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Eisenhower National Historic Site's 2026 World War II Weekend will take place on September 19 and 20, with evening programming beginning on September 18. For a full schedule, visit us here.
As the United States marks 250 years of independence, Eisenhower National Historic Site's 2026 World War II Weekend speaker lineup will explore the men and women of America’s “Greatest Generation.” Americans of the 1940s displayed the same courage, perseverance, and heroism as their forebearers of the Revolution. Discover stories of forgotten heroes, friendships forged with key allies, and the sacrifices made by Americans of the 1940s.
See the information below for full bios and talk descriptions for this year's speakers. This schedule is subject to change.
Please note: There will be several book signings as part of this event.
Friday, September 19, 7:30 pm--Katherine Carter (this will follow the evening program with Katherine Carter, see information below).
Saturday, September 19, and Sunday September 20--Most speakers will be signing copies of their books at Eisenhower NHS following their programs.
Churchill's Citadel: Chartwell and the Gatherings Before the Storm
Friday, September 18, 6:30 PM, Gettysburg National Military Park Museum and Visitor Center
This program will take place in the theater of the Gettysburg National Military Park Museum and Visitor Center.
A free ticket is required for this program. Tickets will be made available by August 14, courtesy of the Gettysburg Foundation. Information on how to reserve tickets will be posted as soon as it is available.
General Dwight Eisenhower believed that World War II was won through alliances. No partnership was greater than that between Prime Minister Winston Churchill and the United States. Katherine Carter, the curator of Chartwell, Churchill’s home in Kent, England, joins us to discuss the man whom Eisenhower once described as “a champion of freedom.” Carter is the author of Churchill’s Citadel: Chartwell and the Gatherings Before the Storm. This conversational program will explore Churchill's leadership, personality, and how he prepared both himself and Britain for war in the 1930s.
Katherine Carter is a curator and historian who has managed the house and collections at Chartwell, Winston Churchill’s country home, for 13 years. A commentator and adviser on the life and legacy of Sir Winston Churchill, she lectures internationally and appears frequently in print and broadcast media. She is a Fellow of both the Royal Historical Society and the Royal Society of Arts, and is a Churchill Fellow of Westminster College, the site of Winston Churchill's 'Iron Curtain' speech in Fulton, Missouri. Her first book, Churchill's Citadel: Chartwell and the Gatherings Before the Storm, published by Yale University Press, received rave reviews and critical acclaim. Literary Review magazine called it "a stimulating and enjoyable work that shows us interwar politics from an unfamiliar angle", while The Critic Magazine remarked that it had been written "with such relish that one can smell the cigar smoke exude from every page".
General Dwight Eisenhower believed that World War II was won through alliances. No partnership was greater than that between Prime Minister Winston Churchill and the United States. Katherine Carter, the curator of Chartwell, Churchill’s home in Kent, England, joins us to discuss the man whom Eisenhower once described as “a champion of freedom.” Carter is the author of Churchill’s Citadel: Chartwell and the Gatherings Before the Storm.
Duration:
14 minutes, 49 seconds
Dr. Matthew Delmont
Image courtesy of Dr. Delmont
Dr. Matthew Delmont--Half-American: The Heroic Story of African Americans Fighting World War II at Home and Abroad
Saturday, September 19, 10 AM, Eisenhower National Historic Site Speakers' Tent
For Black Americans World War II was about not only America’s standing in the world but also about how much actual freedom would exist in the United States. Black troops were at Normandy, Iwo Jima, and the Battle of the Bulge. They fought bravely in combat and they formed the backbone of the United States military’s supply effort, enabling the Allies to fight and win a global war. They did all of this while fighting in a segregated military. Black veterans returned from the war and kept fighting racism at home, fueling the civil rights movement. Drawing on his book Half American, historian Matthew Delmont explains how World War II raised questions regarding race and democracy that remain unanswered decades later. This is an inspiring history of bravery and patriotism in a pivotal era in our nation's history.
Dr. Matthew Delmont is the Sherman Fairchild Distinguished Professor of History at Dartmouth College. An expert on African-American History and the history of Civil Rights, he is the author of six books including, Half American: The Heroic Story of African Americans Fighting World War II at Home and Abroad (Viking Books, 2022). Half American received the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award, was named a book of the year by New York Times, TIME, and Publishers Weekly, and was supported by a Guggenheim Fellowship and National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Public Scholar Award.
To Be Announced--
September 19, 11:30 AM, Eisenhower National Historic Site Speakers' Tent
Information on this speaking spot will be announced as soon as it is available.
Dr. David Nasaw
Image courtesy of Dr. David Nasaw
Dr. David Nasaw--The Wounded Generation: The Return Home from World War II
Saturday, September 19, 1 PM, Eisenhower National Historic Site Speakers' Tent
American servicemen and women, referred to collectively as "The Greatest Generation" won the war against Nazism and Fascism. But they--and their loved ones--paid a steep price in doing so. Millions came home suffering the consequences of war, finding themselves plagued by anxiety, depression, anger, guilt, and what would be later termed as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Join historian David Nasaw to explore the return home of the “Greatest Generation” and how they picked up the pieces of war in search of peace—for themselves and the world.
Dr. David Nasaw is a historian, two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist, and bestselling author of The Last Million, named a best book of the year by NPR, Kirkus Reviews, and History Today, and, according to The Economist, one of the "six must-read books on the Second World War"; The Patriarch, a New York Times Five Best Non-Fiction Books of the Year; Andrew Carnegie, a New York Times Notable Book of the Year and the winner of the New-York Historical Society's American History Book Prize; and The Chief, winner of the Bancroft Prize. He is the Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. Professor of History Emeritus at the CUNY Graduate Center and a past president of the Society of American Historians. In 2023, Nasaw was honored by the New York Public Library as a “Library Lion.” His father served in the Army Medical Corps in Eritrea during World War II.
Dr. Kevin Weddle
Image courtesy of Dr. Kevin Weddle
Dr. Kevin Weddle--Crisis and Command: Washington in 1777 and Eisenhower in 1943
Saturday, September 19, 2:30 PM, Eisenhower National Historic Site Speakers' Tent
Though separated by nearly two centuries, George Washington in 1777 and Dwight Eisenhower in 1943 demonstrated remarkably similar leadership qualities during what were arguably the most challenging years of their career. Both generals persevered through adversity and defeat all the while learning, growing, and developing their leadership skills, which would serve them well throughout the rest of their respective conflicts. After 1777 and 1943 Washington and Eisenhower inspired the confidence of the nation’s citizens in the ultimate success of American arms during two pivotal periods of our history.
Dr. Kevin Weddle is a Distinguished Fellow and a military historian at the US Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. He is a graduate of the US Military Academy, a combat veteran, and served over 28 years on active duty in the US Army before retiring as a colonel. During his Army career he served in a variety of command and staff positions in the United States and overseas to include command of a combat engineer battalion and combat deployments in support of Operations Desert Storm and Enduring Freedom. He earned a master’s in civil engineering at the University of Minnesota and a Ph.D. in history from Princeton. He is a multiple award-winning author of books and articles, including the critically acclaimed and best-selling The Compleat Victory: Saratoga and the American Revolution (Oxford University Press, 2021), winner of six national and international literary awards including the Gilder Lehrman Prize in Military History and the Society of the Cincinnati Prize. He leads military and civilian groups to battlefields around the world including Normandy, the Rhine, Anzio, Gallipoli, Gettysburg, Antietam, Vicksburg, and many others. He specializes in the American Revolution, the American Civil War, the Second World War, general military history, and military technology.
Dr. Lena Andrews
Image courtesy of Dr. Lena Andrews
Lena Andrews--Valiant Women:The Extraordinary American Servicewomen Who Helped Win World War II Sunday, September 20, 10:00 AM, Eisenhower National Historic Site Speakers' Tent
Join author and historian Lena Andrews for a discussion of her national bestseller book, Valiant Women, which tells story of the 350,000 American women who served in uniform during World War II and whose work, both individually and in total, was at the heart of the Allied strategy that won World War II. While these stories have traditionally been relegated to the dusty shelves of military archives or a passing mention in the local paper, ValiantWomen corrects the record with the definitive and comprehensive historical account of American servicewomen during World War II. Using new archival research, firsthand interviews with surviving veterans, and a deep professional understanding of military history and strategy, Lena argues that fully understanding this war requires that we understand the contribution of these women.
Dr. Lena Andrews is the author of the national bestseller, Valiant Women: The Extraordinary American Servicewomen Who Helped Win World War II and an Associate Research Professor at the University of Maryland’s School of Public Policy. Lena previously served as a military analyst at the Central Intelligence Agency, and has also worked at the RAND Corporation and United States Institute of Peace. Her work has appeared on MSNBC, PBS, CNN, Today, People, and TIME, among other outlets. A native of Boston, Massachusetts, Lena received her Ph.D. in political science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Park Ranger John Tuskan
NPS Photo
Park Ranger John Tuskan--Monty and Ike: Allies in Spirit, Opposites in Style
Sunday, September 20, 11:30 AM, Eisenhower National Historic Site Speakers' Tent
How do leaders succeed in working with those who have different styles? General George Washington dealt with varying personalities during the American Revolution, as did General Dwight D. “Ike” Eisenhower during World War II. In the 1940s, Eisenhower’s staff-focused, coalition-building background contrasted with Field Marshal Bernard “Monty” Montgomery’s front-line combat experience. While their leadership styles—diplomatic versus directive—often led to tension, they maintained a mutual respect for each other’s abilities. Together, their contrasting strengths shaped pivotal Allied decisions and contributed to victory in World War II.
Park Ranger John Tuskan is an experienced public servant and military veteran dedicated to historical preservation and public education. He currently serves as a Seasonal Park Ranger at the Eisenhower National Historic Site and as Historian and Archivist for the Lincoln Fellowship of Pennsylvania. A retired Captain of the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, he also served in the U.S. Navy and U.S. Army. Following his uniformed service, he taught at colleges in Maine and Maryland.
Dr. Jared Frederick
Image courtesy of Dr. Jared Frederick
Dr. Jared Frederick--Reel History: The True Tale Behind the D-Day Movie Pressure
Sunday, September 20, 1 PM, Eisenhower National Historic Site Speakers' Tent
In the 2026 D-Day drama Pressure, Andrew Scott and Brendan Fraser star as meteorologist Captain James Stagg and General Dwight D. Eisenhower. Praised for its acting and tight storytelling, the movie offers a tense insider view of the Allied high command during the 72 hours prior to invasion. But how accurate are the interpretations of people, places, and events depicted on screen? Join Dr. Jared Frederick, host of the popular YouTube channel Reel History, for a lively breakdown that will unpack what Hollywood got right and wrong.
Dr. Jared Frederick is the author of numerous books, including Dispatches of D-Day, Hang Tough, Fierce Valor, and Into the Cold Blue. He has appeared on PBS, C-SPAN, and Turner Classic Movies. A former seasonal park ranger at Gettysburg National Military Park and Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, Frederick is now the host of Reel History on YouTube and a teaching professor of history at Penn State Altoona.
