S4E10 Andrew Wiest - University of Southern Mississippi

Our guest to the generous and brilliant Andrew A. Wiest. Andy is a Distinguished Professor of History and Founding Director of the Dale Center for the Study of War and Society at the University of Southern Mississippi. He is also the current General Buford "Buff" Blount Professor of Military History from 2023-2025 at USM. He served as a Visiting Professor in the Department of Warfighting Strategy at the United States Air Force Air War College and a Visiting Senior Lecturer in the War Studies Department at the Royal Military Academy in Sandhurst, England. Andy received his BS and MA degrees in History from Southern Mississippi and earned his Ph. from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Andy is the author of seventeen books (that's right - seventeen!), including two best-sellers: Boys of 67: Charlie Company's War in Vietnam (Osprey) and Vietnam's Forgotten Army: Heroism and Betrayal in the ARVN (NYU Press). The Boys of 67 was also released as Brothers in War, a documentary film by Lou Reda Productions for National Geographic Television, which received an Emmy nomination. Vietnam's Forgotten Army won the Society for Military History's Distinguished Book Award. Andy also authored Charlie Company's Journey Home: The Boys of '67 and the War They Left Behind; The Forgotten Impact on the Wives of Vietnam Veterans (Osprey/Bloomsbury), and he has published books on the First and Second World Wars, edited or co-edited several volumes, and published more than a dozen articles and book chapters. He has written for the New York Times, the Washington Post, CNN, and many other news publications.

Andy has twice received the University of Southern Mississippi Excellence in Teaching Award and was awarded the Mississippi Humanities Council Teacher of the Year Award in 2002. In 2021, he was inducted into the Hattiesburg Publish School District's Hall of Fame. He leads an annual WWII study abroad program to London and Normandy and has developed an award-winning Vietnam Study Abroad Program.

Join us for a remarkable and enjoyable chat with Andy Wiest. We'll talk growing up in the South, working and traveling with Vietnam veterans, founding a major center for the study of war and society, Dirty Manhattans, Electric Light Orchestra, and the sad naps from being a lifelong Minnesota Vikings fan. This is why we do this podcast.

Shoutout to Leatha's BBQ in Petal, Mississippi!

Rec.: 10/13/2023