Michael Echanis
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 an editor of Soldier of Fortune magazine.
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
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