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<p><em>Michael William Price</em> was born on June 3, 1955 in Goshen, NY, the oldest of three sons born to Michael and Evelyn Price in 1956. He attended Chester High School in Chester, NY. </p>
<p>Mike joined the Class of 1977 at West Point in July 1973. He learned to field strip an M14 rifle, square corners, and eat at attention that summer. After marching back from Lake Frederick, he was assigned to D-2. Having some academic difficulty, Mike was turned back after plebe year and reassigned to A-2 as a recognized plebe and member of the “Proud and Great” Class of 1978. Mike was consistently on the dean’s “other list,” but somehow managed to stay one step ahead of Dean Smith for his remaining cadet career. Mike was well respected among his peers, and others recognized him as a non-hazing upperclassman who always treated everyone fairly and with respect.</p>
<p>With the shuffling of the class during the summer of 1976, Mike became a proud member of Company C-3. Mike took advantage of all the weekend passes to get away and relax with his classmates at the local watering holes in Newburgh or to visit his family in Chester. </p>
<p>Mike loved pickles. He always had a large jar of pickles in his room and would routinely offer them to visitors. That’s how he got his nickname, “Pickles.” Mike was level headed and never really got excited or panicked. He got things done without a lot of hoopla. Mike enjoyed life and was exceedingly difficult to anger. He was good natured, a team player, laughed a lot and generally enjoyed whatever came along. </p>
<p>Mike desperately wanted to be Field Artillery but was branched Infantry, which he embraced without question. As graduation grew closer, Mike’s goal was to be the Class Goat (last person in the class academically) and get $1 from each of his fellow classmates. Not even his teaming with fellow goats Andy Tedesco and yours truly to design and build a Ramp Running Shot Slinger (a weapon system engineering project) got him to the bottom of the class. Our instructor gave us a generous “D-” on the project. A lot of classmates got some laughs at our expense. It’s a good thing there was no YouTube in 1978 because our RRSS demonstration would have gone viral for all the wrong reasons. Again, Mike took it all in stride, even though all three of us almost failed the course. No matter how hard he tried, Mike was only able to finish in the bottom 10.</p>
<p>After graduation, Mike was a groomsman in several weddings, including mine on Long Island and Eddie O’Neill’s in Michigan. Not a day goes by that I don’t look at the picture of my wedding party on our family room wall and see a smiling Mike standing next to fellow classmate Bill Kimball. </p>
<p>Mike had a great time that summer visiting classmates before reporting to Fort Benning, GA for IOBC. Mike’s first posting was at Fort Riley, KS as a member of “The Big Red One.” Mike was an outstanding leader, and taking care of his soldiers was his top priority. He was a respected, approachable officer who always went the extra mile when it came to the welfare of his soldiers. </p>
<p>After attending IOAC, Mike was assigned to 2nd Infantry Division at Camp Humphreys, South Korea. Since I was also stationed in Korea at the same time, we were able to meet several times during our tours of duty. </p>
<p>On November 5, 1988, Mike married Cindy and raised two stepchildren, Daniel Edward and Adrea Elise McGuire. He taught them the value of honesty and hard work and the importance of morality. Mike’s oldest grandson is named after him. </p>
<p>Mike loved the Army but was not able to stay on active duty when the government cut the active forces in the 1990s. He continued in the Reserves but was sorely disappointed by his unit’s lack of discipline and poor attitude. Mike was promoted to major but found it difficult to deal with the organization’s “good old boy” network. Mike decided to leave the Reserves: it wasn’t the same Army he had grown to love.</p>
<p>Within a few short months after leaving the Regular Army, Mike was hired by New Jersey State Corrections. He was among only a handful of NJ correction officers to ever catch an escaping prisoner and was quickly promoted to correction sergeant. Mike’s work ethic was routinely reflected in his tendency to work double shifts, while also working a second job for the Burlington County Times.</p>
<p>In New Jersey, Mike coached Little League for two years. He was a member of the House Committee for the Pemberton American Legion Post. He was also the president of a local motorcycle club, the Military Riders. Mike was an avid motorcyclist during and after his years of military service. He rode his bike 365 days a year…or wished he could. Mike rode not only on sunny days but rainy and snowy ones too. Only ice on the road made him drive a car.</p>
<p>On April 19, 2000, Mike was the only officer on a floor of 99 inmates when he was attacked by a prisoner. While struggling with the prisoner, Mike suffered a massive coronary and later died in a local hospital.</p>
<p>Mike was honored by three governors of New Jersey, Blue Masses, President Bush, and different survivor groups around the nation. His name can be found engraved on the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, DC. There’s also a memorial honoring Mike at the Garden State Youth Correctional Facility, placed where he routinely parked his motorcycle. </p>
<p>Well Done my friend! Be Thou at Peace.</p>
<p><em>— Bill Wrinkle ’78, Cindy Price and fellow classmates</em></p>
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