Edward M. Coffman (January 27, 1929 – September 16, 2020) was a military historian and

University of Wisconsin-Madison A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

professor emeritus.

Early life

He was born in

Hopkinsville, Kentucky Hopkinsville is a list of cities in Kentucky, home rule-class city in and the county seat of Christian County, Kentucky, United States. The population at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census was 31,180. History Early years The area of p ...

, and earned his BA, MA, and PhD at the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical ...

. While an undergraduate member of the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC), he was a member of the National Society of

Pershing Rifles The National Society of Pershing Rifles is a U.S. military-oriented honor society for college-level students founded in 1894 as a drill unit at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. It is the oldest continuously operating U.S. college organizatio ...

as well as Scabbard and Blade.

Military career

He served as an infantry officer in the U.S. Army from 1951 to 1953, serving in Japan and Korea.

Academic career

He taught at

Memphis State University The University of Memphis (Memphis) is a public university, public research university in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1912, the university has an enrollment of more than 20,000 students. The university maintains the Herff Col ...

for two years and the

University of Wisconsin–Madison The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded in 1848 when Wisconsin achieved st ...

(1961–92). He was

Forrest Pogue Forrest Carlisle Pogue Jr. (September 17, 1912 – October 6, 1996) was an official United States Army historian during World War II. He was a proponent of oral history techniques, and collected many oral histories from the war under the directi ...

's research assistant on the first volume of his biography of

George C. Marshall George Catlett Marshall Jr. (31 December 1880 – 16 October 1959) was an American army officer and statesman. He rose through the United States Army to become Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army under presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. ...

. Coffman spent a year each as a visiting professor at

Kansas State University Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant coll ...

U.S. Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as commissioned officers in the United States Army. The academy was founded ...

U.S. Air Force Academy The United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) is a United States service academy in Air Force Academy Colorado, immediately north of Colorado Springs. It educates cadets for service in the officer corps of the United States Air Force and Un ...

, Army War College, and the

Army Command and General Staff College The United States Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC or, obsolete, USACGSC) at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, is a graduate school for United States Army and sister service officers, interagency representatives, and international military ...

. Coffman served on the

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advisory committee beginning in 1987. A member of the

Society for Military History The Society for Military History is a United States–based international organization of scholars who research, write, and teach military history of all time periods and places. It includes naval history, air power history, and studies of technol ...

since 1956, he held several offices including president. He served on the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (1972–76) and the Department of the Army History Committee for six years and as chair for an additional four years. Coffman received a Southern Faculty Fellowship and a

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are Grant (money), grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon Guggenheim, Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon indiv ...

. He was a member of the UK

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States. It was founded in 1776 at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, ...

chapter and was an Honorary Graduate of the Army Command and General Staff College. Over the years the Army awarded him the Commander's Award for Public Service, Outstanding Civilian Service Award, and Distinguished Civilian Service Award. He was named a University of Kentucky Distinguished Graduate and the Wisconsin State Assembly gave him a citation for his contributions as a teacher and historian. In 1991, the

gave him the Samuel Eliot Morison Award for his contribution to military history, and its Distinguished Book Award for ''The Regulars''. ABC-CLIO gave him the Spencer Tucker Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Military History. Coffman's research interests were the American participation in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and the social history of the U. S. Regular Army, including not only officers and soldiers but the wives and children who lived on the posts. He has published numerous articles since 1956. In addition to research in secondary scholarly works, he depended on unpublished and published memoirs and records as well as oral history and correspondence, particularly in his books on World War I and his most recent book about the Regular Army.

Legacy

His research files have been donated to the

George C. Marshall Foundation The George C. Marshall Foundation in Lexington, Virginia, US, was commissioned by President Harry S. Truman in order to preserve the papers of General George Marshall, George C. Marshall, who served as Army chief of staff, secretary of state and d ...

. He has been inducted into the University of Wisconsin-Madison Army ROTC Hall of Fame.

Bibliography

* * (see Army Quarterly, October 1969, p. 126-7 for review) * * *

References

External links

Coffman discusses ''The Regulars: The American Army, 1898 - 1941''
at the

Pritzker Military Museum & Library The Pritzker Military Museum & Library (formerly Pritzker Military Library) is a non-profit museum and research library for the study of military history located in a state-of-the art facility in Kenosha, WI. The institution was founded in 2003, ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coffman, Edward M. 1929 births 2020 deaths Pershing Riflemen United States Army officers People from Hopkinsville, Kentucky Military personnel from Kentucky University of Kentucky alumni University of Memphis faculty University of Wisconsin–Madison faculty Writers from Kentucky United States Army Infantry Branch personnel 20th-century United States Army personnel United States Army War College faculty United States Army Command and General Staff College faculty