Salute to Service - MAJ Michael Donahue
United States Army
November 20, 1972 – September 16, 2014
Represented by Patrick Chung, Brandon King, and Joe Judge
United States Army Major J. Michael Donahue was born on November 20, 1972, in Columbus, Ohio and raised in Whitman, Massachusetts, where he graduated from Whitman-Hanson Regional High School in 1990.
Major Donahue enlisted in the Army in 1995. In 2000, he graduated from Army Officer Candidate School. In 2003, he entered the Army degree completion program and graduated Magna Cum Laude from Campbell University. Along with his military endeavors, Major Donahue ran in a 100K ultra-marathon called "Hell's Gate" in the Appalachian Mountains.
Major Donahue has a Great White Shark named after him that was tagged by the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy off the coast of Cape Cod. A man of faith, Major Donahue was very involved in his church community. He was also a huge Boston Red Sox and New England Patriots fan, where he was photographed wearing his sports gear while overseas.
Michael died in a Taliban suicide car bomb attack while serving in Afghanistan on September 16, 2014. He was an operations support officer with C-Company, Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion, XVIII Airborne Corps. Major Donahue served three combat tours of duty.
His awards and decorations include the Bronze Star Medal with two oak leaf clusters, the Purple Heart, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Meritorious Service medal with three oak leaf clusters, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal with two campaign stars, the Iraq Campaign Medal with one campaign star, the Korean Defense Service Medal, the Combat Action Badge and the Senior Parachutist Badge.
