Press Releases

Stories from Wartime, the public component of a Regis University’s History Department course where war veterans from all generations share their personal experiences with Regis students, begins Jan. 29 from 6-8 p.m. in the University’s Felix Pomponio Family Science Center’s Adolph Coors Foundation Amphitheater with a presentation on Iraq and Afghanistan.

Stories from Wartime is a series of presentations and panel discussions taught by Regis University professors Dan Clayton, Nathan Matlock and Tom Bowie, and hosted and moderated by Rick Crandall of KEZW Radio. The event continues on Tuesdays through Apr. 23. 

The guest speakers recount their experiences during war and tell how it impacted their lives. 

“To understand war, you have to hear from the folks who experienced it first-hand,” said Clayton. “We ask each of our panelists to talk about memorable personal experiences he or she had during war that show our students part of the picture of life in war and wartime. In this way, they are given the opportunity to study the complexities of war in a deeply personal way.

Clayton conceived the idea for the course in 1995 with fellow history professors Ron Brockway, who has retired, and Fr. Jim Guyer, S.J. In addition to Stories from Wartime, the students read several books on war experience and conduct first-person interviews in the process of researching and writing seminar papers.

And Bowie notes, in this course students develop skills in research, analysis, argument and synthesis. 

“Although the specific focus the Stories from Wartime course at Regis University has shifted a bit over the years, its commitment to integrative education—in most every sense of the term—has been constant,” Bowie said.

Stories from Wartime is a cornerstone of Regis University’s Center for the Study of War Experience. The Center collects and preserves the memories of war veterans in their personal narratives – stories of what ordinary people do in war and what war and the conditions of wartime do to them. These include both unpublished and published manuscripts, pamphlets, diaries, memoirs and journals that were generally written for family members or fellow veterans, and hundreds of hours of video-recorded testimonies by veterans and others that bear witness to the experiences of modern war.

The remaining dates and topics for the Stories from Wartime schedule include:  Feb. 5 – The Gulf War; Feb. 12 – The Vietnam War: Terry Rizzuti and Jerry Doherty; Feb. 19, The Vietnam War; Feb. 26 – The Vietnam War: The Legacy; March 12 – The Korean War; March 19 – When War Becomes Personal; March 26 – Music and Meaning; Apr. 2 – The Second World War; Apr. 9 – The Second World War/holocaust – Alex Kershaw; Apr. 16 – The Second World War; Apr. 23 – How We Remember War: Memory and Meaning Revisited.

The Stories from Wartime series is free and open to the public.  Limited seating is available.  Attendees are asked to arrive no later than 5:45 p.m.  Free parking is available in parking lots 1, 2 and 3.

For more information, contact Dan Clayton at 303-458-4914 or Nathan Matlock at 303-964-5192 or nmatlock@regis.edu.