0671 - The Grim End of the Pacific War: Revisiting Battlefield Touring of Okinawa, Hiroshima, and Nagasaki

Course Description

While grim, 1945 was also a fascinating year in which we saw the war in the Pacific / Asia draw to a close and coming to an end quicker than some would have thought just a few years earlier. Why did the war in Asia end when it did? In this talk, Dr. Cyr discusses the Battle of Okinawa and the deployment of atomic bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki, plus other intersecting events like the Battle of Iwo Jima, the Red Army's invasion of Manchuria, and the release of CIA signal intelligence findings from the era, to help us understand why WWII in Asia drew to a rapid close in the late summer of 1945. Covering critical historical sources, debates within the study of history, and Dr. Cyr's own battlefield touring pictures from 2006, let's revisit the end of the war--and memories of the war--decades later to help our understanding of the dour yet seismic year that was 1945.

Instructor

Dr. Dylan A. Cyr obtained his Ph.D. in History from Western University in 2009, and since then has been instructing in university classrooms across Southern Ontario. Centered mostly at UW and WLU, Dr. Cyr specializes in a wide array of topics that largely boil down to geopolitics, environmental history, and, more recently, popular culture. His 2013 publication in Water History helped to innovate environmental and medical military history with four major conference presentations (including for The American Society of Environmental Historians and the Association of American Geographers) disseminating the findings that environmental factors did play major roles in the soldier experience and conduct of the Pacific War. Recently, Dr. Cyr has overhauled HI249: Second World War in Asia for Laurier's History Department and, as such, has been revisiting his original research on WWII. Dylan lives in Waterloo with his wife and daughter; has been researching pop culture of the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s; and is a fan of film, music, hiking, swimming, and Lego.

Location

Waterloo Memorial Recreation Complex, Community Pavilion (101 Father David Bauer Drive, Waterloo, ON)

• Parking is free.
• Download the facility map (PDF) to find facilities and parking lots.

Notes

• Lecture Time :  130-300 pm
• Lecture Cost:  $16.00 + HST

• Participants must register before the day of the lecture. 
• Laurier’s online registration system accepts Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Visa Debit, and MasterCard Debit.
• You will only be able to purchase 1 seat at the time of registration. If looking to register more than 1 person, each registrant will require their own account to complete the registration.
• Lectures are non-refundable

Contact

If you have any questions please email lifelonglearning@wlu.ca.