Michael Vancak (Vanczák) was born on the 3rd of October 1896 in Hazleton, Pennsylvania, one of many "coal" towns in the area that attracted large numbers of immigrants from Eastern Europe at the latter part of the 19th century to work the mines.
Michael was one of seven children born to Michael Vanczák and Anna Kmetz Vanczák, both Slovakian immigrants. Michael was the oldest child, followed by John, George, Joseph, Andrew, Anna, and Helen.
The family moved from Hazleton to Yonkers, New York, in 1916 where Michael Sr. worked as a laborer in the Alexander Smith & Sons Carpet Company.
In 1923, Michael married Anna Kocvara who left Czecholslovakia in 1920 to make a new life in Yonkers. Together, they had one child: a daughter, named Evelyn, who was born in 1924.
On his WWII Draft Registration Card, it is noted that Michael also works for Alexander Smith & Sons. He is described as being 5 feet 4 inches tall, with blue eyes, brown hair, and of light complexion.
Following graduation from the High School of Commerce in Yonkers, Evelyn worked for the Habirshaw Cable and Wire Company. In 1945, she married Alfred J. LaVorgna who was serving in the Armed Forces, and recently returned from duty in the Pacific Theatre.
Michael's mother, Anna Kmetz Vanczák, died in 1947, followed in death three years later by her husband, Michael. Michael's wife, Anna Kocvara Vanczák, died in 1973, and daughter, Evelyn, passed away in 1995 and is buried with her husband in Calverton National Cemetery, Long Island, New York.
Michael Vanczák died on the 14th of October 1982 and was buried on Hart Island on the 22nd of December 1982.