texteasleymichaelfrederickmilitary.html

G2 Memorial Wall of Honor
Michael Frederick Easley
Class of June, 1958

Research done by Claradell Shedd, webmaster

Fred was born February 14, 1936 in Fordyce, Arkansas. Fred graduated from West Point in the June, 1958 class. At the time of West Point graduation, his address was 97-34 Street, Newport News, Virginia. His Cullum number is 22225.

Michael Frederick Easley

Year	x	Rank	x	Status

June, 1958	x	Graduated	x	Company G2
August, 1958	x	Branch/2nd Lt	x	Armor; Fort Knox
Winter,1958	x	Airborne	x	Fort Benning, GA
March,1959	x	Ranger	x	Fort Benning, GA
1959-62	x	Armor	x	14th Armor Cavalry Regiment (Bad Hersfeld) and 40 Arm
1962- August,1963	x	Armor	x	Aide to Commanding General; Berlin Brigade
1964-65	x	Armor	x	77 Arm
1965	x	Family	x	While at Fort Devens, MA, married Joanne Desmond
1966-67	x	Armor	x	JUSMMAT; Ankara, Turkey (MAAG/Military Assistance Advisory Group) A joint Service group, normally under the military command of a commander of a unified command and representing the Secretary of Defense, which primarily administers the US military assistance planning and programming in the host country. Also called MAAG.
1968-69	x	Armor	x	Hq25Div (Hq, 25th Infantry Division) & 2nd Battalion/34th Armor Division, RVN
1969	x	Armor	x	MA UTX
1970	x	Education	x	Master's Degree in Social Engineering; U of Texas; Austin, TX
1970-71	x	Armor	x	ODATT Argentina. Buenos Aires, Argentina (attache)
1972	x	Armor	x	OACSI. At The Pentagon.
1973-74	x	Armor	x	HqUNCmd, Korea. Seoul, Korea
1974-1975	x	Armor	x	PMS UMO. ROTC Program; Champaign/Urbana, Illinois
1975-1979	x	Armor	x	ROTC Program; University of Missouri, Columbia, MO
1979	x	Retired/LTC	x	Retired
1979-1992	x	Employment	x	Senior Executive Placement Rep
1992-2007	x	Entertainment	x	Fred was an active karaoke participant at Fess Parker's Inn in Los Olivos, CA (Are You Lonesome Tonight?) (Achy Breaky) Words below. Thanks to Sam Myers and Stan Bacon for the recordings.
April 1, 2007	x	Deceased	x	Buellton, CA. Inurned at Peninsula Memorial Park, Newport News, VA Find A Grave Memorial #101366627

Are You Lonesome Tonight? (Sound for Are You Lonesome Tonight?)
When you were 20 Years Old (words/music by Roy Turk & Lou Handman)		Today's/2004 (Fred) Version I need help with the words...Claradell/ [email protected]
Are you lonesome tonight, Do you miss me tonight? Are you sorry we drifted apart? Does your memory stray to a bright summer day When I kissed you and called you sweetheart? Do the chairs in your parlor seem empty and bare? Do you gaze at your doorstep and picture me there? Is your heart filled with pain, shall I come back again? Tell me dear, are you lonesome tonight?		Are you lonesome tonight Does your tummy feel tight Does your Does your mother regret on that bright summer day When you had Is your hairline receding, your eyes have grown dim Hysterectomy for her and its prostate for him Does your back give you pain. Do you feel ____ Tell me dear, are you lonesome tonight Is your blood pressure up, your cholesterol down Are you eating a low fat cuisine ___ ___ Helps you run like a well-oiled machine ___ ___ But your thoughts linger on Tell me dear, are you lonesome tonight? That's as good as it gets Tell me dear, are you lonesome tonight? I also heard: Does your stomach feel tight? Does your memory stray to a bright summer day? Now it's as good as it gets

Achy Breaky (Sound for Achy Breaky) (Words/music by Billy Ray Cyrus)
You can tell the world you never was my girl You can burn my clothes when I'm gone Or you can tell your frieds just what a fool I've been And laugh and joke about me on the phone You can tell my arms to go back onto the phone You can tell my feet to hit the floor Or you can tell my lips to tell my fingertips They won't be reaching out for you no more But don't tell my heart, my achy breaky heart I just don't think it'd understand And if you tell my heart, my achy breaky heart It might blow up and kill this man Ooo		You can tell your ma I went back to Arkansas Or you can tell your dog to bite my leg Or tell your brother Cliff who's fist can tell my lips He never really like me anyway Or tell your Aunt Louise, Tell anything you please Myself already knows that I'm okay Or you can tell my eyes to watch out for my mind It might be reaching out for you no more But don't tell my heart, my achy breaky heart I just don't think it'd understand And if you tell my heart, my achy breaky heart It might blow up and kill this man If you tell my heart, my achy breaky heart It might blow up and kill this man

Gene Wentworth, D1, writes:
The first time that I ever met Fred Easley was right after Beast Barracks, during the time when we were moving into permanent Barracks Assignments and getting prepared to begin the 1954-55 academic year. My Company Commander, Lou Tebodo, came to my room in Co D-1 and told me that I was to report to a certain room in Co. G-2 in the lost 50's and to make haste. When I knocked and reported my presence, I was told to enter and did so. To my surprise, sitting around the three desks in that room were my high school classmate and longtime friend Jerry Crancer....his roomate John Martling and the Cadet Bde. Commander, Don Olvey (all "55). I was given the command to "fallout" and was promptly recognized by both Jerry Crancer and one John Martling whom I had met at the Crancer home on two different occasions during Cadet Leave periods...when I was still in High School. I was greeted but not "recognized" by Don Olvey, even though he was then and had been dating Jerry's sister Rita Jane. I would have thought that being recognized by my Bde Cdr. would not only have been improper but something that would have made me suspiciously uncomfortable. At that same moment, I noticed that there was a "Plebe" standing at the rigid position of attention in between two wall lockers....and it was then that my friend Jerry Crancer introduced me to Mr. Easley. That was almost as embarrasing as being addressed by the Bde. Cdr, and I could just imagine what this fellow thoght of me falling out with him in a brace against the wall who was introduced to me as "Mr. Fox Oboe Easley"......a name that I called Fred for as long as we knew each other. That is the handle that his squad leader Jerry Crancer had given him, and not even Fred ever knew why Jerry coined that name. Fred later confessed that even though he and I had not met in Beast Barracks that when he was introduced to me he just knew that he would hate my "BJ" ass forever. As it turned out, Fred and I became very close friends through other mutual contacts and remained so all four years at the Academy. It was not until the Class Trip to Thailand, Singapore and China in 1992 that Fred (sans Frau) my JoAnne and I met up and reunited. Fred was writing scripts for TV at that time, and we had great fun getting reacquainted, telling lots of stories about our many years apart and lying a lot about our prowess as Cadets some of which had to do with our first meeting in September 1954. During the Class Trip we usually sat together on the buses, the trains,the boats and the planes. In fact, it was Fred who was the last person off the plane from somewhere to Xian (to see the TerraCotta Warriors)....Fred was getting something from behind his seat...pushed too hard and caused every seat back in the plane to collapse forward like dominoes. Those who saw just how the Chinese planes seats collapsed were quite thankful to Fred that they would not have to fly anywhere again in that same plane. Fred said that was just one more credit to Mao's ingenuity. And from that point on Mao became an obsession with Fred. As many of you may remember we saw a lot of Mao's fat grinning face on the walls in BeiJIng and all around the country to include on the Great Wall itself. One evening in some town along the way, we stayed in a hotel that was right next door to a Chinese Dance Hall that featured Carioci. JoAnne, Fred and I decided to go into this dance hall got a table ordered a few drinks that featured an alcoholic beverage that was reminiscient of turpentine....but cheap, and we all three got just high enough to finally take over the band stand and do a little impromptu singing. It was pretty easy, because we were the only peolle in the throng of young Chinese in the hall who spoke English and all of the songs were in English with Chinese character subtitles !!! Well, the young people seemed to really be enjoyed the singing and antics of us CONUS Clowns....until we broke out singing one of the songs that we all sang frequently on the many bus trips....especially when we passed a painted picture or banner of old Mao himself...sounding only a little bit like Eddy Cantor....."Mao, He's Makin' Eyes at Me!" As you can imagine, the whole dance hall got silent and all eyes were on the bandstand. Fred casually took a mike went to the front, bowed deeply and then said in his impish and clever way. "Ladies and Gentlemen....It has been a pleasure to have been able to entertain you tonight, and we hope that you will come to hear us when we open Shanghai tomorrow night! With that we hightailed it out the side door and ran across the parking lot to safe sanctuary in our Hotel. Fred will be remembered as a pleasant and jolly fellow who enjoyed life and proved that those comments written in the Howitzer back in 1958 were prophetically true "....this same determination and abilty (of doing well ) when it counts, made Fred (Fox-Oboe-Easley)a close and dependable friend..." May It Be Said Well Done !! Rest in Peace Good Buddy !

Len McCormack, C2, writes:
I did know Mike from our days at WP, but we became closer as we progressed on our trip through Indonesia, Singapore, and Thailand. What I remember most were all the temples we visited. Especially one. As we were exiting to move on, Mike stood in the doorway and gave a good impression of the "disappearing" Plebe Brace. Not to be satisfied, he then stood in a little alcove on the outside wall and stood at attention and saluted to the world, with his SI shoes on, no less. We had a great time.

Fred was famous for his dismount of an M-48A2 tank...as told by many and chronicled by Stan Bacon, I2,...
Fred, ol' buddy, I'm really going to miss you. Though classmates, we really didn't get to know each other really well till AOB where you showed us how not to dismount an M-48A2 tank. Then when your arms were nearly healed, we roomed together through Jump School at Benning where you excelled, still squeezing that rubber ball to regain strength. Then to the 14th Cav together, you at Bad Hersfeld, me at Fulda--the "Paint on the shield of NATO." I recall, in a gasthaus one evening you got into an argument with some Germans over who was responsible for WWII in Europe. They insisted it was Hitler and then you pulled out a photo of a Nurnburg rally, stuck it in their faces and pointed to the assembled thousands sig heiling their leader. You managed to skip off to Berlin for some cush duty with those really big tanks, living in the BOQ there equipped with hot and cold running maids; field exercises in Gruenerwald Park. Really! Later, we were both head hunters in the oil patch for a while, commiserating together as it dried up in the early 1980's. We had a lot of fun together on the Thailand trip where you bought everything you could lay your hands on to take home to your wife. We worked together through your battle with cancer. You knew you weren't going to win that one in the long run, but you fought hard, stayed in high spirits, were grateful for the good life you had, harbored no bitterness, and wanted no sympathy. You became one of our (PC) Badgers, giving aid and support to newly diagnosed classmates. You set the standard for the rest of us. And through it all you continued to sing your heart out--at Fess Parker's on Thursday evenings and at class reunions. With my limited skills and your unique concept of tempo, it was a challenge to accompany you. But our classmates always gave you standing ovations. We love you, guy, and will always be grateful for your having brightened our lives.

August 13, 1961 At Checkpoint Charlie


Fred Easley in lead tank w/crosshairs on Soviets

Fred Easley had a front row seat when the border was closed on August 13, 1961. His tank platoon stood face to face with ten T-55 tanks, shown here at Checkpoint Charlie. Most of us in Germany had orders home cancelled. Field exercises were accelerated. It was a tense moment for all.

1968 Update

1988 Update

		Left: Scott, Joanne, Margaret, Fred, Rick
		Fred writes: "After 22 years of socialism, I'm quite fond of capitalism. Because I was a gypsy, Uncle Sugar was very good to me: assignments in Berlin, Buenos Aires, Ankara (Turkey), and Seoul come quickly to mind. The two boys were born in Turkey, and my daugher was born in Austin, TX (that makes two Turks and a Texan). I got my Masters Degree from the University of Texas, then two grand years in southern South America. After leaving the Army, we settled in Santa Barbara, CA; to date it's been as idyllic a setting as I know of in the continental U.S. Have made good money as a Personnel Recruiter. Joanne has had great success as a Media Consultant. I married her when she was a well-known TV newscaster in Boston (my mother-in-law assures me had we not married, Joanne would now be Barbara Walters). Life has been good! No earthquakes at this moment in sunny Southern California, but remember what Santayana said: "Everthing in nature is lyrical in its ideal essence, tragic in its fate, and comic in its existence." Here's to '58 -- in 1958, or any year, an extremely admirable group of men!"

Above: 1992 Thailand Mini (photo above from Gene Wentworth, D1)
Below: San Antonio 2004 and San Francisco 2005 Mini Reunions


San Antonio Mini: October 22, 2004 Fred and Pam Grattan	San Francisco Mini: October 19, 2005 Fred and Pam Grattan

Memorial Tribute to Fred by his brother, Dennis

Michael Frederick Easley
Died: 1 Apr 2007
330 West Highway 246
Space 48
Buellton, CA 93427
My brother was a man of honor, loyalty, optimism, and a wonderful sense of humor. Mickey was born in Fordyce, Arkansas on February 14, 1936 and nurtured by our highly principled, wise, and loving parents, Colonel Fred O. Easley, Jr. and Margaret Flannagan Easley. He was christened Michael Frederick Easley; however, during WWII, just before our father was transferred to Europe to fly combat missions (Berlin Airlift), our grandparents insisted his name be changed to Fred O. Easley III to ensure the lineage would be maintained. As it turned out, he wasn't very keen on the name, especially when as a Plebe, all too many upperclassmen found out his middle name was Oscar. So, when he graduated, not Magna Cum Laude, but rather Lawdy, Lawdy, and was on his own, he submitted the paperwork to have his name changed back to Michael Frederick Easley only to find out the first name change was never officially recorded! So you can call him Fred, or Mike, or you can call him as his family does, Mickey. He was a great storyteller and always had something to say that would make you smile or laugh. His classmate, Barry Zwick, said it best, "He brightened the day of whomever was lucky enough to spent time with him."

Not many know that at the height of the Cold War, right after the Berlin Wall was erected, he commanded the US Army tank platoon at Checkpoint Charlie during the tense Soviet-US standoff. His platoon stood face to face, or gun barrel to gun barrel, with ten of the Soviet Union's mighty T-55 tanks, the "Russian Bear" category. So, to even the playing field, Mickey appropriately named his tanks "bears"..Teddy Bear, Polar Bear, Cuddly Bear, and Pooh Bear, and the Soviet tanks eventually withdrew. One of his greatest pleasures was the creation of the Veterans Memorial Walk in Santa Barbara, Ca. His vision, design, and tireless pursuit of funding and the government support eventually resulted in a truly remarkable memorial in a most spectacular setting.
http://www.elingspark.org/explore/veterans-memorial-walk/

He was incredibly proud of his children (Frederick, Scott, and Margaret) and very hopeful for their futures. Scott remembers long autobobile drives with his dad where he would point things out, ask his opinion on what they saw, how he felt, and which road to take--talking and observing like two kindred souls observing the world. Mickey never questioned his fate when diagnosed with cancer. In the midst of his own struggles, he shared enthusiasm and knowledge of his victories with all the fellow patients he met. He helped others whenever possible and lived by the words, "People may not remembver exactly what you did or what you said, but they will always remember how you made them feel." Remember my brother by the words he said to me and to all his many freinds and loved ones whenever he ended a conversation, "Keep Smiling!" He is mourned by his loving friend, Pamela Grattan, his former wife, Joanne, his children and their families, and his many friends.
...Dennis Easley

M-48A2 Patton Tank
Nearly 12,000 M48s were built from 1952 to 1959. The early designs, up to the M48A2C's, were powered by a gasoline 12-cylinder engine which was coupled with an auxiliary 8-cylinder engine (called the "Little Joe"). The gasoline engine gave the tank a short operating range and were prone to catching fire when hit. This version was considered unreliable but numerous examples saw combat use in various Arab-Israeli conflicts. They also were prone to fire when the turret was penetrated and the hydraulic lines ruptured spewing hydraulic fluid (nicknamed "cherry juice" because of its red color) at high pressure into the crew compartment resulting in a fireball. The flashpoint was too low, less than 300 F, causing many burns and deaths to crew members. Beginning in 1959, most American M48s were upgraded to the M48A3 model which featured a diesel power plant. M48s with gasoline engines, however, were still in use in the US Army through 1968 and through 1975 by many West German Army units including the 124th Panzer Battalion.

Hq25th Infantry Division
In response to a request from the U.S. Military Assistance Command in Vietnam, the division sent 100 helicopter door-gunners to the Republic of Vietnam in early 1963. By August 1965, further division involvement in the coming Vietnam War included the deployment of Company C, 65th Engineer Battalion, to South Vietnam to assist in the construction of port facilities at Cam Ranh Bay. By mid-1965, 2,200 men of the Tropic Lightning Division were involved in Vietnam. The division was again ordered to contribute combat forces in December of that year. Its Resupply Regiment, the 467th, was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel George S Dotson through the end of the war.

In response to a MACV request, the division deployed 4,000 3rd Brigade infantrymen and 9,000 tons of equipment from Hawaii in 25 days to the Northwest sector of South Vietnam to firmly establish a fortified enclave from which the division could operate. Operation Blue Light was the largest and longest airlift of personnel and cargo into a combat zone in military history before Operation Desert Shield. The Brigade deployed its first soldiers from Hickam Air Force Base, Honolulu, to the central highlands at Pleiku. These men arrived in Vietnam 24 December 1965. By mid-January, the deployment operation was complete — giving combat planners in Vietnam a favorable balance of power. The division was heavily engaged from April 1966 until 1972 throughout the area of operations in Southeast Asia. During this period, Tropic Lightning soldiers fought in some of the toughest battles of the war including Operation Junction City.

During the Tet offensives of 1968 and 1969, Tropic Lightning soldiers were instrumental in defending the besieged city of Saigon. Due to its success in fending off that attack, the 25th Infantry Division spent most of 1970 more involved in the Vietnamization Program than in actual combat. From May through June 1970, Tropic Lightning soldiers participated in Allied thrusts deep into enemy sanctuaries located in Cambodia. In these Incursion operations, the division units confiscated thousands of tons of supplies and hundreds of weapons. This operation crippled the Cambodian-based efforts against American units. Following its return from Cambodia to South Vietnam, the division resumed its place in the Vietnamization Program. The war was winding down. By late December 1970, elements of the 25th Infantry Division were able to begin redeployment to Schofield Barracks. Second Brigade was the last element of the Tropic Lightning Division to depart Vietnam. It arrived at Schofield Barracks in the early days of May 1971. During the war in Vietnam, 22 Medals of Honor were awarded to Tropic Lightning soldiers.

2nd Battalion; 34th Armor
Welcome to 2-34 Armor Battalion, home of the Dreadnaughts. We can trace our origins to the 34th Armor Regiment, which was formed on 1 October 1941 at Fort Knox, Kentucky. Our battalion has a proud and illustrious history, which includes participation in World War II, Vietnam, the Gulf War, and Operation Iraqi Freedom. Our present day mission is to train Military Transition Teams deploying in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

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Fort Knox, Fort Benning, Fort Riley; bar code for this specific Easley website page

Michael Frederick Easley LTC 2nd Battalion, 34th Armored Division United States Army

Bronze Star, Army Commendation Medal w/1st OLC, and V (valor) device, Vietnam Service Medal, Vietnam Campaign Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Air Medal

From 1958 Howitzer
MICHAEL FREDRICK EASLEY
"Fred"		G-2
Fordyce, Arkansas		Congressional
From Arkansas via Europe and Africa, in finest Army brat fasion, Fred arrived at the Rock. The Academic Department scanned his sketchy background, and chortled. Green pencils were at a premium and made good. This same determination and ability when it counts has made Fred a close and dependable friend as a cadet and will give the Army a mighty fine officer.

Lacrosse 4; 150 lb. Football 1; Track 1; Cadet Chapel Choir 3-2-1; Radio Club 3; German Language Club 2-1; Ski Club 2-1; Debate Countil and Forum; Pistol Club 1; Hi-Fi Club 1; Skeet Club 1; Camera Club 1; Sergeant 1

References

Michael Frederick Easley's G2 memorial page: http://www.1958g2.com/pages/memoriam.html
Fred's obituary: http://www.1958g2.com/pages/easleyobit.html
Eulogy by classmate Bob Tierney and Fred's brother, Dennis:
http://apps.westpointaog.org/Memorials/Article/22225/
Santa Barbara Obituary:
http://www.newspress.com/Top/Article/article.jsp?Section=LOCAL&Subsection=Obituaries&ID=564993525435990019
There is a video of a Fred karaoke presently being converted to appropriate format and will be affixed here as two separate links. utube, clip#1, utube,clip#2

Youtube Clip #1

Youtube Clip #2

April 1, 2007: Died in Buellton, CA

Music: "Wind Beneath My Wings"