Fort Ritchie’s Espionage Unit Explained in Talk Coming to Shepherd

SHEPHERDSTOWN, WV—Shepherd University’s President’s Lecture Series will host its first lecture of the year on Monday, September 12, at 6:30 p.m. in the Robert C. Byrd Center for Congressional History and Education auditorium. Landon Grove, museum director and curator at Fort Ritchie in Washington County Maryland, will give a talk titled “Camp Ritchie: America’s Secret Weapon in WWII.” 

From 1926 until its closure in 1998, Fort Ritchie trained soldiers for every war from World War II through the Gulf War. For the past two decades, the former Army post has fallen into disrepair; however, tremendous efforts have been made in the last year to revive Fort Ritchie’s potential in Washington County.

This lecture will explore the historic district and the area’s long and interesting history, geography, and the increasingly famous “Ritchie Boys” who have been the subject of several documentaries and books and were recently recognized by the United States Senate for their important efforts during World War II.

A Washington County native born in the shadow of Antietam, Grove earned his bachelor’s degree in history education from Salisbury University and a master’s in U.S. history from Indiana University Bloomington. He lives just a few minutes from Fort Ritchie and for the past two years has been working hard to develop a state-of-the-art display of items, documents, and photos to showcase the amazing story of the Ritchie Boys and to celebrate local veterans.

Other President’s Lectures scheduled for the Robert C. Byrd Center for Congressional History and Education auditorium during fall semester include:

• October 17, 6:30 p.m., “Innovation is a Contact Sport,” Ret. Rear Admiral Jay Cohen will discuss his experience facilitating change in government.
• November 28, 6:30 p.m., “Conducting and Managing the Competitions of Professional Golf on the PGA TOUR” with Ken Tackett, PGA TOUR senior tournament director. Tackett will discuss how the competitions are conducted and managed and share stories of the PGA TOUR.

For more information, contact Karen Rice, director of Lifelong Learning, at krice@shepherd.edu or 304-876-5135.