MICHAEL D. MUELLER, 1LT, USMC
Michael Mueller '84
Lucky Bag
From the 1984 Lucky Bag:
Michael Dean Mueller
Bartlesville, Oklahoma
Mules
Young, naive and impressionable, Mike left Bartlesville, Oklahoma in search of an adventure, a great way of life and with a desire to be all that he could be. From day one, he joined the proud at USNA (he never understood why they were few) and set a strong pace for the rest of us. Mike majored in sleep, minored in Oceanography and managed to do well in both. A prime candidate for a fixture in the Midshipman sample room, Mikey has been the "model mid" in everything he's done. He took max grief for being in D&B plebe year ("Dad-gum guys, I could be Commander someday!"), jumped out of perfectly good airplanes second class summer ("Shucks fellas, there's nothing like it!") and continued to lead as a company commander first class year. He'll be most remembered in FUN-ONE for his drilling expertise ("Column left-Halt"), his eating habits (peanut butter sausage with mayo and catsup on rye, hold the pickles), and his concern for others.
We know Mike will "Touch the face of God" in high flight for the Corps, and continue to touch the hearts of people as well. As he departs Mother "B", Mike leaves an outstanding example of faith in God's guidance. As Psalms 139 says: "Where can go from thy spirit? Or where can I flee from thy presence? If I ascend to heaven…
If I take the wings of the dawn
Michael Dean Mueller
Bartlesville, Oklahoma
Mules
Young, naive and impressionable, Mike left Bartlesville, Oklahoma in search of an adventure, a great way of life and with a desire to be all that he could be. From day one, he joined the proud at USNA (he never understood why they were few) and set a strong pace for the rest of us. Mike majored in sleep, minored in Oceanography and managed to do well in both. A prime candidate for a fixture in the Midshipman sample room, Mikey has been the "model mid" in everything he's done. He took max grief for being in D&B plebe year ("Dad-gum guys, I could be Commander someday!"), jumped out of perfectly good airplanes second class summer ("Shucks fellas, there's nothing like it!") and continued to lead as a company commander first class year. He'll be most remembered in FUN-ONE for his drilling expertise ("Column left-Halt"), his eating habits (peanut butter sausage with mayo and catsup on rye, hold the pickles), and his concern for others.
We know Mike will "Touch the face of God" in high flight for the Corps, and continue to touch the hearts of people as well. As he departs Mother "B", Mike leaves an outstanding example of faith in God's guidance. As Psalms 139 says: "Where can go from thy spirit? Or where can I flee from thy presence? If I ascend to heaven…
If I take the wings of the dawn
Loss
Michael was lost on May 20, 1987 when his F/A-18B crashed in the mountains in California. He was a naval flight officer with Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 125; the crash site wasn't found for over a year.
Other Information
From The Hanford Sentinel on May 21 1987:
Reported missing shortly before noon Wednesday, the aircraft from Strike Fighter Squadron 125 (VFA-125) was flown by Capt. Daniel J. Ginsburg and 1st Lt. Michael D. Mueller.
They were on their way to a scheduled training flight in the Fallon, Nev. area when their last radio contact was received near Mono Lake, say Navy spokespersons....
Phyllis Shimo, LNAS spokeswoman, said the Hornet left LNAS at 8:40 a.m. for the Fallon area, site of another naval air station and of bombing and gunnery ranges often used by LNAS pilots. VFA-125 is a composite squadron used to train Navy and Marine Corps aviators in the Hornet. The Navy's newest warplane, the Hornet serves both fighter and light attack missions.
Cmdr. Olin Briggs, public affairs officer at Fallon NAS, said the aircrafts last radio transmission was received at 9:11 a.m. as the Hornet was descending through 17,300 feet into a flight track over Mono Lake.
Briggs said the radio message was a routine transmission about the aircraft's position, elevation and flight plans. No emergency transmissions were received, he added.
The lake is on the east side of the Sierra Nevada, at an elevation of about 6,400 feet, east of Yosemite National Park. Mono Lake is about 125 miles northeast of Lemoore, and Fallon is about another 100 miles further northeast.
Briggs said the Hornet was descending in a flight track that is commonly used by LNAS pilots en route to the Fallon area.
The weather at the time the aircraft was reported missing was described by another Fallon NAS spokesman as "terrible, with scattered thunderstorms, completely overcast skies down to 500 feet over the lake and even lower over the mountains. The spokesman said the area had been experiencing thunderstorms during the past two weeks.
From the June 1988 issue of Shipmate:
1st Lt. Michael D. Mueller USMC was declared missing and presumed dead following a routine training flight in an FA-18 on 20 May 1987 when the plane failed to return to NAS Lemoore California. Lieutenant Mueller and his instructor-pilot were attached to Strike Fighter Squadron 125 at Lemoore.
A memorial service was held at NAS Lemoore on 26 May for both pilots. A memorial service was held for 1st Lt. Mueller on 5 July at his home church, First Wesleyan Church, Bartlesville, Oklahoma.
Born in Colorado Springs, Colorado, he grew up in Bartlesville, attended public schools there, including College High School, and won an appointment to the Naval Academy from Oklahoma. He had attended Bartlesville Wesleyan College for a year before entering the Naval Academy with the Class of 1984. In Bartlesville he played baseball from second grade through college at Wesleyan. He was also a member of the school band, becoming drum major; at the Naval Academy, he was a member of the Drum and Bugle Corps.
Graduating in the top fifth of his Class, he accepted a commission in the Marine Corps and attended Basic School at Quantico, Virginia, from which he finished second in a class of 900. He served six months at Headquarters, Marine Corps, and then reported to flight school at Pensacola, earning his wings in March 1987. He was subsequently assigned to Strike Fighter Squadron 125 for training in the FA-18 Hornet.
Lieutenant Mueller is survived by his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Don Mueller of 1800 Polaris Dr. Bartlesville, Okla. 74006. Memorials may be made in 1st Lt. Mueller's honor to the First Wesleyan Church of Bartlesville for the placement of Bibles through the Gideon Living Memorial Plan.
His identifiable remains are buried in Oklahoma; the commingled remains of he and his pilot are buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
Photographs
From the Lucky Bag
Michael is one of 9 members of the Class of 1984 on Virtual Memorial Hall.
The "category" links below lead to lists of related Honorees; use them to explore further the service and sacrifice of alumni in Memorial Hall.
