Mike Allen was raised on a multi-generational family farm in west-central Illinois. He entered the United States Army in September of 1967 and graduated from the Infantry NCOCS at Ft. Benning in June of 1968. He served as an Infantry Squad Leader with the 1st and 9th Infantry Divisions in Vietnam and was medically evacuated in December of 1968. He began his career as a pilot in February of 1978 and professionally flew airplanes and helicopters until 1996. Mike is still active in the aviation community. He is a life-member of Chapter 698 of the Vietnam Veterans of America, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, and the Disabled American Veterans. He is a member of the General George Rogers Clark Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution, ILSSAR. Mike contributed Chapter 1, of Volume One, to the two-volume book, The Vietnam War in Popular Culture: The Influence of America's Most Controversial War on Everyday Life. Ron Milam, Editor, November 2016. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Denver in 1977, and a Master's degree in Historical Studies from SIUe in 2017. Mike's interest in the Quantum Enigma began during intellectual history courses at SIUe.