Author of Football! Navy! War! at Navy Memorial
Wilbur D. Jones Will Discuss and Sign His Book Followed by a Q&A
Friday, October 2, 2009, 12:00 NOON
Free and open to the public
Part of the Navy Memorial’s “Authors on Deck” Series of Navy-related Book Lectures, Wilbur D. Jones will present his book, Football! Navy! War!, followed by Q&A and book signing.
Not coincidentally, football employs military terms associated with war, such as “aerial attack,” “blitz,” “field general,” and “trench warfare.” Beyond providing essential jargon, by necessity and choice the military linked with colleges during World War II to preserve the game and keep schools from closing, and utilized football’s rugged physical, mental, and competitive conditioning to prepare men for combat, boost morale, and help win the war.
The impact of this overlooked story is told in Wilbur D. Jones’s new book; veteran ESPN college football historian and commentator Beano Cook writes about the book’s “forgotten yet fascinating era...expertly exhumed and chronicled. Simultaneously educational and entertaining, this book is as solid a play book as I’ve read. Jones’...meticulous research and storytelling style combine to form a potent pairing that rivals that of wartime football’s most famous duo, Army’s Doc Blanchard and Glenn Davis.”
Author Captain WILBUR D. JONES, JR., USNR (Ret.) is a nationally known, award-winning author of 17 books and military historian in Wilmington, North Carolina. Doing business as Wilbur Jones Compositions, L.L.C., he writes, lectures, and consults on history and national defense, serves as a media source, and leads worldwide tours of World War II battlefields and sites. Jones is a retired Navy captain.