Join us at the library to remember “Hammerin’ Hank” Henry Elrod, a Marine pilot who fought with rare courage and skill when the Japanese attacked Wake Island in December 1941.
Thursday, June 26th @ 6 pm.
With drama and verve, history professor William Ramsey will tell the story of “Hammerin’ Hank” Henry Elrod, a Marine pilot who took to the skies in a F4F Wildcat fighter when the Japanese attacked Wake Island in December 1941.
Elrod battled swarms of enemy planes and ships with rare courage and skill for the next two weeks. For his gallantry, he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. A US Navy frigate and a street at Marine Base Quantico were named for him, and a piece of his plane is on display at the National Air and Space Museum.
The author’s presentation will be followed by a book signing and light refreshments.
About the Author
William L. Ramsey is historian, poet, and a professor of history at Lander University in South Carolina. He received his PhD from Tulane University in 1998 and has taught at Tulane, SUNY Oswego, the University of Idaho, and Lander University.
In 2005, he received the Martin Luther King, Jr. Distinguished Service Award from the University of Idaho and Washington State University, acting jointly, for public activism in defense of civil rights and racial tolerance, and he was awarded the Outstanding Faculty Award in 2007 by the Student Association of the University of Idaho.
His historical articles have appeared in the Journal of American History, Georgia Historical Quarterly, and the South Carolina Historical Magazine. His first book, The Yamasee War: A Study of Culture, Economy, and Conflict in the Colonial South, received the 2008 George C. Rogers Jr. Award for best book of South Carolina history, sponsored by the South Carolina Historical Society. He lives in Greenwood, South Carolina.