“The Legacy of the Vietnam Conflict for the Conduct of Warfare in the Twenty-First Century” will be presented by Alfred McCoy at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 16, at the Waupaca Area Public Library.

Faced with discussing “what every thinking, intelligent American adult should know about the Vietnam War,” McCoy acknowledges that a ten-year conflict that left five million dead, including 58,000 Americans, has myriad lessons beyond what can be covered or summarized in one hour.

Therefore, in his view, those intelligent, thinking Americans should rather try to understand what the legacy of the Vietnam conflict is for the conduct of warfare in the 21st century.

McCoy will be discussing how the US military confronted its failure to win the Vietnam War by deploying the full force of America’s advanced technology in ways that, though failing at the time, created the first electronic battlefield.

McCoy earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Columbia College, and his PhD in Southeast Asian history from Yale University in 1977. He served on the faculty of the University of New South Wales for 11 years, and in 1989 joined the staff of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he was later named the J.R.W. Smail Professor of History. In 2012, McCoy was honored as one of four alumni of Yale University to receive the Wilbur Cross Medal.

This program is free and open to the public, and sponsored by Winchester Academy and T-Dubs Public House of Waupaca.

Cookies and coffee will be served at 6 p.m., and the program begins promptly at 6:30 p.m.

Winchester Academy is a nonprofit Waupaca organization administered by a volunteer board of trustees. It brings engaging, informative and educational programs to the community on a wide range of topics, recognizing that the love of learning continues throughout life and outside of school walls.

For more information about Winchester Academy, check winchesteracademywaupaca.org, follow on Facebook, or contact Executive Director Ann Buerger Linden at 715-258-2927 or [email protected]