Mark D. Van Ells is Professor of History at Queensborough Community College of the City University of New York. He received his Ph.D. in History from the University of Wisconsin – Madison in 1999, and is a native of the Badger State. Prior to his current position, he taught for Mt. Senario College and the University of Wisconsin – Platteville. Dr. Van Ells also served as Archivist/Historian at the Wisconsin Veterans Museum in Madison from 1994 to 1998. His research focuses on the social and cultural history of the US military, with an emphasis on World War II.
Mark writes scholarly works, as well as books and articles for general audiences, on history and travel. His books include To Hear Only Thunder Again: America’s World War II Veterans Come Home (2001) a study of veteran readjustment following the Second World War; Wisconsin (2009), part of Interlink Books’ acclaimed “On-The-Road Histories” series and a 2009 Foreword INDIES finalist in the Travel Guide category; and America and World War I: A Traveler’s Guide (2015). His travel articles on historic sites have appeared in numerous periodicals, among them America in WWII, Military History, Naval History, Stars & Stripes, and World War II. Mark’s latest book is Red Arrow Across the Pacific: The Thirty-Second Infantry Division during World War II (Wisconsin Historical Society Press, 2024) – the 2024 Foreword INDIES winner of Bronze in the War and Military (Adult Non-fiction) category.