History 698.02 (2 credit hours)
The Veteran Experience in the Pacific War, 1944-1945
Winter Quarter 2012
Professors Peter L. Hahn and Peter R. Mansoor
This special, study abroad course will concentrate on U.S. involvement in the Pacific Theater during World War II and will provide students a unique opportunity to tour key battle sites accompanied by U.S. veterans of the war.
Academic instruction on the military and diplomatic history of the Pacific War of 1941-1945 will be provided in two, 90-minute lectures on the Columbus campus at hours to be arranged in January and February. There will also be a mandatory travel orientation meeting on an evening during the first or second week of Winter Quarter. Students will also be required to read and write a review of one book about the Pacific War, chosen in consultation with the course instructors.
The heart of the course will be a study abroad tour of major battle sites across the Pacific on March 9-18, 2012. Sites to be visited include Guam, Saipan, Tinian and Iwo Jima. A complete itinerary appears below. Each student will be assigned to accompany a combat veteran of the war, who will accompany the tour as a guest of the Greatest Generations Foundation of Denver, CO. The opportunity to interact with the veteran will comprise a once-in-lifetime experience. Additional instruction will occur during “Roundtable” discussions on each day of the tour.
The course is limited to eight students and enrollment is subject to approval of the instructors. Interested students must apply (directions below) by FRIDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2011. Those accepted will be notified on or about December 9.
Applicants should note that the tour dates conflict with the Winter Quarter final exams week. Early in the quarter, students will be assisted in securing permission from other instructors to take early finals. Ultimately, it will be the student’s responsibility to ensure that such permissions are secured.
Fees: Each student will be assessed a fee of $2,900 to cover the costs of the tour, inclusive of all expenses (travel, hotels, and meals) from arrival in Los Angeles on the evening of March 9 through return to Los Angeles on March 18. This fee includes a $1,500 scholarship provided to each student by the Department of History and a $500 scholarship provided by the Mershon Center for International Security Studies. The fee also pays for mandatory Ohio State University supplemental study abroad insurance. Students are required to arrange and pay for their own travel to Los Angeles before the tour and from Los Angeles afterward. Professors Hahn and Mansoor will assist students in applying for study abroad scholarships from other sources.
World War II Pacific Theater Study Abroad Itinerary
March 9 - March 18, 2012
Friday, March 9, 2012
Arrival in Los Angeles. Students should make own flight arrangements to LAX. Hotel room will be provided that night with breakfast on the following morning. Students arriving early will have to pay for their own meals on this day.
Saturday, March 10, 2012:
Depart United States (Cross Dateline)
Sunday, March 11, 2012 (Rest Day)
Check into 5-star Hyatt Regency Guam for four nights. Introduction Reception and Dinner.
Monday, March 12, 2012 (Guam Cultural Tour)
Private tour of the southern villages of Agat, Umatac, Merizo, Inarajan, Talofofo of Guam and a visit to historical 300-year-old village of Inarajan with exhibits of original style huts dating to the ancient Chamorro days; demonstrations of coconut candy-making; salt-making; rope-making; coconut leaf-weaving; and rice basket-making. Roundtable: Battle of Guam.
Tuesday, March 13, 2012 (Guam)
Private tour focusing on the War in the Pacific Theater, including visits to battle sites, bunkers, monuments and landing beaches of Guam (sites: Plaza de Espana, Asan Beach Unit, Piti Guns, Asan Bay Overlook, Nimitz Hill and Gaan Point, and the War in the Pacific National Historical Park Visitors Center.) Private memorial service with veterans and students. Roundtable: Battle of Iwo Jima.
Wednesday, March 14, 2012 (Iwo Jima - International Memorial Service)
Iwo Jima Commemorations. Depart hotel at 4:00 am for charter flight of two hours to Iwo Jima. All-day tour of the island including Mt Suribachi and landing beaches. Attendance at the International Memorial Service overlooking the landing beaches with military and government officials from several nations.
Thursday, March 15, 2012 (Rest/Travel Day)
Morning Free. Afternoon Flight to Saipan. Check into 5-star Hyatt Regency Saipan for three nights.
Roundtable: Battle of Saipan.
Friday, March 16, 2012 (Saipan)
Tour of Saipan including the American Memorial Park Visitor Center; the 2nd and 4th Marine Division beaches where Marines were exposed to Japanese observers on Mt. Tapotchau towering 1500 feet above; Aslito/Isley Airfield; "Death Valley" flanked on the east by "Purple Heart Ridge"; battle site of the mass banzai attack; "Suicide Cliff" and "Banzai Cliff"; peace memorials. Roundtable: Battle of Tinian.
Saturday, March 17, 2012 (Tinian Island)
Tour of Tinian Island, including the narrow invasion beaches where the Marine landings surprised the Japanese defenders; the now-abandoned North Field (in 1944-45, the most active airfield in the world); the "bomb pits" where the atomic bombs were loaded; Runway Able where the Enola Gay embarked for Hiroshima. Farewell Reception Dinner.
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Return to United States. Depart from Saipan on March 18, arrive in Hawaii on March 17 (after crossing the date line), depart Hawaii on evening of March 17 and arrive in Los Angeles on morning of March 18.
APPLICATION and ENROLLMENT GUIDELINES:
Interested students must apply by FRIDAY DECEMBER 2, 2011. Applications must be filed on-line at the Office of International Affairs website and will consist of an advising report and a 1-2 page, double-spaced statement describing how participation in the tour will advance the applicant’s academic, professional, and/or personal interests. (The Office of International Affairs on-line study abroad application is available via http://buckeyelink.osu.edu. Term: 1120, Code: ST WW11.) Letters of recommendation are not needed. There is an application fee of $150.00 that will be refunded to students who are not accepted into the program. Students must be in possession of a valid passport to participate in this study abroad program; however, a passport is not required to apply for admission and may be obtained after acceptance into the course.
Accepted students will be registered for OIA’s placeholder course (International Studies 697) for 2 hours, Winter 2012. Upon completion of the study tour and receipt of final grades from the instructors, OIA will request removal of the IS 697 and posting of History 698.02 on the student’s transcript with a final grade.
OIA will place the study abroad program fee of $2,900 on the Fees and Deposits Account for each accepted student. The fee will be due when Winter 2012 tuition & fees are due.