Photo of
Lt. Col. Robert "Mike" Zeisler

Mike Zeisler, A personal tribute

Writing this tribute is both easy and hard. Easy because Lt Colonel Robert M. (Mike) Zeisler, the "Z" man, was an outstanding man and difficult because my computer screen keeps wavering and blurring.

It seems so bloody unfair that Mike Zeisler should die in such a way. Mike worked hard at training his Marines and part of that training was connecting his people with the Marines who had served before them. He was a great supporter of Popasmoke, posting long reports on HMM-165's website., informing us old fogies of the doings of our Marines.

He arranged a reception for us 165 members at Miramar during the Popasmoke re-union in 2000, which was one of the funniest and most moving I have ever witnessed. He went out of his way to make sure I hooked up with Norm Clark, who served with me at MMAF in 1969 even though he knew I was not a Marine but as he said to me "That's true but you are part of the Marine Corps family". He told me that his guys were in awe of the veterans and though we did not think we were anything special, his guys disagreed. They thought the veterans were something special, in fact one of his men came back from leave early so as not to miss the reception. Afer the reception, Mike and I emailed and wrote several letters, his always concise and to the point in reply to my sometimes rambling letters. How he found the time I dont know.

He invited all of us to the "Change of Command" ceremony when he relinquished command of his beloved HMM-165 to Lt Colonel Gregg Sturdavent. The performance of HMM-165 in Afganistan and in Iraq is ample evidence of LtCol Sturdavent's leadership, from the front as it should be. But it also built on the work Mike had done. He told me that watching 'his' Marines ship out into harms way without him was one of the saddest moments of his life.

I could not attend the Change of Command but Mike invited me to visit the squadron on the day of his last flight as CO. My wife's reaction when I told her I was going from Philadelphia to San Diego for one day can be imagined but Mike was special. I have attached a picture I took that day and I will make up a collage of some of the other pictures I took. I would like to make up a poster of my pictures and everyone elses, (like the ones I did of the H-46 and the H-53) in memory of a great guy.

I miss you already Mike.

A great American, a true gentleman but most of all A MARINE.

Mike's Collage

Here is the collage I mentioned

http://www.nbcsandiego.com/militaryconnection/2918121/detail.html

Memorial Service

I have just found out that there is a Memorial Service tentatively scheduled for Monday, 15 March for those Marines lost in the accident at Miramar earlier this week. Current plans call for the service to be held at the MCAS Miramar Chapel at 1400. I will be in attendance, and I am sure many other local members of Pop A Smoke will also be there. We will extend our condolences on behalf of our Marine brotherhood.

Semper Fi,

Roger Herman

"Z" man gone

I knew only the "Z" man from HMM-165, but what a man and what a Marine! A tragic loss, goes without saying. Wonderful guy.

Does anyone know what might have happened? Looks like they just drove it into the ground a Mile short of the runway.......Hard to believe, with all that experience in the cockpit.
Semper Fi to all 🙁
Joe

A sad day indeed. For we have lost a fine Marine in the ZMAN, Even I have never met Mike we had exchanged email while he was CO of 165, from those I felt a great respect for this man and his leaderships ability. From article sounds like either had a mech failure or maybe flew into a fog bank.

Additional Crash Information

In talking with some of the operations people at Miramar yesterday, a few additional details have become available. The flight originated at Miramar in the afternoon. It flew to Grand Junction, CO on an out and in training flight.

On approach to Miramar at 2042 local, the UC-35B (military version of the Cessna Citation) crashed approx. a mile and a half short of the runway. The weather at the time consisted of hazy skies, with a little fog, but a visiibility of over a mile and a half. The aircraft was reported to be have been shooting a GCA, with an intended landing on the westerly runway. Since this was a training flight, it's not believed that the aircraft was on autopilot or that a coupled approach was being utilized. It is believed that the aircraft was being hand flown at the time of impact. No distress call was made from the aircraft, and the investigation as to the cause continues.

Rog

My wife and I attended that Change of Command at Miramar several (?) years ago. I returned the Squadron Flag that was given to me at my Change of Command at Futema many years ago.
The quality of the Marines I met that day was unbelievable.
The Corps is in excellent hands.
Bruce Colbert

A Beautiful Memorial Service

Yesterday, a memorial service was held at the MCAS Miramar chapel for the four Marines killed last week in the crash of their UC-35B Citation jet. The service lasted approximately one hour and was attended by an overflow crowd of several hundred family, friends and Marines.

The eulogies to the fallen were all well done, and the service concluded with an honor guard rifle volley, taps and a Marine Corps flyover by two CH-53s, two CH-46s and a C-12.

Perhaps one of the most poignant moments came during the eulogy for GySgt Cortes. It was noted that he, like LtCol Zeisler and LtCol Nicholson, was nearing retirement. In fact, Gunny Cortes had just returned from leave, during which time he had purchased some property in Guam. His plan was to retire there.

The day before the accident...GySgt Francisco Cortes also took an oath...he fulfilled a lifelong dream... he became an American citizen on that day.

As I looked around the chapel yesterday, and observed all those in attendance with tears in their eyes, I felt extremely proud to have been a Marine. I felt proud of all of us who served together in another war in another difficult time. And I felt proud that today the Marine Corps is in good hands, and that the spirit of Semper Fidelis is as strong as ever. And the question is asked once again..."Where do we get such men?"

"Eternal Father Strong to Save" was sung at the conclusion of the service. One of the verses seems particularly appropriate as we find ourselves at war again...

Lord, guard and guide the men who fly,
Through the great spaces in the sky.
Be with them always in the air,
In darkening storms or sunlight fair.
O hear us when we lift our prayer,
For those who peril in the air.

Feeling particularly sentimental at this time, I am also thinking ahead to our upcoming get together in Reno. I am reminded of a short story which probably conveys the way we all feel about each other. A young son, who after hearing his father relate some combat stories to him, asks his father if he was a hero in the war. The response... "No, son, I wasn't a hero, but I had the honor of serving with heroes."

Can't wait to see you all in July!

Semper Fi,

Roger Herman

What a loss

What strikes me after reading all the tributes is the number of us Mike Zeisler was corresponding with, on a regular basis. He replied to everyone of my emails and letters when he would have been quite justified in lumping them together and writing a generic reply. And in his spare time, he commanded an outstanding squadron. His affection for the squadron veterans, including an old limey civilian was plain to see. He asked me one time to list those squadron members that I knew who were killed in Vietnam. I was shocked when I added them up and the total came to 10. When I asked him why he wanted the names he told me he wanted his young Marines to appreciate the sacrifices made by Marines in the past, Marines who in many cases were younger than they were.

What a loss.

Following is a letter I wrote at the time to a friend, telling about the party Mike organized for us in 2000. I've not changed a word so it truly reflects what I was thinking at the time.

I thought you might be interested in the visit we made to the present day HMM-165 at MCAS Miramar.

The CO had assured us that all his troops were eager to meet us but a discussion on the bus (a double decker English Bus, to make me feel at home) was that the alternative the troops had been offered had to have been a 12 mile route march in full combat gear, at the double, in the desert at high noon. I think these guys had been disappointed so many times in their lives, they were not letting their hopes get too high.

In the event, the troops were wonderful. If they were not pleased to see us they were the best actors I have met in a long while. The CO of today's HMM-165 seemed to be well liked by his troops. He was very complimentary personally about the veterans. He knew I was a Tech. Rep. how I don't know. Someone must have told him. When I was walking back to the bus, he walked alongside me and said to me that his troops were extremely impressed by the guys, especially the knowledge they had about the airplane. It helps, I think, that we flew the same airplane, sometimes the same actual airplane. He also said that he noticed the guys would say

"I wasn't anything special" or "I didn't do anything special",

"Even you" he said.

"My Marines think you guys are something special."

I thought about that for a while and said

"You know sir, if you survived it, it wasn't anything special. And if you didn't survive it, it didn't matter anyway."

He laughed and said that was just the sort of smart ass answer he would have expected from me, given what he had been told about me. I'm sure I don't know what he was talking about.

I found myself slipping back into my old role without thinking. It's all still there, fresher than what I learned last week. I was talking to Ops and they said that they now flew 60% or more of their hours at night. I pointed out that although the Marines in our day didn't fly much at night, the Navy certainly did. And without night vision goggles either. They would fly at night, 50 feet off the water between two ships that were brightly lit, a formula for vertigo. He asked me what they did to guard against vertigo and when I told him he said that was the conclusion that a committee that had been formed to look into it, had come to. After a year of work. I almost replied that 20 minutes with the NATOPS manual and some common sense would have led them to the same conclusion but fortunately I held my tongue. Peacetime is different. In war you just do it and if it doesn't work, you try something else. In peacetime, you form a committee.

What also struck me was how little flight time they got. Between 7 and 30 hours a month. And the last 2 months of the last fiscal year they didn't fly at all, no money left in the budget. Of course, we flew rather too much. When I told them that the highest time crew chief that I knew of flew 180+ hours one month, they were appalled. That was the exception but it happened. "Who did the routine maintenance" someone asked me. "The crew chief," I said. I'm not sure they believed me. But as 'Wizzy' Wismar said "When my bird flew, I did."

During the afternoon, the CO came over to me and said "Do you remember a Norm Clark (Note -Norm- not Norman) and I said "Of course, he was a Tech. Rep. with me at Marble, but I haven't seen him in 30 years. "Well, there he is, right there." And there he was large as life and twice as handsome. He reminded me of things I'd forgotten, like the fact that we were rocketed 23 nights out of 28 in February 1969. And that in a run to the bunker one night we met coming from opposite directions and I had handed him off perfectly as though we were playing football. I shot into the bunker without touching the sides while he went very unhappily by. The young Marines standing around us must have thought "What a pair of BS artists, but it was funny". I claimed not to remember it but I did. Pure instinct.

What did strike me was the CO was in Grade School when I was 'in country?' I also noticed how young the majors were, I distinctly remember them as being much older when I was with HMM-165. Ah well, even the cops look young now and it seems quite natural that they call me 'Sir."

The squadron was founded in 1965 and there were some of the founder members present. During all the presentations and speeches, etc., one of our guys asked all the founder members to stand up. Then he said

"I want all you young Marines to look carefully at these brave men"

Then he paused for a number of seconds and everyone was wondering what sort of embarrassing mawkish nonsense was he going to say.

He continued,

"Take a careful look because if you guys don't take care of yourselves, that's what you are going to look like in 35 years, fat and old and gray or bald, with a tendency to exaggerate, if not outright lie. You have to be brave to stand up looking like they do."

There was sort of a gasp from the Marines and then they just fell down laughing. They were in hysterics and when the laughter would die down a little, someone would start up again and everyone would laugh all over again.

When we were leaving, the CO said to me that this was just the right thing to break the ice, that all his guys were in awe of the veterans, a fact that would astonish most of them. I think there were some tears on the bus on the way back, especially from some of the guys who had difficulty getting work when they came back, One told me he was out of work for 3 years and he was told many times "We don't employ Vietnam Vets." It's not much fun being called a baby killer and being denied even consideration for a job because you had served your country in Vietnam. The worst I was called was "Mercenary" to which I replied that mercenaries had an honorable history, that even the Vatican Swiss Guards started their history as mercenaries. "What you see is what you get. Tell me who you want killed and conquered and I'll tell you how much." Didn't bother me one bit.

Some of the present day guys came and visited us at the hotel and without exception, they said how much the present day Marines were impressed by the veterans.

Mike's Funeral

Mike Zeisler, the 'Z' man was laid to rest beside his father in Quantico National Cemetary, Quantico, Virginia on Monday 22 March, 2004.

In place of the "Official" picture, the family used a picture of Mike from Popasmoke.

Attached is a picture of Mike's wife and mother with USMC escorts, watching for the low flyover of a lone H-46.

Memories

This and other sad events brings out a mixture of strong feelings. Great pride in these excellent Marines, sorrow for their loss to the family & Corps & the promise to never forget them!! It is a loss that is often overlooked because it ocurred during training VS the combat that such circumstances are expected. I have memories of comrades lost in the Pacific Islands 1944-45 , Korea 1952-53, and Vietnam 1963-1975. These good Marines died in combat & their sacrafice was acknowledged as such. Than I remember those that were lost during training in exercises such as "Team Spirit in Korea" Mindoro PI etc. During my second part of my Marine life 14 years at MAG-36 Okinawa 1973-1987 there was more than 60 such deaths (cannot recall an accurate count but more than 60). These were in all types of Marine A/C CH53D several with as many as 23 or more Marines, CH46, HU-1, OV etc. This only illustrates that Military personnel are always in the business of offering their lives for the safety of our Nation & our Corps. These brave men will always live in my mind as long as I survive. They will also be there with their other brother Marines & families although there will be no monuments & memorials to record their sacrafice. Semper Fi PM

Memorial for the 'Z' man

As I promised, I made up a collage of the photographs I had of Mike Zeisler, in fact I made up several. I took them to Quantico with me for the Memorial service and Burial. For once in my life I was early and I was able to show them to Gwynn Zeisler before the ceremony. She picked the one shown. I had made up a number of 4 by 6 of the poster. Gwynn took one of them and held it in her hand all during the service. Afterwards she asked me if I could make it into a postcard to send to people as a thankyou.

She told me that she had read everything written about Mike on Popasmoke and she said it was a great comfort to her that he was so well regarded and by a group of people whose opinion really counted.

She really liked the picture that forms the cente of the collage. It is from Popasmoke. She used the picture on the front of the program and had made up a large picture which was placed at the front of the Church.

Monday was a beautiful spring day, clear and crisp. The eulogies stressed Mike's contribution to HMM-165 and its readiness was a tribute to his professionalism. Mention was also made of his interest in the Vietnam era veteran and he did much in that area.

At the end of the services, mike's wife and mother and thier USMC esorts walked out into the area of Mike's grave where 2 H-46s made a flyover.

At the reception later, Gwynn said "No sad faces, Mike wouldn't have liked that".

To me there is no difference between dying in training and dying in combat. You're dead in both cases and you were serving your country.

Dying in Training

There is a feeling that dying in combat is noble whereas dying in a training accident is somehow a waste. But to get to the position where combat is possible, training and its attendant cost in lives must take place. It has always seemed to me that a death in training is as noble as one in combat. But there are very few monuments to those killed in training. An exception is the museum on the field at Millville, New Jersey, which is dedicated to the trainees who were killed flying from there in WW2. http://www.p47millville.org/main.html

In addition, there is a 3 story high mural painted on the wall of the Town Hall. It is shown below.

Millville is approximately 40 miles south of Philadelphia.

Bronze Star for Mike

I received the following from Gwynn Zeisler

Hi all,

I met with General Stalder today. He is the current Commanding General of 1MEF at Camp Pendleton, where Mike headed the Safety Division from Sept. 2002 to June 2003. This medal was delayed because the commentary was lost. It was reconstructed a few months later after Mike had returned from Kuwait (June 2003) and had transferred to USMC Miramar. After Mike's death, the award and medal paperwork surfaced as it had been processed and completed.

The award was written under General Conway's command at the MEF (back in June).

I met with General Stalder, a true gentleman and Marine whom Mike held in highest regard. Gen. Stalder had a special bond with Mike and made that clear when he presented me the medal this a.m. I wish you could have all been there to hear his words of praise for Mike as a Marine, a leader and a moral example for all who knew him. He actually said Mike displayed the highest level of professionalism and moral integrity he had ever seen in a Marine. His words brought me to tears.

Who Mike was--the man he was, continues to surface, and continues to reach new heights showing the level of integrity he portrayed. The Chief of Staff and Operations Officer who worked with Mike during that time were also present. Both had only the BEST to say about Mike.

I don't have a scanner so I will type out the commentary for the medal below: The medal itself is beautiful and so is the accompanying ribbon and certificate. You can search online for info on what the Bronze Star represents. (I did.) It is quite an honor, as pointed out by the General. I am not sure if Mike knew the level of the award/medal he was to receive. I just wanted to share it with you.

Love,
Gwynn/Mom

(quote)

The President of the United States takes pleasure in presenting the BRONZE STAR MEDAL to
LIEUTENANT COLONEL ROBERT M. ZEISLER
UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS
for service as set forth in the following

CITATION:
For meritorious achievement in connection with combat operations as Director of Safety, I Marine Expeditionary Force from 1 February 2003 to 15 June 2003, in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. During this period, Lieutenant Colonel Zeisler distinguished himself as the 1 Marine Expeditionary Force principle staff officer dedicated to the reduction of mishaps and enhancement of force preservation while engaged in combat operations during Operation IRAQI FREEDOM. He developed and implemented a tracking system for all non-hostile mishaps at the battalion/squadron level that was the first of its kind designed to identify trends during combat operations. This data provided a tool for the Marine Corps to focus its efforts of force preservation in order to save lives and equipment. He advised the 1 Marine Expeditionary Force camps in Kuwait, he thought outside the box and procured fire fighting assets from Maritime Propositioning Force ships, recruited fire fighters from 1 Marine Expeditionary Force units and coordinated their training. The result was an increased fire fighting capability that was deployed on numerous occasions and extinguished fires before they became conflagrations. Lieutenant Colonel Zeisler's total effectiveness, forceful leadership, and loyal devotion to duty reflected great credit upon himself and upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the United States Naval Service.

For the President,

James T. Conway
Lieutenant General, U.S. Marine Corps
Commanding General, 1 Marine Expeditionary Force

BRONZE STAR MEDAL

OBVERSE
REVERSE

1. Description: A Bronze star 1 ½ inches in circumscribing diameter. In the center thereof is a 3/16-inch diameter superimposed bronze star, the center line of all rays of both stars coinciding. The reverse has the inscription "HEROIC OR MERITORIOUS ACHIEVEMENT" and a space for the name of the recipient to be engraved. The star is suspended from the ribbon by a rectangular shaped metal loop with the corners rounded.

2. Ribbon: The ribbon is 1 3/8 inches wide and consists of the following stripes: 1/32 inch White 67101; 9/16 inch Scarlet 67111; 1/32 inch White; center stripe 1/8 inch Ultramarine Blue 67118; 1/32 inch White; 9/16 inch Scarlet; and 1/32 inch White.

3. Criteria: a. The Bronze Star Medal is awarded to any person who, while serving in any capacity in or with the military of the United States after 6 December 1941, distinguished himself or herself by heroic or meritorious achievement or service, not involving participation in aerial flight, while engaged in an action against an enemy of the United States; while engaged in military operations involving conflict with an opposing foreign force; or while serving with friendly foreign forces engaged in an armed conflict against an opposing armed force in which the United States is not a belligerent party.

b. Awards may be made for acts of heroism, performed under circumstances described above, which are of lesser degree than required for the award of the Silver Star.

c. Awards may be made to recognize single acts of merit or meritorious service. The required achievement or service while of lesser degree than that required for the award of the Legion of Merit must nevertheless have been meritorious and accomplished with distinction.

4. Components: The following are authorized components of the Bronze Star Medal:

a. Decoration (regular size): MIL-D-3943/22. NSN for decoration set is 8455-00-269-5749. NSN for replacement medal is 8455-00-246-3829.

b. Decoration (miniature size): MIL-D-3943/22. NSN 8455-00-996-5004.

c. Ribbon: MIL-R-11589/18. NSN 8455-00-252-9915.

d. Lapel Button: MIL-R-11484/16. NSN 8455-00-265-4889.

5. Background: a. General George C. Marshall, in a memorandum to President Roosevelt dated February 3, 1944, wrote: "The fact that the ground troops, Infantry in particular, lead miserable lives of extreme discomfort and are the ones who must close in personal combat with the enemy, makes the maintenance of their morale of great importance. The award of the Air Medal have had an adverse reaction on the ground troops, particularly the Infantry Riflemen who are now suffering the heaviest losses, air or ground, in the Army, and enduring the greatest hardships." The Air Medal had been adopted two years earlier to raise airmen’s morale.

b. President Roosevelt authorized the Bronze Star Medal by Executive Order 9419 dated 4 February 1944, retroactive to 7 December 1941. This authorization was announced in War Department Bulletin No. 3, dated 10 February 1944. The Executive Order was amended by President Kennedy, per Executive Order 11046 dated 24 August 1962, to expand the authorization to include those serving with friendly forces.

c. As a result of a study conducted in 1947, the policy was implemented that authorized the retroactive award of the Bronze Star Medal to soldiers who had received the Combat Infantryman Badge or the Combat Medical Badge during World War II. The basis for doing this was that the badges were awarded only to soldiers who had borne the hardships which resulted in General Marshall’s support of the Bronze Star Medal. Both badges required a recommendation by the commander and a citation in orders.

d. Order of precedence and wear of decorations is contained in Army Regulation 670-1. Policy for awards, approving authority, supply, and issue of decorations is contained in AR 600-8-22.

The Bronze Star Medal

Establishing Authority

The Bronze Star Medal was established by Executive Order 9419 signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on February 4, 1944.

Effective Dates

The Bronze Star Medal is retroactive to December 7, 1941.

Criteria

The Bronze Star Medal may be awarded to individuals who, while serving in any capacity with the Armed Forces of the United States in a combat theater, distinguish themselves by heroism, outstanding achievement, or by meritorious service not involving aerial flight.

Order of Precedence

The Bronze Star Medal is worn after the Soldier's Medal (or comparable decoration from the other services), but before the Purple Heart.

Devices

Army and Air Force

Additional awards are denoted by oak leaf clusters. The "V" device is worn when the Bronze Star Medal is awarded for heroism.

Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard

Additional awards are denoted by gold stars, and the Combat Distinguishing Device may be authorized.

Designer

The Bronze Star Medal was designed by Rudolf Freund (1878-1960) of Bailey, Banks and Biddle.

First Recipient

The identity of the first recipient of the Bronze Star Medal is unknown.

Description and Symbolism

Obverse

The medal is a bronze, five-pointed star (point up) one and a half inches in circumscribing diameter. In the center of the star there is a smaller, raised star three-sixteenths of an inch in diameter. The center lines of the arms of both stars coincide. The star design was suggested by the Silver Star medal.

Reverse

In the center of the star in raised letters and forming a circle around the center, the inscription HEROIC OR MERITORIOUS ACHIEVEMENT.

Ribbon

The ribbon is predominantly red with a white-edged blue band in the center and white edge stripes.