International Press Club of Chicago

DATE:  Wednesday, August 13, 2014   

WHERE / WHEN:  The Wheaton Public Library, at 7:00 pm

SPEAKER: Don Sender

The Wheaton Public Library will again host our member, Don Sender, at 7 PM on Wednesday, August 13 with his slide presentation on "The War in the Air" covering the development of air power on both sides during WW I, the aces, the aircraft, the Red Baron, etc. Admission is free. The subject matter of Mr. Sender's presentation gleaned in part from very personal family member accounts, couldn't be more timely or relevant...because June 28, 2014 (June 20 in the old Orthodox calendar) marks the 100th Anniversary of the triggering event that started World War I, the war to end all wars! A war in which Mr. Sender's cousin was killed on the Serbian Front fighting for the Austro-Hungarian Empire, while an uncle of his was blinded by mustard gas fighting for the U.S. on the Western Front!

"This single event, the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, in the city of Sarajevo, Bosnia, set in motion the most significant historical event in modern times. With it, came a world war that claimed over 35 Million casualties, destroyed eight monarchies, changed the map of Europe, and decimated a generation of young men and women who served. Though it ended by an armistice in 1918, the resulting Peace Treaty at Versailles a year later solved nothing, created new animosities, and set the stage for World War II"!

Don's background more than qualifies him as a military subject matter expert: A much decorated, Retired Army Officer who's a veteran of the Korean War as a Cryptographic Analyst with the Army Security Agency, he later served in both Strategic and Tactical Psychological Operations units as a Counter-Intelligence technician, and participated in every major military exercise from 1976 until 1991! As an instructor at Military Intelligence training centers, he taught Counter-Intelligence, Military Security, Interrogation of Prisoners of War, and Electronic Security. He was also honored as a guest lecturer on Psychological Operations, at the prestigious John F. Kennedy Special Warfare School at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

His civilian background is almost as accomplished and as diverse, in that he is also a retired U.S. History Educator, and has held numerous political positions throughout the years.