Maj. Michael W. Donnelly

DONNELLY, Maj. Michael W., USAF. Ret Major Michael W. Donnelly, United States Air Force (retired) On Thursday, (June 30, 2005) Major Michael W. Donnelly, 46, died after a relentless ten-year battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. His loved ones were at his side at the time of his death. Before retiring with military honors in 1996, Major Donnelly, a dedicated career fighter pilot, served his nation proudly. Over the course of his 15-year career, he flew first the A-10 Warthog and then the F-16 Falcon. During Operation Desert Storm he completed 44 F-16 combat missions over Iraq as a member of the 10th Tactical Fighter Squadron stationed at Hahn Air Force Base in Germany. At the time of his retirement, he was serving as Chief of Standardization and Evaluation while assigned to the 80th Flying Training Wing at Sheppard Air Force Base in Wichita Falls, Texas. Upon his retirement, Major Donnelly received the Meritorious Service Medal for outstanding service to the United States. In this role, Major Donnelly trained NATO fighter pilots from over 16 countries and developed entirely new flying operations for the largest flying training wing in the world. His many other honors included the Air Medal with three oak leaf clusters, the Aerial Achievement Medal, the Air Force Commendation Medal with four oak leaf clusters, the Air Force Achievement Medal and the Top Gun award. Diagnosed with ALS in 1996, Major Donnelly spent the next nine and a half years in the service of his fellow gulf war veterans, thousands of whom are suffering from a host of debilitating and life-threatening illnesses brought about by exposure to nerve agents and other toxins, spent depleted uranium munitions and experimental vaccines. In 1998, Major Donnelly published a book, Falcon's Cry: A Desert Storm Memoir, that chronicled his struggle. Untiring in his labors, he testified before Congress, appeared on numerous television and radio news and talk shows and granted interviews to countless newspapers and magazines for as long as his faculties allowed and even after they no longer did. Notably, he appeared on the Larry King Show, gained coverage for his cause in the Hartford Courant, the New York Times, the Washington Times, the Boston Globe, People, the Journal Inquirer and many other news outlets large and small in the United States and Europe. After six years of courageous and impassioned effort, and while suffering greatly from the progression of his own illness, Major Donnelly was the prime mover behind the government's acknowledgement of the connection between service in Operation Desert Storm and the elevated incidence of ALS. As a result, scores of gulf war veterans suffering from ALS were immediately granted retroactive service-connection status, which resulted in the payment of the veterans' benefits they earned when they served their country. In addition, his efforts led directly to the release of millions of dollars in federal research money to support the study of ALS incidence among gulf war veterans. Major Donnelly received a BA in history from Fairfield University in 1981 and an MBA from Midwestern University in 1995. In 2003, Fairfield University bestowed an honorary Juris Doctor degree upon him for his selfless service to his nation and to others. A warrior until the end, Major Donnelly never surrendered to the relentless progression of the degenerative disease that ended his life. Everyone who ever met him, whether hardened reporter or dear friend, fellow veteran, caretaker or politician, remarked upon his incredible grace and courage in the face of a terrible and invariably fatal illness. He had an infectious, crooked smile, a disarming wit and the dancing, mischievous blue eyes of an Irish charmer. Major Donnelly touched many, many hearts throughout his short life, but especially since his diagnosis with ALS. He will be greatly missed by all. He leaves a wife, Susan Allen Donnelly, and two children, Erin, 18, and Sean, 13, and his parents, Rae and Thomas Donnelly, all of South Windsor. He also leaves a sister and brother-in-law, Lisa and Michael Hayes, also of South Windsor, a brother and sister-in-law, Tim and Ana Donnelly, of Weston, and a sister, Denise Donnelly, of Rockport, MA. He also leaves five nieces and nephews, Emily and Madeleine Hayes and Olivia, Grace and Colin Donnelly. In lieu of flowers, his family kindly requests that donations be sent to the ALS Association of Connecticut, 4 Oxford Road, Milford, CT 06460. A Memorial Mass of Christian Burial will be held Wednesday, July 6, at 10 a.m. at St. Margaret Mary Church, 80 Hayes Rd., South Windsor. His family will receive friends for memorial hours Tuesday, July 5, from 4-9 p.m. at Samsel & Carmon Funeral Home, 419 Buckland Rd., South Windsor. To leave on-line condolences please visit www.carmonfuneralhome.com