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Medal of Honor Winner Col. Roger H.C. Donlon will visit the Great Lakes Bay Region June 21-27 to promote the program for teachers.

CHARACTER COUNTS: Calling Teachers for Medal of Honor Curriculum Workshop

Col. Roger Donlon, 1st Viet Nam Medal of Honor Winner, to Visit Here Twice

May 21, 2015       Leave a Comment
By: Dave Rogers

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Congress awarded 258 Medals of Honor to soldiers in the Viet Nam War, most posthumously.

The first medal "for gallantry" in 1964 went to Roger Donlon of Kansas, now 81, who will visit the Bay City area for a week next month.

Donlon leads a host of supporters of the program who bring a message -- students can learn life lessons -- and gain character examples -- from the histories of military heroes.

Teachers in the Bay City area may meet Col. Donlon as well as gain credit and new instructional resources in a free seminar offered by the Congressional Medal of Honor Character Development Program.

Called "America's Greatest Living Military Hero," Medal of Honor Winner Col. Roger H.C. Donlon will visit the Great Lakes Bay Region June 21-27 to promote the program for teachers.

Col. Donlon, a retired U.S. Army Special Forces officer, the Saginaw Spirit Hockey Team, Bay City Elks Lodge 88, the USS Edson and the new Bay Veterans Foundation are joining to create awareness of the program in the education community.

Training will take place at the Saginaw ISD Transition Center, 3860 Fashion Square Blvd., on Tuesday, June 23. Registration is slated 8-8:30 a.m. and the workshop will be offered 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Pre-registration may be accomplished by visiting www.cmohedu.org, clicking on events and selecting Saginaw, Michigan, training.

The program is geared to middle and high school students and teachers from all subject areas along with counselors, coaches and administrators are invited to attend.

Six hours of continuing education credit may be earned by teachers attending the workshop. A full curriculum kit, model lessons and advice on best practices -- as well as meeting Medal of Honor winner Col. Donlon -- are among facets of the program.

This flexible, cross-curricular resource, based on the oral histories of Medal of Honor recipients, focuses on how students can use these examples of courage, commitment, sacrifice, integrity, citizenship and patriotism to influence change in their communities.

Col. Donlon's example is inspirational. "Although the United States was not formally at war, what took place in the pre-dawn hours of July 6, 1964, seemed like it," the Washington Post explained.

"Donlon, then a 30-year-old Army captain, was wounded multiple times as about 800 Viet Cong and North Vietnamese soldiers stormed his 300-man South Vietnamese government outpost in a valley near the border with Laos.

"Donlon, who killed a team of three enemy soldiers near the main gate, suffered seven wounds: in a shoulder, a leg and the stomach. 'Mine were all shrapnel' from mortars and hand grenades, he said. He also was knocked out, suffered a concussion and was blown out of his unlaced boots by an explosion.

"Five months later, Donlon, then of Saugerties, N.Y., found himself in the White House East Room as Defense Secretary Robert S. McNamara read aloud the medal citation: "For conspicuous gallantry ... at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty ... " President Lyndon B. Johnson pinned the coveted blue-ribbon award on his chest.

Col. Donlon's schedule here includes:

*Saturday, June 20: Bay City Veterans Memorial Park for a Bay City Elks 88 Flag Day Ceremony; contact Tony Bosco abosco0717@aol.com

*Sunday, June 21: 2 p.m., Bay City for Walleyes for Warriors event; contact George Lynch gilynch@charter.net

*Monday, June 22: 10 a.m., Aleda E. Lutz VA Hospital to visit patients and address staff (private), contact Jason Christianson jason.Christianson@va.gov

Tuesday, June 23: 8 a.m., Saginaw, Medal of Honor Character Development Training, contact Dr. Tim Eckstein, eckstei1@yahoo.com

Wednesday, June 24: 3 p.m., Bay City for USS Edson (DD-946) tour and Bay City Elks reception, contact Keith Markstrom kdmark46@gmail.com

Thursday, June 25: 7:05 p.m., Midland, for Great Lakes Loons baseball game, contact Dan Weigl, dweigl@saginawspirit.com

Friday, June 26, 8 a.m., Pinconning, for Veterans Benefit Golf Outing, Green Hills Golf Club, contact Keith Markstrom, kdmark46@gmail.com

Saturday, June 27, 9:30 a.m., Frankenmuth for Michigan Military and Space Museum tour and Warriors Appreciation Rally, contact John Ryder, john.ryder@michigansmilitarymuseum.com

Col. Donlon will return Nov. 7 as the Bay City Elks Lodge presents the Spirit Hockey Club Military Appreciation Game. Information on that event is available from Dan Weigl, 989-239-0935 or dweigl@saginaspirit.com.



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Dave Rogers

Dave Rogers is a former editorial writer for the Bay City Times and a widely read,
respected journalist/writer in and around Bay City.
(Contact Dave Via Email at carraroe@aol.com)

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