Mike Field was born on August 7, 1937, in St. Joseph, Missouri. He enlisted in the Army National Guard on June 15, 1955, and left the Guard to attend the U.S. Military Academy at West Point on July 3, 1956. Field graduated and was commissioned a 2Lt of Infantry on June 8, 1960. After completing advanced Infantry training, Airborne school, and Ranger school, he served with the 506th Infantry Division at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, from January 1961 to January 1963. Field entered Army Aviation training at Fort Rucker, Alabama, in January 1963, and earned his pilot wings in November 1963. He began flying combat missions in Southeast Asia in January 1964, where he served as an L-19 Bird Dog pilot with the 73rd Aviation Company until December 1964. After his first tour in Vietnam, Field attended helicopter school and then the Infantry Officers Advanced Course at Fort Benning, Georgia, and then stayed on at Fort Benning as an instructor. Capt Field began his second tour in Vietnam with Headquarters Troop, 19th Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Division, in January 1967. He was killed when his jeep hit a land mine on October 16, 1967. Field was posthumously promoted to Major and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery. He left behind his wife, Patricia, and two children, Megan and Michael, Jr.