William Best Hesseltine Award 2010-11 Winner Announced
Congratulations to Jeffrey J. McLean, winner of the 45th Annual William Best Hesseltine Award for Volume 94
of the Wisconsin Magazine of History.
Jeffrey J. McLean
The article, "The MacArthurs and the Mitchells: Wisconsin's First Military Families" explores General MacArthur's brief political run, which has been all but forgotten over time.
The general's Wisconsin heritage stems from one of the greatest military families the state has ever produced. Militarily, politically, and culturally, the Wisconsin MacArthurs made some of the most meaningful contributions of any of the earliest settling families, but their achievements have not been widely recognized. In contrast, the Mitchells are recognized in the state as one of the most celebrated and historically notable families. Perhaps no better case exists to highlight how differently the legacies of these families are remembered than to consider the third generation, General Douglas MacArthur and famed aviation pioneer General Billy Mitchell. Their family histories reveal incredible similarities between these two men, both of whom emerged from World War I as the top military minds of their generation and whose roots were planted deeply in the state. Closely considering their family heritage and historical contributions to the state uncovers a rare and incredible story of two distinguished Wisconsin families that provided the nation with inconoclastic military and political leaders for generations.
Access our online archives of the "Wisconsin Magazine of History" in order to read the article online.
Jeffery J. McLean is an active-duty navy lieutenant and a native of Mequon, Wisconsin. He graduated from the US Naval Academy in 2004 and earned a master's degree from Oxford University in 2006. Having earned his naval aviator "gold wings" in 2008, he flies F/A-18 Super Hornets for Navy Strike Fighter Squadron 103, the Jolly Rodgers, in Virginia Beach, Virginia. He recently returned from deployment on the USS Eisenhower, participating in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.
Established in memory of a past president of the Wisconsin
Historical Society and a distinguished University of Wisconsin
professor, the William Best Hesseltine Award honors an individual
article that appears in a four-issue volume of the magazine.
Readers have chosen the award winners since 2002.
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