Michael “Mike” Barszcz Jr. was born January 12, 1948, the only son of Michael and Annette Barszcz. His sisters, Michele and Susan, were convinced that he was the apple of Mom’s eye. Mike adored his father, a highly decorated infantryman, who enlisted in 1942, graduated from OCS Class 114-42 and served a full career seeing combat in World War II, Korea and two tours in Vietnam. The year Mike graduated from West Point, Colonel Barszcz was inducted into the OCS Hall of Fame.
Mike attended high school at Fort Richardson, AK, where he excelled in academics and sports. The Alaskan Scouts, part of his father command, taught Mike to ski. Classmate Wally Lindsey remembers: “Mike had a unique instructional method—he would tell you only once what to do and then if you failed to properly execute the instruction, he would hit us hard with his ski pole; when queried about his unique method, he replied that he learned it from the Alaskan Scouts.”
This bright and athletic young man was ready and eager for cadet life and deftly handled plebe year, aided by a sense of humor and a knack for “not standing out.” Many were convinced that he mystified upperclassmen with his speech. Ed Kelly reports, “When I first met him I had trouble understanding him, his speech pattern was so rapid. Took me a while to realize that his voice was trying to keep up with his brain. He was so damn smart.”
He was also a prankster but seldom got caught. During yearling year Mike decided to save time by fashioning a mock class shirt and tie that could provide seconds, if not minutes, of extra sleep before reveille formation. Unfortunately, the very first day he wore it, an observant Officer in Charge wrote him up for the infraction  during inspection, despite being very impressed with Mike’s creativity and ingenuity.
Mike’s ability to escape punishment was perhaps best exemplified when he rolled his unauthorized car early one Sunday morning on the Thruway. The State Police were gracious and drove Mike back to his barracks at 4:30am. No one ever knew, except his closest friends. Bill Zook remembers, “Everything I did wrong was observed and punished. Barszcz was just as naughty but invisible.” Mike was a great problem solver, skilled at quickly digging through minutia to find what was important. “His uncanny ability to get things done—the right way—in the shortest possible time made him invaluable to any endeavor” (1969 Howitzer). His lasting image was the focused cadet at his typewriter, reference books spread out, and a pack of Lucky Strikes and Zippo lighter close by. He would stay up most of the night to complete the paper due the next day. He normally got an A.
Besides excelling on intramural teams that won Regimental and Corps championships, he enjoyed clubs: Ski Club, French Club, Fine Arts Forum, and SCUSA, for which he was chairman our senior year. Not surprising, most of the clubs sponsored trips away from the Academy, especially to NYC, where Mike met the love of his life, Pat Fitzgerald. Pat was a nursing student at St. Vincent’s Hospital in the “Village” of NYC and had an apartment, which became a safe haven for many of Mike’s H-4 friends. Mike realized very quickly that he was getting the better part of the deal and asked Pat to marry him. They were married in the Cadet Chapel during Graduation Week.
Classmates cite this as the ultimate example of “marrying up.” Many of us learned from his example. Branching Air Defense Artillery, his first assignment was guarding Los Angeles. A year later he went to flight school, qualifying on the Mohawk aircraft and electronic surveillance systems. Mike deployed to Vietnam and flew radio research missions. Much to Pat’s relief he returned home unharmed, having served with distinction. Mike then taught at the Military Intelligence School until he resigned in 1974.
They moved to Delaware with their sons, Michael and Douglas, to begin a career with DuPont and soon welcomed their daughter, Katie. Pat continued in nursing while Mike progressed though a series of positions of ever increasing responsibility, from process engineer to finance manager. Promotions also brought a move to Buffalo, NY, where after 23 years with DuPont, Mike joined the Olin Company in 1997 until his retirement in 2006.
His children remember that their Dad “…wasn’t the most talkative character when it came to personal accolades, his time at the Academy, etc.”; however, as he aged, “he did start to open up more, telling stories about when he was in Vietnam…he also would tell me that he never thought he would make it to 40. I found that interesting…he seemed fearless!”
Mike’s letter to his son speaks volumes about his character: “I hope you realize that you will never achieve anything worth having unless you are striving for goals which exceed your grasp. We learn and grow by trying new challenges, not repeating old successes. I think the character you’ve shown by taking the initiative to enter and stick with the rigorous cross country and track program says a lot about your drive to succeed. I hope you never lose the motivation and enthusiasm to try new challenges—that’s when we learn the most about ourselves…Dad.”
Michael Barszcz died of natural causes in April 2015; Pat pre-deceased him in June 2010. Rest in peace, dear friends.
— Michael McGovern, classmate