I’ve decided to dedicate my blog post today to my friend Frank Miceli.
I wrote a Facebook post a few weeks back about the brotherhood of military friends. I wrote it after visiting my friend Frank at his home on Long Island, NY. Frank was bed ridden during the visit; he had lost his ability to walk which I know was difficult for a man who had circumvented the world in his lifetime. It turns out it would be the last time I would see my friend alive as the cancer he fought for so long took him on Oct 4, 2022.
I met Frank Miceli in the 80’s, he was our squadron’s career enlisted advisor. He was the guy who got you to re-enlist in the Air Force. The first thing you got about Frank was that he was from Brooklyn, NY, he had the Brooklyn accent and he also had that “bull in a China shop mentality”. Usually, when you re-enlisted, you received a coffee mug. I remember saying to Frank, “hey, I have 8 kids (really just three at the time), can I have 8 mugs?”, there was a momentary pause, he looked up and said, “I’m not here to make sure to make sure all eight of your kids get a mug, this isn’t freebie city, you know, now get the hell out of my office”! I remember thinking, “I like this guy, he gets right to it”! When I was walking back to my car, I saw Frank in the parking lot, rooting through the trunk of his car. I asked him, “what are you doing?”, he said, I’m trying to see if I have any more mugs for your kids. I smiled and said, “forget it, let’s go have some lunch”, the start of a lifelong friendship!
Frank and I did a lot of things together, walking, exchange financial investing advice, vacations, shared many a Saturday night dinner on our reserve weekends. I believe Frank and I tried every steakhouse in the South Jersey area at one time. Frank loved coffee and he would drive waitresses everywhere crazy because, his coffee always had to come from a fresh pot. I suspect a lot of diners all around NJ benefitted from Frank’s demand of a fresh pot of coffee.
I remember when I was selected as a Chief Master Sergeant in the Air Force, the highest rank an enlisted man can receive, Frank was one of the first people I called. I had some apprehension about taking on this responsibility this late in my career, I had to switch squadrons, take on new people and responsibilities, a lot for me to grasp. I remember the call, like it was yesterday, I told Frank about my doubts, there was that momentary pause that Frank always did and then the response came, “Are you out of your f—king mind, you are a natural leader, you were meant to lead in this Air Force”! His words of confidence made all the difference in the world, and it was one of the best decisions I ever made. His “bull in the China shop mentality cleared my mind of any doubts, I am forever grateful to him for that.
Our Air Force military maintenance wing is a big pool of people, but inside of it, you can always find some inner circle of friends to relate to, and I was part of one of those circles. My friend Frank picked up the nickname “Mamma Luke” over the years, I still can hear people yelling that out when Frank arrived anywhere. Our military family has lost a special one today, retired police officer, senior non-commissioned officer, dad, and pop-pop. I will miss our phone conversations, paisano lunches, our power walks but most important our friendship and brotherhood. I love you, my friend, and will miss you every day!