For his final flight as a Chief Warrant Officer 4 with the Army National Guard, Mike Michaud knew where he wanted to go.
After 35 years, Michaud was retiring, and took to the skies one last time as an active officer Wednesday. The sun was bright and all was clear for his final flight, and he decided to steer the Black Hawk helicopter toward Tracy Arm Glacier.
“It’s not a usual route that I cover,” Michaud said. “The last time I’ve been in there was probably 10 years ago. With a day like today, it was a nice area I wanted to go in and see.”
Lt. Col. Robert Kurtz was with Michaud on the helicopter and said he could see the emotion on Michaud’s face as he guided the craft over the glacier. Chief Warrant Officer 2 Jeshua McMaster, who is taking over for Michaud, was also on board and said Michaud had reflected on how much the glacier had receded since he first joined in 1982.
A small crowd of friends and family awaited the helicopter’s arrival at the Army National Guard Hangar at Juneau International Airport, as did two fire response vehicles from the airport. As the helicopter pulled close to the ground, the two airport vehicles turned on their hoses and created a wall of water through which the Black Hawk dramatically hovered.
The helicopter dropped slowly to the ground and after a few moments, Michaud emerged from the craft and strode toward the crowd, beaming. He kissed his wife Michele and hugged his son Kevin while his daughter Rachel was photographing the event. He embraced a few others, then stepped back and looked at the group, smiling.
“Well,” he said,” that’s it.”
A roar of laughter came from the group, which then headed inside for Michaud’s retirement ceremony.
In the hangar, where Michaud has overseen maintenance for years, there were chairs, flags, certificates, Bullwinkle’s pizza and a retirement cake that depicted a man fishing. The retirement ceremony, which was described as one of the oldest and richest traditions in the Army, lasted around 20 minutes.
The ceremony looked back over Michaud’s long and distinguished career, from two long deployments in Kosovo and Kuwait to his years of service in Southeast Alaska and the Juneau community. He received various gifts, from an eagle statue to commemorate his service to a walking cane that a few friends in town got him as a joke.
After the ceremony, Michaud said he’d flown in places all over the world, but Southeast Alaska was the most beautiful. He’d seen much of Europe, parts of Central America and had once flown from Connecticut all the way back to Alaska, but nothing compared to his hometown of Juneau and its surrounding area.
As people lined up to talk with Michaud, Kurtz reflected on when he first came to Alaska and met Michaud. Kurtz said Michaud helped orient him in the area and teach him how to deal with the challenges of vast distances and shipping winds that pilots deal with in Alaska.
“The weather conditions in Alaska are unforgiving and they’ve taken many pilots’ lives over the years,” Kurtz said. “Mike’s done that all this time, flying safely in and out of this weather. His last flight was a good indication of it, with the winds and everything else. You can tell he’s a master at piloting that aircraft.”
What has stood out the most to Kurtz over the years, however, is what a dedicated family man Michaud is. Michele was honored during the ceremony as well, given a certificate for her support. During a loud round of applause for Michele, one man in the back yelled, “Thanks for putting up with him,” amid laughter.
Michele said it was bittersweet to see her husband land the helicopter one last time, and Kevin said it was pleasing to see how many friends showed up for the event.
Michaud, an avid fisherman, will likely be out on the water quite a bit, as his retirement cake depicted. He’s never gotten around to naming his fishing boat, and it appears that his schedule will remain fairly busy even in retirement. The family manages a rental property and there’s plenty of work to do around the house, and Michaud said he’ll have enough to keep him busy until Michele retires in a few years.
“He’s certainly excited to be retiring,” Michele said, laughing. “I don’t know how much free time he’s gonna have. We have all kinds of projects for him to do.”
• Contact reporter Alex McCarthy at alex.mccarthy@juneauempire.com or at 523-2271
Contact reporter Alex McCarthy at alex.mccarthy@juneauempire.com or at 523-2271
