caption laterwork branch birth_place placeofburial_label birth_date rank image article_title name
colonel u.s. army . robert j. dalessandro -lrb- retired -rrb- . courtesy military historian 25px united states army new york city place of burial 1958 colonel robert j. dalessandro.jpg robert j. dalessandro
 robert j. dalessandro
robert j. dalessandro

robert j. dalessandro -lrb- born 1958 , in new york , new york -rrb- is an american historian and author who has written and presented extensively on the american expeditionary forces contributions to the first world war .
dalessandro is a retired colonel in the u.s. army and the current director of the united states army center of military history at fort lesley j. mcnair , washington , d.c. .
he frequently leads battlefield tours to sites in the united states , france and italy .
he has had a lifelong passion for military history and the material culture of the american soldier .
dalessandro graduated from the virginia military institute with a degree in history in 1980 .
his graduate studies included work at the college of william and mary , the u.s. army war college and george washington university .
he has had a wide variety of army leadership and staff assignments including time as a platoon leader , command at company , depot and battalion level and staff assignments at echelons of command ranging from battalion through department of the army level .
dalessandro is widely published on the lifeways and material culture of the american soldier in the eighteenth , nineteenth , and twentieth centuries .
he is co-author of the `` organization and insignia of the american expeditionary forces , 1917-1923 '' , he serves as editor of the `` army officer 's guide '' , co-author of `` willing patriots : men of color in the first world war '' , and `` contributions of african american soldiers and the american lions : the 332nd infantry regiment in italy in world war i '' .
his book , `` organization and insignia of the american expeditionary forces , 1917-1923 '' received the army historical foundation award for excellence in writing .
dalessandro currently serves as the chairman of the united states world war one centennial commission .
he assumed those duties following the untimely death of former congressman ike skelton .
he was appointed to the commission by the house minority leader , congresswoman nancy pelosi of california .
