Michael W. Donnelly (February 3, 1959 – June 30, 2005) was a

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...

fighter pilot and activist. Medically retired in 1996 following a diagnosis of

Lou Gehrig's disease Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease (MND) or Lou Gehrig's disease, is a neurodegenerative disease that results in the progressive loss of motor neurons that control voluntary muscles. ALS is the most com ...

, he became a leading activist for sufferers of

Gulf War syndrome Gulf War syndrome or Gulf War illness is a chronic and multi-symptomatic disorder affecting military veterans of both sides of the 1990–1991 Persian Gulf War. A wide range of acute and chronic symptoms have been linked to it, including fatigue ...

Early life and career

A native of

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...

, Donnelly attended

East Catholic High School East Catholic High School is a private, college preparatory high school located in Manchester, Connecticut, United States, under the auspices of the Archdiocese of Hartford. The parochial school was founded in 1961 and is inspired by the charis ...

and graduated from Fairfield University in 1981. Donnelly joined the

and became a fighter pilot, primarily flying the A-10 "Warthog" and F-16. He flew 44 combat missions during Operation Desert Storm as a member of the 10th Tactical Fighter Squadron. After the Gulf War he became Chief of Standardization and Evaluation with the

80th Flying Training Wing The 80th Flying Training Wing is a wing of the United States Air Force based out of Sheppard Air Force Base in Wichita Falls, Texas. The 80th FTW is home of the Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training (ENJJPT) Program. ENJJPT, established in the spi ...

and trained

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

pilots.

Activism

Donnelly quickly gained national recognition as a veteran's advocate, including appearing in a feature article in ''

People Magazine ''People'' is an American weekly magazine that specializes in celebrity news and human-interest stories. It is published by Dotdash Meredith, a subsidiary of IAC. With a readership of 46.6 million adults in 2009, ''People'' had the lar ...

''. He led a six-year campaign to convince the federal government of the connection between Lou Gehrig's Disease and active service in the Gulf, and provided testimony to the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

regarding this issue. Donnelly died of his disease in 2005. The Major Michael Donnelly Land Preserve, in his hometown of

South Windsor, Connecticut South Windsor is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 26,918 at the 2020 census. History In 1659, Thomas Burnham (1617–1688) purchased the tract of land now covered by the towns of South Windsor and East H ...

, is named for him. His funeral was attended by H. Ross Perot, whom Donnelly met while advocating for Gulf War veterans. Donnelly also wrote the book ''Falcon's Cry: A Desert Storm Memoir'' (1998, Praeger, ) with his sister Denise Donnelly.

References

External links

Maj. Michael Donnelly Land Preserve Information''Falcon's Cry'' InformationDonnelly Obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Donnelly, Michael 1959 births 2005 deaths American health activists American veterans' rights activists United States Air Force personnel of the Gulf War Neurological disease deaths in the United States Deaths from motor neuron disease Fairfield University alumni People from South Windsor, Connecticut United States Air Force officers