Hometown: Westminster, MA
Branch: U.S. Marine Corps
Unit: G-1, HQ Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina
Date of Sacrifice: May 10, 1996 - Camp Lejeune, North Carolina
Age: 42
Conflict: No declared conflict

Proudly serving your country was a way of life for Michael Kuszewski, from the day he was born on January 22, 1954. His mother, Pauline, was a second lieutenant in the Army Nurse Corps during World War II. His father, Bernard, served in the U.S. Army during World War II, the Korean War, and the Cold War—rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel.

Military duties took the family to Seoul, Korea during the Korean conflict. When the airport in Seoul was bombed, Pauline and the children were sent back to the United States on a military troop ship. Bernard’s Army duties took the family to bases in Massachusetts, Alaska, and Germany.

When Michael was young, his parents retired from the military and began new careers serving others. The family—including Michael’s siblings Mary, James, Julie, and Mark—moved to Westminster, Massachusetts, some 50 miles northwest of Boston. Their father took a civil service position at Fort Devens, while their mother worked as a registered nurse at local hospitals and nursing homes.

Michael graduated from Oakmont Regional High School near Westminster, with the class of 1971. Following in his parents’ footsteps, he enlisted in the United States Army. While at Fitchburg State College, he participated in the Army’s Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC).

Kuszewski would marry Donna Sujat from Chicopee, Massachusetts, and the two welcomed three children: Ben, Dan, and Megan.

According to an interview in the Worcester Telegram & Gazette, Kuszewski’s daughter Megan said that he “…decided the Army didn’t challenge him enough. He was a born leader and the Marine Corps fought for him to be released from his Army contract to join the Corps.”

After joining the U.S. Marine Corps, Kuszewski completed The Basic School and was an honor graduate from both the Officer Candidates School and Amphibious Warfare School (later renamed the Expeditionary Warfare School)—all located at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia.

Continuing his education, Kuszewski earned a master’s degree in management from Webster University in St. Louis, Missouri, and earned a second master’s degree in national security affairs at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California.

Now a highly educated intelligence officer, Kuszewski went on to teach at the Joint Military Intelligence College (JMIC) in Washington, D.C. from 1985 to 1987. Somehow, he also found time to coach soccer for his children’s teams.

On August 2, 1990, Iraq invaded its neighbor, Kuwait. The United States responded with Operation Desert Shield—a strategy that organized the cooperation of 35 nations’ military forces to defend neighboring Saudi Arabia and ultimately liberate Kuwait.

In January of 1991, Desert Shield would transition into Operation Desert Storm with the launch of an air campaign. Now Major Michael Kuszewski would serve as an intelligence officer in both operations.

From 1992 to 1995, Maj. Kuszewski served as an instructor at the National Intelligence University in Washington, D.C.

By 1996, Maj. Kuszewski was appointed as the Deputy Assistant Chief of Staff for Intelligence, 2nd Marine Division, and stationed at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, in North Carolina.

On May 10 of that 1996, Maj. Kuszewski was participating in Operation Purple Star, a U.S.-U.K. joint exercise that spanned five states. 38,000 U.S. troops and 15,000 British troops acted as a coalition force, practicing an invasion of a fictitious Third World country.

During the training exercise, at about 2:00 a.m., a CH-46 Sea Knight and an AH-1 Cobra attack helicopter collided in mid-air. 14 Marines were lost in the crash—including Maj. Michael Kuszewski, at age 42.

Major Michael D. Kuszewski was posthumously promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel—the same rank his father had achieved in the Army. Eleven days after the training accident, Kuszewski was laid to rest with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery (Section 60, Site 3068), along with his fellow soldiers and marines, including both of his parents.

In his honor, the LtCol Michael D. Kuszewski Marine Corps Intelligence Officer of the Year Award was established in his honor. The award recognizes one intelligence officer who exemplifies outstanding leadership within Marine Corps Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Enterprise.

LtCol Kuszewski’s daughter Megan would continue the family legacy with a career in the United States Air Force. Three generations of the Kuszewski family devoted their lives to their country.

Sources
Telegram & Gazette, Nov. 9, 2011: Marine officer’s memory lives on with new award
The San Diego Union-Tribune, North County Times, June 23, 2010: Bernard James Kuszewski
The San Diego Union-Tribune, North County Times, April 3, 2011: Pauline Julia Kuszewski
Los Angeles Times, May 12, 1996: 14 Killed in Marine Copter Crash in N.C.; 2 Injured
The Times, May 11, 1996: 14 die in helicopter collision
The Boston Globe, May 18, 1996: Michael Kuszewski, 42
Together We Served: Kuszewski, Michael Devaney, LtCol
Burial Site: Find a Grave

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