Speaker Martin K.A. Morgan

When we think of the firearms used by U.S. forces during World War II, the AN/M2 .50-caliber machine gun doesn't exactly jump to the front of the line. Nevertheless, it was in action from Day 1 – Sunday, December 7, 1941 – through to August 18, 1945, when the gunners on two B-32 Dominators used it to fire the USA’s final shots of the conflict. During the 1,350 days in between, the AN/M2 .50 served in the air, on land, and at sea, and it was a part of every major battle in every theater of operations around the world. That is something that cannot be said about any other U.S. military firearm that was in service at the time. Considering the significant contribution to the war effort that it made and its relative obscurity in the history of U.S. small arms, the AN/M2 .50-caliber machine gun is truly the unsung hero of U.S. firepower during the Second World War.

Martin K.A. Morgan is an author/historian who specializes in American and military history. He is the author of Down To Earth: The 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment in Normandy (Schiffer, 2004) and The Americans on D-Day: A Photographic History of the Normandy Invasion (Zenith Press, 2014), and he contributes frequently to World War II Quarterly and The American Rifleman. In addition to publishing, for almost 20 years now Martin has also appeared regularly on television programs relating to historical subjects on PBS, Discovery, National Geographic, HISTORY, The Weather Channel, Syfy, Oxygen, the Outdoor Channel, The Smithsonian Channel, and The American Heroes Channel. With a background as a park ranger and a museum professional, Martin’s experience in public history paved the way for the publishing and broadcasting work he does today. Since 2002, he has been leading battlefield tours around the world.

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