The purpose of this site: Make history useful.
My name is Zach Morgan, and I want to talk to you about public history and military history. On the Useful Historian, you can find:
- Academic articles, with substantial research
- “This day in history” features
- History news
- Museum reviews
- Tidbits on “What I read today”
- Discussions about the recording, preservation, and presentation of history
My career is in the field of public history. This is where the rubber meets the road when it comes to making history useful.
Public history includes museums, archives, oral histories, and other various methods of presenting history to the public. I am most interested in military history, but often find myself fascinated by art, science, philosophy, politics, and many different streams of historical study .
My hands-on experience with public history began in high school, when I served as a living-history volunteer at Fort Boonesborough State Park, in Kentucky. While a student at Asbury College, I worked in the library archives for several years. I have professional experience in graphic design, news writing (including opinion pieces, book and movie reviews). I have also worked at a small city museum, where I curated, designed and installed exhibits, assisted in collections management (maintenance, archiving, and cataloging), facilitated tours and educational events, and assisted in research efforts.
I also spent eight years of service in the military, where I received training as a battlefield historian. I hold a master’s degree in military history, and have presented my work at the annual conference of the Society for Military History.
Are you a Hobbit too?
My interests and hobbies include: Oral history, U.S. history, military topics, design, photography, concise writing, board games, coffee roasting, outdoorsmanship, fine cigars, and generally acting like an Hobbit.
The photo on the main page was taken at the Getty Villa in Pacific Palisades, California. The sculpture is Roman, and depicts Clio, the muse of history.
Glad you enjoyed the museum. I help take care of the Caribou cv2b. It was delivered to the 61st Av Co in Jan 1963 at Ft Bragg. I was assigned as the assistant Crew Chief to this Caribou in Jan.1963. We took 18 Caribous to Vietnam and got there the 4th of July 1963. I then served on this Caribou for 7 months at Hue. Now 50 years later I have the honor of helping keep it flying and get to show it to the Vietnam Vets thanks to the Cavanaugh Flight Museum. This is the only Caribou flying in in the USA
Bob Schrader Kindred N Dak.