Relatives of a member of Navy Special Operations killed in the crash of a helicopter in eastern Afghanistan are remembering him as a friendly person with a sense of humor who was close to his family and always told them not to worry about him.
Military officials came to the family home in the Mayfair section of Philadelphia on Saturday to tell them of the death of Petty Officer 1st Class Michael Strange, 25, family members said Sunday. Authorities had not yet officially announced death by
Sunday afternoon.
“He loved his friends, his family, his country, he loved making people laugh. He was one of a kind,” his brother, Charles Strange III, 22, said outside the home, where more than a dozen American flags were displayed in addition to many flags planted in neighbors' yards. “He'd walk in a room and see someone sad, and he'd make them smile.”
“He wasn't supposed to die this young. He was supposed to be safe,” his mother, Elizabeth Strange, 46, told The Associated Press. “And he told me that and I believed him. I shouldn't have believed him because I know better. He would say ‘Mom, don't be
ridiculous and worry so much. I'm safe.’”
“He was intense, he was funny, he had that dry humor,” his father, Charles Strange, told the CBS affiliate in Philadelphia.
Two U.S. officials said Sunday that the troops had rushed to the mountainous area to help a U.S. Army Ranger unit that was under fire from insurgents. The rescue team had completed the mission, subduing the attackers who had the Rangers pinned down, and were departing in their Chinook helicopter when the aircraft was apparently hit, one of the officials said. Thirty Americans and 8 Afghans were killed, making it the deadliest single loss for U.S. forces in the decade-long war in Afghanistan. Both spoke on condition of anonymity, as the investigation is still ongoing.
Based in Virginia Beach, Michael Strange had been in the military for about six years, four of them stationed in Hawaii, and had been a SEAL for about the last two, his mother said.
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“Michael did very well. He listened to what people told him and he learned a lot. He was real smart to begin with,” his mother said.
Charles Strange said his brother decided to go into the military near the end of his high school years in North Catholic High School.
“He loved and was great at the physical aspect of it. He loved the competitiveness, getting in shape and running and swimming and all of that,” Charles Strange said.
When he wasn't working, he loved snowboarding, surfing, scuba diving, running, and shooting guns on the range, and was also fond of animals, his family said.
He last visited for a week in June for his birthday, his mother said.
“We went to Chink's Steaks for a (cheese)steak and a milkshake, and we talked,” she said. “He had just bought a mini-couper and he was showing me the car. It was really neat.”
He was supposed to come back for Thanksgiving for a big holiday celebration, she said.
“It was going to be such a good time,” she said. “He's really going to be missed by a lot of people.”
Strange also had two sisters, 21-year-old Katelyn and 7-year-old Carly, and he recently became an uncle.
