Message I  posted on my Facebook page yesterday:
Prof. Herb Hirsch at VCU passed away today from cancer. He was one of my favorite professors. I took his course on the Vietnam War in the early 1990s. He opened a lot of people's eyes. Herb was one of those rare professors who didn't retreat into the safe, non-committal haven of "moderate" views; when the United States committed crimes against humanity, he didn't call them "mistakes." He took on a very difficult task at VCU: deprogramming generations of students who had been brainwashed into mindless patriotism and nationalism. And was remarkable effective at it. Part of the reason for that was his true compassion and conviction, rather than some pedantic interest in proving who is right and who is wrong. His students felt his compassion, and that helped him open their eyes to what they had been trained to overlook all of of their lives. When I think about the effects of postmodernism and identity politics at universities these days, Herb represented the opposite of that kind of rigid, totalitarian thinking. And it was just downright good for my morale to have him as a professor. His sense of humor, and down to earth manner of addressing his students, also helped him get through to them. I wish I had been able to stay in closer touch with him over the years.

Prof. Hirsch was my political scientist in 1977-78 while at University of Texas. The greatest.professor in my life. I remember one day his two young daughters came to class and were playing with the chalkboard while he was lecturing!! He was a cool dad! His book on Government 101 I read a thousand times. Treated students as equals; shrugged off titles as "professor."  Am very sad...