Western University of Health Sciences

the ultimate high of my life,” he says. “Few people areafforded such an opportunity.” Few indeed. Whichmakes what he did for one of his own students backin the mid-1990s all the more noteworthy.Henry K. Lau, DO, graduated from WesternU in1996 with aspirations to serve as a member of theThunderbirds, an ambition kindled by the photomontage of Air Force aircraft in mid-flight thatdecorated the office walls of one of his DO instructorsat the time, Routman himself. Hank (as he insists onbeing called) bristles withpride as he reminiscesabout his tutelage underDr. Routman and the letterof recommendation hewrote on Lau’s behalf thatwas instrumental in hisbeing accepted into theelite air demonstrationcorps in June 2003. SaysLau, “Dr. Routman was definitely the spark . . . to seethose photos on his office walls and learn about hisown experience as a Thunderbird ignited my imagination.I knew then that I wanted to be a part of it.”Commissioned in the Air Force in 1992, Lau’smilitary tenure is marked by a steady rise in rank: fromsecond lieutenant to captain in May 1996 to major inMay 2002, during which time he took part in thea.b.aFronting an F-16C oneseater,Dr. Lau in fullThunderbird regalia.Drs. Burt Routman andHenry Lau together onthe tarmac at Nellis AFB.search and rescue arm of the Operation EnduringFreedom mission in Afghanistan shortly after theWorld Trade Center terrorist attacks of September 11,2001. On November 1, 2003, Major Henry K. Lauofficially signed on as an Air Force Thunderbird flightsurgeon, his aviation medicine expertise at the readyfor pilots and other aviation personnel. Thunderbird 9(the number assigned to flight surgeons) is his designation,as it was for Dr. Routman, representing theirposition in the sequential order of the 12 officerscomprising the decorated air unit.Nellis Air Force Base, an integral part of the UnitedStates Air Force’s Air Combat Command and whereRoutman was and now Lau is stationed, is known as the“home of the fighter pilot.” Its 10,000-strong militaryand civilian workforce makes it one of the largestsingle employers in southern Nevada. It is at Nellis thatLau practices family medicine in what is now his eighthyear. Reflecting on his life, it all seems so surreal to thesecond DO in Thunderbird history. “I have to pinchmyself sometimes as a reminder that this is truly real,”says Lau. “I’m practicing family medicine, a life-longpassion, I’m a flight surgeon with the Air ForceThunderbirds, and Dr. Routman paved the way. Wakeme when the dream’s over, will you?”A dream fulfilled.*Photos courtesy of USAF Thunderbirds, Nellis AFB, NevadabFEATURESWesternU VIEW 5