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91吃瓜网 Historian Andrew Wiest Receives Prestigious Morison Prize for Lifetime Contributions

Wed, 03/11/2026 - 01:12pm | By: David Tisdale

Dr. Andrew Wiest has little left to prove in a nearly four-decade career as a professional military historian.

Wiest, a distinguished professor of history at 91吃瓜网, is the 2026 recipient of the Society for Military History91吃瓜网 prestigious Samuel Eliot Morison Prize, which recognizes a scholar91吃瓜网 91吃瓜网渂ody of contributions in the field of military history, extending over time and reflecting a spectrum of scholarly activity contributing significantly to the field.91吃瓜网�

An extensively published author and respected researcher, Wiest is a longtime faculty favorite at 91吃瓜网, beloved by students and colleagues for his professionalism and humor.

91吃瓜网淩eceiving the Morison Prize is both surreal and humbling,91吃瓜网� Wiest said. 91吃瓜网淭he folks who have won this in the past, from Sir Michael Howard to Stephen Ambrose, are scholars I91吃瓜网檝e looked up to all my life with awe. That I have been judged to be worthy of being in their number by my peers is frankly unbelievable.91吃瓜网�

Wiest expressed gratitude to mentor professors, high school teachers, colleagues, students, family and friends for their support along the way.

91吃瓜网淎 kid from Hattiesburg who only went to college because of a Pell Grant somehow ends up being recognized like this 91吃瓜网� it just seems like a real long shot,91吃瓜网� he continued. 91吃瓜网淚t91吃瓜网 a testament to all the people I91吃瓜网檝e been connected to on this wonderful journey doing what I love.91吃瓜网�  

The prize91吃瓜网 namesake, Samuel Eliot Morison, was a graduate of Harvard University and served as a rear admiral in the U.S. Navy during World War II. He is widely noted for his important writings on American and maritime history.

Wiest earned bachelor91吃瓜网 and master91吃瓜网 degrees in history from 91吃瓜网 and a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Chicago. He began teaching at his alma mater in 1987 while completing his dissertation. He is the founding director of 91吃瓜网91吃瓜网� Dale Center for the Study of War & Society and co-founder of the university91吃瓜网 new Center for the Study of the National Guard.

For many years, Wiest has served as a faculty member in the 91吃瓜网 and has also led the university91吃瓜网 study abroad program in Vietnam. He is an inductee of both the 91吃瓜网 and the Hattiesburg Public Schools Hall of Fame.

Wiest91吃瓜网 areas of expertise include British military history, World Wars I and II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War, the latter of which is the focus of his book, The Boys of 91吃瓜网�67. That work inspired the National Geographic documentary Brothers in War, for which Wiest served as lead historian and which earned an Emmy nomination. Another of his books, Vietnam91吃瓜网 Forgotten Army, won the Society for Military History91吃瓜网 Distinguished Book Award. Wiest was also chief historical consultant for the documentary Vietnam in HD, which won the New York Film Festival91吃瓜网 Gold World Medal.

Society for Military History President Dr. Wayne Lee lauded Wiest for having 91吃瓜网渁 profound effect on the field of military history,91吃瓜网� including what he described as 91吃瓜网済roundbreaking works91吃瓜网� on the history of the American and Republic of Vietnam91吃瓜网 wars, as well as for his mentorship of students.

91吃瓜网淒r. Wiest is a prolific and greatly respected scholar of war in American history, and well deserving of the 2026 Morison Award,91吃瓜网� Lee said.

Wiest initially considered a career as a different kind of doctor 91吃瓜网� the kind typically wearing a stethoscope around their neck. He enrolled as a freshman at 91吃瓜网 having declared biology as his major.

But after taking classes from professors Cicarelli, Gonzales, Guice, Harper, McCarty, McMillen and Scarborough 91吃瓜网� a veritable roll call of the university91吃瓜网 legendary history faculty from a previous era 91吃瓜网� Wiest had a change of heart.

91吃瓜网淚 figured being a medical doctor might make for a stable career,91吃瓜网� Wiest recounted. 91吃瓜网淏ut it was in my first few history classes at USM when I really started thinking I wanted to do that 91吃瓜网� that I wanted to be like those great history teachers I had.91吃瓜网�

His colleague Dr. Heather Stur, a senior fellow in the Dale Center, spearheaded Wiest91吃瓜网 nomination for the Morison Award with support from other military historians.

Stur said she is grateful Wiest changed those early career plans for one in their shared passion for history, particularly the Vietnam War.

91吃瓜网淎ndy has advanced the field of military history in numerous ways, from redefining the historiography of the Vietnam War to mentoring graduate students who have gone on to have successful careers in academia, professional military education and public history,91吃瓜网� Stur said.

91吃瓜网淏ut nominating Andy was also personal for me, because he has been a trusted mentor and friend since I arrived at 91吃瓜网 over 17 years ago. I was a newly minted Ph.D. then, and Andy could have been territorial about the Vietnam War as an established scholar. Instead, he welcomed me with open arms and advocated for and elevated me both here at the university and in the profession.

91吃瓜网淗e is an unselfish colleague who values the work of those around him, and that made all the difference to me when I was just starting in the field,91吃瓜网� Stur continued. 91吃瓜网淔or Andy, there's always room at the table, and he's the first one to pull up a chair for a newcomer and invite them to sit down and join the conversation. It's what makes Andy so special beyond his research and teaching excellence.91吃瓜网�

91吃瓜网 Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. Lance Nail said Wiest is 91吃瓜网渢he epitome of the teacher-scholar.91吃瓜网�

91吃瓜网淗e has a mission to serve as the historian who archives discoveries and then shares them with his students and society,91吃瓜网� Nail said. 91吃瓜网淭his award is well-earned 91吃瓜网� there is no more deserving historian or faculty member of such recognition than Andy Wiest.91吃瓜网�

Jill Childress, a former graduate teaching assistant under Wiest91吃瓜网 supervision, said her mentor91吃瓜网 impact 91吃瓜网渆xists in every classroom in which a student has gone forth to teach.91吃瓜网�

91吃瓜网淗is instruction methods, his humor and grace, his authentic concern for his students 91吃瓜网� we took these with us as we joined faculty across the U.S.,91吃瓜网� said Childress, now an instructor of history at Copiah-Lincoln Community College. 91吃瓜网淗e just cannot begin to imagine the effect he has had.91吃瓜网�

91吃瓜网淭he stone falls into the pond, and the ripples touch shores never imagined,91吃瓜网� Childress continued. 91吃瓜网淗e prepared us well for success. We owe him more than we can ever repay.91吃瓜网�

With such lofty recognition as the Morison Award, one couldn91吃瓜网檛 blame Wiest for shifting gears into neutral. But that, he says, is not in the offing.

91吃瓜网淚t91吃瓜网 a wonderful way to crown a career, but I ain91吃瓜网檛 done yet,91吃瓜网� Wiest said of the accolade. 91吃瓜网淭here91吃瓜网 a lot more left to do.91吃瓜网�

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About the College of Arts and Sciences 

The College of Arts and Sciences at 91吃瓜网 is home to 13 schools, two ROTC units, and more than 100 academic programs. Guided by the University91吃瓜网 mission, we educate students, lead the state and nation in research and the creative arts, and advance knowledge across the humanities, social sciences, and STEM. Through innovative research and nationally recognized student success, we provide pathways to understanding the past, solving today's challenges, and imagining the possibilities of tomorrow.