(Media release from the Greater Rome Board of Realtors):
Dr. Michael Flueckiger presented to the Greater Rome Board of REALTORS on Wednesday as the featured speaker of the organization’s monthly luncheon series. Flueckiger shared his harrowing experience as part of the team that rescued Otto Warmbier from North Korea in June 2017.
Prior to the medical evacuation, the imprisoned American college student spent 17 months in a vegetative state. Flueckiger spoke of the different sociopolitical, healthcare and logistical considerations that took place behind the scenes so that the team could repatriate Warmbier. The Ohio resident passed away shortly after he was returned to his family.
An emergency room doctor by trade, Flueckiger served as medical director of Cartersville-based Phoenix Air Group for 17 years and retired in 2021. Nearly six years later, he continues to receive requests from international media outlets to talk about his mission in North Korea.
More than 80 members attended the GRBoR luncheon, which took place at the Tillman Hangar at Richard B. Russell Regional Airport.