The Rochester Hills Museum at Van Hoosen Farm will be presenting a Veterans Day Lecture on Tuesday, November 11 at 7 p.m. Admission is free for Rochester Hills Museum Members. The cost for non-members is $5 for adults and $3 for students and seniors. Guests will hear the inspirational story of local Vietnam veteran and Professor of Law and Political Science at Rochester College, John R. Todd, who was shot down twice in Vietnam resulting in life changing injuries from which he did not fully recover.
Professor Todd in his office at Rochester College.
“I count myself extremely blessed that I survived that afternoon in January, 1969, extremely fortunate that I had a chance to go to Vietnam and fight for a cause that I believed in” says Professor Todd about his experience during the war.
Professor Todd was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for Valor, combat air medals, the Cross of Gallantry with Bronze Star and the Purple Heart for his service. He spoke out as part of a group called ‘Vietnam Vets for a Just Peace’ and in 1972 testified before a platform committee in Washington.
After the war, he faced his challenges to earn degrees from University of Michigan and Georgetown University, developed a passion for teaching, worked for one U.S. Senator, two U.S. Presidents, and become a lobbyist who saw the bill he wrote pass through Congress and provide benefits for the widows and orphans of disabled veterans.
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