12:00 AM - 12:00 AM
“Recovering Sacred Ground for All Generations”
An Evening of Conversation based on Burns and Novick’s The Vietnam War
On October 3 beginning at 7:00 p.m. at the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, the Army Heritage Center Foundation, in conjunction with the U.S. Army War College Memorial Chapel and Stephen Ministry, will present a renowned panel of veterans who will share their war experiences and lessons learned from the Burns and Novick series, The Vietnam War. The program will provide an opportunity for the audience to share and reflect on their own experience and help facilitate continued dialogue concerning the impact of war on their lives.
After the panel and discussions, COL (Retired) Neal Delasanti, Director, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Cumberland County, PA, will be available for brief consultations.
The distinguished panel will include:
COL (Retired) Dr. Don Snider – Served three combat tours as an infantry officer in Vietnam, decorated for both valor and wounds. He is a distinguished faculty member of the U.S. Army War College and Professor Emeritus from the United States Military Academy. He has authored numerous publications on leadership, ethics, and the moral development of leaders. Dr. Snider retired in October 2016 after 53 years of service within the Department of Defense and continues today in adjunct status.
COL (Retired) Tony Nadal – Served two tours in Vietnam. He was engaged in heavy infantry combat in the Ia Drang Valley, the Bong Son plain, and in Kontum Province. He served as Commanding Officer of A Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry during the battle of the la Drang Valley. Harold Moore and Joseph Galloway documented the Battle of the la Drang Valley in their book We Were Soldiers Once … And Young. Prior to retirement from the military, COL Nadal served on the faculty of the U.S. Army War College.
COL David Benedek – Professor of Psychiatry and Chairman of the Uniformed Services University's Department of Psychiatry. He is also an Associate Director of the University's Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress. He has authored or co-authored over 75 scientific publications and has presented on numerous aspects of military, disaster, and forensic psychiatry at regional, national, and international professional conferences. In addition to his operational experience in Bosnia and Croatia, Dr. Benedek has deployed to Cuba, Iraq, and Kuwait in conjunction with the Global War on Terrorism. He is co-editor of the recently published Clinical Manual for Management of PTSD.
LTC (Retired) Dr. Douglas Johnson – Served two combat tours in Vietnam as an artillery officer. He was with the Strategic Studies Institute, U.S. Army War College from 1985 until 2009. His 30 years of service in the U.S. Army included two combat tours, a variety of troop and staff assignments, and instructor duty at the U.S. Military Academy and the School of Advanced Military Studies at Fort Leavenworth. He is also a graduate of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College and holds a diploma from the U.S. Army War College.
The evening’s discussion will be moderated by Chaplain (COL) Jerry Sieg, Carlisle Barracks’ Installation Chaplain.
The evening is meant to be interactive. Reflections and comments by the audience will be encouraged. Members of the panel feel that it is important for combat veterans to “tell their story”. This can provide continued understanding of their war experiences as part of a healing process.