Legacy Lecture

Alex Kershaw is the author of numerous books on World War II, including the New York Times best-sellers The Bedford Boys and The Longest Winter. His 2012 book, The Liberator: One World War II Soldier’s 500-Day Odyssey from the Beaches of Sicily to the Gates of Dachau, was recently made into a drama series aired by Netflix in 2020. Kershaw’s latest book, The First Wave: The D-Day Warriors Who Led the Way to Victory in World War II, was published in 2019 to mark the 75th anniversary of D-Day and was a national best-seller. Kershaw’s journalism has appeared in many magazines and newspapers since 1990, and he has also worked as a screenwriter and in television, penning an award-winning 2004 documentary on Bobby Kennedy. Since 2012, Kershaw has led several battlefield tours of Europe and he will be leading a tour of London, Normandy, and Paris for the Friends of the National World War II Memorial in June 2022. Kershaw serves as a member of the Friends of the National World War II Memorial’s Board of Directors.