Location: National World War I Museum at Liberty Memorial 100 W. 26th Street

Historian Shawn Faulkner discusses the life and career of John J. “Black Jack” Pershing, the Missouri-born commander of the American Expeditionary Force during World War I, on Thursday, November 11, 2010, at 1 p.m. at the National World War I Museum at Liberty Memorial, 100 W. 26th St.

Pershing was credited with many of America’s successes during World War I and became the most celebrated American leader of the war. He is considered to have been a mentor to the next generation of American generals, including Dwight D. Eisenhower and George S. Patton.

Faulkner teaches military history at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth. He earned his Ph.D. in American History from Kansas State University and is the author of a soon-to-be-released book, The School of Hard Knocks: Combat Leadership in the American Expeditionary Forces.

The event is the first in the Great Commanders series to be held on the second Thursday of each month from January through June, 2011. Future events in the series will include discussions of: Alexander the Great (January 12), Genghis Kahn, February 10, Horatio Nelson (March 10), Napoleon (April 14), Curtis LeMay (May 12), and Erwin Rommel (June 9).

The series is co-sponsored by the Command and General Staff College Foundation, Inc. and the National World War I Museum at Liberty Memorial.

Admission is free.