The University of New Orleans Eisenhower Center for American Studies and the National World War II Museum will hold a Stephen Ambrose Retrospective on Sunday, November 8 at 1 p.m. at the museum, 945 Magazine Street. The event is being held in conjunction with the National World War II Museum's Experience the Victory celebration November 6-8.

The panel discussion, sponsored by the Brown Foundation of Houston, will illuminate the life and works of the late Dr. Stephen Ambrose, the University of New Orleans Boyd Professor of History for whom the museum was a lifelong dream.

Panelists will include Hugh Ambrose, Guenter Bischof, UNO professor of history and director of UNO Center Austria; Gordon H. "Nick" Mueller, UNO Professor Emeritus of History and president of the National World War II Museum; Edward M. Coffman, professor emeritus of history at the University of Wisconsin-Madison; and from Temple University, Gregory J.W. Urwin, professor of history, and Richard H. Immerman, the Edward J. Buthesiem Family Distinguished Fellow in History.

Ambrose founded the National D-Day Museum Foundation in New Orleans in 1991. The museum, opened on June 6, 2000 as the National D-Day Museum has since been designated by Congress as the nation's official National World War II Museum.

The Ambrose Retrospective will celebrate the historian's work and his roles as a distinguished educator and celebrity historian, said Allan Millett, UNO professor of history and director of the UNO Eisenhower Center. His work, Millett said, described critical American experiences, including the Civil War, the Western frontiers and World War II.

Ambrose who authored more than 30 books wrote about "people who made the tough decisions, those who were in charge," Millett said. In his later writings, Ambrose shifted his focus from great men to the common man, the citizen soldier, he said.

"Steve had good taste in selecting heroes," Millett said. "He had empathy for, an understanding of and a desire to know veterans. He had an ability to reach out to people on a personal level."

The Ambrose Retrospective is one of two free events to be hosted by the museum on November 8, concluding the weekend celebration. A reception will follow the symposium, and at 6 p.m. Alan Brinkley, the Allan Nevins Professor of History at Columbia University, will deliver "Visions of Peace in an Age of War" as part of the museum's General Raymond E. Mason Jr. Distinguished Lecture Series on World War II. The Mason Lecture Series is made possible through the generosity of Major General and Mrs. Raymond E. Mason, Jr. and the Raymond E. Mason Foundation.

For more information on either event, call (504) 538-9411, extension 331 or email jeremy.collins@nationalww2museum.org.