Mississippi-based military historian, author, and professor Dr. Andrew Wiest has received one of the most distinguished national awards honoring contributions to military history.
Wiest, who is a professor at the University of Southern Mississippi, is this year’s recipient of the Society for Military History’s Samuel Eliot Morison Prize, which recognizes a scholar’s “body of contributions in the field of military history, extending over time and reflecting a spectrum of scholarly activity contributing significantly to the field.”
Contributions leading up to the prize, in addition to his time teaching, include various research works and published books such as bestseller “Boys of ’67.” His latest, “Dogwood: A National Guard Unit’s War in Iraq,” traces the experience of the 150th Combat Engineers of the Mississippi National Guard during their 2004 tour of duty in Iraq.
Wiest said winning the Morison Prize is especially meaningful given his upbringing and the historians he has long admired who have also received the honor.
Wiest called winning the Morison Prize “surreal and humbling” due to his upbringing in Hattiesburg and the fact that some of his idols have previously been recipients of the honor.
“Receiving the Morison Prize is both surreal and humbling,” Wiest said. “The folks who have won this in the past, from Sir Michael Howard to Stephen Ambrose, are scholars I’ve looked up to all my life with awe. That I have been judged to be worthy of being in their number by my peers is frankly unbelievable.
“A kid from Hattiesburg who only went to college because of a Pell Grant somehow ends up being recognized like this – it just seems like a real long shot. It’s a testament to all the people I’ve been connected to on this wonderful journey doing what I love.”
After earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Southern Miss, Wiest earned his Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Chicago. He then began teaching at his alma mater in 1987 and is the founding director of Southern Miss’ Dale Center for the Study of War & Society and co-founder of the university’s new Center for the Study of the National Guard.
He also serves as a faculty member in the Southern Miss British Studies Program and has led the university’s study abroad program in Vietnam.
Wiest’s areas of expertise include British military history, World Wars I and II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War, the latter of which is the focus of “The Boys of ’67.” The book eventually inspired the National Geographic documentary “Brothers in War,” for which Wiest served as lead historian and was nominated for an Emmy. Another one of his books, “Vietnam’s Forgotten Army,” won the Society for Miliary History’s Distinguished Book Award.
Dr. Wayne Lee, president of the Society for Miliary History, said Wiest is more than worthy of the Morison Prize for having “a profound effect on the field of military history,” including what he described as “groundbreaking works” on the history of the American and Republican of Vietnam’s wars, as well as his continued mentorship of students at Southern Miss.
“Dr. Wiest is a prolific and greatly respected scholar of war in American history, and well deserving of the 2026 Morison Prize,” Lee said.
Wiest’s colleague and friend Dr. Heather Stur, a senior fellow in the Dale Center, spearheaded Wiest’s nomination for the Morison Prize with support from other historians in their field.
“Andy has advanced the field of military history in numerous ways, from redefining the historiography of the Vietnam War to mentoring graduate students who have gone on to have successful careers in academia, professional military education, and public education,” Stur said.
“But nominating Andy was personal for me, because he has been a trusted mentor and friend since I arrived at Southern Miss over 17 years ago,” she continued. “…He is an unselfish colleague who values the work of those around him, and that made all the difference to me when I was just starting in the field.”
The prize’s namesake, Samuel Eliot Morison, was a graduate of Harvard University and served as a rear admiral in the U.S. Navy during World War II. He is widely noted for his writings – including over 50 books, two of which won the Pulitzer Price – on American and maritime history.
