By: Mark Hoffman Vanilla Heart Publishing
Several things influenced young minds in post-war America, such as growing up in the shadow of the U.S. Navy. Military bases, discipline, and global exposure instilled particular beliefs and viewpoints in military children. Clyde Michael (CM) Mclain, known as “Mike,” is a proud “Navy Brat” who grew up on military bases in California and Hawaii and pursued a life of travel, technical competence, and adventure. From IBM and Hewlett-Packard to his retirement philanthropy, Mike’s life was shaped by his childhood in the U.S. Navy.
Clyde Michael Mclain was born in Waukegan, Illinois, far from his youth’s tropical beaches and naval strongholds. After his birth, his family moved to Southern California, where his father worked for the Navy at numerous facilities. Mclain’s childhood was shaped by military discipline, punctuality, and respect for authority, growing up in naval bases. Moving often and seeing many cultures, notably in Hawaii, impacted his outlook at an early age. These encounters broadened his worldview and sparked his lifelong passion for travel and culture.
The “Navy Brat” life has its challenges and advantages. Constant migration means leaving friends and familiar locations but experiencing new cultures, languages, and ways of thinking. Mclain credits his work ethic and discipline to the Navy environment, which instilled responsibility and a drive to explore. The demanding but rewarding military atmosphere helped him acquire resilience, which would serve him well in his career and personal life.
Mclain’s passion for technology and problem-solving led him to service engineering from his Navy background. He worked as a service engineer at IBM for 15 years after graduation. He rose fast through the ranks and joined Hewlett-Packard due to his technical skills and adaptability. Mike’s 37 year career took him to Japan, Singapore, Israel, Europe and North America. His Navy background taught him adaptation and openness, which he used to handle complicated technological problems while negotiating cultural gaps in his work.
Mclain grew professionally and personally working in these diverse locations. He learned diplomacy and adaptability by dealing with diverse business procedures, conventions, and expectations. Traveling the world taught him about international business, allowing him to deliver technological and culturally acceptable solutions. This awareness of cross-border cooperation deepened his already complex path.
Mike loved traveling, especially on two wheels, outside of work. His motorcycle journeys throughout North and Central America have totaled over 200,000 miles. Mclain found a personal connection in his journeys, which were more than a pastime. Traveling through Mexico’s deserts or North America’s harsh backroads gave him a feeling of freedom and discovery that saturated his life.
His passion for jeep off-roading and historic automobile restoration showed his bold character. He indulged in mechanical and craft work and loved the route less traveled through these pastimes. Mike found solitude and self-expression on the road, where each voyage was a chance to develop. These experiences shaped his worldview of resilience, curiosity, and pushing the limits of the familiar.
Mike’s motorcycle and jeep journeys shaped his writing, especially Letters from Pearl. His ability to mix personal and historical events has grabbed readers and given war romance a new perspective. He wrote about these experiences and saw the world as a place of opportunity where each excursion is a new chapter in a novel.
After retiring from a successful 37-year career in technology in 2002, Clyde Michael Mclain did not spend his retirement idly. Instead, he found meaning in giving back to the world, especially in impoverished areas. He wanted to make a difference in retirement after seeing the global wealth and opportunity gap during his job trips.
Mclain helped and contributed to projects in Guatemala, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Cuba. These included infrastructural, education, and healthcare improvements. His repeated excursions to Central America, where he collaborated with local organizations to find lasting solutions, strengthened his commitment to aiding underprivileged people. Mike’s hands-on charity activity—building houses or transporting supplies—showed his work ethic and willingness to help others.
Mike enjoyed woodworking and farming in addition to working overseas. These activities kept him grounded and linked to nature and his origins, providing a tranquil counterweight to his business and humanitarian career. His love of handiwork and farming reflected his discipline and accuracy in work and travel. Mike saw retirement as a continuation of his lifetime quest of development, adventure, and service.
Mclain’s book Letters from Pearl, captures Mike’s lifelong themes of adventure, responsibility, and the power of human connection. The story is set during World War II and the Pacific military Campaign. It relies on his childhood on military bases and servicemen’s stories. The story depicts a generation influenced by war, love, and the search for meaning in an uncertain world.
Mike’s legacy expands through his books and the people he touches as he writes and shares. His journey started in Waukegan, Illinois, and has carried him from Hawaii’s military bases to the world’s busy cities and into the hearts of individuals he has aided and inspired.
Published by: Nelly Chavez
