William Felix "Jack" Atwater (born November 12, 1945) is an author and former

Director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''Di ...

of the

United States Army Ordnance Museum The United States Army Ordnance Training Support Facility (formerly known as the U.S. Army Ordnance Training and Heritage Center and U.S. Army Ordnance Museum) artifacts are used to train and educate logistic soldiers. It re-located to Fort Lee ( ...

Aberdeen, Maryland Aberdeen is a city located in Harford County, Maryland, United States, northeast of Baltimore. The population was 16,254 at the 2020 United States Census. Aberdeen is the largest municipality in Harford County. Aberdeen is part of the Baltimor ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Atwater is also a frequent guest contributor to a variety of television programs that draw on his expertise in military weaponry.

Early life

Atwater graduated from

Berea College Berea College is a private liberal arts work college in Berea, Kentucky. Founded in 1855, Berea College was the first college in the Southern United States to be coeducational and racially integrated. Berea College charges no tuition; every adm ...

Berea, Kentucky Berea is a List of cities in Kentucky, home rule-class city in Madison County, Kentucky, Madison County, Kentucky, in the United States. The town is best known for its art festivals, historic restaurants and buildings, and as the home to Berea Coll ...

, in 1968 and received a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree in history and political science. Following a decade of service in the U.S. military, he attended

Duke University Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...

where he was awarded a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

Military History Military history is the study of armed conflict in the history of humanity, and its impact on the societies, cultures and economies thereof, as well as the resulting changes to local and international relationships. Professional historians norma ...

in 1984 and a

Ph.D A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common Academic degree, degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields ...

in military history in 1985.

Career

Upon graduation from Berea College, Atwater was commissioned as a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

in the

Marines Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refle ...

. He commanded a

rifle platoon A platoon is a military unit typically composed of two or more squads, sections, or patrols. Platoon organization varies depending on the country and the branch, but a platoon can be composed of 50 people, although specific platoons may rang ...

and later a

company A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of people, whether Natural person, natural, Legal person, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common p ...

in the 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

where he received the

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, w ...

, a

Navy Commendation Medal The Commendation Medal is a mid-level United States military decoration presented for sustained acts of heroism or meritorious service. Each branch of the United States Armed Forces issues its own version of the Commendation Medal, with a fifth ...

, and a

Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry The Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross also known as the Vietnamese Gallantry Cross or Vietnam Cross of Gallantry ( vi, Anh-Dũng Bội-Tinh) is a military decoration of the former Government of South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam). The medal wa ...

. In a 2007 interview with the television documentary ''

Weaponology ''Weaponology'' is a documentary television series that premiered on November 6, 2007 on the Discovery Channel. The program also airs on the Military Channel (now American Heroes Channel). The documentary series was narrated by John Schwab. Ep ...

'', he recounted how his company were trapped in a "hot" LZ until rescued by a flight of

AH-1 Cobra The Bell AH-1 Cobra is a single-engined attack helicopter developed and manufactured by the American rotorcraft manufacturer Bell Helicopter. A member of the prolific Huey family, the AH-1 is also referred to as the HueyCobra or Snake. The A ...

gunships. Promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

, he served all over the world in various assignments and attended numerous military schools during a ten-year career in the Marine Corps. In 1985, after earning his Doctorate from Duke, William Atwater assumed the directorship of the 101st Airborne/Air Assault Divisional Museum at

Fort Campbell, Kentucky Fort Campbell is a United States Army installation located astride the Kentucky–Tennessee border between Hopkinsville, Kentucky, Hopkinsville, Kentucky and Clarksville, Tennessee, Clarksville, Tennessee (post address is located in Kentucky). F ...

, a position he held until 1989. From 1989 to November, 2007, he served as Director of the

, then located at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland. While Director at the Ordnance Museum he was instrumental in the refurbishment and rebuilding of large artifacts like tanks and artillery to meet

EPA The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent executive agency of the United States federal government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it be ...

standards, and the construction of a climate-controlled warehouse to store the museum's collection of small arms. In addition to his work for the museum, William Atwater was often called upon as a guest lecturer and speaker at West Point Military Academy, the Defense Intelligence College,

National Security Agency The National Security Agency (NSA) is a national-level intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense, under the authority of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI). The NSA is responsible for global monitoring, collecti ...

, and the

Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...

Atwater has served as a contributor to several books, including the ''Oxford Companion to American Military History'' (2000) on the topic of

grenades A grenade is an explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A modern hand grenade gene ...

mortars Mortar may refer to: * Mortar (weapon), an indirect-fire infantry weapon * Mortar (masonry), a material used to fill the gaps between blocks and bind them together * Mortar and pestle, a tool pair used to crush or grind * Mortar, Bihar, a village i ...

, and

land mines A land mine is an explosive device concealed under or on the ground and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets, ranging from combatants to vehicles and tanks, as they pass over or near it. Such a device is typically detonated automatic ...

. He also served as a technical advisor for the book ''Black Hawk Down''. Atwater has appeared as a firearms and ordnance expert in many

documentaries A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in term ...

regarding military history on such television channels as

The History Channel History (formerly The History Channel from January 1, 1995 to February 15, 2008, stylized as HISTORY) is an American pay television network and flagship channel owned by A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the Disney ...

TLC TLC may refer to: Arts and entertainment Television * ''TLC'' (TV series), a 2002 British situational comedy television series that aired on BBC2 * TLC (TV network), formerly the Learning Channel, an American cable TV network ** TLC (Asia), an A ...

Discovery Channel Discovery Channel (known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery) is an American cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav. , Discovery Channe ...

, and

The Military Channel American Heroes Channel (formerly Military Channel and originally Discovery Wings Channel) is an American multinational pay television channel owned by the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks unit of Warner Bros. Discovery. The network carries prog ...

. One of Atwater's recent projects is preserving some of the last remaining historic

military asset In military usage, a military asset is a weapon or means of production of weapons or other defensive or offensive devices or capabilities. Description Whether a military asset is considered a capital asset, or part of a public infrastructure, is ...

s in the

world In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...

. Atwater said of the Ordnance Museum Foundation that "It is our moral and legal responsibility to preserve military assets".Johnson, Yvonne
Ordnance Museum readying for the future
. (PDF), APG News, March 24, 2005

Awards

In addition to his previously noted military honors, Atwater’s civilian awards include: * The Excellence in Federal Service Award *

Outstanding Civilian Service Award The Meritorious Public Service Medal formerly the Outstanding Civilian Service Award is the third highest honor within the public service awards scheme of the Department of the Army that can be awarded to a private citizen. Eligibility The Secret ...

Commander's Award for Public Service The Public Service Commendation Medal is the fourth highest public service decoration the United States Department of the Army can bestow upon a civilian, ranking directly below the Meritorious Public Service Medal. The name of the decoration wa ...

* The Order of Samuel Sharpe * Member, Hall of Fame, Ordnance Corps Association

References

* Holzimmer, Kevin C
Joint Operations in the Southwest Pacific, 1943–1945
(PDF),

DTIC The Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC, pronounced "Dee-tick") is the repository for research and engineering information for the United States Department of Defense (DoD). DTIC's services are available to DoD personnel, federal governm ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Atwater, William 1945 births Living people Military personnel from Dallas Berea College alumni Duke University alumni American curators Directors of museums in the United States United States Marine Corps officers United States Marine Corps personnel of the Vietnam War 21st-century American historians 21st-century American male writers American male non-fiction writers