March 29, 2024
Annapolis, US 52 F

Annual lecture to honor fallen graduates of St. Johns College and US Naval Academy scheduled for April 26

The seventh annual Erik S. Kristensen Memorial Lecture, “Age of Illusions: America After the Cold War,” will be delivered by Andrew Bacevich, Professor of History and International Relations Emeritus, Boston University. It will take place on Friday, April 26 at 8 p.m. in the FSK Auditorium on the Annapolis campus of St. John’s College.
This special lecture, jointly sponsored by St. John’s College and the Naval Academy, honors LCDR Erik S. Kristensen—an alumnus of the Academy and the Graduate Institute (GI). Kristensen, a Navy SEAL, was killed in the line of duty while leading a search and rescue mission in Afghanistan in 2005. His story is recounted in the 2013 film Lone Survivor.
The annual memorial lecture series to honor Kristensen was initiated by 1992 St. John’s College graduate Lt. Michael Zampella, along with friends and family.
“Erik’s story is a great story of selflessness,” says Zampella. “I’ve talked to a lot of people who knew him well and went to school with him at various stages, and he was always known throughout his life as the guy who was helping someone else out. This helps keep his memory alive, in all his particularities.”
The lecture was officially incorporated into St. John’s Friday night Formal Lecture Series in 2018. Now held the Friday before the annual Annapolis Cup croquet match, it is considered an integral part of the community-building weekend between the institutions.
The Erik S. Kristensen Memorial Lecture is supported in large part by the Navy SEAL Foundation, Inc., Eye-Street Kristensen Klassic, and the Navy SEAL Family Foundation. It is free and open to the public. For more information, visit sjc.edu/kristensen-lecture.
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