Mike Burns was born in 1944 in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He was commissioned a 2nd Lt through the Air Force ROTC program at De Paul University, Illinois, on July 15, 1966, and went on active duty beginning October 18, 1966. Lt Burns next completed Undergraduate Pilot Training, and was awarded his pilot wings at Vance AFB, Oklahoma, in October 1967, followed by survival training, jungle survival school, and F-4 Phantom II Combat Crew Training between October 1967 and May 1968. Lt Burns served as an F-4 Pilot Systems Operator with the 433rd Tactical Fighter Squadron of the 8th Tactical Fighter Wing at Ubon Royal Thai AFB, Thailand, from May 1968 until he was forced to eject over North Vietnam and was taken as a Prisoner of War while flying his 19th combat mission on July 5, 1968. After spending 1,714 days in captivity, Capt Burns was released during Operation Homecoming on March 14, 1973. He was briefly hospitalized to recover from his injuries at Wright Patterson AFB, Ohio, and then received an Air Force Institute of Technology Assignment to Notre Dame University, Indiana, from January 1974 until he left active duty on March 31, 1974.