Mike was born in Catskill, NY—a rather tiny town. His mother worked at home as a seamstress, making women’s clothing for a local company. His father worked on the railroad trains when Mike was still young, but was later hired by delivery company Aerobuilt to build their trucks. Mike’s father would drive the frames over 100 miles from Tarrytown to Athens and also transported some of their larger delivery trucks. Many of Mike’s extended family members lived in the surrounding towns.

Mike remembers being able to walk to school during his childhood and teen years. Of his school subjects, Mike best enjoyed his chemistry classes. During the summers, he joined his father at the delivery facilities and worked as a sheerer, cutting the aluminum frames for the sides of the trucks.

From a young age, Mike enjoyed camping trips. During the summer before his senior year, he took a camping trip to Caroga Lake. It was there he met Joyce and they started dating. The two of them later attended some local fairgrounds and Mike asked the Ferris Wheel operator to stop the ride at the top. There, he proposed to Joyce, who was very surprised by the romantic gesture.

In his junior year of high school, Mike joined the New York National Guard. Although he couldn’t be sent away for official training while he was still in school, he learned some of the basics of the organization at the local armory. After his graduation, he was sent to Fort Dix in New Jersey for one year for basic and advanced training with the Army. From there, Mike enlisted with the Navy at age 19. Thanks to his prior Army training through the National Guard, his time at basic training was abbreviated. Afterward, he went to the Great Lakes Naval Base for one year of Electronics Training.

Right before his graduation from ET school, Mike took a trip back to New York. In just three days, he traveled to the Catskills for a marriage license and then made his way to Utica. There, he married Joyce at St. Joseph’s Church. After their ceremony, he returned for the remainder of his electronics training and his graduation. With ET school completed, Mike was sent to California for additional security training.

With his military schooling completed, Mike was assigned to the USS Kearsarge CVS 33 in Long Beach. His responsibilities included ensuring that all electronics—like the radios and radar—were in good working order. He stayed with the USS Kearsarge for three years, including for two deployments to Vietnam in 1964 and 1966. In between these deployments, Mike journeyed back to see Joyce, who welcomed him at the pier with their first son in her arms.

With only three months left of his enlistment time during his second deployment, Mike was transferred to the S1/S2 shop, where he was responsible for post office duties. He would fly on a carrier onboard delivery (COD) plane to Saigon to pick up the mail for the ship to ensure it made its way to the sailors.

With his enlistment completed, Mike returned to California and drove to New York in only three days without stopping. Although his car broke down shortly before he made it home, his dad was close enough to tow him back for the rest of the way. After returning to New York, Mike spent some time working for GE.

In Syracuse, he continued to spend time serving between the National Guard and the Navy Reserve, switching between the groups depending on where he was most needed. Between the New York National Guard, four years in the Navy, and the Navy Reserve, Mike dedicated 23 years of his life to military service.