Hey it's, Tom. So, a week ago Holly and I attended a pizza party put on by the history department here at ASU. It was on the fourth floor of COOR and it was open to anyone who is interested in history and wanted to meet professors, faculty and other
Look at the pizza. You want the pizza. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.students. I got the opportunity to talk to many different professors and met some other students. Talking to professors in my field of interest is always a great experience and provides more motivation to do well in school and pursue my career. It was a great success and we look forward to more events like this one in the future.
ASU students: if you are interested in history, you should look out for a brand new club emerging here on the Tempe campus. All are welcome to attend and meet super-awesome people. All you have to do is look out for our first meeting (which will take place next semester). And here's Holly with the weather, err book talk.
As Tom and I hovered around the pizza, we met new faculty members and got to know others. While talking about how our blog has yet to succumb to Civil War fever, a history professor by the name of Kyle Longley walked up. We introduced ourselves and spoke some more about the Civil War, which then led to a discussion about war in general. Dr. Longley, the Snell Family Dean’s Distinguished Professor of History and Political Science, launched into a story about the Vietnam War and a few marines called the Morenci Nine. Coming from the small town of Morenci, Arizona, nine men joined the US Marines to fight oversees. Only three survived. The book speaks about their struggles in combat as well as outside of it. But how did Dr. Longley come about this book idea? To him,
The cover of Dr. Longley's decade long project. Photo courtesy of Barnes and Noble.it was more than a book. It was all connections. Connection to the plight of the nine marines, to their hometown, to their relatives and friends. Speaking about his decade-long journey in creating the book:
"Making friends along the way assisted in pushing me forward. I felt very comfortable in the setting as it reminded me of home and the roustabouts and roughnecks that I knew. I met so many larger-than-life characters along the way, including the three that returned home: Leroy Cisneros, Mike Cranford and Joe Sorrelman. Many others helped in my search for materials, including many veterans like Urreas and the Guzzos (eating at Maud’s was great fun) as well as the family members such as Joyce Cranford and Julia and Clive Garcia, and many more."The book, entitled "The Morenci Marines: A Tale of Small Town America and the Vietnam War", was released on November 5th and is available on Amazon and at Barnes and Noble. Want to talk history? Have a burning historical question? Drop us a line at sparkyquill@gmail.com or find us on twitter @sparkysquill!
