Staff photo / J.T. Whitehouse Navy veteran Mike Heher was proud to serve in the U.S. Navy where he worked in the Naval Security Service.

Mike Heher

AGE: 81

FAMILY: wife, Sue Heher; daughters, Melissa, Melinda and Megan; three grandchildren

CANFIELD — Mike Heher grew up in Erie, Pa., and graduated from Erie Cathedral Prep, an all-boys school in the town.

He graduated in 1963 and went on to attend Gannon University and graduated in 1967 with a biology degree. For a short time, he taught high school.

Like others in his class at Erie Cathedral, he wanted to enlist and serve in the military. He applied to Officer Cadet School, but because of his glasses, he wasn’t accepted.

“I couldn’t get in,” Heher said. “I always liked the Navy, so I enlisted.”

He chose the Medical Corps but ended up in the Naval Security Service. He taught fellow sailors and earned the nickname “The Professor.”

“I ended up with top secret clearance at Great Lakes Naval Base,” he said. “That was in 1967 through January 1968.”

At Great Lakes, Heher married a woman who worked at Georgetown University Hospital. Sue Heher is from the Youngstown area and received her training at Northside Hospital before heading to Georgetown. In September 1968, the couple tied the knot at St. Christine Church after Mike took a leave to come back to Youngstown.

From Great Lakes, Heher was sent to Class A School in Bainbridge, Maryland, where he learned typing, English and math.

“I was then assigned to Naval Security Command HQ in Washington, D.C.,” he said. “It later became the Homeland Security headquarters.”

He said Sue was offered four different positions in D.C., making it easy for the couple to relocate.

Part of Heher’s position at the HQ was to serve as a fire marshal. He and other fire marshals were locked in the facility at night while Marines guarded the exterior.

“Even after 55 years, I can’t say a lot about what I did,” Heher said.

His title at the D.C. base was “Division Top Secret Patrol Yohman.” His duties, besides fire marshal, included handling correspondence and other duties not for disclosure.

The Hehers stayed in D.C. during the first four months of 1970. His first daughter was born during that time in Bethesda Naval Hospital. In April of that year, Heher was given a choice of going to the Erie, Pa., Naval reserve base for four years, or could do one year in Hawaii. After a short time and an easy decision, Heher said he and his family packed for Hawaii. The move for his family was covered, and he would receive a car when he got there.

He was assigned to CINCPAC, headquarters for the Pacific Fleet under Adm. John McCain at the time. In fact, while serving at CINCPAC, Heher had a run-in with the admiral while delivering a correspondence to his office.

“I delivered the correspondence to McCain’s chief of staff,” he said. “When I entered the hall, I heard ‘attention on deck’ and immediately stood at attention. Adm. McCain was coming down the hall with several high-ranking individuals. He was introducing them to each of his officers. When he reached me, I quietly told the admiral I didn’t belong, and he asked my name and rank, then introduced me to the guests.”

Heher’s title at CINCPAC was administrative assistant. He was assigned to a joint agency of the Department of Defense.

One event that Heher recalls was when he was asked to be an extra in the filming of a “Hawaii Five-O” episode. He met actor Jack Lord and had lunch with him. Heher asked Lord if he could get a photo together and Lord said yes and had his makeup team give him the once over to look good in the picture.

Heher mustered out of the Navy in August 1971. Along with Sue, the decision was made to return to Ohio and settle down. He said he looked for work in the area and was hired at the Mahoning County Health Department.

“It was the only time I ever had to look for a job,” he said. “I credit the Navy with helping me find work.”

He said in the 1970s, veterans were not treated as they are today.

“I can put my Navy hat on today and have people thank me for my service,” Heher said. “Not back then.”

From the Board of Health, he went on to work with the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency from June 1973 to September 1974. In 1974, he was hired by BFI as regional director of marketing and government affairs.

In 1988, Mike said the New York landfills closed and garbage started coming west. In February of that year, Mike took over the carbon-limestone landfill and was able to get it licensed and permitted. He said Ohio came up with tipping fees for using the landfill, which brought money into Poland Township, Lowellville and Mahoning County.

One of the largest donations Heher was involved with was the donation of land to be used for a township in Poland.

He retired from Carbon Limestone (Republic) in February 2018.

Mike not only had a busy work life, but he donated time to several worthy causes. He served as president of the Industrial Information Institute that was made up of company heads. He also served in the Red Cross and Poland Rotary and was chair of the committee that built St. Charles Church in Boardman.

One hobby Heher has is historic research. He is vice president of the Mahoning County Chapter of the Ohio Genealogy Society.

For his own family, he researched and found ancestors who served in the Revolutionary War. Recently he took artifacts from family members and assembled a framed box featuring family members who served in the military. It has medals, patches and pins, along with photographs of each person, including his father, World War II veteran John Heher.

He also has a collection from his grandfather, Michael Morkin, that includes a World War I helmet, hob nail boots, a gas mask, signal flag and a map of Paris. The collection includes coins and a personal diary that Morkin wrote in daily. Heher has used the artifacts when he gave talks on his ancestor’s diary.