in Georgia's all-state concert band for two years, winning awards for improvisational and classical music. Michael was the kind of man who had to grow up fast, Harris said. "We lost my dad when Michael was only 12," he said. "We lost Michael's big brother, Christopher -- - my little brother -- when Michael was only 16." "When my home was broken into in June of 2011, Michael graciously offered to surround the perimeter ... with trenches and razor wire," Harris said. "I failed to take him up on the offer." On the way home from a deployment to Afghanistan, Harris said, his brother posted to Facebook: "Now at Camp Leatherneck on my way home. Pluses include cafeterias, air-conditioned tents, and the ground not exploding. Ah, it really is the little things in life that matter." Michael was the kind of man who desperately wanted to serve his country, his brother said. "He was a student at Emory University when he decided to put his education on hold and go serve our country in combat as a machine gunner in the United States Marine Corps," Harris said. "There were just too many students at Emory, for Michael's taste, who had a greater sense of entitlement than they did direction or sacrifice." Michael wanted to serve directly on the ground, on the front lines, Harris said. After his brother's death, he added, he spoke to Michael's fellow Marines, who said he always knew what had to be done, did the right