Leadership in America
The advances that have positioned the United States as a world superpower have often been initiated in Virginia.
Our Leadership in America lectures feature a wide array of speakers addressing topics of military readiness, economic strength, medical advances, history, and cultural influence. The series will draw heavily from the intellectual talent of the Commonwealth.
Make sure you are signed up for our email and mailing list, so you know when registration opens for these and other popular events.
2026 speaker
Operation Desert Storm: We Got It Right – Reflections and Perspective on the 35th Anniversary
Friday, March 20, 2026, 6:00 p.m.
Please join us as we welcome LTC Joseph C. Barto III, USA (Ret.), Founder and President of TMG and Vice Chair and Secretary of the Virginia War Memorial Foundation.
Joe Barto is a 1978 graduate of the US Military Academy at West Point. He is the author of Task Force 2-4 CAV “First In — Last Out” The History of the 2nd Squadron, 4th Cavalry During Operation Desert Storm, which tells his first hand account of the “greatest cavalry charge in history” 250 miles from the barren Saudi Arabian border to the gates of Basrah, Iraq on the great “Left Hook.”
Cocktail reception to follow lecture, introducing our featured cocktail, Desert Stormy
Seating is limited and reservations are required. Register by March 13 to secure your reservation.
Standard Bearer Donors and up* — Complimentary
Active Duty Military — $10
General Admission — $25
Donors whose annual membership gifts total $1,000+ (Standard Bearers) * receive two complimentary reservations to our Leadership in America lectures. To register for your complimentary please contact Allie Rose at 804-786-1482 or arose@vawarmemorial.org.
Molly Guptill Manning is an author, historian, curator, and associate professor of law at New York Law School. She is the author of the New York Times bestseller When Books Went to War.
]Mr. Kelly McKeague serves as the Director of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA). He is responsible for policy and oversight of all aspects of the Department’s program to account for our nation’s missing personnel from past conflicts. He will share how the DoD works to recover and identify those MIA remains and discuss how they provide the fullest possible accounting of our missing personnel to their families and to the nation.
Michael Bell, PhD (COL, USA, Ret.), Executive Director of the World War II Museum’s Institute for the Study of War and Democracy. He is a combat veteran, historian, and strategist and holds a MA and a PhD in American history from the University of Maryland, College Park and a MS in national security strategy from the National Defense University, where he was a distinguished graduate of the National War College.
Clay Mountcastle is Director of the Virginia War Memorial and a retired U.S. Army Officer. He is a 1994 graduate of the Virginia Military Institute and holds a master’s and PhD in history from Duke University. Before joining the Virginia War Memorial, he served as Professor of Military History at the University of Washington in Seattle and as an Assistant Professor of Military History at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Lee (now Fort Gregg-Adams) Virginia.
Jan Scruggs – Founder of the Vietnam Wall
Alexander Kershaw
Admiral James O. Ellis Jr, USN (Ret.)
October 2023 marked the 40th anniversary of the Beirut bombing. 241 US Military personnel were killed in the Barracks bombing, including 220 Marines. The incident was the deadliest single-day death toll for the United States Marine Corps since the Battle of Iwo Jima.
Bigler is a well-known author who has served as an official historian at Arlington National Cemetery. A dynamic speaker and instructor, he has been a featured guest on numerous TV shows and has provided historical commentary on the History Channel, CNN, CBS-Newsmark, Fox News, and others.
Enterprise holds 600,000 historical artifacts and operates 42 Active Army museums in thirteen states, Germany, and South Korea. Not surprisingly, the first U.S. Army museum was established at the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, in 1854. Kelly is a nationally-recognized museum curator, designer, and author. In addition to his work with U.S. Army Collections and museums, Dr. Kelly is the Army Museum Enterprise’s Chief of Museum Programs.
Rush Loving Jr. – Fat Boy and the Champagne Salesman
Rosemary Gibson – China Rx
Rick Atkinson – A Conversation with Al Broaddus