The Central Pennsylvania World War II Roundtable will hold its next monthly meeting online via Zoom on Thursday, March 4, at 7 p.m. The guest speaker will be author David Dean Barrett.

Barrett is a military historian, specializing in World War II. He recently published his first book, "140 Days to Hiroshima: The Story of Japan's Last Chance to Avert Armageddon."

The title of Barrett presentation will be "Reign of Ruin," a word play on the famous quote from President Harry S. Truman after the atomic attack on Hiroshima: "If they do not now accept our terms, they may expect a rain of ruin from the air, the like of which has never been seen on this Earth." Barrett's talk will focus on Japanese and American leadership in the final months of World War II.

Barrett has also published work in WWII Quarterly Magazine, U.S. Military History Review, and Global War Studies. He served as historical consultant and producer for the documentary "Heroes of the Sky: The Mighty Eighth Air Force," which first aired on the National Geographic channel in 2020. Barrett has been a frequent guest speaker for more than a decade on the use of the atomic bomb in the final days of World War II and the end of the Pacific War.

The Zoom meeting is open to the public, and no registration is required. To attend, readers may visit http://www.centralpaww2roundtable.org.

The Central Pennsylvania World War II Roundtable is a nonprofit organization that provides a forum for World War II veterans, authors, historians, and citizens to share their knowledge and experiences related to the war.