EDUCATION

2016–2023

Ohio University, Athens, OH
PhD, History
Advisor: Dr. Ingo Trauschweizer
Primary Field: US Military History
Secondary Fields: US Political History, European History
Dissertation: Planning World War Three: How the German Army Shaped American Doctrine After the Vietnam War

2013–2015

Millersville University, Millersville, PA
MA, History
Concentration: Post–World War II Military Affairs

2009–2013

Temple University, Philadelphia, PA
BA, History

PUBLICATIONS

Book

Second Project

  • Fitzpatrick, Michael. The Tiger Front: South Korea in the American War in Vietnam, 1945-1975.

  • Fitzpatrick, Michael. The Perpetual Soup: America, Germany, and Operational Doctrine Formation After the Vietnam War, 1973–1990. De Gruyter-Brill. [Winter 2026]

Book Chapter

  • Fitzpatrick, Michael. “The Clash of Cavalry: The US, West Germany, and the Lessons of the Yom Kippur War.” In Peter Lieb and Heiner Möllers, eds., Gerüstet für den Krieg?: Militärische und Zivile Sicherheitsvorsorge in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland und der NATO in den 1980er Jahren. De Gruyter-Brill. [2027]

Articles

  • Fitzpatrick, Michael, “More than Mercenaries?: Incentives, Sub-imperiality, and Rhetoric in South Korea’s Decision to Send Soldiers to Vietnam.” [In Solicitation]

  • Fitzpatrick, Michael. “‘We Must Think, Act, and Be Men’: Race, Prostitution, and Protest at Camp Humphreys, South Korea, 1971–1972.” Journal of American–East Asian Relations. [Jan. 2027]

  • Fitzpatrick, Michael. “Korea, Germany, and the Arsenal of Democracy.” Parameters 54 no. 4 (Winter, 2024).

  • Kelley, Terrance, Michael Fitzpatrick, and Joshua Klimas. “The Implications of the Emerging Strategic Context on Army Total Force Policy.” RAND Arroyo Center. (2024)

MEDIA AND PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT

Decisive Point Podcast (US Army Parameters). Appearances on “Korea and the Arsenal of Democracy” and “Allies, Partners, or Puppets?: American and Chilean Armies, 1961–1969.”

Book Review

  • Fitzpatrick, Michael. Review of Bronson Long, No Easy Occupation: French Control of the German Saar, 1944–1957. H-War, H-Net Reviews. (Feb 2017)

Other

  • One unreleased, co-authored, peer-reviewed RAND publication.

Prepared Courses

- "South Korea: Militarized Modernity, 1945-2024"
Korea during and after the dictatorships

- “History of Modern Strategic Though”
A history of strategic thought and doctrine writing, 1870-present

- "Global Military History, 1300-2024"
Provides comprehensive analysis of military developments across cultures and time periods

- "War in the Era of Mass Politics"
Examines relationship between ideology, industrialism, and warfare

- "American interventions in East Asia, 1940-2025"
Political, economic, cultural, social impact of United States on Vietnam, Japan, Korea, China, and Taiwan

-"Women in War"
Women as participants, enablers, and victims of warfare

- “Europe in the Cold War”
A global history of Europe in the second half of the twentieth century

- "American History, 2000-2009"
Political and cultural transformations in a decade of transition

- "American Political and Cultural History, 2000-2009"
Focuses on the political and cultural transformations of the first decade of the 21st century

Additional courses including the US, World, & European history surveys, courses on conflicts from European, Asian, and global history (1500-present), courses on American, German, Korean political, social, cultural, diplomatic history.

Teaching evaluations and syllabi available on request

CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS

Papers Presented

  • “More than Mercenaries?: Sub-imperiality, and Rhetoric in South Korea’s Decision to Send Soldiers to Vietnam.” Association for Asian Studies, Boston (2027)

  • “‘We Must Think, Act, and Be Men’: Race, Prostitution, and Protest at Camp Humphreys, South Korea, 1971–1972.” Society for Military History Annual Conference, Alexandria (2026)

  •  “Clash of Cavalry: The Yom Kippur War’s Impact on Trans-Atlantic Military Cooperation, 1973–1982.” Internationale Tagung für Militärgeschichte, Dresden. (2025)

  • “‘We Must Think, Act, and Be Men’: Race, Prostitution, and Protest at Camp Humphreys, South Korea, 1971–1972.” Midwest Conference on Asian Affairs. (2025)

  • “‘We Must Think, Act, and Be Men’: Race, Prostitution, and Protest at Camp Humphreys, South Korea, 1971–1972.” TISS New Faces Conference. (2025)

  • “Late-Cold War Land Doctrines in a Transatlantic Perspective: The United States Army and West German Heer, 1973–1982.” Society for Military History Annual Conference, San Diego. (2023)

  • Ohio University History Graduate Student Association Conference. (2017)

  • “The John Fries Rebellion,” Phi Alpha Theta PA Regional Conference. (2015)

  • “The MBT-70” Made in Millersville.

  • “The John Fries Rebellion",” Pennsylvania Historical Association.

Panel Chair and Organizer

  • Panel Chair, “Echoes and Shadows: The Transpacific Korean War,” Association of Asian Studies (2027)

  • Panel Chair, “Local History, National Dimensions,” PFW Undergraduate History Conference (2024)

  • Panel Chair, “American Military History.” Ohio University HGSA Conference. (2022)

  • Panel Chair, “American Military History.” Ohio University HGSA Conference. (2021)

  • Conference Organizer. Ohio University HGSA Conference. (2018)

Download CV

Michael Fitzpatrick, PhD

Chapel Hill, NC 

ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS

2024–Present

Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency Partner Post-Doctoral Fellow
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Ongoing Projects: Korean DMZ Mapping Project
Chosin Unit Database
Chosin Narrative Project
Ship Loss Case Summary Project

2023–2024

Teaching Post-Doctoral Fellow
Purdue University Fort Wayne

2022–2025

Research Adjunct
RAND Corporation

TEACHING

Instructor of Record

Spring 2027

  • HIST 570: The Vietnam War (with graduate section).
    University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

 Spring 2026

  • HIST 490: US Intervention in East Asia (with graduate section).
    University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Spring 2025

  • HIST 570: The Vietnam War (with graduate section).
    University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Spring 2024

  • HIST 10501: United States History, 1600–1877.
    Purdue University Fort Wayne.

  • HIST 10601: United States History, 1877–Present.
    Purdue University Fort Wayne.

  • HIST 22801: The Vietnam War.
    Purdue University Fort Wayne.

  • HIST 22801 (Honors): The Vietnam War.
    Purdue University Fort Wayne.

Fall 2023

  • HIST 10501: United States History, 1600–1877.
    Purdue University Fort Wayne.

  • HIST 10601: United States History, 1877–Present.
    Purdue University Fort Wayne.

  • IDIS 10606: American Exceptionalism (co-taught).
    Purdue University Fort Wayne.

Spring 2021

  • HIST 2000: United States History, 1600–1877.
    Ohio University.

8 Courses as Teaching Assistant

Training & Skills

Languages

 

English (Native fluency)

 German (Graduate reading proficiency)
German for Graduate Reading I, II, III (Ger 5110, 5120, 5210), Ohio University
Sprachschule Paroli, Leipzig Germany, Intensive German Language Program

 Korean (Graduate reading proficiency)
King Sejong Institute, Levels 1A, 1B, 2A, 2B

 

Software

ARCGIS Pro 3.4