The life of 1st Lt. Michael Cleary, a graduate of the class of 2003 killed in Iraq, was remembered by his sister Erin Flanagan '91 on NBC's Today Show on Thursday, June 7.
The Today Show interview came about following a question Flanagan posed during CNN's Republican presidential debate in New Hampshire on Tuesday, June 5. As a member of the audience, she asked U.S. Senator John McCain to explain his Iraq exit strategy. In posing her question, she talked about her brother and his death.
Lisa Daniels '94, a Today Show correspondent, followed up with Flanagan to highlight the Cleary family's individual loss, reflective of the losses suffered by thousands of other families throughout the country since the beginning of the war. The segment focused on Cleary's accomplishments. Flanagan described Cleary as her family's "shining star."
Members of Cleary's fraternity, Sigma Phi, recently commissioned a portrait of their brother that now hangs in the Siuda House, the former home of Sigma Phi and current home to the college's admission office. The photo from which the portrait was created, a picture of a jubilant Cleary, was also shown on The Today Show segment.
Cleary was leading his unit to a bomb factory in Samarra, Iraq, when he was killed in December 2005. His unit had destroyed the factory and was returning from the mission when it was ambushed by insurgent forces. Cleary served with E Company, 1st Battalion and 15th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade of the 3rd Infantry Division and had graduated from Airborne School, Ranger School and Anti-Terrorist School.
After graduating as an economics major, Cleary entered the Army's Officer Candidate School. He had been notified that he was eligible for a promotion to captain shortly before his death. His active-duty obligation to the Army would have ended in December 2006. He was preparing for a February 2006 wedding to his high school girlfriend.
Many who knew Cleary speak of his smile, his positive attitude and his focused commitment to those things he valued. Economics Professor James Bradfield said, "I can see him walking across the quad, always walking briskly with a great smile. He said he had learned that your efforts were most appreciated if you approached things with the most determination possible and the biggest smile. He knew what he wanted to do and did it. He was very appreciative and very goal-oriented without being overbearing."
Economics professor Stephen Wu, Cleary's senior thesis advisor, said, "Michael was the type of student who was truly a joy to teach -- inquisitive and hardworking, and never one to complain about all the work I had him complete for his thesis project. Above all, he was truly an outstanding young man with great integrity."
Cleary's father, John P. Cleary, is a member of the class of 1968.
