SFA Chapter 78 Mourns
the Loss of
Honorary Member
Michael F. Keele

Returning to civilian life, Mike Keele became a Los Angeles County Deputy Sheriff, where he served for 15 years. He was assigned to the Firestone Sheriff’s Station, a very busy and demanding place to serve. He wrote about his time there in the September 2018 Sentinel.

After leaving the Sheriff’s Department, he became an investigator for the Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Office for the following 17 years. Not wanting to retire, he then worked there part-time for four more years.

After retiring, Mike was able to devote more time to his passion for automotive fabrication — building cars from the frame up.

Mike had read John Stryker Meyer’s book Across the Fence and so attended a book signing in Los Angeles County in 2010 to meet the author.

John Stryker Meyer wrote about that meeting:

“Thirteen years ago, I met Mike Keele at a book signing in Los Angeles County. I had a few people at my table, and Mike came up and asked if I had ever been in the A Shau Valley — a unique question that got my attention. I said, “Yes sir and you; have you been there?”

“In his usual humble manner, he said, “Yeah, I’ve been there a few times a few years back.”’

“I asked him if he could return in a few minutes. He did, and he stayed there for the rest of the day. It was the beginning of a marvelous, enjoyable friendship steeped in profound respect for the crew chief/mechanic/deputy sheriff.

“In typical fashion, it took a while for the modest man to speak of his missions flying across the fence and over the A Shau Valley into Laos supporting SOG recon teams and missions supporting conventional units in the A Shau Valley — the most dangerous area of operations in I Corps in northern South Vietnam.

“During that tour of duty supporting SOG, he earned the Distinguished Flying Cross after his chopper flew into a target under heavy enemy fire, dropped 150-foot-long ropes to the SOG Recon team on the ground, and extracted the entire team, or so they thought. As soon as the helicopter stopped receiving enemy ground fire while flying east to South Vietnam, Mike checked on the status of the men riding on the ropes, only to discover that one man was missing.

“After taking the survivors to a safe LZ, the 1st Cav chopper returned to the LZ looking for the missing man while again taking heavy enemy gunfire.

“‘That mission always haunted me,’ Mike reminisced years later. ‘Our job was to get you crazy Green Berets outta Laos and get you home in one piece.’

“Like many of us who survived SOG missions, Mike often reflected on that service to our country as a defining moment in his life.

“Thanks to his service supporting SOG teams, he quickly became a member of the Special Operations Association and the Special Forces Association Chapter 78 in Orange County. Eventually, through our friendship with Chapter 78 SF Legend Richard Simonian, Mike joined the non-profit American Veterans Assistance Program, where we teamed up to help veterans obtain affordable housing, assistance, and information programs on VA benefits, veterans rights, and food give-aways.

“Through his membership in those organizations, he donated thousands of dollars and hours volunteering in unique ways, including writing stories for the Chapter 78 award-winning newsletter Sentinel.

“His sense of humor was rich; his caustic wit had a bite to it when commenting on daily events and political nonsense.

“Today, I’m one of a legion of men who have a special spot in our hearts filled with memories of that amazing man.

“May he rest in eternal peace and grace.”

As John has written, Mike was made an honorary member of SFA Chapter 78 on his first visit to a chapter meeting in January 2011. He had joined the Special Operation Association in 2010, where he served as a member of their Election Tally Committee for many years.

Becoming a member of SFA Chapter 78 set Mike on a new course for the remainder of his life, serving other veterans. As John has noted, meeting Richard Simonian led to his work with the non-profits Veterans Affordable Housing Program and the American Veteran’s Assistance Group, for which he became the Director of the Board of Directors.

Making new friends and reestablishing connections with people was another benefit of joining Chapter 78.

Mike and Berg Garlow, an honorary member of Chapter 78, like Mike, and an official honorary member of SOA, met in 2011 at a chapter meeting. Having both worked on “birds” in Vietnam — Mike on Hueys and Berg on gunships — at slightly different times in the war, they clicked right away. Additionally, they had even worked with some of the same people. After meeting, they spoke at least twice a week, continuing to stay in touch even after Berg moved to Florida in 2012. After getting married in 2017, Mike and Cora paid a visit to Berg and spent several nights in the “Honeymoon Suite,” which was actually his office that had been converted. Over the years, they had a good time being buddies.

Berg said, “Mike was one of those lives you don’t want to end. A good man, a good heart.” He spoke with admiration of how Mike had carefully taken care of his affairs, leaving no stone unturned to make sure Cora and the kids would be provided for after he was gone.

Berg shared a story about a conversation he had with Mike:

Berg told Mike the story of meeting and making friends with Tim Robinson as they were both on their way to Vietnam for the first time. After arriving, they were sent to different assignments. Berg went to Chu Lai, where he became a gunner with Aviation, and Tim was assigned to the 101st Airborne in Phu Bai. Later, Berg was sent to FOB 1 at Phu Bai. He wanted to see if he could find Tim, so on a day off, he traveled to the Phu Bai Combat Base. He found his way to Personnel and was told that Tim had gone home “in a body bag.” Berg mentioned Tim had been killed in action during an assault landing in the A Shau Valley. Mike, hearing this story, asked Berg, “Was it the 19th?” Berg was not sure, so he checked. Tim had been killed on April 19th. Mike said, “We put those boys in.” There was no way of knowing if Tim had been on Mike’s chopper, but it was Mike’s group that inserted them. This was a conversation Berg had never seen coming.

Mike reconnected with an old friend, Brad Welker, from his time as a LA Sheriff. They had attended Sheriff’s Academy together in the 1970s. After graduation, they both worked at the Firestone station, serving Watts and the surrounding unincorporated areas. Brad remembers Mike as being a great street officer — he was always calm in bad situations, never losing his composure. Mike left the department to work for the Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Office, and they lost touch after that. They reconnected at a chapter meeting 20 years after they first met and continued their friendship there. They particularly enjoyed visiting the Irwindale Speedway, where Mike was a regular, and hitting the track!

I first met Mike at the Chapter 78 Christmas party in 2014. His face was already familiar from the many photos I had seen from events when working on the Sentinel. Mike was a part of nearly every Chapter event. I adored his sense of humor, which was so evident in the articles he wrote for the Sentinel just about every month for a number of years. He would often be called on to deliver the invocation at the start of chapter meetings, and his delivery was indicative of the personal relationship he had with his Creator. I would often call Mike when I needed a second opinion on our Chapter website. He claimed his opinion didn’t count, that he was just a “grease monkey.” But I knew I could count on his honesty and kindness. I was struck by his “never give up” attitude. Mike Keele was definitely one of a kind — the best kind.

In addition to his wife Cora, Mike Keele is survived by his son, Greg Keele, as well as his daughters Laurie Syvock and Lisa Huebner. He also had several grandchildren, including Kayla Syvock (currently in nursing school), Cade Syvock (Idaho Army National Guard), Shawn Huebner (Army Apache pilot, currently stationed in Alaska), Jessica Huebner, Alexandra Huebner and Chase Huebner.

His funeral was held on May 3, 2023, at the Riverside National Cemetery, in Riverside, California.