Donald Bishop ‘67 Discusses WWI Series and Effects of Military History

Nick Cimillo ’26

Executive Features Editor

Last month, Donald Bishop ‘67 concluded a 15-part series in the Tripod about Trinity’s history with World War I. Each part, researched using documents from Trinity’s archives and publications such as The Trinity Ivy and the College Honor Rolls, delves into a specific aspect of the war and the alumni who were part of it. The Tripod interviewed Bishop to discuss his background Trinity, what spurred his interest in writing the series and what he hopes the College community can get out of reading it.

Bishop majored in history at Trinity and also took many classes pertaining to economics and government. He cites his “most important decision” during his college years being his enrollment in the Air Force ROTC. “My regular courses were ‘academic,’” he said, “but our AFROTC sessions were more practical: [they covered] behavior and leadership, current international affairs, nuclear deterrence and law. And we learned to give briefings on the granddaddy of Powerpoint: flip charts.” 

Following graduation, Bishop joined the Air Force: “I served in Vietnam and later Korea, where I met my wife,” he said. After being sent to Ohio State University for a master’s degree in military history, he went on to teach at the Air Force Academy and then joined Foreign Service as a public diplomacy officer. “In 31 years,” Bishop recalled being sent to “Hong Kong, Korea, Taiwan, Capitol Hill, Bangladesh, Nigeria, China twice, the Pentagon and Afghanistan.”

When asked about his specific interest in WWI, Bishop said “Both my grandfathers were in France in 1918, and when I was young World War I veterans were in their 50s and 60s.”This interest stuck with Bishop well beyond his youth, into his time at Trinity and beyond. “At the College I was also a Chapel guide,” he said, “and the 20 carved names of Trinity alumni lost in the war always made an impression. At the Air Force Academy, I made sure to teach World War I lessons.”

One thing that dawned on Bishop as he researched for his series was the sheer scale of the war, as well as Trinity’s involvement in it. “There were Trinity doughboys in the trenches,” he said, “but I learned that the war was much larger than those images … Trinity men were doctors, medical officers, orderlies and ambulance drivers. There were Bantams not only among the aviators but also in maintenance, radio and airfield construction … A few alumni were engaged in countering the effects of poison gases. Early in the twentieth century, the College had a strong Episcopalian character, and there were Trinity chaplains at the front.”

Bishop hopes that readers of his series come away with an understanding of how WWI shaped world history. “We tend to think that World War I ended at the armistice and our troops went home,” he concluded, “but the fall of empires—German, Austro-Hungarian, Russian and Ottoman—set in motion years of war and disorder in Eastern Europe … the war shaped our own world. It’s not only that the Versailles treaty bequeathed solutions here, but problems there … Even [the] study of one college’s alumni shows how we live in the shadow of the Great War.”