An Ohio State Blunder

POLISH AMERICAN CONGRESS
ANTI-BIGOTRY COMMITTEE
177 Kent Street, Brooklyn, NY 11222
tel: 718-349-9689


COLLEGE PRESIDENT SORRY FOR HIS “ILL-CHOSEN REMARKS”
 
Brooklyn, NY - The president of Ohio State University told the Polish American Congress he apologizes for “ill-chosen remarks” he made during a question-and-answer period that followed one of his speeches.
 
President E. Gordon Gee said he immediately recognized he made a gaffe after he used the Polish Army as an example of disorganization.
 
Polish Army veterans who belong to the Polish American Congress did not consider President Gee as being a bigot but simply “uneducated.”  They felt he should leave his desk in OSU’s presidential suite and spend the coming Spring semester in one of his college’s classrooms and try to learn a bit more about world and military history.
 
The Anti-Bigotry Committee carried their message to him.  After hearing from the committee as well as the PAC’s  Public Relations Vice President Susan Lotarski in Washington, DC, President Gee promptly issued his statement.
 
The Anti-Bigotry Committee’s letter to him was also intended to be an educational lesson about the Polish military.  It is shown below.

* * *

January 13, 2012
 
TO:
E. Gordon Gee, President
Ohio State University
gordon.gee@osu.edu
 
Dear President Gee:
 
The Anti-Bigotry Committee of the Polish American Congress was given the unpleasant task of contacting you and inquiring about your derogatory reference to the Polish Army.
 
We have a significant number of Polish Army veterans who emigrated to the United States after World War II and became members of our organization. Some of them fought as part of the Allied Forces in places like Tobruk, Normandy and Monte Cassino and contributed to the eventual victory over Adolf Hitler.
 
Others fought immediately when the superpowers of Nazi Germany and the Communist Soviet Union invaded Poland in 1939.  They fought valiantly and effectively against insurmountable odds.
 
Considering the fact it took nearly six more years for Great Britain, the U.S. and the other Allies to finally finish off the Germans, the Poles were clearly the underdogs but did what they had to and did it well.
 
They never ceased their fight, however, but pulled back and left to continue the battle at other places and another time.  One of those other places and times was in the air in 1940 in the Battle of Britain when Polish pilots joined the RAF and helped stave off an intended German invasion of England.
 
The Poles never needed to be fired up by anything like a pre-game pep talk before they went out to take on the German Luftwaffe.  Their personal motivation was sufficient to drive them to become the most effective and productive pilots in the British Air Force.
 
Their heroic exploits were not ignored when Winston Churchill spoke to the British people and told them, “Never have so many owed so much to so few.”
 
The Poles’ most notable group in the RAF was the Kosciuszko Squadron #303, the highest scoring RAF squadron in the Battle of Britain.  It was so named to pay tribute to General Thaddeus Kosciuszko, the Pole who came here to serve under General George Washington in America’s War of Independence.
 
In view of the fact Kosciuszko’s engineering skills helped make the Battle of Saratoga “the turning point of the American Revolution,” it would be foolhardy for anyone to demean the military capabilities of the Poles.
 
In questioning your sardonic evaluation of the Polish Army, our veteran members urge us not to forget to remind you that Col. Francis Gabreski of the U.S. Air Corps in WW II was an honorary member of our organization while he was still alive.  His remarkable record of destroying 31 German planes has earned him the distinction of being America’s top air ace in Europe.
 
Please do not infer that we, as the Anti-Bigotry Committee, believe you are a bigot.  We have not yet been convinced you are.  Our veteran members prefer to say “uneducated” instead.
 
With the Spring term at Ohio State soon to begin, it was suggested a semester in one of your college’s history classrooms rather than remaining in the President’s office might be a better choice for you.
 
It may be quite possible one of the history instructors on your Ohio State payroll will be able to help you fill the void in your knowledge about the Polish Army.
 
In any event, you were gracious in the past when you corrected yourself after the negative comment you made about the Little Sisters of the Poor.  We trust you will do likewise with the Polish Army and its veterans.
 
We will be happy to act as an intermediary and will convey your explanation directly to them. In all candor, however, at least an apology would be appropriate.
 
Yours truly,
Frank Milewski, Chairman
(516) 352-7125
pacdny@verizon.net