Major Michael H. Freyholtz

Major Michael H. Freyholtz, 34, of Eagle River, died July 28, 2010, as a pilot for the Alaska Air National Guard in the crash of a C-17 aircraft at Elmendorf Air Force Base.

A celebration of life in Mike's honor will be from 5 to 9 p.m. Saturday on Elmendorf Air Force Base at the Six-Mile Chalet. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation in Mike's name to the Anchorage Park Foundation to help maintain the bicycle trails.

Mike was born July 22, 1976, in Bemidji, Minn., but his childhood home was in Hines, Minn. Mike had a passion for flying since he was a little boy; however, once he saw the movie Top Gun, he was determined to fulfill his dream of being a pilot. Mike graduated from Blackduck High School in 1994, and then headed off to pursue a degree in physics at the University of Minnesota in Duluth, with the ROTC program. In 1998, Mike received his officer commission as a 2nd lieutenant, obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree in physics, and married his sweetheart, Kim Near.

Mike started his military career at the Grand Forks Air Force Base 319th Air Refueling Wing, where his first year was spent in casual status, learning about Air Force missions and obtaining his private pilot's license.

In 1999, Mike started pilot training at Vance AFB in Enid, Okla. He wanted to be a fighter pilot but decided that the cargo planes would be the better choice with the fast approaching arrival of his first child.

In 2000, Mike was selected for his first choice at pilot training with the C-17s, stationed at Charleston, S.C. Mike attended Altus, Okla., for initial C-17 qualification training: he also became a father with the birth of his son Trevor, while temporarily stationed there. In his spare time, Mike loved to make beautiful pencil drawings of airplanes, some of which he later used professionally in his work.

In 2001, Mike arrived at Charleston Air Force Base in South Carolina to finally start his dream of flying full time. His new job had him traveling on flying missions in many foreign countries, and he was really enjoying finally "seeing the world."

In 2002, there was a second addition to the Freyholtz family, with the birth of his daughter, Fiona. While stationed in Charleston, Mike took up mountain biking in his time off, and it quickly became another passion for him. He participated in multiple mountain bike races and took his bike with him on most of his overseas trips. Mike was very proud to say that he had ridden his bike in 10 countries and 39 states.

In 2004 Mike received his orders to McChord Air Force Base in Tacoma, Wash., to fly the C-17. Between missions, family time, and home remodeling projects, Mike found another passion in life with photography. He started up his own photography company, selling photos of his travels from around the world. Mike also began road biking, which quickly became another exciting hobby. He rode his bike to work almost daily and eventually worked up to ride it around Mount Rainier.

In 2007, Mike left active duty with the Air Force and accepted a job with the Delaware Resource Group in Anchorage as a C-17 simulator instructor, also joining the Alaska Air National Guard flying the C-17. After only one year of flying part time, he decided that he needed to fly more and joined the Guard full time.

Flying was the ultimate passion in life for Mike. Over the course of his career, Mike accumulated more than 3,500 military flying hours in the T-37, T-1 and C-17 aircraft. He flew 608 combat hours in support of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom for which he received the Air Medal.

Mike was a beloved family man and father of two wonderful children, Trevor and Fiona. He was actively involved with Cub Scouts, as well as coaching youth basketball and baseball. Mike loved to spend his weekends taking the kids camping, snowmobiling and out on his 4-wheeler. Mike will be forever missed by his family, friends, and all of his squadrons.