After serving two years in the Army, including five months as a prisoner of war during World War II, a local resident will be inducted into the Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame for his efforts fighting causes much closer to home.
Gifford Doxsee, a retired Ohio University history professor, will be recognized for his postmilitary accomplishments when he is inducted into the hall Nov. 10. Doxsee, who will join the 408 members of the Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame, is the fourth Athens County veteran to be inducted.
“I’m honored,” Doxsee said. “I’ve worked hard to help others all my life.”
After teaching history at OU from 1958 to 1994, Doxsee stepped up his philanthropic efforts. Though there are seemingly endless organizations to work for, Doxsee said he has focused mainly on volunteering for Good Works, Kairos Prison Ministry International Inc., Kimes Nursing & Rehabilitation Center, and the Good Shepherd Episcopal Church.
“I’ve seen what happens to veterans who do not stay active (after their service),” Doxsee said. “I’ve always been an active person, and volunteering is a way to do that.”
Jaclyn Collins met Doxsee while volunteering with him at Good Works and, after learning his story, decided to nominate him for the Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame.
“Veterans from Southeast Ohio needed a representative, and Doxsee was perfect,” Collins said. “He is a face for the kind, warm and selfless people that live here. He represents Athens best.”
Doxsee was born on Long Island, N.Y., and enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1942 during his first year of college. He was sent overseas with the 106th Infantry and arrived in Belgium in December 1944. While fighting in the Battle of the Bulge, the Germans cut off the 106th division, and he was taken to Dresden, Germany, as a prisoner of war.
During the five months he spent in Dresden, Doxsee said he got to know the men he was imprisoned with very well, including Kurt Vonnegut, author of Slaughterhouse-Five.
“I had no idea he would write a book when I knew him,” Doxsee said. “He was just a soldier then and a good friend.”
While teaching at OU, Doxsee got his start in philanthropic work when he became a founding member of the Athens County Historical Society.
Although veterans are chosen for the hall of fame based on their accomplishments after their military service, their time in the military is often invaluable to their continued service to their hometowns, said Mike McKinney, spokesman for the Ohio Department of Veteran Services.
One of the military’s strengths is forging in its troops the ability to work with others for a task larger than a single person, McKinney said.
“From coaching to elected office, the military has prepared veterans for a lot more than just service in the military,” he said.
Doxsee said his time in the Army felt like a duty because enlisting was almost expected of young men in the ’40s because of the draft.
“I am neither proud nor ashamed of my service in the Army,” he said. “It was a part of everyone’s life back then.”
Regardless of his feelings toward his service, the experience of war did have a large impact on him as a person, he added.
“It was the ultimate coming-of-age experience,” Doxsee said. “We went in as boys and came out as men.”
rc348710@ohiou.edu
