23 Jul 2025
Sometimes an experience is almost too amazing to be real. For 80 years my family had resigned ourselves: we would never know where ‘our missing soldier’ had died. Two days before our tour, I shared what I thought was a benign three paragraph letter written in 1951. Mike, using the details of the letter, applied his knowledge and resources. He facilitated our visit to the Wall of Missing Soldiers. He laminated a large picture of my uncle to be filed for reference at the Cemetery. Mike then drove the same route my uncle had transversed. He stopped every few minutes, opened the hutch of his comfortable van, and showed us our location on his 3x4 foot 1940 military map, explaining in detail the significance of the site,
The night before the tour, Mike took the initiative to use his computer graphic skills, overlaying two original 1940 maps, compared coordinates, and with 98% certainty, calculated the field where my uncle made his ultimate sacrifice.
The logistics of the tour were phenomenal. But honestly, the tour would have been perfect even if we had walked barefoot in rain, as long as Mike was the scout.
Mike’s endeavors are the epitome example of a meaningful existence: The purpose of life is to live a life of purpose.
You have brought much serenity to my family and countless others.
Thank you Mike.
Marla, Steve, Valerie
175th of the 29th