He was born in Peoria, Illinois, the son of a College Professor. He attended schools in Peoria until his father accepted a faculty position at City College of Los Angeles, Ramona Campus in 1956.
Mike attended West Covina High School where he was an All around student, graduating in 1962. He received an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York and entered in the fall of 1962. He graduated with the Class of 1966.
He accepted a commission as a Second Lieutenant, Infantry and completed the basic course and airborne training at Fort Benning, Georgia, then was assigned to Germany. He married after his return and was accepted for fixed wing flight training at Fort Rucker and Fort Stewart.
He started his tour in Vietnam on February 22, 1969 and was assigned as a pilot with the 225TH Aviation Company, 223RD Aviation Battalion, 17TH Aviation Group of the 1ST Aviation Brigade. He and his observer were killed in a plane crash June 6, 1969 in what was believed to be an engine failure.
His USMA class suffered the greatest number of losses in Vietnam, 29 graduates to include Capt. Grisafe.
From an account provided by a classmate, Ron Meier who indicated that it was written by Bill Page: "Mike did fly into a mountain while on a night IR mission near the three corners area NW of Pleiku in June 1969. We continued to search for him, at least one air mission every day, for two weeks. LT "Duck" Williams found a suspicious area of dead vegetation 500' below one of the highest peaks in the central highlands on the fifteenth day of searching. The following day, we flew a color photo mission of the area and our imagery guys spotted one of the red white and blue vertical stabilizers from a Mohawk with the number "9" on it, the plane that Mike flew on that mission. The following morning Major Ron Peterson and I, along with a maintenance sergeant who's name escapes me after 44 years, climbed into a Kaman Huskie USAF SAR helicopter and headed out of Pleiku Air Force Base to the mountain. After being lowered through the jungle canopy on the rescue hoist, we were able to recover sufficient remains of both crew members to make positive ID of Mike and his Tech Observer.
Mike was a great guy and a major loss to us all."
Bio by Billy M. Brown
West Point AOG Memorial Page: http://apps.westpointaog.org/Memorials/Article/26102/
Mike attended West Covina High School where he was an All around student, graduating in 1962. He received an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York and entered in the fall of 1962. He graduated with the Class of 1966.
He accepted a commission as a Second Lieutenant, Infantry and completed the basic course and airborne training at Fort Benning, Georgia, then was assigned to Germany. He married after his return and was accepted for fixed wing flight training at Fort Rucker and Fort Stewart.
He started his tour in Vietnam on February 22, 1969 and was assigned as a pilot with the 225TH Aviation Company, 223RD Aviation Battalion, 17TH Aviation Group of the 1ST Aviation Brigade. He and his observer were killed in a plane crash June 6, 1969 in what was believed to be an engine failure.
His USMA class suffered the greatest number of losses in Vietnam, 29 graduates to include Capt. Grisafe.
From an account provided by a classmate, Ron Meier who indicated that it was written by Bill Page: "Mike did fly into a mountain while on a night IR mission near the three corners area NW of Pleiku in June 1969. We continued to search for him, at least one air mission every day, for two weeks. LT "Duck" Williams found a suspicious area of dead vegetation 500' below one of the highest peaks in the central highlands on the fifteenth day of searching. The following day, we flew a color photo mission of the area and our imagery guys spotted one of the red white and blue vertical stabilizers from a Mohawk with the number "9" on it, the plane that Mike flew on that mission. The following morning Major Ron Peterson and I, along with a maintenance sergeant who's name escapes me after 44 years, climbed into a Kaman Huskie USAF SAR helicopter and headed out of Pleiku Air Force Base to the mountain. After being lowered through the jungle canopy on the rescue hoist, we were able to recover sufficient remains of both crew members to make positive ID of Mike and his Tech Observer.
Mike was a great guy and a major loss to us all."
Bio by Billy M. Brown
West Point AOG Memorial Page: http://apps.westpointaog.org/Memorials/Article/26102/
He was born in Peoria, Illinois, the son of a College Professor. He attended schools in Peoria until his father accepted a faculty position at City College of Los Angeles, Ramona Campus in 1956.
Mike attended West Covina High School where he was an All around student, graduating in 1962. He received an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York and entered in the fall of 1962. He graduated with the Class of 1966.
He accepted a commission as a Second Lieutenant, Infantry and completed the basic course and airborne training at Fort Benning, Georgia, then was assigned to Germany. He married after his return and was accepted for fixed wing flight training at Fort Rucker and Fort Stewart.
He started his tour in Vietnam on February 22, 1969 and was assigned as a pilot with the 225TH Aviation Company, 223RD Aviation Battalion, 17TH Aviation Group of the 1ST Aviation Brigade. He and his observer were killed in a plane crash June 6, 1969 in what was believed to be an engine failure.
His USMA class suffered the greatest number of losses in Vietnam, 29 graduates to include Capt. Grisafe.
From an account provided by a classmate, Ron Meier who indicated that it was written by Bill Page: "Mike did fly into a mountain while on a night IR mission near the three corners area NW of Pleiku in June 1969. We continued to search for him, at least one air mission every day, for two weeks. LT "Duck" Williams found a suspicious area of dead vegetation 500' below one of the highest peaks in the central highlands on the fifteenth day of searching. The following day, we flew a color photo mission of the area and our imagery guys spotted one of the red white and blue vertical stabilizers from a Mohawk with the number "9" on it, the plane that Mike flew on that mission. The following morning Major Ron Peterson and I, along with a maintenance sergeant who's name escapes me after 44 years, climbed into a Kaman Huskie USAF SAR helicopter and headed out of Pleiku Air Force Base to the mountain. After being lowered through the jungle canopy on the rescue hoist, we were able to recover sufficient remains of both crew members to make positive ID of Mike and his Tech Observer.
Mike was a great guy and a major loss to us all."
Bio by Billy M. Brown
West Point AOG Memorial Page: http://apps.westpointaog.org/Memorials/Article/26102/
Mike attended West Covina High School where he was an All around student, graduating in 1962. He received an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York and entered in the fall of 1962. He graduated with the Class of 1966.
He accepted a commission as a Second Lieutenant, Infantry and completed the basic course and airborne training at Fort Benning, Georgia, then was assigned to Germany. He married after his return and was accepted for fixed wing flight training at Fort Rucker and Fort Stewart.
He started his tour in Vietnam on February 22, 1969 and was assigned as a pilot with the 225TH Aviation Company, 223RD Aviation Battalion, 17TH Aviation Group of the 1ST Aviation Brigade. He and his observer were killed in a plane crash June 6, 1969 in what was believed to be an engine failure.
His USMA class suffered the greatest number of losses in Vietnam, 29 graduates to include Capt. Grisafe.
From an account provided by a classmate, Ron Meier who indicated that it was written by Bill Page: "Mike did fly into a mountain while on a night IR mission near the three corners area NW of Pleiku in June 1969. We continued to search for him, at least one air mission every day, for two weeks. LT "Duck" Williams found a suspicious area of dead vegetation 500' below one of the highest peaks in the central highlands on the fifteenth day of searching. The following day, we flew a color photo mission of the area and our imagery guys spotted one of the red white and blue vertical stabilizers from a Mohawk with the number "9" on it, the plane that Mike flew on that mission. The following morning Major Ron Peterson and I, along with a maintenance sergeant who's name escapes me after 44 years, climbed into a Kaman Huskie USAF SAR helicopter and headed out of Pleiku Air Force Base to the mountain. After being lowered through the jungle canopy on the rescue hoist, we were able to recover sufficient remains of both crew members to make positive ID of Mike and his Tech Observer.
Mike was a great guy and a major loss to us all."
Bio by Billy M. Brown
West Point AOG Memorial Page: http://apps.westpointaog.org/Memorials/Article/26102/
