Chapter IV — Service: Army Training, Vietnam & Coming Home

Chapter IV

Service: Army Training, Vietnam & Coming Home

Mike Allen's military career, from boot camp and jump school through his tour as a CH-47 Chinook pilot in Vietnam and the return to civilian life.

Two U.S. soldiers in combat gear with rifles and ammunition belts posing in a wooded area, likely during the Vietnam War era

Long before Mike Allen was threading a helicopter through Alaskan mountain passes or training a telescope on the Pleiades, he was a young soldier learning the hard fundamentals of military life. His path through the U.S. Army — from the regimented world of boot camp and jump school to the skies over Vietnam — would shape the pilot, the adventurer, and the man he would become.

Group portrait of roughly 15–20 uniformed military soldiers in helmets and fatigues, posed outdoors on a military base, two holding rifles, black-and-white photo circa 1950s–1960s — A group of military personnel posed together outdoors in combat fatigues, M1-style helmets, and combat boots — likely at a U.S. training installation. The style of helmets, rifles, and black-and-white photographic print suggest this image dates from the 1950s to early 1960s.

The early days of training meant drill, discipline, and camaraderie forged under pressure. Group photographs like this one capture the cohort spirit of soldiers newly immersed in military life — men dressed alike, standing together in the dirt, still becoming soldiers. The bare trees, utility poles, and paved base pathway in the background speak to a world of institutional order far removed from the civilian routines left behind.

A smiling young man in a dark military dress uniform and garrison cap stands beside an open wall locker in a barracks room; a "No Smoking in Bed" sign is visible above the door to his left. — **From the archive**A young man — likely Mike Allen — smiles in his military dress uniform beside an open wall locker in what appears to be a U.S. military barracks room. A 'NO SMOKING IN BED' sign is visible above the door. Likely 1950s–1960s.

Life in the barracks had its own rhythms: the precisely hung uniforms, the steel helmet balanced on top of the locker, the institutional walls — and, above the door, a small rectangular sign reading 'NO SMOKING IN BED.' Even in these surroundings, the young soldier smiles. There is confidence in his bearing, the look of someone settling into a new identity.

A young male soldier in a steel helmet numbered "802" and full parachute harness, seated in a black-and-white photo, likely at a military airborne staging area. — A young male soldier seated in parachute harness — chest straps, D-rings, and a reserve parachute pack visible — wearing a steel helmet marked '802.' The canvas backdrop suggests a staging or pre-jump area, likely at a U.S. airborne facility such as Fort Benning, Georgia. Likely 1950s–1970s.

Among the milestones of Mike Allen's military training was jump school — an airborne program that demanded nerve and physical resolve in equal measure. The photograph above appears to show a soldier fully kitted in parachute harness, seated and ready before a jump, the reserve parachute pack resting in his lap and the helmet chinstrap fastened tight. The number '802' is taped to the front of his steel pot — a practical identifier in the controlled chaos of a staging area. Whether this image depicts Mike himself cannot be confirmed with certainty, but it belongs to this period of his military formation.

A U.S. Army Bell H-13-style bubble-canopy helicopter with rotor spinning on a military airfield tarmac, with a helmeted occupant visible in the cockpit and "U.S. ARMY" text on the red tail boom. — A Bell H-13 Sioux or similar bubble-canopy light helicopter sits on a tarmac with its rotors in motion, 'U.S. ARMY' lettered on its red tail boom. At least one occupant in a flight helmet is visible inside. Likely a U.S. military training airfield, 1950s–1960s.

Flight training introduced Mike to the machine that would define his military career and, later, his civilian one: the helicopter. The small, bubble-canopied Bell H-13 Sioux — a staple of Army aviation training — sits on a flat tarmac, rotor blades already blurring with motion. Inside, a figure in a flight helmet and flight suit occupies the cockpit. Learning to control such a craft demanded an entirely different kind of awareness than fixed-wing flight: a constant, instinctive reading of lift, torque, and attitude. For Mike, who would eventually graduate to the massive twin-rotor CH-47 Chinook, these early hours in light helicopters were the essential foundation.

Two men — one in U.S. military dress uniform and one in civilian clothes — stand on a sunny walkway near a grass lawn, with a large tree and low buildings in the background; black-and-white snapshot. — A series of snapshots that appear to show family visiting day at a U.S. military training installation — possibly in the American West or Southwest, based on the arid sky, tree types, and flat-roofed architecture. A 'TNG BDE' (Training Brigade) sign with crossed-rifles insignia is visible in one frame. Likely mid-to-late 1960s.

A man and woman walk along a sidewalk in a public outdoor setting, surrounded by large trees and a wide road, in a black-and-white snapshot from approximately the late 1950s to mid-1960s. — A series of snapshots that appear to show family visiting day at a U.S. military training installation — possibly in the American West or Southwest, based on the arid sky, tree types, and flat-roofed architecture. A 'TNG BDE' (Training Brigade) sign with crossed-rifles insignia is visible in one frame. Likely mid-to-late 1960s.

These snapshots appear to document a visitation day at a military installation — likely during one of Mike's stateside training assignments. A 'TNG BDE' (Training Brigade) sign is clearly legible in one photograph, and across the group of images, uniformed and civilian figures stand together on sunny lawns, squinting against a bright midday sky. The scenes carry the particular warmth of these occasions: families dressed in their best, soldiers briefly returned to something resembling ordinary life before the next phase of training resumed.

Two adults — a man in a suit and a woman in a coat — standing on a lawn in front of a large multi-storey institutional building with horizontal ribbon windows, black-and-white snapshot. — Two adults — a man in a suit jacket and a woman in a light-colored coat — stand on a grassy lawn before a large, multi-storey institutional building with horizontal ribbon windows. Possibly a U.S. military or government facility. Likely late 1950s to mid-1960s.

A young man in a U.S. Army dress uniform stands smiling in a parking lot in front of a teal-and-white van, with a low military-style building in the background; photo dated January 1967. — Snapshots from Mike Allen's stateside Army service years, including one image date-stamped January 1967. Mike appears in dress uniform at various installations — one image places him in front of a white chapel with a pointed steeple, consistent with a U.S. military base.

A young man in a U.S. Army Class A dress uniform and service cap stands on a grassy area in front of a large institutional building, with other uniformed figures visible in the background. — Snapshots from Mike Allen's stateside Army service years, including one image date-stamped January 1967. Mike appears in dress uniform at various installations — one image places him in front of a white chapel with a pointed steeple, consistent with a U.S. military base.

As training gave way to assignment, dress-uniform photographs became a kind of record — proof of arrival at each new milestone. One photograph, its border stamped 'JAN · 67,' anchors this sequence firmly in time. The olive-drab jackets, gold buttons, and garrison caps are pressed and polished; the men in these images stand before barracks, chapels, and base lawns with the particular composure of soldiers who have earned their place. The white chapel with its pointed steeple, visible in one frame, is a reminder that military installations also aspired to the architectural symbols of peacetime American life, even as the wider world moved toward war.

Two young men in U.S. Army dress uniforms, one pinning an insignia onto the other's uniform, standing before white curtains. — **From the archive**Two men in U.S. Army dress uniforms face each other indoors as one pins a rank insignia or badge onto the other's uniform. Both wear short military haircuts, gold buttons, and rank insignia. Likely 1960s to early 1970s.

The pinning ceremony — an officer or fellow soldier attaching a new rank or qualification badge — is one of the military's most personal rituals. In this photograph, the gesture is precise and deliberate, one man's hands working at the other's chest, the recipient smiling. It is a moment of acknowledgment: of training completed, of a threshold crossed. For Mike Allen, moving through the ranks of Army aviation, such moments marked the steady accumulation of expertise that would eventually carry him to Vietnam as a CH-47 Chinook pilot.

Group of soldiers in olive-drab uniforms and M1 helmets standing in front of an institutional building, with stacked rifles and a helmet at their feet, circa 1960s. — Male figures in olive-drab U.S. Army uniforms stand before a large stone institutional building. The leftmost soldier holds a rifle upright, with additional rifles stacked at his feet alongside a steel helmet and field pack — suggesting a unit muster or formation. Likely 1960s.

A smiling U.S. Army soldier in olive-drab fatigues holds a steel helmet on a military base, with large institutional buildings and other soldiers visible in the background. — Left: A smiling soldier in olive-drab fatigues holds a steel combat helmet, a name tape partially legible on his chest. Right: Four soldiers in U.S. Army uniforms, three draped with belts of linked machine-gun ammunition in a playful posed moment — all smiling, outdoors, with dense green trees behind them. Approximately late 1960s to early 1970s, consistent with Vietnam War-era U.S. Army service.

Four smiling U.S. Army soldiers in olive-drab uniforms and steel helmets pose outdoors, three of them draped with belts of linked ammunition, trees visible in background. — Left: A smiling soldier in olive-drab fatigues holds a steel combat helmet, a name tape partially legible on his chest. Right: Four soldiers in U.S. Army uniforms, three draped with belts of linked machine-gun ammunition in a playful posed moment — all smiling, outdoors, with dense green trees behind them. Approximately late 1960s to early 1970s, consistent with Vietnam War-era U.S. Army service.

Not every image from a war is grim. These photographs show men in fatigues who are — at least in this moment — grinning. Three soldiers drape long belts of linked machine-gun ammunition around their shoulders with theatrical ease, hamming it up for the camera beneath a canopy of green trees. Another soldier grips his steel helmet at his side, name tape on his chest, squinting in the pale light. The archive does not specify where these photographs were taken, but the uniform style, equipment, and color palette are consistent with Vietnam War-era U.S. Army service in the late 1960s to early 1970s.

Black-and-white photo of several soldiers in combat fatigues and helmets resting on the ground beside a large military vehicle, carrying rifles and web gear — **From the archive**A group of soldiers in combat fatigues, steel helmets with camouflage covers, and web gear rest on the ground beside what appears to be a military vehicle, rifles visible among them. Likely Southeast Asia, possibly Vietnam, based on uniform and equipment style. Likely 1960s–early 1970s.

In the field, rest was seized wherever it could be found — on the ground, in the shadow of a vehicle, helmets still on, rifles within reach. This photograph, black and white in the soft tonal quality of a mid-century print, shows soldiers heaped together in a loose pile of exhaustion, the dirt or gravel of the ground beneath them, large vehicle tires looming at the edges of the frame. One uniformed figure stands at the right edge, still alert. The scene, with its M16-pattern rifles and Vietnam-era helmets, appears to place these men far from home.

According to the family archive, Mike Allen served as a CH-47 Chinook pilot during his Vietnam tour — flying the massive, twin-rotor heavy-lift helicopter that became one of the workhorses of that war, moving troops, supplies, and artillery across terrain that roads could not reach. The Chinook demanded steady hands and cool judgment. It was demanding, dangerous, essential work. The documents identify Mike as having been a 'former U.S. Army CH-47 Chinook pilot in Vietnam,' and the photographs from this period show a young man who, whatever the weight of his surroundings, had not lost his capacity to smile.

Two smiling men standing in a bedroom with an open closet, lamp, and mid-century furnishings, likely photographed in the 1960s. — Two men stand together indoors in what appears to be a residential bedroom — one heavyset in a casual striped shirt, the other close-cropped, wearing a dark blazer over a plaid shirt, smiling. Likely a mid-century ranch-style American home, mid-to-late 1960s.

Coming home from Vietnam meant stepping back into a civilian world that had continued turning in one's absence. This photograph, warm-toned and quietly domestic, shows two men in a bedroom — clothes hanging in an open closet, a lamp with a white shade, paperbacks on a low table. Whatever the specific occasion, the scene carries the particular texture of return: the ordinary rooms, the familiar faces, the slow re-learning of a life outside the uniform. For Mike Allen, that transition would not mean a retreat from aviation or adventure — it would simply send him, in time, toward Alaska.

The years of Army service — boot camp formations, airborne staging areas, dress uniform ceremonies, the skies over Vietnam — formed a crucible from which Mike Allen emerged as both a seasoned aviator and a man of restless capability. The same qualities that made him a reliable Chinook pilot in a war zone would, in the years ahead, make him indispensable to geology crews threading through the Alaskan wilderness: calm under pressure, resourceful in the field, and always — always — looking for the right place to set down.

Chapter IV · All Photos · 20 images