Michael O'Donnell Memorial Scholarship Fund

My name is Jon Reddin. I am a U.S. Army veteran. This picture is of Michael O'Donnell, who was a classmate of mine at Shorewood (Wisconsin) High School, Class of 1963. Like me and many men of that era, once he lost his student deferment Mike was subject to the draft. He ended up in the Army, where he was trained as a helicopter pilot and sent to Vietnam. On March 24, 1970, Mike was killed when his helicopter was struck by a rocket after a daring rescue of an American squad that had been under heavy hostile fire. All souls aboard were lost.

Mike was an accomplished poet, and wrote moving poetry about the war and his feeling about it. A portion of one of his most famous poems, about the men he saw die on a daily basis, reads: "If you are able, save for them a place inside of you, and save one backward glance when you are leaving for the places they can no longer go."

Mike's message is as relevant and important today as it was in 1970 when he wrote it. To carry on his legacy, I am raising funds to establish a scholarship in Mike's name, to be awarded annually to a deserving Shorewood High School student.

The cover photo is of Mike sitting at his desk in Vietnam in early 1970, where he wrote his poetry. He would be dead within in a matter of weeks. Please consider a contribution to this scholarship fund, to insure that Mike's sacrifice and message is not lost. Thank you.