During Operation Desert Storm, Michael Fishkin, D.O.’73, and fellow physician Mark Connelly spent six months in a remote Middle Eastern desert, treating soldiers, preparing for chemical attack and talking about their loved ones. Unfortunately, Dr. Connelly never saw his again: A rocket-propelled grenade took his life on Feb. 28, 1991.
The character and courage of his friend inspired Dr. Fishkin and his wife, Ellen, to create the Desert Storm Veterans Memorial Scholarship at DMU. Every year, the scholarship helps a high-achieving third-year osteopathic medical student who demonstrates an interest in military medicine.
“We wanted to do something for DMU, because I am what I am because of the University,” says Dr. Fishkin.
He also wanted to invest in future generations of military medics. “The most meaningful medicine I’ve practiced is military medicine – to make sure our kids have someone to take care of them,” he says, referring to the nation’s youngest soldiers. “When they cry out for a medic, they need someone there to let them know they will be taken care of in a hostile, foreign place.”
