Michael Kress
Knoxville TN

Michael Brian Kress of Knoxville, a brief resident of Summit View of Rocky Top, LLC, passed from this life December 7th after a prolonged illness. He was preceded in death by his wife, Patricia Yoder Kress, his father, Marvin C. “Jack” Kress, his youngest daughter, Kristy, and a host of aunts, uncles and cousins. He is survived by his mother, Frances Colgan Kress, his sister Laura, and his children Angela, Adam and Kristopher Kress.

The date of Mike’s death befitted a military man. That same date in 1917 the US declared war on Austria and MacArthur landed troops into France. It is most remembered, however, for the tragic loss of thousands of American lives during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor December 7th, 1941, leading to the US declaration of war against Japan the following day.

Mike attended Knoxville Catholic High School and joined the Marines at 17. He spent 31 months fighting in Vietnam on two tours of duty. During that time he fought in Cambodia on a regular basis, a place where he and his fellow Marines suffered mightily because their clandestine troop movements could not be supported and resupplied.

He was awarded the Navy Commendation Medal for Heroic Achievement on February, 19, 1969, when Company C Second Platoon came under heavy ambush on a patrol through A Shau Valley. He maneuvered his machine gun team to a forward position, directed intensive fire and moved through the fire-swept terrain for ammunition supplies with compete disregard for his own personal safety. He rendered emergency aid to men so the corpsman could tend to the more seriously wounded. He's credited for contributing significantly to the defeat of the enemy and inspiring other Marines by his bravery and steadfast devotion to duty in the face of great personal danger, upholding the finest traditions of the Marine Corps. He was just twenty two years old. As with so many other military men, his service and sacrifice was given no recognition during his lifetime.

Father Joseph Reed of Sacred Heart Cathedral will officiate at a memorial service with military honors at the Veterans Cemetery on East Governor John Sevier Highway on Thursday, December 22, at 12:30 p.m., where Mike’s ashes, along with those of his late wife, will be placed in a columbarium.

The family would like to thank the kind and caring folks at Avalon Hospice, Summit View of Rocky Top LLC, and Hatmaker Funeral Home in Rocky Top, as well as Dr. Elizabeth A. Bishop at the William C. Tallent Veterans Clinic in Knoxville. In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made in Mike’s name to any of your area’s local programs helping veterans. He would have liked that very much.

“Rest in peace, shipmate. You stand relieved. We have the watch.”