Captain David R. Herr Jr. ’80 Memorial Lecture

FWCD will host the Captain David R. Herr Jr. ’80 Memorial Lecture on Monday, August 14, at 6:15 p.m. in the FWCD Scott Theater. Established in 2010, the lecture honors the life and heroism of FWCD alumnus Chip Herr ’80. Captain Herr was killed on February 3, 1991, when his helicopter malfunctioned and crashed during a noncombat mission in eastern Saudi Arabia. He is the only FWCD graduate to have died in service to his country. Each year, the lecture brings an accomplished speaker to campus to share perspectives on scholarship, service and leadership with the FWCD community.   

The keynote speaker is Rick Atkinson, a best-selling author, three-time Pulitzer Prize winner, and former Washington Post journalist. He is the author of the New York Times best-selling The British Are Coming, the first volume of his acclaimed Revolution Trilogy, which has earned numerous honors including the George Washington Prize and the New York Historical Society’s Zalaznick Book Prize. The second volume in the trilogy, The Fate of the Day: The War for America, Fort Ticonderoga to Charleston, 1777-1780, continues the sweeping narrative of the American Revolution, capturing the conflict’s critical middle years with vivid storytelling and deep historical insight. Atkinson also serves as a historical advisor for Ken Burns’ PBS documentary series The American Revolution, which commemorates the Revolution’s 250th anniversary.

He is also the author of the Liberation Trilogy, a definitive narrative history of Europe’s liberation in World War II. Its third volume, The Guns at Last Light, became a No. 1 New York Times bestseller in 2013 and was hailed as “history written at the level of literature.” Exclusively represented by Leading Authorities Speakers Bureau, Atkinson shares compelling stories and insights drawn from military history, illuminating timeless lessons about leadership, sacrifice, and democracy’s enduring demands.

Acclaimed for works such as An Army at Dawn (Pulitzer Prize, History), The Day of Battle, and The Long Gray Line, Atkinson has built a body of work that combines meticulous research with elegant prose. His other books include Crusade, In the Company of Soldiers, and Where Valor Rests: Arlington National Cemetery. Among his many accolades are the Pulitzer Prizes for history, national reporting, and public service; the George Polk Award; the Pritzker Military Library Literature Award for Lifetime Achievement; and the Samuel Eliot Morison Prize. He has served as the Omar N. Bradley Chair of Strategic Leadership at the U.S. Army War College and remains on its adjunct faculty.

A former Assistant Managing Editor for Investigations at The Washington Post, Atkinson reported from Berlin, Somalia, Bosnia and Iraq, earning a reputation as one of America’s most incisive chroniclers of war and leadership. Born in Munich and raised on military posts, Atkinson holds a master’s degree in English Literature from the University of Chicago and an Honorary Doctorate from Norwich University.

Following the lecture, there will be a reception in the Lou and Nick Martin Campus Center. Please RSVP for the lecture by emailing [email protected].