Henrik Lunde grew up in Norway and came to the United States with his parents as a young teenager. After completing high school, he attended the University of California at Berkeley, graduating in 1958 as the Honor Graduate in the History Department. He also received an appointment in the Regular Army.

After the Basic Infantry Officer, Ranger and Airborne courses, and his first duty station with the 2nd Battle Group, 6th Infantry Regiment in Berlin, Hank spent 18 months with a covert Special Forces unit in Berlin. In 1963 he attended the Infantry Officer Career Course at Fort Benning and was designated an Honor Graduate. He then attended the elite Pathfinder Course before reporting to Fort Campbell, Kentucky for assignment to the elite 101st Airborne Division.

He deployed to Vietnam with 1st Brigade, 101st Airborne Division, in 1965. For most of his tour he commanded a rifle company. On his return to the States Hank worked as Branch Chief at the Airborne Test Division at Fort Bragg. Still, at the end of 1967, he volunteered for the 9th Division in the Delta despite becoming disillusioned with the tactical/strategic conduct of the war. In the 9th Division, he served as Brigade S-3 and battalion executive officer. He then moved to the Vietnamese II Corps as deputy operations adviser.

After graduating from the Command and General Staff College in 1970, in the upper 10% of the class, he moved on to Syracuse University to obtain a master’s degree. He then returned to Vietnam in 1973, serving as Chief of Negotiations of the U.S. Delegation to the FPJMT set up by the 1973 Paris Peace Treaty to account for the dead and missing. After a year at the Political/Military Division of the Army General Staff with southeast Asia as his responsibility area Hank attended the U.S. Army War College as the second youngest student in 1975–76. From 1976 to 1979, he served in the Plans of Policy branch of Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe. His last assignment was as Director of National and International Security Studies for Europe at the Army War College. Colonel Lunde is highly decorated from his three tours in Vietnam.