Monthly history talks start Jan. 29 on WWII and Vietnam

Prince William County government’s Historic Preservation Division is beginning a series of free “lectures” on World War II and the Vietnam War. The talks will be on the last Thursday evening of the next five months starting Thursday, Jan. 29.

The lectures will begin at 7 p.m. on the second floor of the Old Manassas Courthouse at 9248 Lee Avenue in Manassas.

The series will include two talks on World War II and two talks on the Vietnam War, along with a lecture about the “Missing in America Project: You are not Forgotten.”

In the first World War II lecture on Jan. 29, Robert F. Dorr, author of “Mission to Tokyo,” will talk about the B-29 “Superfortress” aircrews that flew firebombing missions over Tokyo and the bombing of Hiroshima. Dorr’s talk will also include little known facts about the Pentagon.

The first Vietnam, on Feb. 26, “Air Cav Reminiscences of a Vietnam Veteran,” will be a look at the Vietnam War as remembered by John Davis, U.S. Army retired, an African American who served in the reconnaissance branch of the 9th Infantry Division in Vietnam. It will also include a commemoration of Black History Month.

“Vietnam: Through a Marine’s Eyes” on March 26, will feature a non-political slide show presented by retired U.S. Marine Bill Peters, who was a platoon commander in Vietnam. Peters’ presentation will showcase America’s fight in Vietnam between 1969 and 1970.

The Missing in America Project aims to locate, identify and inter the unclaimed cremated remains of American veterans through the joint efforts of private, state and federal organizations. The “You are Not Forgotten!” lecture will be held on April 30.

On May 21, representatives from the U.S. Marine Corps Historic Company will give a talk on the amphibious assaults on Okinawa and Iwo Jima in Japan.