Date with History to explore a lesser known aspect of Operation Desert Storm

The First Division Museum at Cantigny Park in Wheaton continues its “Date with History” series with a virtual program focused on Operation Desert Storm.

Retired Col. L. Scott Lingamfelter will present “Desert Redleg: Artillery Warfare in the First Gulf War” at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 24, via Zoom.

The program is free, but registration is required at www.fdmuseum.org.

When Saddam Hussein's Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, triggering the First Gulf War, a coalition of 35 countries led by the United States responded with Operation Desert Storm, a successful 100-hour coordinated airstrike and ground assault. What few remember is that an eight-day barrage of artillery fire made this seemingly rapid offensive possible. At the forefront were the brave field artillerymen known as “redlegs” in support of the 1st Infantry Division's (“Big Red One”) attack on Iraqi positions.

In his 2020 book, “Desert Redleg: Artillery Warfare in the First Gulf War,” Lingamfelter recounts the logistical and strategic decisions that led to a coalition victory, offering a boots-on-the-ground perspective on the largest U.S. artillery bombardment since World War II. The author was a redleg himself.

Lingamfelter earned a B.A. in history from Virginia Military Institute, after which he began a career as a field artilleryman and Middle East Foreign Area Officer. In 1981, he completed his M.A. in Comparative Governments of the Middle East and Soviet Foreign Policy from the University of Virginia. After many assignments in Europe, Asia, and Middle East, he retired in to pursue a second career as a legislator in the Virginia General Assembly, where he served from 2002 to 2018. A 1997 graduate of the U.S. Army War College, Lingamfelter now devotes his time to writing professionally and routinely contributes to The Washington Times on national security topics.

The First Division Museum is open on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays in February.

Entry is included with Cantigny Park's $5 parking fee but advance ticketing is currently required. More information is online www.fdmuseum.org.

The First Division Museum, part of Robert R. McCormick Foundations, promotes public learning about America's military heritage and affairs through the history of the “Big Red One”- the famed 1st Infantry Division of the U.S. Army. The museum's main exhibit hall, First in War, transports visitors to the trenches of World War I, the beaches of World War II and the jungles of Vietnam. A second exhibit hall, Duty First, explores the 1ID's history in more recent times. Outside, tanks are displayed from every era, along with artillery pieces and a personnel carrier. The Robert R. McCormick Research Center, open to the public, houses the museum's library, archival and photo collections.

In 2020, the museum launched “Footsteps of the First,” a travel program in partnership with Academic Travel Abroad. The program's inaugural trip is to Normandy and other key sites in Western Europe, Sept. 5-16, 2021. Full details, including registration, are on the museum website at www.fdmuseum.org.