Remembrances:
Class Memorial Pages\F-2 Mike Younkin.pdf
Taps Tribute:
W. M. YOUNKIN 1961
Cullum No. 23597-1961 | September 22, 1995 | Died in Hawaii
Interred in West Point Cemetery, NY
William Michael “Mike” Younkin was born April 22, 1939 at
Schofield Barracks, HI. His favorite number was 444: April, his birth month, is
the 4th month; his birth day, 22, is 2+2 = 4; and his birth year, 1939, is
1+9+3+9 = 22, which, again, is 2+2=4. Every time his brother, Derek, sees 4:44
on a clock, it reminds him of Mike
Mike was the son of Major William L. Younkin, a B-24 pilot in World War II who
was killed in action. His mother remarried a Pan Am pilot, and the family moved
to Los Altos, CA in 1956
His interest in West Point led him to take the civil service exam to compete
for an appointment given by the vice president. Such exams consisted of math,
English and abstract reasoning. Mike scored high and won an appointment. Like
many of his classmates’, Mike’s SAT score needed to be higher. To improve, he
attended Braden’s Prep School and, after intense concentration on SATs, he won
acceptance to the Academy
After plebe year, Mike was assigned to Company F-2. He loved music and was one
of the few cadets who owned a record player. He shared his albums with his
roommates and added his own talents by playing the guitar
When it was time to pick an academic elective, Mike chose Russian. Mike’s
perseverance and determination got him through that very difficult course. His
Russian expertise became an asset for him later in life
Mike liked physically demanding athletics. He ran cross country and was a
gymnast. He would share his gymnastics pain with roommates by trimming his hand
callouses in the room at night
Mike served on active duty as an Armor officer for three years. His first
assignment was tank platoon leader with the 69th Armor Regiment. His second was
with the 4th Calvary Regiment in Hawaii. He resigned in 1964 as a first
lieutenant
In 1964, when his brother, Derek, was a plebe, Mike taught Derek a great lesson
applicable to all who have joined the Long Gray Line. The story goes that Derek
was receiving a bit more than the usual amount of correction from an upper
classman. The upper classman asked Derek if he had a brother named “Mike.”
Derek, of course, acknowledged his brother as a member of the Class of ’61.
Derek learned that the upper classman had suffered a bit under Mike’s tutelage
and was probably making sure that Derek be treated similarly. Derek brought up
the experience with Mike, and Mike’s response was, “The upper classman was a
firstie, so I guess that I did my job pretty well.”
After leaving active duty, Mike moved to Sacramento, CA, where he joined
Campbell Soup Company. There he served as a standards analyst in the
engineering department and then as a buyer for engineering needs
His next challenge was to bring his talents to the financial industry. In 1968,
Mike joined Reynolds Securities in Palo Alto, CA as a stockbroker. He became an
SEC registered investment advisor and used that credential to start his own
company, Gnome Inc. His goal was to create computer software to analyze stock
performance and be able to recommend effective portfolios for clients. He did
groundbreaking work using Fortran programs on IBM 360 mainframe computers.
Today, many brokerage houses offer such programs. Mike would have been excited
to see that his ideas had correctly identified the direction of the financial
industry
His interest in solving big problems with computer programs led him to join
Control Data Corporation in the mid-1980s at NASA Ames Center in Moffett, CA.
As a senior systems analyst, Mike had supercomputers as his charge. He was
instrumental in producing the first natural language interface for these
high-powered computers. Mike loved computer language design, working with
complex algorithms, and breaking new ground in software languages. He said that
working with mainframe computer applications was like making an elephant jump
through a hoop
He then joined Data House as project lead for an Army Intelligence Project and
senior management analyst. His love of Hawaii then led him to join Robbins-Gioia
as senior systems analyst and Pearl Harbor site lead providing computer support
for the Pacific Submarine Fleet
Mike passed away on September 19, 1995 from lung cancer. Before his death he
loved to recall the testimonial that he gave at his church about his encounter
with God. In classic Mike style, he related how he asked God to sit down with
him and discuss his life and future. According to Mike, the discussion was very
productive
Mike’s cancer was particularly difficult to bear. It impinged on a nerve and
created extreme pain. He bore that pain with strength and courage
As Mike’s brother, Derek, has said: “Mike’s war with cancer was like a Ranger
course that lasted nearly four years. Beyond each hill was another hill. And
another. And the weather was more inclement with each new phase. He never gave
up hope. Near the end he worked on cancer research efforts with NIH. In the
weeks nearing his death, I was in awe of my brother’s calm and noble bearing.
His remorse was a simple, ‘I thought I had more time.’ We could all learn from
that.”
|