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Michael D. Drake  '54

 

No. 19873 March 12, 1928 - April 3, 2009          

Died: Newark, NJ

Interred: Monongahela National Cemetery, PA

 

Michael Drahushak “Mike” Drake was one of the older members of the Class of 1954. He was born on Mar 12, 1928, in Donora, PA, into a family of five brothers and one sister. An excellent student, he graduated from Donora Senior High School in 1946. He went on to accumulate a broad multiservice background before arriving at West Point. He was in the U.S. Army Air Force in 1946 before going on to attend the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. In addition, he had classes at New London Junior College and the University of Pittsburgh. As a result, Mike entered West Point well prepared for academics. He was appointed to USMA by his Congressman Frank Buchanan.

 

While at the Academy, Mike was well respected, achieving the corporal and then lieutenant cadet ranks. He kept busy and demonstrated his versatility as a member of the Pistol Club, the German Club, the Ordnance Club, and the Chess Club. After Christmas leave in 1951, Mike had the sad responsibility, along with roommate Bill Wallace, to fly to San Francisco and represent West Point at a classmate’s funeral. Their roommate, Ken MacArthur, was killed in a plane crash returning from Christmas leave. Mike was recognized by his friends for his organizational skills, sincerity, honesty, and intellect. On graduating, he selected the Signal Corps as his career choice. In his last assignment in the Army, he served with Headquarters First Army from 1958 to 1960 and resigned as a captain in 1960.

 

In 1961 after leaving the military, Mike went to work as a civil engineer at Edwards and Kelsey Engineering. In 1968, Mike received his Master of Science degree in Civil Engineering from Stevens Institute. He became an accomplished structural engineer and was licensed as a professional engineer. In 1974, he also served as an adjunct professor of civil engineering at Newark College. In 1986, he was made Chief of Structural Engineering of the Kaiser Engineering firm, and in 1988 he became Director of Structural Engineering at URS Consultants in New York City. He retired in 1996.

 

Mike showed his love and compassion for his friends, humanity, and animals through his dedication to Saints Peter and Paul Church in Jersey City, NJ, and Saint Vladimir Seminary in Yonkers, NY, and as a trusted volunteer at the People for Animals Clinic in Hillside, NJ. He is remembered at the clinic as their ‘go-to man’ for problem solving.

 

Mike died on Apr 3, 2009. His brothers and sister are also all deceased, but he lives on in the loving memory of his nieces, nephews, and those of us who have been a part of his life.

 

 

Mike is one of the older men in the class. After he left the “Wild Blue Yonder” of the Air Force, he sailed the Atlantic in a square-rigged sailboat at the Coast Guard Academy. Mike is ingenious at organizing and getting things done. His sincerity, honesty, and intellectual character are as outstanding.

 

—1954 Howitzer

 

Originally published in TAPS, Summer 2013

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