“Old soldiers never die, they just fade away…” From the halls of the White House to downtown drug recovery centers, Michael Fry spent his life trying to be of service to other people. The Milwaukee native was a quietly proud Army veteran, rarely spotted without his trademark West Point baseball cap. He saw heavy combat in Vietnam, and among his many citations received the Purple Heart for wounds sustained in battle.

After the war, Fry focused on the prevention of conflict through political means. He earned two master's degrees in international relations from Harvard and the University of Uppsala in Sweden, and taught political science at West Point. Presidents Reagan, George H.W. Bush and Clinton all sought Fry’s counsel on disarmament issues.

In an obituary in the Daily Breeze, longtime friend Sherry Jacobson says that Fry believed disarmament to be his life’s work. He lead the National Security Council team that helped pave the way for 117 nations to ratify the Nuclear Arms Non-Proliferation Treaty—an accord which the United States has never signed.

After retiring from West Point, Fry moved to San Pedro, California and immersed himself in the life of the community. He was a friend and mentor to many at the Beacon House drug and alcohol recovery program, where he knew all the men by name.