Army PFC Michael Metcalf died April 22, 2012 of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device in Ghazni province, Afghanistan. Also killed in the blast was 1LT Jonathan P. Walsh. PFC Metcalf had only been in Afghanistan for about two weeks when he died. He joined the Army just after graduating from a Wisconsin military academy.

Michael was born May 15, 1989 in Coral Springs, Florida; the son of Ceejay Metcalf and Kimberly Metcalf. Michael was a student at Park Vista High School in Boynton Beach, Florida before he left for Wisconsin to attend St. John’s Northwestern Military Academy during his sophomore year. There he played baseball, football, and hockey. After high school he discovered bull riding and tattoos, which he loved the most. He also enjoyed truck mudding, playing pool, and just going out with friends. Michael was a free-spirited person who left you feeling like you had been a lifelong friend after just meeting him. Childhood friend, Mandy Eichorst, remembered Michael as the “class clown,” she recalled, “Always making people laugh. I wish his homecoming was a little bit different, but I’ll see him again.”

PFC Metcalf was a Quick Response Team member and was coming to the aid of his injured comrades when he was killed. He was a paratrooper assigned to the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division. PFC Metcalf was awarded the Purple Heart and Bronze Star for his actions.

Michael is survived by his father, Ceejay; mother, Kimberly; grandparents, Clarence Metcalf and Ann Faustine; uncles, Anthony Metcalf, Joseph Faustine, and Richard Faustine; aunts Sandra Bennett and Patti Metcalf; niece, Rylee O’Keefe; and several cousins.

PFC Michael Metcalf was 22 years old from Boynton Beach, Florida

Proceeds from the PFC Michael J. Metcalf bracelet will be donated to Legacies Alive.