Dr. Gregory A. Daddis brings a wealth of experience and insight to Texas A&M’s Department of History where he recently joined as a Professor and Melbern G. Glasscock Endowed Chair in American History. A leading scholar of the Cold War and the American war in Vietnam, Daddis has long worked at the intersection of history, public engagement, and education. His contributions include serving as an official advisor to Florentine Films for the acclaimed Ken Burns-Lynn Novick documentary The Vietnam War, as well as leading educational tours to Vietnam that offer students a firsthand look at the landscapes and legacies of conflict.
Before entering academia, Daddis spent 26 years in the U.S. Army, retiring as a colonel—a background that informs both his scholarship and his teaching. His latest book, Faith and Fear: America’s Relationship with War Since 1945, published by Oxford University Press, examines how American policymakers have navigated the post-World War II era through a complex blend of unwavering belief in military power and deep-seated anxieties about global threats. “These tensions between faith and fear matter because they endure,” Daddis wrote in Responsible Statecraft. “Ultimately, these interactions… have the potential to culminate into a spiraling, never-ending militarization of American foreign policy that leaves us far less safe in an uncertain world.”