Michael John Ohler was born on February 9, 1955 in Huntington, Suffolk County, New York. He was a Captain in the United States Marine Corps. Michael was killed in gunfire and grenade attacks on the US peacekeeping forces at Beirut, Lebanon airport. During the late afternoon of October 16, small arms and machine gun fire raked the lines of Alpha Company's position. Marine snipers returned scattered fire over the next few hours, but at 7:15 p.m., the volume of fire became intense. Rocket-propelled grenades impacted around the library building at the Lebanese Science University. One hit the breezeway and wounded three Marines. Alpha Company returned fire at numerous targets, but the volume of hostile fire was too great to allow a medevac helicopter to land near its position. The British contingent offered the assistance of their armored Ferret Scout cars, which escorted a convoy with the two seriously wounded Marines to the MOD. From there a helicopter medevac took the wounded to the Iwo Jima. The medcvac chopper was fired on en route but was not hit.

The Marines fired two Dragon antitank rounds at a machine gun bunker at 9:40 p.m. after the firing increased directly at Marine positions. At 10:03 p.m., Capt. Michael Ohler, a forward air controller with Alpha Company, was struck in the head and killed by small arms. The firefight had spread to numerous buildings to the south and west resulting in the company being virtually besieged in the university buildings. At 11:00 p.m., they suffered two more wounded with shrapnel wounds from RPG fire. The fighting tapered off after midnight; however, sporadic fire and explosions continued throughout the night.

He is now buried in the Barrancas National Cemetery, Pensacola, Escambia County, Florida, USA.

Source of information: Observer Reporter, Washington/Waynesburg, Pa. Tuesday, October 18, 1983.,