His mother sent cookies. She sent canned goods, too. And every month or so, somewhere in the rotation, a can of sardines showed up at whatever firebase Pvt. Mike Vining was operating out of in Vietnam.
He never ate a single one.
His little brother had told their mother that sardines were a good thing to send, certainly with his older brother’s best intentions in mind. So she sent them faithfully, alongside the cookies and the rest of it. Vining just traded them away quietly and never made much of it.
Related: The career of Mike Vining, the internet’s most badass military meme
What made Sgt. Maj. Mike Vining? Before Delta Force, before Desert One, before any of it. A young soldier in Vietnam, trading canned fish he never wanted, sent by a mother doing her best, on the advice of a kid brother who probably meant well.
That is who Mike Vining is when you get past the resume.
Most people who know the name know the man’s accolades: Founding member of Delta Force. Vietnam War EOD tech. One of those military figures who has become equal parts history and meme.
In a recent conversation with We Are The Mighty, Vining was asked about near-death moments, life after the Army, and a memoir that has been a long time coming.
The combat missions are all there, and is exactly what you would expect from a man with his record. What might surprise some, though, are the other moments. The ordinary. A teenager who “almost blew up his bedroom.” A veteran who tried factory work and decided it was not for him. And finally, a man who lives a new chapter traveling the world with the woman he loves.
Meanwhile, the internet is falling in love with him… well, a decades-old image of him.
But love is love.
A Few Near-Death Experiences
When asked whether he ever had one of those “oh sh*t, this might not go well” moments, Vining’s answer was quick.
“Quite a few times.”
But those moments don’t always involve the enemy. Not directly, anyway.
“[Master Sgt. Howard] Land and I were left at an abandoned Special Forces camp by 1st Cav’s 1st of the 9th Blues,” Vining said. “They did security patrols around the camp and we cleaned the camp of unexploded ordnance. They exfiled at the far end of an old French runway and left us behind. We thought we would have to spend the night. We didn’t have a radio. They got back to Phuoc Vinh and then realized we were missing. Just before dark they came back for us.”
That’s not the only time Vining got left behind. In Cambodia in 1970, he and his compatriots faced a firm time limit.
“Three Infantrymen and I were left on the ground at Rock Island East and the fuse was burning towards the detonation of 78 tons of ordnance ready to blow,” he recalled. “Another helicopter in orbit came down and got us. I was going to cut the fuse for the second time.”
Vining’s list continues was the infamous ammunition cleanup at Fire Support Base Barry, in South Vietnam. On June 28, 1970, the munitions stored at the FSB accidentally ignited. Another errant explosion wounded soldiers tasked with the cleanup. Vining was involved in the cleanup.
“I thought I was dead until I felt pain,” he said of the aftermath. “I figured when you are dead you don’t feel pain.”
He was also inside of a burning EC-130E at Desert One during Operation Eagle Claw, the failed 1979 mission to rescue American hostages in Tehran. A helicopter crashed into the aircraft.
“I thought death was a few seconds away.”
During Operation Urgent Fury, the 1983 U.S. invasion of Grenada, American forces scored on overwhelming victory, in what might have seemed like record time. That might be what the public saw. The troops on the ground—Vining included— remember a lot more resistance.
“We went through a hailstorm of bullets twice,” he said. “One killed and 25 wounded.”
Any one of these moments might have made someone reconsider a lifetime of Army service. If Mike Vining considered leaving the Army, maybe he’ll mention it in his memoir. If he thought about it, we’d never know it otherwise.
The Kid with the Fire Extinguisher
Before any of that, there was a teenager in his bedroom with homemade black powder and, fortunately, a fire extinguisher on hand.
Vining once told a story about how his parents signed him up for the military because they were worried he’d blow up the house. The line about his parents signing his enlistment papers over it was a joke.
“I did have some homemade black powder ignited in my bedroom,” he said. “I put it out with a fire extinguisher. ”
His parents did eventually sign him over to the Army, but not out of desperation. They understood it was what he wanted. He was 17 and in two months, he would have been 18 and done it on his own anyway.
History waits for no one. Especially not your parents.
Factory Work Was Not a Career
Here is where the legend becomes something many veterans will recognize without needing much explanation.
After his time in Vietnam, Vining was honorably discharged. The year was 1971. He was out for a little over two years. He married his first wife. They had a daughter. He worked in a factory. At some point during those years, he made a clear-eyed assessment of where that road was going and decided to take an off ramp.
It might have been more of a U-turn.
“I decided factory work was not a career,” he said, “so I enlisted.”
That sentence could have been uttered by an untold number of current and former U.S. troops over the years. Any veteran who has ever sat in a parking lot six months after terminal leave trying to figure out exactly what comes next will know. Civilian life does not automatically fill the space in our hearts that the military once occupied.
Some people find their footing quickly, while others try their own version of Mike Vining’s factory work for years. Then get that itch to go back.
Vining returned to Army EOD duty in 1973. Five years later, when a new unit was being quietly assembled at Fort Bragg, he threw his name into contention. Of the roughly 130 candidates in that first selection course, only Vining and a handful of others passed. He became Delta Force’s first EOD specialist, and he spent the better part of the next two decades there.
The reenlistment decision was the start of one of the most storied military careers in history. He could write a book (and he did, we’ll get to that).
A Chapter, Not the Whole Book
When asked whether he ever misses the life, once again Vining does not hesitate.
“That life is out of my system,” he said. “That was a chapter in my life, and I am on a new chapter.”
The new chapter has been well-lived, too. After 31 years of service, Vining turned toward rock climbing and mountain climbing. His wife, Donna Ikenberry, is a freelance photojournalist and professional wildlife photographer, and her work became, in his words, his new life.
“We still travel,” he said. “We were in Hawaii, New Zealand, Australia, New Caledonia, Tonga, Fiji Islands, and French Polynesia, and came back to Hawaii and have been home for about a month.”
Vining remains connected to the community in ways that matter to him. He is actively involved with the EOD Warrior Foundation and the National EOD Association, where he serves as a historian. He is also a life member of his local VFW.
It’s just the latest chapter in a long, (and soon to be engrossing) book. He made his peace with leaving the Army quietly and completely in 1999.
“Many of my teammates from Delta are still doing that type of stuff,” he said. “I had another passion outside of the Army.”
The Story Is Not Over
So what’s next? As if already being a soldier, a legend, and a meme ingrained in American pop culture wasn’t enough, Vining’s coming book, “Blasting Through” is on its way. It’s a 30 chapter, 90,000-word memoir and is due out in August 2026.
He submitted his manuscript to the United States Special Operations Command for review and will go through Defense Security Review prepublication screening before release. It’s sure to be a must-read for fans of military history, United States history, and world history. After all, where else can you read about Vietnam, the Iran Hostage Crisis, the Cold War, and the Gulf War from someone who had a bird’s eye view of each over a decades-long career?
We hope he’s embraced his newfound internet fame, because netizens—veteran and civilian alike—have certainly embraced him.
Until the next drop, stand easy.
