Columbus WWII Round Table

Organization of the Round Table

The Columbus World War II Round Table was organized in the fall of 1984 by three retired members of the Ohio State University faculty and staff. Robert C. Ringer, formerly an administrator in the office of personnel services, the late George R. Gist, formerly director of the Ohio Cooperative Extension Service, and Robert W. McCormick, formerly assistant vice president for continuing education developed the plans for this informal organization. The primary purpose of the organization was to have participants develop and present before the Round Table a first-person account of some specific combat action from World War II. The presentations were recorded, transcribed and revised by each presenter. One copy of each account was deposited with the U.S. Army Military History Institute at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania. Copies have also been deposited at the Ohio Historical Society; Dr. Allan R. Millett, professor of military history at Ohio State advised the group.

It was recognized that there were many sources of information about World War II extant. Many general officers and civilian leaders left written memoirs and papers related to their experiences in World War II. These collections, while quite valuable, present a "top down" view of combat actions. The "official records" deposited in the National Archives also represent a top down view.

It was evident that the "common folk" who fought in World War II were grossly under-represented in the materials deposited in the archives. While it is true that most junior officers and enlisted personnel had little knowledge or understanding of the "big picture," they knew what was happening in their unit or directly in front of their foxhole.

Initially participation in the Round Table was limited to Army combat actions in the European Theater of Operations, but subsequently, the group expanded participation to other theaters and included Army Air Force experiences and Navy experiences. This will explain the preponderance of ETO groundcombat experiences in this collection.

Guidelines for preparing first-person accounts were developed and emphasis was placed upon reporting only those actions in which the presenter had personally participated. Background reading to place the individual's experience in the proper context was recommended.

The Columbus World War II Round Table is still functioning and meets every other week in April and May and every other week in October and November of each year.

mailto Send e-mail for the World War II Round Table to either Robert W. McCormick at: Mccormick.2@osu.edu or Desmond Cook at: Cook.12@osu.edu

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http://www.ohiohistory.org/ww2/organize.html || last updated 13 July 1996

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