War and the Human Experience Series

The ​series studies the myriad of ways warfare has influenced our lives. War and the Human Experience (WHE) partners with veterans, refugees, and their loved ones to enrich the learning environment for DMACC students and the community at large. The WHE series fosters DMACC’s commitment to being a military friendly college by having veteran students serve as advisers and participants in programming. Lastly, WHE promotes citizenship as understanding past and present conflict is a civic responsibility.

For questions or information about this series, please contact: Prof. Joseph Danielson or Prof. Matthew Walsh.

Upcoming Events

Bass Reeves Thompson Talk

Bass Reeves Thompson Talk

Bass Reeves was born a slave, participated in the Civil War, escaped to Indian Territory, served as a US Marshall in the West, and arrested over 3,000 fugitives. Some historians believe his legends inspired the pop-culture icon the Lone Ranger. Sidney Thompson, author of The Bass Reeves Trilogy, will talk about this overlooked figure. Thompson’s stories were used for the miniseries Lawmen: Bass Reeves.

Monday
February 26, 2024

12:00-12:50 p.m. 
DMACC Boone Campus
Auditorium
1125 Hancock Dr, Boone, IA 50036

6:30-8:00 p.m.
Beaverdale Books
2629 Beaver Ave # S1,
Des Moines, IA 50310

Tuesday
February 27, 2024

9:40-11:00 a.m.
DMACC Urban Campus
Building 1 Room 141
1100 7th Street Des Moines, Iowa 50314

12:50-2:10 p.m.
DMACC Ankeny Campus
Building 2 Room 25A
2006 S Ankeny Blvd, Ankeny, IA 50023

Jeff Struecker: Real life soldier portrayed in  Black Hawk Down

Jeff StrueckerPresented by DMACC’s War and the Human Experience Speaker Series

Dr. Jeff Struecker braved fierce fighting at the Battle of Mogadishu and served over a dozen tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. The US Army Ranger Hall of Famer will discuss his combat experience and work as a chaplain to Army Airborne and Ranger units. The former Iowan currently lives in Georgia where he is a pastor.

Thursday, March 28, 2024

9:40-11:00 a.m.
DMACC Ankeny Campus
Building 2 Room 25A
2006 S Ankeny Blvd, Ankeny, IA 50023

12:50-2:00 p.m.
DMACC Urban Campus
Building 7 Room 170
1100 7th Street Des Moines, IA 50314

Blindsided by the Taliban by Carmen Gentile

Blindsided by the Taliban by Carmen Gentile

While embedded with the Army in Afghanistan, photojournalist Carmen Gentile was shot by a rocket propelled grenade. He will discuss escaping death, recovering, and returning to the front lines. Gentile has written for the New York Times, TIME, Newsweek, and USA Today. He is the founder and editor-at-large for Postindustrial.

Monday, September 23, 9:40-11:00 AM
DMACC West Campus Auditorium

Tuesday September 24, 9:40-11:00 AM
DMACC Urban Campus BLDG. 7 Room 170

Tuesday, September 24, 12:50-2:10 PM
DMACC Ankeny Campus BLDG. 2 Room 25AB

Past Events

Date/Location Event Details
Apr. 2, 2019
Ankeny Campus

Holocaust Survivor Celina Karp Biniaz

Celina Karp Biniaz

Biniaz, originally from Krakow, Poland, was on Schindler’s List, but was accidentally sent to Auschwitz. There, she confronted the infamous Josef Mengele, who sentenced her to death. Biniaz pleaded for her life saying, “Let Me Go.” Miraculously, the Angel of Death changed his mind. After liberation, Biniaz moved to Iowa and became an educator. Her talks are part of a partnership between the WHE program and the Iowa Jewish Historical Society.

Sep. 19, 2019
Carroll Campus

Harold Kasimow: Memories of a Child Holocaust Survivor

Harold Kasimow

Harold Kasimow's earliest memories are of living in total darkness and silence, with no room to move and very little to eat. Kasimow, his parents, and his two sisters spent 19 months and 5 days hiding from the Nazis in a hole dug in the floor of a cattle barn, covered over with boards and straw. He was 4 years old when they went into hiding in the hole, in a small village near Vilnius, then part of Poland. In this powerful presentation, he'll reflect on that experience, and its lasting influence on his life as a scholar and interfaith pioneer.

Sep. 24, 2019
West Campus

Gerald Berry: A Pilot Recalls Combat in Vietnam

Gerald Berry

US Marine Gerald Berry, formerly of Des Moines, will speak about flying helicopters in the Vietnam War. During the conflict, Berry earned three Distinguished Flying Crosses. When Saigon fell to the communists, pictured right, Berry flew out hundreds of refugees for over eighteen straight hours. Berry made one the most iconic flights in military history when he evacuated the US Ambassador to Vietnam. Colonel Berry, pictured left, has appeared on CBS, PBS, CNN, History Channel, and Discovery Channel.

Date/Location Event Details

Feb. 5, 2020
Urban Campus

Feb. 5, 2020
Ankeny Campus

Feb. 6, 2020
Boone Campus

Medal of Honor Winner Melvin Morris

Melvin Morris

Melvin Morris honored by President Obama

Melvin Morris, one of the few living recipients of the Medal of Honor, will share his combat experience for Black History Month. Morris, originally from Oklahoma, joined the US Army and became one of the nation's first Green Berets. Morris served two tours in the Vietnam War. During one mission, he was shot three times. Mr. Morris is part of a rich tradition of African American military service.

Date/Location Event Details
Sep. 13, 2021
DMACC Virtual Event

Andrew Lichtenstein: Witness and Documenter of 9/11

witness

For the 20th anniversary of 9/11, photographer and journalist Andrew Lichtenstein will offer a virtual presentation on his experiences. Lichtenstein will share his powerful photographs that helped document one of the darkest moments in US history. The presenter teaches at the International Center of Photography in New York City.

Date/Location Event Details

Oct. 3, 2022
Boone Campus

Oct. 4, 2022
Ankeny Campus

Oct. 4, 2022
Urban Campus

UN War Crimes Investigator Vlad Dzuro Presentation

Vlad

The war that broke out in the former Yugoslavia at the end of the twentieth century unleashed unspeakable acts of violence committed against defenseless civilians, including a grisly mass murder at an Ovčara pig farm in 1991. Homicide detective and UN investigator Vlad Dzuro will speak about his experience trying to bring war criminals to justice. Dzuro is the author of The Investigator: Demons of the Balkan War.

Nov. 17, 2022
DMACC Virtual Event

Steen Metz: Reflections of a Holocaust Survivor

Steen Metz

On October 2, 1943, eight-year-old Steen Metz and his parents were arrested and deported from Denmark to the Theresienstadt Concentration Camp in the Czech Republic. This Nazi facility was the scene of constant hunger, brutal living conditions, and death.  Some 15,000 children passed through Theresienstadt. Metz was one of fewer than 1,500 who survived. Hear the powerful testimony of one of the last remaining Holocaust survivors.

Questions? Email mrwalsh@dmacc.edu.

Date/Location Event Details

Feb. 22, 2023
Boone Campus

Feb. 23, 2023
Urban Campus

Feb. 23, 2023
Ankeny Campus

Herman and Joyce Cole: Black History Month Presentation

Herman and Joyce Cole

Herman Cole witnessed the Ku Klux Klan burning crosses next to his childhood home in South Carolina, marched with Martin Luther King Jr. as a high schooler, and studied under Chief Anderson, the father of Black aviation, at Tuskegee Institute. Cole served in the Vietnam War and attained the rank of colonel in the US Air Force. He will be joined by his wife, Joyce, a Civil Rights worker who registered Black voters in “Bloody” Lowndes County, Alabama.

Sep. 25, 2023
DMACC Boone Campus

Sep. 26, 2023
DMACC Urban Campus

Sep. 26, 2023
DMACC Ankeny Campus

 

Buried Alive Twice on 9/11 by Joe Torrillo

Joe Torrillo

On September 11, 2001, NYC Fireman Joe Torrillo survived the collapse of both Twin Towers. For three days, he was missing and presumed dead. Hear his powerful story of survival and recovery. The talks are free and open to the public.

Student Service Member Profile - Stephen Klein

Stephen Klein

Stephen Klein worked as an infantryman, combat engineer, cannon crew member, military policeman, and horizontal construction engineer while serving in the U.S. Army. He has served at Camp Bucca, Iraq, and Sharana, Afghanistan. Additionally, he was deployed to Nicaragua, Arizona, and Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina. At DMACC, he is finishing his AAS in heating, cooling, and refrigeration. Klein has already been hired full-time by Facebook.

“I am participating with War and the Human Experience because there are combat veterans who feel they do not have a voice and want their story to be heard. If I can help with getting the message out, why not?”