Strange was born on June 6, 1986 in Philadelphia. Bartholomew Catholic School in the Wissinoming section of the city. He enjoyed the life of a typical Philadelphia kid surrounded by a loving family and great friends who he stayed close to all of his life. Michael had a great sense of humor and a kind and generous heart. As a little boy he loved spending summers in Rehoboth Beach at his grandmothers house where he spent his days fishing and crabbing and playing in the pool with his brother and sister. After graduating from North Catholic High School in June of 2004, Michael joined the United States Navy. After basic training in the Great Lakes he reported to the Naval Technical Training Center in Pensacola FL where he attended Cryptologic Technician (Collection) "A" School. He graduated second in his class. His first assignment was Naval Information Operations Command (NIOC) in Hawaii. At NIOC, Petty Officer Strange worked in several high profile signals intelligence gathering offices and became a first line supervisor in charge of multiple analysts. He completed a nine month deployment to Iraq with Seal Team TWO. During this deployment he earned the Expeditionary Warfare qualification. After an arduous screening process, Petty Officer Strange volunteered and was selected for duty at Naval Special Warfare Development Group. After completing the Tactical Direct support course, finishing at the top of his class, he was assigned to TACDEVRON THREE as an Information Operations enabler. While stationed in Hawaii, Michael met his girlfriend. They enjoyed spending time after work surfing and touring the beautiful islands. After completing his tour of duty in Iraq, Michael and his girlfriend moved to Virginia Beach, VA where they made their home with their dog Schmayze. Cryptologic Technician (Collection) First Class Michael Strange was a highly decorated combat veteran with numerous awards, including the Bronze Star Medal with Valor, Purple Heart Medal, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Joint Service Commendation Medal with Valor, Joint Service Achievement Medal, Combat Action Ribbon, Presidential Unit Citation, and other campaign and unit decorations. Michael is survived by his proud and loving family, his parents, his brother, sisters and his niece. He is also survived by his grandmother and many loving aunts, uncles, cousins, his girlfriend and many close friends.
