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The rural town of Bow, New Hampshire, is a long way
from the sands of Somalia or the jungles of Haiti, but
for Francis "F.J." Milligan (class of 1985)
and his wife, Germain (nee Durocher, class of 1988),
it is a welcome respite. Until 1996, F.J. had been serving
as a medical doctor in the U.S. Army, where he achieved
high distinction serving in global hot spots around
the world.
After serving a brief stint in the
Persian Gulf, he was assigned to Somalia during the
famine crisis in 1993, where he saw the ravages of political
war. Staying behind in upstate New York were his family,
which included four small children at the time. Shortly
after he arrived back home, he was summoned to Haiti,
where he was assigned to be the personal physician of
President Aristide for the next two-and-half months
during that separate crisis. The assignment was an honor
F.J. could not refuse, having earned it for his "outstanding
motivation, skills and attitude," according to
his commanding officers, who had praised him for his
ability to teach, raise morale, and improve the quality
of patient care in the clinics where he was assigned.
And yet in spite of these difficult
assignments, F.J. managed to devote his free time to
setting up health clinics for the poor and teaching
natural family planning. He saw this as a God-given
opportunity to put his faith into practice in these
remote and troubled regions.
So outstanding was his tour of duty
as a medical officer, that F.J. was nominated for two
prestigious medical awards: The General Douglas MacArthur
Leadership Award, which is awarded annually to six individuals
from all services and branches of the military, and
the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Award, which
awarded annually only to one individual each year. F.J.
considers it an honor to even be nominated for these
awards since no Medical Corps Officer had ever won such
awards.
In nominating him for one of the awards,
F.J.’s commanding officer said: "Major Milligan
is an extremely insightful, thoughtful, and articulate
individual. He has a unique ability to penetrate the
smog and grasp the core of an issue. He then applies
superb analytical and problem-solving skills to develop
a solution. In summary, Major Milligan is the finest
Medical Corps officer I have known in my thirteen years
of service. He combines all the highest qualities of
a physician, leader and educator."
On the home front, Germaine has been
active home schooling a growing family. The Milligan’s
7th child was born in November. They are enjoying a
year with four seasons, "the best home schooling
laws in the country", and, "most importantly,"
fulfilling F. J.’s "childlike craving to have
‘Live Free or Die’ on my license plate."
It is no surprise that the Milligans
are having an impact in their new community. F. J. is
gaining a reputation as a Family Practitioner who follows
Catholic teaching. Catholic families are seeking him
out, as are others who need his expertise. He recently
testified before the New Hampshire State Legislature
regarding legislation banning partial birth abortions.
F. J. writes, "At Thomas Aquinas
College I developed an understanding of man by first
examining human nature. This was prior to any detailed
study of the human body that I acquired in medical school.
The growth of my knowledge from that which is philosophical
first allowed an ordered growth in the particular knowledge,
the knowledge of parts of the body. As an added benefit,
this knowledge of human nature has been a beacon guiding
me through the many ethical pitfalls arising from the
medical field. The study of the art of medicine without
an understanding of human nature is much like building
a house without blueprints."
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