The 40th season of the Millsaps Arts & Lecture Series continues Thursday, January 10, with William Jeanes and “Long Gone and Long Forgotten: Mississippi’s Airmen of the First World War.” The program will be held at 7:30 p.m. in the Ford Academic Complex Recital Hall. Tickets are $10 general admission; students and active and retired military will be admitted free. For more information, contact Luran Buchanan at 601-974-1043 or buchall@millsaps.edu.
The saga of the Mississippians who took to the air in the early days of aerial combat has long since faded into the mists of history. In 1917 and 1918, high above the Western Front, these airmen flew, fought and died in machines that would appall modern aviators. Their combat careers were brief but should not be forgotten. For one evening, William Jeanes will bring these airmen to life, introducing new generations to the unknown young Mississippians who flew in France nine decades ago.
A native of Corinth, Mississippi, Jeanes graduated from Millsaps in 1959 with a B.A. in history. He has served as a lieutenant in the Navy, editor-in-chief of “Car and Driver” magazine and senior vice president at two major advertising agencies. Jeanes has been a member of Millsaps College Board of Trustees for more than 10 years and was named Alumnus of the Year in 1992. He was Writer-in-Residence at Northwestern University in the fall of 2005 and, now as a resident of Madison, continues to write professionally.
