May 1, 2025, 4:00p – 5:00p; 005 Kirkbride Lecture Hall
UD History alumnus Mike Fink, development content manager at the Intrepid Museum in NYC, will discuss the journey that led to his recent book, Intrepid’s Fighting Squadron 18, which spotlights one of the Navy’s highest-scoring fighter squadrons of World War II. Despite their success in combat, Fighting 18 (VF-18) flew under the radar for decades while squadrons like the Black Sheep and Jolly Rogers became household names. To better understand how and why this happened, Fink extended his research beyond the archives to learn about squadron members directly from their families and the objects they passed down through the generations. Using artifacts encountered during his research, Fink will show how personal effects and official records combine to give a fuller picture of the last great air and sea battles in the Pacific.