🌊 The Foreign Fighter

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By Max Frost

In June 2024, an obituary announced that Michael Gloss, 21, had died in “Eastern Europe.”

Michael lived a “fiercely beautiful life until he was taken from us during his travels overseas,” it noted. “With his noble heart and warrior spirit Michael was forging his own hero’s journey when he was tragically killed.”

Nowhere did it say how he was killed, though. Only last week was that mystery resolved – and did it become clear why the truth had been concealed.

Gloss was born in 2002 in Fairfax County, a suburb of Washington, DC and America’s fifth-richest county. His family was both accomplished and deeply patriotic: His mother Juliane graduated from the US Naval Academy, was the first woman to serve as a Naval Academy brigade commander, and later joined the CIA. His father was a US Navy veteran who served in Iraq and later ran a company that provided software to the Pentagon and various NATO allies.

Gloss excelled as a child, becoming an Eagle Scout and athlete at Oakton High School, one of the country’s top-ranked public schools. He was described as outdoorsy, curious, and empathetic, particularly toward the poor and oppressed. As a teen, he became rebellious: His father said that Michael was the “ultimate anti-establishment, anti-authority young man.” 

While this rebellious streak initially took benign forms, by the end of high school, it had led him to turn on the “shared values” of his parents, his father told the Washington Post. Gloss’ colleagues have said that he began to resent everything his patriotic and national security-minded parents stood for. In 2021, he enrolled in the College of the Atlantic, an environmentally-minded college in Maine. While there, he immersed himself in progressive and environmental causes, going so far as to get himself arrested at protests in Washington, DC. 

Those close to Gloss described him as a progressive peace activist. To quote his father, he wanted to save the planet and wouldn’t “hurt a flea.” 

Yet the reality would soon prove far different.

Editor’s Note

Thanks for reading, we hope you learned something new. We’re curious to hear what you think about Michael Gloss’ story. What triggers someone to seek out such life experiences? Please let us know by replying to this email.

And in case you missed our latest stories, here they are:

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• The Other Israel-Palestine

A heartfelt thank you to everyone who responded to yesterday’s story on Roca’s journey over the last five years. We love you and appreciate you. You are the reason for our continued success! Below is a selection of the emails we received.

Beth and Eric replied:

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Thanks again! We hope your Mondays are off to a great start. See you tomorrow.

–Max and Max