Dave Grossman

August 23, 1956 

  • Born in Frankfurt, West Germany
  • Specialized in the study of the psychology of killing
  • Lieutenant colonel in the United States Army
  • Professor of psychology at West Point
  • 1995 – Author – On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society
  • 1999 – Author – Stop Teaching Our Kids to Kill: A Call to Action Against TV, Movie and Video Game Violence
  • 2004 – Author – On Combat: The Psychology and Physiology of Deadly Conflict in War and in Peace
  • 2016 – Author – Assassination Generation : Video Games, Aggression, and the Psychology of Killing
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USA MU

United States Army Marksmanship Unit

established in March 1, 1956

  • at the direction of Dwight D. Eisenhower
  • with the mission of winning international competitions
  •  1964 Summer Olympics (Tokyo), the United States won seven medals in shooting, of which six were won by Army Marksmanship Unit members
  • unit’s mission expanded to facilitate Army recruiting
  •  2009 to 2012, the AMU maintained a constant presence in Afghanistan by deploying multiple marksmanship training teams
  • five competitive shooting sections
    – Service Rifle
    – Action Shooting
    – International Rifle
    – Service Pistol
    – Shotgun
  • Shotgun and International Rifle teams have earned 24 Olympic medals

United States Army Marksmanship Unit
Fort Benning, Georgia

Col. William C. Church

(August 11, 1836 – May 23, 1917)

  • 1861–62 Washington correspondent of the New York Times
  • 1863 Founded the Army and Navy Journal
    Our FIRST Firearm Instructor?
  • 1866 co-founded Galaxy Magazine, which published the early writings of Mark Twain
  • 1870 one of the founders of the Metropolitan Museum of Art
  • 1871 Meets with Gen. George Wingate
    –  they decide to create military manuals on marksmanship
  • 1871 co-founder of the National Rifle Association
  • 1872 Second president of the National Rifle Association
  •  1882 commissioner to inspect the Northern Pacific Railroad
  •  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Conant_Church

Colonel William C. Church was a notable figure in American journalism, publishing, and politics, and he also played a significant role in the history of the National Rifle Association (NRA).

Church’s involvement with the NRA began in 1871, shortly after its founding, when he was approached by the organization’s first president, George Wingate, to help promote and develop the organization. Church was a passionate outdoorsman and hunter, and he saw the NRA as an opportunity to promote responsible gun use and marksmanship training.

As a result of Church’s efforts, the NRA began to grow rapidly, and he served as the organization’s second president from 1874 to 1876. During his tenure, he helped establish the NRA’s annual shooting competitions and worked to promote gun safety and marksmanship training across the United States.

Church was also an early advocate for the Second Amendment, which he saw as a crucial component of American freedom and democracy. In an editorial published in the Army and Navy Journal in 1871, he wrote, “To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms, and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them.”

In addition to his work with the NRA, Church was a prominent figure in American journalism and publishing. He served as the managing editor of the New York Sun and helped found the Army and Navy Journal. He was also a philanthropist and supporter of various charitable causes, including the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the National Child Labor Committee.

Overall, Colonel William C. Church played a significant role in the history of the NRA and helped shape the organization into what it is today. He was a passionate advocate for responsible gun use, marksmanship training, and the Second Amendment, and his contributions have had a lasting impact on American culture and politics.

 

Gen. Ambrose Burnside

(May 23, 1824 – September 13, 1881)
– 1843-1847 United States Military Academy – graduated 18th in a class of 47
– 1847–1853 Mexican–American War (1st Lieutenant)
– 1853 manufactured the Burnside carbine
– 1861 – 1865 Civil War, Major General
– 1866-1869 Governor of Rhode Island
– 1871 NRA’s first President
– 1875-1881 U.S. Senator from Rhode Island
– His distinctive style of facial hair became known as sideburns

Harriet Tubman

March 1822 – March 10, 1913

  • Araminta “Minty” Ross
  • Born into slavery
  • 1844 – Married John Tubman
  • changed her name from Araminta to Harriet soon after her marriage
  • 1849 – escaped and made 13 missions to rescue 70+ slaves
  • Tubman carried a small revolver, and was not afraid to use it
  • 1858 – met abolitionist John Brown and became “General Tubman” when she helped him plan his raid (that he was killed for)
  • 1859 – Purchased property in Auburn, New York
  • 1860 – her last rescue mission
  • Civil War worked for the Union Army, first as a cook and nurse, and then as an armed scout and spy
  • 1863 – The first woman to lead an armed expedition in the war
  • June 1 & 2, 1863 – Tubman guided the raid at Combahee Ferry wich liberated 700+ slaves
  • 1865 She returned home to NY
  • 1869 – Her biography was published – Scenes in the Life of Harriet Tubman
  • 1886 – Volume 2 was published – Harriet, the Moses of her People
  • 1889 – Congress passed and President William McKinley finally approved a $20 per month pension for some of her efforts during the Civil War
  • 1896 – keynote speaker at first meeting of  National Federation of Afro-American Women
  • 1908 – Harriet Tubman Home for the Aged  opened on her NY property
  • 1913 – She was buried with semi-military honors at Fort Hill Cemetery in Auburn, NY
  • 1937 – Her grave marker was erected by the Empire State Federation of Women’s Clubs
  • 1999 – Her grave was added to National Register of Historic Places

“There was one of two things I had a right to”, liberty or death; if I could not have one, I would have the other”

Tubman