Michael Echanis: Difference between revisions
No edit summary Tag: references removed |
Undid revision 342074841 by 206.11.112.251 (talk) |
||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
'''Michael D. Echanis''' (November 16, 1950 – September 1978) was a former [[United States Army]] [[Special Forces]] and [[75th Ranger Regiment|75th Ranger Battalion]] enlisted soldier, ultimately becoming a mercenary. |
'''Michael D. Echanis''' (November 16, 1950 – September 1978) was a former [[United States Army]] [[Special Forces]] and [[75th Ranger Regiment|75th Ranger Battalion]] enlisted soldier, ultimately becoming a mercenary. There are conflicting reports as to his death working as a [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] contract employee in [[Nicaragua]] in 1978: one is that he died in a helicopter crash in along with his colleague Charles Sanders and members of the Nicaraguan armed forces, due to a bomb placed on board.<ref>[CTRL] Soldier of Fortune Magazine Sept 1989</ref> According to other sources, he was killed (in the same time frame in Nicaragua) during an informal demonstration stunt trying to prove he could allow a jeep to roll over him without causing harm, and that he was added to the list of helicopter crash victims to cover up the incident.<ref><u>The Men Who Stare at Goats</u>, Jon Ronson, p24</ref> |
||
He grew up in a farm family in [[Ontario, Oregon]] and was of [[Basque people|Basque]] descent.<ref>[http://www.ontariobasqueclub.dantzariak.net/ontario_basque_club_history.htm Ontario Basque Club History<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> |
He grew up in a farm family in [[Ontario, Oregon]] and was of [[Basque people|Basque]] descent.<ref>[http://www.ontariobasqueclub.dantzariak.net/ontario_basque_club_history.htm Ontario Basque Club History<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> |
||
Revision as of 08:30, 21 February 2010
Michael D. Echanis (November 16, 1950 – September 1978) was a former United States Army Special Forces and 75th Ranger Battalion enlisted soldier, ultimately becoming a mercenary. There are conflicting reports as to his death working as a CIA contract employee in Nicaragua in 1978: one is that he died in a helicopter crash in along with his colleague Charles Sanders and members of the Nicaraguan armed forces, due to a bomb placed on board.[1] According to other sources, he was killed (in the same time frame in Nicaragua) during an informal demonstration stunt trying to prove he could allow a jeep to roll over him without causing harm, and that he was added to the list of helicopter crash victims to cover up the incident.[2]
He grew up in a farm family in Ontario, Oregon and was of Basque descent.[3]
He received the Purple Heart and Bronze Star with "V" device for his service in a LRRP in the Vietnam War. He was eventually promoted to the rank of Specialist 4.
He served as the Martial Arts Editor of Soldier of Fortune magazine between 1974 to 1976. He also served as a cover model for the magazine on several occasions.
He was well-known as a hand-to-hand combat instructor for the Special Forces, SEALs, and other military groups. He was a high-ranking black sash in Hwa Rang Do and the author of three military-oriented hand-to-hand combat books based on it.[4] He had previously studied Judo and Tae Kwon Do.
He is buried at St. Johns Catholic Cemetery (a.k.a. Sunset Cemetery) in Ontario.[5]
Bibliography
- Knife Self-Defense for Combat (1977) ISBN 978-0897500227
- Basic Stick Fighting for Combat (1979) ISBN 978-0897500593
- Knife Fighting, Knife Throwing for Combat (1979) ISBN 978-0897500586
References
- ^ [CTRL] Soldier of Fortune Magazine Sept 1989
- ^ The Men Who Stare at Goats, Jon Ronson, p24
- ^ Ontario Basque Club History
- ^ Amazon.com: Michael D. Echanis: Books
- ^ Sunset Cemetery
External links
 | This Oregonian biographical article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |