In commemoration of the 100th year anniversary of the Armistice that ended World War 1, the State Library presents a program that analyzes one of its key battles: The U.S. Marines at Belleau Wood in the French countryside.

Tony Perry, who was a reporter for the Los Angeles Times for 28 years, has written a dynamic story about the 1918 battle at Belleau Wood in France. He will be speaking about this important battle that changed the course of World War I and helped create the modern U.S Marine Corps. He’ll talk about what happened there and why it became such an important battle in what was then known as the Great War.

Perry has covered the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and shares a Pulitzer Prize for coverage of the 2003 wildfires in Southern California. Beside the Los Angeles Times, Perry has worked for newspapers in Davis, Riverside and San Diego.