Mark Calhoun

@markcalhoun.bsky.social

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Senior historian at the National WWII Museum in New Orleans, LA. https://www.nationalww2museum.org/contributors/dr-mark-t-calhoun?page=0

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For our last day of touring we took guests to La Cambre German Cemetery, followed the route of the 115th Infantry to St. Lô, and visited the site where General McNair was killed during Operation Cobra. It was another great day, but it’s time to go home. 🗃️

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AI is terrible, example 1944:

*snort*

I’ve been to Normandy several times, but never on an anniversary, and it is really something. Less quiet and contemplative, more celebratory and frenetic. Today I went with guests on a tour highlighting the 101st Airborne, personally rewarding since I served three tours with the division. 🗃️

Yesterday I was on Omaha Beach. We started in Easy Red sector, at WN62. After lunch we hiked along the beach, past WN61, to WN60 on the high ground overlooking Omaha from the east. It was a beautiful day with big crowds, reenactors, aircraft fly-bys, and inspiring stories of heroism and sacrifice. 🗃️

It was a very busy day in Normandy. It’s chaotic, but the atmosphere is positive and it’s wonderful to see so much interest in the 80th anniversary of D-Day. 🗃️

I also visited Vimy Ridge, a beautiful memorial to the famous WWI battle. The site was very busy, with many school kids present. Heartening to see young folks learning about these important historical events. 🗃️

I was in East Anglia the past two days, where the tour focused on the air war and how it contributed to Allied success on D-Day. We visited Parham, Horham, and Thorpe Abbotts Airfields, all beautifully maintained by dedicated volunteers.

I’m seeing lots of amazing things for the first time on this trip, including sites like the Neuengamme concentration camp and the Arnhem battlefield. Fascinating places that make history come alive. 🗃️

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Today we went to Valentin Bunker, a giant structure meant to be an assembly line for a new generation of German submarines. It’s preserved as a memorial to the evil and insanity of the Nazi regime. Construction continued until nearly the end of the war, at the cost of many lives, for no purpose. 🗃️

I’m in Hamburg, preparing for the 80th Anniversary of D-Day cruise. I just left St. Nikolai’s Church, preserved since WWII in the condition it was in after Operation Gomorrah. It’s a somber monument in the midst of a beautiful city.

Time to head home after a fun and successful tour of Italy. I learned a lot and the guests thoroughly enjoyed themselves. I’m looking forward to the next tour in October! 🗃️

Another great day in Italy. We went to the excellent Museo Gotica, where we toured the museum and then saw reconstructed fighting positions on the Gothic Line. We were also lucky enough to see a parade of WWII military vehicles celebrating Italy’s liberation. 🗃️

Today we went to the Florence American Cemetery. A beautiful resting place for Americans killed during the campaigns in northern Italy. So much respect for the ABMC. 🗃️

Went to the Anzio battlefield today. Highlights were the Sicily-Rome American Cemetery and the Caves of Aprilia. 🗃️

Today I saw the Ardeatine Caves, site of the murder of 334 Roman citizens by the Nazis in retaliation for the resistance attack at the Via Rasella. A somber place. www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles...

As luck would have it, I’m in Rome, starting a tour of WWII in Italy for Museum guests tomorrow. I saw Anzio for the first time today. This lovely monument captures the gravitas of the place beautifully. 🗃️ anziotours.com/index.php/mo...

At 0200 on 24 March, on the heels of an hour-long, 3,500-gun artillery barrage that rained destruction along the 25-mile front, General Simpson’s Ninth US Army, part of Field Marshal Montgomery’s 21 Army Group, began to cross the Rhine River. 🗃️ history.army.mil/armyhistory/...

history.army.mil

There’s an excellent new article on our website by Dr. Jennifer Putnam, Research Historian: “What Happened to Lieutenant Curtis R. Biddick?” Should be of interest to those watching “Masters of the Air” 🗃️ www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles...

What Happened to Lieutenant Curtis R. Biddick? | The National WWII Museum | New Orleanswww.nationalww2museum.org Spoilers ahead for Episode 3 of Masters of the Air.

Scholarship applications for The National WWII Museum's Normandy Academy college program are now open! The scholarship covers almost all expenses. The College trip will take place July 1-11th, 2024. For more information check out the link below! www.nationalww2museum.org/events-progr...

Normandy Academy 2024 | The National WWII Museum | New Orleanswww.nationalww2museum.org This course examines leadership and decision-making scenarios during the Battle of Normandy. Through readings, battlefield visits in Normandy, and online discussion forums, students analyze the decisi...

The National World War II Museum held its 2023 International Conference on WWII earlier this month. Videos of the panel presentations are available on our YouTube channel. Here’s a link to my panel, an interview with John McManus about my book on General Lesley J. McNair. youtu.be/KaPlu5QMF4c?...

Lesley McNair: Unsung Architect of the US Army | 2023 International Conference on WWIIyoutu.be "General Lesley J. McNair: Unsung Architect of the US Army" features a discussion on General Lesley J. McNair, exploring his significant yet underrecognized ...

The Jenny Craig Institute for the study of War and Democracy at the National World War II Museum is looking for military historians with expertise in WWII. Please pass along if you know of any good candidates. 🗃️ easyapply.co/a/b8730098-c...

World War II Military Historian at The National WWII Museumeasyapply.co The National World War II Museum seeks a World War II Military Historian to be a part of the intellectual life of the Jenny Craig Institute for the Study of...

So happy to see in print my article on Ninth US Army’s March 1945 operation to cross the Rhine River. Army History is an excellent magazine, and the best periodical on operational military history available today. 🗃️ history.army.mil/armyhistory/...

In high-stakes strategic conferences in late 1943, the Allies made several key decisions that shaped wartime strategy, while reflecting the changing balance of power between the Allied nations and foreshadowing the postwar emergence of the bipolar world. 🗃️ www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles...

The Cairo and Tehran Conferences | The National WWII Museum | New Orleanswww.nationalww2museum.org In a series of high-stakes strategic conferences in late 1943, the Allies made several key decisions that shaped wartime strategy, while reflecting the changing balance of power between the Allied nat...

The National WWII Museum’s YouTube series, WWII in 2, is growing quickly, with a new episode each week. Here’s my latest, on Operation Cobra: youtu.be/-OfofipSzsw?... 🗃️

Operation COBRA | WWII IN 2youtu.be Mark Calhoun, PhD, Military Historian at the Jenny Craig Institute for the Study of War and Democracy, explains about Operation COBRA, an arduous offense tha...

Operation Clipper, an offensive launched in November 1944 to reduce the Geilenkirchen salient in Germany, highlighted the value of specialized tanks in a combined US-British operation. 🗃️ www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles...

Operation Clipper: The Fight for Geilenkirchen | The National WWII Museum | New Orleanswww.nationalww2museum.org Operation Clipper, an offensive to reduce the Geilenkirchen salient in Germany, highlighted the value of specialized tanks in a combined US-British operation.

🗃️We’ve started a new YouTube series at the Museum called “World War II in 2” - here’s my first contribution, on General Lesley J. McNair. youtu.be/jG86emmavCg?...

Lieutenant General Lesley J. McNair | WWII IN 2youtu.be Mark Calhoun, PhD, Military Historian at the Jenny Craig Institute for the Study of War and Democracy, spells out the life and accomplishments Lieutenant Gen...

#OTD in 1944, XIX US Corps completed operations to penetrate the Siegfried Line along a 14-mile front, linking up with elements of the First US Army just north of Aachen, Germany after a costly offensive. 🗃️ www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles...

XIX Corps Breaks Through the Siegfried Line | The National WWII Museum | New Orleanswww.nationalww2museum.org In a lesser-known operation that presaged the horrors of the deadly Battle of Hürtgen Forest, the XIX Corps broke through the Siegfried Line south of Aachen, Germany, in October 1944.

Travel has mostly been work related lately, but we’ve managed to get away for a week in Taos, New Mexico. Hiking along the Rio Grande Gorge today, horseback ride tomorrow, Georgia O’Keeffe Museum this weekend. This is a beautiful, magical place…instant peace of mind.

Would appreciate it if @rauchway.bsky.social would add me to the What’s History feed.

#OTD in 1944, Maj. Gen. Donald A. Stroh, commander of the 8th Infantry Division, received the surrender of German Gen. Hermann Ramcke, commandant of the Brest fortress: www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles...

General William H. Simpson’s Ninth US Army and the Liberation of Brest | The National WWII Museum ...www.nationalww2museum.org Historians have debated the logic of fighting to liberate Brest, with some arguing that it would have made more sense to simply bypass the city and isolate the garrison.