On Saturday, March 31, at 1 p.m., the New Jersey Vietnam Veterans' Memorial Foundation will host an author lecture by Philip J. Briggs, Ph.D., entitled “Avoiding Armageddon: John F. Kennedy and American Foreign Policy,” based on his book, Making American Foreign Policy: President-Congress Relations from the Second World War to the Post-Cold War Era.  This program will be held at the Vietnam Era Educational Center in Holmdel, N.J.

      Briggs, of East Stroudsburg, Pa., is a distinguished professor emeritus of political science at East Stroud sburg University of Pennsylvania and a fellow of the Inter-University Seminar on Armed Forces and Society, headquartered at Loyola University, Chicago.  He has been writing and lecturing on American foreign policy for thirty-five years.  He is the author of numerous foreign policy studies, is a recipient of several honors for his political science teaching, and has chaired panels at international political science conferences in Berlin, Madrid, Quebec City, and Washington, D.C.  He is a former lifeguard who served in the U.S. Coast Guard and received a Department of Defense Cold War Recognition Certificate for his service.

      In this lecture, “Avoiding Armageddon: John F. Kennedy and American Foreign Policy,” Briggs examines President Kennedy's life, beginning with his formative experiences during World War II and in Congress.   His White House years, during the height of the Cold War, are examined, paying particular attention to the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty and Vietnam.  Also discussed are the roles played by other key personalities, including Bobby Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, and even Jacqueline Kennedy.

      Lecture attendees are asked to RSVP to (732) 335-0033.   A donation of $5 per person is suggested.  The Vietnam Era Educational Center is located adjacent to the New Jersey Vietnam Veterans' Memorial off the Garden State Parkway at exit 116.  The Educational Center is open Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Regular admission is free for veterans and active-duty military personnel. Regular adult admission is $4; student and senior citizen admission is $2; and children under 10 are admitted free.