice. We will end between 2:30 and 3:00 in the afternoon on Saturday so that our attendees will have a chance to tour the museum.

Sunday, we will reconvene for discussions on the conclusion of the Vietnam War, the Dayton Paris Agreement and the Bosnian War as well as the cease fire of the first Gulf War. To bring the program to an end, H.W. Brands, the Dickson Allen Anderson Centennial Professor of History at the University of Texas, will give a lessons learned synopsis of the two days.

Some of our other presenters include WWII historian Richard Frank, Michael Pearlman, Allan Millett and others. As we get closer to the event, our historians will be spotlighted in our blog. It truly is an all-star cast this year.

If you are interested in purchasing tickets for this event, visit www.PacificWarMuseum.org and follow the link on the homepage. You can also read about past symposia there and see clips from last year's event. Students always get free admission, it is necessary to register but we see this as a great learning experience for any and all students. Saint Edward's University in Austin offers continuing education credits for those who are interested for only ten dollars.

I can't tell you enough good things about this program. Actually, it is how I came to work here at the museum. When I was in high school, I came to the 'Pacific D-Days' symposium and was so captivated by what I saw that I remained a fan of the museum through college and now am proud to say that the annual symposium is one of my favorite parts of my job!