Pritzker Military Museum & Library Podcasts

The Battle of Cantigny. Sponsored by the First Division Museum at Cantigny. Dr. John Allen Williams moderates a discussion between James Carl Nelson, author of The Remains of Company D: A Story of the Great War and Paul Herbert, Executive Director of…

The 1914 assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, began a pivotal month that saw the formation of political alliances that would change the world and leave it on the brink of the first truly global conflict.

A native of Chicago, Captain William San Hamel was a member of the Department of the Army Special Photographic Office (DASPO), serving as an Officer with the Pacific Unit from 1967-1969 where he acted as a producer and director, approving the photographs…

Through three consecutive conflicts (World War II, Korea, and Vietnam), Peter “Rupy” Ruplenas took photographs for the U.S. military so that intelligence would understand what was going on—first as a part of the Signal Corps. and then later as a…

Going from working kitchen duty with the Yankee Division in France to enduring seven days of German captivity while wounded, Dr. Malcolm Ekstrand’s story of service shows the dangers that can befall anyone, at a moment’s notice, during war.

An exploration of the history and heritage of America's first black military aviators; with Tuskegee Airman and Chicago native O. Lawton Wilkerson, historian and Tuskegee expert Dr. Daniel Haulman, and WGN TV's Bob Jordan. Sponsored by the Seedlings Foundation.

Like so many others that felt it was a matter of duty to enlist in the military during WWII, Larry Kirby joined the Marine Corps, becoming a Communications/Scout with the 3rd Marine Division as it island hopped its way through such places as Guam to ultimately…

Scholars like Beevor and Atkinson have answered the highest calling of the military historian: to not only document and preserve our history, but to impart the profound perspective that the true lessons of the past lie in the evolution of human conflict.…

While most of Eric Blaustein’s lectures focus on his time in the Buchenwald Concentration Camp during WWII, for his oral history with the Pritzker Military Museum & Library, he discusses the years after being liberated and, in 1948, joining the Israeli…

Author and former Navy Leiutenant Edward R. Murphy Jr. shares his experiences as XO aboard USS Pueblo, the American spy ship famously captured and held by North Korea since 1968. Sponsored by Colonel (IL) J.N. Pritzker, IL ARNG (Retired) and Act One Mayne…

Encapsulating the familiar story of those that immigrate to the U.S. and then turn around and give back by serving in our military, Sgt. Aniceto “Al” Rivera’s Cuban origins lead him to want to serve with the 82nd Airborne Division, knowing that…

Looking for the opportunity to face the Germans head on, James “Maggie” Megellas requested a transfer to the paratroopers during WWII, where he would go on to face heavy fighting across Europe—including while crossing the Waal River and at the Battle…

Knowing that he’d join the Army after college, Col. Keith Nightingale built a storied career in the military, beginning with two tours in Vietnam, and going through Grenada, and Iran, to a position in the Department of Defense Interagency Counterdrug…

Jerome William Adler was born on March 26, 1931 to Mr. and Mrs. William H. Adler in Jersey City, New Jersey. He entered into active service with the United States Army on July 24, 1951.