Father Mike Olsen, Colonel(R)

Father Mike Olsen served as a medevac pilot in Vietnam in 1970, until he had to be medevaced out himself when his helicopter had an unfortunate encounter with an enemy quad 50 machine gun. While the army wanted to give him a medical retirement, Father Mike worked his way back into shape, demanded a medical board and was able to return to Vietnam,,, where he was promptly shot down again two months later.

While the was was done with him, Father Mike stayed in the Army, eventually retiring as a Colonel. Post military, he enjoyed a career as a contractor with NASA, and now serves a different calling as a priest in New Mexico. 

Father Mike talks with us about the mental aspect of returning to war after injury, realizing the affect his military service had on his family, reconciling his faith in God after witnessing the horrors of war, and what we can do as a community to help our veterans. 

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