Those Who Have Borne the Battle: A History of America's Wars and Those Who Fought Them

On April 26, 2012, the Center for a New American Security hosted the book launch for Those Who Have Borne the Battle: A History of America's Wars and Those Who Fought Them by James Wright, President Emeritus of Dartmouth College, American historian and former Marine. Wright shed light on America's complicated relationship with its armed forces and how the treatment of its soldiers and veterans has evolved through history. Greg Jaffe, the Pulitzer Prize-winning Pentagon Reporter for The Washington Post, interviewed Dr. Wright.

In Those Who Have Borne the Battle, Wright uses detailed historical context and compelling personal stories to expertly relate the burdens carried by veterans throughout America's history, as well as those fighting in current conflicts. By asking the crucial question-what is the obligation of democracy to those who sacrificed in its service-Wright challenges Americans to do better for those who serve and sacrifice today.

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Date & Time
Thursday, April 26, 2012
5:30-6:00 p.m.: Guest registration and book sales
6:00-7:15 p.m.: Moderated discussion followed by Q&A
7:15-8:30 p.m.: Book-signing cocktail reception

Location
The Willard InterContinental Hotel's Grand Ballroom
1401 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20004

About the Speakers

James Wright is the son of a World War II veteran. He joined the Marines at age seventeen and served for three years. A first-generation college student, he earned a PhD at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, became a history professor at Dartmouth College in 1969 and served as president of Dartmouth from 1998 to 2009. Since 2005 he has visited military hospitals over two dozen times and has worked to establish educational counseling programs for wounded veterans. His efforts have been featured in The New York Times, Boston Globe, Christian Science Monitor, National Public Radio, ABC World News and VFW Magazine, and have been recognized by educational, veteran and service organizations.

Greg Jaffe is the Pentagon Reporter at The Washington Post, where he has been since 2009. Prior to the Post, he was a reporter with the Wall Street Journal from 1995-2008. He has made 10 trips, each averaging about a month, to Iraq since 2003 and has embedded with troops at all levels throughout the country. He spent much of 2011 at the Post writing about how a decade of war has altered the military's relationship to society. Jaffe took leave from the Wall Street Journal to work on The Fourth Star, a book about the four Army generals - John Abizaid, George Casey, Peter Chiarelli, and David Petraeus - who Mr. Jaffe believes to have had the greatest impact on the conduct of the Iraq war. Jaffe shared a Pulitzer Prize in 2000 for a series on defense spending.