2025 LCpl. Benjamin W. Schmidt Symposium on War, Conflict, and Society

Our guest this year will be Dr. Robert K. Brigham of Vassar College. As a young Adoptee in the 1960s wondering who he was and who he might have been, he invented a story that his biological father had fought and died in the Vietnam War. Now one of the war’s leading historians, Brigham will explore many of the war’s consequences—including its effect on US Marines in the Tet Offensive and everyday Americans attempting to understand what it all meant. His is a story of profound sorrow and enduring hope. A story so unbelievable, as veteran and novelist Tim O’Brien wrote, it can only be a true war story.

Join us for a pre-talk reception at 6:00 PM, followed by Dr. Brigham’s lecture and a book signing. Check out the symposium website for more information. We’ll look forward to seeing you there.

This symposium is named in memory of Lance Corporal Benjamin Whetstone Schmidt and generously funded by his parents, Dr. David and Teresa Schmidt. A native of San Antonio, Benjamin came to TCU in the fall of 2006. By all accounts, he loved being a Horned Frog, but after three semesters he returned home and joined the Marine Corps. Benjamin excelled as a Marine and became a scout sniper, but after a sea deployment and a tour in Afghanistan, he decided to complete his enlistment and return to TCU. He wanted to finish his degree in History, then, pursue a PhD in military history so that he could become a professor. Before he could do so, however, he learned that none of the snipers in his battalion who were about to deploy to Afghanistan had combat experience, and he volunteered to go with them. On October 6, 2011, the eve of the 10th anniversary of the beginning of the American War in Afghanistan, he was killed in a friendly fire accident while on duty in Helmand Province.

The Schmidts created the LCpl. Benjamin W. Schmidt Professorship in War, Conflict, and Society in Twentieth-Century America at Texas Christian University in 2012 to honor their son’s legacy and his passion for history. They have continued to support the History Department in many ways since then, including by funding this annual symposium.