Since its inception in April 2007, "This Week in Army History" (TWIAH) has presented forty articles relating to the military history of the United States and the U.S. Army in particular. Our first historical presentation was authored by Dr. Richard J. Sommers and was titled "One Way to Win a War." It brought us the story of the meeting between Generals Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox that signaled the ending of four years of civil war in our Nation.
Our authors have brought to us the history and story of our armed forces ranging from Jamestown in 1607 with Colonel Robert Dalessandro's article, "Army Strong - - Celebrating 400 Years of Service" to Kaleb Dissenger's article titled " Aca,!EoeDesigned by Soldiers for SoldiersAca,!a,,c - The Army Combat Uniform," reviewing the development of the newest type of Army uniform.
The subjects covered included colonial history, the French and Indian War, Revolutionary War, Mexican-American War, Civil War, Spanish-American War, World Wars I and II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. Articles were written about several US Army components, to include airborne forces, armor forces, the medical services, engineers, infantry, artillery, and the air services.
We have represented a range of the peoples of our Nation who have contributed to the history of the U.S. Army. John Kurash speaks about the contributions and struggles of African-American soldiers in his article "Tuskegee Airmen Soared to New Heights." We have touched in articles like Chris Semancik's, "Good Guns and Guts," on the conflicts between the Indians and the Army that occurred during the westward expansion of our Nation. The relationship between the civilian and military spheres has been considered in articles such as Lieutenant Colonel Gerald Torrence's on the Selective Service during World War I, "Registration Day: A Spiritual Awakening." We have covered the service of the U.S. Army around the world with events occurring in Virginia, Alaska, Mexico, Italy, North Africa, Europe, and the Pacific region. Articles told of distinguished individuals, to include Presidents Truman and Nixon, Generals John J. Pershing, George C. Marshall and Dwight D. Eisenhower, and soldiers such as Sergeant Alvin York and Lt. Colonel Charles B Smith.
We attempted to feature a range of subjects, some widely recognized and others rarely noted, during the past year. We look forward to continuing to provide insights into the rich and vibrant contributions of the U.S. Army and the American military to the history of our Nation. Future plans include articles about the Berlin Airlift, the U.S. Colored Troops, Army Nurses and the K-9 corps, among others.
To enhance the opportunity presented through the creation of TWIAH, we wish to announce the adoption of an archive feature for past articles. This is now available on the Army homepage due to the efforts of the superb staff at the Army.mil website.
As the Editor, I take this opportunity to thank those responsible for the creation and success of the feature. Firstly, to the authors of the articles, all of whom are members of the Army Heritage and Education Center (AHEC) staff. In addition to their already heavy workload, they have made time to research and produce the presentations. Special acknowledgements go to Robbie Thompson and Zach Kevit of the website team and Jini Ryan of the Soldiers Media Center. In the AHEC an extra special salute goes to Gary Johnson, Stephen Bye, and Shaun Kirkpatrick, the publishing team. Finally, my highest recognition goes to our senior reviewers, Dr. Conrad Crane and Dr. Richard Sommers; their keen historical eye towards accuracy and scholarly content contributed immeasurably to the success of the program.
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