David R. O'Keefe (born February 9, 1967) is a Canadian historian, television presenter, and writer. He is known for presenting
War Junk alongside Gemini nominated and Emmy award-winning producer and director
Wayne Abbott. He has appeared on television and radio networks including CBC Radio, Global Television, CTV Television Network, UKTV Network and History TV channel.
Education
O'Keefe studied at
Concordia and
McGill Universities in
Montreal
Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...
before attending the
University of Ottawa
The University of Ottawa (), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a Official bilingualism in Canada, bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ot ...
for his graduate studies. He remained at the University of Ottawa for four years as a research assistant and lecturer on Military and Diplomatic History before teaching at the College level in Montreal as a professor of Modern and Military History.
Today, O'Keefe teaches history at
Marianopolis College in
Westmount, Quebec
Westmount () is a city on the Island of Montreal, in southwestern Quebec, Canada. It is an enclave of the city of Montreal, with a population of 19,658 as of the 2021 Canadian census.
Westmount is home to schools, an arena, a pool, a public li ...
.
Career
O'Keefe served as an infantry officer in the
Royal Highland Regiment (The Black Watch of Canada) in Montreal, and was later employed as their historian for nearly a decade. In addition, he worked as a Signals Intelligence specialist for the Department of National Defence and conducted research for the Official History of the
Royal Canadian Navy
The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; , ''MRC'') is the Navy, naval force of Canada. The navy is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of February 2024, the RCN operates 12 s, 12 s, 4 s, 4 s, 8 s, and several auxiliary ...
in the Second World War. O'Keefe has researched in Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom.
O'Keefe's publications include articles in Canadian Defence Quarterly, the Journal of Canadian Military History, and the Canadian Army Journal, including a chapter in Great War Commands: Historical Perspective on Canadian Army Leadership 1914–1918. Recently, O’Keefe was signed by Knopf (Random House) Canada Publishers to write his first full-length monograph on the Dieppe Raid. His research on the
Dieppe Raid
Operation Jubilee or the Dieppe Raid (19 August 1942) was a disastrous Allied amphibious attack on the German-occupied port of Dieppe in northern France, during the Second World War. Over 6,050 infantry, predominantly Canadian, supported by a ...
began almost two decades ago and has continued throughout his graduate work and his career as an academic and documentarian.
In addition to his academic pursuits, O'Keefe has served as a historian for History Television in Canada for 15 years and appeared on CBC Radio, Global Television, CTV Television Network, UKTV Network in Great Britain. During his time with History Television, he was worked on numerous television documentaries and publications, including the ''Camp X'' (1999); ''Murder in Normandy: The Trial of Kurt Meyer'' (1999); and ''Forced March to Freedom'' (2001) for David Paperny Productions. In 2002, he collaborated with Wayne Abbott for the Gemini-nominated four-part series, ''From a Place Called War''. They continued collaborating for over a decade, producing ''Black Watch: Massacre on Verrières Ridge'' for History Television; the two-part History Television program ''Bloody Normandy and Bloody Victory; The Secret War Files'' for History Television; ''Battle of the Mace''; and most recently, ''Dieppe Uncovered'', and the television series, ''War Junk'', both for History Television.
He is currently in discussions for a TV series based on his research into
Ultra
Ultra may refer to:
Science and technology
* Ultra (cryptography), the codename for cryptographic intelligence obtained from signal traffic in World War II
* Adobe Ultra, a vector-keying application
* Sun Ultra series, a brand of computer work ...
and its impact on the history of the Second World War.
Publications
Books
* ''One Day in August: The Untold Story Behind Canada’s Tragedy at Dieppe.'' re-examines the disastrous raid at
Dieppe
Dieppe (; ; or Old Norse ) is a coastal commune in the Seine-Maritime department, Normandy, northern France.
Dieppe is a seaport on the English Channel at the mouth of the river Arques. A regular ferry service runs to Newhaven in England ...
, France, taking recently uncovered evidence into account. Released: Oct. 2014.
* ''Seven Days in Hell: Canada's Battle for Normandy and the Rise of the Black Watch Snipers.'' Released: Aug. 2020.
Publication credits
* "It Means Men's Lives: Training, Preparation and Innovation for Battle – the case of Major-General Loomis 1917" – article in Canada's Red Hackle, (Spring 2009)
* "War’s Fickle Fate: The Sammy Nichol Saga" – article in Esprit de Corps Volume 15, Issue 1 (Spring 2008)
* "With Blinders On: The Black Watch and the Battle for Spycker, Sept 12–14, 1944" in Canadian Army Journal (Spring 2008)
* "A Brutal Soul-Destroying Business: Brigadier-General F.O.W. Loomis and the Question of "Impersonal Generalship" in Godefroy", A. ed. Great War Commands: Historical Perspectives on Canadian Army Leadership, 1914–1918 (2010)
* "Double Edged Sword Part I: Ultra and Operation Totalize, Normandy, August 8, 1944" in Canadian Army Journal Vol. 12 No 3, (Winter 2010) 85–93
* "Double Edged Sword Part II: Ultra and Operation Totalize, Normandy, August 8, 1944" in Canadian Army Journal (Forthcoming Summer 2013)
* "Voices from Vimy: The Lost Battle Diary of Major-Gen F.O.W. Loomi"– article in Canada's Red Hackle (Summer 2007)
* "Pushing their Necks Out: Ultra and the Black Watch at May-sur-Orne, Normandy August 5, 1944" – article in Canadian Military History (Spring 2006)
* "The Eleventh Hour: Intelligence and the Black Watch during Operation Spring July 25, 1944" – article in Canada's Red Hackle (Spring 2005)
* Canadian Defence Quarterly, Toronto, Ontario, Article: "Fortune's Fate: The Question of Operational Intelligence for Operation "Spring" – July 25, 1944". (Spring 1995 issue)
* Laurier Centre for Military, Strategic and Disarmament Studies, Wilfrid Laurier University May 1996 – Conference Paper: "The Other Side of the Hill: Operational Intelligence and the Canadian Attack at Verriéres Ridge, July 25, 1944"
Lectures
* Bedford St. Martins History of Western Civilization PowerPoint lecture series for Hunt, Making of the West (2001)
* Hudson Historical Society, Hudson Quebec, Spring, 2007. "Lecture: Ridges are not Kind to Infantry: The Black Watch at Verriéres Ridge."
* Canadian Armed Forces, Directorate of Land Concepts and Designs, Kingston, Ontario. Spring, 2009 Lecture: "Anatomy of Disaster: The Black Watch at Verriéres Ridge."
Awards and honours
O'Keefe is a recipient of the
Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal awarded by then Minister of Veterans Affairs, Honourable Steven Blaney for his services to Canada in the field of historical research on the Dieppe Raid.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Okeefe, David
1967 births
Living people
Writers from Montreal
Canadian military historians
20th-century English historians
21st-century English writers
20th-century Canadian historians
21st-century Canadian historians