Colonel Michael Edwin McCarthy, USAF, Retired passed away on September 8, 2019 at the age of 78 years. Michael enlisted in the Air Force in 1962 after graduating from the University of Miami. He completed his undergraduate pilot training in Laredo, TX and was then assigned as an F4 Phantom pilot to the 8th Tactical Fighter Wing at Ubon Royal Thai Air Base during the Vietnam War. He flew 124 missions against North Vietnam and Laos from 1967 to 1968, earning him the Distinguished Flying Cross award. From 1972 to 1974, Michael had the opportunity to fly with the Royal Canadian Air Force in Cold Lake, Alberta, Canada as an exchange pilot. Throughout his twenty-eight year career in the Air Force, Michael had assignments at the Pentagon, served with the Office of the Secretary of Defense at the American Embassy in Oslo, Norway and ended his military career as Chief of Staff at Luke Air Force Base in Glendale, AZ. He retired in 1990. Following his retirement, he worked for Lockheed Martin and also taught several classes at ASU. He is a published author; his book Phantom Reflections: The Education of an American Fighter Pilot in Vietnam came out in 2007. Michael is survived by his wife, Linda, a daughter, sister and three granddaughters. A funeral mass will be held on Friday, October 4 at 10am at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church in Avondale, AZ followed by a military burial at 12:30pm at the National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona, then a reception at the Wigwam Resort in Litchfield Park, AZ. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in memory of Michael Edwin McCarthy to Faith Hospice of Arizona . (Source: ASU Foundation)