Valor: World War I Aviator Kiffin Rockwell | A Brown Bag Lecture with Marc McClure

Kiffin Rockwell, a Newport, TN native, volunteered for the French Foreign Legion at the outbreak of World War I and became the first American pilot to shoot down enemy aircraft during the war. He was awarded the Medaile militaire and the Croiz de gueerre for these valiant efforts. Rockwell died in combat in 1916 when his plane was shot down, becoming the second American airman to die in combat in France, where he was buried with military honors. In a Brown Bag Lecture on Wednesday, November 9, Dr. Marc McClure, a professor of history at Walters State Community College, will discuss his research into Rockwell’s life and career and share his documentary film, Valor, which won the 2016 Research Excellence Award from the East Tennessee Historical Society.

Marc Mclure is a Texas native who received a Bachelor of Business Administration and the Arts from Roanoke College, his Masters from the University of North Texas, and earned his Doctor of Philosophy degree in United States History from George Washington University. He has served as an adjunct or associate professor at many colleges and universities across the region, including Marymount University in Virginia, Appalachian State University, and Lees-McRae College in North Carolina, before joining the staff of Walters State Community College as an associate professor of history in 2010. McClure’s research earned him an invitation to screen his documentary for the 100-year anniversary of Rockwell’s death in Roderen, France, where Rockwell is still celebrated as a decorated war hero.  

The program is sponsored by Consolidated Nuclear Security, LLC and is free and open to the public. The lecture will begin at noon at the East Tennessee History Center, 601 S. Gay Street, Knoxville. Guests are invited to bring a “Brown Bag” lunch and enjoy the lecture. Soft drinks will be available. For more information on the lecture, exhibitions, or museum hours, call 865-215-8824