Mike Monahan and Chico’s Promise book release. Photo courtesy Vietnam Veterans of America, Chapter 649.
Local Veteran, Mike Monahan, is one of twenty Ohio veterans to be inducted into the Ohio Military Hall of Fame Class of 2023. The inductees were chosen from among 93 nominations. This year’s class joins 955 Ohio veterans who have been inducted since 1992 and represents 12 Ohio counties and four military branches.
Those selected for the honor are veterans who have honorably served their country and continue to serve and inspire their communities and workplaces with their deeds and accomplishments throughout their lifetime.
Mike Monahan, a resident of Milford, served as an Army Scout Dog Handler for the 46th Scout Dog Platoon in Tay Ninh, Vietnam in 1969. His partner’s name was Chico. Chico alerted Mike to a trip wire attached to explosives, saving Mike’s life and the lives of others who were on patrol. Following Vietnam, Mike spent 22 years in construction, working as a pipe fitter, becoming a local leader in the industry. Mike was then led to a different calling after attending a life-changing personal growth seminar. He began volunteering to help others achieve their full potential through many avenues, including personal responsibility, trust, forgiveness, and leadership. Mike’s volunteerism led to a career change, where he served 19 years as executive director of Life Success Seminars and later taught the seminar for sixteen years.
Mike commented, “I feel very honored to be inducted into The Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame, I never would have imagined this recognition when I left Vietnam. The very idea that I was chosen along with 955 other Ohio veterans who have been inducted since 1992 is amazing and to be recognized for my accomplishments after the military is humbling”.
Mike currently uses his experience as a personal coach to mentor leaders and business owners. After a trip to Vietnam in 2005, he wrote and published the first of his six books, From the Jungle to the Boardroom, and became No. 1 on the Inc. Magazine Best Sellers list. The return trip from Vietnam gave Mike a peace he had long sought, but he still felt indebted to the partner who saved his life.
“For me”, Mike said, “the real honor belongs to Chico. If Chico had not saved my life in Vietnam by alerting on a trip wire attached to explosives, my two sons, two daughters, and five grandchildren would not exist and the opportunities I had to help others would never have happened. My personal Hall of Fame members are Chico and 4300+ War Dogs who were euthanized or left behind by the end of the Vietnam War”.
Mike’s latest book, Chico’s Promise, provided a healing experience which inspired him to create a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, Chico’s Promise, whose mission is to support selected no-kill shelters by paying adoption fees to save 50,000 dogs to honor Chico’s memory. In the last year Chico’s Promise has helped save over 100 dogs. An accomplished leader, speaker, author, and activist, Mike enters the Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame at age 75.
The class of 2023 will be honored during the annual Induction Ceremony at 10 a.m. on Nov. 9 at the Fawcett Center for Tomorrow (2400 Olentangy River Rd., Columbus, OH 43210) on the campus of The Ohio State University. For more information about Mike Monahan and the Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame visit https://dvs.ohio.gov/hall-of-fame/.