Michael Franz

Major Michael S.L. Franz was born on February 4, 1978 in Landstuhl, Germany. He graduated from high school in Sierra Vista, AZ in 1996 and went on to graduate from the University of Arizona Nursing School with honors in 2000. After graduating from college, he married Adriana on May 28, 2000 and followed his father’s footsteps and joined the Army. His career included Fort Lewis, WA where he was trained as an operating room nurse; the company commandeer at Fort Huachuca, AZ; and the perioperative chief at Fort Riley, KS. Mike served as an Army nurse in Mosul, Kirkuk, and Fallujah during Operation Iraqi Freedom. He was part of a team that were assigned very close to the front lines and set up sterile environments to operate on wounded soldiers.

Michael was then selected for the Army-Baylor Master’s program where he completed the program all while receiving treatment for his cancer and he graduated as the Honor Graduate in December 2013.

Mike’s military honors include a Combat Medic Badge, Airborne Jump Wings, Meritorious service medals, and Army Commendation medals, and the Legion of Merit. The Army Baylor program also honored Mike by naming the Alumni Award after him.

Michael passed away on September 12, 2014 after a two-year battle with synovial sarcoma. He is survived by his wife, Adriana, and 3 children. We met Adriana in 2019 at a Survivor of Heroes Retreat.