Dr. Vernon L. Williams is a military and naval historian. He received his doctorate from Texas A&M University in 1985. He is currently serving as President of the Old Primero Historical Foundation and Director of the East Anglia Air War Project. Before 2018 he spent thirty years as professor of history in the Department of History at Abilene Christian University. Since 2001 Dr. Williams has been working to document the wartime experiences of American and British citizens alike. Planned outcomes from this project include several books over the next few years and a number of documentary films.
Recently, Dr. Williams has completed two books:
- Flight Surgeon: A War Diary, 1941-1945, Edited by Vernon L. Williams, TCU University Press, 2021
- Empire Marine: Major General Littleton W.T. Waller and the Growth of American Imperialism, 1856-1926, TCU University Press, 2024
Chapter 1. Setting the Stage
Chapter 2. Little America, A Sense of Place
Chapter 3. The Red Cross and the Aero Clubs
Chapter 4. Race and the Shifting Landscape
Chapter 5. Big Bands and the Jitterbug
Chapter 6. Glamour and Hollywood
Chapter 7. The Moral Dilemma
Chapter 8. War Brides
Chapter 9. Bonds that are Never Broken
Chapter 10. Epilogue
Six new documentaries have been released by Dr. Williams for Old Segundo Productions in recent years. Three of these films appear in the Air War Series and three in the History of the American West Series. During the last twenty years, Dr. Williams has produced over twenty-one documentary films on military and American history subjects.
- Cokedale, Colorado, 1907-1947: A Model Company Town and the Promise of Hope and Community, released 2024
- Wethersfield at War: From World War II to the Cold War, An Essex Story of Service, Determination, and the Anglo-American Spirit, released 2023
- Primero, Colorado, 1901-1928: John D. Rockefeller, Jr., Company Towns, and the Quest for a Better World, released 2018
- Rendezvous Over Berlin, A Texas Cowboy Finds His Destiney Over the Skies of Nazi Germany, 1942-1943, released 2020
- Willard, Colorado: The Burlington Railroad, Community, and Life on the Twentieth Century’s Colorado High Plains, released in 2020
- From Ozark to Fortress Europe: Flight Surgeon Thurman Shuller, War, Medicine, and a Life of Service, released 2021
Williams’ first documentary film, Deopham Green, appeared in 2004 and since that time, he has produced and directed twenty documentaries on various subjects. You can visit oldsegundo.com to find information on the films that are currently available and learn about others that are now in the production and pre-production stages.
Academic Background
Ph.D., 1985
Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas
Major: American Military and Naval History
Minors: American West and Nautical Archaeology
M.A., 1981
Southwest Texas State University
M.Ed., 1975
Southwest Texas State University
B.A., 1970
Abilene Christian College
Professional Honors
- Professional Service Award, College of Arts and Sciences, May 2015.
- Appointed Historian and Board of Directors, 306th Bomb Group Association, 2007-2014
- Elected President, Texas Oral History Association, 2007-2008
- First Place for Best Documentary for 2004, Deopham Green: The Saga of the 452nd Bomb Group in World War II, Vernon L. Williams, Producer/Director, National Broadcasting Society annual meeting and competition, Los Angeles, California, March 2005.
- Selected for a 2003-2004 Faculty Renewal Leave for work on the East Anglia Air War study.
- The Areta Award for Civic and Moral Excellence, Abilene Education Council, 2002.
- The Mary Faye Barnes Award for Excellence for Community History Projects, awarded for work on the 12th Armored Division Oral History Project, Texas Oral History Association, 2002.
- Professional Service Award, College of Arts and Sciences, May 2002.