Head, William P. 1949- (William Head, William Pace Head)

PERSONAL:

Born October 15, 1949, in Miami, FL; son of Downer Pace (a sales/express agent) and Ella Margueritte (a librarian) Head; married Randee Lynn Geiger, June 6, 1975; children: Matthew, Brian, Evan, Zachery. Ethnicity: "Caucasian." Education: Florida State University, B.A., 1971, Ph.D., 1980; University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, M.A., 1974. Politics: Democrat. Religion: Methodist. Hobbies and other interests: Golf, travel, reading, coaching Little League.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Warner Robins, GA. Office—Office of History, Warner Robins Air Logistics Center, 955 Robins Pkwy., Ste. 200, WR-ALC/HO, Robins Air Force Base, GA 31088. E-mail—william.head@robins.af.mil; billhead@juno.com.

CAREER:

University of Alabama, Huntsville, assistant professor of history, 1981-84; U.S. Air Force, Warner Robins Air Logistics Center, Robins Air Force Base, GA, military historian, 1984-96, chief, Office of History, 1996—. Adjunct instructor at Florida State University, 1978-81, Mercer University, 1984-90, Macon College, 1985—, and Georgia Military College, 1986-92. Appeared in several documentary films; guest on television and radio programs; conference organizer and participant.

MEMBER:

American Historical Association (past member of executive council), Organization of American Historians (past member of executive council), Association of Third World Studies (member of executive council, 1991-2000; president, 2002-03), Association of Asian Studies (regional vice president, 2005-07; past member of executive council), Society for Military History (past member of executive council), Georgia Association of Historians (past member of executive council), Society for History in the Federal Government (past member of executive council), Phi Kappa Phi.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Golden Pen Award, Macon Telegraph and News, 1985; Presidential Award, Association of Third World Studies, 1988, 1997; outstanding article awards from Journal of Air Force Logistics, 1991, 1992; named "outstanding historian," U.S. Air Force, 1994; Air Force Material Command, outstanding publication awards, 1994, 1995; Heritage Project Award, 1998, for Crown Jewel of Georgia: A History of the Museum of Aviation at Robins AFB, Georgia; Cecil B. Currey Book Award, Association of Third World Studies, 2003, for War from above the Clouds: B-52 Operations in the Second Indochina War.

WRITINGS:

America's China Sojourn: America's Foreign Policy and Its Effects on Sino-American Relations, 1942-1948, University Press of America (Lanham, MD), 1983.

Yenan! Colonel Wilbur Peterkin and the American Military Mission to the Chinese Communists, 1944-1945, U.S.A. Documentary Publications (Chapel Hill, NC), 1987.

(Under name William Head; editor, with Lawrence E. Grinter) Looking Back on the Vietnam War: A 1990s Perspective on the Decisions, Combat, and Legacies, Greenwood Press (Westport, CT), 1993.

(Under name William Head) Every Inch a Soldier: Augustine Warner Robins and the Building of U.S. Airpower, Texas A&M University Press (College Station, TX), 1995.

(Under name William Head; editor, with Earl H. Tilford, Jr.) The Eagle in the Desert: Looking Back on U.S. Involvement in the Persian Gulf War, Praeger (Westport, CT), 1996.

(Under name William Head; editor, with Marc Jason Gilbert) The Tet Offensive, Praeger (Westport, CT), 1996.

Crown Jewel of Georgia: A History of the Museum of Aviation at Robins AFB, Georgia 1998.

(Editor, with Edwin G. Clausen) Weaving a New Tapestry: Asia in the Post-Cold War World; Case Studies and General Trends, Praeger (Westport, CT), 1999.

War from above the Clouds: B-52 Operations in the Second Indochina War, Air University Fairchild Publications, 2003.

(Editor, with David R. Mets) Plotting a True Course: Reflections on USAF Strategic Attack Theory and Doctrine; The Post World War II Experience, Praeger (Westport, CT), 2003.

Shadow and Stinger: Developing the AC-119G/K Gunships in the Vietnam War, Texas A&M University Press (College Station, TX), 2007.

Contributor to encyclopedias and other reference books. Contributor of articles and reviews to periodicals, including Journal of Military History, Air Power History, and Journal of American History. Asian editor, Journal of Third World Studies, 1985-97.

SIDELIGHTS:

William P. Head once told CA: "I write on history because it fascinates me and I was trained to do so. My current position is designed for me to research and write on items relevant to the Air Force and my installation. Having been trained in U.S./Asian (modern) diplomatic history, I still have a fascination for that subject too. Since I work for the military, I am now also a military historian. It is particularly interesting (to me) to examine how the U.S. military affects, and is in turn affected by, our democratic society. Luckily, I have had a wide latitude of topics about which I can write. All have been worthwhile since they fit not only my job but my interests. I am also fortunate that most of my research materials are in my own base archives or nearby at AFHRA, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Airpower Journal, winter, 1995, Phillip S. Meilinger, review of Every Inch a Soldier: Augustine Warner Robins and the Building of U.S. Airpower, pp. 114-115.

American Historical Review, April, 1984, review of America's China Sojourn: America's Foreign Policy and Its Effects on Sino-American Relations, 1942-1948, p. 539.

Choice, November, 1983, review of America's China Sojourn, p. 486.

Journal of Asian Studies, May, 1985, review of America's China Sojourn, p. 590.

Pacific Historical Review, May, 1986, review of America's China Sojourn, p. 333.