Early Life
Echanis was born in Nampa, Idaho. In private conversations Echanis offered his belief that having been raised in the traditional Basque culture of his family, although he was not of Basque decent himself, influenced his abilities to endure hardship and pain. He enlisted in the US Army in 1969 upon graduation from Ontario High School, choosing to graduate early and enter the service. According to the Echanis family those stories offering he enlisted in lieu of going to jail are false. Echanis had long been interested in the military and came from a family where his father, Frank, and his uncles had all served during World War II. His cousin, Joseph Y Echanis (United States Air Force) had gone missing in 1969 while on a mission in Laos and Echanis hoped he might be able to learn something of his fate if he could get to Vietnam.
Read more about this topic: Michael Echanis
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