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Michael D. Drake '54
No. 19873 •
March 12, 1928 - April 3, 2009
Died: Newark, NJ
Interred: Monongahela National Cemetery, PA
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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
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Originally published in
TAPS, Summer 2013 |
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