Meet Pulitzer Prize-winning author David Maraniss at next ‘Date With History’ on Aug. 1
The First Division Museum at Cantigny resumes its acclaimed “Date With History” series on Thursday, Aug. 1, with two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and New York Times bestselling author David Maraniss on his book, “They Marched Into Sunlight: War and Peace, Vietnam and America, October 1967.”
Published in 2003, “They Marched Into Sunlight” tells the epic story of Vietnam through the events of a few gripping days of war and peace in October 1967. Maraniss skillfully brings a tumultuous time in America back to life while exploring questions about the meaning of dissent and the official manipulation of truth.
The book — winner of the J. Anthony Lukas Book Prize and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in History — weaves together the stories of three different worlds: the death and heroism of 1st Infantry Division soldiers in Vietnam; the anger and anxiety of anti-war students back home; and the obfuscating behavior of officials in Washington.
The program will begin at 6 p.m. inside the Cantigny Visitors Center, 1S151 Winfield Road, Wheaton.
After the program, which is free with paid parking ($5), guests are invited to McCormick House for a VIP cocktail reception with Maraniss.
Reception tickets are $60 and must be ordered in advance at Cantigny.org. Tickets include parking plus drinks and hors d’oeuvres in Freedom Hall, the historic home’s library.
David Maraniss is an associate editor at The Washington Post, fellow of the Society of American Historians, and a visiting distinguished professor at Vanderbilt University. His affiliation with the Post spans for more than 40 years as an editor and writer, and he twice won Pulitzer Prizes at the newspaper. Among his 13 books are biographies on Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, Vince Lombardi, Roberto Clemente, and Jim Thorpe.
Copies of “They Marched Into Sunlight” will be available for purchase and signing at Cantigny. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. Coffee, iced tea and water are complimentary.
The First Division Museum is open daily, except Tuesdays, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free with Cantigny’s regular entrance fee. Visit FDMuseum.org for more details.
About the First Division Museum at Cantigny
The First Division Museum, part of the Chicago-based Robert R. McCormick Foundation and located at Cantigny in Wheaton, Illinois, promotes public learning about America’s military heritage and affairs through the history of the “Big Red One” — the famed 1st Infantry Division of the U.S. Army. The museum’s main exhibit hall, First in War, transports visitors to the trenches of World War I, the beaches of World War II, and the jungles of Vietnam. A second exhibit hall, Duty First, explores the 1ID’s history in more recent times. The Robert R. McCormick Research Center, open to the public, houses the museum’s library, archival and photo collections. Tanks from every era are outside the museum, along with artillery pieces and a personnel carrier. Memorial markers and commemorative statuary pay further tribute to those who served and sacrificed. For more information, visit FDMuseum.org.