Michael Briceland of Austintown holds battle plans for Operation Desert Storm. Briceland was in the Army and served in Vietnam, Germany and the Middle East.

AUSTINTOWN — Michael Briceland remembers looking in his dad’s closet as a young child. “He had three shirts, one pair of spare pants, and his uniform from World War II with his ribbons. That’s when I wanted to be a soldier,” he said.

The Youngstown native graduated from Chaney High School in 1969 and joined the Army. After a year at Fort Lee (now Fort Gregg-Adams) in Virginia, he left for Vietnam as part of the 173rd Airborne Brigade. He was stationed in Cha Rang Valley, the farthest north of all the troops.

“Charlie was on the other side of the concertina wire,” said Briceland, who reached the rank of major.

His unit was under fire the very first night he arrived.

“We were watching ‘The Green Berets’ with John Wayne and all of a sudden there was a pop-pop and the ripping of canvas. Everybody just disappeared and I thought I better disappear too,” he said.

Briceland was a computer operator.

“My computer had to be air conditioned so everybody loved to come by my van and get a cup of coffee. But when the crickets stopped, we had to pick up our rifles,” he said.

He explained this was a sign that someone entered the field. During one attack, Briceland twisted his foot running to the perimeter.

“They offered me a Purple Heart and I said no. I’d feel ridiculous trying to explain that Purple Heart,” he said.

He described his most painful memory.

“Two of our guys would sneak out and go to the village with their girlfriends. One night they didn’t come back. The next day we found the bodies. They’d been hog tied and executed,” Briceland recalled.

In 1972, he returned home. He worked at US Steel Ohio Works while pursuing a bachelor’s degree in psychology at Youngstown State University. He described himself as having PTSD.

“I talked to one person in two years. People didn’t understand and I couldn’t explain it to them anyway,” he said.

Eventually he became more comfortable. Besides being in ROTC he joined a fraternity.

“There were a lot of veterans in Phi Kappa Tau and they were serious about studying like I was,” Briceland said.

After graduating from YSU, he was back in the military overseas as an armored cavalry officer. “My mother was from German stock. I wanted to walk the ground where my ancestors came from,” he said.

For 15 years in Germany, he not only served in the Army, but also earned two master’s degrees and a PhD and taught classes in various subjects. He said it was extremely satisfying to teach people when they didn’t think they were able to learn.

This ended with Desert Storm. In 1990, he went to the Middle East in the Rear Area Operations Center. Although RAOC was supposed to take over if something happened to the main area, “They did not want the senior officers to lose their lives because of all the education and experience they had. They sent us into the fight and Main with all its West Pointers stayed in Saudi Arabia.”

The action was intense, but lasted just 100 hours. His division spotted 60 Iraqi tanks and destroyed them immediately.

“They didn’t even know they were under fire from enemy tanks a mile away. We had prisoners within minutes surrendering. We said, ‘Keep heading south and make sure you don’t have any weapons with you.’ We just kept going,” Briceland said.

After Desert Storm and the subsequent Desert Withdrawal in Saudi Arabia, Briceland returned to civilian life. He moved to Florida and then California, but came back to Youngstown, where he became the Chief Financial Officer for Mahoning County Chemical Dependency Program (now Meridian Se In 1995, the CFO job ended and he was hired by the General Electric lamp plant in Circleville, south of Columbus. He was there for 13 years.

In 2008, Briceland was recruited by the State Department to return to Iraq for the Provisional Reconstruction Team.

“I had a master’s in economics and a doctorate, so they had a list of one,” Briceland said.

He served as a financial management analyst and created economic development plans.

In 2011, he was sent home for good. He had stopped teaching as Agent Orange exposure led to communication difficulties.

“I couldn’t get the word at the time I needed it.” He is also a prostate cancer survivor and has arthritis in his ankle, knees and hip.

“I didn’t have anything wrong with me at age 54 when I went in for a physical and I came out with 12 prescriptions.” Still, he said he is “enjoying every day” of retirement.

He belongs to the VFW, Catholic War Veterans, and American Legion, but he is especially involved with the Disabled American Veterans.

AGE: 73.

RESIDENCE: Austintown.

SERVICE BRANCH: Army.

MILITARY HONORS: Bronze Star, six Army Commendation medals, two National Defense Service medals, Vietnam Campaign medal.

FAMILY: four adult children (Nathan, Marniy, Wesley and Brianne; and four grandchildren.