October 19, 2005

“A Warrior’s Requiem: A Soldier’s Perspective” CCAS Hosts Memorial Lecture

Addition of University of North Carolina at Charlotte and Saint Louis University Promises Enhanced Athletic Competition and Increased Visibility

BY THOMAS KOHOUT

The George Washington University Department of History and the Columbian College of Arts and Science will host the Kylan Jones-Huffman Memorial Lecture featuring Lawrence Tritle, professor of history at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, Oct. 28, 4–6 pm in Marvin Center, 310. Tritle, a Vietnam veteran, will present “A Warrior’s Requiem: A Soldier’s Perspective.” The event, which is free and open to the public, introduces a new endowed fund to the history department honoring Kylan Jones-Huffman, who was killed in 2003 while on temporary assignment with the First Marine Expeditionary Force in Iraq.

In early August 2003, Heidi Jones-Huffman traveled to Bahrain, a tiny nation in the Persian Gulf off the coast of Saudi Arabia, to visit her husband Kylan, a Navy Lieutenant serving out the final weeks of his combat tour with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service. During that visit, Heidi asked her husband how she could best honor his memory if something were to happen during his final weeks in Iraq. His response was quick and simple: make a contribution to GW in support of the Middle Eastern history program.

It is a noble gesture to think of one’s alma mater at such times, but Jones-Huffman was not a GW alumnus — he earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the US Naval Academy and the University of Maryland respectively. Nor had he taken a single class at the University. But, in the spring of 2003, Jones-Huffman learned that he had been accepted into the PhD program in Middle East history.

“He said he was very grateful to GW and Dina [Khoury, associate professor of history and international affairs, CCAS],” says Heidi, explaining the decision to give to GW. “He wanted the gift to support the Middle East history program because of how positive and supportive the University had been.”

Only a few short weeks after Heidi’s visit, Jones-Huffman was killed in action on Aug. 21. Because she knew Jones-Huffman wanted contributions made to benefit GW’s program in Middle Eastern history, Heidi was able to tell people immediately, and by his memorial service, checks began trickling in, mostly in $10s and $20s. Over the next two years, the endowed fund was established to support the graduate study of Middle East history.

“Kylan’s idea to help graduate students grew beyond anyone’s expectation,” says Brandy Vause, MA ’03, associate director of advancement for CCAS. “The fund exemplifies the power of giving, at any level.”

How Khoury and the Department of History will use the fund depends on its continued growth. Plans include supporting graduate student research and travel, and eventually, tuition assistance. Because interest in Middle East history has increased in recent years, Khoury hopes the fund will help the program grow to meet this demand.

“At the very least, the fund and the circumstance under which it was founded will keep alive the idea that the study of the region is a matter that touches American lives and national interest in very real ways,” said Khory.

For more information about the lecture, or how to make contributions to the Kylan Jones-Huffman Fund, contact Brandy Vause, 202/994-8372.

Send feedback to: bygeorge@gwu.edu