Fred A. Birchmore

Fred A. Birchmore (1911–2012) also completed a twelve-thousand-mile trip around North America, a forty-five-hundred-mile trip through Latin America (on a tandem bike, with his newlywed wife), and a four-thousand-mile trip through Europe. In addition, he completed a number of long-distance hikes, such as the Appalachian Trail and Long Trail in the United States, the Inca Trail in Peru, and the Milford Track in New Zealand. These experiences are chronicled in Birchmore's other memoir, Miracles in My Life. Birchmore served as a gunnery officer in the North Atlantic during World War II, and while always pursuing a life of adventure, he worked as an attorney, pilot, college professor, summer camp director, real estate broker, scout leader, and a gratis lecturer for countless groups and occasions. He was chosen as a torchbearer for the 1996 Olympics in recognition of his many achievements and his commitment to public service.