Furthermore, he raised morale and competencies of the soldiers, cadre and students.” Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School at Fort Bragg, N.C., said at the time that “He not only ensured the continued sustainment of Special Forces, Psychological Operations and Civil Affairs, but also increased its value. Healy was given the Distinguished Member of the Special Forces Regiment award at a ceremony in Jacksonville in 2015. "I told them, 'The only reason you are sitting here with a green beret on that table is thanks to Iron Mike,' " Tobin said Tuesday. Healy was when he found out he hadn't received the honor of joining the Distinguished Member of the Special Forces Regiment. Tobin was once in a room with some younger Special Forces veterans who didn't know who Maj. He said the general could look into your eyes knowing he was sending you to almost certain death, but he had a way of letting you know you were the most qualified person for the job and he wanted you to come back alive. "That man would move heaven and hell to help you,” Tobin said. Healy first addressed the men, he told them they were back in business, Tobin remembered. Before he took command, there was talk of disbanding the Special Forces, Tobin said. Healy in 1969 as part of the mobile strike group command. Everyone knew who he was and he was just a presence - you knew you were talking to somebody who was somebody.” 1st Class Cliff Newman, executive director of the Special Forces Association. “He was one of the first Americans to go into Vietnam and one of the last to leave,” said retired Sgt. He went to Vietnam in 1963 as a Special Forces colonel and would ultimately serve five tours there over almost eight years. Healy attended several military schools before being recruited to serve as chief of the Special Warfare Operations and Foreign Intelligence Branch for the Office of the Assistant Chief of Staff for Intelligence. The nickname “Iron Mike” came while he was serving as a young officer leading Army Rangers on combat patrols deep behind enemy lines in Korea in the early 1950s. He served with the 1st Cavalry Division in Japan before taking command of the 4th Airborne Ranger Company as a lieutenant. The son of a Chicago police chief enlisted in the Army as a private in 1945, two months before the end of World War II. "I served under him back in the 1970s," Walker said. Sean Healy said his father moved to Jacksonville following his 1981 retirement to be closer to three of his sons - one in Jacksonville, one in Orlando and one in Sarasota.ĭewey Walker, president of Special Forces Association Chapter 88 in Northeast Florida, said the retired general kept such a low profile that he lived in Jacksonville for several years before anyone connected with the organization knew he was here. “If they knew who that was I would let them go on for a while, and then I would say, ‘that’s my dad.’ ” Sean Healy said when people mentioned the military he would ask them if they had heard of the John Wayne movie or of Iron Mike. "We always had to brag on him ourselves." "Despite everything he accomplished, he remained a humble man," said Sean Healy, one of his six sons. He was the inspiration for John Wayne's character in the 1968 film "The Green Berets." He was 91.ĭuring an Army career that spanned five decades and two wars, "Iron Mike" Healy earned three Distinguished Service Medals, two Silver Stars, the Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross, seven Bronze Stars with Valor and two Purple Hearts among many other accolades. Michael Healy, but the Chicago native called Jacksonville home until his death on Saturday. The Special Forces Association chapter in Chicago is named for Maj.
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