The Adobe Flash Player is required to view this multimedia interactive. Get it here.

Oxford veteran inducted into state Hall of Fame

Butler County Fair Results, Sunday, Aug. 1
New 23 min. ago
Medical helicopter on scene of College Corner Pike accident
12:29 p.m.
Local band to play some classics at music festival
11:17 a.m.
Children invited to learn from Miami football coach
10:39 a.m.
Community briefs
10:38 a.m.
> More headlines

E-mail this page

Updated 9:45 AM Wednesday, November 11, 2009

By Ryan Gauthier

Staff Writer

On the eve of Veterans Day, one local man was honored for a lifetime of service.

Phillip Shriver, president emeritus of Miami University, was among 20 people who were inducted into the 2009 class of the Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame on Nov. 6.

The class was inducted by Gov. Ted Struckland at the Franklin County Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Columbus.

Shriver said he never expected his name to stand alongside such a prestigious group of individuals, including the likes of Ulysses S. Grant, Benjamin Harrison and Neil Armstrong.

“It was a real honor and I was very pleased to be able to take part in something like this,” Shriver said. “I am indebted to those who are responsible for (my induction) and I appreciate the opportunity I had ... to serve the country during World War II.”

Shriver is a Navy veteran of World War II, having served from July 1943 until January 1946. He served in the Pacific Theater, seeing action at Iwo Jima, Okinawa and the Marshall Islands. Shriver recalled when his plane was hit by artillery fire during the Battle of Okinawa, narrowly escaping a watery grave.

“Fortunately though we were bombed we didn’t sink,” he said. “Otherwise I wouldn’t be talking to you right now.”

He was the 270th person to be inducted into the Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame. Shriver also served as president of Miami University from 1965 to 1981.

During and after his tenure as president, he taught popular courses in both Ohio and Miami history, completing 52 years of teaching in 1999. Shriver earned degrees from Harvard, Yale and Columbia, and has received honorary degrees from 10 other universities. Among his many accomplishments is a term serving as chairman of the Council of Presidents of the National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges. Shriver is retired and lives in Oxford.

The Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame was established in 1992 to recognize Ohio veterans with honorable military service who have gone on to make significant contributions to their community, profession, state and nation. Honorees are nominated throughout the year and include men and women from any branch of the military and all eras of military conflict.

A 13-member executive committee of veterans’ representatives recommends the names to the governor for induction.

Contact this reporter at (513) 523-4139, ext. 86102, or at rgauthier@coxohio.com.

Share this article