The Honor Flight was part of the Week of the Eagles, held May 15-21, 2026, at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. This year marks the 35th Anniversary of Operation Desert Storm.
(U.S. Army photos by 1st Lt. Thomas Satterfield, 101st Division Artillery) VIEW ORIGINAL
FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. — Walking through the dense vegetation in the dangerous jungles of Khesanh, Vietnam, then 21-year-old Spc. 4 Michael J. Fitzmaurice would never have been able to predict the course of events that would change his life. Showcasing bravery in heat of battle, Fitzmaurice earned the Medal of Honor in 1973. 53 years later, he stands on a crowded flightline on Fort Campbell, home of the 2nd Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment “Out Front” where his Cavalry journey began.
Fitzmaurice was in one of the first groups of Soldiers to be assigned to 2-17 CAV shortly after its activation Feb. 19, 1964. The following year the unit began its first deployment to Vietnam, where it would endure some of the fiercest fighting until its return in 1972.
On March 23, 1971, Spc. 4 Fitzmaurice identified three explosives thrown into the bunker that was occupied by himself and three other Soldiers. Instinctively, he jumped on the final charge after throwing the first two back at the North Vietnamese invaders. After muffling the explosive with his flak jacket and body he single-handedly engaged the attackers partially blinded and wounded.
Losing his primary weapon from a grenade blast, he obtained another after defeating an enemy in hand-to-hand combat. He returned to his first fighting position and inflicted more casualties on the enemy. Committed to the defense of his location he refused MEDEVAC though seriously injured.
For his heroism that ensured his fellow Soldiers’ lives were saved, Fitzmaurice was presented with the Medal of Honor by President Richard M. Nixon on Oct. 15, 1973. His quick thinking that day set the standard for generations of troopers that came after to make sound split-second decisions operating “Out Front” of the ground units they conducted reconnaissance for.
“Mr. Fitzmaurice had a split-second to do what he did,” said Capt. Tyler Hyde, the last commander of Bravo “Banshee” Troop, 2-17 CAV. “And I feel like he did it from the love he had for the Soldiers around him. That became our job as Cavalry scouts, to go out and gather intelligence for the Soldiers behind us. It means a lot to see a Medal of Honor recipient, and it puts what we do into perspective.”
As he prepared for a flight with the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fitzmaurice was reflective, processing the color casing and deactivation of 2-17 CAV the day before. The day that was filled with the visual of hundreds of “Out Front” veterans walking onto the division parade field behind their troop guidons and active-duty descendants, stories of service and sacrifice, and tears shed over the colors being cased one final time, sat with him.
“It was really nice to see the old and the new,” said Fitzmaurice. “The new [troopers] were all hard chargers, and the old guys were slowing down, but it was great.”
Active-duty Soldiers that took part in the color casing ceremony were humbled to have one of their greatest Troopers present for the final muster.
“Mr. Fitzmaurice has maintained a connection to the organization,” said Lt. Col. Stephanie Hartley, the last commander of 2-17 CAV. “He came to our Spur Ride at the beginning of the year and we do historical lanes. Delta Troop’s lane was a reenactment of his actions in Vietnam, and he had a fireside chat with the spur candidates. I think that really solidified his connection to the current squadron and troopers. So, having him come out again was monumental.”
The Honor Flight was part of the Week of the Eagles, held May 15-21, 2026, at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. This year marks the 35th Anniversary of Operation Desert Storm.
(U.S. Army photos by 1st Lt. Thomas Satterfield, 101st Division Artillery) VIEW ORIGINAL
Following the bittersweet excitement of the casing, the division brought Fitzmaurice back for a distinguished visitor flight along with two other guests. The UH-60M Black Hawk helicopter prepared for the trio is different than the UH-1 Iroquois “Huey” Helicopter he once knew.
“I prefer the Huey but that’s just the old school,” he joked. “They [Black Hawks] can do so much more and have new equipment that we never had.”
Despite the casing of 2-17 CAV’s colors, Fitzmaurice is optimistic about the future of the Army and said he trusts today’s generation of warfighters. “I visited with a lot of them [troopers],” he said. “Everyone is so happy … and from what I see, they’ll do great.”
Today, as 2-17 CAV’s colors are cased and its aircraft have all be reassigned to other units, the legacy of the “Out Front” Squadron, cemented by troopers like Fitzmaurice, will never be forgotten. “I hope that they always remember being in 2-17,” said Fitzmaurice. “They’ll always have stories to tell.”
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