Robert E. Humphrey

Robert E. Humphrey is Professor of Communication Studies at California State University, Sacramento. Humphrey grew up in San Bernardino, and graduated from University of California at Riverside with a B.A. in American History. Subsequently he completed an M.A. and Ph.D. in American History and an M.A. in Communication Studies at the University of Iowa. Humphrey has published numerous articles in The Checkerboard, the newspaper for the 99th Infantry Division and is the author of Children of Fantasy: The First Rebels of Greenwich Village.

Humphrey’s interest in the 99th Infantry Division began in 2001, after a conversation with George Neill, whose memoir, Infantry Soldier, was published by the University of Oklahoma Press. Neill gave him the names of three other veterans, whom Humphrey then contacted. Over the next five years he conducted extensive interviews with more than three hundred surviving veterans. Based on his interviews, Humphrey wrote stories for The Checkerboard, the Division’s newspaper. After repeated urging by the veterans, Humphrey agreed to expand his research and write a book. What began as an interesting topic to explore became a personal mission to tell the story of these soldiers and honor their service.