Southern Miss Department of History to Present Lecture by Kyle Longley

The Department of History at The University of Southern Mississippi Gulf Park Campus in Long Beach will present a lecture and book discussion by Dr. Kyle Longley on Monday, Oct. 20 at 5 p.m.

Longley, author and professor of history at Arizona State University, will give a talk about his latest book “The Morenci Marines: A Tale of Small Town America and the Vietnam War.” A discussion will follow.   

“How fortunate we are to have such a distinguished historian of the Vietnam War on the Gulf Coast campus,” said Dr. Douglas Bristol, a fellow of the Dale Center for the Study of War and Society and associate professor in the Department of History. “Dr. Longley is the Snell Family Dean's Distinguished Professor at Arizona State and the author of five highly regarded books.  Many of his students enjoyed his last book, Grunts: The American Combat Soldier in Vietnam (2008), so they are eagerly awaiting his new one.” 

“The Morenci Marines” outlines the struggles of nine young men who left the desert mining camp of Morenci, Arizona to serve their country in the jungles of Vietnam in 1966. Only three of these men survived the war; all battled survivor's guilt, difficult re-entries into civilian life, and traumas from personally experiencing war – as well as losing close friends along the way.

This event is sponsored by the Dale Center for the Study of War and Society on the Hattiesburg campus and by Phi Alpha Theta, the History Honor Society.

The lecture and discussion is schedule for Monday, Oct. 20 in Room A of the Holloway Complex on the Gulf Park Campus in Long Beach. Refreshments will be provided. For more information, contact Dr. Douglas Bristol at douglas.bristolFREEMississippi or 228.867.2603.