"It was an Honor and Privilege to serve along side LCpl/Cpl Nguyen. He was a Marine that always looked out for his fellow Brother. We lost an outstanding young man. My condolences to his family, Michael will be greatly missed. Honor to be your Company GySgt. Lima 3/5. Rest In Peace Brother, Semper Fi, SgtMaj (Ret) Brewer, Martin "
In loving memory of
Michael "Mike" L. Nguyen
February 19, 1987 - November 5, 2019
Michael "Mike" L Nguyen, age 32, passed away on Tuesday November 5, 2019 in Sparta, WI. He was born February 19, 1987 to Hiep Nguyen and Trang Le in Sacramento, CA. Mike married his wife Michelle Phillips on May 28, 2010 in Orange County, CA and they had a beautiful daughter together.
Mike was an amazing person. He had the best smile; one that could light up a room and certainly make his wife fall in love with him. He had a childlike sense of humor. He had a voice for every dog he met and every stuffed animal his daughter owned. He made up a song for anything and everything, a quirk his daughter carries on. He was a lover of video games, tacos, guns, IPAs and his mama's pho. He was smart, a real problem solver. Most of all he was selfless. He loved endlessly and was there to lend a hand to anyone that needed it. He wasn't big on words; rather showed his love through acts of service: clean dishes, a mowed lawn, a meal. Doing things without being asked. Always making sure everyone had what they needed before they even knew they needed it.
This selflessness and need to serve led to his enlistment in the United States Marine Corps. He honorably served 8 years in which he served two tours in Iraq, a Sea Service in the Pacific, and one tour in Afghanistan. He put his heart and soul into the service of his country. He devoted his time to his men and made it his personal mission to make sure they were as prepared as possible for any situation. He went above and beyond for them. He was knowledgeable, confident, courageous, and led by example which made him a trusted leader; someone they could follow into any situation without hesitation. More than that, more than caring for the mission, Mike cared about the people behind those uniforms. He wasn't afraid to get dirty and lend a hand for tasks below his pay grade. He gave up his time to make sure his men had the opportunity to talk to their families. And he had a presence that could heal when someone was going through more than they could handle on their own.
After his time in the military ended, Mike's most meaningful work began. He became a dad. This man, who could stay cool as a cucumber in the most dangerous of situations, was terrified of being responsible for a tiny human. But the moment he held his daughter in his arms his heart swelled, and he was wrapped around her finger. He loved his little girl, his mini me, with every fiber of his being. They spent so much time laughing together, making silly faces at each other, carrying on conversations through her stuffed animals, and singing the most ridiculous songs.
Mike wasn't close to many people; he liked who he liked. But if you were lucky enough to crack through that tough exterior you had the best friend for life. You knew his big heart, his goofy smile, his generosity. He was a man you could lean on for help whenever you needed it. He was loved beyond measure and will be missed more than he could've ever imagined.
Private services will be held.
Cress Funeral Service
1310 Emerald Terrace
Sun Prairie, WI 53590
Tributes
"Mike and I met in 7th grade through some shared classes. We ended up hanging out a bunch and were good friends up until high school. I still remember playing multiplayer on Army Men: Sarge's Heroes with him and one game in particular where he stayed at my character's spawn point and kept killing me. It was so funny and infuriating at the same time. Mike and I reconnected a bit in recent years, even though it was never to the same extent as when we were kids. But I was really happy to see what kind of man he became. Prayers to your family, especially your wife and daughter, Mike. Miss you."
"Michael, you will forever be in my memory and heart. I will never forget the endless of us playing games together. Those days at your house were the most endearing and days I will forever cherish. Rest in peace my forever friend. -Dan Phan"
"Thank you for your honorable service to our country. May you Rest In Peace."
"My prayers and love are with your family and friends as they grieve your loss. You were a true hero and I thank God for your love and service to your country. Semper Fi! Rest in His Perfect Peace. "
"Mike, I?m at a loss for words. You were a true brother, I hope you find peace in the next life. I love you brother and you will never be forgotten. Semper Fi 3/5 Havoc"
"I been staring at this box for 15 minutes, not even sure what to say....this has hit a lot of us former Marines hard. We never envisioned Mike as a kind of guy to go out like this. All I can say, is that it's been an honor serving with you Mike. Like Sam said, you were always the model Marine, driving everyone to be better and do the correct thing; to travel the difficult path, when others choose convenience. Many former Marines have made it back home to their families, because of you Mike. Even though this has been terrible, I know you are finally no longer suffering. Your battle is over. We'll see you on the other side someday. "
"I never met you but you served with my son, Christopher. Judging from the words people have left here, you were a great brother, a great son, a great father and a great Marine. Thank you for your service and all that you did."
"What can I say. Michael was Michael, a taco enthusiast, only complimented Mom?s Pho, a fanatic of IPA?s, and so much more. But overall, Michael was selfless, humorous, and beyond an ?okay? father. Growing up, I never got the chance to fully develop a relationship with him as he left before I turned ten. But that didn?t stop me from clinging to my Big Brother every chance I got. I was too young to ever realize what being selfless was, but as I grew up, it was clearly obvious that my brother was selfless after serving three tours and the amount he gave to others. While overseas, we would all wait for his letters, and I remember coming home from school asking if Michael had written to us today. I would end the letters with a picture of two cats, as we were both born during the year of the cat. Every time he came home, my Mom would always make his favorite dish, pho and he ALWAYS complimented my Mom?s pho as being the best. No restaurant could beat my Moms Pho according to Michael. After getting out of the Marines, we all waited for my parent?s first grandchild, and that came a few years later in 2016. I was beyond thrilled that I was now an Auntie. Here, I saw another stage of Michael growing up. I could never see my brother as a Dad, but after I saw every photo of them and how he interacted with her, I knew he was the best Dad for Madison. We would try to Skype as much as we can and Madison would always be shy to talk to at first, but then she got used to us and wouldn?t want us to leave. Big Brother, as you leave, this world is a duller place. I will never get used to telling people I have three brothers, but one is no longer here with us. You won?t be there when I graduate from college or meet my first boyfriend and tell him who?s the real man. As you won?t be there for a lot of our milestones, I know you?ll watch over us. Wherever you are, I hope you find peace, love, and comfort knowing that we will always love you and never stop. You have always been admired by Madison as you were by me as I grew up. Mom and Dad love you so dearly, along with Tony, Andy, and our Aunts. I Love You Anh Ba! "
"Mike was like any other kid growing up, we played together, went for bike rides, and we went fishing with my dad. Mike was very smart, so smart that the Marines didn?t believe the score he got on the exam to join. Mike had to take the test twice, the Marines thought he cheated. As kids, we did everything that you would expect as siblings. When I got into trouble, Mike was next to me, waiting for my time-out to end. We were barely competitive, because it didn?t matter to us. The only thing we were competitive about was his love for video games. He always won, it didn?t matter to me as much, but it would have been nice to win every now and then. I may have been the older sibling by age, but I felt that Mike was the older out of the both of us. Mike got his life started as soon as he turned 18, joined the Marines, got married, and had a family. He became independent so quick, it was un-real. I wished our childhood had lasted a little longer, the memories that were made as kids, I wished, Mike and I could have made more happy memories as adults. Mike probably did not know this, but he was loved by a lot of family members. He will be truly missed, no one can replace his absence in our lives. Love, Tony"
"Without a doubt myself and a lot of others are still alive because of Mike. Not even just because of his actions down range but most of our seniors took an interest in training and preparing my peer group for deployment, but mike made it his personal mission to train everybody relentlessly. Any time there was down time he would pull everybody in for a run (which of course he would smoke everybody while wearing a plate carrier or pack or both) or PT or some sort of class. He had so much knowledge that he always had an answer for every question. That was known company wide too because any time something had to get done in training or deployment, mike was the go to guy that was so competent and trusted he was always given the toughest jobs. If something was hairy put mike on it because his judgement was without question. I remember specifically multiple times hearing platoon sergeants approach him and tell him such and such person was all fuck up can I put him with you and you fix him? Most everybody in the platoon emulated him in one way or another. Before deployment it was sometimes hard to put up with because when other squads were fucking off, we were training but like I said he was relentless about training us until he thought we were ready. It was crazy to deploy with him. He never once showed stress or concern about leaving or going to combat. Literally he never projected any fear or stress at any point. Even in gun fights the most common thing I tell people about mike is that even in combat he was cool as a cucumber. We were taking machine gun fire from two positions one time and mike just walked up to me as casually as if he was walking around a grocery store and said ?if they haven?t killed us yet, they?re probably not going to, let?s go? and he just walked away. Of course, I followed him, I followed him through anything and did anything he told me to because his courage and confidence put everyone around him a little more at ease. He would do so much to take care of all of us that he didn?t make a big deal about but multiple times, I was on post in the middle of the night and he would just climb up on my post with all his gear on and hand me the satellite phone and tell me to go call Lindsie. I?d talk to her for a few minutes and give him the phone back and he would just head to the next post so everyone had a chance to call their families. Other times we would get a resupply in the middle of the night for all the lance corporals to unload. Mike would always jump up and throw his gear on and help us. He didn?t have to and none of the other nco?s would but he did. When I asked him about it he just shrugged and said ?it?ll go quicker with another guy. Let all the other guys be worthless if they want?"
"Thank you for your military service and may your soul rest in peace"