Michael Echanis
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Michael D. Echanis (1950-Sept. 1978) was a former U.S. Army Special Forces and 75th Ranger Battalion enlisted soldier who died in a helicopter crash in Nicaragua along with his colleague Charles Sanders and members of the Nicaraguan armed forces. The helicopter was brought down by a bomb placed on board. At the time he was working as a CIA contract employee. [1]
He grew up in a farm family in Ontario, OR and was of Basque descent. [2]
He received the Purple Heart and Bronze Star with "V" device for his service in a LRRP in the Vietnam War. He was eventually promoted to the rank of Specialist 4.
He served as an editor of Soldier of Fortune magazine.
He was well-known as a hand-to-hand combat instructor for the Special Forces, SEALs, and other military groups. He was a high-ranking black belt in Hwa Rang Do and the author of three military-oriented hand-to-hand combat books based on it [3]; however, there are indications that he may have been granted rank in the art more for promotional purposes than due to his skill. [4] He had previously studied Judo and Tae Kwon Do.
He is buried at St. Johns Catholic Cemetery (a.k.a. Sunset Cemetery) in Ontario, OR. [5]
