THE
WINSTON CHURCHILL
SYMPOSIUM
September 10, 2011
New Orleans, Louisiana
The National World War II Museum
in partnership with
The Churchill Society of New Orleans
PROGRAM
8:00-8:45 a.m. Registration and Continental Breakfast
8:45 a.m. Welcoming Remarks
Dr. Gordon H. “Nick” Mueller
President & CEO, The National World War II Museum
J. Gregg Collins
President, The Churchill Society of New Orleans
9:00 a.m. “Citizens of London” - Lynne Olson
10:00 a.m. “The Few” - Alex Kershaw
11:00 a.m. “Flying the Secret Sky” - William VanDerKloot
12:00 p.m. Lunch with a special performance by the Museum’s
own “Victory Belles”
1:15 p.m. “Churchill Defiant” - Barbara Leaming
2:15 p.m. Panel discussion featuring all of the day’s speakers
3:45 p.m. Symposium Adjourns
4:00 p.m. Screening of the Museum’s 4D feature “Beyond All
Boundaries” in the Solomon Victory Theater
5:00 p.m. VIP speakers’ reception, Arizona/Missouri room
6:00 p.m. The General Raymond E. Mason Jr. Distinguished
Lecture on World War II, “Churchill and His
Generals,” by Dr. Raymond Callahan
7:00 p.m. Book signing
8:00 p.m. Symposium conclusion
Citizens of London: The Americans Who Stood with Britain in its
Darkest, Finest Hour
Citizens of London is the behind-the-scenes story of how the United States
forged its wartime alliance with Britain, told from the perspective of three key
American players in London: Edward R. Murrow—the head of CBS News in
Europe, Averell Harriman—the man in charge of FDR’s Lend-Lease program
in London, and John Gilbert Winant—the U.S. Ambassador to Britain.
Lynne Olson, a former Moscow correspondent for the Associated Press and
White House correspondent for the Baltimore Sun, is the author of Troublesome Young Men and Freedom’s Daughters and co-author, with her husband,
Stanley Cloud, of A Question of Honor and The Morrow Boys.
The Few: The American “Knights of the Air” Who Risked Everything to
Save Britain in the Summer of 1940
By the summer of 1940, Hitler was triumphant and planning an invasion of
England. But the United States was still a neutral country and, as Winston
Churchill later observed, “the British people held the fort alone.” A few
Americans, however, did not remain neutral. They joined Britain’s Royal Air
Force to fight Hitler’s air aces and help save Britain in its darkest hour. By
October 1940, they had helped England win the greatest air battle in the
history of aviation.
Alex Kershaw is the author of the widely acclaimed and best-selling books,
The Bedford Boys and The Longest Winter, as well as two biographies, Jack London,
and Blood and Champagne: The Life and Times of Robert Capa. He has been a journalist
and screenwriter in Britain.
Flying the Secret Sky: The Story of the Royal Air Force Ferry Command
Flying the Secret Sky tells a story of passionate, risk-taking young men braving
dangerous flights in primitive aircraft. These “cowboys of the air” are forgotten
heroes of the war, who flew without guns and embodied an improvisational
spirit that was key to Allied victory. Their story includes the American civilian
chosen to fly Winston Churchill to secret wartime meetings during the darkest
days of World War II—a story the world never knew, until now.
Bill VanDerKloot founded VanDerKloot Film & Television and Magick
Lantern Studios over 30 years ago, making it one of the oldest and most
prestigious production and post-production companies in Atlanta. Bill is an
independent director and producer whose career includes short films, television
documentaries and theatrical features, and he has won more than one hundred
international film and television awards. His father William flew Churchill to
many of his momentous, secret meetings during WWII.
Churchill Defiant: Fighting On, 1945-1955
At the end of July 1945, Winston Churchill was a defeated man, hurled from
power by the British people at the end of the war in which he had just saved
his country. Churchill Defiant is the story of how, when it seemed impossible,
Churchill fought his way back over the next six years to the center of great
events—the only place he wanted to be.
Barbara Leaming is the author of two New York Times bestselling biographies
and three New York Times Notable Books of the Year. Her articles have appeared
in many publications in the United States and Europe, including the New York
Times Magazine, Vanity Fair, and The Times of London.
GENERAL RAYMOND E. MASON, JR.
DISTINGUISHED LECTURE SERIES ON WORLD WAR II
Churchill and His Generals • Dr. Raymond Callahan
On the eve of World War II, the British army was more an international police force
than a true combat-ready fighting machine. Callahan will chronicle its trial-by-fire
transformation in an unflinching look at Great Britain’s top commanders in the field.
Callahan will reexamine the much maligned performance of the British army in that
war by reevaluating its commanders’ victories and defeats, their leadership abilities
and flaws, and their often rocky relationships with Prime Minister Winston Churchill,
whose powerful presence loomed large. Revisiting wartime theaters stretching from
Southeast Asia across India through the Middle East, into North Africa, and across
Europe, Callahan will revise and expand our understanding of how British commanders
—both the best and worst—led their troops and executed their strategies.
Raymond Callahan
After earning his Ph.D. degree at Harvard, Raymond Callahan taught
British and military history for 38 years at the University of Delaware
and also served in a variety of administrative positions there, retiring as
Associate Dean of Arts and Sciences and Professor of History. Along
the way he was the John F. Morrison Visiting Professor of Military
History at the U. S. Army Command and General Staff College and a
regular lecturer at the U. S. Marine Corps Staff College. He has also
lectured at the U. S. Army and U. S. Air Force War Colleges and at the
Joint Services Command and Staff College in the United Kingdom. As well as writing numerous articles and chapters in books, he is the
author of five books, four of which deal with the Second World War
(on the fall of Singapore, the campaign in Burma, Churchill as a war
leader and grand strategist, and most recently Churchill’s relations
with his generals) and is a series editor of Modern War Studies for
the University Press of Kansas. In addition to winning an Excellence
in Teaching award from the University of Delaware, he was elected national president of the Association
of Graduate Liberal Studies Programs and has served as a member of the U. S. Army’s Historical Advisory
Committee and a board member of the Winston Churchill Memorial and Library at Fulton, Missouri. He was
elected a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society in 1985.
The General Raymond E. Mason, Jr. Distinguished Lecture Series on World
War II is devoted to the legacy of America’s largest war. Speakers include writers,
scholars, distinguished members of the Armed Forces and journalists.
The lecture series is open to the public through the generosity of Major General
and Mrs. Raymond E. Mason, Jr. and the Raymond E. Mason Foundation.
Mason served in the European Theater of Operations during World War II in the
4th Armored Division of General George S. Patton’s Third Army. Prior to retiring
from the military in 1976, he held several high-ranking Pentagon positions,
including Assistant Deputy Chief for Operations and Special Assistant to the
Deputy Chief of Logistics.
General & Mrs. Raymond E. Mason, Jr.