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The National Archives Commemorates Veterans Day
Press Release · Thursday, October 20, 2022

Washington, DC

The National Archives honors our nation’s veterans with free film screenings, discussions, and book talks. All event times are Eastern Time and will be livestreamed on the National Archives YouTube Channel. Reservations are recommended and can be made online.

The National Archives proudly serves veterans and their families, especially through our work at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, MO, and there are many veterans on staff. Explore our Veterans Day Resource page to learn how we help veterans access their records to receive benefits and discover how our Preservation staff makes these records accessible.

(Virtual) The Last Campaign: Sherman, Geronimo and the War for America
Tuesday, November 1, at 1 p.m.,  Register to attend. Watch the livestream. 
To honor Veterans Day and Native American Heritage Month, we present a book talk with bestselling historian and Pulitzer Prize finalist H. W. Brands. Brands’s The Last Campaign follows the lives of Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman and Apache war leader Geronimo to tell the story of the Indian Wars and the final fight for control of the American continent. 

(In Person only) Need to Know: World War II and the Rise of American Intelligence with Nicholas Reynolds
Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library, Hyde Park, NY, Wednesday, November 2, at 6 p.m. Register to attend. 
The FDR Library presents a book talk and signing with Nicholas Reynolds, author of Need to Know: World War II and the Rise of American Intelligence. The event will be held in the Henry A. Wallace Center at the FDR Presidential Library and Home.  

(In Person and Virtual) Veterans Day–related Film Screenings and Discussion
Tuesday, November 9, at noon, William G. McGowan Theater, DC, Register to attend. Watch the livestream. 
In commemoration of Veterans Day, and in collaboration with the National Archives motion picture preservation staff, we will screen two classic government-produced films from the Second World War. The National Archives Museum in Washington, DC, is located on the National Mall and is fully accessible and Metro accessible (Yellow/Green lines). Attendees should use the Special Events entrance on Constitution Avenue at 7th Street, NW.

  • The Battle of Midway (1942; 20 minutes), written and directed by John Ford for the U.S. Navy, won the Academy Award for Best Documentary.
  • Prelude to War (1942; 50 minutes), first installment of Frank Capra’s Why We Fight series, designed to educate American troops.

(In Person only) Connect Soldiers: Life, Leadership and Social Connections in Modern War with John Spencer
Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum, Grand Rapids, MI; Wednesday, November 9, at 7 p.m., Register to attend.
Discussing his book Connected Soldiers, author John Spencer will deliver lessons learned in Iraq about the effective methods for building teams in a way that overcomes the distractions of home and the outside world, without reducing the benefits gained from connections to family. The program will be followed by a book signing.

(Virtual) Young Learners Program: Chester Nez and the Unbreakable Code: A Navajo Code Talkers Story, with Joseph Bruchac 
Thursday, November 10, at 11 a.m., Watch the livestream.
Our program author is Joseph Bruchac, a writer, musician and storyteller of Indigenous heritage and traditions for over 40 years. A proud Nulhegan Abenaki citizen and respected elder among his people, he has authored more than 120 books for children and adults. His best selling Keepers of the Earth: Native American Stories and Environmental Activities for Children series, with its remarkable integration of science and folklore, continue to receive critical acclaim and to be used in classrooms throughout the country. 

(Virtual) Uniting America: How FDR and Henry Stimson Brought Democrats Democrats and Republicans Together to Win World War II
Thursday, November 17, at 1 p.m. Register to attend. Watch the livestream.
In Uniting America, author Peter Shinkle tells the story of a crucial bipartisan  alliance in United States history. As Adolf Hitler’s Nazi armies threatened Europe, Democratic President Franklin D. Roosevelt urged a divided America to mobilize to defend democracy and freedom. On June 20, 1940, FDR shocked the country by announcing that two prominent Republicans would take posts in his cabinet. Henry Stimson, former President Herbert Hoover’s Secretary of State, became Secretary of War, and Frank Knox, the Republican Vice-Presidential candidate in 1936, became Secretary of the Navy. This alliance stands as a historic example of  united leadership in a nation scarred by political division.

(Virtual) The Last Hill: The Epic Story of a Ranger Battalion and the Battle that Defined WWII
Tuesday, November 22, at 1 p.m. Register to attend. Watch the livestream.
Bob Drury and Tom Clavin's The Last Hill is the incredible story of the Ranger battalion's heroism and courage in World War II. They were known as “Rudder’s Rangers,” the most elite and experienced attack unit in the United States Army. In December 1944, Lt. Col. James Rudder's 2nd Battalion would form the spearhead into Germany, taking the war into Hitler’s homeland at last. Learn more about one of the bloodiest and most costly encounters of World War II.

(Virtual) Nixon Legacy Forum: Laying the Foundation for the Modern Presidency: Reorganization Plan 2 of 1970
Tuesday, November 29, at 1 p.m. Register to attend. Watch the livestream.
Actions taken early in the Nixon administration laid the foundation for the modern Presidency. They consisted of the revitalization of the National Security Council under Henry Kissinger, along with creation of the Domestic Council under John Ehrlichman and the transformation of the former Bureau of the Budget into the Office of Management and Budget under George Shultz. A panel for former members of the Nixon White House staff will discuss how this came about and its effect on executive branch governance. Panelists will include Geoff Shepard, James Cavanaugh, Edwin Harper, Bobbie Kilberg, and William Kilberg. Presented in collaboration with the Richard Nixon Foundation.

Related National Archives online resources:

 

 

 

This page was last reviewed on October 20, 2022.
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