"Please accept this flag on behalf of a grateful and grieving nation. 

I present this small token of our nation's esteem with a heavy heart, but I take small comfort in knowing that 'Rocks' is in a better place, and that he was a true American hero.

May God bless you and your family during this time of grief. 

From:  Capt Patrick T. Kaufmann 

Hello to the Horrocks family and friends,

      I found your website dedicated to Mike and was overwhelmed by all the people he had touched, as well as their many stories about him.  'Rocks' was my first on-wing instructor in flight school at VT-2, and I was his first assigned on-wing student as well.  Though I only knew him on a student-instructor basis, I still have many memories of his teachings and our early FAM flights in the T-34 back in the summer of 1995.

     My first impression of Mike was from his picture on the VT-2 Instructor Board on the hallway of the training squadron.  He had the typical all-American look of a Marine Officer:  chiseled face, trimmed hair, and the look of experience.  That was the kind of Marine and pilot I wanted to be like.  Thought I hadn't met him yet, I was excited when I found out that he would be my assigned instructor.  Our first meeting was during my FAM 0 when he sat me down to go over his philosophy of being a flight student, his expectations of me, as well as other administrative notes.  I remember his speech saying that though I was in a Navy command, I still need to uphold the high standards of being a Marine Officer.  Along that line, he told me how I need to keep my boots polished, then he paused to look down at his own boots.  Yep, they were scuffed up and in bad need of some polish themselves.  After realizing that he couldn't get out of that one, we both had a good chuckle and that helped me see him as someone who was both down to earth and easy to get along with.

     We flew together for several weeks and he taught me a great deal of techniques and methods of flying the T-34.  His love for flying was so apparent during those hot summer days.  Though he was a stickler for procedures, there was always something special about the way he taught in the cockpit.  One method that sticks out was his emphasis on the importance of keeping the aircraft straight and level with smooth transitions in turns.  It wasn't until halfway through FAMS that I realized why this was so important to him - he was always using the pee tube and he didn't want to spill!  It seems that on every flight within minutes after takeoff he was relieving himself.  It always put a smile on my face to look in the rear view mirror and see him concentrating on the task at hand (and not at the altimeter).  Good aircrew coordination training Rocks!

     Some other flight memories was our debate at the end of each flight on who would get the landing back at Whiting Field.  In early FAMS, I would try and get as many landings as possible to prepare myself for the upcoming FAM-13 checkride.  So usually on the long course rules leg back to the field Rocks would say something like "Hey I'll take the full stop landing at home, you know, I don't want to get rusty in the backseat."  Then I would give him the long litany of the poor ol' student who needed every ounce of practice.  This would go back and forth for some time until we were at the initial for the runway.  Well, he usually gave me the landing after all.  Now that I'm an instructor, I can understand this understanding and kindness.

     One last impression was how Mike would talk about how great it was to fly the KC-130.  He loved flying the plane and its mission.  He also always liked to give the advice that "Don't fly Harriers kid, I used to tank those guys back at Cherry Point and it took them forever to plug.  Poor bastards (or something like that)."  Well thanks to Rocks, I didn't have be stuck with helo's and I was able to avoid flying Harriers thanks to his great instruction.

     I had the opportunity years later to get a hold of him through a Whiting Field instructor friend of his, but I passed up the chance.  I truly regret having done that.  Mike Horrocks was a great person and someone for every student to emulate.  His style and methods of teaching others, both in and out of the airplane, is something that I will always keep with me.  He inspired so many of us back at the squadron, more than he ever knew.  Cheers to you Rocks, and thank you for everything you did.  Semper Fi!

Thanks Mike!

I am sure you have received hundreds of these types of emails from other Marines that knew Mike. I attended OCS with Mike in the winter of 1987 and followed on with him at TBS and flight school. We parted after flight school as I became a helo pilot.

With the brief encounter I spent with Michael, I remember him as always cheerful and with a sense of humor. Some of the cold and wet nights we spent during OCS/TBS needed exactly the spirit and leadership Mike possessed. After seeing all the pictures of family and friends on the website, I can see his good nature and love for those around him blossomed. No matter how bad the situation, however cold and miserable we were, or how tired we may have been while cleaning our weapons at the TBS armory on Friday afternoons, Mike was always there with a joke or some sarcasm about our situation that made me remember those times as good times. Thanks Mike.

Although I am sure those that were close to him may feel cheated in his loss, it looks to me as though he gave ten times the love and caring to those he was close to as some give in an entire life time. Most people probably never come close to what Michael must have given as a Husband, Father, Son and as a friend.

From:  Semper Fi, Hugh V. Tillman

From:  Warren Clark, Lieutenant Commander in the

Naval Reserves and United Airlines pilot

To the Family and Friends of Mike Horrocks:

I had the distinct pleasure of working with and knowing Mike.  I worked with Mike for six months.  We were both instructor pilots in the T-34 Mentor while attached to the Fixed-Wing Instructor Training Unit (FITU) at Nas Whiting Field in Milton, Florida. 

I will always remember Mike as this tall, lean guy with that "All American" look about him.  He always had a smile on his face and something positive to say.  He never let any situation or person ruffle him.  I never heard him say one negative comment.  Mike always had a relaxed personality with an easy going manner that lifted and inspired everyone around him.  He would always put his students at ease with a smile and a joke.  He inspired the instructors around him with his openness, honestly and firm grounding that nothing is as bad as it seems.  Mike was a leader in Life.  I found him inspirational.  Many times Mike and I, along with the other instructors, would find ourselves waiting in the office for the winter fog to lift from the air field.  We would sit and talk.  I remember Mike talking several times about his wife and children.  His face would light up as he would recollect back in time some stories about the funny things his kids would say or do.  His stories were about those everyday life situations that all fathers encounter.  Although he never framed his tales in the context of the joys of being a father and husband, I could tell he loved every minute of it and that being a father and husband was his true happiness in Life.  I could tell it was his end all for being who he was.  Careers were a definite and distant second. I rarely seen this love as strongly as I seen it in Mike.  Maybe I saw this a little clearer than most of Mike's friends at work.  Maybe this was because I was losing my family at the time because of divorce.  Through Mike I found hope and inspiration.

I could go on about Mike.  How he took us instructors down to Key West to stay at his parent's condominium.  How Mike showed me to best sights to see, the great little out of the way restaurants to eat at.  About his generosity, his candor, his spirit.  But there is a few last things I do want to say about Mike.  Mike had that charisma that only a true leaders can possess.  The kind of charisma that someone develops after being a leader of men for a long time.  Maybe he was naturally born with it.  Maybe his parents raised him to respect others so well that Mike was a natural at it.  I do know that nothing was more important to Mike than people.  It was his code.  He was never too busy to stop, put down what he was doing, and to talk to you.  He would always look you in the eye and truly listen.  He would always answer candidly and humbly.  I do know that the guys liked Mike.  They would listen to him and they would follow him anywhere.

I was a squadron pilot in VMGR-252 during the early 1990s. From the first time I met Rocks, I knew we were going to have a awesome friendship. He and I had the kind of personality that blended from the very beginning. As a matter of fact, I can't recall a single time when we were together that we weren't cutting up like a couple of high school kids. Case in point, we were with a squadron Det in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba for a couple of months. While we were there, Mike and I stayed right next door to each other on the ground floor of the B.O.Q. One of the first things we noticed about Cuba was the dog sized rats that roamed without worry over the Island. One night we were heading over to the O'Club for a game of shuffle board. We were waiting outside Major Fulford's door when Mike came up with the idea to hide behind one of the shrubs and wait for Major Fulford to come outside. Knowing how deathly afraid Major Fulford was of the "Banana Rats", we hid until he came outside. As he turned to lock his room door, Rocks and I jumped out of the shrubs and hissed just like the Rats did. I have never seen a human jump as high and displace himself in the air like Major Fulford did that night. Rocks and I laughed so hard, we rolled on the ground for about five minutes before we could regain our composure.  

I remember the Horrocks house in Moorehead City. Mainly, because this was my home away from home when my wife would take her frequent trips home. Mike and Miriam were always eager to feed me and I would sleep on the sofa sleeper. We would sit around the living room and talk about how ready we were to get out of Cherry Pt. Krista would grab my hand and off to her room we would go to play with her toys. The Horrock's house was always warm and fun to be around. We worked orders at the same time and ended up in Pensacola to be flight instructor's. Even though we were in different squadron's we still managed to see each other almost every day. I used to say my day wasn't complete until I would cut up with Rocks.  

One final story for Miriam, Mick and Krista. What made my friendship with Rocks so enduring was not only the sense of humor that he brought to every occasion, but more importantly his sincere devotion to his family. I was going through my upgrade syllabus to become an Aircraft Commander. My Route check was with the squadron Commanding Officer and the flight took us all the way to Aviano, Italy. Thank God Mike was the other co-pilot on the KC-130. I was getting abused by the C.O. all the way over to Italy. On our way into Italy, Rocks recommended we take the C.O. out to a cafe and by him lots of fine Italian drinks. This we hoped would slow the C.O.'s desire to abuse me all the way back to the U.S. Well I am happy to say that the trip back was a bit more pleasant then on the way over. The impressive thing about the whole night though wasn't the success of our mission to take care of the C.O. Actually, the impressive thing was what came after we put the C.O. to bed. Rocks recommended we take a little walk around the little town we were staying in. This in order to reduce the morning after affects of our night on the town. As we made our walk, our conversation turned to our families back at Cherry Pt. I listened to Rocks speak for a long time about his endearing love and devotion to Miriam and Krista. I realized from that night in Aviano that with Mike, career and professionalism were important but only second to the comfort and well being of his family. I was really moved by his level of devotion and concern for the well being of his family. This has stuck with me to this day. You guys don't need me to tell you how much he loved you, but I know it doesn't hurt to tell you how much he talked about you when he was away. Mike was an excellent husband, father and for me one of my best friends ever.

I spent the night before the memorial service at the same hotel as several of Michael's friends from the Marine Corps.  Most were pilots for commercial airlines now, but a couple were still flying for Uncle Sam.  As we walked by the lobby where they all were gathered, and they invited us to join them.  I went down and sat with them from about midnight till 2:00 am.  I heard many stories about Michael and his time in the Corps.  What struck me strongest was that these guys were always laughing.  They were all very bright guys, and while in the Corps, they had lots of time to apply to practical joking. That combination led to a collection of some of the funniest stories I have ever heard.  Michael was always surrounded by people with a great sense of humor.  I am not sure I have the facts right, but here is one of the stories that I recall.

Michael was a stellar person who possessed a dry sense of humor. For example, Miriam had delivered Christa several months before our first daughter Kaylie was born and it wasn't long before our daughter had surpassed the weight charts as an infant.  Kaylie was literally huge.  One day while in the squadron clinic, Horrocks comes by (and usually pilots don't voluntarily visit the DOC) to chat. Mike says, (with a serious smileless look) "DOC...I got a question-What are you guys feeding that baby?"  I loved his quiet sense of humor. 

I also felt at peace whenever Horrocks was one of the pilots when I flew on the mission. There were certain pilots who just knew the airplane and the mission cold, and Horrocks was one of those pilots.  I am grateful to God that He allowed me those two years from '92 to '94 to briefly get to know Captain Horrocks. He will be truly missed. 

From Bradley Mason, Officer –In-Charge of the Instructor Training Unit at Whiting Field

He was a SUPER guy.  Hard worker right up to the end of his time in the Marines.  Never took his pack off.  His wife, Miriam was very nice as well.  Mike came out of VT-2, and taught IFR Ground School.  He was instrumental in the Ground School’s conversion to the computer-based training we use today.  It was when he was there that he expressed an interest to me in coming to work for me at the FITU. He loved flying, and said he would fly as much as he could for me at the FITU.  He did, too.  I still remember how happy he was to have been hired by United, which was at the time, the pinnacle of the major airlines.  I addition to the interview process, they had simulator flight that applicants had to do.  It was very tough, with rigorous standards, and many fine Naval Aviators that worked for me went up there and didn’t get past the simulator.  Mike did, however, and was hired.  He left the Marines in June, taking some terminal leave to go to Disney World with Miriam & his two small children.  They got back into Pensacola in time for his “Hail & Farewell” which we held at our (the FITU’s) favorite FBO refueling airport at Florala, Alabama.  Many of the wives made the hour drive up from Pensacola to be there as well.  I was extremely proud to present Mike with the Navy & Marine Corps Achievement Medal.  This was a significant testament to his work at TW-5 & the FITU because at the time the Wing was not recommending medals to individuals who were getting out of the service unless their level of achievement went WAY beyond the call of duty.  I felt strongly that  his did, as did the Wing Operations Officer, LCOL Rollins, the CSO, and ultimately the Commodore, CAPT Watts.

Fishing off the beach in the panhandle

Michael dragging Guy out for another fishing trip

My husband, Scott, was in the Marines with Mike.  We met Mike & Miriam in 1988 during The Basic School at Quantico, VA.   We will always remember Mike for the constant smile on his face and his ability to make us smile and laugh.  During 1989, we spent a lot of time with Mike & Miriam in Pensacola, FL – from water skiing to playing “bank the nerf ball off the ceiling fan & into the net” at their house --- a game that Mike undoubtedly created!  In early 1990, our first son was born in Corpus Christi, TX, and Mike & Miriam showed up at the hospital while I was in labor --- they were our only friend or relative there to hear our son’s first cry!  

I’ll never forget a visit we had with Mike & Miriam about 6 months later at their place in Corpus Christi.  I was in the middle of changing a dirty “green-from-baby-food-peas” diaper when Mike looked over.  Mike was wide-eyed and grossed out as he said, “What the heck is that!”  I’m sure he got his turn at changing many “colorful” diapers with Christa & Mick!  

We moved to North Carolina in February 1991 and were graciously welcomed to stay at Mike & Miriam’s house for a few days (including our son & 2 dogs!).  Mike had a way of making us feel right at home like we were one of the family!  

Mike & Miriam always displayed a deep respect for one another out of true commitment and love.  It was awesome seeing them with Christa as a baby – Mike tried to act like he didn’t know what he was doing as a new father, but it was obvious that he was a natural!

 Theresa  & Scott Horvath

Mike applying cami to go to the field at TBS, Quantico, VA – Summer 1988

Dad swearing Michael in

Is that a Marine bake sale?

from Jerry Leslie

Initially I thought that I would write about how I knew Rocks in the Marine Corps as a fellow officer and Colleague.  How impressed I was with his work ethic, how he would tackle any job or project given to him with fervor, how he would exceed the expectations of those that assigned the task and how he would ultimately be ahead of schedule in getting it done.  I also thought about his calm, cool demeanor and excellent piloting skills.  As a young C-130 Aircraft Commander, I flew my last flight in the squadron with Rocks.  I remember the comforting feeling I got when I saw his name on the schedule.  I knew that when I flew with him I could relax and not worry about anything that he was responsible for.  (Heck, I usually gave him all the legs anyway just to save myself some embarrassment, because trying to compete with him in landing an airplane was a loosing cause for me.)  I also knew that we would have a good time because everyone enjoyed flying with Rocks.  I also thought a lot about the fun times we had while doing various things in the squadron like Rocks helping me out with the "calorie challenged" guys when I was the ground training officer.  He could run for days, much to the chagrin of those enrolled in the weight reduction program.  Or getting deployed to Guantanamo Bay Cuba and how he schooled me in basketball relentlessly (and may I add never rubbed it in) and how we got our Captain's license to drive a boat around the bay and scuba dive.  The times at the Gitmo "O" club playing shuffleboard on a stand up table listening to the same songs on the one jukebox there and laughing for hours with all of our friends.  All of these virtuous attributes were part of what made up the character of Michael Horrocks, but there were others that impressed me even more.

The things that really stand out in my mind about Rocks is how he never had a bad thing to say about anyone.  If something negative was brought up about another around him, he simply didn't participate in the discussion.  Even more impressive to me than this was his genuine LOVE for his family.  This was the side of Rocks that I admired the most.  I could tell after knowing Rocks for just a short time that he had a compassionate side that made up the bigger part of him.  His love for his wife was evident in all of his kind words towards her.  Rocks loved to talk about his family and every Monday would bring a new story as to what had transpired over the weekend.  I know that while away on a deployment we got to talking about home and how we missed things, it was then I learned that Mike had put his voice on a cassette tape so that Miriam could play it for his dog Stoli.  Now with all of the above said if you really wanted to see a sparkle in Mike's eye, just give him an opportunity to talk about his kids.  He was totally nuts about them.  If I had a dime for every time we talked about Christa, Christa, I would be a rich man.  My wife Lisa and I got to watch Christa while we were in Cherry Point.  In fact, I think we were the first ones they left Christa alone with.  It was an interesting experience for me, to say the least.  Knowing how much they loved Christa caused us to follow around behind her wherever she went.  Mike included Christa in everything he could.  I remember Mike, Tony, Tim and myself winning a three on three basketball tournament in Moorehead City.  It came time to get our picture taken for the trophy plaque and he grabbed Christa up to be in the picture with us (he wasn't going to have it taken without her).  I received orders to Corpus Christi and Rocks got them to Pensacola.  During this time Mick was born.  I had an opportunity to visit them on a couple occasions.  I remember Rocks meeting me at the door (it was around 8:00 in the evening) and although he was sleeping, he took me in to see Mick first thing.  He would tell me about how big he was getting and what a good ball player he was going to be.  I suppose that I could go on and on with stories of Mike and his love for his family but instead I will bring this to a close and in closing would like to say that Mike was a great man, not only in word (because talk is cheap), but in action.  A true example for others to follow.

Christa and Mick, if you ever want to talk about your Dad with someone other than your Mom, feel free to give Lisa and me a call anytime.  We would love to talk to you about your Dad because we have a love for him too.

Photo:  Division Champions - Reach the Beach 3 on 3 - Morehead City, NC, April 3, 1993